When You can’t decide, if you believe in free speech!

Many say, “ Why do I care about speech I disagree with being allowed to be disseminated?” This statement fails to comprehend that not all agree with your world view and possibly even your interpretation of reality.

There is truth, but it is not always simple to find. People are limited by their physical bodies to their experiences and the experiences they have been told of. ( even some that may be outright fabrications advanced by someone promoting a particular point of view ) People are not always truth tellers.
If you weren’t there, you learn from those, who you trust. Perhaps you trust a teacher. They are authority figures. How many students review original sources materials even, if it is suggested I didn’t. In fact I can count on one hand those who read outside sources of any kind and I am an advanced college degree holder.

Besides the physical limitations, individuals may act based upon different facts. These maybe actual facts, but outlying information, unusual occurrences of information We would refer to this as outlier data. It is not misinformation. It is actual data, just unusual in its occurrence .
Individual’s minds use information to organize their world. How do we combat use of outlier data? We combat with more information! More data means less opportunity for outlier data. We also must understand that even observations are limited by financial considerations.

Science focuses on observable processes. Value judgments can’t be scientifically measured. They may be preferred or non preferred viewpoints.  Results can be observed, but those results are data interpretations based upon facts. They can be true. They need not be. Even if the data is correct, the conclusions can be errant.

Remember values are not facts! Not everyone may share your values. Values are not misinformation. Unless they hurt someone else, you are permitted to believe differently than others. Remember Christianity was once a minority set of values in ancient Rome!

Who, What, When and Where are surpassed in Journalism by the feelings behind Why!

Think critically. Insist news is only who, what, where and when.

When I  was an undergrad ( as my daughter says back in ancient times ) I took an entry level journalism class and wrote previously for a high school newspaper. The class and newspaper faculty advisor, drilled into my head, always put in news pieces only who, what, when and where. Why is for your audience. Facts are who did what. Where and when did they do it.

There is a problem in journalism, when why is interjected. Why someone acts maybe undiscoverable. Think about that. What sources really know why? If the actions of many are questioned, (ie stock movement) I contend it is impossible to ascertain. You may identify contributing factors. you may interview some buyers and sellers and cite the most oft listed reason as the reason why for the stock movement.

What you have listed as the reason is still subjective. If you accept that a thorough job was done of interviewing most of the sellers and buyers of a stock, you are still left with a question. Can the interviewees be believed? Some interviewed may not have given the sale or purchase much thought. Some maybe swayed by how the interviewer asked the question. Some may just not tell the interviewer the truth for any of an unknown number of reasons. Who did it. What  was done. Where it happened and when is much less subjective and more verifiable. Sure, a seasoned reporter may have to sift through accounts to determine, who actually witnessed an event. After sifting, some will think they saw something they did not really see. However multiple witnesses where available or dissection of individual accounts can frequently sort the wheat from the chaff. This is why in Court cross examination is so important. Reading requires one to critically think.
Today we are given conclusions, why. In some instances one can glean the who, what, where and when from a thorough reading or listening to a journalistic piece, but not always. This is because the proper pleasing narrative is more important than the actual facts.

What does this mean? Eyes reading an article or clicks in the digital realm are more important than facts.

Hasn’t it always been so? Yes, but what is different? I postulate and this is my why ;that the reading public believes journalists only report facts, so they squelch their natural urges to question, to think critically.

what should a reader take from this article? Don’t depend on headlines, read any article critically. Ask who, what, where and when? Is it in the article? How many sources were consulted or witnesses interviewed? Are the conclusions supported at all? Is there more than one explanation? If you just assess the who, what where and when, is there even a need for the why?  Can the why be supported? If yes, do you understand the subjective nature of why is separate from news.

Today, the why is a reason to call out any disagreeable conclusion as misinformation. Is it? Can people with a different perspective, see the why differently?  Is the author intellectually honest? Are sources cited? If sources uncited, how many sources or witnesses are there?  Read critically! If there are too many unanswered questions, why do You believe it? AmI biased or not open to new facts or other views

Do self examination. Think critically. Insist news is only, who, what, where and when. Why is subjective.  Don’t just know have evidence. Knowing without facts is faith. Some values are only supported by faith, but understand that!

How the death of personal responsibility means an end to your freedom and ultimately your choices

Choice is difficult. It requires critical thinking and doesn’t provide for a guaranteed outcome. It allows failure. It also allows for growth. So remember the next time you are in a quandary and believe government is the answer. Somewhere out there countless others are prepared to solve your problems for you and make your life safer and insure your mediocrity too! It won’t cost you too much, just a choice. Choice and freedom are a small price to pay for guaranteed minimal growth and mediocre achievement! Perhaps even a universal income, so all can starve uniformly!

The government is the only entity big enough to solve this problem! There ought to be a law! This whole thing is caused because “they” won’t listen, so  “we” have make them listen. What do these three rallying cries have in common? They all are a cry for help requesting the aid of the “ mob “ through government force to assist them in their never ending tolerance.

What is being said is simply this; we can’t fathom a way out of this time, so let’s allow the majority through government to impose a solution. While in the economic marketplace the individual decisions ( proposed by the exercise of individual choices, the market )allow for frequently unforeseen, unpredictable, sometimes even confusing and multiple different outcomes because the country has a vast and differing political and social landscape. Surrender to the government is easier and produces a single hydra ( multi headed )solution, which seldom satisfies anyone, is seldom if ever reevaluated for efficacy and results in  one winning group imposing it’s will over all others. Many times these half measures endure for years without any review.

An example business the  is the FSLA. A 1930’s government solution born in a long gone era, which still works it’s 1930’s magic in our times.  Ask your accountant about it’s role in today’s more fluid economy. Ask about the weekly pay standard and hourly rate preferences housed ina law, which works to promote uniform countrywide standards enabling government withholdings among other similar beast feeding solutions . Of course they limit use of  different standards more useful to today’s marketplace, but they provide for a certain method to feed the beast ( the federal government) and  promote an outdated overtime standard, which favored dying  “ union shops “ champion. There is one complication, the union shop has been drastically reduced, yet the law remains! For Congress is akin to the ‘fickle finger of fate”, it writes and moves on. It never looks back. It reduces options and is built upon until it not only reduces options, but eliminates opportunities for the birth of entire industries. It serves it’s purpose. It protects those, who seek protection and eliminates unwanted competition along with choice as well as your personal liberty. Don’t like employer based healthcare? Say thank you government, then lookup it’s origins.

How does this “ let the government do it affect me?” It limits your choice. Limiting your choices, ultimately limits your opportunities! Government rules are the gold standard for those, who don’t want to overly tax their gray matter. What else does it do? It limits your opportunity to give and get advice. Your payoff is: you get no new service industries, which might recommend alternative and better courses of action because the mob “elite”has decided the  best path for you. Some will still lose. Sometimes even the lamest trap catches game. The government approach takes not only options but option presenters off the table. Everyone gets the few acceptable common choices, so the few, who will still find other ways to be swindled, are protected to an extent because education is not a meaningful option and of course the many have reduced opportunities.

Don’t get me wrong, a landscape that permits many choices can be a challenge and requires time and critical thought and may even seem overwhelming at times. It may require more than a thirty second perusal to decide a path to follow. Inconvenient! There will be  some, possibly many,  who will lose under an approach that allows more innovation. We do have courts and information sharing systems to help sort out solutions as well as those,who peddle the modern day equivalent of snake oil. We should also be able allow or “tolerate” to use the left’s now meaningless vernacular, more choices.

Most uses of government result in fewer choices and less freedom. Eventually after government decides what treatments are “ safe enough “ which doctors know enough, what businesses are essential enough, it will decide for you what thoughts you should be allowed to express and in what you must believe. Hail the advent of 21st century back door of the re-educational gulag under the guise of “ real “ democracy. Remember, tyranny can be by many just easily as by one. It is why Marx theorized of a stage, where there was a “dictatorship of the proletariat” Government solutions are advanced now by both political parties, but championed by the Democrats, whose elites understand “your”limitations.

You must wear a mask because to do otherwise jeopardizes your neighbor’s health.  Others are just too uninformed to act to protect themselves and the traditional family is an outmoded and useless remnant or the oppressive and patriarchal past, which will not care for you like only your government can! Therefore the experts have have recommended and your betters have decided for you! You need no longer pay attention to those pesky mortality tables, so you know, who the vulnerable are. They can only be deciphered by epidemiologists. The  vulnerable and those closest to them are too feeble or lack the expertise to isolate the vulnerable. It is better for the elite minds from both parties to shut down 40% of commerce and send out $1200.00 government checks with a nice note to remind you, who voted for it. So make certain re-elect the most recent incumbent.

Besides I don’t live in the Caribbean or any country or even a state that survives on tourism or hospitality, so I don’t have to face the poverty and death caused by a ludicrous policy that allows a virus to run rampant at a lower level in my community indefinitely until there is sufficient immunity to finally oust it.

Choice is difficult. It requires critical thinking and doesn’t provide for a guaranteed outcome. It allows failure. It also allows for growth. So remember the next time you are in a quandary and believe government is the answer. Somewhere out there countless others are prepared to solve your problems for you and make your life safer and insure your mediocrity too! It won’t cost you too much, just a choice. Choice and freedom are a small price to pay for guaranteed minimal growth and mediocre achievement! Perhaps even a universal income, so all can starve uniformly!

 

Tolerance versus Celebration

Freedom of speech is not free in our society or any other society. Writing words, which are not in line with the latest public opinion is not done without risk. What about the first amendment guarantees, you ask? These are assurances that government won’t stop you from speaking. An individual who dares to write words, which are contrary to the popular public narrative, risks ridicule and sometimes worse, depending on whose ox is gored.

I promise this will be a shorter post than usual. What prompts my rant? TV viewing and friendship.

I happened to remark that lately I cannot turn on a popular network TV show without being assaulted by overt public displays of affection by fictional LGBTQ characters. I did not request this content, nor do I hear an outcry for it, yet it is now not only overt but ubiquitous. When I ask my liberal friend, if that person noticed, I was shown a sign, which stated I support love or something similar.

Let me end this quickly. I don’t care, who you love.  The LGBTQ population appears on the fringe of any population demographic data set. It is estimated that the entire grouping is 4.5% of the population. So why are LGBTQ sexual subplots ubiquitous in network programming?

First understand it is part of the LGBTQ groups’  attempt to mainstream their behavior. Many especially the bi coastal liberal elites and their allies in the Democratic Party, have decided tolerance (allowing the behavior to exist without societal sanction) is insufficient. You must join their crusade,accept and celebrate (proclaim as normal and push for societal acceptance) As such the allies have set out to characterize the fight of this group as a civil rights cause.

This crusade is different from the civil rights fights of yesteryear. This fight is about conduct which occurs behind closed doors and is well outside the societal norm. African Americans, Asians and other groups were discriminated against not because of their publicly displayed conduct, but based upon their ethnicity. An African American or Asian frequently could not disguise and should not have been asked or required to hide their ethnic features. Judgments about  individuals in these group were formed without any knowledge of their character and were solely based upon the observed physical, ethnic characteristics.

Do you inquire of  anyone before you hire: with whom are you having  sex? If you are selling them a product with few exceptions, do you even care? The answer in most instances is you don’t care and would never know.

What is being done here is social manipulation/engineering. Our society is being manipulated. What conduct is next to be assimilated? Multiple partner marirage or sex with children? How about sex with pets?  Sex within family?Can there no longer be any societal norms? Must every pronouncement of sexual expression now be accepted because it is about who you love?

The union between a man and woman is special because in many instances it leads to progeny, which regardless of the ravings of the Malthusians remains valuable to society. Both Europe and the US would be wise to take notice of the value of maintaining their populations.

While I am confident this post will be misrepresented as bigoted Homophobic, Xenophobic and small minded, I stand behind my premise  I will not discriminate against any individual, but don’t telI me I must accept any individual or group’s conduct that I find morally repugnant. I can have friends and business associates,, who practice conduct I don’t agree with, just don’t ask me to accept and promote their behavioral choices and don’t bombard me day after day with overt public story lines simulating their practices in public program content or I will discontinue consuming the offending content and I will encourage others to do the same!I will not accept that which I find to be morally objectionable.

So in closing allow me to say I do not fear the label of Bigot, Homophobe or whatever other degrading label the left may seek to place upon me,  I harbor no ill will toward anyone, but I will not accept, promote or watch conduct I find unnatural and morally repugnant.

Sometimes a reality check is required

Republicans, if you are going to encourage unicorn ranching, then you owe it to the public to explain that ranchers need to find a breeding pair before they start their ranch.

While money is non affectionately said to be the mother’s milk of politics and it is, denial is a very close runner up!  So there is never a statement made by the left that is ever denied by a Republican, lest the opponent be skewered, first by the left and its media allies, then later and even more effectively by ” moderate Republicans” (moderate is a synonym for those, who go along to maintain their seat at the table)  Every Republican leaning voter knows, who they are.  If you don’t, watch CNN and if the guest is labeled as a Republican albeit strategist, officeholder or campaign surrogate and he is not immediately berated after he speaks, then chances are  he or she is a “Moderate Republican”.

Generally Republicans never challenge what is said unless the thought has been in held in ill repute by the public for a good number of years.  e.g. socialism has been generally held in low regard since at least the 1950’s, so any Republican and even a few brave “Blue Dog Democrats” are inclined to speak out against it.  It should be noted, however that while speaking out against the idea of socialism any Republican officeholder will always acknowledge that the proponent of socialism or any new government solution raises a true issue that they will attempt to help resolve.

What is problematic about this?  It is simply this.  No one dares say how wide spread the problem is, versus how drastically the solution will change the status quo for the many.  While it is a cliche’, I am required to repeat it here.  When you promise to everything for everyone, you will do little or nothing for anyone!

Why is this so.  The answer is simple.  It’s because People are and should be free!  Free to choose their own courses of action.   Sometimes the course chosen appears ill advised to us and sometimes it may even appear contrary to the individual’s expressed interest , but it is their choice to make.  What those in opposition to choices or proposed fixes, can do is at least say they find the choice/fix unwise.

Instead they fall upon the sword of political correctness and as they gurgle and seem to lose control of their consciousness.  The opponents lie impaled upon that imaginary sword of political correctness, then the opposition fails to deny the underlying premise of the proposed government solution.   They do so in a vain attempt to demonstrate their continued relevance or the importance of their government position.  Hence,the first paragraph of this Post

Republicans, if you are going to encourage unicorn ranching, then you owe it to the public to explain that ranchers need to find a breeding pair before they start their ranch.

I posit here that we no longer have a two party system.   When every  utterance by those, who only propose government solutions, is met with acceptance of the underlying premise. e.g (Obamacare preexisting condition coverage crisis. This great existential healthcare crisis effected roughly 8% of the population. It predominantly effected those purchasing coverage in the individual healthcare marketplace.  Groups have been governed by HIPPA of 1997, which required coverage of these conditions after a maximum of 18 months delay and even that could be mitigated, if the individual was continuously insured prior to the group coverage change.  Click on the word change link for a more in depth explanation at How Stuff Works.com.).

Amazingly preexisting conditions were seldom discussed in depth with respect to Obamacare law, yet most under 65 get their coverage through employment groups.)  No Republican thought this was important enough to discuss and if they did it was seen as too in the weeds to share!  No Republican discussed how Obamacare inconvenienced the remaining 80+% and changed the coverages available for all.  It also mandated coverages in the belief not certainty that the changes would result in future healthcare savings.

So now we enter the 2020 campaign  and  major Democratic candidates are now discussing free education for all through college.  What that will do, is devalue many advanced educational degrees for those, who have them because when everyone has a degree  available without the need for sacrifice to achieve it,then advanced education will no longer be a sign that an individual possesses the persistence to achieve a difficult goal.  Additionally, since there is no cost.  Educational resources will be misallocated even further.  We will have more degrees that do not match needed skills.  The result will be more unemployment, while jobs go begging because the educational system is turning out the wrong skill sets.  We already have enough educational dysfunction with the grade inflation situation and the plethora of majors, which offer no professional path forward.

We are also told by some Democratic candidates that many services provided by people are now human rights.  This is a talking point  with only emotional appeal.  It is proposed that these services should be offered by the government to all with no mention of payment.  I guess we truly have not learned the lessons of history.  We outlawed one form of slavery and now introduce a new form.  Servitude to the State for the Public good.  Yet all Republicans only talk about socialism like a caveman.  “They utter Socialism bad, Capitalism good!”

I am sorry, but life is both a journey and is still a struggle.  No candidate’s wishes can change that fact. In a world of 1 million or 7 billion scarcity still exists. Resources must be allocated according to needs to insure the availability of goods to feed the masses and create sufficient wealth.

Individuals must work to create wealth and nations and society advance as a result of their efforts.  Capitalism is a self regulation mechanism for the elements that create wealth.  Capitalism allows the individual the freedom to choose, which occupation they pursue and rations scarce resources by offering rewards for skills in short supply and disincentives for oversupplied skills. No government or politician has a handle on the multiple data points needed to properly allocate resources. Capital might be in the form of human,monetary or even a commodity.

Individuals choose a course and are rewarded based upon the value of their contribution.  No one has the right to the services of another.  Those services can be paid for or they maybe volunteered at no cost.(charity)  Yes, there is a place for altruism in modern society!  Altruism however is not government mandated.  Mandated unagreed upon labor is still slavery!

Bottom line:

Demand all proposals identify the problem and the extent of that problem.

Ask, Ask, Ask how the solution fits in with the existing system.  Do this whether you like the existing system or despise it.  (Different is not always better and can be much worse!)

If you don’t want your personal data used in a way you don’t like, then do not post it on any site. If you don’t like a social media site’s privacy policies,then don’t use that site or better yet,band with others and create your own site. Don’t invite the government to regulate! Do not surrender any more of your choices for a false sense of security!

Control your social media information yourself. Don’t be lazy and invite the federal government to limit your choices

 

Watching any cable or network news broadcast is like entering an echo chamber! There are no serious opposition views presented. All views expressed merely echo a given channel’s right or left leaning establishment view.

This means you hear on right leaning broadcasts, lip service given to limited government and capitalism.  Eventually though, all commentary suggests the need for the federal government to save us from ourselves. They say there is a need for a national plan.(this sounds more like a cold war Soviet idea. ie a 5 year plan rather than a chaos driven capitalist economic model) Left leaning channels are more straight forward in their criticisms. The government is the citizen’s only hope! Nineteen Eighty Four is not just a novel on left leading broadcasts, it is a mantra, intended to be a way of life, which is repeated ad nauseum.

Conservative or right leaning consumers of news are busy and use their busy life schedules, as a reason to surrender their choices to an all consuming government.

Remember democracy is a form of government that can be tyrannical the same as a dictatorship. Just because a majority of individuals decide something by a popular vote does not mean you should always be required to abide by their collective will. This is why we have a limited federal government and a bill of rights.  It is to insure individual liberty.

Our Founding Fathers rebelled against a king, but recognized any government could act as a despot and threaten the individual. We have a bill of rights and a federal government of limited authority.  (Gee. the Revolutionary War was fought by armed colonists, maybe the second amendment is intended as a deterrent to run away rule of any kind including majority collective rule.) This should not be seen as threat of violence, but a statement of historic fact.  Power to rule is given to government by the people, but it is limited by God given rights, which no government can confiscate and no majority vote can negate.

We now are on the verge of surrendering our most basic rights because we are too busy or because we need to be nurtured and protected from a brutal reality. Reality remains brutal, whether you seek to hide in a false perception of safety under the protection of a  what you believe to be a benign government.  There are regardless many across the world willing to hurt or kill to possess just a small portion of what Americans take for granted.

There are many “good people” and their are many “bad people” in the world, but most are people just busy working and living boring everyday existences. Choice including economic choice is a freedom. It separates us from those forced by a collective mentality to live in a group or despot defined way.

Can you imagine a society where you are told what job to do.  Many say this would be great! Everyone working- No more unemployment- Guaranteed income! A more sensitive environment! What is the cost? Loss of personal choice? Loss of Religious freedom and free speech? Limited new economic and personal initiatives?

Please remember, there is always an expert that can tell you how to live your life better.  When their predictions are checked against the actual reality, most are miserable prognosticators.  We live in a connected and competitive world.  We must continue to grow our economy to stay ahead or risk losing our world position and high standard of living.

Why not have the most popular current view direct (compel/force)you to live in the best known way. Doesn’t sound quite so friendly when presented as a command does it?  Remember government is the use of force. Doubt me? Try not paying your taxes or violate an EPA property regulation or run a business and forget a required federal filing. Try to serve in a government job or a closed private sector shop without union membership.

Government rules by force, whether you agree with the rules or not, you must understand this fact.

This is why government must be limited!

So when you hear “we need the government to protect us from adds, on social media,or to protect our posted private data or protect us from “fake news”, remember you are moving closer to life as portrayed in the novel”1984″.  You also may limit economic and personal growth. ie wealth and job growth (Witness the limitations placed on television and radio by the FCC. The result: you have television and radio channels that still must include announcements  that limit the format of their programming even though technology has rendered these announcements obsolete.)

Congress passes bills then moves on seldom or sometimes never reviewing any law’s effectiveness.  When laws are reviewed, the review is conducted as througha prism that prioritizes maintaining the existing economic hierarchy and existing players and not based upon how well the laws assist in the growth of our wealth.

So I contend in any environment “Less is more and Less government is better government”

Federal power was limited to protect the individual and insure choice. Democracies are not immune to the use of excessive force on its citizens.  Beware the next time you hear

“There ought to be a law!”

 

Federal Government: It’s certainly not family

It isn’t your mother or your father, a sibling or even a close relative.  Contrary to popular media descriptions, it isn’t your uncle either.  Government is not a replacement for your family.

It isn’t your mother or your father, a sibling or even a close relative. Contrary to popular media descriptions, it isn’t your uncle either. Government is not a replacement for your family. It doesn’t see you as an individual. It isn’t a replacement for organized religion and certainly should never be seen as a moral compass. It is the use of force by a legislative majority over the rest of us and should only be used for limited necessary purposes. It is a poor allocator of scarce resources. It is a very poor investor, yet the general public trusts it to make many life decisions, which affect the economy, the family and the individual.

Would you trust someone with your household finances, if they repeatedly borrowed in order to pay current living expenses? Would you trust a bookkeeper,who told you that you had money set aside for your old age, when all you had was a cabinet full of IOU’s? Would you trust a financial adviser, who proposed improvements to your property or additional property purchases, when basic maintenance on your existing assets was not occurring? If you answered no to any of these questions, then why do you trust government with your money?

Government continues to borrow for entitlements, which are really programs that provide basic living expenses for citizens. It is part of the never ending and always expanding “WAR ON POVERTY”. It is the longest running war in US history and there is no indication, we are winning. There is never an examination to determine if the programs provide increased opportunity and when evaluated; it is only with an eye toward increasing funding.

Are these programs efficient and effective? If they are effective, then why isn’t there significantly less program usage during periods of full or near full employment? Why were we advertising for additional food stamp recipients? Why is any cut in the rate of increase in these programs seen as an attack on the poor ratherthan a victory over poverty?

Would you continue to spend your personal money like this? If your answer is no, then isn’t it time to examine these programs and phase out these programs in favor of some which promote individual dignity and self sufficiency. and actually accomplish their purpose?

Should we continue to rely on ineffective government and continue to borrow and never have to do more than make token payments on the end bill? There is no pain. No day of reckoning. Why don’t we increase our use of charity to help the poor? Is it because charities know they have limited resources and allocate to the truly needy? Is it because promising programs insures representatives reelection and continued political power?(Remember politics is who gets what, when, where and how.)

What is the role of family both nuclear and extended, when a relative is faltering financially? How many times have you heard parents say: “I just don’t want to be a burden to my children?” Is that proper thinking? When is it not the duty of the family to care for its own, whenever possible? When does someone step up and say “The emperor is naked”? When do we acknowledge the lessons of history that communities, which fail to compete, go into decline?

Demand your representatives; both federal and state evaluate their spending. Spend your money like it is their own. The question a representative should ask is whether this spending is a necessary and efficient use of taxpayer funds for a purpose consistent with limited government. Why should government take on this responsibility?

Taxpayers please don’t fall for the advertising campaigns for increased spending, which tout that the spending is only so much per day or week to fund this program. This ploy has been used to fund never ending ineffective public policy, which starts at a certain amount then continues to grow and grow over time. Ask is this a valid use of the force of government? (Doubt this statement?
Ask yourself how many times you have felt your tax money was spent toward a purpose you would not support? Why do you pay? Legitimate use of force but forcenone the less,AKA taxes!) If this program is a good idea, can it be accomplished by voluntary contributions or by a charity? If no one would contribute to voluntarily fund it, why not? Is there an achievable goal with an end in sight? If permanent, will it afford individuals the opportunity to move onto a more productive life? Does the proposed program support increased life skills and self sufficiency?

Remember

Government is not a replacement for your family or your social support network.

Paying taxes doesn’t absolve you of your family responsibilities nor should the payment of taxes be used to assuage your conscience.

Families are responsible for each other. Where incapable for a time to provide, they should be required to “pay back” anyone, who provides necessaries for their members.
Existence of government programs doesn’t absolve individuals from helping their neighbors.
Federalism is the basis of our great republic and the any power not given to the federal government should not be exercised by it.

Healthcare Reform: More than simply redistribution of insurance cost!

1) Accept that life is not fair and government can not make it fair.

2) Accept that markets are efficient allocators of resources, which will reallocate human and capital resources to meet needs and allows for individual freedom and is not dependent on political power to meet those needs.

3) Accept that human systems are not perfect. There is a place for charity. Charity fills in the gaps or fills in during intervals between resource reallocations. Charity maybe individual,familial,or institutional. It is different from governmental programs because it is based upon a voluntary exercise of personal choice and not an exercise of majority power,

4) Accept that insurance companies are not the sole driver of cost. Health insurance is not and should not be equated to healthcare. Access to insurance does not equal good healthcare. Insurance companies are not inherently good nor are they inherently bad. Health insurance itself is not the sole answer to provision of adequate healthcare and it should not be treated as such.

5) Big government solutions are exercises of power and societal promises that even when outdated they are not rolled back and seldom evaluated in light of a changing environment.

How long will we persist in our belief that government can care for individuals from cradle to grave?  We continue to prop up  every failed government progam and deceive the public as to their long term sustainability.

Now we are on the verge of ushering into permanency unsustainable government health insurance for some unknown number of additional insured’s at the expense of all.  The true costs of this program cannot be determined.  (Congressional Budget Office (CBO)projections have proven themselves inaccurate.  See initial Medicare cost estimates as one example and Obamacare projections as a second example of inaccuracies) Democrats argue that the system would be sustainable with just a little more income redistribution and single payor solution just like the unsustainable medicare program.   (Perhaps the Democrats should campaign on a new more robust second coming of the VA Health system.)  The solvency of the Medicare trust fund is only guaranteed at 100% to 2024.

It is argued that this is the best system available because it removes the profit motive of the private sector. Please consider this.  There are already non profit options available in the insurance universe and when a government solution is adopted, it is seldom evaluated to determine its cost effectiveness or its sustainability.  Only a crisis precipitates second look at a program, then the program is reinvigorated with additional taxpayer funds, but never seriously scrutinized for efficiency and effectiveness.

Never is there consideration given to the lost opportunity cost, when adopting such  programs.  What do I mean by this?  Programs are adopted institutionalizing payment structures and distribution techniques available at the time of adoption,   This means a fee for service structure will be perpetualized in any health insurance solution.  Innovative cost and life saving measures will not be pursued, as long as a government subsidized consumer base is guaranteed to insurers and health care providers.

Insurance principles are supposedly built into the healthcare system except in instances, where the outcome is disliked by the citizenry or seen as “unfair”  e.g. Insurance is about many paying a small amount (premium) for protection against unlikely risk.  If the cost (risk)is guaranteed, it is no longer insurance.  It is redistribution.

Life is not fair and we can not wish and make it so, nor can we design a human insurance system to handle all circumstances without creating staggering insurance premium increases.  We refuse to allow those with chronic preexisting conditions to pay more in premium as required in the private insurance market,(even if the chronically ill potential insured’s have the ability to pay more) so we mandate acceptance at prescribed rate despite the built in additional cost of insuring these individuals.  This guarantee increases premium for all and prices many out of the market or provides coverage with obscene deductibles.

We demonstrate our distaste for the economic facts by characterizing any, who oppose this type of (health insurance) socialism as discriminators or haters, who wish others to go away and die.  Be honest!  This is a small group of individuals.  Most will be absorbed into a group plan through employment.  Some have the ability to pay increased premium or will be self paying.   Some will be treated in poverty programs and some may need charitable assistance.  Finally as a last resort, some may need assistance from a non insurance health assistance fund.  Why demand change to the entire health insurance industry to cover these relative few.  Please be honest and admit some of these individuals simply are not insurable for the same rate as the general population.  We may not like it, but it is not discrimination and it is an economic fact

We ignore the insurance principle of adverse selection, which states those most in need of benefits will flock to secure them especially, when available at an artificially low cost, while the young and healthy will simply assume the risk and move forward without coverage.   We attempt to overcome this hurdle by an employer mandate and an individual non insurance penalty.  The mandate so repulsive to many, so we push back compliance dates and minimize repugnant penalties in a dishonest effort to avoid electoral consequences. The penalty is so minor that many simply opt to pay it.  Meanwhile many potential insureds wait and upon receiving a diagnosis of cancer, diabetes (insert your chronic ailment here), then secure coverage post diagnosis and guaranteed future costs are spread over a small individual state market unfit to absorb the these extensive costs.  There is no urgency to sign up prior to need, when acceptance post diagnosis is guaranteed at the same cost.  Cost is distributed to the individual state market place raising the cost for everyone in that subgroup of insureds.

Remember politics is who gets what, when and how.  The market is the result of billions maybe trillions of choices made by individual consumers and families.  Each consumer or group of consumers acting in what they believe to be their best interest.  If a need arises, it is in the interest of someone or group to fill the need or the need maybe altruistically filled by voluntary giving.  (that’s right voluntary as opposed to entitled receipt.  Witness such charitable organizations as St. Jude’s Hospital, American Cancer Society and numerous other charitable non profit and individual healthcare benefactors.)  The private company or group in the private market is  rewarded for their risk taking by reaping a profit.  (not evil in fact frequently is distributed to shareholders including workers, who invest their savings in companies and insurance products.) Government planning and action can not better decide allocation of resources.  I would argue it never will be able to accumulate and weigh the number of variables necessary to replace the market.

Government muddles through! Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines muddling through as to achieve a degree of success without much planning or effort.  (Doubt me?  Consider many in government service positions are career employees (carryover employees, not true believers), which means during any administration they may not agree with the agency activities or even the  stated goals of any department or agency.  How much effort and planning should you expect from this group.  Then consider Congress, which seldom agrees on the means to accomplish any single objective and may not even agree as to the goal itself)  The result of all this cognitive dissidence is government muddles through its tasks and inefficiently utilizes resources and seldom, if ever accomplishes its stated purpose.  This is hardly an acceptable replacement model for any market, let alone something as important as the health insurance market.

So what is the answer?

1) Accept that life is not fair and government can not make it fair.

2) Accept that markets are efficient allocators of resources, which will reallocate human and capital resources to meet needs and allows for individual freedom and is not dependent on political power to meet those needs.

3) Accept that human systems are not perfect. There is a place for charity. Charity fills in the gaps or fills in during intervals between resource reallocations.  Charity maybe individual,familial,or institutional. It is different from governmental programs because it is based upon a voluntary exercise of personal choice and not an exercise of majority power,

4) Accept that insurance companies are not the sole driver of cost. Health insurance is not and should not be equated to healthcare.  Access to insurance does not equal good healthcare.  Insurance companies are not inherently good nor are they inherently bad. Health insurance itself is not the sole answer to provision of adequate healthcare and it should not be treated as such.

5) Big government solutions are exercises of power and societal promises that even when outdated they are not rolled back and seldom evaluated in light of a changing environment.

Conclusion

Repeal of Obamacare is a necessary first step. We can always tinker at the edges of the system and provide means for those, who fall through the cracks in the system. (While writing this blog entry, I was watching a news reporter state that preexisting conditions handled in high risk pools totaled 115,000 policies. This is not an unmanageable number and gives credance to the idea that many with chronic health conditions are covered under the existing group plans or covered under existing poverty programs or medicare for seniors. If there is a requirement to immediately address an unfulfilled need i.e. preexisting conditions. There is more likely to be a better solution, if it is addressed as an individual issue. You can more easily identify the scope of the problem and limit the solution. The issue is not better addressed in all encompassing comprehensive legislation. (What about a deal?) Some Democrats maybe moved to lend support to gain this coverage, since the signature Obamacare legislation would be lost to them.

If there is no essential benefits package, perhaps there will be no need to keep children on their parents plan well into adulthood and if there is such a need perhaps a small adjustment in premium could produce the same result without a permanent unpaid governmental mandate. Some individuals could secure catastrophic coverage and choose to self insure by savings for some smaller medical expenses rather then pay into a massive one size fits all government mandate.

 
Educate the public that the majority of Obamacare’s insurance increase stems from the welfare healthcare expansion. That is medicaid. Is this how we want to cover these folks long term?  Remember this expansion was accomplished by a massive federal assumption of the expansion cost. This can not be permanent. Medicaid expansion merely kicks the can down the road with no road map to permanently assist this group to get permanent healthcare. The need for help for this group should be realistically assessed. Perhaps funding could be sunsetted as innovative healthcare delivery models are advanced to provide more affordable care.

Demand your state governments remove impediments to healthcare delivery. Examine professional licensing requirements. Examine state medical curriculum. Make certain they address healthcare needs and are not merely justification for professional fee increases!  Modify your tort laws to decrease malpractice insurance expenses.

Hey Ohio, Capitalism starts at Home

Capitalism starts at the local level. The federal government is an economic macro player with large impact, but this fact does not excuse localities from acting in a manner that maximizes the creation of wealth through grassroots entrepreneurial activity.

One of the amazing universal lessons I learned from Social Psychology was that all groups in our society experience “Diffusion of Responsibility”.  This phrase is a technical way of saying “Someone else will take care of it” or if in the workplace “That’s not my job”.

The result of this failure to take personal responsibility is the delegation of our local duty to advance our community’s economic well-being to the federal government.  After all, the national government casts a huge economic footprint with many of its decisions leading to the creation or demise of entire companies or small communities.  (Doubt me, remember the dire forecasts for the demise of companies or communities, when defense contracts are threatened or military bases even rumored to be relocated.)  (See San Diego Tribune Article: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sdut-military-base-closures-looming-again-2012may16-htmlstory.html)The federal government is an economic macro player with large impact, but this fact does not excuse localities from acting in a manner that maximizes the creation of wealth through grassroots entrepreneurial activity.

How does this apply to local capitalism.  Since and even during the national election, emphasis has been on creating jobs for our citizens.  Please notice the phrase “creating jobs” is not the same as generating wealth or increasing our gross national product.   Let’s start our conversation with a controversial statement. Creation of some jobs may actually impair real economic growth.  It is simply a method of wealth distribution.  Doubt me, witness China building empty shopping malls and unoccupied residential buildings.  Please review this article available at Forbes.com.(http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/07/20/what-will-become-of-chinas-ghost-cities/#70b1a2b0751b)   This is misallocation of resources on a grand national scale based upon the strategy of fulfilling a national plan.

Would it surprise you to learn that many US localities exercise this same economic folly?   It is done with the best of intentions and utilizes zoning laws as well as eminent domain to impose the vision of local elites upon its populace.  Why is it so widely accepted?    Individuals in our society seek to control their physical and economic environment. We are taught, since childhood the value of planning for the future, so it is counter intuitive to allow for the seeming chaos that is true capitalism.  Finally,the freedom that capitalism allows promotes uncertainty of outcome.

Residential and Commercial property owners seek certainty in their lives.  Property owners seek to grow the value of their investments by restricting the property rights of others.  How is this accomplished?  Use zoning laws to restrict competition by limiting the number of commercial sites available.  This is supply and demand at work.  If by using the force of government,  (government is majority force: witness the effectiveness of laws without consequence if you doubt this) you restrict the number of commercial sites available, then you raise the price and thereby the investment value of the already existing sites.  (fewer sites equals higher price.  More sites means greater competition and a lower price)  What is amiss here is the role of government in limiting the market by depriving property owners of use of their property as they see fit.

Does this mean there is no role for community control of its environment?  No, what it means is that the power of government should be used only in circumstances, where safety is at risk.  No property owner has a right to impose a real nuisance upon its neighbors.  This idea has been corrupted to mean that any use, which lowers property value is sufficient reason to restrict property rights.  We now have government elites crafting master plans for communities.  These are planned communities.  ( Sounds like well meaning Soviet economic planning and suffers the community with the same result.  i.e. ( use shortages, resource misallocation.)  When the local government is asked to select winners and losers, the result is no better than when the national government does so.  Why, because choices  made are based upon limited existing information and with built in biases.  Capitalism is based upon a  different idea.   Individual choices made in the property owner’s best interest will result in maximum economic benefit for all.  The net result of master plans is misallocation of local resources and lost opportunity for economic growth.

Why is this capitalistic idea so universally opposed by so many?  The answer is simple.  The community believes in control and planning has been promoted in all aspects of life, so surrender to capitalism is counter intuitive and threatening because it allow uncertainty.  Residential property owners fear that a “biker bar” or a “convenience store” will be placed on their block threatening the safety of their children or a factory or commercial property increasing traffic or other pollution to a dangerous level.  These are real concerns.  Coping with them requires creation of  a more flexible method of adjudicating nuisances.  Courts and lawsuits are too slow.  Zoning boards are too easily swayed against the proposed use in our modern democratic society.  Remember NIMBY (Not in my back yard) This is why here we have a limited republican form of government.  Democracy can be as tyrannical as any dictator.  It is merely tyranny by many rather than by a few or one.  (Please think about that!  The will of the many can be as restrictive as any despot).

Zoning laws must be crafted to be minimalist in scope.  It must impose use restrictions only when there are greatly increased (demonstrable)health and safety risks.  There will be errors as with any human system.

Why do I say greatly increased risk?  Consider how past break through inventions might be perceived today in our risk averse culture.  There would be no automobiles, if a risk free environment was sought.  Who would sanction high speed projectiles hurtling through population centers with a volatile payload.  (gasoline)  Remember all economic activity engenders some risk.  The only truly risk free life is conducted under a rock in a cave with limited human interaction.  (this assumes your cave and rock are structurally sound.  Life is short, measured in days, but certain and relatively risk free).

Sure, there are now and will be errors. Please remember the community can be damaged greatly not just by the results of economic activity.  i.e. car accidents or diminished air or water quality.  Some may even lose their lives as a result of lost economic activity.  The scope and extent of this loss by decreased economic activity is indeterminable and as such is dismissed out of hand.  i. e.( it is impossible to account for the number of deaths caused by the failure to mass produce a beneficial product i.e. a pesticide or more food).  I postulate that property owner’s right must prevail absent a showing of greatly increased risk.

This sounds cold compared to the liberal platitude, which states if it costs one life the risk is too great.  The fallacy of this statement becomes evident, when it is considered in historic perspective.  Consider the number of lives that would have been lost had this standard been applied to building projects, (Yes, people die in construction) automobiles ( a big killer) or electricity production.(ever hear of an electrical fire or electrocution)  So what is right.  There is not always a clear good or bad.  I am suggesting we weigh with a presumption in favor of the property owner’s rights.  That presumption of benefit from economic freedom can only be overcome by a demonstration of greatly increased risk to the public health or safety.  Wherever possible where real concerns exist compromises should be crafted to accommodate the use, while reducing the risk to the public.  (This is not an endorsement of the status quo, where property owners are subjected to community exploitation for more parks at the owner’s expense or outright seizure by the public of a portion of the property owner’s land in exchange for a use.  Demands should be directly related to the diminution of the demonstrated risk (not just perceived risk)(remembering that some risk will always be present.)

What will result from the absence of a master community plan is growth, which will inure to the community’s benefit.  This is controversial and I expect many parents and residential property owner’s will be opposed because this approach, while promoting economic growth also promotes uncertainty of value and use.  As I indicated earlier, certainty is always the easier path and economic growth requires risk taking.  Remember along with growth comes the many benefits of a modern society.  i.e. more food, more shelter and even cleaner air and water

Your comments are welcome, whether in agreement or opposed.  No judgement here!

 

 

 

Tolerance does not require celebration or acceptance

There has been an emphasis on ”cultural inclusion”. It has been suggested that in order to be a “tolerant person”, an individual must accept and celebrate different (Non-traditional lifestyles and households) lifestyles. If you are not celebrating and encouraging different lifestyles, then you are labeled an intolerant individual and un-American. let’s set the record straight. The Oxford Dictionary defines tolerate as: ”allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with.- author’s addition -) without interference”. Please take note of the definition. It does not require one to celebrate the tolerated culture or lifestyle. Tolerance requires one to allow the culture or lifestyle to exist without interference. One need not promote or celebrate the differences. One need not allow special legal exceptions to promote or subsidize the culture or practice.

An individual is not a ”hater” because he does not believe in or wish to pRomote a practice or alternative lifestyle. An individual is allowed to believe these life choices are wrong or even sinful. Tolerance does not require acceptance or adoption of a lifestyle. I am tired of being told that we must celebrate single parenthood. This is simply not required to be tolerant.

Studies have shown that a two parent (father and mother) household is the best way to raise children. Yet we have insisted on denying the optimal way to raise children and chosen to promote and even subsidize single parent households as well as alternative lifestyle households. This celebration of cultural alternatives has become so prevalent that we now brand those, who choose not to believe in these alternative families as ”haters”. We have also silenced our clergy. We seek to use the power of government to compel acceptance. We have gone so far as to attempt to promote some alternative lifestyles as civil rights, which if denied are actionable through use of governmental force. Does anyone believe this is what our founders intended? Does anyone believe that a governmental entity should have to be involved to get a child supported? Do we need to have formulas and tax like guidelines in order to determine how to financially support our own offspring?

Obviously,those who choose to promote these choices have never had to listen to both minority and non minority men (now single fathers themselves. lament the fact that they had no father figure in their life. They have never had to hear the hurt in their voice as they spoke of life in a single family home. Don’t get me wrong.. They unanimously express love for their mother, but all express a profound sense of loss because they did not have the benefit of a loving father in their home. They all said they did not know how to be a fathers. Further they acknowledge that they have now put their offspring and the person they claimed to have loved in the same circumstance they suffered through by their absence. So the cycle continues and our self proclaimed “tolerant” society continues to celebrate single motherhood and maternal led families as if it is a new cultural norm. It is a “Women’s Issue”. They contend it is the only way women can be truly free. Meanwhile the pulpits of both the minority and non minority community remain silent. All the while society crumbles. Individuals, who could have made it financially together now flounder apart and the children continue to suffer. The politicians continue to promote programs now decades old, which purport to make government responsible for parenting. Does anyone believe these programs work? Does anyone really believe that government can replace a two parent home?

No one denies that some bad and even abusive relationships occur as do bad personal choices, but for society to continue to accept and now celebrate single parenting because some bad or abusive situations occur continues the curse that is passed down from one generation to the next. Monogamy and two parent homes must be promoted by our society. There must still be a place in society for selflessness. Life is not just about an individual’s quest for eternal bliss on earth. Life is sometimes very “real and hard” and actions do have consequences for both yourself and others. If you don’t believe that, sit in on a mandatory Court ordered parenting class.

So, I say parents tell your children, if they make children, they must find a way to live as a family and they have a duty to build a home and be a role model “for their children”. Government programs and support agencies can’t replace parents.

Actions still have consequences. SOS people, the act of sexual relations causes children. Let’s at least teach this much biology in our failing schools. Children still need two parents. If you are old enough to do the act, then you have to be old enough to take responsibility for the life you create as well as responsibility to assist the other parent in raising and nurturing “your” child/children. Pulpits can no longer be silent! The answer to procreation is not the extermination of our young, while in the womb or promotion of single parent unsustainable households,so the irresponsible pro-creators can continue in their quest for elusive happiness.

Yes, I have heard the stories of the young abandoned youth, now young men. Each would tell you of their sense of loss and many will do so, while condemning their own Offspring to the same fate by their absence.. Only we can solve this problem and it starts by understanding the real definition of tolerance. Yes, sometimes situations dictate that two individuals live apart for the safety of all, but that exceptional circumstance must not be allowed to dictate a cultural norm. Tolerance does not require celebration or even acceptance and certainly should never dictate creation of a new societal norm.

I want to hear your comments and experiences. Please share!