He announced today a number of initiatives to limit the ‘free-market’ activities of big banks. The implications to future profitability for those institutions (think here of JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and such) is going to be significant.

Apparently investors think things are going to get a bit darker for the ‘biggies’ as a result.  Stocks of most of them took a big hit today.

thanks to adobemac for the flickr foto

Summarizing Obama’s speech is easy.  He doesn’t want the big banks to be able to take risky bets on other people’s money.  Heck, what precipitated the recent recession if not the big banks (financial institutions) and their Las Vegas style of money management?  The President gets it.

At first I was a bit disappointed.  You know, here goes the democrats putting new regulations and restrictions on free enterprise.  But on further reflection I am inclined to take a Keynesian mock-liberal view.  Do what is best for the country.

In fact I believe the President’s action will go a long way toward limiting  future financial crises.

You see, what happened in the past few years is that financial institutions had every incentive to take the ‘big’ bets.  Low interest rates made money readily available.  The banks ability to leverage ‘our’ money made it even easier and potentially more profitability.  There seemed little or no risk to taking big bets.

Lack of regulations in that  wild-west landscape?

Even Greenspan admitted that financial executives were legally (morally?) able to operate for their best good at the expense of ‘us.’

Bottom line:  I approve of the President’s anger and response.

Financial institutions should be free to do whatever they want with their own equity (money they have put up).  But, as regards to all of ‘our’ depository money (which gave them huge additional leverage)?

Whoa cowboy, keep that money safe and even off the freaking radar of the overpaid money managers who just loved to bet ‘our’ money so they could get any spoils but not risk any of their own $$.  $20 million bonuses?  Easy money folks.  But not so much now.

Good work, Mr. President!  Keep thinking outside of the box . . . you may even be able to persuade a republican or two to consider legitimate health care reform.

President Obama faces an ‘Atlas’ moment tonight.  He intends to take the world of health care on his shoulders and influence everyone from ‘blue dog’ democrats to liberal republicans and then on to the thinking public.  The question is can he do it?

I find Barack Obama to be the most eloquent and personable President since Ronald Reagan.  He talks to the people and resonates most when he wanders from his teleprompter and just says what is on his mind.  It is a good thing too since his task tonight seems near impossible.

Not since Vietnam has a single topic caused such a great divide among the American people (and our congressmen).  The truly disappointing thing is that the need, the details and the benefits have not been communicated effectively.  In point of fact, few people really understand the issue and are just reacting to the partisan dialogue they hear from the ‘talking  heads’ on TV.  A sad commentary on America.

Atlas er, Obama must change all of this.  He has got to get the people on his side.  And to do this he must persuade or he will not change any minds.  Frankly he needs to talk about the whole issue but he must focus on the important aspects.  To whit:

1) The U.S. is the ONLY developed nation that does NOT provide health care for all of its citizens.  This is not only a huge blot on our image but a tremendously costly mistake because when the uninsured need health care they get it (at taxpayer and or health provider expense) in the most expensive and least effective place — the emergency room.  It is generally free to them BUT someone IS paying for it.

2)  Tort reform.  Our legal system practically encourages trivial and costly lawsuits.  This is exacerbated by the fact that Americans have become an ‘entitled’ people.  They think the blame is ALWAYS on someone else and that that someone else needs to pay and pay big.  Lawyers of course feed on this frenzy and extract exorbitant fees for minimal work (particularly in the case of large medical class action suits).  This needs to be stopped: for our doctors, our hospitals, and our drug companies.  We could adopt the British system of making the loser in any case pay all costs.  But,  since we have gone down this awful road for so long even more drastic action is needed.  There must be real penalties associated with the filers of unjustified lawsuits.  Obama knows this but I wonder if he will go against the powerful trail lawyers lobby?

3) There simply has to be a public component to any health care reform.  I wrote about this previously but public health clinics could work.  There are other ways too.

4)  The most important thing is that somehow the government has to step in and stop the terrible inflation of health costs and health insurance premiums (they are growing much much faster than the real inflation rate).  I can’t go into the details of this (frankly because I just don’t know how to make this happen — I really haven’t devoted time to it . . .yet) but it must happen!

5)  The reform MUST include language that will make it unlawful (with stiff penalties — kind of like the RECO law that goes after organized crime) to cancel any policy except for nonpayment with plenty of previous notice, to refuse a customer based on pre-existing conditions, to refuse drugs or treatments that could save money or lessen suffering, or to refuse treatment that is known to be effective.

6)  Insurance companies must be allowed (and in fact encouraged) to develop nation wide networks so that the competition among them is increased.  This alone could drive costs of insurance to much lower levels.

So, I hope you get the tone of this.  President Obama has a HUGE task in front of him.  It is going to take all of his rhetorical skills and about 110% of his crowd pleasing demeanor to pull it off.

I hope he does it.

You should too.

Our health care system is broken and must be fixed.  NOW . . . not with the hollow promise of considering it some time down the road (like the government always does with Social Security, but that is a problem for another day . . . whoa, I sound just like our weak and ineffective legislators!).

I will be listening intently tonight.

Hope you will be to!

thanks to flickr’s lightmatter for the photo

Your Congressmen are home and starting to find out how unpopular their proposals for universal health care really are.  No one wants higher taxes.   No one wants government intervention in their personal health care.  No one want bigger government.  No, not even the folks who voted the Prez. into office.

I’ve seen some pretty interesting videos of Congressmen in ‘town hall meetings.’  They are getting pilloried by their constituents.  As this continues for the month of August, the Dems will find out that their popularity is diminishing (well, perhaps Obama’s . . . Congress always has very low popularity numbers–should we be surprised?).

There are some ways to make health care work for everyone but NONE of them include letting the government expand and control the health care system.  ALL of them include designing ways to cut costs, include everyone and stop the insanity of vexious lawsuits that chase viable health care options away (I have written before about the British model of the loser of lawsuits paying ALL the costs — bet that would stop the ambulance chasing lawyers in their tracks!).

Ah, well.  Summer drags on, Congress is finally getting an ear full and my guess is that when they return the ONLY thing they will be able to accomplish in health care reform is some minor tweaks to the system (which ain’t all bad).  UNLESS, the Dems are willing to really sit down with the contentious,ideologue and self-serving Repubs and hammer out some kind of real compromise.

That won’t happen since all Congressmen think ONLY of keeping their cushy jobs.

Right now I predict some significant losses for the Dems in the midterm elections next year.  They have proven in a few short months that they just can’t handle success.  But, yikes, what are the other choices?  Oh my gosh, its the Repubs and their proven inability to live up to their traditional standards.  Besides, too many of our elected officials are proving to be morally handicapped.  Time for change?  You bet (think term limits once again).

Guess we are in trouble folks.

Got a solution though.

Vote for me and I will ban further elections and free press until we get a handle on all the problems.  Hey, it seems to be working for that ‘nut’ job in Venezuela and his Siamese twin in Equador (oh and that narcissist Putin).

Can’t wait for September.

thanks for the photo to epsos.de at flickr

The Prez recently admitted that he wanted a universal health plan by the end of the year.  He had been crying in the wilderness about a plan by August.  Now he seems to realize the enormity of the process and challenge.  Good for him!

I think we have hope.  If he can encourage the Democratic majority to get calm and listen to some ideas from the other side of the aisle sanity may yet rule.

However, and this is a big however, the Republican’s must come up with a vision of their own to add to the mix or just shut up (wonderful thought for both parties!).

They need to consider all options.  They  need to listen.  Then They need to legislate by committee and consensus until the Prez. stomps his foot at the end of the year.

No more taxes, no greater deficit, health care for all.  Is it possible.

Yes.  If Congress opens their doors and minds to all-comers and spends the time to put real, effective and affordable legislation together.  Of course industry has to pitch in (doctors, nurses, hospitals, insurance companies and so forth along with the public and ‘patients’).

Five months and it can be done.  Let’s just hope all of Congress takes the time to read whatever legislation comes out of the process.

They are knuckleheads (all of them really) but surely they can read and assess before voting.

If not WE will have to do it for them.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!

When I got home there was breaking news on CNBC, the Senate had passed a health care bill.  After listening for only a minute I knew there was trouble.  An MRI is nothing to worry about compared to what our government can do when they pump a bill through a veto-proof Congress.  Yikes and it only took the Dems a week or so after getting Al Franken in the Senate!

Its like magic for Obama and his obedient servants.  Mr President, you may get your wish for a bill to sign by August but if you do it WILL NOT BE A GOOD ONE.

I tell you what gentlemen and ladies, America has been trying to get a universal health care bill passed for 60 years (ever since FDR’s days).  And now we are to believe that the Dems in Congress can flush out a workable solution in just a matter of weeks?

Don’t you believe it.

Of course we still have hope for reasonable dialogue on the tough issues (how to pay for it, how to lower costs, how to ‘force’ people to signup, and so on).  But I will tell you the thing I really fear after my one minute lesson during the breaking news: 8%!!

Seems the Dems in the Senate want to force employers to pay 8% of payroll to help finance this thing (a $trillion + over the next decade . . . and that’s low).  If they are starting at 8% what are they going to end up with.

Let me give you the historical example . . . and it is a good one that is entirely relevant.

Social Security.

Hang on because this is a lesson in government, politics, economics and social theory.  One you are NOT going to like.

SS is big now, but it wasn’t to start.  Today, Social Security is the largest government program in the world, the single greatest expenditure in the federal budget (21%) and represents 37 of ALL government spending and upwards of 8% of our entire GDP!!Can you imagine if we duplicate that with the Dems universal health care bill?

Originally in 1937 (the first year the 1935  ‘Old age, survivors, and disability insurance’ Act went into affect) only 1% if wages up to $3,000 were paid by the employer and employee.  That’s $60 total.   The figures for today are 6.2% and $106,800!  That’s $13,243 total.  Now, we all understand the longterm impact of inflation but the % increase is 620%!

In the midst of the greatest recession since FDR’s time (when Social Security started) we can’t afford to ‘TAX’ our employers another 8% of their payrolls.  This is particularly true of the engine of our economic miracle . . . the small businessman(woman).

And if they want 8% not what is it going to be when they really figure our how much this is going to cost?  Are they going to tack on another 8% withholding from the employees wages?  Will it end up a 16% tax?  20%?   30%?  In a year?  Two?  Five?

These are the biggest knuckleheads in our country that we are talking about here.  Guys that do everything possible to keep getting elected again and again (like our 30+ year veterans such as Hatch, Utah, and 40+ year Kennedy, Massachusetts). They don’t know what is going on in mainstreet and they really don’t care!  They have been living ‘cushy’ loves in DC far too long.

Note:  Don’t forget that my single greatest desire for our country is to see term limits for ALL elected officials.  Do I need to keep harping on this?

Point:  we need universal health care.  We can’t be a great country without caring for ALL our people.  But . . . there are other ways and they need to be explored in more than the first few weeks and months of Obama’s 1st year in office.  Let’s do it, but let’s do it right the first time.  In a sensible economic and social way.

Our ‘leaders’ need to be creative, innovative, thoughtful and concerned. Good Universal health care just can’t be this easy.  They need to consider most, if not all, alternatives and not start with an 8% tax right off the bat.  Not in this economic environment.  Such irresponsible thinking will lead to higher unemployment and even greater social costs in the future.

We need good, well-paid doctors and health care providers, but can’t we give them tax incentives, or writeoffs of student loans for service to God and Country?

There aren’t millions of people NOT getting medical care in this country (the double negative is intentional for affect . . . did it work?).  Those that need care get it and providers as well as taxpayers are paying for it already.  Can’t we figure out how to take those costs and build them into the system?

American’s tend to treat injuries and diseases.  Can’t we be more proactive and preventative in our care to reduce costs?  What about expensive tests?  Like my $1400 MRI today.  Do we really need all these or are Doctors just protecting themselves from the costly lawsuits filed by greedy lawyers?  Can’t we limit medical malpractice suits?  Like the loser being forced to pay all costs?

We have to find a better way.

Come to think of it, I might see if my doctor will order up a CatScan so I can have another couple hours to think on this.  Why not?  Our current system has no controls, no reasonable bounds, and it sure doesn’t make sense to the millions of people waiting tens of millions of hours in doctors offices every year (my personal record is a three hour wait for a 4 minute visit with a doctor).

How does any of this make sense?

Doesn’t unless you care.

So contact your congressmen and let them know you won’t stand for a ‘quickie’ bill pushed through by the Democratic majority. Not that the Republicans have offered any real alternatives.

Get a committe together of the top minds in all the related fields, put them in a room with nothing to eat but buttered popcorn and diet Pepsi.  For a week.  Bet they will come up with some great ideas.  Fast!

Let’s take the time to craft something really good, really innovative, really effective, really American!!

Thanks for your time and I hope you don’t have to get an MRI anytime soon!

Thanks to muffet of Flickr for the photo of an older ‘enclosed’ MRI