They're Dropping Like Flies

Incumbent legislators, that is. At a rate of about 3 per week, they're deciding not to seek re-election. It appears that the flood gates have really opened wide since the election of Scott Brown in MA. 

So this whole blogging thing is new to me, I see that there are no "followers" -- whatever that means.  I know someone has read and commented.  It's probably my sister -- at least someone cares. Assuming there are others of you, it's time to spread the word some.

With the congressional exodus that seems o be occurring, imagine filling each of these vacancies with someone who will actually work for "we the people"?   Electing just one non-incumbent from each state, regardless of whether to the house or the senate could have a profound impact on how the government works. 

I know, this isn't some new revelation of an idea.  The thing that sets it apart is that it's not party driven.  Dems, GOP, Green, Independent, all irrelevant!  We simply need honest, and respectable; someone with eyes wide open who is motivated by conscience and consensus rather that the almighty dollar.

So if there are any experienced bloggers out there who are reading mine, and agree that we need to put the 'the people' back in Washington, please help spread the word, recommend other similar minded blogs that I might follow.  At the warp spreed of the 'information super-highway" (God, does that term make me sound like a techno-dinosaur!), we could have a nationwide network in just a few days.

Help give the hopeless some hope.....

And on to health care reform....

Where does one begin.  Does everyone deserve health care?  Yes if they contribute to society in some way, no if they sit around with their hand out and give nothing back.  We keep hearing about socialism.  The least editorial definition I could find, believe it or not, came from the all knowing Wikipedia:  

Socialism refers to the various theories of economic organization advocating common or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended.

By this very definition, the implication is that EVERYONE produces and is compensated accordingly. Based on that principal, we would still have millions of folks without health care. So, a socialist approach won't work, because quite frankly, too many Americans simply don't work. 

Why is health care and medical insurance so unaffordable?

Doctors and hospitals must charge enough to pay ridiculous malpractice insurance premiums.  Pharmaceuticals are extremely expensive in the US. Health insurance companies need to meet the expectations of their investors as they gamble with premiums.

Why is malpractice insurance so costly?  Law suits of course.  Who benefits from the law suits, lawyers who earn fat contingencies.

Why are prescription drugs so expensive?  Because they can be.  And, they have to be in order to pay for all the TV ads telling us how badly we all need them.

And health insurance premiums?  Insurance companies rate their success on the claims they don't pay. In simple numbers, if premiums total $1,000,000, and claims total $500,000, the insurance company has plenty of money to pay its investors.  In order to achieve this result, subscribers are screened, approved, and charged premiums based on the statistics of how healthy (unlikely to make a claim) they are.  If statistics and the law of averages don't work out to the benefit of the insurance provider's bottom line, they simply raise rates to make up for the 'loss'.

According to OpenSecrets.org,  in 2009, 5 of the top 20  lobbying groups by spending represent health care.  Their total contributions amounted to $112,712,403.00.  Two of the five represent the pharmaceutical industry, one is a national health insurance company, one is the American Medical Association, and the fifth is the American Hospital Association.

Now with a government that regulates everything from air travel to firearms to food in the name of health and safety, why would they allow drug and insurance companies take advantage of the American public?  Money talks.
 
What might fix the problem?

Campaign finance reform, tort reform, (by the way, if you add up all the money from individual  lawyers and their lobby they would top the list in total dollars with nearly $60 million.  Thank God they amass all those malpractice contingencies to keep their lobby going.), and some insurance industry regulations in the best interest of the American people -- not investors and politicians' pockets.

Maybe we the people should reform government, and health care reform will be serendipitous by-product. 

So lets get started. with the bank bailout......

Imagine if all of our tax dollars were spent to hire (yup actually create jobs) a force of reviewers to meet with homeowners in mortgage trouble. These reviewers could have assessed the financial situation and developed a plan for our tax dollars to buy down the principal on the mortgage creating a more affordable payment for the homeowner.  Buying down the principal,  would have put money back in the banking system.  By placing a first position lien on the property our money would have been paid back upon the sale of the residence. People would have kept their home, banks would have had capital to lend back to the tax payers, and with the reduction in foreclosures, the real estate market might have actually stabilized.

But no..... instead of our money being used to prop up the industry at its very foundation, with the taxpayers coming first, our money was disbursed from the top down.  No jobs, homeowners still in trouble, banks still being tight with the money, foreclosures abounding. 

Some of you may remember the trickle down theory.....  History repeats itself.

Bred from hopelessness

Welcome to the Forum for the Silent Majority

I have always exercised my right to free speech (some call it my soapbox) at gatherings of friends, family and acquaintances -- you know, the personal touch.

Luckily for everyone but my husband, they're not around when I read the daily paper each morning.  I generally rant and rave about the stupidity of the press for not telling the whole story, the arrogance of 'our government' trying to protect us from ourselves, and generally just how hopeless I am feeling about our future.

Health care reform, the mess in middle east, our dependency on foreign oil, both the national and world economies, the environment, no matter which way you turn, it just really seems hopeless. It is that hopelessness that has inspired me to blog......

Bear with me, I'm a virgin blogger.  Never wrote one, and never read one.

So into the 21st Century I delve.  

• I know there are millions of like minds out there who think we should have smaller government that caters to 'we the people' rather than the almighty campaign dollar.  
• Millions of people who agree that we need health care reform, but not at the expense of hard working Americans while the pharmaceutical, and insurance industry makes a financial killing.  
• Millions who want big business OUT of government and 'we the people' back in the driver's seat.

I could go one and on,  but I'm sure you get the picture.

So, in the interest of hope from the hopeless, let the forum begin, someone is bound to hear us, and if there are enough of us, they might even listen!