Archive for the ‘Smart Ideas’ Category

Energy Independence, now is the time.

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

The current BP oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico presents the leadership of the US an opportunity to push for energy independence. Our US society is dependent on abundant, inexpensive, and portable energy in order to sustain our consumer society and economy. After Katrina and the rise of oil to over 100$ a barrel, the US saw what life would be like with either little or very expensive energy. With the typical price per gallon over $4, the middle and lower class workers greatly reduced their travel which immediately resulted in lower economic activity. This effect was short lived as the global recession in 2007 greatly eased the demand and prices quickly went back to their pre-Katrina prices but not before giving everyone a look over the edge.

What else is at stake? America has tied up a lot of money in debt. We have tried to stimulate the economy through tax cuts, used social programs and incentives to help those in need, and tried to secure the middle east in order to ensure the availability of oil/power and generally being a world power. It has all added up to a lot of debt which could strangle the US to death if the foreign powers that hold those loans call them in or raise the interest rate. We need energy independence. World Police, sure we can do that. But the pressure to have military presences in foreign countries in order to maintain stability, peace, whatever, would be lifted. The world would be more black and white. If Darfur or Rwanda had oil, those atrocities would have never happened.

Bottom line, its coming. Regardless of the advances in technologies the use of petroleum as a primary fuel source for energy will in our life times end. And it will take 5-10 years to roll out whatever new technology takes its place. You have those that buy the first generation and those that have to wait for the first generation to sell theirs to the rest of us, the trickle down affect. So now is the time. Green is a huge industry, but it needs a push. It needs leadership and it needs to be a money generating initiative. Incentives, tax breaks, whatever…the more people research it, build it, and use it (whatever it may be) the faster we can adopt it and move on so we can focus on America being America and less about worrying where our next barrel of oil is coming from.

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The Health Care Argument

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

When you are born into this world…you have nothing. Immediately you are taken into the care of your parents who, as part of our society’s values, are responsible and will look after you until either you leave to live your own life (or they kick you out). You still have your parents and family to fall back on but once you are an adult, your care is yours to manage. Relationships, careers, expenses, it’s yours. All that freedom you complained about not having as a budding young person is now yours for the taking. You can succeed or you can fail and in your early years you will do a little bit of both. If all goes well you will build great relationships, successful careers, and amass a fortune to retire and live out your days enjoying the spoils of your hard work, living like a child (doing whatever you want), and spoiling your kids and/or grand kids rotten.

How does Health Care tie in to this perfect life? Well, there are two types of health care: regular and life threatening. Regular health care is the normal day to day cold, allergies, broken arm kind of stuff. Annoying and can be a set back but you will live to see another day. Life threatening, well that’s stuff like strokes, cancer, and other terminal or life changing diseases or ailments. Life threatening is the only type of health care that matters because if you cannot get it, you are dead. There is no tomorrow, there is nothing except the afterlife (assuming of course that you believe).

Health Care is expensive. Like REALLY expensive. Unless you are rich or lucky enough to have health insurance you or someone in your immediate family run the risk of dying due to not having the opportunity to get adequate treatment. Do you get it now? Well for many the answer is no. There is a great divide in America between the haves and the have nots which has been blurred and hidden by the media and marketing. America’s economy is sustained by its people’s willingness in spending money which today in 2010 is made up of 60% working and lower class workers. That is people making $32,000 or less. A spend economy. Add into that spend lifestyle the cost of family and living and even with a multiple income household the incoming money barely makes the ends meet.

But Why? Because rich people like being rich. There is a gap between doing the right thing and doing what is right for the fortunate few. America spent 2.5 Trillion or about 8K per person (including kids) just in health care last year. That’s around $650 a month that either you or together with your employer pays an insurance company. America is letting greed win. Half of all bankruptcies in the United Stated of America are due to health care financial burden. This fact is disputed but it is easy to see that spending $200,000 dollars treating cancer (give or take a couple hundred thousand dollars) can break the bank. Remember over half of America is under $32,000 and is spending everything they earn to keep the American economy and way of life going!

Ask yourself:

  • What is the right thing to do?
  • What is the moral thing to do?
  • Should Health Care be a right in America?

When faced with the possibility of death, we would do anything to escape it. People that are not as fortunate, who have limited resources, face this grim reality. If you take care of yourself and are lucky, you will live a long and healthy life. Otherwise you will sacrifice your dignity, your savings, and ultimately your life trying to get the same care others take for granted. Not deadbeats or people scamming the system but people who pay their bills, who have done their part to better society, and have prayed to god only to face the unfortunately reality that it literally takes money to ‘live’ in America.

Health Care should be a right that all Americans have and enjoy. It is the right thing, it is the moral thing, and it is the humane thing to do. Dying because you just didn’t have the money to live is just not the American way.

Look up ‘Social Class in the United States‘, ‘Health Care in the United States‘, and ‘Tax Rates around the World‘ to read more about the economic gap, our Health Care efforts, and what other countries pay in taxes versus the services they receive.

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