An acquaintance of mine, who is the true definition of a “low information voter”, said that she almost took a photo of her absentee ballot to rub it my face that she is voting for Romney. This acquaintance went on to state that she just heard that Romney is leading in the popular vote for the election. (Irrelevant of course even if true—please see Bush v. Gore in 2000). And this particular person happens to be of childbearing age whose spouse is a government worker. The same type of workers that Republicans are trying to limit the collective bargaining rights of their unions and privatize their wages down to “market rates.” (Note to acquaintance: that will not be anywhere near the take home pay and benefits you now enjoy.)
This is what we are faced with in this election. Voters who will go to the polls that do not read a newspaper, do not tune into the news (of course the latest episode of “Reality Show Trash, Season 5” is a must see), and have almost no basic knowledge of the policies that effect them and the country the most.
How could any childbearing age woman vote for a Republican after what has been thoroughly documented in the last 18 months? Trans-vaginal probes? Check. “Legitimate” rape? Check. Employers choosing whether women can have contraception covered in their insurance? Check. Voting against the Lilly Ledbetter Act (for those of you low information voters that have got this far—not likely I know—that’s the equal pay for women legislation the President signed) and having the current party standard bearer dodge every question about it. Even at a town hall debate to a voter staring him in the eyes? CHECK! Rape is God’s will. Ch—what??? Really?
Yes, really.
Let’s take foreign policy. Let’s forget for a moment about the last time Romney left the country and insulted our greatest ally in England, incited and insulted Palestinians by saying their culture is inferior to Israelis, and refusing to answer not one question by reporters in Poland then having aides curse at said reporters for asking questions. Whew! And that was just in one week! Romney stated that Iran is tied to Syria because Iran uses Syria for a route to the sea. Um, excuse me but Iran has 1520 miles of coastline. (More than the distance from San Diego to Seattle.) Romney has apparently stated this four times on the campaign trail and at the final debate. FOUR TIMES. Who in his entourage is NOT correcting him? Other than that, he completely agrees with Obama on foreign policy. (Check back tomorrow to see if he still does depending on what audience he is speaking to.)
How about the economy? Romney states that he knows what to do to turn the economy around. But he wants to go back (and then some) to the Bush policies that collapsed the economy in the first place. Romney states that the President “picks losers like Solyndra half the time.” Fact check alert: Only 5 of 67 companies that received significant federal funds has gone bankrupt. That’s roughly 8%. What, you say, is Romney’s record for picking “losers” in the private sector? 22%. That's right, 22% of companies that Romney invested in at Bain have gone bankrupt or are out of business. How’s that for picking losers Mitt? President Obama has guided the country to 30 straight months of job growth while overseeing the reversal of 750,000 jobs being lost in January of 2009 with 5.2 million jobs gained since.
Romney is basically saying we should go back to all of the policies of 2001-2008. No thanks. My memory is good enough to remember 2008 unlike roughly 50% of the electorate apparently.
How anyone in Ohio or Michigan or anyone living in a state that is dependent upon the automobile industry can vote for Romney apparently hates Obama even more than themselves. If Romney had his way we’d be driving BYD’s right now. (That’s one of the top Chinese carmakers). And even if you aren’t directly employed by the automobile industry, I’ll give you a quick economics lesson: The guy who works for a car company spends money in your pizzeria, and your barber shop, and your dry cleaner, or buys the product the company you work for sells. The money he or she makes, is your income. And so on, and so forth. Without the bailout that Obama stewarded, Michigan and Ohio would look like a movie scene out of one of those old western ghost towns with tumbleweeds blowing through the streets.
So, this election is not just about the fact you don’t want to vote for the black guy because he doesn’t look like the 43 Presidents that came before him. (I’m talking to you white middle-aged voter making $55,000 a year!) This election is actually about how smart and informed you really are. If you really think that there are different categories of rape and that letting Detroit go bankrupt was a good idea or that Iran is a landlocked country, then America as a whole loses this National IQ test on November 6th.
The only difference is, if we don’t get this test right, we will be living with the bad report card for decades to come. Time to cram for the final exam America. You still have time to not be as stupid as the rest of the world thinks we are.
Now turn off Jersey Shore and go read a newspaper.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Are Capitalism and Socialism Mutually Exclusive?
A big part of the health care scare tactics enacted by the Right is that a government run public option would lead us to (gasp!) Socialism!
I just got back from a two week stint in Spain. It was my ninth time I have been in Europe and every time I go I'm astounded at how happy the people are, how relaxed they are, and how few people I see on the streets of the major capitals panhandling. Maybe it's because people in Europe don't have to worry about losing their house if they get sick, or that their kids' college tuition will be paid for or not. Who knows, it could just be the great wine and cheese and all of that people watching (instead of TV watching).
Now I know that only about 18% of Americans have passports (which is completely embarrassing), and that most of the people in these town halls have never been out of the country, let alone their own state or county. And even here in my home city of NYC, most of the people who boast of being "Italian" or "Irish" have never been to either actual country and have no clue about who their ancestors really are. But let's take a look at some of the western so called "socialist" countries and see how we stack up.
We spend more than double the amount on health care than the other top industrialized nations do per capita. We come in at $6,714 per capita — more than double the median per capita expenditure ($2,824) of the 30 industrialized nations that form the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The closest European country behind us is Norway at $4,520, followed by Switzerland at $4,311. Each of these countries is a high spender by European standards but represents only about 67 percent of what the US spends.
Spending on pharmaceuticals in the US is double that in Europe and Canada because the prices in the U.S. are higher, not necessarily because we use more drugs. We also use expensive technology to a much greater extent than others. In addition, many health-related industries in the United States are private, for-profit, and often traded publicly. Essentially no other country has the number of for-profit organizational arrangements in health care. Although some think the United States has the largest number of doctors, we actually have fewer physicians per 1,000 population than the European average (2.4 vs. 3.1), about the same number of nurses per 1,000 (10.5 vs. 9.7), and fewer hospital beds per 1,000 (2.7 vs. 3.9). Generally speaking, Americans spend less time in the hospital and go to the doctor less frequently, but we pay higher prices for the same medical goods and services, and this makes our overall spending higher. i*
Another reason our health care costs so much is because we don't have a single payer system that allows the government (or other functioning advocates) to negotiate the prices of these drugs and services. The prescription drug bill that was passed under the Bush Administration banned this from happening insuring that the cost of pharmaceuticals would remain at the highest retail price to consumers. Apparently what Wal-Mart does (buy in bulk, negotiate the best price to pass on to consumers) is perfectly fine for the cheap garbage you "need" there, but applying the same principles to what you REALLY need is not. If that's what capitalism is, I think we need to re-evaluate things.
The United States ranks 35th in life expectancy in the world. Behind over 15 European countries, four Asian nations, and two African countries. All either democratically elected socialist states, or communist states.
Since we all know that the southern US and bible belt is where all the virtuous people of the nation reside (cough, cough, ahem!), its surprising to know that a higher rate of teen pregnancy, domestic abuse and divorce occur in this region. And compared with the rest of the world, the US is way behind our counterparts in Europe in regard to teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and violent crimes.
Along with the number of uninsured (or those insured whose insurance companies leave them out in the cold) and with the US unemployment reaching nearly 10% is perhaps the reason the number of US bankruptcies has risen 60% since last year. Compared to other countries’ bankruptcy information and filing statistics, we lead the pack: 43% in Spain, 35% in the United Kingdom, and 28% in France. Bankruptcies have been much slighter in Germany and Japan whose numbers have increased by 17 and 18 percent, respectively. All of these nations do not have bankruptcies as a result of healthcare. On the other hand, 60% of US bankruptcies are a result of health related debts.
One thing I always notice in Europe, with all of the differences (for better or worse), is how much Europe resembles the US. Entrepreneurism is everywhere. Commercialism is abundant and sometimes even more in your face than in the US. There are groceries on the shelves, people packed in the cafes and restaurants and night clubs, and construction projects abound. All of this in one of the greatest downturns economically in decades. Yet, if you ask the average American, you would think that the socialist governments in Europe are some backwards fascist states where you wait for hours at the hospital, there are no food on the shelves, and that you lack "freedoms" you have here in the US.
My argument would be the opposite. I think that people living in the European Union actually have MORE freedom than a large portion of US citizens. They have the "freedom" to see a doctor at no cost and seek world class care whether they are employed or not, have a preexisting condition or not, or have the money...or not. Subsequently, they have "freedom" from going bankrupt from a health care related incident in their lives that affect so many Americans as I stated above. They also have educational "freedom" as well, and the "freedom" from the debt that so many American students coming out of college are saddled with.
To the fiscal conservatives out there who are saying "Yeah, but they pay so much more in taxes!!!" Well, my short sighted friends, one way or another you are still paying for it. When your neighbor across town who doesn't have health insurance gets admitted into the emergency room, YOU are the one that eventually pays for it. Want your kid to attend college? YOU actually pay for it anyway. Just like you pay property taxes for schools in your community or a library or the fire and police department. Why not pay a little more in taxes and insure that you won't lose that house you've been paying property taxes on and add a few more services that help the community you live in?
So wouldn't it make sense to band together as an advanced, wealthy society and say: "Enough! I want to live in a society where everyone has the same access to health care and education as everyone else because that makes the place where I reside that much better! I will pay more in taxes, along with everyone else, because I end up paying for all of these things anyway, and sometimes more! Enough!"?
Michael Moore's movie Capitalism: A Love Story (and I'm a big fan of Michael Moore by the way), states that capitalism is evil. I don't think it's that simple. Conventional capitalism is a component in all successful, wealthy countries regardless of their governmental and social sway. What is wrong with capitalism is human nature. When we inject greed and human nature into industries that are for the public good they become detrimental to the needs of the very humans that it is designed to help. We wouldn't run our fire departments for profit and we shouldn't for health care. Regulation of Capitalism, that has been the great engine of the industrial and technological revolutions, is what is needed. Especially on Wall Street!
In Spain, I was having a drink at the hotel bar and a Swedish couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. The wife was a general practicioner, and the husband was a psychiatrist. They were well spoken (with English probably being their 2nd or 3rd language), healthy, youthful and very happy. When I asked them if they would rather make the kind of money they could in the US but that 20% of their fellow Swedes would go without medical care and therefore be subjected to bankruptcies they immediately answered: "NO! We are happy and comfortable, we are staying here in a great hotel and taking a cruise to Italy tomorrow. Why do we need more?"
When we can learn that in the US that we can have both capitalism and socialism under the umbrella of a representative democratic government is when we will truly be on the path of maturing as a nation. Like the Swedes, or the Spanish or the rest of the industrialized world.
Until then, we will be the nation who had it all. We look great, but never lived up to our potential. Kind of like the Anna Kournakova of nations.
I think I'll pass.
Damon Alexander is a freelance writer living in NYC.
*i Governing Online, Arthur Garson & Carolyn L. Engelhard
I just got back from a two week stint in Spain. It was my ninth time I have been in Europe and every time I go I'm astounded at how happy the people are, how relaxed they are, and how few people I see on the streets of the major capitals panhandling. Maybe it's because people in Europe don't have to worry about losing their house if they get sick, or that their kids' college tuition will be paid for or not. Who knows, it could just be the great wine and cheese and all of that people watching (instead of TV watching).
Now I know that only about 18% of Americans have passports (which is completely embarrassing), and that most of the people in these town halls have never been out of the country, let alone their own state or county. And even here in my home city of NYC, most of the people who boast of being "Italian" or "Irish" have never been to either actual country and have no clue about who their ancestors really are. But let's take a look at some of the western so called "socialist" countries and see how we stack up.
We spend more than double the amount on health care than the other top industrialized nations do per capita. We come in at $6,714 per capita — more than double the median per capita expenditure ($2,824) of the 30 industrialized nations that form the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The closest European country behind us is Norway at $4,520, followed by Switzerland at $4,311. Each of these countries is a high spender by European standards but represents only about 67 percent of what the US spends.
Spending on pharmaceuticals in the US is double that in Europe and Canada because the prices in the U.S. are higher, not necessarily because we use more drugs. We also use expensive technology to a much greater extent than others. In addition, many health-related industries in the United States are private, for-profit, and often traded publicly. Essentially no other country has the number of for-profit organizational arrangements in health care. Although some think the United States has the largest number of doctors, we actually have fewer physicians per 1,000 population than the European average (2.4 vs. 3.1), about the same number of nurses per 1,000 (10.5 vs. 9.7), and fewer hospital beds per 1,000 (2.7 vs. 3.9). Generally speaking, Americans spend less time in the hospital and go to the doctor less frequently, but we pay higher prices for the same medical goods and services, and this makes our overall spending higher. i*
Another reason our health care costs so much is because we don't have a single payer system that allows the government (or other functioning advocates) to negotiate the prices of these drugs and services. The prescription drug bill that was passed under the Bush Administration banned this from happening insuring that the cost of pharmaceuticals would remain at the highest retail price to consumers. Apparently what Wal-Mart does (buy in bulk, negotiate the best price to pass on to consumers) is perfectly fine for the cheap garbage you "need" there, but applying the same principles to what you REALLY need is not. If that's what capitalism is, I think we need to re-evaluate things.
The United States ranks 35th in life expectancy in the world. Behind over 15 European countries, four Asian nations, and two African countries. All either democratically elected socialist states, or communist states.
Since we all know that the southern US and bible belt is where all the virtuous people of the nation reside (cough, cough, ahem!), its surprising to know that a higher rate of teen pregnancy, domestic abuse and divorce occur in this region. And compared with the rest of the world, the US is way behind our counterparts in Europe in regard to teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and violent crimes.
Along with the number of uninsured (or those insured whose insurance companies leave them out in the cold) and with the US unemployment reaching nearly 10% is perhaps the reason the number of US bankruptcies has risen 60% since last year. Compared to other countries’ bankruptcy information and filing statistics, we lead the pack: 43% in Spain, 35% in the United Kingdom, and 28% in France. Bankruptcies have been much slighter in Germany and Japan whose numbers have increased by 17 and 18 percent, respectively. All of these nations do not have bankruptcies as a result of healthcare. On the other hand, 60% of US bankruptcies are a result of health related debts.
One thing I always notice in Europe, with all of the differences (for better or worse), is how much Europe resembles the US. Entrepreneurism is everywhere. Commercialism is abundant and sometimes even more in your face than in the US. There are groceries on the shelves, people packed in the cafes and restaurants and night clubs, and construction projects abound. All of this in one of the greatest downturns economically in decades. Yet, if you ask the average American, you would think that the socialist governments in Europe are some backwards fascist states where you wait for hours at the hospital, there are no food on the shelves, and that you lack "freedoms" you have here in the US.
My argument would be the opposite. I think that people living in the European Union actually have MORE freedom than a large portion of US citizens. They have the "freedom" to see a doctor at no cost and seek world class care whether they are employed or not, have a preexisting condition or not, or have the money...or not. Subsequently, they have "freedom" from going bankrupt from a health care related incident in their lives that affect so many Americans as I stated above. They also have educational "freedom" as well, and the "freedom" from the debt that so many American students coming out of college are saddled with.
To the fiscal conservatives out there who are saying "Yeah, but they pay so much more in taxes!!!" Well, my short sighted friends, one way or another you are still paying for it. When your neighbor across town who doesn't have health insurance gets admitted into the emergency room, YOU are the one that eventually pays for it. Want your kid to attend college? YOU actually pay for it anyway. Just like you pay property taxes for schools in your community or a library or the fire and police department. Why not pay a little more in taxes and insure that you won't lose that house you've been paying property taxes on and add a few more services that help the community you live in?
So wouldn't it make sense to band together as an advanced, wealthy society and say: "Enough! I want to live in a society where everyone has the same access to health care and education as everyone else because that makes the place where I reside that much better! I will pay more in taxes, along with everyone else, because I end up paying for all of these things anyway, and sometimes more! Enough!"?
Michael Moore's movie Capitalism: A Love Story (and I'm a big fan of Michael Moore by the way), states that capitalism is evil. I don't think it's that simple. Conventional capitalism is a component in all successful, wealthy countries regardless of their governmental and social sway. What is wrong with capitalism is human nature. When we inject greed and human nature into industries that are for the public good they become detrimental to the needs of the very humans that it is designed to help. We wouldn't run our fire departments for profit and we shouldn't for health care. Regulation of Capitalism, that has been the great engine of the industrial and technological revolutions, is what is needed. Especially on Wall Street!
In Spain, I was having a drink at the hotel bar and a Swedish couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. The wife was a general practicioner, and the husband was a psychiatrist. They were well spoken (with English probably being their 2nd or 3rd language), healthy, youthful and very happy. When I asked them if they would rather make the kind of money they could in the US but that 20% of their fellow Swedes would go without medical care and therefore be subjected to bankruptcies they immediately answered: "NO! We are happy and comfortable, we are staying here in a great hotel and taking a cruise to Italy tomorrow. Why do we need more?"
When we can learn that in the US that we can have both capitalism and socialism under the umbrella of a representative democratic government is when we will truly be on the path of maturing as a nation. Like the Swedes, or the Spanish or the rest of the industrialized world.
Until then, we will be the nation who had it all. We look great, but never lived up to our potential. Kind of like the Anna Kournakova of nations.
I think I'll pass.
Damon Alexander is a freelance writer living in NYC.
*i Governing Online, Arthur Garson & Carolyn L. Engelhard
Monday, September 14, 2009
God, Guns, Gays...and Health Care?
One of the non-surprises politically of the summer was the plaintiff wail from the red states and the conservative Christian right over health care reform.
You really have to hand it to Republicans though. When they have a cause, no matter how outlandish or wrong or detrimental to the nation or themselves, they can organize and spread propaganda with surgical precision. (Pun intended.) It still amazes me though how middle of the road people from the middle of the country with middle class "values" (whatever that means) can vote for, support, and be led towards something that is inherently against their best interests.
That is where the genius of the republican fear mongering machine lies. Getting impressionable people who may be reasonable in other aspects of their lives to rile against something that not only is against their deeply held religious beliefs, (helping the poor, treating thy neighbor as you would yourself, etc. etc.), but against their own physical and economic health is something truly cultish.
Drinking this form of Kool-Aid has some circular logic to it of course. The law-makers on the right and in the "blue", have their own horse in the race. That is keeping their job. Or, more bluntly: getting the money to campaign effectively to get votes to keep their job. The Kool-Aid in the form of millions of dollars being poured into the laps of these politicians is being passed down and distributed from those who have the most to lose: the insurance companies. And the deluge of sugar water finds its way into the talking points of the politicians (as far back as the 60's with Reagan, backed by the AMA), to the pundits and repeated over and over again in these "town hall" meetings. (I put "town hall" in quotes because they are actually just staged, scripted , shout fests designed to show up on Fox News to demonstrate the so called conscience of the nation.) So in essence, this comes back to not just health care reform, but the root problem of campaign finance reform. But I will address that glaring problem in our democracy at another time.
In previous election cycles whenever the GOP wanted to distract the base into voting against their best interests they went back to their tried and true forms of fear. God, Guns, and Gays. "Fear the atheists from the north, they are trying to erode your values with their liberalism!" Or the more familiar screed from another Kool-Aid mixer, The NRA, that the government wants to take your guns, then your liberty, then your life away. The slippery slope doctrine. Or that homosexuals are going to come into your communities and turn your children gay and maybe even (gasp!) get married!
But in this premature election cycle (The right's attempt to bring down a keystone policy and campaign promise from the newly elected democratic president in order to make gains in the 2010 mid-term election) it has been about something more than slippery slopes and unsubstantiated fear. We have been sliding down this slope for a long time now. Not only is our physical health at stake (for all of us, the insured or non-insured) but our national fiscal health is at stake as well.
This is where the true hypocrisy of the republican party shows through to those who are not blinded by Rush and Hannity and can think for themselves. When it came time for the Iraq war, and the huge cost of both our blood and treasure that would ensue, or tax cuts for the richest Americans who didn't need it, or the bailouts of the financial industry (both for the Bush and Obama administrations) there was hardly any outcry about the ballooning deficit. And there was certainly no outcry from the right for the more than $800 Billion prescription drug bill that did little more than reduce competition and put even more money into hands of pharmaceutical companies and the insurance industry while putting Medicare at risk of insolvency for later generations. Ask your Senior citizen relatives if they got any real benefit out of that bloated "government program" orchestrated by the ever fiscally conservative republicans.
All of the misinformation about "Death Panels" and "health care rationing" not to mention the illegal immigrant "lie", is just smoke and mirrors to protect a pol's job. It's the machinery that keeps the pundits and tea party goers with something to talk about and distract even them from something that is for the betterment of society, and yes, even themselves! In the "Me" world of conservatism, you would think comprehensive health care reform would serve both the needs of serving oneself and adhering to those Christian tenants they are so quick to quote but rarely adhere to.
So what this really comes down to is self preservation. For the politicians that is. Not the 18,000 people who will die this year because they don't have health coverage. Or the countless others who will die from being denied coverage from their insurance companies. These politicians have taken all the money they are receiving and directed it to telling people that you don't need something that can assure you that you won't go bankrupt and lose your house (or your life) if you get sick or lose your job. Spending money on far away wars that proved to be unnecessary is fine, but getting something tangible that can make a difference in your life, well, that is unacceptable and worth screaming on national television over. Whatever the fiscal costs may or may not be.
If these same people who fear the eroding of their moral religious values, and the restrictions on their beloved guns, and the infiltration of gays into their "straight" society would have that same fear over something that can actually destroy their lives, we would have had health care 16 years ago. No one is going to go bankrupt over a gay couple moving in down the street. No one is going to die from not getting proper care because you have to wait for a background check on the next gun you want to purchase. And whatever religious values you hold dear will not be affected by your neighbor having access to the same health care you do.
Maybe what democrats need to do is start feeding into these same fears in the same way the GOP does. It seems to be the only thing people know or respond to.
Damon Alexander is a freelance writer who lives in NYC.
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