Rant on Obama-care

This is what I think about when I think of government programs.

Programs that in essence want to do well and help out the common man but in the end become bigger and more expensive than most of the private sector. 

So many stories have come out lately that really "get my goat" and annoy me about Obama-care.  I respect the effect that Obama-care might have, i see it as another big player that if successful, may bring down the general price of insurance for everyone but from what I hear right now, the government's plans are more expensive and no one that is actually healthy and can pay into it is actually using buying in. If things don't change, It's a sure scenario for Obama-care's eventual downfall.  

I'll tell you, one of the things that really annoyed me since its inception was how there was going to be a rule that everyone had to have health insurance.  I know people will compare it to auto insurance and say it's just like that but I'd say it's very wrong and downright evil to tell everyone that they MUST buy something in order to live legally in the United States.  Not everyone has to have car insurance technically and telling me that I must buy into some kind of health insurance by 2014, is very very wrong.  At this time, my job does not provide for my health insurance.  I know from searching for personal health insurance in my past that it is super expensive.  Even with a full time job, it's going to be tough to pay for.  What right does the government have to tell you that you must spend up towards 30% (to be conservative) of your pay for health insurance when the federal and state government (here in NY) take over 30% from my paycheck already!  If someone has a long term disease or needs long term care, I'd say they need to pay for insurance and should in order to help keep health care rates down rather than show up to the ER and expect Medicare to pay but in the end of course, that's just what a lot of people who need long term care do.  And, if you're low income, you can't even contribute into or buy your own health insurance anyway.  I digress though, that's an argument for another day.

I've heard so many stories recently though, stories about people losing the insurance that they have paid into for years.  There's a relationship that comes into play between an insured and insurer there.  Most company men, I'd suspect, would say that's wrong.  Some regular folks might say as well, that in the end, companies don't care and you might still not get any help when you need it but I'd like to think there's something personal in an insurance relationship.  Not only that, but you pay into an insurance plan, there is a trust there that you have done your part and hopefully you've paid each and every month, a fair price so that when you need help, the policy will be there to help you.  After you've paid into it for a few years to a few decades, if you have to get a government policy, and if that price skyrockets, you can't help but think that you're being cheated and being forced into paying more for the same policy, less of a policy, or parts of a policy that you don't need. This really makes me mad as well.  I've been hearing a lot of stories about people that have had their policies killed off because supposedly, they don't measure up to some government ruler of insured and what they need.  In a lot of cases, the insurance policy that ends up cancelled is one that has been paid into for years and is exactly what the insured needs (give or take a little bit).  But, here's the real kicker, some people, a good percentage, are being told that one, their old policy is no longer valid, but two, that their new policy is going to be more expensive.  And what do they get for that extra cost?  NOTHING!  What else?  Because it's the law, there is no alternative and that is really sad. 

Lastly, on my rant today, I really hate the stories I've heard about more expensive government plans that may provide more care that older plans didn't but they are more expensive because they provide health care for things that the insured doesn't need!  I'm just a common man so I don't know all the details on what the government deems "must haves" for an insured's policy but one thing I have heard over and over again is that for example, maternity care, MUST be on all plans now for all women.  This has lead to the situation where many women past menopause who end up switching from an invalid plan (which didn't cover maternity) to a new one (which must cover maternity and with which they don't need) end up having to pay more because of it.  What is that?  I'd say that's gender discrimination!  Especially since you're forcing women who don't need parts of a plan to pay for it because of the simple fact that their women!  I don't know what other looney rules there are in Obama-care right now but I'm assured they'll come out sooner or later thanks to our media system, reporters that tell us everything we need to know, don't need to know, and don't care to know.  It's actually a very good thing.

Well, that's it for my rant on Obama-care tonight.  It's been building for months.  I had to say something.  What do you think?  Is this scheme actually going to end up more for good than evil when it's all said and done?  I know my usable income will be down if I end up having to buy my own health insurance, probably by a lot, not happy about that at all.  In the end, will more "healthy" people choose to go with the government and be insured and in turn, buy into the system that will have enough liquidity to take care of those who are very sick or low income?  Will health insurance companies see that this is their opportunity and provide good plans for lower prices and blow government health care to smithereens by proving what we all knew, health care is much too big a universe for a government to handle?  That's my personal take.  With all the government has to worry about and take care of, it didn't need to take on healthcare.  Since it did, it should have had a full proof plan to bring the price down, especially since the cost of being insured and the cost of healthcare are so so high right now.  I'm not foreseeing good things in the future on the healthcare front and I'm in total wonder and what the field will look like at the end of it all.  Good luck to us all!

Our Great American Experiment

8.25.2008

Well, after a short hiatus to chase some dreams, I am back with an entry for my ever popular blog. Sorry for being away so long.

What would I like to talk about first? The upcoming election of course. Not who I am going to vote for or who you should vote for but the ramifications of one outcome possible in the election and what that might mean for our future.

Just a disclaimer, some folks may not like some of the things I am going to lay out here but I feel very strongly that it's all the truth and I'm going to stick by it.

So what is this great American experiment that I want to talk about and that I am most interested in? Honestly, at this point in the election process, it looks like Barack Obama has a very good chance of winning the presidency of our United States. Although I do have some questions of his experience and what he will really do for us as citizens as far as energy and foreign policy, if he wins, I am looking forward to it. Why?

In the recent history of our country, in my point of view, the African American community has been a very troubled one. A community rooted in faith and in strength yet with many many broken families. These broken families bringing up men who don't act like responsible men and women who don't act like loving women. In turn, these broken families turn out many broken children who grow up to be gangsters (or wanna bes), criminals, or just lazy from being worn down by the constant struggle in their lives over where they think they should be, how they think they should be treated, or through thoughts of what others think of them. That's just wrong. It has been a constant recurring theme of certain neighborhoods and for some, an attitude that has actually been “passed down” from family and even some houses of worship. This must change. We've heard heroes like Bill Cosby and Tony Evans speaking to the problem secularly & sacredly yet it has not seemed to have a large effect on the population.

I for one believe that the African American community needs not better leaders but an increased number of better leaders. And not leaders that can talk the community into marches against gun violence, hatred, and staying in school by skipping school, but leaders that spur others on to be better men and women and to actually do something about it! And I might add, in a constructive way.

I think on that old cheesy show “Knight Rider” where they always said one man can make a difference. I think Obama may be that man. He's not alone though, we've all seen that his wife is a strong woman as well and might prove to be a good role model for the women as first lady. In the end, Obama may (I can't stress that word enough) be the best example for all people in our country. Time will provide the answers on that but this is the great experiment I am looking forward to examining over the next 4 years and perhaps 8 if it continues.

We definitely need change and we'll get it either way. Whether you vote for McCain or Obama, change is definitely coming. We just don't know what changes or by how great a margin. We all voted for change the last 2 times if I might say that, I think we can safely say that change was not a good one. It's the chance we take anytime we make a choice. We can only hope our choices are correct each time whether it's from a personal view or a national one.

What do I hope for if Obama wins the 2008 election though? What conclusion would I like to see at the end of this great social experiment? I would like to see the proven theory that great leadership does produce a great people and contributes to producing a great nation.

I would really like to see, if Obama wins, a strong leadership that he will have to give to the nation in order to get us back on track. I would love for him to concentrate some of his energies on being a strong leader for the African American community as well. I'd like to see him as a inspiration to that community, starting the long process of inspiring people to be better parents, kids to grow up looking toward higher goals, stressing the importance of taking responsibility and working hard to become successful as he has been. This is of course a long term longitudinal experiment though and we'll have to wait perhaps longer than 4 or 8 years to see the outcome but the changes could be so great. No matter what I think of him politically, personally, he has inspired me. I can only imagine what effect he might have on our nation or other countries.

One friend laughs when I bring this up. She believes that Obama will not make a difference no matter what. That's too bad. Perhaps we underestimate the power one person has. Even when that person is in a very important and influential position. Almost all of us want to make a difference in this world for the better, Barack's got a great head start on us all.

Political Commentary on Obama

3.18.08

Obama made a valiant effort to promote peace today. In my personal opinion, there is still plenty of racism in America today. Everyone has to straddle the fence everyday it seems in an effort for political correctness when it comes to living one's life in a way as to not promote or lead to offending others by accidentally saying something that is not PC. It feels like walking on eggshells at times. Honestly, most of the time, I try not to give it a second thought.

I understand how some people want everyone to be politically correct all the time so you don't hurt someone else's feelings but you know what? People should be stronger than that and have the common sense to know when someone is a racist and when someone is not.

I'm Asian, I make plenty of jokes about myself as well as others. People who know me usually enjoy my jokes and know that I mean nothing serious by them. People who don't know me sometimes cringe when I say something for the first time to them about how you can't wrestle money outta me because I am Chinese or how I'll eat almost anything. I make some jokes about Indian folk doing the impression of their accent but also do the same with Irish and Scottish as well, I was an improv actor in the past, what do you expect? I just love accents and the people who have them. It's not done out of malice at all but admiration. I make less jokes of the African American community just because they seem a little more touchy about it but my African American friends seem to want a relaxed society as well (to a point). As a person who pays attention to people though, interested in social issues and sociology as well, it's very interesting what Barack Obama had to do today.

Interesting but not surprising. That's right, he had to defend himself today over someone else's belief's and words. He did it well though. I for one think he got the word out that there is racism, there is reason for it, people have legitimate reasons for their views, and as individuals, we should all take and judge what people say in individual terms.

I think Obama understands why many people say and believe what they do, probably more than most of us do, but he had to make those of us who don't realize that come to our senses and do the same. We can't as people understand what others go through very easily as individuals and especially cannot if we come from different ethnicities. What he said today, if not now, will in time help us to understand each other better.

I for one do feel a bit disturbed that he had to defend himself and had to say what he said today but on the other hand, the things he said needed to be said and have not been said with such focus and clarity in such a long time. So it was an important speech, I wish we didn't need it, but also I think there was no one better in the United States today to say it.

I just want to also say that I don't intend to influence at all what people think on the upcoming election as far as who they plan to vote for, at this time I have not made my own mind up on who I will vote for, I do want to point though that people who remember and speak out about racism like nothing has ever changed just make the situation worse, perpetuating those views. Not only those who are still racist or who do nothing whom also make the situation worse. I think Obama, with what he said today, takes us back in a direction that we do want to move toward, talking about race relations reasonably and with an open mind, moving forward and making things better.