Selling US Short
Short finance – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
I often get the feeling that Republicans are trying to short the United States. Something about their attitude that a nation is like a corporation. So it is in their interest to lower the overall value of the US so they can make a profit.
Of course, a nation is not a corporation, it does not have stock, it has people, and selling them short will quickly lower the value of the nation.
Profits soar as oil companies victimized again by high gas prices
Daily Kos: Profits soar as oil companies victimized again by high gas prices.
Such a great headline.
Historical National Health Expenditure Data
Historical National Health Expenditure Data.
What I was actually trying to put together was a comparison of the US Health Care Costs with the payroll income. My idea is that we have $2.5T annual health care and $6.5T payroll – Health Care is 38%of payroll.
Of that $2.5T I don’t know how much is for basic health care, as opposed to advanced or elective health care. We set up a Medicare or National Health Service that covers all Americans with basic health care. Put in a payroll tax of 20% that covers Health Care and SSA. With employers matching the payroll tax, and the taxes being dedicated to health and SSA and off the federal books, we should be able to manage the costs without involving the federal budget. The States get out of the Medicaid business and folks can move from state to state without worrying about their coverage.
Of course the big problem is to determine what is ‘basic’ health care. Are heart transplants basic or advanced? Let a panel of medical professionals and former health insurance executives determine what we will cover with our system and go from there. The insurance companies can stay around to cover the advanced and elective medical needs.
PS – Since a 20% payroll tax will put a big drag on a lot of take-home pay packets, I would suggest that personal income taxes only be applied on income above the median household income, ~$50K . And then only gradually progressive.
Wage and salary disbursements
Wage and salary disbursements A576RC1 – FRED – St. Louis Fed.
Took me a while to find this. I was trying to find the total annual US payroll. I found it rather quickly a few years ago but now the payroll services are obfuscating the search engines. Plus it appears that I was looking for payroll and should have been looking for disbursements.
But there it is, $6.54T a year.
In the course of my googlings I came across the Personal consumption expenditures for the US and they run $10.37T. Interesting discrepancy between wages and salary and spending.
Health Care Rationing
The “Rationing” Switcheroo – NYTimes.com.
I agree with Paul here. If the Medicare system determines what it will or will not pay for – the basic medical care coverage – there should be nothing to preclude a patient from using their own money to get advanced or alternative medical care.
The Declaration of Independence did not declare that we have the right to life, liberty, and the all expenses paid pursuit of happiness.
Pipl – People Search
Tsunami soundtrack
I was looking for some information on the earth shifting and CNN has a short video on the tsunami impacts in Sendai. And they set it to a soundtrack – an ominous, funeral dirge sort of soundtrack. I guess it isn’t news anymore, now it is entertainment.
Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet; shifted Earths axis – CNN.com.
A discussion
I saw an interesting interview with Senator Rand Paul by Jon Stewart last night, three parts. They were actually exchanging coherent ideas.
You don’t have the right to pollute your neighbor’s air, and the air is much cleaner than it was 30 years ago. (Only some of it is the Clean Air Act?) Things are a balancing act.
There is a difference between stupidity and over-regulation. Government has a role in regulation. Congress has a role in stupidity.
Corporations aren’t going to keep themselves clean; we the people need to have some oversight. That’s what Congress is for.
Do we work to monitor the stupidity in regulation or do we get rid of regulation altogether?
Rather than taking a sledgehammer to the government, let’s debate the extent that regulations should have. Let Congress do its job and rein in the Faceless Bureaucrats as needed. But it seems that congress doesn’t want to get involved with the details and they pass laws with vague wording that requires substantial interpretation. And if the interpretation is not politically correct, the politician has a fall back position.
I thought Paul’s example of Hazmat teams needed to clean up milk spills was a bit of hyperbole, especially since he tied it to Oil Spill clean up. Did a civil servant really tie the animal fat oil in milk to petroleum? Or is someone out there making fun of the faceless bureaucracy? Or is our milk supply really hazardous? (Where are those milk inspectors when you need them?)
What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?
Philip E. Agre
via What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?.
via Sidelights
Q: What is conservatism? A: Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.
Q: What is wrong with conservatism? A: Conservatism is incompatible with democracy, prosperity, and civilization in general. It is a destructive system of inequality and prejudice that is founded on deception and has no place in the modern world.
And it really annoys me that so many Americans seem to want to elevate the President to a King.