23 March 2012
The Value of Ryan's Plan
Of course, it’s valuable to have a reasoned alternative plan for reforming our health care system to the Affordable Care Act; that’s the way it can be made more effective. Unfortunately, the Republicans weren’t in the mood for reasoned compromise when the Act was drafted and passed two years ago, and the Republican candidates for office this year don’t seem to be any more disposed to compromise either. The House Democrats under Pelosi, too, were unwilling to make concessions that might have made the Act more palatable to conservative congressmen. Now we’re left with a deadlocked federal government, frustrating many of us, including effective legislators like Olympia Snowe.
Irreconcilable views are the nemesis of effective government. I don’t believe Paul Ryan is that hard-nosed, but his party and those who oppose the Obama administration have cast his plan into a sledgehammer that they seem to want to use to break up any practical reform of our fiscal programs, starting with Medicare and Medicaid. I hope that the re-elected Obama administration will find a way to collaborate with a smart guy like Ryan to complete workable healthcare, tax, and other reforms over the next four or five years.
Of course, it’s valuable to have a reasoned alternative plan for reforming our health care system to the Affordable Care Act; that’s the way it can be made more effective. Unfortunately, the Republicans weren’t in the mood for reasoned compromise when the Act was drafted and passed two years ago, and the Republican candidates for office this year don’t seem to be any more disposed to compromise either. The House Democrats under Pelosi, too, were unwilling to make concessions that might have made the Act more palatable to conservative congressmen. Now we’re left with a deadlocked federal government, frustrating many of us, including effective legislators like Olympia Snowe.
Irreconcilable views are the nemesis of effective government. I don’t believe Paul Ryan is that hard-nosed, but his party and those who oppose the Obama administration have cast his plan into a sledgehammer that they seem to want to use to break up any practical reform of our fiscal programs, starting with Medicare and Medicaid. I hope that the re-elected Obama administration will find a way to collaborate with a smart guy like Ryan to complete workable healthcare, tax, and other reforms over the next four or five years.
18 March 2012
What Americans Elect Should Do
Americans Elect is placing the cart before the horse. Just as in the case of the film, “Replacing A Dictator,” it is necessary to build the basis for civil society before overthrowing an unsatisfactory government. Otherwise chaos will ensue
AE should devote its resources to building coalitions between opposing ideologues rather than to finding an executive branch team for whom its coalition-building function will prevent its accomplishing anything after the unlikelihood of its election. AE's mission will have to be performed case-by-case, issue- by-issue.
Olympia Snowe has quit her senatorial career because of her frustration with what has become of America’s political system. Instead of a bipartisan slugfest, Americans would be better served by a direct governance structure that allowed them to obtain solutions to their common problems through the negotiation of their differences by modern communications methods, including social networking, mediated by non-partisan experts.
Americans Elect is placing the cart before the horse. Just as in the case of the film, “Replacing A Dictator,” it is necessary to build the basis for civil society before overthrowing an unsatisfactory government. Otherwise chaos will ensue
AE should devote its resources to building coalitions between opposing ideologues rather than to finding an executive branch team for whom its coalition-building function will prevent its accomplishing anything after the unlikelihood of its election. AE's mission will have to be performed case-by-case, issue- by-issue.
Olympia Snowe has quit her senatorial career because of her frustration with what has become of America’s political system. Instead of a bipartisan slugfest, Americans would be better served by a direct governance structure that allowed them to obtain solutions to their common problems through the negotiation of their differences by modern communications methods, including social networking, mediated by non-partisan experts.
17 March 2012
Real Magic Is Needed
Ironically, the argument in Daniel Heninger’s “The Magician” (WSJ 3/15/12) makes the case for re-election of a failed president, like George W. Bush—i.e. “You spilled the milk, so you clean it up!”
1) With reference to the financial meltdown, the “nothing” in-between before the recent recovery is the steady work of the diligent fixer-upper that Obama has been.
2) It was never America’s job to fix Iraq’s problems; we mistakenly entered the country under false pretenses in the first place, and we are finally leaving it to its own devices.
3) The Taliban is not our enemy in Afghanistan. Yes, it had allowed Al Qaeda to establish a base there, but the U.S. and its allies can prevent that in the future without staying in the country.
4) For the world to help Syrians escape devastation by their oppressive regime, Obama should urge his European allies to take the forceful measures they undertook before in Libya, Bosnia and Kosovo.
5) Iran shows that being on the table doesn’t just mean sitting there for us to take pot shots at it; the table can serve other more cost-effective diplomatic courses of action, too.
6) The North Koreans put themselves in the position where humanitarian aid may have more leverage over their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program than idle threats of military intervention.
President Obama can indeed perform real magic by solving all these problems without wastefully and hurtfully resorting to warfare.
Ironically, the argument in Daniel Heninger’s “The Magician” (WSJ 3/15/12) makes the case for re-election of a failed president, like George W. Bush—i.e. “You spilled the milk, so you clean it up!”
1) With reference to the financial meltdown, the “nothing” in-between before the recent recovery is the steady work of the diligent fixer-upper that Obama has been.
2) It was never America’s job to fix Iraq’s problems; we mistakenly entered the country under false pretenses in the first place, and we are finally leaving it to its own devices.
3) The Taliban is not our enemy in Afghanistan. Yes, it had allowed Al Qaeda to establish a base there, but the U.S. and its allies can prevent that in the future without staying in the country.
4) For the world to help Syrians escape devastation by their oppressive regime, Obama should urge his European allies to take the forceful measures they undertook before in Libya, Bosnia and Kosovo.
5) Iran shows that being on the table doesn’t just mean sitting there for us to take pot shots at it; the table can serve other more cost-effective diplomatic courses of action, too.
6) The North Koreans put themselves in the position where humanitarian aid may have more leverage over their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program than idle threats of military intervention.
President Obama can indeed perform real magic by solving all these problems without wastefully and hurtfully resorting to warfare.
04 March 2012
Insuring Birth Control Medications
There are those who object to the spreading of insurance risk for birth control medications on moral grounds. There are those who object on political grounds and those who insist on covering birth control medications under insurance plans on political grounds. Theselatter groups include those who use birth control medications even though they could afford them if they were not covered by their insurance plans.
There are those who desire to use birth control medications but cannot afford them unless their insurance plans pay for them. This group is unable to afford raising unplanned-for children. Moreover, this group is unlikely to practice behavior governed by principles of future-preference, perhaps because their experience is that things do not get better over time.
It is probably better for society as a whole that our national health system allowed birth control medications to be dispensed as part of whatever insurance plan is available even to those who are totally dependent on it so that they can make choices regarding the size and timing of their families that result in social peace. By the way, the libertarian argument against spreading the cost of birth control medications across the entire population does not hold water because otherwise the cost of dealing with the consequences of uncontrolled population growth must be paid for by the entire public in the interest of maintaining civil order.
There are those who object to the spreading of insurance risk for birth control medications on moral grounds. There are those who object on political grounds and those who insist on covering birth control medications under insurance plans on political grounds. Theselatter groups include those who use birth control medications even though they could afford them if they were not covered by their insurance plans.
There are those who desire to use birth control medications but cannot afford them unless their insurance plans pay for them. This group is unable to afford raising unplanned-for children. Moreover, this group is unlikely to practice behavior governed by principles of future-preference, perhaps because their experience is that things do not get better over time.
It is probably better for society as a whole that our national health system allowed birth control medications to be dispensed as part of whatever insurance plan is available even to those who are totally dependent on it so that they can make choices regarding the size and timing of their families that result in social peace. By the way, the libertarian argument against spreading the cost of birth control medications across the entire population does not hold water because otherwise the cost of dealing with the consequences of uncontrolled population growth must be paid for by the entire public in the interest of maintaining civil order.
