Treating our National Health

How many Americans will go to a doctor who treats symptoms vice the disease? How many will keep going to a doctor who keeps putting band aids on top of band aids, while leaving the underlying wound to fester and probably get worse. Sooner or later, many Americans will switch doctors. Sometimes patients have to get sick or die, or sometimes the doctor dies or goes out of business, or just sometimes Americans get fed up and seek a better deal for the most basic human value, health and treatment of the most simple diseases for our relatives, and sometimes us.

The present financial mess, mostly reported in our financial capital of New York City, and our political capital in Washington, D.C., clearly shows the band aid method is alive and well. Many prescriptions being bandied about are just band aids on top of band aids, and treatments of symptoms vice disease. Some even exploit the windows of opportunity that our lobbyists are so professional at using. One can say for lack of knowing what to do, they all do what they know. As in mixing medicines, or even software on computers, no technician, bureaucrat, or politician knows what the ultimate effects will be on our Country. And we elect these politicians, and they appoint so many, and use so many lobbyists. And our reporting media is so poor in reports to we common citizens. And the band still plays on, so far.

Here’s a quick summary, with reference links to follow:

The scale of the financial problem is well beyond New York and Washington, D.C, and the status quo types are still today setting up we American taxpayers to “take the hit”. This means go hungry and cold, and be sick when we can find a job. Reporting media types should also pay attention. And in the end, we cannot take the hit since the combined obligations are so far past our ability to pay, as in devote 100% of our income to the politicians to distribute.

The present financial rescue actions are on the scale of a fifth of a trillion dollars, but the scale of the unfunded deficiencies and over promises are somewhere between two and fifty-nine trillion dollars, depending on the studies. Again references will come at the end of this post so you can form your own point of view and judgment. The point is that much is being done, but it is woeful in comparison to what has to be done in the not too far future. And so far, what has been done and is being done is band aids on top of band aids. That few really know the depth of this problem is a sign of serious incompetence, locally, state, and federal. And the interconnection effects are hardly talked about. As an example, if the federal politicians (and we have to vote for them) decide to increase federal taxes to fund Medicare and Social Security deficits, they are drawing from the same taxpayers that also pay the state and local employee benefits. No one has compiled the cumulative effects of all this, but it might be fair to suggest we taxpayers will have to work most of the year to fund all the promises from today, and our past. Is this what we voted for? Was this the intent? Is this what we want?

That the Louisiana state legislators have exempted themselves from having their state retirements being subject to convictions for political corruption sends a message that they may know something we don’t.

Let many be emotional, at least for a second or two. Trillions of taxpayer dollars have been spent over decades on trying to make America better, much going to helping our under classes. Now none of this is in the bank to help the retirement and medical funds that so need this same money. As a result, many Americans are going to pay again, mostly in lower life expectations. Is that what we wanted, or expected?

References:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6728\

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120675290699973527.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north537.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-05-28-federal-budget_N.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/business/yourmoney/11retire.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&oref=slogin