This was published in the August 7, 2011 Trenton Times under the title, " We must unite to solve our nation's problems"
I’m disappointed...and so are many other Americans. When Barack Obama was elected, we had the audacity to hope that the tendency to deadlock in Washington would be reversed – that there would truly be non-partisan cooperation, and there would truly be harmony. But the struggle for superiority continues to work against such an elusive goal, and we continue to hurtle toward the abyss. The total lack of cooperation, and indeed the rampant obstructionism – the ubiquitous use of “no,” is frightening. It seems that Nancy Reagan’s “Just say no” slogan has been co-opted for far less noble purposes.
The behavior of our elected officials, particularly in our nation’s capitol, is very disheartening. We entrust these people with our lives and our livelihoods, only to see them gamble away our limited wealth in games of brinksmanship, wars of attrition, and schemes of Ponzi. And most recently, with our country tetering on the edge of bankruptcy, we’ve seen them at their worst – pointing fingers, issuing ultimatums, wasting time while other major issues are burgeoning, and each waiting for the other to blink. What seems to be lost on them is that compromise is not necessarily a bad thing, and doesn’t have to be a zero sum proposition. A rising tide can lift all boats, but not if they’re too firmly tied to their moorings.
The games being played by our elected officials are extremely dangerous. With a refusal to agree on anything meaningful, not only are we losing our credit standing, and with it, much of our economic value. We’re losing our place as leader of the free world, which desperately needs a strong leader. We’re also losing the momentum we’ve built with growing prosperity, where each generation is better off than the last. We owe it to our children and their children to keep their dreams alive.
Wars of attrition are being waged in many ways, both domestically and internationally. On the inside, with our elected officials’ parties sniping at each other and refusing to cooperate, with actions bordering on extortion, they’re gaining nothing for themselves, and by their intransigence, continuing to sink our economy. On the outside, our involvement in the Middle East continues to be a swirling vortex, and the more we spend, the less we seem to achieve. By squandering our treasure against unseen and often duplicitous enemies, we fulfill the very goals of terrorists – to destroy our financial foundation, and in doing so, rob us of the desire to interfere with their plans for domination.
Charles Ponzi would be proud to see how our government has adopted his financial strategies. We’ve built pension plans, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, bond issues and other programs that have morphed into financially ruinous schemes that count on tomorrow’s revenue to pay today’s bills. We talk of many of these programs as “entitlements,” and lose sight of the fact that for many of us, they are investments that we have faithfully made, while our government hasn’t kept its side of the bargain. The very idea that we can continue to raise the debt ceiling with no viable plan to pay off the debt should be ringing loud and clear in the heads of every ethically-minded individual.
Our great nation is in danger of collapsing under its own weight and our experiment in democracy may not survive. The debt we’ve run up, the regulations we’ve entangled ourselves with, the underfunded entitlements and subsidies we’ve created with incentives to game the system, are all piling up on top of us. Our government seems to be good at placing more burden on its citizens, especially in good times, but seldom takes any of it away, even after it’s proven to be a failure or its usefulness is diminished. In addition, the Baby Boomers (of which I am one), who are responsible for much of this dysfunction, are causing a surge in expense and a shortfall in revenue as they leave the workforce and move into retirement.
It is clear that our problems didn’t materialize overnight. Expecting them to disintegrate overnight is pure folly. Similarly, expecting reduced expense alone, or increased revenue by itself, to solve our problems in the short term is not realistic either. We need a comprehensive balanced approach to move the country in the right direction, and we need it now. Revenue increases need not be permanent, while spending cuts can and should be. We have to realize that a plan of such import will take some time to implement, and even longer to have the desired effects. So we’ll have to be patient, and we’ll probably have to do without for a while. And we must all be willing to share the pain and sacrifice.
But we must have a plan, and we must have the resolve to see it through. In the meantime, the increased debt ceiling will provide some necessary breathing room. It’s long past time for our elected officials to get serious about reducing our debt and living within our means. Time is running out for them to find some common high ground, before the rising tide drowns us all.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Japan - Resourceful and Resilient
Barely a week after the devastating earthquake hit northeast Japan, and despite advice from friends and warnings from the US State Department and the Tokyo Consulate, my wife and I kept our vacation plans and went to Japan on March 19, 2011. It wasn’t that we couldn’t have rescheduled – the airlines made it easy and attractive to do so. What we couldn’t reschedule was our son’s graduation from Kumamoto Gakuen University in southern Japan.
The morning the earthquake hit, my wife, Chris, awoke to the following words on NPR: “...magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit Japan...” To a mother whose firstborn is a half a world away, and to whom Japan seems only as big as a postage stamp, she was very concerned. Quickly, though, she made contact with Jason through the internet, and he was fine. It turned out that he was about 700 miles from the earthquake and its aftermath, the tsunami and the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima.
Every day after the earthquake, the prognosis became more dire, and Chris and I did not dare to discuss the trip. Our flight arrangements had us flying into Tokyo, whose airports had been shut down immediately after the earthquake, and then on to the southernmost island of Kyushu, where Jason lives. She’s a white-knuckle flyer as it is, and the thought of flying into a serious danger zone was best to avoid. So we talked about it obliquely until the day before departure, when it came time to print the boarding passes. To my mild surprise, she agreed with me that we should go.The flights were uneventful, and although we were on a jumbo jet heading into Tokyo, I think we were the only Americans (other than the flight crew) aboard. The plane was only about a third full, and there were several passengers who were visibly upset. We assumed that they were heading home to deal with personal disasters, and felt their pain in some small way. Tokyo – Narita Airport seemed like a ghost town when we landed, but the people who were there were going about their business as if nothing had happened. After a several hour layover, we flew from there to Fukuoka, on the west side of Kyushu. Jason picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel.
His graduation ceremony was one to be remembered. Not for its pomp and circumstance, but for its simplicity and irony. The entire graduating class included about a thousand undergraduates and a handful of graduate students. Jason was in the graduate program, and his particular class numbered four students. Each class had one representative who accepted the graduation honor on stage for the class. Since all four students in his class had straight As, they needed a tie-breaker to choose their representative; Jason had taken an extra class, so he won!We followed the directions into a large auditorium and found some seats, and waited patiently for the ceremony to begin. Curiously, there was a large projection screen on the stage, and it soon became apparent that we would be viewing the ceremony on it. The students were all in another auditorium, and the professors and speakers were on that stage. The ceremony began, and we tried to follow its progression, in a language that we could not understand. I videotaped some of it, and was able to record Jason’s performance. So Chris and I travelled halfway around the world, braving earthquakes, tsunamis and radioactive fallout, to videotape our son’s graduation on a projection screen!
After the ceremony, the students adjourned to various classrooms and other venues to meet with their professors and receive their degrees. Jason led me into the room, and his professor approached me and began speaking to me, presumably about the amazing son I had. Soon my blank stare betrayed my utter ignorance of the language, and the professor smiled and returned to the front of the room. He then addressed each of the students, presumably talking about their wonderful performance and their bright futures. He then turned to me (he wasn’t through with me yet), and told me to stand up and speak. Obediently, I stood, and made an brief, impromptu fool of myself and sat down. Actually, according to my wife and son, I did pretty well.For the rest of the week, Chris and I kept watching Japanese TV, with its occasional flashes of English-speaking broadcasts, to find out what was happening in the Fukushima and Tokyo areas, since we had to return through Narita Airport in Tokyo. We watched one particular broadcast, all in Japanese, while the scientist-narrator described the latest developments with the failing reactors in Fukushima. At one point, his monotone took on an air of excitement, and he splayed his arms and uttered the word, “BOOM!” Now it was hard to tell if “BOOM!” was what just happened, or what was about to happen, or what might happen if control wasn’t restored. But “BOOM!” was not a reassuring word.
We also endured a small earthquake in generally stable Kumamoto, where Jason lives. It was about mid-week, and I was taking a shower. My wife told me that she thought we’d just had an earthquake, and I thought it was her imagination. It turned out that it was a 3.0, right there in our hotel!The rest of our trip was equally memorable. Kumamoto, where Jason lives, is a fishing village with mountains on three sides. We visited the tops of the mountains, and got to see a simmering volcano up close. The drive to the mountaintops was invigorating, as the roads were steep, loaded with switchbacks, and dotted with mirrors so that you could see traffic coming around the bend. This was important because the roads are barely wide enough for cars to pass, and guard rails are a luxury.
The food in Japan is amazing, and the Japanese people love their food (and alcoholic beverages). In the areas we visited, rice and fish were the main staples. I’m not big on fish, especially for breakfast, but there was no getting away from it. Rice was in virtually every meal, so one morning at a Japanese style hotel, I loaded up on a bowl of rice, thinking it was the Japanese version of oatmeal. I then sprinkled a large tablespoonful of white crystalline powder on top for sweetness, and poured on a brown syrup for texture. It turned out that the white stuff was salt, and the syrup was teriyaki sauce! I was too embarrassed to leave it, so I wolfed it down.At another meal at an authentic Japanese resort, I ate what I thought were bean sprouts (on top of rice, of course), only to find out that they were raw fish (baby eels, perhaps?). I also ate what I thought was a block of raw salmon, which I normally would have avoided anyway, but felt obligated to try. After I swallowed it, I was informed that it was a fish egg sack! Nothing goes to waste, I guess.
We also visited Nagasaki, the site of the dropping of the second atomic bomb during World War II. A memorial and museum there are somber and sobering. One striking thing about the museum was its frank and balanced view of the history leading up to the bombing, but I couldn’t help but feel more than a little disbelief that we, of all people, could use such a weapon in such a way. Near the end of the museum tour, there was a photograph of a boy with a story that moved me like few other things have. Here’s a link to the photo and a brief story about its photographer: http://www.societypolitics.com/?p=620. The story accompanying the picture in the museum describes how the boy stood at attention for a long time, biting his lip until it bled, and then watching as his baby brother’s body was cremated.Nagasaki has fully recovered, and is a thriving seaport. Due to its strategic location, it is influenced by many foreign traders who have made their home there. While Japan has a tense relationship with neighboring China, its Chinatown area is bustling. Also striking is the Dutch influence, since, for a period of Japanese isolationism, the Dutch were the only foreign traders welcome. There’s a large Dutch village stacked up the mountainside like boughs on a cedar tree.
Throughout our trip, we were struck by the stoicism of the Japanese people. While they all expressed concern about the earthquake and its aftermath, nobody expressed selfish emotions, even those closest to the disaster. TV coverage showed multitudes of people helping out, and no disorder or looting. In fact, some coverage showed people waiting in line for hours for supplies, and when they ran out, merely turning and walking away.We returned home a week after we arrived, and in that second week after the earthquake, much had returned to normal in the Tokyo area. Things continued to worsen in the Fukushima area, but the threat to Tokyo and areas south seemed to stabilize. Our visit to Japan showed us that the Japanese people are a proud and honorable lot, and they have a unique way of accepting the way things are (shikata ga nai) and immediately taking steps to rebuild. If only that were a universal human trait.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
Chris and I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on October 30, 2010 in Washington, DC. It was a lot of fun, but we got there late, and couldn't see or hear the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert show. Here are two signs I made - they were a hit among the nearby crowd. The picture was taken by a syndicated news photographer - that's me in the left foreground, and Chris is in the red coat to the right of me.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Throwing our Babies out with the Bathwater
This was published in the April 8, 2010 Trenton (NJ) Times.
Over the past couple of weeks, New Jersey’s new governor has turned our public education system inside out, and has vilified our teachers, the very people in whom we trust the future success of our children. This governor, while his intentions may be honorable, is demonstrating his proclivity for radical surgery – not with a scalpel; not with a hatchet; rather, with a chainsaw. His proposed massive cuts to public education, announced 6 days before school districts’ budgets were due, will reverse decades of progress, and reverberate for years to come.
It wasn’t so long ago that teachers’ salaries were discerned as woefully inadequate. Their salaries haven’t improved much – it’s just that their contracts, many of which were cast in better times, are seemingly more generous than what would be negotiated today. The governor is “asking” teachers’ unions to renegotiate contracts, while at the same time, decrying the pension program the state has failed to fund. Negotiations require give and take; the governor is proposing that teachers give or NJ will take.
Where is the public outrage? Parents, who for so long have demanded so much from public education, seem to be standing by in silence. In our double income society, teachers often serve as surrogate parents, acting as mentors, confidants, and role models. The decimation of our educational system will not stem the flow of jobs out of state, improve the lives of our children, or truly reduce overall costs. In a system that is driven by incentives to teach students to pass certain tests, and in which the teachers are so constrained by “political correctness” and fear of lawsuits, the governor’s proposed financial blow is too much to bear. Instead of fixing what’s broken, it will break the whole system.
Most teachers are highly educated and extremely dedicated, devoting much of their non-class time to serving their students. Specialists teach vital skills that are the bare minimum in the 21st century – reading, research, computer science and more; they challenge our brightest students and brighten our challenged ones. While many teachers have their unpaid summers off, they spend much of the summer taking courses (at their own expense) and readying their classrooms for the next school year. In addition, they often work nights and weekends preparing for class, and purchase things for their classrooms out of their own pockets. How many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly?
Teachers’ unions provide representation for a large group of employees, and negotiate contracts that, on average, are fair and equitable to their members. One could argue that such unions are too powerful and use the threat of job actions to force their will. But the fact is that many union teachers continue to work without contracts (sometimes for years) because of their dedication to their profession and their students. Again, how many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly? Perhaps the reason that teachers need a strong union is that no one else will stand up for them.
Governor Christie hasn’t fully transitioned from his persona as a tough prosecutor. His speeches, if you listen carefully, resemble a prosecution: first, he makes a bold accusation; then he selectively presents evidence to support his assertions; and finally, he ends with a summation that wraps it all up. But our teachers and their unions are unaccustomed to being defendants. As a further injustice, Governor Christie also assumes the role of judge, making and interpreting the rules, and instructing an unsuspecting jury.
It is very clear that Governor Christie feels that the NJEA, and by extension, its members, are guilty of wrongdoing and need to be punished. In his prosecutorial style, he’s painted the NJEA as the criminal, and teachers as accessories. Some of it is sincere (though heavy-handed), but some is surely showmanship. As governor, though, use of the bully pulpit should be tempered to maintain a balance between righteous indignation and constructive criticism, and preserve the dignity of those who deserve neither.
Make no mistake, the budget situation is dire. With high unemployment and social service costs on the one side, and reduced tax receipts on the other, something needs to be done. But it can’t be done overnight, and it can’t be on the backs of our already underpaid and overworked teachers. The proposed reductions will surely add to the rolls of unemployment, further reduce tax receipts, and destroy a lot of goodwill among hard-working, generous, caring professionals at a time when their best efforts are needed the most.
Parents, stand up and unite behind your children’s educators; you’ve seen their great work. Senators and Assemblymen/women, stand up for the very survival of our public education system. Governor, you’ve gotten everyone’s attention, but please stand down and work constructively with your education professionals to build a better system. The livelihoods of our children, our most precious resource, depend on it.
Over the past couple of weeks, New Jersey’s new governor has turned our public education system inside out, and has vilified our teachers, the very people in whom we trust the future success of our children. This governor, while his intentions may be honorable, is demonstrating his proclivity for radical surgery – not with a scalpel; not with a hatchet; rather, with a chainsaw. His proposed massive cuts to public education, announced 6 days before school districts’ budgets were due, will reverse decades of progress, and reverberate for years to come.
It wasn’t so long ago that teachers’ salaries were discerned as woefully inadequate. Their salaries haven’t improved much – it’s just that their contracts, many of which were cast in better times, are seemingly more generous than what would be negotiated today. The governor is “asking” teachers’ unions to renegotiate contracts, while at the same time, decrying the pension program the state has failed to fund. Negotiations require give and take; the governor is proposing that teachers give or NJ will take.
Where is the public outrage? Parents, who for so long have demanded so much from public education, seem to be standing by in silence. In our double income society, teachers often serve as surrogate parents, acting as mentors, confidants, and role models. The decimation of our educational system will not stem the flow of jobs out of state, improve the lives of our children, or truly reduce overall costs. In a system that is driven by incentives to teach students to pass certain tests, and in which the teachers are so constrained by “political correctness” and fear of lawsuits, the governor’s proposed financial blow is too much to bear. Instead of fixing what’s broken, it will break the whole system.
Most teachers are highly educated and extremely dedicated, devoting much of their non-class time to serving their students. Specialists teach vital skills that are the bare minimum in the 21st century – reading, research, computer science and more; they challenge our brightest students and brighten our challenged ones. While many teachers have their unpaid summers off, they spend much of the summer taking courses (at their own expense) and readying their classrooms for the next school year. In addition, they often work nights and weekends preparing for class, and purchase things for their classrooms out of their own pockets. How many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly?
Teachers’ unions provide representation for a large group of employees, and negotiate contracts that, on average, are fair and equitable to their members. One could argue that such unions are too powerful and use the threat of job actions to force their will. But the fact is that many union teachers continue to work without contracts (sometimes for years) because of their dedication to their profession and their students. Again, how many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly? Perhaps the reason that teachers need a strong union is that no one else will stand up for them.
Governor Christie hasn’t fully transitioned from his persona as a tough prosecutor. His speeches, if you listen carefully, resemble a prosecution: first, he makes a bold accusation; then he selectively presents evidence to support his assertions; and finally, he ends with a summation that wraps it all up. But our teachers and their unions are unaccustomed to being defendants. As a further injustice, Governor Christie also assumes the role of judge, making and interpreting the rules, and instructing an unsuspecting jury.
It is very clear that Governor Christie feels that the NJEA, and by extension, its members, are guilty of wrongdoing and need to be punished. In his prosecutorial style, he’s painted the NJEA as the criminal, and teachers as accessories. Some of it is sincere (though heavy-handed), but some is surely showmanship. As governor, though, use of the bully pulpit should be tempered to maintain a balance between righteous indignation and constructive criticism, and preserve the dignity of those who deserve neither.
Make no mistake, the budget situation is dire. With high unemployment and social service costs on the one side, and reduced tax receipts on the other, something needs to be done. But it can’t be done overnight, and it can’t be on the backs of our already underpaid and overworked teachers. The proposed reductions will surely add to the rolls of unemployment, further reduce tax receipts, and destroy a lot of goodwill among hard-working, generous, caring professionals at a time when their best efforts are needed the most.
Parents, stand up and unite behind your children’s educators; you’ve seen their great work. Senators and Assemblymen/women, stand up for the very survival of our public education system. Governor, you’ve gotten everyone’s attention, but please stand down and work constructively with your education professionals to build a better system. The livelihoods of our children, our most precious resource, depend on it.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Joe
On March 5, 2009, my remarkable brother-in-law, Joe Johnson, passed away after a courageous battle against lung cancer. I wrote this tribute for him, and finished it several days before his passing, but did not have a chance to share it with him.
I grew up, the second oldest of six children, in central New Jersey, near the shore. My baby sister and older brother were the radical bookends of our clan, testing the boundaries with our parents, and helping to keep the foibles of the middle four in check. When I went to college, I joined a fraternity, and added many Brothers to my already sizable family. One day, I met a young freshman from a town near my parents’, and he chose me as his Big Brother, essentially a mentor. Not long after, my baby sister called to tell me that she was dating someone she really liked, and he was related to someone I knew. It turned out that she was dating the younger brother of my new fraternity brother. Eventually, they married, and now my Little Brother’s Little Brother is married to my little sister.
Joe is a great guy. Stocky in build, he’s always looked healthy and strong. As a longshoreman, he worked the docks in north Jersey for awhile, until he worked his way up to becoming a Captain for Circle Line, ferrying folks around the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson River to Manhattan. On one trip, he even let my young son “drive” the boat, thrilling him and worrying the heck out of my wife.
Joe is the kind of guy who will do almost anything for anybody. He was a great son-in-law and friend to my father, who passed away last summer, and the two of them were often like peas in a pod. Every now and then, though, Joe would mischievously provoke Dad by asking him about doctors, ostensibly the bane of his existence. And Joe would also push Dad to achieve more. I remember a time about eight or nine years ago, when Dad was nearing the end of a long project, almost single-handedly reroofing the house he built about 50 years earlier. I had recently started helping Dad, respecting his leisurely pace; he was becoming a little nervous about being on the roof and had begun to welcome the help. Joe came over one day, and talked Dad into finishing the last ten percent in one shot. Actually, he made it tough for Dad to say, “No,” by simply ripping off the rest of the old roof.
About six years ago, Joe got the news that we all dread – he had cancer, a particularly nasty kind of non-small cell lung cancer. It was the same type that had claimed his own father at an early age. Joe’s genetic predisposition certainly increased his risk, but no one ever would have ever suspected it, given his apparent health and age (early forties). He had surgery to remove the cancer and half of one of his lungs, and followed that with rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.
For a while, things were looking good – he went back to work, got most of his energy back, and returned to doing most of the things he did before. His continuing treatments have been difficult, and at times, he’s had to slow down, but his recovery from the surgery was nothing short of remarkable. He has beaten unbelievable odds with his determination, and his indomitable spirit and drive. While incurable, his cancer has found a formidable foe.
I’ve now known Joe for over thirty years. In that time, I’ve never known him to feel sorry for himself or feel that he is better than anyone else. Ever since his initial diagnosis, Joe has made a point of enjoying life and his family. He’s spent a lot of time with his three wonderful sons, sharing their love of baseball, enjoying outdoor sports, and taking them places. I know that he’s great for my sister, and a great dad for his boys. His example of class and fatherhood is one that he can truly be proud of, and the world is certainly a better place because of a guy named Joe.
Joe
I grew up, the second oldest of six children, in central New Jersey, near the shore. My baby sister and older brother were the radical bookends of our clan, testing the boundaries with our parents, and helping to keep the foibles of the middle four in check. When I went to college, I joined a fraternity, and added many Brothers to my already sizable family. One day, I met a young freshman from a town near my parents’, and he chose me as his Big Brother, essentially a mentor. Not long after, my baby sister called to tell me that she was dating someone she really liked, and he was related to someone I knew. It turned out that she was dating the younger brother of my new fraternity brother. Eventually, they married, and now my Little Brother’s Little Brother is married to my little sister.
Joe is a great guy. Stocky in build, he’s always looked healthy and strong. As a longshoreman, he worked the docks in north Jersey for awhile, until he worked his way up to becoming a Captain for Circle Line, ferrying folks around the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson River to Manhattan. On one trip, he even let my young son “drive” the boat, thrilling him and worrying the heck out of my wife.
Joe is the kind of guy who will do almost anything for anybody. He was a great son-in-law and friend to my father, who passed away last summer, and the two of them were often like peas in a pod. Every now and then, though, Joe would mischievously provoke Dad by asking him about doctors, ostensibly the bane of his existence. And Joe would also push Dad to achieve more. I remember a time about eight or nine years ago, when Dad was nearing the end of a long project, almost single-handedly reroofing the house he built about 50 years earlier. I had recently started helping Dad, respecting his leisurely pace; he was becoming a little nervous about being on the roof and had begun to welcome the help. Joe came over one day, and talked Dad into finishing the last ten percent in one shot. Actually, he made it tough for Dad to say, “No,” by simply ripping off the rest of the old roof.
About six years ago, Joe got the news that we all dread – he had cancer, a particularly nasty kind of non-small cell lung cancer. It was the same type that had claimed his own father at an early age. Joe’s genetic predisposition certainly increased his risk, but no one ever would have ever suspected it, given his apparent health and age (early forties). He had surgery to remove the cancer and half of one of his lungs, and followed that with rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.
For a while, things were looking good – he went back to work, got most of his energy back, and returned to doing most of the things he did before. His continuing treatments have been difficult, and at times, he’s had to slow down, but his recovery from the surgery was nothing short of remarkable. He has beaten unbelievable odds with his determination, and his indomitable spirit and drive. While incurable, his cancer has found a formidable foe.
I’ve now known Joe for over thirty years. In that time, I’ve never known him to feel sorry for himself or feel that he is better than anyone else. Ever since his initial diagnosis, Joe has made a point of enjoying life and his family. He’s spent a lot of time with his three wonderful sons, sharing their love of baseball, enjoying outdoor sports, and taking them places. I know that he’s great for my sister, and a great dad for his boys. His example of class and fatherhood is one that he can truly be proud of, and the world is certainly a better place because of a guy named Joe.
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Healthcare Debat-cle
A couple of conservative friends recently shared a pair of YouTube videos with me entitled, “Senior Citizen Speaks Out On Healthcare Bill.” In them, John C. Crawford of Texas blasts the bill in a compelling story, but unfortunately, I think at least half of it is built upon misinformation. I've watched these videos several times, and searched the H.R. 3200 document for the "exact excerpts," which don't exist. Some of the citations appear very similar to a viral email that FactCheck.org debunked most of in "Twenty-Six Lies about H.R. 3200."
It's amazing to me how someone can say, with a straight face, that something is not being taken out of context, when that's precisely what is being done. I'll accept that this man is a genuine person, and that his story is real. But what irks me is that he seems to be reading from some right wing interpretive (and creative) document and taking it at face value. Opinions are like epoxy: they start with a combination of basic elements, and harden when a strong catalyst is added. It’s ironic that as humans, we are endowed with the incomparable ability to think for ourselves, but many of us are encumbered by the incomprehensible tendency to avoid doing so.
Mr. Crawford makes a big deal of the "Death Counseling" concept which sounds an awful lot like the "Death Panels" we've heard so much about. The death counseling provisions of H.R. 3200 are as innocuous as a summer breeze and as common sense as coming in out of the rain if you want to stay dry. They merely allow payment to doctors if they provide counseling on end-of-life issues. I recently lost my father after a 5-year battle with lung cancer and its side-effects. He went through so much, and so much of it proved unnecessary. If he, and we, had known what was in store for him and what his options were, his suffering would have been greatly reduced, he would have been more at peace, and it would have cost a whole lot less. He had a living will, but it wasn't really clear. He was lucid to the end, and I tried to have a discussion with him about what kind of care he wanted. His hearing was just about gone, and he asked with a quizzical look, "What kind of stairs do I want?" When we finally cleared that up, he said, "You'll know what to do when it's time." Well, I didn't, and I wish we'd had professional help. A couple of his doctors hinted at things regarding end-of-life, but when we pressed them for recommendations, they backed off quickly.
A couple of things President Obama said in his address to Congress about healthcare reform keep me optimistic. First, he said, "I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last." Second, he pointed out the obvious, that the spiraling cost of healthcare (like our deficits) is unsustainable. Third, he acknowledged that there are people on both side of the aisle who are obstacles to progress. And fourth, he said, "I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch." I'm very much for healthcare reform, and support the concepts that Obama spoke of in his address to Congress. However, I have a healthy skepticism, and want to know more precisely how things will work, and more precisely how they will be paid for. Being told that it will work and that it won't cost taxpayers a dime doesn't do it for me. The idea of offsetting much of the cost by stopping excesses, abuses and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid doesn’t do it for me either, since we shouldn’t be paying for such waste in the first place. It also doesn’t give me much confidence that government can manage a new program any better.
In reading some of the misquotated citations from H.R. 3200, I actually found that I was impressed with the depth of understanding of the authors. Instead of finding some covert, clever language, designed to create a foundation for socialized medicine, I found some reasonable concepts to allow individuals to make up their own minds (if they'd only choose to do so). For those who find the terms of H.R. 3200 to be deleterious to their health and welfare, I'd encourage them to read the terms of their free market insurance policy. That would be an eye-opener.
I think the root of our healthcare problem is in misapplied incentives. Doctors are incentivized to prescribe unnecessary drugs and perform unnecessary procedures to protect themselves from lawsuits - a perversion of preventive medicine - prevention of lawsuits trumping prevention of disease. Pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to make as much money as they can in the short time that they have market exclusivity, due to the pressures that are building to allow more and earlier generics and foreign sources; as a result of the short term thinking, R&D is suffering, and new products aren't forthcoming. Hospitals and clinics are incentivized to perform unnecessary procedures to pay for the expensive equipment they have and the fancy new facilities they're building to meet the needs of a clientele that wants the very best. And on and on...
I don’t agree with a “government option.” Government has no business running a business when there are plenty of businesses that are capable of providing service. What is needed is regulation - government’s insurance role should be to insure that there’s a level playing field and that nobody is denied coverage; any insurer must provide coverage for high and low risk alike. To allow the greatest competition, purchasing of insurance across state lines should be encouraged, not forbidden. Government should define a minimum (not minimal) standard of care (including end-of-life) that insurance companies must comply with. Beyond that, people can pay for whatever additional services they want, either through additional insurance or out of their own pockets.
Government should also define or adopt medical practice standards for all conditions, which doctors’ practice or malpractice should be measured against. Malpractice lawsuits should be strictly limited to illegal practices and gross negligence. Any punitive damages should go into a fund to pay for insuring those who can’t afford it. As long as doctors adhere to defined standards of practice, they should be protected from suit.
While I share the concerns and skepticism of many, I don't subscribe to the notion that healthcare can't be fixed so we shouldn't try. There is a lot of misinformation out there, on both sides, but the great thing about our country is that everyone gets to have their say. Out of that, I hope, will come a compromise solution that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people. But my hopes will only be realized if we think for ourselves, and “build on what works and fix what doesn't."
It's amazing to me how someone can say, with a straight face, that something is not being taken out of context, when that's precisely what is being done. I'll accept that this man is a genuine person, and that his story is real. But what irks me is that he seems to be reading from some right wing interpretive (and creative) document and taking it at face value. Opinions are like epoxy: they start with a combination of basic elements, and harden when a strong catalyst is added. It’s ironic that as humans, we are endowed with the incomparable ability to think for ourselves, but many of us are encumbered by the incomprehensible tendency to avoid doing so.
Mr. Crawford makes a big deal of the "Death Counseling" concept which sounds an awful lot like the "Death Panels" we've heard so much about. The death counseling provisions of H.R. 3200 are as innocuous as a summer breeze and as common sense as coming in out of the rain if you want to stay dry. They merely allow payment to doctors if they provide counseling on end-of-life issues. I recently lost my father after a 5-year battle with lung cancer and its side-effects. He went through so much, and so much of it proved unnecessary. If he, and we, had known what was in store for him and what his options were, his suffering would have been greatly reduced, he would have been more at peace, and it would have cost a whole lot less. He had a living will, but it wasn't really clear. He was lucid to the end, and I tried to have a discussion with him about what kind of care he wanted. His hearing was just about gone, and he asked with a quizzical look, "What kind of stairs do I want?" When we finally cleared that up, he said, "You'll know what to do when it's time." Well, I didn't, and I wish we'd had professional help. A couple of his doctors hinted at things regarding end-of-life, but when we pressed them for recommendations, they backed off quickly.
A couple of things President Obama said in his address to Congress about healthcare reform keep me optimistic. First, he said, "I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last." Second, he pointed out the obvious, that the spiraling cost of healthcare (like our deficits) is unsustainable. Third, he acknowledged that there are people on both side of the aisle who are obstacles to progress. And fourth, he said, "I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch." I'm very much for healthcare reform, and support the concepts that Obama spoke of in his address to Congress. However, I have a healthy skepticism, and want to know more precisely how things will work, and more precisely how they will be paid for. Being told that it will work and that it won't cost taxpayers a dime doesn't do it for me. The idea of offsetting much of the cost by stopping excesses, abuses and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid doesn’t do it for me either, since we shouldn’t be paying for such waste in the first place. It also doesn’t give me much confidence that government can manage a new program any better.
In reading some of the misquotated citations from H.R. 3200, I actually found that I was impressed with the depth of understanding of the authors. Instead of finding some covert, clever language, designed to create a foundation for socialized medicine, I found some reasonable concepts to allow individuals to make up their own minds (if they'd only choose to do so). For those who find the terms of H.R. 3200 to be deleterious to their health and welfare, I'd encourage them to read the terms of their free market insurance policy. That would be an eye-opener.
I think the root of our healthcare problem is in misapplied incentives. Doctors are incentivized to prescribe unnecessary drugs and perform unnecessary procedures to protect themselves from lawsuits - a perversion of preventive medicine - prevention of lawsuits trumping prevention of disease. Pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to make as much money as they can in the short time that they have market exclusivity, due to the pressures that are building to allow more and earlier generics and foreign sources; as a result of the short term thinking, R&D is suffering, and new products aren't forthcoming. Hospitals and clinics are incentivized to perform unnecessary procedures to pay for the expensive equipment they have and the fancy new facilities they're building to meet the needs of a clientele that wants the very best. And on and on...
I don’t agree with a “government option.” Government has no business running a business when there are plenty of businesses that are capable of providing service. What is needed is regulation - government’s insurance role should be to insure that there’s a level playing field and that nobody is denied coverage; any insurer must provide coverage for high and low risk alike. To allow the greatest competition, purchasing of insurance across state lines should be encouraged, not forbidden. Government should define a minimum (not minimal) standard of care (including end-of-life) that insurance companies must comply with. Beyond that, people can pay for whatever additional services they want, either through additional insurance or out of their own pockets.
Government should also define or adopt medical practice standards for all conditions, which doctors’ practice or malpractice should be measured against. Malpractice lawsuits should be strictly limited to illegal practices and gross negligence. Any punitive damages should go into a fund to pay for insuring those who can’t afford it. As long as doctors adhere to defined standards of practice, they should be protected from suit.
While I share the concerns and skepticism of many, I don't subscribe to the notion that healthcare can't be fixed so we shouldn't try. There is a lot of misinformation out there, on both sides, but the great thing about our country is that everyone gets to have their say. Out of that, I hope, will come a compromise solution that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people. But my hopes will only be realized if we think for ourselves, and “build on what works and fix what doesn't."
Sunday, July 12, 2009
One More Day
Six years ago, my Dad, Wm. Clyde Morgan, was diagnosed with lung cancer. He passed away on July 1, 2009. The gift of the last six years is due to several doctors and nurses who took a sincere interest in him, and the wonderful care that my mother and sisters provided.
He kept his sense of humor to the end – in the week before his passing, he was expressing frustration at not knowing what the plan was for his treatment, and said he was going to call hospital information and ask about the condition of Mr. Morgan in Room 585. I remember telling people how we would know when Dad was getting better – he’d start telling jokes.
When my Dad was sick this last time, I kept thinking I’d see him tomorrow, so I could learn more about his life. He kept fighting to see one more day, out of his deep love for Mom and our family. Sometimes, I’d see him the next day, and he’d look stronger than the day before. He’d lived for one more day, and I’d still think I’d see him tomorrow.
He ran out of tomorrows. Now what we have are yesterdays, the memories of the fine man he was, his infectious smile and laugh, his sense of humor, his great wisdom, and his sense of honor. He’s left a great legacy in our memories, and we’ll always keep him in our hearts.
He fought the good fight. He finished the race. You done good, Clyde.
He kept his sense of humor to the end – in the week before his passing, he was expressing frustration at not knowing what the plan was for his treatment, and said he was going to call hospital information and ask about the condition of Mr. Morgan in Room 585. I remember telling people how we would know when Dad was getting better – he’d start telling jokes.
When my Dad was sick this last time, I kept thinking I’d see him tomorrow, so I could learn more about his life. He kept fighting to see one more day, out of his deep love for Mom and our family. Sometimes, I’d see him the next day, and he’d look stronger than the day before. He’d lived for one more day, and I’d still think I’d see him tomorrow.
He ran out of tomorrows. Now what we have are yesterdays, the memories of the fine man he was, his infectious smile and laugh, his sense of humor, his great wisdom, and his sense of honor. He’s left a great legacy in our memories, and we’ll always keep him in our hearts.
He fought the good fight. He finished the race. You done good, Clyde.
Eau de Clyde
I find myself remembering an odd but very comforting thing about my Dad, who passed away on July 1, 2009 – when I was a kid, we’d all gather around him when he came home from work, wearing this cologne – a proprietary blend, I think.
I call it Eau de Clyde: one part Mennen Skin Bracer, one part coffee (milk, no sugar), one part sawdust, two parts perspiration, one part Pall Mall, and one part Miller High Life.
Even after 45 years or so, it still lingers…
I call it Eau de Clyde: one part Mennen Skin Bracer, one part coffee (milk, no sugar), one part sawdust, two parts perspiration, one part Pall Mall, and one part Miller High Life.
Even after 45 years or so, it still lingers…
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