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Did Obama’s Speech Change Your Mind?

Did Obama’s Speech Change Your Mind?

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The President of The United States, the Leader of The Free World, The Hope and Change for our nation, sounds tonight like a hero to some, a potential suitor to others, and a charlatan to the rest. President Barack Obama's speech (video/text) was somewhat predictable. And yet, the core principles are honorable and should be agreeable to all parties:
  1. Provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance
  2. Provide insurance to those who don’t
  3. Slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government
These words are verbatim from the President. And I agree with them. Unfortunately, the President began falling flat with the very next paragraph when he stated:
"...if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have."
This is a promise that Obama simply cannot keep. Why? The first principle of security and stability will require changes in the business model of insurance companies. This will quickly lead to changes in premium costs and the structure of policies. What any of us with insurance currently has will simply have to change, and to the financial disadvantage of the majority. Frankly, I'm not worried about how [...]
Town Hall Feedback

Cash for Clunkers

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money-flying-awayBy all accounts, the cash for clunkers program has been a huge success. Never mind the fact that auto dealerships want nothing to do with the bureaucratic red tape and if at all possible will steer a customer toward conventional financing. The fact of the matter is that it has been a real boost to the economy. So who really has benefited from this program?
  • Some consumers, who traded up from old gas guzzlers to spiffy new fuel-efficient models,
  • Auto dealers, who were able to dump inventory and pay their financiers,
  • Banks, who all of a sudden, had some new auto loan volume, with up to $4,500 down-payments,
  • Auto companies, especially Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, who led the pack in sales. Conspicuously absent from the list were the beneficiaries of the government's bailout program, General Motors and Chrysler. The car companies were also able to unload a bunch of inventory,
  • Unions, who conceivably will be called back to work to replace all of that sold inventory,
  • Steel manufacturers, such as Nucor, who will be able to buy cheap scrap steel and turn it into something usable,
  • The green movement, because these new cars will be spitting out fewer greenhouse gas emissions,
  • And the biggest winner of all, the Obama Administration, who was able to satisfy a number of constuencies and supporters, namely, the unions, the green folks, and the car companies they now run (GM and Chrysler). In the process, the President will be able to boast how this will boost the nation's Gross Domestic Product and single-handedly pull us out of recession.
With so many winners, how can there be any losers? Of course, [...]

Dictators vs Coaches

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I was reading a book yesterday by John Maxwell called "Developing the Leaders Around You" (1995, Injoy, Inc.) On page 161, Rev. Maxwell describes the difference between dictators and "dream team coaches", or "facilitators". In Maxwell's words:

Dictators

Facilitators
Hoard decisions. Push decisions down the line.
Make decisions alone or restrict them to an elite group. Involve others as much as possible in key decisions and give people space to make those decisions [...]

Enjoy Your Last Term

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One of the more interesting developments surrounding the “health care” debate is the incredible inability of the left to read, understand and consider the mood of the general electorate.  The town hall meetings being held across the country embody the...
Town Hall Feedback

Once Again, Congress Is Exempted

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inside private jetThere is a continuing theme in Congress and many of our State Legislatures that what's good for goose, is only good for the goose. Take a gander. Yes, you read that right. Congressmen can fly around in private jets, and can even buy brand-spanking new ones. Even though they criticize those in the business world who do the same (remember the CEOs of the Big Three Auto companies?). The best part is, Congress does it with money that they forcibly take from us (I am loathe to call it "theft", although the temptation to do so has grown in the past six months). Businesses do it with money they earn. Earn. I think I will start a new category: Congressional Exemptions. You see, Congress is of the opinion that they are, ahem, not always obliged to conform to the same set of laws or ideals that the rest of us are. Truly. And this is due in no small part to the Constitution of the United States. Yes that very document that we hold so dear as the last vestige of solace to those that would decry a tyrannical government.
Article I, Section 6 (The Legislative Branch - Compensation): ..."They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during [...]
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