It's Been A Wild Month

Today is the first time I have posted in about a month. I have been really busy with work, school, and the family lately. However, I have been keeping up with the fast paced changes in Congress. All I can say is wow, these are truly some whopper changes we are facing.

I want to start with health care since President Obama is pushing to get something passed before the fall. I do not like any of the proposals so far. My biggest gripe is none of them address everyone paying their own way. I do not like the idea of potentially having to pay a higher rate so someone else can have a lower rate. I do not like the idea of Congress and the President have a direct influence in my medical care.

At least with Blue Cross Blue Shield, I can bring a civil suit against them. I am forbidden to sue the Federal government. I know, we can sue a particular agency. However, do you really think Congress or the President is going to allow a lawsuit go through without their influence if it has the potential to affect their health care policies. For instance, if Medicare denies a claim for a life saving procedure. A law suit could potentially open the flood gates for everyone to get the procedure. With Blue Cross Blue Shield, I have not had any claims denied. I had to pay higher costs when my son had to be taken to the emergency room.

Second, what if Blue Cross Blue Shield came up with a plan where I had to pay a higher rate so someone else could pay a lower rate all based on income. This is exactly what Congress is proposing with their public option. Even a smoker would get the same rates as non-smokers.

We have 535 members of Congress. How come 535 lawmakers cannot come up with a proper health care solution that addresses the real issues without causing massive changes to the 85% of Americans who do have coverage? Out of all of the plans, I have not heard one person talk about consequences of their plans.

What about costs? Has anyone been shown any figures on the cost of premiums for individual or family plans? I currently pay around $350 a month for health insurance where my employer covers another $950 a month. In all of the plan, I make too much income to be granted a lower rate. What happens to me if my employer pushes its health insurance to a public option or a co-op? I do not have the money to make up $950. This does not include my dental or eye care plans. If the government enforces a mandate, I will essentially be forced into bankruptcy by the people who are supposed to represent me.

Lastly, when is Congress or President Obama going to state the facts about the costs? There is a big difference between health care and health insurance. Our health insurance is based upon the laws of averages and risks. It is a pool of money paid into an account to pay for the health care of a collective. The insurance companies average out the health care costs of the participants to determine the premiums. Rather than creating a new health insurance plan, Congress needs to focus on bringing down cost of health care. I doubt they will go after tort reform since the trial lawyers contribute a lot of campaign money. However, they can create a governing board to standardize the way charting and billing is done similar to IEEE for computing. We also need to enforce preventative health care. The majority of the costs come from people going directly to the ER rather than focusing on doing things to ward of illness such as diet and exercise.

Friday, the House passed the Cap and Trade bill by a vote of 219 to 212. The bill is 1,200 pages long with a 300 page amendment or payoff for votes that was added at 3 AM Friday morning. This bill will cripple our economy and make the Al Gore's of the world very rich since they are invested in selling carbon rights. All I hear out of Congress is the companies will be the ones paying for Cap and Trade. Are we really that naive? Do they really think a company is not going to pass the costs with an increase in the prices of their products?

We are already looking at the potential for hyper inflation and increased costs for everything because of the borrowing. Now, we are going to be faced with even higher costs to pay for carbon emissions. We will also see our manufacturing move to places like China where there are not limits on emissions.

Do not get me wrong, I am all for cleaner air. However, I do not buy into the global warming effects. The Earth goes through continuous climate cycles. Even Peta stated that we could remove the equivalent of a half million cars off the road if every American gave up chicken for one meal a week. I do think there is a link between the pollutants in the air and the allergies we all experience.

Again, how come 535 members of Congress cannot come up with a reasonable solution towards moving us to a cleaner energy source? The administration is all about solar and wind power. However, solar and wind will not sufficiently produce enough energy to power the country. Solar panels require an exorbitant amount of water to maintain. Has anyone thought about the effects of this on our drinking supply? Both require a direct element to function. It is not always sunny and windy outside. Why is the administration down playing hydrogen fuel cells? Is it because their supporters will make their money in solar and wind? President Obama cut the funding for hydrogen fuel cells when he came into office even though the technology is further along than solar and wind power.

What happened to nuclear power? It emits steam. Yes, the spent fuel rods are not exactly play toys. However, the technology exists to recycle and safely store them. One nuclear power plant can power the homes of 650,000 Americans. Our politicians are pushing us back to the dark ages as long as Congress and the administration stifles innovative ideas so they can push for solutions that will only affect the wealth of their contributors.

So much for having a short post. I will need two or three more to really get into the specifics of health care, health insurance, and clean energy such as insurance company profits and plug-in cars. Hope you enjoy the light reading.