First, condolences to the family of Walter Cronkite. I know that no one will miss him more than you will.
Now, the truth about the talk about the potential of a second stimulus. It is mostly Wall Street Journal propaganda. The Obama administration did not bring it up and neither did the Democrats in Washington.
The truth is that most of the money has not yet been spent. Most of it is in the pipeline for next Spring and Summer. Why? Because there is an election next fall and the Democrats want to be sure that the economy is on the upswing when you and I and all of our neighbors enter the voting booth next year. The stimulus is nothing more than a catalyst to increase the majority of the Democratic party in Congress. We all should see through this as it is very transparent.
What Jon Kyle, the other senator from Arizona, has proposed is that the remainder of the stimulus be canceled and reworked. Good idea. With unemployment charging toward double-digits, we need to change the focus to getting people back to work ASAP. That means that the stimulus needs to be directed at small business, the engine that employs most people in the country.
About health care. It is a supply and demand issue and nothing will be resolved if the government takes over. If demand is inelastic, meaning that little will change the demand for medical services, then the focus needs to be on supply. Increased supply means lower prices. Lower prices means that more people will be able to afford services and more people will be able to get insurance coverage. Why do hospitals charge 10 bucks for an aspirin? Are you going to hop out of bed and run to Wal-Mart while you are in the hospital? Focus on policies that will increase supply and provide patience with options so that there is real competition in the medical industry. Then the free enterprise system can work.
Second, the reason that patients are no longer the focus is because patients do not directly pay their doctors. It is funneled through the insurance company or through the government. Remember the Golden Rule, he that has the gold makes the rules. If patients pay then patients become the focus. If the patient has more choices, if there is real competition and lower prices then the patients can pay more out of pocket and then the patient wins.
Third, no one is saying that there is not a problem right now and that nothing should be done. The debate is over how it should be done. The Obama administration is trying to push it through quickly. This needs to be done right and not fast. Not the other way around.
Finally, there are a lot of people in the medical industry getting very wealthy who never, ever put on a white coat and see the patient. While this is true in a lot of industries, it is more harmful in the medical industry. In this economy, these are the people getting laid off. This is a good place to cut the fat in medicine as well.
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