The US Health Care system is a complete mess. Whether you have great coverage, no coverage, or somewhere in the middle, you aren't getting the most for your money, and the main reason is that the Health Care market is simply designed wrong.
Let's take a look at how Health Care works today, and examine why this causes the problems we see every day, like spiraling costs and lack of access.
Like everyone else, I've been closely following the news about Sarah Palin. Especially watching the RNC convention, I am continually hearing the "Palin has more experience and knows how to lead; she's the most popular governor EVER" message.
While the spin sounds great, and I am sure she's done a fine job (after all, eliminating corruption is a Good Thing), I kept thinking in my head, "How hard could be be to run Alaska?" Admittedly, I don't know anything about Alaska, so I did some research.
My first stop was the Alaska budget. They have a surplus and low taxes, so she must really know what she's doing, right? Let's take a look at the numbers.
In 2008, the state of Alaska brought in $13.59 billion dollars, or $21,281 per citizen. For comparison, Illinois brings in $3,875 per citizen. Read this paragraph again and really absorb those numbers.
How on earth does Alaska have so much money? OIL. Alaska gets 65.7% of their budget from OIL REVENUES. That's right, $8.93 billion dollars of their budget was from oil revenues.
So, if you're wondering how to get an 80%+ approval rating, it's easy! Just find free money in the ground and spend it on your citizens!
Watching the news today I am shocked to see how the media is trying to say that Obama's decision to opt-out of public campaign financing means that he's not an agent of change. He's been marked as a flip-flopper and a hypocrite.
While I yield that he changed his mind, I refute the idea that changing your mind is a bad thing.
Obama has just seized a huge opportunity to change how elections are financed in a real way.
Windfall profits taxes are a horrible idea on many, many levels. On top of that, they offer nearly no advantages. This post will explore the details behind this popular but ultimately flawed policy stance.
I definitely disagree with Barack's stance on this issue -- however, I hope that he and his supporters will read this article and adjust their position to one that achieves the same ends but in a fair and sustainable way.
Let's start out by addressing a few myths about the "evil oil companies":
OIL COMPANIES MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY
When you hear on the news that a company has made $40 billion dollars in 12 months, your instinct screams "Wow that's too much money. They must be ripping someone off. Probably me!" This just isn't the case.
Oil companies make a lot of nominal profits, but they don't make unreasonably high profit margins. Exxon Mobil made $40 billion in 2007, but only 9.3% net income. For every $1 they sell, they keep only 9 cents as profit. But you know who else made a lot of money last year? Microsoft! They made $14 billion. But their net income is 27.51%. That's about three times higher than Exxon Mobil.
Where's the battle cry for a windfall profits tax on Microsoft? There isn't one, for all the right reasons. The same should be true for oil companies.
Market capitalism is the most fair economic system that exists. Sometimes a little short-term interference is justified to prevent companies from abusing power, but in the long run it always does the right thing.
Yes, oil companies make a lot of money, but it's because oil is a huge business, not because oil companies are gouging us.
I participated in a Barack Obama sponsored Q&A on Small Business policy on LinkedIn.com. This is my response to the question:
"How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?"
* Better Education. * Free markets. Fair trade. * Health Care reform. * Solve immigration. All of these answers ultimately address two things: 1) Providing access to skilled labor at reasonable cost 2) Providing a level playing field for small business vs. big business. Notice that all of these things are good for the country, the citizens, AND business!
In modern civilization, energy is arguable the most important material input to our economy. Not only is it used to make everything, but using it causes a lot of problems:
