A normal middle-class family may very well go bankrupt during the present health care system, and in fact many people do. This is not only the source of much pain for the people involved, physical pain due to disease and financial pain. But many people going bankrupt is also bad for the economy of the nation.The present crisis in health care and economy goes far deeper than many people believe. It is often short term solutions that in the end will turn out very expensive. As for example the many bankruptcies that will be very expensive in the long term for all of us.
“Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years… More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts… Using a conservative definition, 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92 percent of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5,000, or 10 percent of pretax family income… Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes and had middle-class occupations.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5530Y020090604
The head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, Christine A. Varney declared that this administration will take tough stands against companies that violate the anti-trust laws. It is generally big companies who in some ways keep smaller companies out of the market. During the era of Bush, the government did not enforce these anti-trust laws. This new policy from Obama will help small business as well as consumers. It is my hope that as many as possible support Obama in this. This includes the Republican who is in favour of free competition.
I have no problem with big companies. But I have problem with big companies who use their power for selfish reasons and do not care about the welfare of the people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/business/economy/12antitrust.html
Barack Obama has recently been under attack from many Republicans because he believes that compassion is necessary for a judge in the Supreme Court. The ability to understand on a deep level and being able to identify with both parts in a conflict is seen as an obstacle for a judge. So from what I hear, compassion is seen as an obstacle.
Is empathy seen as a luxury that a few choosen professions can have? What about doctors, are they supposed to have empathy, or will this only prevent them from making good diagnoses? A world without empathy will en my eyes be cold, hard and unforgiving. Empathy is what creates a society where people care about each other. This is what we need.
What is the problem with the war in Iraq. I agree with Obama, it is not the war itself but the mind-set that made USA start the war. To create mutual trust, love and respect all over the world will take time. But I see no other way.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/22/shepard-smith-torture_n_190350.html
In my view, this is most important and the true meaning of Obama's vision of a new world. A society where good relations, conflict solutions and the needs of all people are what matters. A society where nobody is excluded and where the needs of all people are met. Obama is trying to create peace between all people. Following article is from the G20 meeting in London.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/source-obama-pl.html
One of the first executive orders from president Obama was the banning of torture. Since these methods are not allowed any more, Attorney General Eric Holder did not find any reason to keep the interrogation memos from the Bush era 2005 to be classified. Since these memos include cruel parts, ex-CIA director Michael Hayden tried to intervene with Obama officials to stop this publication that could damage the reputation of CIA. However, Obama supported the initiative made by Holder, and they will soon be published when lawyers from the Justice Department has looked upon them.
For many years, there have been secret meetings in the White House and in the great corporations, making decisions that we were not supposed to know anything about. It is time for a new and transparent society, we have the right to know about the decisions made by those in power.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/190362
Since the beginning of the era of Reagan there has been a politic of small government and limitations of government. But there has not been a politic of restrictions of great corporations. Instead the restrictions have become fewer, one of the last orders by Bush was that corporations could do mining and other investments without anyone being able to investigate if it had a bad impact on nature and other issues.
This campaign against government is in my eyes a complete fraud. The reality is that this politic is a shift of power from the people to great corporations. This is truly proven by the similar shift of the wealth from the poor and middleclass to millionaires. But people have been told that this politic should give more power to ordinary people, and many still believe this although they have less money in their pockets.
In my view the absence of restrictions on great corporations will not create more power to the people. The shift of the wealth from the poor to the rich has proven this. So that is why we need more limitations and control over the great corporations. If not, their power will only grow even more.
Obama is now preparing a fight that will decide the future of USA. He just said in a speech: "The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long... But I don't. I work for the American people."
Obviously he is referring to the powerful network of great corporations. If Obama is attacking the system of the Military-Industrial Complex, lobbyists, banks and others it will be a terrific fight. No president has done this since Kennedy. He wants to limit the power and increase the taxes of a few rich and powerful people. He is determined to create health care, green economy and fighting poverty. And they will surely do all they can to stop Obama by false news in media, as well as threats, lies and bribes to politicians.
“I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they're gearing up for a fight," Obama said, "My message to them is this: So am I."
We have to do all we can to support Obama in this fight. It will be a terrific fight. Obama knows exactly who are behind the disaster and the unfair society. And they know how dangerous Obama is for them.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/28/Keeping-Promises/
For thirty years the politic of Reagan with in creasing power for great corporations and tax-cuts, is about to end. If the new budget by Obama passes through Congress history will take a new direction. Taxes will increase for rich and less taxes for the rest. More money to health care, environment and other areas he has been campaigning on.
No wonder that the great corporations and GOP will fight this. Less money to the rich and more to the poor.
When you have written a blog, you probably also want other people to read them and make comments on them. And yet I find many well written and interesting blogs on this website with no comment.
There is a proverb – what we give to others we will eventually often receive back in some way. If you write a comment on somebody’s blog, this person might often search for your blogs and read them. When some for me unknown person makes a comment on my blogs, I often find that I have made a comment on their blog. I also think that making more comments would unite us more and make us like a family that share their wor(l)d with the other members of the family.
Obama is now on his first visit abroad as a president to Canada – are there any differences in these visits compared to the trips made by Bush?“
Canadians greeted a presidential visit from George W. Bush with 8,000 protesters. For President Barack Obama? They're selling T-shirts, and the conservative government is happy to see him.”…(Obama) “will meet with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper… He will also meet briefly with Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff at the airport before he leaves.” "They want to bask in the same glory," said Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor at the University of Toronto. "Nobody would have gone to Ottawa to try to get a glimpse of Bush except to demonstrate against him." “Harper will be want to be seen as close to Obama, unlike with Bush, said David Biette.”
For eight years Bush has offended people in other nations, he has started wars and kidnapped foreigners all over the world. People abroad were protesting, USA lost the respect all over the world, terrorists groups have had a relative easy task to recruit members. Obama is listening to and respecting leaders and people in other nations. People are now cheering, they respect and want cooperation with USA, and terrorist groups are in big trouble recruiting members.
Is there any stronger proof than this that a politic of compassion and cooperation is far more efficient than a politic of attempting to dominate the world by force?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/19/obama-canada-trip-will-ad_n_168125.html
High speed trains are now developed in all industrial nations, and USA is falling behind.
During the era of Bush there was a policy of transferring the economic power to great corporations. This transfer of power to great corporations has resulted in that USA today is behind other nations in green high technology. Europe and Japan is dominating in high speed trains, hybrid cars, solar power, and wind power.
High speed trains between big cities would save the environment, and it would save time for people. They would also increase travel and thereby trade. And by increasing the trade between cities it would also increase their economic growth. It would thus save money in the long term. High speed trains are today running at up to 170 miles/h all over the world.
Obama wants to invest in green technology, including high speed trains. Unfortunately GOP today can only think of economy from the perspective of a single company. They want to wait until great corporations show an interest in this. They can't think of economy from a larger perspective, from the viewpoint of the society. They don’t understand that investing in green technology would help the economy in the long term.
The great corporations have showed by evidence that they are not very interested in protecting the environment or developing green high technology. So the development of green technology can (by evidence) only be done through government intervention.
150 years ago there was a great crisis in USA. In these days of Lincoln, there were people who responded to the crisis by attempting to hold on to or go back to an old lifestyle. It was the lifestyle of the agrarian society, where a few people controlled the wealth. This was nice for the rich landowners, but not for the slaves. And those ideas were especially hold by the leaders of the Confederation. And there were people who realized the need for change and unity, and the greatest of these were Lincoln.
In the crisis of today there are also people who are reacting by fear, by trying to go back to the old lifestyle. It is the lifestyle of the industrial society where a few corporations control the wealth. Where the power is in the hands of a few. It is the idea that by limiting the power of government but not on great corporations (plus tax-cuts for rich people), we can resist change and hold on to the past. And this attempt to go back to the old ways is today foremost championed by GOP. And there are also people who realize the need for change, and for unity. Obama is the foremost of these.
As I see it, it is basically the same conflict today as in the time of Lincoln. Change society or going back to the past. Unite, or let special interests rule the nation.
GOP is fighting the stimulus bill by Obama. They say it includes a lot of wasteful government spending – called pork. Instead they want tax-cuts for big corporations. So when the great corporations are spending money, it is not called pork. It is called private jets, bonuses and luxury holidays.
GOP wants a society where government should be limited. And I agree, there should be limitations to government. But they do not propose limitations to great corporations. Such a policy will transfer power from politicians and Main Street to Wall Street. And this is why certain rich people are fighting this bill so hard, and using GOP for their own selfish purposes.
Can anyone tell me why there should be limitations to government but not limitations to the power of great corporations?
The stimulus Bill proposed by Obama is both a short-term and a long-term solution, with the aim of not only first aid emergency, but also in doing something about the cause of problems of the economy. There are still people who think that nothing needs to change really, it is just to continue using the methods that never worked in the past. Many critics call it “pork” when Obama uses long-term solutions such as
- Government buying “green cars.” This helps the economy in short-term by increasing production in car-factories. But it is also a long-term solution in stimulating the development of green technology. And less pollution will make people healthier, people will be able to work more and the costs of society for health care will decrease.
- More broadband. This would help both individuals and companies to have better access to Internet. Inter net is a “must” for starting a company today.
- Family planning. What is the cost of all unwanted pregnancies, where young women end up being a single parent? Would it not save money if this woman could work instead of having to go on welfare in order to take care of her child?
There are some Trolls on this website who are complaining about Obama’s Stimulus Plan. Either they say it is bad and blaming Obama for this or they want tax-cuts, saying that every person should be given some money to spend.
Trolls are people who pretend to support Obama but who say that they now are disappointed about him. But they have never supported Obama.
When ordinary citizens have been told that they have to cope with a struggling economy for a couple of years, and that the banks needs help from the government to survive, this message obviously not reached some people in Wall Street. It is like business as usual. First we heard that Citibank planned to buy private jet for 50 million dollars. And the latest news is that bankers have given themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses, the same amount of money as 2004 when the economy was booming. And these banks have received money from the government to survive.
Something is obviously wrong with the economical system, and the remedy we hear from GOP is little government intervention and – taxcuts.
Obama went furious when he heard about the banks. He called it being irresponsible and fired a warning shot at Wall Street. And he also said that he and Geithner are going to have serious conversations with these people about responsibility. And to make regulations of Wall Street. The president may be a kind man, but he is fierce like a lion when he feels that he needs to take a fight.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28918128#28918128
Unfortunately it looks like the Republicans in Congress now have decided to do all they can to stop the stimulus package proposed by Obama. They make “impossible” demands, for example demanding to make permanent the tax-cuts for millionaires and companies during Bush.
It looks like the Republicans either wants to run the show although they neither have a president or majority in Congress. Or they want to make it impossible to solve the economical problems, and the recession will continue for another four years. And their hope is that the voters will blame Democrats for this and to put Republicans back in power 2012. But if they do so it will probably take decades to solve the problem. And this by a party who had the slogan “country first.”
We have to do all we can to support Obama.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/25/gop-leaders-including-mcc_n_160714.html
