Healthcare Archives - David Westerfield

The new healthcare law will pack 32 million newly insured people into emergency rooms already crammed beyond capacity, according to experts on healthcare facilities.

A chief aim of the new healthcare law was to take the pressure off emergency rooms by mandating that people either have insurance coverage. The idea was that if people have insurance, they will go to a doctor rather than putting off care until they faced an emergency.

Letter from Kay Granger on Health Care – HouseNews.net (HT: Bill Alexy)

Four major U.S. employers (AT&T, Verizon, Deere and Caterpillar) are considering dumping the health care coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government. These companies currently offer health benefits to over 2.3 million employees. That is like cutting off health care for the entire city of Houston.

The reality of budgets, economics, sociology, incentive, and plain common sense about what would have worked were thrown to the wind in favor of futuristic visions of everyone getting the best health care available for free. It sounds good on paper and many of the people were well-meaning (though grossly misinformed).

Practical Effects of the Health Care Legislation

By David Westerfield

On March 25, 2010

In Politics

ObamaCare Day One – WSJ.com

Theory aside, practically what does the health care legislation mean for businesses and therefore individual employees of those businesses … already? Read the article above. Now, after it’s too late, does everyone see a little clearer that this legislation is merely paving the way for single payer by raising costs to the point that the average person is forced onto the new system their setting up, which was the design of the whole thing to begin with (i.e., here is Obama on record showing his true intentions for health care; do you honestly think he ever changed his position on this from then until now)? This is very unfortunate. It is also unfortunate that any reasonable economic or business discussions concerning this were essentially thrown to the wind in favor of emotional appeals and alarmist cries against anyone who opposed this of insensitivity toward the poor and disenfranchised, which is completely disingenuous and intellectually dishonest, in my opinion.

Health Care, Fear and the Christian Life

By David Westerfield

On March 22, 2010

In Christian Culture, Culture, Politics, Theology

Don’t Be Afraid – Russell Moore

It is a sad day … no, not about health care. It is sad to see so many, I would even venture to say a majority of fellow believers (many possibly assumed believers of the verbally violent conservative bent) controlled more by their affections and longings for a temporal, earthly kingdom that will pass away, yes, even America with all of its greatness, instead of the eternal kingdom ruled by Jesus with His might and power that will never pass away. It is sad to see fellow believers more mournful for the loss they feel of their “rights” or privileges that are gifts of grace to begin with, than upset about the tragedy of sin in their own hearts or the tragedy that a great majority of people around us will go to hell under God’s just punishment (think Jesus looking over Jerusalem and weeping). It is sad to see believers more willing to voice their outrage, anger and fear over legislation that will come and go (all the while ignoring His sovereign authority over that legislation to begin with) than voice their commitment to the Gospel and commitment to solid doctrine.

I am not without fault in these areas. I’ve learned the hard way in the not-so-distant past. This isn’t to say I didn’t struggle with these affections during this recent process even. This does not mean I don’t hold the same convictions I’ve always held. And it doesn’t mean I withhold commentary on points of conviction or withhold my involvement in the political process. If anything, we need more and improved discourse concerning all these issues and more to come. It is unfortunate public discourse has devolved into “tweet” snippets of useless rhetoric that does little to address actual issues.

Peter Schiff on Health Care

By David Westerfield

On November 22, 2009

In Politics, Video

CBO: GOP Health Care Plan Lowers Costs; No New Taxes

By David Westerfield

On November 5, 2009

In Politics

(Info found linked on BigGovernment.com)

As opposed to the Democrats plans to change the health care system, that calls for more irresponsible spending (money we don’t have), more taxes, and will inevitably lower the overall quality of health care for the long-term through a muck up of bureaucracy, the GOP has released their plan which calls for less spending, not more, no new taxes, and which lowers premiums.

Interestingly, the CBO (the Congressional Budget Office, that pesky independent Congressional fact-checking agency of the government) seems to agree with those assertions and backs it up with numbers. Check it out (PDF): http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10705/hr3962amendmentBoehner.pdf.

Something They Won’t Show You in the Mainstream Media About the Protests This Past Weekend

By David Westerfield

On September 15, 2009

In Culture, Politics, Video

A million march to US Capitol to protest ‘socialism’ – (Univ. of Illinois spacial image mapping estimated it at 1.7 million, highest estimate is 2 million)
NY Times Buries Massive Conservative D.C. Rally, Hails Smaller Liberal Protests
Also: 912 Project Fort Worth protests the federal government (estimated between 10,000 and 20,000)

I think this movement is just getting started. Combine the prospect (and likelihood) of more excessive taxes and government control on the unemployed and already burdened, and you get a large group of ticked off people. Are these the roots of a revolution if things don’t start reversing? I don’t know, depends on what happens in the next year or two from now with legislation, the economy and next years’ elections. If things get worse as some economists are predicting (who rightly predicted last years’ crisis), the numbers could grow significantly.

As Gerald Celente said in predicting this trend earlier this year, “When people lose everything and they have nothing to lose, they lose it.” Hopefully that will not happen. So far, it is a non-violent movement. But if people get pressed far enough, anything is possible. I’m not saying I condone such a thing if it turned to that. I would decline to participate. I’m just pointing out the possibility.

Most Republican politicians don’t seem to have the fight in them that many of these protesters do. So could a third party, a truly conservative group of honest politicians get elected? It would be nice, but as one political commentator said recently on a show I was listening to, we need to first get competent politicians elected who know how the machine of economics and politics works.

Just check out the sea of people in this video, it’s really quite amazing:

Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine – 1961

By David Westerfield

On August 14, 2009

In Audio, Business, Economics, Health, History, Politics

This couldn’t be any more prescient:

Interesting quotes by Norman Thomas, six times candidate for President under the Socialist Party ticket, one of which is mentioned in the audio above:

“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.” – Norman Thomas, 1927

“I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform.” – Norman Thomas

Hans-Hermann Hoppe on Healthcare Reform

By David Westerfield

On August 14, 2009

In Business, Culture, Economics, Health, Politics

A Four-Step Healthcare Solution (Archive)

This post will undoubtedly be met with a complete misunderstanding of what these solutions would actually do for those who cannot currently get health insurance (namely because of costs, resulting ultimately from government meddling, which has had a domino effect in the private sector). In particular, many will consider the proposal below of “[eliminating] all subsidies to the sick or unhealthy,” as a flagrant attack on the poor, sick and disenfranchised, when in reality, it will actually have the opposite effect of what might be expected. To many, such a proposal seems counter-intuitive, but the incentive created for the poor will be that costs are lowered, making it affordable for them.

I just wanted to preface the intent here, since some seem intent on framing such a proposal as “evil conservatism.” Such an assumption by some, to me at least, shows a great deal of intellectual dishonesty in not dealing with the argument proposed here. Letting the free market work, and getting the quasi-Marxism out of the mix, will have drastic effects on getting better healthcare coverage for all, including the poor and sick. If you disagree, fine. But don’t label such an idea as evil when clearly the goal is making healthcare available and more affordable for everyone.

The solution to our health care woes is not to put more regulations or government control over this sector of our economy or to provide a public option which will stifle competition and create less incentive in the market. The real solution is to free it from the bureaucratic and government constraints, getting rid of the subsidies and red tape. This will inevitably lower prices, which will create the incentive for many more people to purchase insurance at a reasonable price that cannot currently.

The Natives Are Getting Restless (Videos)

By David Westerfield

On August 3, 2009

In Culture, Video

Bottom line: healthcare proposals and current/proposed taxes are ticking people off. As the unemployment rate sinks further, and these people can’t find jobs, and on top of this, the weight of more taxes and payments are forced on the American public by an incompetent government, people are going to start fighting back in various forms. As Gerald Celente says, “When people lose everything and have nothing to lose, they lose it.” Unless things start turning the tide in the broader economy, we’re going to start seeing more of this I believe. And it could get ugly.