California High Speed Rail Study

“California will receive a $2.34 billion slice of the $8 billion of federal stimulus funds earmarked for high-speed rail projects, more than any other state. But that is only a sliver of the $42 billion it will need to build an 800-mile line to carry the nation's first 220-m.p.h. trains.’

This is nuts.  California can’t afford the other $40 billion.  The Federal Government can’t afford the other $40 billion.  So why not try and use the $2 billion (by the way that is a lot of money) for something that will produce tangible results as opposed to maps, feasibility studies, and environmental analysis for this project that will not happen in the next few decades.

Schwarzenegger commented on how great a partner the Federal Government is.  Are you kidding me?  This is one bankrupt entity trying to kiss up to the bigger bankrupt government.

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A minor role in a minor film

Variety review of the movie New Low at the Sundance Film Festival

Toby Turner has a minor role in this minor film at the Sundance Film Festival is going to be a star.

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I wish we had reporters like Abrose Bierce today

"The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies had received large loans from the U.S. government to build the First Transcontinental Railroad—on gentle terms, but Collis P. Huntington persuaded a friendly member of Congress to introduce a bill excusing the companies from repaying the money, amounting to $130 million (nearly $3 billion in 2007 money).

In January 1896 Hearst dispatched Bierce to Washington, D.C. to foil this attempt. The essence of the plot was secrecy; the railroads' advocates hoped to get the bill through Congress without any public notice or hearings. When the angered Huntington confronted Bierce on the steps of the Capitol and told Bierce to name his price, Bierce's answer ended up in newspapers nationwide: "My price is one hundred thirty million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States".^[6] Bierce's coverage and diatribes on the subject aroused such public wrath that the bill was defeated. Bierce returned to California in November."  Wikipedia article

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A bankruptcy process for the states

Here is an excellent WSJ article on California’s financial woes.

We need to establish a bankruptcy process for the states immediately (there is no provision today).  This needs to be done in Washington and it needs to be done well.  California as well as other states are incapable of cleaning up their own problems and the longer we wait the more trillions it will cost.

But public sector unions are too powerful in Washington today.  So what are we to do?

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It is time for the National Enquirer to win a Pulitzer Prize

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704509704575019123220714044.htmlIt

David Perel the former editor of the National Enquirer tells about their breaking the story of John Edward’s affair and his paternity of their baby.

The National Enquirer used to be derided for their sensational headlines but now they are sometimes discussed as candidates for a Pulitzer Prize.  And their investigations tend to be far more expensive to conduct, frequently involving sexual indiscretions and lies from politicians and celebrities.   And don’t forget the legal and financial risks they face if they get the facts wrong.

Many will suggest that this stuff is nobody’s business.  And I would agree it is nobody’s business except when a politician lies about it to me.  Because if you lie to me once then I don’t believe you from that point forward.  So if John Edward’s simply stood up and said “my extramarital sex life is my business and I am not going to talk about it”, I would respect that position.  But of course Edwards would then not get elected.  But if you lie to me then you can not represent me.  And it is really only the National Enquirer that is relentless in pursuing these liars.

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If you liked the movie you'll love the book!

Book Review for The Blind Side

Many of us loved the Sandra Bullock movie The Blind Side.  And so I bought the book by Michael Lewis – and it was terrific.  A slightly different and more detailed story of Michael Oher’s rise from from a homeless teenager in the Memphis ghetto, with virtually no education to a starter on the NFL Baltimore Ravens.

But at least half of the book is about the changing salaries of NFL offensive lineman since the free agent system was established in 1992.  For a former offensive lineman (not very talented) it is a great explanation in the changing strategies of NFL football from a run-dominated game to a pass-dominated game.  And with that came salaries for offensive lineman that are sometimes the highest on the team.

A great read.

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Attempted Murder

Why is the jail time for attempted murder less than for murder?  Are we rewarding failure?  The intent is the same.  If the perpetrator was more competent, he would have completed the murder .  It just seems to me that if you try to murder someone you should spend the same amount of time in prison as if you had “succeeded”.

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Apple Pie, Mom and a College Education

Here are the prepared remarks for President Obama on Jan 22, 2010 at the town-hall meeting Friday afternoon at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio.

“QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. It's an honor to be here with you today. I work here in LCCC's financial services office. I am proud to be part of finding pathways for students who attend college. I feel that a college education is a lifeline to the future of our citizens. We greatly appreciate the increase in the Pell Grant, which allowed our neediest students to access a college education. It increased buying power as college costs continue to rise. My question to you is, will your administration support continued increases to the Pell Grant so that our neediest students have access to higher education?

OBAMA: The answer is yes. I want everybody to understand, we made -- and this was the help -- with the help of the members of Congress who are here -- made an enormous investment in higher education, making sure that young people could afford to go to great institutions like this. So we significantly increased the level of each Pell Grant, and we also put more money so that we could have more Pell Grants.”

Government sponsored college education is like mom, apple pie and housing subsidies.  How can you oppose them?

The problem is that the subsidies themselves drive up the cost of college education (because the institutions have less resistance to increasing their prices).   And far too many college students are using college as a vehicle for postponing going to work. 

NOT ALL EDUCATION IS CREATED EQUAL.  It matters if you get a six year degree (the average time to get such a degree) in Political Science versus a four year degree in Mechanical Engineering.   I challenge anyone to demonstrate the return on investment on the former but the later education might actually result in the creation of jobs for those around you – not to mention a job for you after you graduate based on your degree.

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“Lower prices lure U.S. patients abroad for surgery”

This excellent San Francisco article about health care costs, shopping around and transparency is spot on.  A lack of transparency and discussions about costs is central to the health care dilemma in the US.

When folks are not paying their own bills, they don’t care what things cost.  That is why the changes we need are frequently the opposite of what the liberals want to impose.  The left wants the government to negotiate all health care service prices and make decisions for the populace.  Those on the right recognize the problems we have today but want to lead with individual decision making at the forefront of any changes.

But how does one choose when you don’t hear the cost of the alternatives?

When my brother lived in Hong Kong during the early 1990’s he had a high deductible on his health insurance.  His doctor wanted to send him for an MRI.  He asked what the cost would be and what the alternatives were.  It turned out that since he had had very few x-rays that and x-ray would be every bit as revealing (in his case), would not result in an overexposure to radiation, all at a far lower cost.  Since he was paying the bill guess which technology he went with?

I had knee surgery a few years ago and the doctor needed me to get an MRI (an X-ray would not do the trick).  He suggested I go to a nearby hospital for it because they had a neat electronic network with which they could share the results with my doctor.  But I was footing the bill for the MRI so I shopped around.  The recommended hospital wanted to charge me $2,300.  But I found an MRI center nearby (but in another state) that would do it for $800.  Guess which way I went?  But then I told a friend in the medical billing industry the story and he busted my balloon by telling me that if I had called him that he could probably have gotten it for $300.

And finally a few months ago our cat (named Catskill) was quite ill.  We took her to a large specialty veterinarian hospital.  At every step of the way the costs were explained to us.  This kind of procedure would cost this much and have certain other risks and benefits.   This business was geared towards a client base that almost universally was paying for their own bills (the pet owners not the pets).  Cost was not an ancillary issue like a human patient covered by an all inclusive health insurance program.  By the way Catskill is doing much better now.

Transparency is one key.  Competition (and I don’t mean competing with a government subsidized entity) is also critical. And when you install a system like health care savings accounts where individuals get the impression that they are spending their own money or high deductible insurance policies where folks are really spending their own money you get a whole different set of behaviors and dialogue with the doctor.  And when you combine transparency, competition and individual choice we will see remarkable progress and lower costs for health care in America.

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'SHIFTY' as told by Chuck Yeager

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.   Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy  Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st  Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the  History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10  episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't  know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having  trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was  at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of  the 101st Airborne, on his hat.   Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne  or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the  101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served,  and how many jumps he made.   Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so,  and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart  skipped.   At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training  jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . .. . do you know  where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.   I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what  D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into  Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . .. ..  and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of  D-Day..   I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said  "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are  left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart  was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.   I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in  Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to  get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came  forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have  it, that I'd take his in coach.   He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are  still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to  make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it.  And mine are brimming up now as I write this. Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.   There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center .. No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right.   Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet  way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the  veterans.   Rest in peace, Shifty.      Chuck Yeager, MajGen. [ret.]   I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "hero's" these days...Michael Jackson, Ted Kennedy & the like!

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“I’ve made very few friends in the medical community by publishing our prices.”

My wife is investigating knee surgery.   We pay for our own health insurance with a large deductible plus we probably will not be covered because of a prior condition.

So we are part of a very small sector in America that actually cares what the medical service will cost and are shopping around.

In her investigations she came across the Surgery Center of Oklahoma.  On its web site it makes this pitch “If you have a high deductible or are part of a self-insured plan at a large company, you owe it to yourself or your business to take a look at our facility and pricing which is listed on this site. If you are considering a trip to a foreign country to have your surgery, you should look here first. Finally, if you have no insurance at all, this facility will provide quality and pricing that we believe are unmatched.”

And in an email from one of the doctors at the Center he said “I’ve made very few friends in the medical community by publishing our prices.”

This is something the Federal Government should actually be focusing on in health care reform.  First, they should structure more mechanisms (like health care saving accounts and large deductibles) that cause patients to shop around for better prices.  Second, the Federal government should mandate transparency in pricing for health care providers.  Let’s not let defacto monopolies keep their monopolistic prices secret until they drop the bomb on you at the end.  And finally there should be a maximum range between the lowest and highest amount they charge for a service.  If you have ever looked at what you are billed by the health care provider versus what the insurance deems and pays as reasonable and customary you see the stark contrasts.  The MRI center bills $2,900 for a knee MRI and the insurance company knocks it down to $300.  If you don’t know better and don’t have insurance you can end up paying almost ten times what others are paying for the same service.  If this is not gauging then what is?

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New restrictions on banks

WSJ Article

New restrictions on banks.

Some of these concepts are good and some are misguided.  Of course it places all the responsibility on the banks for the mortgage fiasco and none on the existing regulators, or the politicians that were both asleep at the wheel and encouraging of risky sub-prime lending.

We do need to solve the “too big to fail” problem.  But AIG was the weakest link in the whole process and they were not a bank.  This should be a gradual process and limit size over the next decade and not try to unwind the whole system in a few months. 

Plus it is not just banks whose failure can be such a kick in the stomach for the economy.  If big insurance companies, big pension funds or especially states (like California or New York) go bust it will have a similar ripple effect on the economy.  

Obama is saying if the banks do not restrict their business then their debt will not be guaranteed by the government.  But if a business chooses not to follow these rules, gets enormous like AIG, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns did then when they fail they can still destabilize the economy.

Also the concept that a bank will have zero proprietary trading is too extreme.  I agree that the risk these banks take should be in proportion to the balance sheet but eliminating the business entirely will make them less profitable and less viable in a world competition.

But generally it was not the proprietary trading that got the banks in trouble.  It was the stupid real estate loans and mortgage risk they took on at the urging of Barney Franks and others.  There are lots of ways to lose money and increasing the ways and likelihood is where the government really excels.

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The mule died last night!

Curtis & Leroy saw an ad in the Starkville Daily News Newspaper in Starkville, MS. and bought a mule for $100.

The farmer agreed to deliver the mule the next day.

The next morning the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, fellows, I have some bad news, the mule died last night."

Curtis &Leroy replied, "Well, then just give us our money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

They said, "OK then, just bring us the dead mule."

The farmer asked, "What in the world ya'll gonna do with a dead mule?"

Curtis said, "We gonna raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!"

Leroy said, "We shore can!  Heck, we don't hafta tell nobody he's dead!"

A couple of weeks later, the farmer ran into Curtis &Leroy at the Piggly Wiggly  grocery store and asked.

"What'd you fellers ever do with that dead mule?"

They said,"We raffled him off like we said we wuz gonna do.."

Leroy said,"Shucks, we sold 500 tickets fer two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898."

The farmer said,"My Lord, didn't anyone complain?"

Curtis said, "Well, the feller who won got upset. So we gave him his two dollars back."

Curtis and Leroy now work for the government.

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U.S. Post Service was established in 1775

        I got this email from a friend.

• The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775. You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
• Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
• Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
• War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.
• Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.
• Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.
• The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

The US Government has FAILED in every "government service" they have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars

AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??

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60 Mintues Story about the ineptitude of the Veterans Administration

This is the CBS 60 minutes story (Jan 3, 2010) about the ineptitude of the Veterans Administration.  Their records are bad.  Their processes are inefficient.  They give money to the wrong people at the wrong time.  And leave to many Americans wounded in battle in a bureaucratic nightmare.

(60 Minutes story video link)

(60 Minutes story in words)

“Delay, Deny and Hope that I die” is how veterans perceive their VA health care system.

A backlog of one million vets are now waiting for the VA to resolve their disability claims.  The agency is absolutely overwhelmed.

The vet starts out by completing a disability claim form that is 23 pages long.

The VA takes on average 6 months to answer the initial disability claim.  But if the veteran disagrees with the VA’s decision, the vet waits on average another 4 years for resolution.  In the meantime the vet is probably receiving nothing to live on – and unless his family takes him in, he is probably screwed.

But of course before we fix this huge governmental health care program, Washington wants to add yet more bureaucracy and programs – all administered more poorly than the last.  They are hard at work in their secret meetings trying to take over the health care system for the rest of us. 

Is it unreasonable to ask them to fix the VA disability programs before they screw up yet another sector of our health care?

And of course the future health care and disability costs for treating our vets is never factored into a decision on whether we should go to Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan or Vietnam.  Many times the up-front costs are a small percentage of the ultimate cost for America to take a military action.  Our service men and women get injured and the government can’t cope with treating them.

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