RIP - Walter Cronkite: America's Most Trusted Man in America

The Thursday, September 10, 2009 edition of The Washington Post features an article titled, "Cronkite, Icon of Truth and Trust, Hailed at Memorial." For additional information on the topic read, the Public Interest Institutes's brief titled "The Most Trusted Man in America."

It's hard to trust anything these days with the expansion of government at all levels.

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Is Limited Spending a concept that has been forgotten?

A good read is from By Ken Washer, DBA, CFA, Associate Professor of Finance at Creighton University.

Earning, Saving and Giving: Have We Lost Our Way? - Creighton University Magazine

The Christian theologian and founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, preached: “Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” He encouraged hard work in “honest industry,” along with limited spending. Wesley argued that to not use your money to support a good cause is to simply “throw it away.” ...

The Wednesday, August 26, 2009 edition of The Washington Post features a story titled, "Deficit Projected To Soar With New Programs." For more on the issue read, "Cutting Federal Spending Must Be a Top Priority."

Limited Government is a formula for success. It starts with limiting government spending.

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How are the nation's Governors responding to Washington DC today?

Today's article is from the Monday, July 20, 2009 edition of The Washington Times. The Times features an article titled, Governors resist footing federal projects' bill. For more on the Administration's Keynesian economic policies read Public Interest Institutes Brief titled: Follow the Constitution rather than Keynes.

"Governor Jindal has seen enough, as a health-care policy expert, he
strongly believes that the House Democrat[ic] plan would be a disaster for the
long-term health of the American people, and the long-term health of the
economy." - Curt Anderson for Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Morning Fix: Jindal Rises Again -Washington Post ‎
"Governor Jindal has seen enough," said Curt Anderson, a consultant for Jindal. "As a health-care policy expert, he strongly believes that the House ...

The Heritage Foundation reported on Facebook on July 20, 2009: Governors Balk at Obama Health Plan

President Obama just got turned down by America’s governors. Obama wanted governors to endorse his proposed overhaul of health care, but ran into opposition over the runaway costs, as reported by The New York Times. Instead he got this:
Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, said he feared Congress was about to bestow

“the mother of all unfunded mandates.”
“Medicaid is a poor vehicle for
expanding coverage,’ added Mr. Bredesen, a former health care executive. “It’s a
45-year-old system originally designed for poor women and their children. It’s
not health care reform to dump more money into Medicaid.”
Mr. Bredesen was
far from alone in his concern. “As a governor, my concern is that if we try to
cost-shift to the states we’re not going to be in a position to pick up the
tab,” said Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, also a Democrat.
“I’m
personally very concerned about the cost issue, particularly the $1 trillion
figures being batted around,” said Gov. Bill Richardson, the New Mexico Democrat
who served in the Clinton cabinet and ran for president against Mr. Obama.

Governors worry that Obama’s plan for a major expansion of Medicaid not only will break the bank in Washington, but also in the states—since they would be required to kick in part of the costs. That would worsen the multi-billion dollar shortfalls they already must address. Problems with the governors could be enormous for the White House. As The Heritage Foundation’s Dennis Smith wrote:

Congress and the Obama Administration are banking on using Medicaid to provide
coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. As many as one-third of those who
are uninsured could end up on Medicaid if it is expanded to 150 percent of the
federal poverty level. . . . State opposition could be a tremendous blow to
health care reform. Governors can be game-changers if they mobilize before
momentum is built behind specific legislation that expands Medicaid.

National Write Your Congressman web site reports ...

Blue Dogs Stand Firm on Health Care

The fiscally-conservative Blue Dog coalition of lawmakers in the House is not happy about the way health care legislation is moving through Congress. Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), Chairman of the Blue Dogs’ health care force, said on Monday that “the leadership has misread this…one” when they ignored Blue Dog requests to be included in drafting measures for health care reform.

“I think between the financial crisis, the auto bailout, the omnibus ... the
stimulus bill, the energy bill, I think it’s reached a point where not only the
Blue Dogs are saying, ‘Let’s slow down here.’ The people back home want us to
stop the spending, they want us to have time to read these bills, they want us
to have time to debate and understand these bills, and they don’t see that
happening.” - Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)

But, the leadership doesn’t get it, said Ross.

“I think they underestimated the Blue Dogs on this … We’re more united than
we’ve ever been, and so it’s not as easy as inviting one member in after the
next and finding out what their pet project is and helping them with their pet
project for their vote. This is much bigger than that.” - Rep. Ross

Ross said the legislation in its current form will not have the support of Blue Dogs. His tough stance against the overhaul bill drew praise from fellow Blue Dogs and other supporters in Congress.

“He’s doing a good job, and he’s right. When you’re right, you get a lot of
support. Mike has told the Speaker he wants health care reform, but there
need to be changes. So far the message isn’t getting through, for whatever
reason. I don’t know where they’re coming from on this.” - Rep. Collin
Peterson (D-MN)

"He’s expressing a huge sentiment shared by many in our Caucus. We’re trying
to save the bill and do what the president says we need, which is to control
costs.” - Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA)

Table of Contents from the nwyc.com:

Blue Dogs Stand Firm on Health Care
Senators Ask House Members for Advice
Exploring an Overhaul of REAL ID
Health Measures Could Weaken Economy
Consumer Financial Protection Authority

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Stimulus, Stimulus and Stimulus... it covers just about everything!

Of course, only about 10 percent of the stimulus has actually been distributed to date. The State of Michigan it was announced this week that state's unemployment rate topped 15 percent.

Some cash-strapped states and school districts are signaling a major
expansion of charter schools to tap $5 billion in federal stimulus funds,
despite strong opposition from some teachers unions. - Rob Tomsho

The Friday, July 17, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal features an article titled, Charter schools gain in stimulus scramble. Cash-Strapped States, Districts Signal Expansion of Public-Education Alternative Despite Some Teachers' Strong Opposition.
For more on charter schools read Public Interest Institutes's Brief titled: Charter schools in America: will they be successful?

Some other articles to consider regarding Charter Schools and the Federal Stimulus...

Fenty Alters Proposal To Close Budget Gap - Washington Post
About $125 million will come from the city's rainy-day fund and $188 million from President Obama's economic stimulus package. ...
Patrick charter school plan could net fed funds -Belmont Citizen-Herald o
Patrick on Thursday framed the charter school push in moral terms, as a tool to close significant performance gaps along ethnic and income lines, ...
Morton Kondracke: Who will Congress put first - children or ... -San Gabriel Valley Tribune
So far, Congress has robustly backed Obama and Duncan's efforts with $100 billion in the economic stimulus package for education, including $10 billion to ...

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The Impact a Supreme Court selection can have on the Second Amendment

The Thursday, July 16, 2009 edition of The Star Tribune features an article titled, Sotomayor: from guns to Perry Mason. For more on the constitutional significance of the Second Amendment read Public Interest Institutes's Brief titled: Do citizens have the right to keep and bear arms? and District of Columbia v. Heller.

NRA Opposes Sotomayor, Cites 'Hostile View' of Gun Rights‎ - Wall Street Journal blogs
The NRA criticized several of the positions Sotomayor had taken on Second Amendment rights. “It is only by ignoring history that any judge can say that the ...

Don't Mess With Sotomayor‎ - Washington Post

Sen. Graham's Second Round of Questioning at Judge Sotomayor's ...‎ - Washington Post

On a local note, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley questioned Sonia Sotomayor in 3Rd round of questions on July 16, 2009. Senator Grassley's questioning was not directly related in any way to the Second Amendment, Transcript from the Washington Post and focuses on "stare decisis." Senators Grassley and Leahy discuss Sotomayor o... - YouTube

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"And if there are going to be limits, who . . . is going to enforce the rules for a system like that?"

"President Obama called it the "right question" -- then failed to answer it.
This was not surprising: The query is emerging as the ultimate challenge in reining in health-care costs that now consume $2.5 trillion per year, or 16 percent of the economy. How will tough decisions be made about what to spend money on? In a country where "rationing" is a dirty word, who will say no?" - The Washington Post

The Wednesday, July 8, 2009 edition of The Washington Post features an article titled, "In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Say No?" For more on this issue, read the Public Interest Institutes's brief titled "A Health Care Prescription for Iowa."

We need Health Care Reform, but we can certainly argue what that reform should be and consist of.

Health Care Reform Will Succeed This Time, Say Experts -Talk Radio News Service - Laura Woodhead
Speaking at a discussion on health care reform at the Campus Progress National Convention, the experts argued that the mood within the US makes this year ...

Video: Biden Announces White House Deal With Hospitals - The Associated Press
Health Care vs. Rationing - Washington Post
White House, hospitals reach deal on health care - The Associated Press

CQPolitics.com - Chiropractic Economics

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What direction is Health Care Reform heading and where should it head in the USA?

Today's post comes from the article in the Friday June 19, 2009 edition of the Washington Post. The paper features an article titled: "Senate's Health-Care Draft Calls for Most to Buy Insurance, Nixes Obama's 'Public Option.'" For more on the issue read the Public Interest Institutes's Brief: "A Healthcare Prescription for Iowa."

"A draft proposal in the Senate to overhaul the nation's
health-care system would require most people to buy health insurance, authorize
an expansion of Medicaid coverage and create consumer-owned cooperative plans instead of the government coverage that President Obama is seeking." - Washington Post

On Thursday June 18, 2009, the Washington Post article reported that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) met with four Republicans, including Iowa's Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking GOP member on the panel, along with two Democratic colleagues in an attempt to find bipartisan consensus. Baucus dubbed the group "the coalition of the willing."

The Economist has an interesting article dated April 23, 2008 titled "Health Care Around the World: Switzerland." Google's highlight of the Apr 23, 2008 article ...

"Still of all the countries with universal health care, Switzerland's is the
most market-oriented and merits discussion. Switzerland's health" ... - Google

Movement towards the President's government health care system has raised concerns with many that it could have an impact on innovation. Today, the United States ranks number one as The Economist article dated June 8, 2009 titled "Top Countries for Biotechnology Innovation" points out.

Overall the Top 5 Countries for Biotechnology Innovation (source: The Economist):

1. U.S.
2. Singapore
3. Denmark
4. Israel
5. Sweden
   

You can see the full list of rankings here. More discussion on these rankings can be found here.

The health care debate in Washington D.C. is extremely important. We need to keep health care costs at the consumer level. As was mentioned in one of the articles, "When patients are paying for health care costs directly, they are more sensitive to what those cost are."

We need to empower the public. Why are consumers restricted to purchase health insurance beyond their state? Congress prohibits basically interstate commerce when it comes to health care insurance. Wouldn't increasing competition have a positive results on controlling premium costs and care?

Like with housing and food subsidies, we do need to help those disadvantaged in our society. We do need to make sure the consumer has some responsibility and stake in the system. We need to encourage prudence in our society. When it comes to discussing health care and other public policy issues... remember, Character Counts!

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Politics Gone Bad; Gas Prices rising and Concerns in schools

The Wednesday, December 17, 2008 edition of The Washington Post contains an article titled Rep. Jackson Said to Have Reported Blagojevich Request. For more on the issue of doing more to stop improper political influence, read Pork, Politics Gone Bad.

It doesn't appear that the Illinois governor will give up, without being forced out. Fox News reports a story on the State of Illinois' situation in the governor's office.

T. Boone Pickens comments on OPEC's plan to raise oil prices through reducing supply.

CNN reports on Children forced into cell-like school seclusion rooms, including a death in a school in Georgia.

http://www.twitter.com/cidsports

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Do the people deserve a say or is it all in the hands of the Legislature and/or Courts?

The State of Iowa doesn't have the proposition system, but even if they had, it appears in California, some want to trump the "say" of the people...

The Tuesday, November 11, 2008 edition of The Washington Post features an article titled "Legality of Same-Sex Marriage Ban Challenged." Another report titled "Marriage is Worth Constitutional Protection" may interest you as well.

Are some in California more interested in the ends justifying the means?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who opposed Proposition 8 and called it "a total waste of time," encouraged the fight to continue. "They should never give up," he said in an interview on CNN. "They should be on it and on it until they get it done."

What direction will public policy head with issues ballooning like this? What is the future role for the Court System? Do we want a pure democracy California?

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