monday observations

It's monday again, and we are still knee deep in election-related crap. On the democratic side of things, Barak Obama really seems to be making a showing, on the GOP side of the house, it is still anybody's guess.




Without making a comment, I think that the malaise we see on in the GOP race is indicative, (or maybe reflective), of the condition that we see on the Democratic side, the desire for change without a clear expression of exactly how. Ron Paul seems to be shaping up as a bit much, Fred Thompson is still waiting for a coronation, and the other candidates are still a bit foggy; it is a race not to see who wins, but to see who loses first, or more importantly, last.


When I see Mitt Romney, I also see John Edwards, Hillary Clinton evokes in a strange way an image of John McCain, and believe it or not, Barak Obama reminds me a bit of Mike Huckabee. It is true that these candidate pairs have little in common, (at least to hear them tell it), but they seem to fall into the same roles on their particular tracks. Truthfully, there is probably a lot more there than they want to admit, and they are pandering to the same sentiments and desires for a good reason.

What people say they want is straight talk from a candidate, but what they, in most cases mean, is they want to be comforted, to be told that everything is going to be alright. I don't think that it will be, but what do I know? There are a few issues out there that have a lot of entertainment value, and it is probably time to put them to rest, just so we can move on. Among them are abortion. To be completely honest, I think that if the government got out of the business of paying for this procedure in all but the most extreme cases, (yes, even in these tragic cases of rape and incest--to close an oft overused loophole), a lot of the controversy would go away. Tighter regulations, with some give on what would be seen as the liberal side of the health care question would also help a bit. If a woman chooses to terminate a preganancy prior to the point of viability, (established in Roe V Wade as during the first trimester), then she should engage a provider and do it, otherwise shut up. I realize that my opinion is somewhat unfeeling and may be seen as cruel, it is. My heart is really not that hard, but in a situation where jurisdiction is claimed by the individual, it really isn't necessary to involve the rest of the world, over principle or finance. If the woman cannot afford to exercise her right, I am sorry. She ought to consider other options, then move on.

Illegal immigration. I am certain that this is a problem, and that it is also a security issue, but the truth is that I don't know just how much of a problem that it is, and I suspect that most of the running mouths that decry this situatioon don't know either. Yes, I know we have a problem with a lot of crumbling infrastructure, and that we spend a lot of money on welfare and related benefits, and I have heard about free lunches and health care and blah-blah-blah, but does anyone have any idea of what it is costing? Really? And who is benefiting? Somebody is, I guarantee it.


Let's close the borders, see what we are dealing with in terms of undocumented traffic across them, (going both ways), then look inward and deal with those who shouldn't be here, and those who have reaped the benefits. What happens when/if we actually do that might appear positively liberal, (although I am certain it will be termed "humanitarian" at the time...).



Regulation of business. In the past thirty years, since the Reagan revolution, we have seen the marginalization of the individual to the extent that we simply don't matter, save as fodder for the business community to chew up and spit out while they grow fat and complacent. Now that the individual is on the ropes, and has not so much to spend, keeping the American business thriving, we are on the brink. If I ever get the chance, I will dance on Hitler's grave, and urinate on Reagan's.





It will take years, probably decades to right the wrongs of the era that we are emerging from, (if it can ever happen), and it will require the subordination of business interests to those of the individual, coupled with a respect for the power of business to propel society a bit farther than it could on its own. I see the value of business as that of a good horse, to be cared for and taken care of, but never valued more than a man.


Without going into a really long harangue here, it seems that we have stopped innovating and inventing, and we have just found more and more ways to charge more and more for the flimsiest of products. Lawyers used to be the targets of humorous derision. These days they are the pinnacle of principle. They aren't any better, but at least you know in advance how badly you are going to get screwed....

Health care? Now here is a good one, dovetails right into the regulation of business thing. In my own small opinion, one of the larger problems in the health industry is waste and inefficiency, which, not to put to fine an edge on things here, is due to the bloated insurance industry that manages it. They make the Teamsters look like small timers when it comes to managing the big-money that goes in and never comes out. The cold cruel eye of public oversight is required here, a managed, regulated monopoly might work well, with costs publicised and scrutinised by regulators at the state and federal level. The system that we have now uses between 20 and 40 percent of the money that goes in for administrative cost. The single-payer Medicare/medicaid system uses just under 6 percent. Say what you will, but they do win the efficiency war. The downside is that nobody gets real rich, and not too many Senators get large contributions.

I guess that something has to give...



Not that it matters, and it may even be xenophobic and economically counter productive, but cheap political points and the unceasing love of the electorate could be had by taxing the living hell out of the expense related to outsourced jobs. Ever talked to "Bill" or "Debbie" in Bombay? One might not if the company that employed them had to pay more in taxes and fee's than it would cost to hire a domestic employee. Press 1 for English? Set up strict licensing requirements for "interpreters" who man the phone lines, make it damned expensive to press anything besides '1'...

There. I feel better.