Society's Choices vs Top Down Rules and Force

Society's Choices vs Top Down Rules and Force

President Obama, recently said; "I think it's important to understand that you can't have 100 percent security and then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience. We're going to have to make some choices as a society."

I'd like to deconstruct the last sentence.  Who makes the choices? He implies its 'society' but its not us making those choices and none of the choices will be voluntary.  Society is voluntary or it once was....

from Nana's 1950 unabridged dictionary:

1. Companionship and association with one's fellows, usually, friendly and intimate intercourse; company.
2. One's friends and companions collectively.

While today, a web search came up with:

1. The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. 
2. The community of people living in a particular region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations. 

Who benefits when we think of the government as a 'society' of voluntary interactions and not the power to exercise authority directing and controlling our actions? I think we know the answer.

Romney, GOP Establishment Coup at RNC

I’m not trying to be overly dramatic, but if this isn’t a coup, I don’t know what is. For background, Mary Beth, Ian, Steve, and Stacy have been all over this story about the Mittster’s henchmen attempting to change the rules at the RNC in order to facilitate a power grab by Romney and his beloved Establishment. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) The result of the Mittster’s new rules will be to centralize power in the hands of the Republican Establishment in Washington at the expense of the grass roots. It will also have the effect of making a primary challenge to Romney from the right in 2016 (if he wins) more difficult, given that he will control the party apparatus to an ... Full Palin Page

Update: Michelle Malkin on the aftermath of Team Romney’s power grab in Tampa:

I have no patience for the Republican party-bots telling these front-line soldiers to shut up in the name of unity — and to hide “in-fighting” because the Left will publicize it. It should be publicized. Conservative activists and Tea Party members have worked their asses off within the system, doing the groundwork of righting the wayward GOP ship from the inside. These are the door-knockers, sign-makers, phone-bankers, and message-spreaders who fueled the Tea Party revolution and who enabled the 2010 GOP midterm victories. They fought for and earned their place at the table.

I also have no patience for the sideline-sitters who gripe that rules fights are booooooring and meaningless. The Tea Party conservative activists are doing what an effective movement is supposed to be: They’ve moved on from protests and rallies to the nuts and bolts of party politics. These battles matter, because exercising grass-roots muscles makes them stronger.

Finally, I have no patience for the addled critics who think we are unable to multi-task. Yes, you can criticize bad GOP maneuvers AND maintain the fight against Obama and the progressives at the same time! It’s easy if you try.

Select Quotes

"The more the state plans, the more difficult planning becomes for the individual." ~ Friedrich Hayek

Curiosity is the ultimate expression of insubordination. Nabakov

"Progress is precisely that which rules and regulations did not foresee." ~ Ludwig von Mises

“A government large enough to give you everything you want is large enough to take it all away. Worry, pain, and anxiety are unpleasant, but they provide a valuable thing: the drive to work hard, take initiative, and better one’s circumstances.

"In the rush to cure all the ills to which humans are heir, liberty is too often an innocent bystander -- and an accidental casualty." --Barry Goldwater, 1964

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent....the greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." -- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

If you believe the government can dictate the smallest details of 300 million people’s lives and achieve a desirable outcome, its you who are naive; libertarians are the realistic ones.

"When you let people do whatever they want, you get Woodstock. When you let governments do whatever they want, you get Auschwitz."

"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." -- George Orwell

ON EQUALITY
"From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently."
"Equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict with each other;and we can achieve either the one or the other, but not both at the same time. The equality before the law which freedom requires leads to material inequality." Hayek 1960

Hayek -- it is important not to confuse opposition against the latter kind of planning with a dogmatic lasissez faire attitude. The [classical] liberal argument does not advocate leaving things just as they are; it favours making the best possible use of the forces of competition as a means of coordinating human efforts. It is based on the conviction that, where effective competition can be created, it is a better way of guiding individual efforts than any other.

"James Madison's concern about class warfare between the rich and the poor led him to favor the House of Representatives being elected by the people at large and the Senate elected by property owners. He said, "It is nevertheless certain, that there are various ways in which the rich may oppress the poor; in which property may oppress liberty; and that the world is filled with examples. It is necessary that the poor should have a defense against the danger. On the other hand, the danger to the holders of property cannot be disguised, if they be undefended against a majority without property." Walter Williams

"Control-freak politicians abhor gold because it ignores them; it won't do what it's told. It defies economists and laughs at central bankers."

"[classical] Liberalism and capitalism address themselves to the cool, well- balanced mind. They proceed by strict logic, eliminating any appeal to the emotions. Socialism, on the contrary, works on the emotions,..."
"...tries to violate logical considerations by rousing a sense of personal interest and to stifle the voice of reason by awakening primitive instincts." Mises

EMOTION
As Hitler said, "When something is based on emotion, no facts can destroy it"

We were told tens of thousands of Americans died every year because they lacked health care insurance. Yet why is outrage gone? Presumably the same people are still without health care insurance as much of the HC law has not been implemented and many businesses have obtained waivers.

Marx and Engels did not try to refute an opponent's argument, but instead mounted a personal attack on the opponent. Likewise, Lenin said, 'My words were calculated to evoke hatred, aversion and contempt...not to convince but to break up the ranks of the opponent, not to correct an opponent's mistake, but to destroy him.' he stands in a direct line from Marx to the neocons."

The “Supreme” Court has now made it legal by 8 to 1 margin for “police” searching for illegal drugs to enter the home of a “criminal suspect” if, after knocking loudly on the victim’s door, it sounds like the victim is destroying “illegal” drugs, without a search warrant. So the war on drugs trumps 4th amendment. UNBELIEVEABLE

In all the studies, the best outcomes in education come from giving local control to principals.. let them put the focus on hiring good teachers, get rid of bad teachers quickly, and focus even daily on progress of kids who are marginal. None of this happens with a huge bureaucracy to support.

Subsidiarity, a central principle of Catholic social thought, holds that all social functions should be carried out by the most local unit possible, as opposed to the dehumanizing alternative whereby distant bureaucratic structures are routinely and unthinkingly entrusted with more and more responsibilities for human well-being.
We could use a little more of that and a little less direction from DC.

"Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied." -- Otto Von Bismark

TAXATION
"The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf".....WILL ROGERS

The constitution allows for two types of taxation with specific rules that govern each specie of tax. A direct tax must be apportioned and indirect taxes must be uniform. I know if it's a direct tax that the income tax is not apportioned and if it's an indirect tax it's not uniform.

Edward J. Walsh says:

It is the corporate and cultural duty of responsible members of a community to rally behind youth who are most in need.

Gates and Buffett through their foundation funded such a school in South Omaha, the private Cristo Rey, where students attend high school four days a week and work for business partners on the fifth. Nebraska's laws do not allow truly independent schools within the public system.
We know bottom up solutions, like Cristo Rey, enjoy a high level of parental involvement as their voices are heard. Large districts and Learning Communities hire public relations staff to defuse disagreement. Political bodies tend to act, well, politically. Its only natural.
Can DC and the Unicameral replace 'community' by passing laws? Did Jesus tell his disciples: Send your money to Rome so the Romans may meet society's needs? Private foundations enrich the community and avoid capital gains taxes. DC lost 15% and Lincoln lost 7% capital gains taxes on the money Buffett put into the foundation. Is he acknowledging private spending offers more benefit to the community?
My editorial on school choice was published when Class One district schools were in limbo. The teachers, the buildings, and enthusiasm of their community still existed. Why did the Unicameral not allow parents to choose their local school or the consolidated school? The need and the desire were there but the lack of legislation held them back even as it denies us Federal grants today. The farther removed the decisions on education are from the parents, the less parents get involved. Why bother?
Recently, a public school teacher told me she was concerned about unfair competition from charters as much of her freedom of instructions has been lost. Wouldn't it be better to restore public school choices then destroy choice altogether?
The teachers and staff in OPS, as in all districts, are dedicated and hard working but as layers between parents, teachers and decision makers keep growing, parents give up. Lobbyists and executives in the district offices and in Lincoln have only to wait out the resolve of citizens. Several times during my years in OPS, revolts have spontaneously erupted as parents and taxpayers questioned the education lobby.
The Unicameral could limit district size. That might help. Parental advisory boards rather than bureaucrats should be making the decisions. Of course, my preference would be a free marketplace of educational opportunities from which parents could choose. The Learning Community pretends to give us school choice while it actually added yet another layer to the bureaucracy.

Managing Healthcare

Sent to Letters to the Editor of The Hill
Our government at all levels, including many state mandates, already manages heathcare for active duty, the VA, in Medicare, Medicaid, Government employees insurance (including Congress, SCHIP (children) and for 100 years through the IHS [Indian Health Services]. Depending on who gets elected, quality and accessibility waxes and wanes because … politicians tend to make decisions based on, well, politics:

“many believe IHS sits low on the government's priority list. As a result, the IHS has remained terribly underfunded. For example, IHS spends approximately $2,100 per patient each year. Medicare …pays about $8,000, and Medicaid …pays about $4,500 per patient each year. ..these figures, says the Leader, ..come from the government's own statistics”

The Pine Ridge infant morality remains about double the surrounding area. If Congress thinks costs can be cut by encouraging life style changes, shouldn’t they prove it on the Pine Ridge first? Of course, we are assured, all new plans from DC are being designed to be ‘FAIR’ – no favoritism.

When I graduated from Omaha Benson High in 1960, there were about 400 in our class. By 1964, new wings were being added. The boomer generation’s size always seems to amaze the public facility planners and it’s about to hit and, I believe, collapse Medicare. Who are we kidding with planned ‘savings from Medicare’? And those ‘meanie’ insurance executives are actually looking forward to the plum of ‘required coverage’. The pharma-controlled FDA makes sure drug profits stay high too.

The government consumes wealth; private industry creates wealth. This is why socialism leads to Hayek’s ‘Road to Serfdom’. In medicine, capitalism created cutting edge care and innovation and still does. If reform happens, let’s increase, not decrease, capitalism and reduce the unfair favoritisms of politics. Lets not fall victim to the tyranny of the majority and have our individual options removed.

Technology, in a marketplace, brings down prices and increases quality as in Lasik eye surgery which is not covered by insurance. The more we return to ‘fee for service’ in medicine, the more prices fall and the more efficient the system becomes.

We don’t have too little government in medicine. We have too much.

PS. Daschle was Senator of S.D. for many years. He is our publicly administered medical ‘Expert’?

Housing/Education

Many marginal income earners find themselves teetering on the brink of losing their home. They simply cannot make their mortgage payments. But what portion of their payment actually goes to the lender? Some pays for insurance and real estate taxes.

Raising real estate taxes during a recession and job losses only piles onto the homeowners woes. Douglas and Sarpy counties are facing additional taxes from a new taxing authority, the Learning Community. Per pupil costs, in total, from the ESUs, the districts, the Learning Community, and state level spending keep rising. K-12 isn't enough so pre-school is being added.

A shakeup in funding may be in order to get overhead costs under control. The TAC building could become Tech High school again. Omaha is large enough for a school of the arts, and could share that beautiful old building with trades training again.

But back to funding options.

A shakeup in funding would not 'do away' with public schools. Any school doing a good job would maintain the loyalty of the parents. Nebraska has a responsibility to test all children (annually) making sure to catch disabilities early, and assess goals of reading skills, arithmetic and science, but never to administer the schools. Testing gives parents a gauge to rank their neighborhood school's quality and effectiveness for their children. Renters need not think they are free of real estate taxes or taxes from the State going to local schools.

If public schools lost all tax funding, who would fund them? How could they stay open? Parents would fund them. Principals would quickly learn that with choice came responsibility. Ineffective teachers would find other, more appropriate, work. The College of Education [lowest SAT scores] would close. Arts and Science would add a major in primary education, and minor in education for science and math majors who want to try teaching at the secondary level. If teaching is fun for them, that may become their life long career, but an A&S degree in their field allows them the choice of leaving teaching, getting a masters or moving into industry.

Oh, but the POOR.. what about them? And what of those who cannot afford tuition?

First, spending on education should all be tax free. For the poor, food stamps work well because we don't dictate what food recipients eat or what store they use. Do we care if the store is owned by a muslim, jew or christian? Education stamps, funded federally (diverted from department of education), could work equally well, in my opinion. And annual testing will ensure children are being taught facts, not fictions, and not being hidden in the attic. It's in Nebraska's interest to identify and any child abuse.

My real estate taxes are over $300 a month and I would gladly help pay tuition for my grandchildren. Cost for education would, in my opinion, be half what it is today. Schools could cost shift, too, so that the schools of the elite include diversity of economic classes. Church schools run on a shoestring, a small percentage of the administration of the government public schools.

I honestly believe that over 1/2 spent today is not going to educate our children. These dollars fund the suits who roam the halls of government just like any other lobbyists.

Taking the lid off of public education will result in innovations bottled up for generations. Remember when Ma Bell gave us a princess phone for a monthly fee as an innovation and now look what we have in options.

Central planners have broken the education system just like they broke the medical system provided by our free market. Some suburban districts still work well because they are competing for residents and residents check the school district quality first. Some small community districts still work because everyone knows what goes on there and the parents still have some control over their local schools. Consolidation and districts with 10s of thousands of children move control so far up the ladder that the parents have no control or choices based on the needs of their individual children.

Goal: Affordable healthcare

As a libertarian, leaving most decisions to the market and to the patient makes sense. With a market, capital expenditures are made that do not make sense in a managed care system. Natasha Richardson, after sending the first ambulance away, may not have survived, but a 2.5 hour ambulance ride from the ski area to the hospital, when no helicopter was available, may have made the difference. Sioux City, population of 50,000, has a life flight helicopter. Why? because a helicopter ride can be paid for by charging the customers who need it.

Here is my simple plan:

1. Every year, the income tax system can mail a pre-paid cash card with $2500 to each family funded:
   
   a) from the taxes submitted or
   b) supplimented similar to Earned Income Tax Credit, or
   c) for the truly needy, funded totally by welfare.
2. A cash card can be limited to healthcare, much like food stamps are limited to food, but the unused portion at year end transfers to a 401K for the family,
3. Require a high deductible policy (called a major medical policy MM) covering catastrophic costs during the year from $3500-$5million. Premiums are 1/3rd to 1/4th of a commonly used co-pay policy because most years, these MM policies are never used.

When the cash card has used the full $2500, and the costs have risen above $3500 only then does the insurance company get involved.

Everyone gets healthcare at an affordable cost! Office visits include close to 50% non-medical costs so immediately costs begin to drop (which is reflected in lower premiums again). Most families will not use the full $2500 in a given year or file any insurance claims. The debit card does keep track of spending.

When a mother has access to the pediatrician’s office for $50 or the emergency room for $1000 for her child, market forces kick in. Price starts to matter again. For individuals who abuse the system or who are incompetent to manage their care, we have either family guardianship or social services just as we do today.

Is a mammogram $88 or is it $188? No one asks now but spending their own money changes that. Overhead, like shiny new offices, increase costs, but may not increase quality so the patients will become better consumers.

Drop Medicare, Medicaid, VA health care and Government employees insurance, as well as, all employer-based insurance and let the insurance companies vie for private group major med policies for unions or associations and require longer coverage similar to life policy contracts. Give the federal government responsibility only for the major medical policy of pre-existing conditions, the very needy and Veterans. Drop all other insurance mandates passed by states and DC.

A centrally located database with all health care records can still exist but it can be voluntary and the cash card charges are linked to procedures and can be used for medical studies without individual information.

At the most, even if the fed had to fund 1/2 of the cash card accounts, it would not exceed $100 billion -- and remember, with medicare gone, the VA and government employee spending gone-- it would beat anything proposed to date.

It’s too simple and it gives citizens way too much choice in the matter to catch a bureaucrats’ eye but I would love the freedom it would allow me. Call me a rebel!