AT&T wants to buy T Mobile and become the largest, of possibly only two national wireless carriers. The government is looking into the deal to make sure that you and I will be able to get reasonably priced wireless service after the deal.
Why does the government need to take care of us in this case? Sure, we've all come to know and love our wireless devices, but we do not NEED them. If the wireless carriers want to charge more than we think the service is worth, we should simply do without the service. It's time we started standing up for ourselves with our wallets rather than depending on government to burden the industry with more rules and regulations.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
No Fly Zone
I'm sorry; I just don't get it. The rebels are unmanned on the ground as well as in the air. Another opportunity to kill innocent civilians and get into a situation that can only get worse. What is the expected outcome here anyhow?? What's the exit strategy?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. It is also the only one of the top 10 for which there is NO PREVENTION and NO CURE. I applaud all efforts to discover a cure for this hideous disease, but in the meantime, where is the effort to define a way to end life with dignity before a supporting family is emotionally and financially bankrupt?
I do NOT have Alzheimer's, however, if I should get it, I would like to be able to define a measurable point in the irreversible progression after which I would be allowed to die with dignity and without the stigma of "suicide".
What if they discover a cure a month after I have ended my life? Oh, well. I missed it, but millions after me will be saved.
Yes, there are many legal and moral issues to be resolved, such as how to define the measurable point and how to make sure that relatives (or even the government) aren't making the decision against the person's will; but let's not just identify the problems, let's SOLVE them.
Let me decide when my life is no longer worth living because of an incurable and/or unaffordable disease.
I do NOT have Alzheimer's, however, if I should get it, I would like to be able to define a measurable point in the irreversible progression after which I would be allowed to die with dignity and without the stigma of "suicide".
What if they discover a cure a month after I have ended my life? Oh, well. I missed it, but millions after me will be saved.
Yes, there are many legal and moral issues to be resolved, such as how to define the measurable point and how to make sure that relatives (or even the government) aren't making the decision against the person's will; but let's not just identify the problems, let's SOLVE them.
Let me decide when my life is no longer worth living because of an incurable and/or unaffordable disease.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
A New Task For Unions
There probably isn't one of us whose life hasn't been touched, in a positive way, by what the labor unions have accomplished in this country. Child labor laws, 40 hour work week, salaries, benefits, etc.
However, many of these "improvements", particularly over the past 15 years, have been increases in wages and benefits without a corresponding increase in production. So if you pay more for the same output, where does the money come from.
This blogger gets sick and tired of hearing that BUSINESS (whoever that is) is the bad guy, the root of all evil, the cause of all problems. Well, BUSINESS (whoever that is) isn't perfect, but just where do the products that we sell come from without them? And don't ever forget, you can have the best bankers and teachers and librarians and road repair crews in the world, but if nobody has a product to sell, there isn't any money to pay them.
Unfortunately, when the unions were running around rallying people to demand higher salaries, better health benefits and more comfortable pensions; they didn't anticipate one key factor.... the globalization of the economy. Countless jobs that the unions "improved" in the USA can now be sourced overseas at a much lower cost. You can say it isn't "fair" all you want, but if you want goods produced at a price that you can afford, "business" has no choice. Believe it or not, business is in business to produce a product that will sell in order to make a profit. Profits are distributed to investors who believe enough in the product to take a risk and fork over some money to fund the business. The money the investors contribute are used to buy labor and materials to produce the product.
There isn't anything evil going on here until someone expects to get something for nothing. If I'm getting paid $1.00 for each widget I produce and the union convinces me I should get $2.00 each, we go on strike and the "business" caves and gives us $2.00. Where does that money come from??????? Raise the price, right? Nobody wants to pay that price and big bad business finds out that they can get the widgets built in Indonesia for $0.75 each. It's either buy them there or go out of business. In either case the people making $2.00/widget are out of a job.
How do we get out of this mess? The unions have done such a great job raising the quality of life here, they now need to do the same in all parts of the world where there is competition for labor. If everyone in the world gets $2.00 per widget, it will be much easier to keep the job here.
Get ready to pay $500 for that new pair of Nike's though!!
However, many of these "improvements", particularly over the past 15 years, have been increases in wages and benefits without a corresponding increase in production. So if you pay more for the same output, where does the money come from.
This blogger gets sick and tired of hearing that BUSINESS (whoever that is) is the bad guy, the root of all evil, the cause of all problems. Well, BUSINESS (whoever that is) isn't perfect, but just where do the products that we sell come from without them? And don't ever forget, you can have the best bankers and teachers and librarians and road repair crews in the world, but if nobody has a product to sell, there isn't any money to pay them.
Unfortunately, when the unions were running around rallying people to demand higher salaries, better health benefits and more comfortable pensions; they didn't anticipate one key factor.... the globalization of the economy. Countless jobs that the unions "improved" in the USA can now be sourced overseas at a much lower cost. You can say it isn't "fair" all you want, but if you want goods produced at a price that you can afford, "business" has no choice. Believe it or not, business is in business to produce a product that will sell in order to make a profit. Profits are distributed to investors who believe enough in the product to take a risk and fork over some money to fund the business. The money the investors contribute are used to buy labor and materials to produce the product.
There isn't anything evil going on here until someone expects to get something for nothing. If I'm getting paid $1.00 for each widget I produce and the union convinces me I should get $2.00 each, we go on strike and the "business" caves and gives us $2.00. Where does that money come from??????? Raise the price, right? Nobody wants to pay that price and big bad business finds out that they can get the widgets built in Indonesia for $0.75 each. It's either buy them there or go out of business. In either case the people making $2.00/widget are out of a job.
How do we get out of this mess? The unions have done such a great job raising the quality of life here, they now need to do the same in all parts of the world where there is competition for labor. If everyone in the world gets $2.00 per widget, it will be much easier to keep the job here.
Get ready to pay $500 for that new pair of Nike's though!!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Health Care Cost
When are we going to start separating the cost of Health Care from the cost of Health Insurance. Certainly then are connected, but the media doesn't seem to treat the two any differently.
The cost of Health Care should simply be the cost to provide any given procedure or service, regardless of who pays for it. With nearly zero inflation over the past couple years, the cost of Health Care should not have gone up.
The cost of Health Insurance is, of course, be a horse of a different color. If the insurance pool of which you are a member has seen an increase in the claims associated with a certain type of procedure, the cost of insurance will probably rise so the insurance company can continue to make a profit.
So, why has the cost of Health Care risen in the last couple years? Or has it? Has the cost of Health CARE risen, or has the cost of Health INSURANCE risen? Certainly the second. I'm not sure about the first. And, regarding the second; what are the real underlying causes of the increase?
The cost of Health Care should simply be the cost to provide any given procedure or service, regardless of who pays for it. With nearly zero inflation over the past couple years, the cost of Health Care should not have gone up.
The cost of Health Insurance is, of course, be a horse of a different color. If the insurance pool of which you are a member has seen an increase in the claims associated with a certain type of procedure, the cost of insurance will probably rise so the insurance company can continue to make a profit.
So, why has the cost of Health Care risen in the last couple years? Or has it? Has the cost of Health CARE risen, or has the cost of Health INSURANCE risen? Certainly the second. I'm not sure about the first. And, regarding the second; what are the real underlying causes of the increase?
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