waste

The owner of the NFL New England Patriots, Bob Kraft, has persuaded the Deval Patrick administration to spend $ 9 million of federal stimulus money to build a footbridge between parking lots at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium. 

I simply cannot believe that this is the most pressing use of money to jumpstart the Commonwealth's economy, but then again, Bob Kraft did max out for the Patrick campaign. So, I'm sure this became far more important to the Massachusetts economy than say, fixing bottlenecked ramps off I-290.

Of course, Kraft is happy to cajole public favors, like his use of Hartford as a bargaining chip to get MA state funds to build roads into Gillette Stadium in the first place. Sleaze

Something tells me this is NOT what the original "Patriots" fought the Revolution over

It wasn't "Give me corporate welfare, or give me death!" 

In trying to quell the uproar over the government takeover of medical care in the US, Obama made a point that I think is really worth exploring.  He said:

[I]f the private insurance companies are providing a good bargain, and if the public option has to be self-sustaining -- meaning taxpayers aren't subsidizing it, but it has to run on charging premiums and providing good services and a good network of doctors, just like any other private insurer would do -- then I think private insurers should be able to compete. They do it all the time. I mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems. (emphasis mine)

This argument really breaks down on a number of levels, and it's worth a look at all of them.

First, let's start with the fact that Obama's comparing the most advanced medical care system in the world with the job of moving a package from Point A to Point B.  Any schmuck can take a package - which has your name and address right on it - and get it from here to there. If I gave anyone reading this post an addressed package, you could jump in your car and drive it to the destination with minimal failure (allowing for flat tires, the recipient having moved and left no address, random explosion of the house, whatever).

The fact is, shipping isn't a teribly complicated business.  Yet even Obama admits that the Government option is the one that gets it wrong.  He points out that FedEx and UPS are doing it right, but the USPS isn't.

So that raises the next point of failure in his argument.  It's not like FedEx and UPS were doing it first, and the government created a new mail delivery vehicle to force FedEx and UPS to lower their costs.  FedEx and UPS, to the contrary, sprung up in response to a near complete failure of the government option.  They arose from the ashes of countless lost packages, and inefficient government bungling.  They recognized a market for reliable package delivery.

Let us imagine, however, that we treat package delivery the way we treat medical care.  In the package delivery business, you must a) declare the value of your package, and b) acknowledge that should it be lost or damaged, you will be entitled to only that amount.

In May of 1996, a man cut off his own hand believing it to be evil. He refused to let doctors reattach the hand, then sued them for not doing so.  He claimed they should have known he was nuts and forced him to accept the reattachment of the hand.  While this is an extreme example, this sort of frivolous suit is filed every day.  Malpractice suits and insurance contribute a staggering amount to the costs of health care.  The total amount can be debated, but a Congressional Budget Office Brief looking at malpractice insurance premiums paid by doctors rose twice as fast as medical spending between 2000 and 2002 - roughly 15%.  For general surgeons the hike was even greater running at 33%.

In package delivery, the cost of package breakage doesn't rise dramatically year over year.  If it did, the companies would look at ways to reduce breakage and loss.  Yet our government has ignored the skyrocketing costs of malpractice and malpractice insurance as a part of the reform debate.

Costs are a huge problem. We get that.  But that raises another key difference between the healthcare debate and the President's chosen analogy of package delivery.  Research into package delivery technology isn't a dramatic portion of the package delivery costs.  Do they buy equipment? Yes.  Do they invest in dfferent ways to scan barcodes and create shipping labels? Of course.  Are they handwritten package slips a huge pain in the ass versus the barcoded, Internet-generated slips? I imagine they are.  But unlike, for instance, pharmaceutical companies, the amount they spend on R&D is fairly constrained.  They don't spend a decade or longer trying to figure out a way to move ONE particular size and shape of package.

As a result, comparing the amount of money invested in drug research and clinical trials to the box moving industry is probably a silly thing to do.  Yet their was POTUS, telling us that the two are somehow equivalent.

Looking at his argument,  the one part of the example the President got right was when he said, "It's the [Government] that's always having problems."  If you think the same people that brought you Katrina, the US Postal Service, the missing $400 million dollar Mars Global Surveyor, the $600 hammer and the $900 toilet seat, and countless other blunders will do a better job with health of every American, look no further than the countless stories of Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse.

The fact is, Obama's example probably gives us more to think about as an example of why we shouldn't let government manhandle our health care system.  As Obama points out, and as the famed economist Milton Friedman said, "The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem."

Stamford CT Mayor Dan Malloy fancies himself a "New Democrat" who is fiscally  responsible and concerned with economic growth.

Of course, when Fox News's Steve Doocy tracked him down, Mayor Malloy's major initiative was to use the federal stimulus money to cover the city in new astroturf fields. 

Yeah, that was what is was going to take to get ourselves out of the depression. Astroturf.

$15 million worth.

So where does Mayor Malloy spend the city's own money?

Not on police protection!

23 officers in Stamford laid off

Stamford (WTNH) - Negotiations between the city of Stamford and the Stamford Police Association (SPA) broke down tonight and that means 23 police officers will be off the beat.

What's even more ironic about this is Malloy's own son is a recidivist criminal.

The old saying applies here. Don;t watch what Democrats say;  watch what they do.

Anyway, with incumbent Republican Jodi Rell @ 72% job approval Malloy might as well go to the artifical "field of dreams" as for his chances to unseat the Governor.

When the time comes to replace Tim Geithner, might I suggest than Kelly Rutkowski, a 23 year old fan of the New York Yankees from New Jersey, might be an improvement

“I literally can’t afford to keep warm at this game,” Rutkowski said. “Can I just tell you, David, this is a sin. I’m freaking freezing, and there’s no way I’m spending $125 on a freaking sweatshirt, because that’s how this country got into this mess.”

The President talks about building our economy on a "new foundation"

Having dealt with construction financing in my career, I would suggest an economy based on well over $9 trillion in deficit spending.  is hmm...not based on a firm foundation.

Perhaps we ought to find out how many "$125 hoodies" our tax dollars are paying for?

Getting back to my old nabe I know what a rock looks like: and I know what sand looks like

Looks like we're payin for a lot of sand.

I'm sure Ms. Rutkowski can tell the difference between the Palisades and the Jersey Shore.

Our President, hmmm....not so much?

There is lots of talk about what needs to be done to fix education.  The big push is that we need to spend more.  I do not totally disagree, nor do I totally agree.  The bigger problem right now is not how much we spend but how we spend it.  To me it is like a trip to the grocery store. 

Lets say you are on the way home from work when your spouse calls.  They need you to stop by the store on the way and pick up toilet paper and light bulbs.  You have got $20 on you, so it will be no problem.  As you pull in to the store you realize you forgot to ask what type of bulbs are needed, but figure it is OK because you have enough to get both regular 100 watt and 3 way bulbs.  When you get there, you grab a cart and head in.  On your way to the TP and light bulbs, you pass the beer aisle.  Mmmmmmm…. Beer.  You turn down there first, like we said there is plenty of money so we can splurge.  You see a 12 pack of Federal Beer for 12 dollars.  It is a nice premium beer with a fancy package and great advertising.  No problem, you still have plenty left for what you need so you grab a case.  As you turn out of that row, you see chips.  You can’t have beer with no snacks, so you turn again.  You see a display of State Pretzels.  They are more expensive than other brands, but go perfect with beer.  They are also in a nice fancy package.  You grab a bad for $4.  You are almost to your destination when you see an end cap of Local Donuts.  You know after a night of pounding pack beer and pretzels you are going to need something for breakfast.  These things like Krispy Kreme too, so you can’t pass them up and grab a box for $3.  Finally you are where you need to be, light and TP.  Light bulbs are $4 per pack for the 3-ways and $3 for 100 watt.  With only $3 left you don’t have money for both, plus you still need that darn TP.  You see that $60 watts are only $2, so you pick that up instead.  Light is light, who cares how bright it turns out to be.  You turn around to the toilet paper.  You need at least a 4 pack, and would love something nice and fluffy.  Nice paper is at least $5.  Even if you buy the stuff that is like sandpaper it is $3 for a 4 pack.  All you have left is $1.  You grab the single roll of single ply sandpaper-like product.  Again, it does the job even if it is not very good.  You will buy something better next time.  Now you could go and put back some of that other stuff, but by now you have time invested and have convinced yourself that all the rest is just as important as what you originally came in for.   

That is the problem in a nutshell.  The purpose of the spending is education, the light bulbs and toilet paper.  We waste a lot of the money that should be paying for teachers, class rooms, books and other materials is wasted as it trickles down from Federal to State to Local Education boards.  We have teachers in trailers, or what they call portable classrooms.  The people in Washington, state capitals and county headquarters are not in trailers.  They are in beautiful buildings with huge staffs to push paperwork and discuss why the children are not learning.  We do not need more money, so much as we need to spend it on what it is intended for. 

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