Values Displaced

Published on December 31, 2005 By stevendedalus In Politics

Raising the standard of living of the poor cannot be done without reducing the ridiculously high standards of the very wealthy to make room for a wider middle class. Top corporate executives continue to receive perks and bonuses for unremarkable structuring of its production plants and rather remarkable for their eye on the bottom line to please stockholders while having little concern for their employees’ well-being by mergers, increasing outsourcing of labor and cutting benefits. When $10 million birthday parties and $700K watches become common among the most affluent means the country is reincarnating the Court of Louis XIV. When athletes spend more time buying jewelry and outlandish fashion than Willie Mays used to spend time playing stickball with the kids in Harlem, it is time to rollback the absurd contracts that relentlessly pilfer from loyal fans. When the entertainment industry pampers and lavishes astronomical pay and royalty to its stars, it is time to reassess the validity of allowing the moguls hands-off decision-making.

That a company like Wal-Mart, which produces nothing and a major distributor of imported goods, yet becomes the biggest employer in the country, is indicative of a nation losing its will to industrialize and modernize its infrastructure. That powerhouses like GM and Ford are on the decline owing to the government’s irresponsibility in not providing universal health care in which foreign makers luxuriate is another sign that the nation is unwilling to come to grips with reality. And why the poor will always be slighted because of the nation’s expertise in muddling through as substitute for vision.

http://stevendedalus.joeuser.com

Comments (Page 2)

Locamama

on Dec 31, 2005

owing to the government’s irresponsibility in not providing universal health care in which foreign makers luxuriate is another sign that the nation is unwilling to come to grips with reality.

As someone who has had to endure government healthcare as a military dependant and now am blissfully Tricare Prime Remote which means I can go to real doctors again, I say keep healthcare privatized. You don't want the government in charge of your healthcare.

Dr Guy

on Dec 31, 2005

You don't want the government in charge of your healthcare.

Can I get an AMEN!

AMEN!

singrdave

on Dec 31, 2005

You don't want the government in charge of your healthcare.

Two years living in the UK subject to National Health scared me off universal health care forever.
Then six years of the Army showed me the quality of free health care available in this country.

Can I get an AMEN!

AMEN! AMEN AND AMEN!

drmiler

on Dec 31, 2005

That would be kind of self-defeating wouldn't it?

no more so than offering rebates and no/low interest financing to keep artificially churning the market.

like the administration, american automakers seem to believe you can keep pushing off tomorrow til the next day.

I'm sorry kb but this is ignorant. It most assuredly WOULD be self-defeating. Why give a 3 year warranty on a vehicle you "know" will end up in the shop? This makes no sense! When it goes into the shop, they send the mfg a bill for fixing the vehicle. Which they must then pay. Which lowers their profit margin for the vehicle in question. That is just simple economics. Artifically churning the market does "nothing" for their bottom-line.

kingbee

on Jan 01, 2006

You don't want the government in charge of your healthcare.

hell no. i wanna hmo to tell me which doctor i can or can't see...and to tell the doctor which course of treatment he can or can't choose for me based on some beancounter's assessment of whether saving my life is really cost-effective (or likely to reduce the department's annual bonus pool).

nothing perks up a profoundly ill patient like havin to hire a lawyer to force the kindly hmo guys to allow treatment. and nothing perks up kindly hmo guys like knowing how many profoundly ill patients die before the case ever is called to order.

Locamama

on Jan 01, 2006

Do you really think the government is going to be easier to deal with than an HMO? It is the biggest bureaucracy in the world. You definately have more options in the "real world". In the military world, we rarely ever got to see a doctor.

Locamama

on Jan 01, 2006

Plus in the real world, you can always shop for different medical coverage if you are unhappy with your current plan. You might have to pay significantly more but when there is only one provider the quality of care does not go up.

stevendedalus

on Jan 01, 2006

buying toilet paper

I'm talking about excesses, not basics.

You might have to pay significantly more but when there is only one provider the quality of care does not go up.

Medicare disproves this.

In the military world, we rarely ever got to see a doctor.

Thankfully.

You don't want the government in charge of your healthcare.

It already is predominant--Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA, together with those in the military, including families. I never heard of negative criticism of military medical care except for follow up care after discharge.

kingbee

on Jan 01, 2006

Artifically churning the market does "nothing" for their bottom-line.

no kiddin?. too bad nobody told gm & ford huh?
do you have any clue how much gm has lost this year?

here's the nasty lil secret behind optimistic quarterly car sales announcements: when you concentrate on selling as many cars as you possibly can with special deals and rebates and 0% interest, eventually you wind up losing money on each unit sold.

i'm willing to concede american cars seems to be built better now than they were prior to about 1990, you're a bigger fool than you normally appear if you think 'quality is job one' came about to reduce warranty service costs.

it was a sales slogan. the big three love sellin cars so much they've been doin it for less than nothing for quite a while.

Texas Wahine

on Jan 01, 2006

I've been really happy with our medical care in the military. Before joining, my husband and I never had health care (with the exception of pregnancy) and it's wonderful to be able to go in to the doctor when we're sick no matter how little money is in the bank account.

I think it's an excellent benefit, and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

The boys and I have a family doctor that we see every time we go in. She's excellent...very thorough...and she knows our medical history, and we are typically seen the day we call.

I'm happy with the health care offered by the military. And military folks not pleased with it aren't forced to use Tricare. They can always purchase different health insurance.

stevendedalus

on Jan 01, 2006

You want to know what is killing GM and Ford -- blame unions, the bastions of liberalism that they are. They refuse to give back benefits, and refuse to recognize economic reality when it hits them in the face. They worry about the short term, and near term, and ignore the long term. In doing so, they kill the host that they parasite on and then cry because it's gone and someone should have saved it.

Some good points but overstated. Unions are no longer liberal, if ever. Their motive has always been bread and butter issues, no more so than corporations. Because most of their generous gains were made in the euphoric decades following WWII, they have since lost much ground by conceding to cuts in wage and fringes. Negotiated settlements in health care were made during a time when health costs were under control. The same for retirement when actual workers were at tenfold ratio to retirees. But here too there have been concessions. It just seems to me to be against the working stiff in favor of corporations tells me a good deal about the rugged individual psyche prevalent today of those who think they are too proud to join fellow workers to sustain the middle class.

stevendedalus

on Jan 01, 2006

U.S. auto makers are saying they must move their operations overseas in an effort to reduce costs, namely wages, health care and retirement benefits, in order to be able to compete in the global economy.

Yes, very un-American.

The loss of good manufacturing jobs and hi-tech jobs makes it difficult for the poor to break out of poverty. The middle class is filling the decent jobs that are available. Student financial aid has been cut under the Bush administration and with the higher cost of living, it is much more difficult for the poor to get a college education now than it was in the 90s.

Good!

I think it's an excellent benefit, and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

I'm happy for you. As I said earlier negatives about military health care is minimal.

No one "made" Wal Mart what it is. We demanded it.

But we didn't demand they undermine small American suppliers by creating an empire in China. Moreover, Wal-Mart did not invent cheap prices--A&P, Sears, K-Mart, etc., showed them the American way--unfortunately Sam chose the China way.

stevendedalus

on Jan 01, 2006

So what you are saying is, unless our laws are set up to pity poor and show contempt for the rich, we will never have equality?

No one is talking about "equality" but a fair shake would go along way in lifting people.

No harm intended.

It's okay; I'm thick-skinned.

ParaTed2k

on Jan 01, 2006

No one is talking about "equality" but a fair shake would go along way in lifting people

You forgot the second half of the axiom... "fairness is NEVER fair".

For example, two people are trying for the same job. Which is "fair", giving the job to the person who needs it more, or the one who deserves it more?

Locamama

on Jan 01, 2006

The boys and I have a family doctor that we see every time we go in. She's excellent...very thorough...and she knows our medical history, and we are typically seen the day we call.

That is a very different experience than what we had for most of our time in the military. Of course, I had private insurance before my husband joined the military. It was like pulling teeth to get an appointment. We rarely saw a doctor, it was always a nurse practioner which is fine but my oldest son has special needs and I prefer him to see a MD. We definately didn't see the same health care provider every time. I know when I was PG, I had a different doctor sticking his fingers in my cootchie every week, checking to see if I was dilated. Not exactly pleasant in the best circumstances. Getting a referral for a specialist was difficult.

Now that we are Tricare Prime Remote and see a "real" doctor, it is a huge difference in the quality of our medical care. I never realized just how poorly we were treated until I started going out in the civilian world again. Not mistreated, just very much rushed in, rushed out with very little time being taken and no continuity of care. Maybe it was the bases we were on, maybe it was the difference between the different services. I just wouldn't want everyone in the country to have to deal with the system that I had to use.

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