It's absurd.
Conservatives burn up the political capital of the freedom movement on frivolous issues such as land grabs, the gun culture, fiscal cliff debates and unabashed defense of a corrupt financial system.
Meanwhile they ignore the most critical issue of our day: Health Care Reform.
The freedom movement would win the day, if only there was a group of people with enough courage to discuss free market health care reform. There is no such a group within 500 miles of Salt Lake City.
Unfortunately, what I've been doing is even more absurd.
I believe that the key to defeating ObamaCare is for a group of people to create a viable alternative to insurance.
The weak part of ObamaCare is the insurance mandate. This mandate hinges on the false assumption that insurance is the only way to fund health care (socialism is insurance at a national scale).
The key to defeating this concept is to create a viable alternative to insurance.
To do this, a group of people needs to create a business model formed on the concept of self-funded health care.
Yes, I said the solution is to start businesses. Financing health care is a business problem, not a political problem.We need new businesses not new government programs.
Please note. Talking about business does not imply a commitment to that business. The discussion is about creating business models to replace the insurance model.
Most people refuse to go to meetings that talk about business. Since people refuse to talk about ways that business could solve our health care problems, we are left with only government solutions.
The group would discuss business models. Ultimately, the solution to health care would involve people creating new businesses.
I know. I know. I know. People hate and despise business.
If Americans hate business so much that we absolutely refuse to talk about business, then we should give up on the American experiment in self rule and adopt the Soviet model ... which will happen inevitably if people never discuss ways to solve problems with business.
I spent four years trying to find a person who is willing to discuss free market health care. The conversation would be about how a new business model for financing health care would change the face of health care.
I find it absurd that Conservatives slam the door in my face every time I talk about creating business solutions to solve a business problem.
But what I am doing is far more absurd.
After four years of being unable to find a group willing to discuss free market health care reform. I am still trying to figure out how to get three or four people in a room for an afternoon to discuss free market health care.
The latest absurd step I took was create a thing called Health Care Advocate Association.
The mission of the HCAA is simply to discuss alternatives to standard pooled insurance.
So, I now have an association with a single person in it.
I've been trying to figure out what an association with a single person in it can do.
I can host meetings in which I talk to myself.
Being a computer programmer. I spent two weeks trying to write computer programs.
It is stupid to try writing a computer program with no user input.
One of the biggest mistakes one can make in computer programming is to let the programmer design the tests for the program. The programmer will simply write tests that mirror the code. The tests will not reflect the end user's experience.
Because what I am doing is absurd, I end up just staring at a blank computer screen and decide to play computer games instead.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Demoralized
Yes, I confess, I am demoralized and becoming despondent.
For years I operated under the false assumption that the "liberal left" was preoccupied with the image of liberty as the cost of the substance, while the "conservative right" was interested in the substance of liberty.
For example, a free society tends to be both diverse and open. The progressive left believes that if they took the images of openness and diversity and applied these images to the political structure of the monarchy, that they could created paradise on earth in brave new socio-economic system socialism.
The Classical Liberals on the right are interested in the substance of liberty. Classical liberals love to engage in the conversation about how a free society achieves the objectives of a nation better than the totalitarian methods of the left.
Classical Liberals, of course, are only a very small contingent on the right.
The bulk of the Conservative movement is about preserving a corrupt social order with powerful conservatives at the top of the social hierarchy.
My love for the classical liberal view blinded me to the sad truth that conservatives are as mindless and image driven as the left.
The 2012 election should have been about the profound differences between the visions of the US Founders and radical social change.
Rather than having a campaign about substance, Conservatives engaged in a shrill non-debate about which candidate fit the image of conservatism.
Republicans nominated the father of RomneyCare to run against the father of ObamaCare failing to notice that ObamaCare and RomneyCare are the same things!
My simple objective for the last four years has been to find a group interested in spending an afternoon talking about free market health care reform. I spent four years, $10,000 and drove over 5,000 miles trying to find "conservatives" willing to discuss free market health care reform.
That wall all wasted time and effort.
All I learned is that Utah Conservatives have zero interest in free market health care reform. Every popular Mormon politician is for socializing medicine via health exchanges. Harry Reid, Mitt Romney and Mike Leavitt are all on the forefront of the scheme. Jon Huntsman, Gary Herbert and the Sutherland Institute actively support socialized medicine and suppress debate about alternatives. The squabble is over who holds the ring of power.
This world in which no-one is willing to do the hard work and actually discuss the substance of health care is depressing.
For years I operated under the false assumption that the "liberal left" was preoccupied with the image of liberty as the cost of the substance, while the "conservative right" was interested in the substance of liberty.
For example, a free society tends to be both diverse and open. The progressive left believes that if they took the images of openness and diversity and applied these images to the political structure of the monarchy, that they could created paradise on earth in brave new socio-economic system socialism.
The Classical Liberals on the right are interested in the substance of liberty. Classical liberals love to engage in the conversation about how a free society achieves the objectives of a nation better than the totalitarian methods of the left.
Classical Liberals, of course, are only a very small contingent on the right.
The bulk of the Conservative movement is about preserving a corrupt social order with powerful conservatives at the top of the social hierarchy.
My love for the classical liberal view blinded me to the sad truth that conservatives are as mindless and image driven as the left.
The 2012 election should have been about the profound differences between the visions of the US Founders and radical social change.
Rather than having a campaign about substance, Conservatives engaged in a shrill non-debate about which candidate fit the image of conservatism.
Republicans nominated the father of RomneyCare to run against the father of ObamaCare failing to notice that ObamaCare and RomneyCare are the same things!
My simple objective for the last four years has been to find a group interested in spending an afternoon talking about free market health care reform. I spent four years, $10,000 and drove over 5,000 miles trying to find "conservatives" willing to discuss free market health care reform.
That wall all wasted time and effort.
All I learned is that Utah Conservatives have zero interest in free market health care reform. Every popular Mormon politician is for socializing medicine via health exchanges. Harry Reid, Mitt Romney and Mike Leavitt are all on the forefront of the scheme. Jon Huntsman, Gary Herbert and the Sutherland Institute actively support socialized medicine and suppress debate about alternatives. The squabble is over who holds the ring of power.
This world in which no-one is willing to do the hard work and actually discuss the substance of health care is depressing.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Professional Associations v. Unions
The news of the day is that the Michigan Legislature is considering a "Right to Work" law.
I applaud those who are standing against the corrupt centralized unions and who are standing up for the rights of workers to choose their associations.
Unfortunately, a right to work law on its own does not address the fact that most Americans are stuck in dead end jobs with little hope for a bright future.
While standing against forced unionization is a valuable short term measure, to restore the free market, conservatives must move beyond base reaction and start constructively creating alternatives to unions.
IMHO, the best alternative to a union is a professional organization.
Both professional organizations and unions are forms of association. The difference is the focus.
A union is built on the Marxian idea that workers must unite against the evil capitalist. The focus of the union is amassing power in a centralized group that then forces demands upon everyone.
The focus of a professional association is the lot of the individual professional. A professional organization provides resources, educational opportunities and guidance for the members of the profession.
While a union has an internal focus and is primarily concerned with amassing political, the professional association has an external focus. As such it ends up aligning better with the desires of the individual worker.
So, yes, on a political level, we need to stand up for right to work laws. However, to win the war of ideas, conservatives need to move from base reaction and do proactive things like creating professional associations.
Moving beyond the simple creation of professional associations, conservatives would be wise to actively encourage membership in professional associations.
I understand employers wanting to avoid unions. Unions seek to create a centralized power structure that bosses people around. One of the best ways to avoid unionization is to actively encourage workers to join professional associations that focus on helping individual workers and promoting professional standards. Standing against forced unionization is not enough. We need to create alternatives to this corrupt centralized power structures that are destroying the American work place.
On an end note, I should mention that my goal for the Medical Savings and Loan is to create a professional association called the Health Care Advocate Association.
I applaud those who are standing against the corrupt centralized unions and who are standing up for the rights of workers to choose their associations.
Unfortunately, a right to work law on its own does not address the fact that most Americans are stuck in dead end jobs with little hope for a bright future.
While standing against forced unionization is a valuable short term measure, to restore the free market, conservatives must move beyond base reaction and start constructively creating alternatives to unions.
IMHO, the best alternative to a union is a professional organization.
Both professional organizations and unions are forms of association. The difference is the focus.
A union is built on the Marxian idea that workers must unite against the evil capitalist. The focus of the union is amassing power in a centralized group that then forces demands upon everyone.
The focus of a professional association is the lot of the individual professional. A professional organization provides resources, educational opportunities and guidance for the members of the profession.
While a union has an internal focus and is primarily concerned with amassing political, the professional association has an external focus. As such it ends up aligning better with the desires of the individual worker.
So, yes, on a political level, we need to stand up for right to work laws. However, to win the war of ideas, conservatives need to move from base reaction and do proactive things like creating professional associations.
Moving beyond the simple creation of professional associations, conservatives would be wise to actively encourage membership in professional associations.
I understand employers wanting to avoid unions. Unions seek to create a centralized power structure that bosses people around. One of the best ways to avoid unionization is to actively encourage workers to join professional associations that focus on helping individual workers and promoting professional standards. Standing against forced unionization is not enough. We need to create alternatives to this corrupt centralized power structures that are destroying the American work place.
On an end note, I should mention that my goal for the Medical Savings and Loan is to create a professional association called the Health Care Advocate Association.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Insurance is a Professional Whipping Boy
When engaged in the health care debate, it is extremely important to remember that insurance is a professional whipping boy.
A whipping boy is a person that one pays to take the abuse for their misconduct.
The whipping boy is related to the professional straw man. We see professional straw men on TV all the time. Fox News hires ugly creatures Alan Colmes and Bob Beckel, then heap abuse on them. Professional pundits often actively seek abuse because it gets their precious brand in front of the public. Rush always gets a huge surge when his radio show is the focus of controversy.
I was looking at a site by a Wendell Potter who made a tonne of dough in PR for the insurance industry.
He now heaps abuse on insurance and gained even more money and more influence in his new role as watchdog, regulator and pundit.
PR (Public Relations) is a game in which professionals spin arguments to gain influence and achieve a variety of political objectives.
PR tends to have a negative effect on discourse, because the people "playing the PR game" are playing the discourse and not genuinely involved in the discourse.
Wendell Potter's associations page says he is proud member of both the Public Relations Society of America and Society of Professional Journalists while being a contributor to the Huffington Post ... a rag dedicated to spinning the news.
He attacks the PR of insurance while proudly maintaining the role of PR specialist. This type of thing makes bells ring in my skeptical heart.
The fact that someone is heaping abuse on insurance does not necessarily mean the person is genuinely pro-reform. A PR specialist who whips a professional whipping boy might actually just be gaming the system from a fun new angle.
A whipping boy is a person that one pays to take the abuse for their misconduct.
The whipping boy is related to the professional straw man. We see professional straw men on TV all the time. Fox News hires ugly creatures Alan Colmes and Bob Beckel, then heap abuse on them. Professional pundits often actively seek abuse because it gets their precious brand in front of the public. Rush always gets a huge surge when his radio show is the focus of controversy.
I was looking at a site by a Wendell Potter who made a tonne of dough in PR for the insurance industry.
He now heaps abuse on insurance and gained even more money and more influence in his new role as watchdog, regulator and pundit.
PR (Public Relations) is a game in which professionals spin arguments to gain influence and achieve a variety of political objectives.
PR tends to have a negative effect on discourse, because the people "playing the PR game" are playing the discourse and not genuinely involved in the discourse.
Wendell Potter's associations page says he is proud member of both the Public Relations Society of America and Society of Professional Journalists while being a contributor to the Huffington Post ... a rag dedicated to spinning the news.
He attacks the PR of insurance while proudly maintaining the role of PR specialist. This type of thing makes bells ring in my skeptical heart.
The fact that someone is heaping abuse on insurance does not necessarily mean the person is genuinely pro-reform. A PR specialist who whips a professional whipping boy might actually just be gaming the system from a fun new angle.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Health Care Advocate Association™
ObamaCare (PPACA), RomneyCare and the Health Exchanges are all premised on the false assumption that insurance is the only way to fund health care.
I contend that the easiest way to challenge this assumption is to create an alternative to pooled insurance.
So, I created a mathematical model called "The Medical Savings and Loan." This model proves that it is possible to provide modern health care on a fee-for-service basis through a system of health savings accounts supplemented by loans and grants.
The Medical Savings and Loan restores the pricing mechanism in health and will lead to tremendous cost-savings along with a tremendous improvement in health care for the working class American.
The central feature of the program is a new position called the "Health Care Advocate." This position replaces the insurance agent, claims adjuster and medical transcriptionist position in insurance.
The primary difference between an insurance agent and the advocate is an insurance agent works for the insurance pool, while the health care advocate works directly for the clients in the MS&L.
This structural change comes by restructuring the accounts. With insurance, people place their health care resources in a pool owned by the insurance company. With the MS&L, people directly own their health care resources.
The positions follow the money. In standard insurance, a large corporation owns the resources; so insurance agents work for the insurance company. In the Medical Savings and Loan, people keep the bulk of their health care resources; the advocates work with their clients ... the people.
The Health Care Advocate Association™ is still in its organizational stage. If you wish to join the organization, please contact me for instructions. Joining the organization will cost one dollar (as defined in the Coinage Act of 1792).
The initial goal of the organization is to host an organizational meeting. Members of the organization will be polled and asked when and where to hold the organization meeting. The official web site of the HCAA is HCA.me.
I contend that the easiest way to challenge this assumption is to create an alternative to pooled insurance.
So, I created a mathematical model called "The Medical Savings and Loan." This model proves that it is possible to provide modern health care on a fee-for-service basis through a system of health savings accounts supplemented by loans and grants.
The Medical Savings and Loan restores the pricing mechanism in health and will lead to tremendous cost-savings along with a tremendous improvement in health care for the working class American.
The central feature of the program is a new position called the "Health Care Advocate." This position replaces the insurance agent, claims adjuster and medical transcriptionist position in insurance.
The primary difference between an insurance agent and the advocate is an insurance agent works for the insurance pool, while the health care advocate works directly for the clients in the MS&L.
This structural change comes by restructuring the accounts. With insurance, people place their health care resources in a pool owned by the insurance company. With the MS&L, people directly own their health care resources.
The positions follow the money. In standard insurance, a large corporation owns the resources; so insurance agents work for the insurance company. In the Medical Savings and Loan, people keep the bulk of their health care resources; the advocates work with their clients ... the people.
The Health Care Advocate Association™ is still in its organizational stage. If you wish to join the organization, please contact me for instructions. Joining the organization will cost one dollar (as defined in the Coinage Act of 1792).
The initial goal of the organization is to host an organizational meeting. Members of the organization will be polled and asked when and where to hold the organization meeting. The official web site of the HCAA is HCA.me.
Thrown for a Loop
I have to apologize. The complete lack of sales for cyber weekend threw me for a loop.
I sincerely believe that health care is the most important issue of our day.
Conservatives completely choked on the issue. The Republican Party played a snide game in which they sought to capture ObamaCare and have suppressed discussion of real free market reform.
If a group began discussing real free market health care reform, that group could have a profound impact. But I've been unable to find such a discussion.
I've spent every last penny I had trying to find someone willing to invest the two hours to discussion the most important issue of our generation.
I find it bizarre beyond belief that Conservatives immediately slam the door when a person brings up the topic.
I spent every penny I had trying to find anyone willing to discuss free market health care. The conversation involves the mathematics of funding health care and what if scenarios. The conversation requires feedback and cannot be done on a blog.
The argument is that we would get more and better care if we restored the concept of self funded health care and fee-for-service medicine. To make this argument, I must develop a model for group-funded care and a model for self-funded care and compare the two.
This simply cannot be done in a blog post!
Blogs are great for agitation. They are not a good format for developing ideas. Developing ideas is best done in face to face conversations with instant feedback.
Sadly, I live in Utah (which is renown for its closed-mindedness). The LDS Church is 100% committed to the idea of socializing medicine through health exchanges. Every major LDS politician favors a form of ObamaCare. Harry Reid was a primary author of PPACA, which was based on RomneyCare. The Leavitt Insurance Agency by former governor Mike Leavitt is heavily invested in health exchanges. Former Governor Jon Huntsman and current Governor Gary Herbert are committed to implementing the Health Exchanges of PPACA.
Utah is a closed society which reviles open discourse. This picture shows the sum total of people at the Utah Stand Up for Freedom Rally. This rally was well publicized by Glenn Beck, the national and local media. Only about 200 people in a metropolitan area of two million showed up for the most publicized Health Care event of 2012. The speakers, families of the speakers and media made up half the total.
I've written to every conservative and libertarian group I can find in Utah. There is not a single group in this state willing to discuss free market health care reform.
The Republican strategy in Utah was simply to vilify Obama, with hopes of capturing ObamaCare, which would be rebranded as RomneyCare.
What the Republicans did was insidious. The campaign to capture and rebrand ObamaCare was not real debate it was simply the cunning strategy of right wing rogues.
I want real debate and have been seeking to find a group to discuss real free market health care.
This means I must travel. I figure the best bet is Arizona. Phoenix is about 663 miles away. 40 gallons of gas to get there and back. It is warm and I can sleep in my car. I also need an oil change.
I would love to take one last shot at getting people together to discuss free market health care reform. I am certain that if a group of liberty leaning folks would see my presentation, that the argument I put forward could help defeat ObamaCare.
I was really hoping that I would make something off my web sites this holiday season. Seeing that it won't happen was extremely disappointing.
I sincerely believe that health care is the most important issue of our day.
Conservatives completely choked on the issue. The Republican Party played a snide game in which they sought to capture ObamaCare and have suppressed discussion of real free market reform.
If a group began discussing real free market health care reform, that group could have a profound impact. But I've been unable to find such a discussion.
I've spent every last penny I had trying to find someone willing to invest the two hours to discussion the most important issue of our generation.
I find it bizarre beyond belief that Conservatives immediately slam the door when a person brings up the topic.
I spent every penny I had trying to find anyone willing to discuss free market health care. The conversation involves the mathematics of funding health care and what if scenarios. The conversation requires feedback and cannot be done on a blog.
The argument is that we would get more and better care if we restored the concept of self funded health care and fee-for-service medicine. To make this argument, I must develop a model for group-funded care and a model for self-funded care and compare the two.
This simply cannot be done in a blog post!
Blogs are great for agitation. They are not a good format for developing ideas. Developing ideas is best done in face to face conversations with instant feedback.
Sadly, I live in Utah (which is renown for its closed-mindedness). The LDS Church is 100% committed to the idea of socializing medicine through health exchanges. Every major LDS politician favors a form of ObamaCare. Harry Reid was a primary author of PPACA, which was based on RomneyCare. The Leavitt Insurance Agency by former governor Mike Leavitt is heavily invested in health exchanges. Former Governor Jon Huntsman and current Governor Gary Herbert are committed to implementing the Health Exchanges of PPACA.
Utah is a closed society which reviles open discourse. This picture shows the sum total of people at the Utah Stand Up for Freedom Rally. This rally was well publicized by Glenn Beck, the national and local media. Only about 200 people in a metropolitan area of two million showed up for the most publicized Health Care event of 2012. The speakers, families of the speakers and media made up half the total.
I've written to every conservative and libertarian group I can find in Utah. There is not a single group in this state willing to discuss free market health care reform.
The Republican strategy in Utah was simply to vilify Obama, with hopes of capturing ObamaCare, which would be rebranded as RomneyCare.
What the Republicans did was insidious. The campaign to capture and rebrand ObamaCare was not real debate it was simply the cunning strategy of right wing rogues.
I want real debate and have been seeking to find a group to discuss real free market health care.
This means I must travel. I figure the best bet is Arizona. Phoenix is about 663 miles away. 40 gallons of gas to get there and back. It is warm and I can sleep in my car. I also need an oil change.
I would love to take one last shot at getting people together to discuss free market health care reform. I am certain that if a group of liberty leaning folks would see my presentation, that the argument I put forward could help defeat ObamaCare.
I was really hoping that I would make something off my web sites this holiday season. Seeing that it won't happen was extremely disappointing.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Site Launch
I've been filling out forms and paying registration fees for the new association.
While I wait for the wheels of governance to churn, I am updating the site HCA.me in preparation of the new association.
The site uses the Community Color user database (register). The site will include a calendar, directory, messaging system and features specific for the Health Care Advocates.
While I wait for the wheels of governance to churn, I am updating the site HCA.me in preparation of the new association.
The site uses the Community Color user database (register). The site will include a calendar, directory, messaging system and features specific for the Health Care Advocates.
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