anotherlook

According to records, the population in the United States has grown from between 1 million to 2.5 million each year from 1900 – 1998, with a total population in 1900 of 76 million and in 1998 approximately 270.2 million. In February 2009, the total resident population was estimated at 305 million.

That being said, while everyone is discussing the financial cost of the stimulus package, the financial cost of the health care reform and how these costs are record costs, costs that we have never experienced before, the reality is that we have never had 305 million people to be responsible to before and this is key in recognizing the larger cost of doing business “for the people.”

Per Wikipedia, people under 20 years of age make up over a quarter of the U.S. population at 27.6 percent, people age 65 and over make up one-eighth of the population at 12.6 percent, while the national median age is 36.5 years.

These statistics are important to look at when making a determination on paying back debt and during the 20th century alone, the U.S. population has tripled from what it once was in the beginning of the 20th century.

While news media like MSNBC, with their article entitled, “Distortions rife in health care debate” and CNN with their constant conversations on the health care reform, sponsoring people for and against this particular bill, things can get pretty confusing.

One thread seems to be dominating these discussion and that is the “cost” of this bill; the cost which would, supposedly, be added to the mounting debt of this country. Senator John McCain spoke on “State of the Union” on Sunday. When asked about his take on the recovery of the nation, and would the actions taken be beneficial, he gave Obama the credit for the improvements that have been seen thus far but commented:

“I think it’s pretty clear, if you pump trillions of dollars into the economy, you will see some recovery. But the long-term consequences, I think, are going to be, unfortunately, devastating unless we do something about it.”

He goes on to say that our kids are looking at an over inflated bill they will become responsible for. McCain states that after pumping so much into the economy, people are hesitant to pump another trillion into health care reform without clear ways of shrinking the debt.

McCain kept the conversation going regarding this health reform bill not being a true bipartisan bill, as well. However, at this point in the game, I’m not sure that point is even relevant – it is what it is regardless of who authored the bill, if Republicans get on board now instead of keeping this conversation going, it could still be considered a bipartisan bill.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner said on Sunday that he could not rule out higher taxes to help reign in some of the budget deficits that are occurring. I would say that this goes without saying. This has been the worst recession the United States has encounter in many years. Desperate situations demand desperate measures to rectify them. Therefore, raising taxes is not so much a choice but a requirement under the conditions being experienced.

However, with the number of people in the United States capable of returning to work within the next few years, the amount of taxes being paid by any one individual would be lessened by the population explosion that has taken place in the United States over the last 100 years and with a slight increase in taxes, the deficit could begin to shrink.

Since the focus of health care would move to prevention, taxes on snack food such as potato chips, sweets, soda, sugar and the likes would also lend money to help shrink the deficit. These are foods that aid in obesity as well as diabetes, both preventable, as well, both diabetes and obesity lending to growing concerns over high blood pressure, heart problems and other illnesses that increase health care costs when you look at health care reform.

Payment for the health care bill, according to White House and Democratic lawmakers, could also be achieved through creating a powerful new board to root out waste and abuses in the current government health programs.

Just last week, July 29, 2009, in Miami a successful sting operation was brought to a head when federal authorities arrested more than 30 suspects in a Medicare fraud scheme. This sting was not limited to Miami as people, including some doctors, were arrested in New York, Louisiana, Boston and Houston.

The fraud included, ordering unnecessary, expensive “arthritis kits” for patients that in some cases never received the kits and billing Medicare for thousands of dollars worth of liquid food like Ensure for patients who are unable to eat solid food, but never received the liquid food that was ordered in their names and billing dead patients for services they could not receive.

This is the third bust of this kind since May of this year. The cost of adding more agents to combat the problems of fraud is in the millions of dollars. In the two months the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has been in operation, they have recovered $371 million in false Medicare claims and charged 145 people across the country.

Will these recoveries offset the cost of hiring agents to pursue those involved in health care fraud plus shrink the debt incurred with the health care bill now on the table? Only time will determine that but this is a step in the right direction.

And that’s the way I see it!!!

USMC REAGAN QUOTE Sweatshirt

Ok so I got a rant on an article I wrote on the Partisan vote regarding the Stimulus Package. The rant, which was basically laced with undercover racism with statements like “Why are they (Democrats) working so hard to create what amounts to a bottomless slush fund for those ACORN housing entitlement thugs; “These are the same clowns that helped sow the seeds of the subprime meltdown…”; “They aggressively played the race card and pressured banks to loosen standards…” and claims that the “Obama stimulus package stimulates nothing. It is a political payback package.”

Now the reality of this is that out of 800 pages of the stimulus package, there were maybe ten or twelve “pork” items in it and to some degree, Obama was and is willing to have Republican’s input and delete some things.

Not only this but if low income families were given a break in employment possibilities under the equal opportunity employment criteria that has been on paper for quite some time, then maybe, just maybe, they would be in a better position financially to achieve the “American Dream”. Not only that but lending to minorities has always shown inequalities so if ACORN got a little pushy then these are the reasons.

Let’s take the auto industry. While there were some whites that got caught up in the layoffs that occurred there were many blacks in Detroit, Lansing and no telling where else, who got laid off as well and this was not due to anything they specifically did it was more the fault of the auto industry. With no job and no money how were they expected to pay their house notes?

These financial institutions loaned these people this money after a “test run” where it seemed feasible to get involved with subprime loans and to lend to these “high risk” low income minorities (as the article I was directed to states). These loans were backed by Fannie and Freddie. Now the article states that these seeds of today’s financial meltdown started in 1977 by the Community Reinvestment Act which were made riskier by unwise amendments and regulatory ruling in later decades.

To make a long story short, this ranter accuses Madeline Talbott, an activist with extensive ties to, you guessed it, Barack Obama, and her bully tactics of creating the situation we are in now by “forcing” banks to make loans to people who were not worthy and because Obama was affiliated with her, this is all Obama’s fault along with ACORN and the Democratic Party. It scares me to see how some people think things through.

Let me just explain something about “associations”. I can sit and socialize with my neighbor everyday but that does not mean that I know all their business. If they are not paying their taxes, do you think they would tell me that? If they had just robbed a seven eleven, do you think they would tell me that?

If they asked me to train their staff, for whatever reason, but they were ripping their staff off, on some level, do you think they would share that with me? If my neighbor was smoking dope every day and knew I did not smoke do you think they would necessarily tell me they were drugging. You people take “associations” too far.

How is a bank going to lend to a person who they see as being a risk and increase the risk by the way the loan is written up. If you know someone may have a problem paying a $700.00 house note, why would you write in the contract that the loan increase faster than any cost of living raise that person may be entitled to.

The way I see it, these bankers knew what they were doing and thought, on some level, they would end up benefitting from these acts but the plan blew up in there faces. These predatory lenders preyed on people, who had a desire for the American dream that had been denied to them, for so long, and look where the greed led these lenders and this nation.

How anyone can turn this around and attempt to blame this on Obama or on Madeline Talbott, for attempting to stand up to issues that have been plaguing the housing industry for decades is beyond my level of reasoning or understanding.

Truth be told, I hope the government makes these banks draw up new paperwork to refinance these homeowners at a lower interest rate otherwise this will be a nail in the coffin for many who desire the “American Dream” and maybe that was the plan all along since we are talking about minorities and low income people.

And that’s the way I see it!!!

Just a Thought:  They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war — as though the absence of war was the same as peace. – Dorothy Thompson 

Some American troops are being asked to remain in Iraqi cities after a June 30, 2009, deadline.  This deadline was put in place on December 4, 2008, by the new U.S. Iraq security agreement.  Now, less than two weeks later the rules are changing.

Iraq is playing political games in their country and the loopholes in the withdrawal timeline could be exploited by Iraqi politicians seeking to undermine Prime Minister al-Maliki ahead of the referendum, where Iraqi voters are to approve or deny the deal. 

A number of Sunni and Shiite politicians, as well as the powerful Shiite clergy had accepted the deal after assurances from Al-Maliki that the timeline for the
U.S. departure was firm.  They want us out of their country as soon as possible.

Alternatively, Al-Maliki’s own spokesman suggests that the Iraqi government may ask some U.S. troops to remain behind as trainers after the December 31, 2011, deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops.  al-Maliki dismissed these suggestions.

General Ramond Odierno, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, believes that troops who serve in training and mentoring teams would not be included in the mandate to pull combat troops from the cities.  He said the training and mentoring teams would stay at urban security stations to support Iraqi soldiers and police.

After six (6) years of war, Al-Maliki insisted that the security agreement include specific dates for a U.S. withdrawal, winning those concessions from the Bush administration which had steadfastly refused for years to accept a timetable for an end to the unpopular war.  Were the loopholes in the security agreement created by Bush and his administration to allow for the U.S. presence to remain indefinitely in Iraq?

Consequently, chief government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters in Washington that some U.S. troops might be needed to continue training Iraq’s security forces well past the 2011 deadline contained in the security pact stating “We do understand that the Iraqi military is not going to be built out in the three years.  We do need many more years.  It might be 10 years.”  Within their own government, agreement has not been truly established as to how long American’s will be needed there. 

Al-Dabbagh suggests that Iraq could negotiate a supplemental agreement providing for U.S. trainers to stay on after 2011, if the Baghdad government believed they were needed.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber killed at least 55 people and wounded 120 others in a restaurant in Northern Iraq.  The pact already made U.S. troops more vulnerable by taking away the troops power to conduct military operations without the approval of the Iraqi government.  It is now requesting that some stay in the cities, with no real authority or power.

My question is, if Iraq wants to take power away from U.S. troops, why do we need to be over there in the first place to babysit them.  If they feel so strongly that they can handle their own business – then let them do that. Ten years is a long, long time.  Although Prime Minister al-Maliki dismissed this suggestion of a ten year timeline, he is showing that U.S. troops still need to be around for training purposes, after six years of being over there. 

Teach me, train me, hold my hand, but have no power, in my land, is basically where
U.S. troops are with this new security pact.  The violence is still happening, the danger is still there, the real threat to American troops still exists and yet, we have agreed to continue to show our support of this country and have our troops live by their rules.  I just don’t get it. 

The Right Path Taken:  One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. – Martin L. King

Wisdom Understood:  True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. – Martin L. King

And that’s the way I see it!!!

This year I planned my Christmas shopping by shopping throughout the year online.  It has made my life so much simpler.  I can shop and compare prices.  I do not have to make up my mind right then and there, I just save the page to my favorites and come back to it when I want to take another look at it during my decision making.  I can wait on sales to come but mostly, I can shop whenever I have the time.  If it is 2:00 a.m and I can not sleep, I just click on my website and shop; no danger, no traffic, just me and my computer. 

Shopping sometimes can be a hassle.  I have come to respect online shopping.  I live in a big city and sometimes driving around in traffic can be very aggravating, the way people drive, traffic jams, freeway driving.  Even finding the time to visit malls can be a difficult task between working and taking care of a family.  Visit Shopping Online today and not only catch some sales but shop from the convenience of your own home.  

You still have time to get those home deliveries before Christmas and sometimes you can even find free shipping.  You’ll find stores you know and trust.  Simply click on Shopping Online and take some of the hassles out of shopping. 

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And that’s the way I see it!!