Archive for October, 2009

Is it just me, or are things amiss?

Times are interesting to say the least.  Our president is working overtime to extend olive branches to people all across the planet, but wagging a stern finger at those of us in the US who seek to make profits providing a service to others.

I read much about our foreign policy and the strategy of undoing the terrible decisions of the predecessor administration.  To that end, we are “reaching out” to leaders of Iran, North Korea, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Lebanon.  We respect them.  We seek to listen to them. We hope for them.  We believe that treating them with respect and dialoguing on the high road will encourage them to act in ways that benefit the citizens of their countries and the world.  We are giving these leaders the benefit of the doubt.  Long before they demonstrate fair dealing, we honor them as if they already have the Noble Peace Prize.

Contrast that theme with the treatment of our own managers, business people and entrepreneurs.  In a variety of sectors including, banking, financial services, mortgage lending, insurance, and autos, our corporate leaders are cast as villains.  In less than one year, they have been summarily fired, suppressed, demoted, penalized, criticized and otherwise scapegoated after years of demonstrating honorable service to their respective organizations or to our systems of commerce.  Where is the benefit of the doubt?  Why not take the high road?

I am at a loss to understand why our own citizens are not worthy of the grace and understanding that we offer leaders of other nations?  It seems to me that the current administration has it backwards.  Invite dialogue with the leaders of US businesses and lecture the world leaders.  Encourage those in our economy who offer jobs and support the pursuit of happiness, and speak harshly to those who threaten our life and liberty.

Who is the enemy?

Mr. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.  There has been a lot of talk about if it was deserved, if politics played a part, etc.  I don’t care.  What the whole thing has stirred up in me is the question, Is it more noble to be wanting peace at any cost versus to fight for the mistreated? Am I crossing the line on Libertarianism by suggesting that we should look upon ourselves as those fortunate enough to help others in time of need?  Maybe.  I really don’t care.

From my very limited understanding of the current brewhaha over this announcement, it appears that he is getting the prize for wanting to find peace by finding “shared values”.  I may be a closed-minded warmonger but I find it really hard to believe that I have much in common or share anything of interest with those that believe they are superior to women, that believe that marrying off children to old dirty pervs is a good idea, that blindly follow something which was written over a thousand years ago.  I know I have much more in common with dogs than with those mullahs and their cronies (rub my belly and my leg actually twitches).

I have no idea what the answer is as I am conflicted in my desire to have our country (which stands for personal freedom at its core) help those that are in need of it yet not wanting to impose that belief onto others.  With that said, I’m not conflicted in thinking that it’s a bad idea to continually award prizes to those that want to perpetuate a system that is destructive to personal freedom.

It’s interesting to me the way some justify the immediate need to change our healthcare system.  I understand it’s not the best it can be but that doesn’t mean its not the best that exists in the world today.  Many rant that we rank 41 globally in some UN report on quality of life or rank way up there on heart disease, and then conclude that our healthcare system is broken.

Well, by looking at only the outcomes of people’s lives, one is not necessarily looking critically and rationally at the actual healthcare system.  They are neglecting how we, as a country, are much, much fatter than other countries.  We smoke more and exert physical energy less.  In essence, we are fat, lazy slobs (this comment excludes Mrs. H as she is stunningly beautiful and in great physical shape.  grrr).  So, maybe, just maybe, our system kicks ass because it allows us to continue to live to an average age equal to the rest of the world, yet we are much more destructive on our bodies versus other countries.

That is exactly the conclusion I come to after reading a paper by Professors Preston and Ho from the University of Pennsylvania.  This report can be kinda dry but if you have time, you may want to skim read it.  It suggests that when the researchers actually looked at items that would be best to characterize the true quality of care in the US versus other countries, we rank 1 amongst all.  The items that they deemed important to look at were 1) the amount of testing we do, 2) the quality of outcomes once disease is diagnosed, and 3) the speed innovation is adopted within the healthcare profession.  To summarize, they looked at items that the healthcare system has direct control over.

In all categories, the US ranks 1 in 1) testing and accurately diagnosing diseases, 2) having the best outcomes once a disease has been detected, and 3) fastest at adopting new procedures to help those that are sick.

What I found very interesting was the part where they discuss that the other countries may rank better than us because they actually test less than us, and then, either ignore illnesses or mis-diagnose them.  It’s easy to have less heart disease when you don’t look for it in the first place!

So, when one actually looks critically and rationally at the healthcare system, they can conclude that the system is actually far better than any other out there today.  Definitely not the best it could be, but following those systems that are inferior to ours will not lead us to a better outcome.