Don't Tug on Superman's Cape

There's an old song that goes...

"And they say you don't tug on Superman's cape, You don't spit into the wind, You don't pull the mask off an 'ole Lone Ranger, And you don't mess around with Jim"

Well, yesterday, swimmer Milorad Cavic, who won silver in the 100 meter Butterfly at the Beijing Olympics, did just that. Not only did he claim that he should have gotten gold at Beijing, over American Swimmer Michael Phelps, but he also claimed Phelps was swimming in an inferior body suit, suggesting Phelps would lose because he was too stupid to pick up new equipment.

I read this yesterday and thought..."this guy's in trouble". Michael Phelps is so competitive, that he doesn't need extra motivation to beat anybody, but when he gets it, he uses it. Cavic's action was sort of like daring Michael Jordan to hit a jumper over you, or daring Tiger Woods to make a 30 foot putt. You just don't do it!

So, the result...Phelps set a world record today and beat Cavic handily. Milorad Cavic learned the hard way you don't tug on Superman's cape.

Uncle Sam, Car Salesman?

Last night on my local 10 pm news, it was announced that the government's Cash for Clunkers program has been so successful that the Federal Government was going to end it early because it was nearly out of money. I was surprised at the fiscal restraint, but thought nothing more of it.

Then today, I read that the Congress quickly approved another 2 billion to keep the program going. So much for fiscal restraint!

This topic was all the rage on Rush Limbaugh's show today, so I was able to learn some things, admittedly anecdotal, from some of Rush's callers. But, much of what I learned seems to be confirmed by this article from the Wall Street Journal.

As a logical thinking person, I made the erroneous assumption that this program was relatively simple. I assumed that the government provided dealers with a list of cars that qualify, based on age, mileage and Miles Per Gallon (MPG). If you have a car on that list, you qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program.

But, with the government, nothing is ever simple. According to a car salesman who called in to Rush today, there is a website that the dealer has to go through. There they have to answer many questions about the candidate vehicle, and once they complete the questionnaire, they have to wait for the Federal Government to give approval or disapproval. So, this particular dealership had a backlog of 10 consumers waiting to hear the results, and it was a "small dealership". Once the dealer finally hears back, they can complete the deal.

While I applaud the fact that the government isn't just handing out money, the fact that a small dealership has a backlog of 10 consumers waiting to hear the results of their Cash for Clunkers quest is ridiculous! How hard would it have been for the Federal Government to put together a list of cars/trucks that qualify?!!! How much of the money allocated to this program is wasted on bureaucracy?

To me, the fact that the Federal Government can't even make a vehicle trade-in process simple proves that they aren't capable of successfully running anything. And these are the same people that some Americans want running our health care system? Can you imagine the backlog then?

My Health Care Plan

Ok, this is my 200th blog. Yay!

Anyway, today at work, a moderately liberal coworker of mine told me that I had an ingenious plan for health care. I've been listening to the back and forth that has been going on lately, and basically wondering why the government is making it so hard? (I know why they are making it so hard...they are the government, that's what they do)

If it truly is about lowering the costs and ensuring health care for all, here's what they should do (Note: I'm not advocating federal funding of health care, but if I were going to do it, here's what I'd do)

First, I would scrap Medicaid/Medicare...they are broke and broken.

Second, I would institute a "catastrophic coverage" plan that all Americans are on if they do not have health insurance. This plan would pay for 1 wellness visit per year, and would have a high out of pocket maximum based on income, say $4,000 for a family making $80,000 per year. The family pays everything, other than their wellness check, up to $4,000. After that, the government picks up the bill.

This plan would have the following effects:

1. Most companies would eliminate their health care plans, putting all Americans on the Federal Plan, unless they purchase their own. This is good for our corporations, because it lets them get a huge expense off their books.
2. Americans would have the freedom to see who they want, when they want, and have the care they want.
3. Doctors fees will go down because they will no longer have to employ staff just to understand different insurance policies.
4. Americans will demand lower prices from their doctors when they have to actually pay the bills themselves.

Lower costs, freedom to get the care you need, less bureaucracy...it's a win/win situation. Also, my plan would results in a bill that is less than 20 pages long, so memebers of Congress might actually read it. Finally, I'm able to articulate specifics about my plan, which is something President Obama has yet to do.