I prefer that the USA stop invading other countries unless our national sovereignty is at risk. No fly is better than troops on the ground, but no action would have been better still. I hope that this does not evolve into another Iraq.
Raising the retirement age is needed for fiscal sanity and must be part of any rational solution. This is way past due and should be implemented faster. Someone has to pay and we are running out of bill-payers.
@shaun59: It is good to see someone focus on healthcare issues other than insurance companies. The entire 'health care system' needs to be reviewed and reformed . Insurance is a part, only a part , and not the largest part of the problem. Koop sumarized the issue in one word: "Greed".
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
The Govt employee unions are not THE problem, but they are part of the problem. The fundamental problem is the voters who have elected representatives who do not act responsibly. Now, in a economic crisis, the old problems can no longer be ignored. In my opinion there is no need for a union for Govt workers. They have enough protections with civil service regulations.
We have to start somewhere to balance the budgets and as long as the unions fail to do their part, I applaud effort to reign them in.
This is a moral issue as 'all economic decisions are moral decisions'.
@Ken E Zen , I am opposed to Govt employee unions as unnecessary, but the Govt pensions should be compared with the total corporate retirement benefits( Company pensions plus Social Security benefits). Social Security was never intended to be the only worker retirement plan.
The standard BBQ sauce for pork in North Alabama(including Huntsville) is vinegar based and close to what the article described for Eastern North Carolina sauce. The writer seems to have been confused by the white sauce which is served with the BBQ chicken.
We should adopt the Israli strategy and target the terrorists , not look for weapons while harrassing the travelers. Also we shoud really declare war on the terrorists wherever they live. The current defensive strategy is a losing proposition.
soliloquy : re comment September 19, 2009 4:46
Actually there is a good health care system in place that is operated with Government oversight( but not admisistered by Govt bureaucrats ). The current US Govt.employee health care system is an excellent model to emulate. If we adopted this concept, everyone would be in the same pool (i.e., no exclusions). The system is administered primarily by private companies. It simplifies the prevailing private insurance company 'non-system' by limiting, via competition, the number of companies (plus employee organizations) to a reasonable number, e.g. ~ 12. This approach preserves the private industry, but is streamlined for efficiency (i.e., a Real System). Each person in the system has the option to change plans once every year, thus preserving the competition.
The US certainly needs a true health care system (vs. the current hodgepodge) that covers every citizen. There are (should be) two fundamental parts of this debate:
1. What kind of system should be designed? [This could be achieved if we could only get the emotions out of discussion]
2. How to pay for it? [The hard part]
I suggest that we first design a real health care system [bring in a 'Systems Engineer'] and then address how to pay for it. . It is my opinion that the US already spends enough to fund a good system.
⇒ We just need to reallocate the wasted money.
Re :Geoffrey Morton-Haworth's comments-“Diversity of opinion should be healthy. The political process, with its institutionalized opposition, is flawed by the poor quality of the discourse: it is not truth that comes out …
….Yet if we don’t accord Corporations some kind of rights as individual entities and grant them a voice, how can we hold them accountable? Isn’t this one of the problems with the Global Economic Crisis, nobody is being held to account?”
I agree with most of what you said and totally agree that Corporations should be held accountable. I just don’t see how according Corporatons ‘free speech’ contributes to accountability. The is really a moral/ethical issue , but for business the only avenue I see to actually enforce ethical behaviour by Corporations is some kind of legal approach.
Obama is bad for business. The USA needs a new leader to make progress.
The Liars Club
I will NEVER return
It is time to end the man is space programs. We can continue sending unmannned explorations and encourage commercial ventures in space.
Many of these comments are also sad. The real issue with President Obama is his policies . The issue is not race as some want to pretend.
The age to receive Social Security should be at least 70.
I prefer that the USA stop invading other countries unless our national sovereignty is at risk. No fly is better than troops on the ground, but no action would have been better still. I hope that this does not evolve into another Iraq.
Raising the retirement age is needed for fiscal sanity and must be part of any rational solution. This is way past due and should be implemented faster. Someone has to pay and we are running out of bill-payers.
Good article. The USA should remember that it was founded as a Republic and give up the foolish notion of exporting democracy,
@shaun59: It is good to see someone focus on healthcare issues other than insurance companies. The entire 'health care system' needs to be reviewed and reformed . Insurance is a part, only a part , and not the largest part of the problem. Koop sumarized the issue in one word: "Greed".
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
@pun.gent : I saw no improvement in the performance of the US federal workforce after the introduction of unions. The primary effect was to increase the 'overhead' and waste. ( ie, less work was done to deal with mostly unjustified complaints by poor workers). A small, but tangible issue, is that the key union officials are paid normal salaries by the taxpayers to do union business.
The Govt employee unions are not THE problem, but they are part of the problem. The fundamental problem is the voters who have elected representatives who do not act responsibly. Now, in a economic crisis, the old problems can no longer be ignored. In my opinion there is no need for a union for Govt workers. They have enough protections with civil service regulations.
We have to start somewhere to balance the budgets and as long as the unions fail to do their part, I applaud effort to reign them in.
This is a moral issue as 'all economic decisions are moral decisions'.
@Ken E Zen , I am opposed to Govt employee unions as unnecessary, but the Govt pensions should be compared with the total corporate retirement benefits( Company pensions plus Social Security benefits). Social Security was never intended to be the only worker retirement plan.
The standard BBQ sauce for pork in North Alabama(including Huntsville) is vinegar based and close to what the article described for Eastern North Carolina sauce. The writer seems to have been confused by the white sauce which is served with the BBQ chicken.
My prediction(guess) is that China overtakes the USA in ~ fifteen years--2026.
We should adopt the Israli strategy and target the terrorists , not look for weapons while harrassing the travelers. Also we shoud really declare war on the terrorists wherever they live. The current defensive strategy is a losing proposition.
soliloquy : re comment September 19, 2009 4:46
Actually there is a good health care system in place that is operated with Government oversight( but not admisistered by Govt bureaucrats ). The current US Govt.employee health care system is an excellent model to emulate. If we adopted this concept, everyone would be in the same pool (i.e., no exclusions). The system is administered primarily by private companies. It simplifies the prevailing private insurance company 'non-system' by limiting, via competition, the number of companies (plus employee organizations) to a reasonable number, e.g. ~ 12. This approach preserves the private industry, but is streamlined for efficiency (i.e., a Real System). Each person in the system has the option to change plans once every year, thus preserving the competition.
The US certainly needs a true health care system (vs. the current hodgepodge) that covers every citizen. There are (should be) two fundamental parts of this debate:
1. What kind of system should be designed? [This could be achieved if we could only get the emotions out of discussion]
2. How to pay for it? [The hard part]
I suggest that we first design a real health care system [bring in a 'Systems Engineer'] and then address how to pay for it. . It is my opinion that the US already spends enough to fund a good system.
⇒ We just need to reallocate the wasted money.
Re :Geoffrey Morton-Haworth's comments-“Diversity of opinion should be healthy. The political process, with its institutionalized opposition, is flawed by the poor quality of the discourse: it is not truth that comes out …
….Yet if we don’t accord Corporations some kind of rights as individual entities and grant them a voice, how can we hold them accountable? Isn’t this one of the problems with the Global Economic Crisis, nobody is being held to account?”
I agree with most of what you said and totally agree that Corporations should be held accountable. I just don’t see how according Corporatons ‘free speech’ contributes to accountability. The is really a moral/ethical issue , but for business the only avenue I see to actually enforce ethical behaviour by Corporations is some kind of legal approach.