Mormon Bloggers

Consider the following scenario for a moment:  A man is the sole breadwinner for his family and gets paid once a month.  Unsatisfied with the sums he brings home on a monthly basis, he cashes out next month’s paycheck and heads off to Las Vegas, taking the sole income his family depends on for survival to the roulette wheel.  If he loses he would face understandable scorn and criticism for gambling away his family’s future.  Even if he wins, observers would be moved to praise his luck, while railing against his bad judgment.  Why?  It isn’t just some puritanical fixation on gambling as a vice, but instead because the idea of risking ruin on an uncertain (and often rigged) system of chance is rightly seen as both dangerous and stupid, with the risks of loss far outweighing the possible benefits of winning big. And yet while taking one’s monthly earnings to the roulette wheel or the craps table remains an understandable and generally accepted taboo, as a society we engage in... Read the rest of this entry »

It says something about how unpopular Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is that his main opposition in the November election, who out-polls him by a considerable margin (54 to 39% according to recent polls) can do so while advocating the barter system to pay for healthcare.  Sue Lowden, currently the Republican frontrunner in the campaign to unseat Senator Reid first made the statement several weeks ago.  Some supposed that this meant that patients should enter into haggling over price with their physicians in order to avoid exorbitant fees.  However in a more recent news interview, Ms. Lowden further explained her position, arguing that she meant exactly what she said, hearkening back to a pre-capitalist age in which our ancestors would pay for medical care with farm goods and favors, such as house-painting.  Nor has Ms. Lowden backed down in the face of considerable (and expected) criticism from the Democratic party.  Senator Reid’s campaign has perhaps put it most succinctly... Read the rest of this entry »

I have been worried about what is going on with our health care.  We live in The United Sates of America.  We are free.  What the Democrats are trying to do goes against everything our country stands for.  The following article gives excellent advice for what to do IF this bill becomes a law (and pray that it doesn’t!). Health Care: Arbitrage Obama And The Dems Yes, I mean it. And yes, I’ve read the Health Bill. Both the 2,000+ page original and The House changes as voted upon. Here’s the bottom line: •If you refuse to buy health insurance, you will be fined on a sliding scale that amounts to 2% of your AGI. So if you make $100,000 a year, you could be fined $2,000 for “refusing” to buy insurance. •You cannot buy a catastrophic policy any more. The “cheapest” acceptable policy will cost somewhere around $15,000 for a single person, and over $20,000 for a family. This is, for most people, more than five times the maximum possible... Read the rest of this entry »

I am having trouble staying silent on the current loud and rowdy health reform argument (I haven’t really seen much debate), then again, I haven’t been silent.  Here is a repost of my position, first published in February 2008, layed out as clearly as I can make it. ———————————————————————————————–      For over 20 years our country and its undying commitment to capitalism have tried desperately to slow mushrooming healthcare costs, and failed miserably. HMOs, Capitation, things that business was confident would succeed where those fiscally incompetent doctors failed, fell flat. Patients, it seems, did not tolerate their health and well-being treated as a business. I suppose business was part of the problem. After during WWII, with wages fixes and worker shortage, jobs starting... Read the rest of this entry »