Life as We know it

There are really some people who have the wrong idea about the public option. The fact remains that if We are talking about universal health care, with no one can be denied Coverage. Study that comment for a moment, and One can decide that refusal of Coverage should be limited only to Cosmetic Care; and then only if it is truly not debilitating. I have a Suggestion which no one will like: Refuse the Public Option to All, except Those who have previously been turned down by a private health provider, while the Public Option must determine that the medical procedures denied were not Cosmetic in nature. Now We have a straight out Public welfare, with a huge bill attached to it. We can now set a Dunning process where individuals have to pay a post-procedure premium of set size for a set length of time, even with possible garnishment of Wages. There will still be huge Costs with the program, and eventually the Public Option will grow; yet, the initial fight over health care provision is basically avoided, and the system will be set up to transfer to a clearer program as the Costs mount.

Here is one of those places where I tend to disagree with Menzie Chinn. We were a great distance from a serious drop in GDP, and the Fed intervention was hasty and overlarge to my thinking. There is a real problem with Employment, and perhaps an even greater hazard from Inflation. We are being distracted by a fall in Housing prices, while most of the rest of Product Pricing is going up. I would like to acquire some numbers on the actual real Cost of Housing as a percentage of real Income; remember the Housing Price reductions occurred only after the mortgages were taken out set for higher Rent Cost. One has to remember that Inflation can occur precisely where Property value falls in the face of Maintenance Costs increasing. No one talks about that Basket of Goods anymore, but I think there should be some concentration upon them. It could tell Us much about what Consumers are actually paying Today.

One can ask whether We have too many people, and I tend to believe there are too many. This Soccer Mom with an economist’s degree may be a shade off the mark, but if she wants four kids, that is her business. I tend to think in terms of provisional support for the little brats, only a percentage of which will go on to have a usable utility. There are still people who like a crowded theater or concert, rather than the ability to stretch out and hear over the breathing and snorting. I think it humorous that the greatest benefit of Education for Children is to convince them to stop breeding when they lack the material resources to support a family. This is one of the rare reasons to fear a rise in the Standard of Living–We are back at the Soccer Mom. Such is Life. lgl