This message has, unfortunately, is lost on most politicians just as it’s lost on Fox “News”.

I can help out with the Xanax! Of course you’ll need to provide your health insurance card and copay upfront. Oh Yea and I need to first complete a full physical first, so that when you take more than the recommended dosing and try to sue me I have a defense. ……

Maybe Sheen and Sam K. are both poor choices for comparison. I’m just a geek accountant from the suburbs of Detroit with a few things on my mind. Maybe one day I’ll have a rant worthy of being portrayed by Jack Nicholson – preferably without being hauled off to jail at the end. (YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!)

As for voters… Platforms? People don’t vote based on the issues. Don’t be so naive. For example: I’m voting Rick Snyder for Governor of Michigan. F the issues, he’s a fellow CPA. That’s all I need to know!

Prior to healthcare reform, Sec Defense Gates stated that out of control healthcare spending was one of the greatest challenges to maintaining a strong national defense. This fact alone should have compelled everyone in Congress to participate in a constructive discussion on healthcare reform. Unfortunately it did not.

“TRUE capitalism”…that’s an interesting term. The capitalist umbrella is a large one (like a golf umbrella rather than a totes pop up). And for most capitalist models, some form and degree of external regulation is necessary to maintain the system. Adam Smith was first to acknowledge that capitalism needed an external moral regulator (Church of England fulfilled the role for him) or baby meat would be sold on the corners if the price was right. Any one who professes to value the many blessings of capitalism should also be familiar with Marx’s critique of the capitalist system (his critique is valid though his solution suffers from the same shortcoming as Ayn Rand’s- a complete misunderstanding of human nature). Laissez-faire Capitalism devolves into monopolies and oligarchies, which are inhospitable to liberty and democracy. The American solution to this has been an appropriate amount of regulation, attempting to set the of boundaries while letting the market work out the rest within the acceptable area. We do swing from excessive to lax while looking for the sweet spot, but I doubt there are many who think the repeal of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act would be beneficial to American society.

Here is my question then…How many people really did vote based on a pure examination of platforms, policy or economic projections vs. voting based on how they always vote, because they blindly accept what their party of choice tells them, or as an emotional response to some difference of opinion?…Not trying to hijack the thread, but my guess is that the percentage of folks who did read the whole platform without a bias was pretty low.

I’ll admit that some of my rants have a certain Charlie Sheenesque quality. But I didn’t throw any furniture.

And I readily admit I took some liberties with why people voted for Obama. Maybe we didn’t want healthcare reform. But we should have expected it since it was high on his to-do list.

So, without getting into specifics right now, as this is being responded to during work time, my first raised eyebrow happened early in your health care section. The assertion that “We must have wanted it or we wouldn’t have elected him” implies that HC reform was either the biggest, or the only reason he won. The fact that he wasn’t GB, wasn’t Republican, is a hell of an orator, and wasn’t the old and busted politician people had seen for decades had much more to do with the change in leadership.

The long term effects on this dramatic change won’t be known for years. I even have doubts that the bill will roll out completely as it is written now. TBD. When time allows, I look forward to posting and reading some more.

Cheers,
John