Bernie Sanders has a point. Our healthcare system is extremely complicated and drains our nation and the taxpayers unnecessarily for profits. Since World War II, Great Britain has participated in a single payer system. It works quite well. France also has a single payer system.
The United States uses a For Profit model of care. It drains the economy and provides lousy coverage for most Americans. It makes them vulnerable to economic chaos if they get sick. Medical bankruptcy is the second highest reason Americans apply for bankruptcy. The system works for corporations more than people.
It would be easier to reform Medicare and offer universal healthcare for all ages. Simple to do, hard to achieve with our Congress. The medical lobbyists are just as effective as gun lobbyists. They will not go down without a fight.
Here is a breakdown of the economic impact or system of care has on us versus a single payer system in France and England:
The latest on Donald Trump is that he is crazy. According to many, his ideas are dangerous to the American people. He is a racist, misogynist, and fear monger. But what some fail to acknowledge is that on many points, he is actually correct. This explains his popularity and why he survives so many assaults from the media and celebrities alike.
Donald Trump is appealing to so many people because he has discussed many issues that people are frustrated with. There is more than meets the eye with our political election. Even if you are hostile to the "Donald", people are rejecting the assertion by the media that we should think he is a big entertainer, not a politician. He has spoken to the heart of many serious problems facing our country that the media will not discuss due to their ownership by major corporations. Even Hollywood celebrities, who stand firmly against Trump refuse to come out strongly against the issues that Trump has accurately fought for in this election Here are a few examples:
Media/Corporate Marriage - Donald Trump has exposed how the media works for corporations. Once he was deemed a threat, they have attacked him with unprecedented tactics we have never seen in previous elections. Go back and watch the Republican debates. When have we ever witnessed so many questions that lead in with an attack of another candidate in our lifetime? The media starts with a question as follows, "Donald Trump has said......do you agree with his position?" It is amazing how the debate is shaped to change the popularity of Trump.
China/Mexico Trade Policies - Donald Trump cares more about the working class than you think. He is just as outspoken as Bernie Sanders. The past 30 years of devastation to the American Middle Class can be traced to unfair trade practices with China and Mexico. For years, the Democrats and Republicans allowed hundreds of thousands of companies to move from their home districts south of the border or east to Asia. For most Americans, they have been told the same thing by both parties, "there is nothing we can do." The truth is high paying jobs gone without a serious fight. Why is that? Donald has repeatedly reminded the media is that our corporations have denied middle class wages be exporting jobs to low wage countries. He clearly states, "When I am President, we will have a fair trade policy and make the playing field equal." I will introduce tariffs and negotiate with the Chinese and Mexican governments to introduce fair trade agreements.
Immigration and Rape - Donald Trump is vilified for a statement than most candidates would not want you to know about our immigration policy. Many immigrants cross the Mexican border through what is called coyote runners. Coyotes are paid to human traffic many of the women and men that work in the United States illegally. You would be surprised how far reaching this system of labor is in our country. Every state has illegals, and their stories are horrifying. Coyote runners also rape the women, and some of them become pregnant. These women are powerless. Silent, due to their illegal status, many Americans do not know the horrors of human trafficking on our border because they can not speak. The abuse does not end once they arrive to the United States. Illegals are continually threatened to pay huge bribes to the coyotes because unbeknownst to them, during there journey gangs have kidnapped family members after they arrive. This allows for long periods of indentured servitude. No system of justice to go to, they must suffer from our border policies and pay the ransoms.
Misogyny? Yes, he says awful things towards women. However, we have another candidate running for President on the Democratic ticket that is married to the worst misogynistic former President in our history. Yet not a hint of questioning to why she is so loyal to her husband. A 23 year old intern was taken advantage of by the mystique of the Presidency and was manipulated to give the President oral sex. This abuse of power happened repeatedly throughout their marriage and Hillary as she said, "stood by her man." Fascinating when you think of the double standard by our media.
The Muslim Ban on Immigration - almost 40 years ago, Jimmy Carter placed a ban on immigration due to the Iranian Hostage crisis. He was worried about domestic terrorism. We have had numerous terrorist attacks on our homeland. Why is a restrictive immigration policy considered so crazy? Whether you agree with Trump or not, this is not an unheard of policy. Many presidents have restricted immigration due to national security concerns. What Trump has said about any ban is that it would be temporary, until we can better vet our immigration from foreign countries that sponsor terrorism. The media has carefully shaped the discussion to make it sound like it is a permanent ban.
Donald Trump is attacking the system. He is calling out both political parties. For many who profit from such a system, this is very threatening. You do not have to vote for candidate to listen to his/hers ideas. Take a second look at Trump. He actually is pointing out many problems with our political system that is challenging the media/corporate marriage that has existed for 30 years.
Donald Trump has made some proposals that seem way out of line of common thinking. The media is portraying him in a historical context that is inaccurate. Let's slow down a bit and think about the historical context we use regarding Trump. Here are a few examples:
Refugee Crisis and ISIS: Trump has snarled a lot of liberals and often gets comparisons to Hitler. Yet it was Franklin Roosevelt who was the only President to create internment camps for American Citizens in our nations history when we were at war. He is a liberal icon. Is Trump so crazy that his policies are very similar to FDR?
Citizenship and Immigration: Trump's policies regarding immigration are referred to us unheard of in our nation's history. However, we have limited immigration in our past. Often times, in response to unprecedented growth within a minority group that has impacted our economy. Citizenship has been challenged repeatedly during our history. This is nothing new. Naturalization acts date back to 1790. The Chinese were actually refused entrance into our country for 50 years.
Monitoring of Muslim Immigrants: Again, nothing new. For example, In 1950, after the start of the Korean War, the Internal Security Act barred admission to any foreigner who was Communist, who might engage in activities "which would be prejudicial to the public interest, or would endanger the welfare or safety of the United States." The United States has a history of restricting or monitoring immigrants when we are at war.
Donald Trump's demagogy is very much a part of American History. Instead of using polarizing examples of Foreign figures such as Hitler, we need to examine our own history first.
Social media is tool or in some cases a weapon to manipulate a reaction from people to support social policy. A quite effective tool at that. The most effective and caustic weapon on social media is the meme.
The definition for most people is that a meme is an internet anecdote passed along for humorous reasons. I enjoy them as much as the next person. However, over the past few years. political parties and hate groups have decided to redefine the meme as follows:
an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation. Here is the problem. We are predisposed to opinions based on emotional reactions we have because of past experiences in our lives. There is a way to tap into those experience through sight and sound. Similar to PTSD, we store negative images due to life changing events stored in our mind. We react to similar image that remind us of traumatic events. Memes can manipulate a reaction to past events. For example, if you feel somehow slighted by the loss of someone you loved, you react to someone else pain and suffering. However, if you place blame on another individual or organization for that loss, you will react to larger life changing events in a negative way.
Believe it or not, we can tap into past experiences in unique ways that we never consider. For example, social media exposes our weakness to sarcasm, hate, and subconscious meanings without us realizing the harm it can cause. We respond to our individual weakness over an individual strength of human potential. In a sense, we love to see people fail due to our own choices in life. This is quite dangerous for any society.
The meme is here to stay. Ungoverned, it can cause more harm than good. Beware the social meme.
For many years, it has occurred to me that public policy has taken to a lottery system of care approach to solving problems. What is meant by Lottery System? Simply, we tap into people's willingness to gamble on risk in order to support the perception that they put a few extra dollars in their pocket by supporting such a system. Here are a few examples:
Healthcare: Our Healthcare model is prioritized by risk. Prior to Obamacare, it was much worse. Yet, today we set premiums based on risk factors. For example, the young pay the least to insure themselves whereas the older adults will pay more. If you are not likely to need emergency care, you also opt for policies that have minimal risk for exposure to a serious incident by charging high deductibles. If you get lucky enough, you will never need to pay them. The entire system has lottery deadlines an protocols to receive care making it difficult for providers and those needing care to solve healthcare problems for individuals.
Education: Our model of education is similar. Charter Schools have a lottery system in some cases. Living in a neighborhood with a poor performing school, you can enter a lottery requesting a new school. There are deadlines for yearbooks based on income eligibility in high school. Academic achievement can be improved through a lottery process of prep classes. Some qualify, while others do not. Post secondary education has a similar process. Some affirmative action programs can lottery a person in a program or lead to your denial. High demand programs are sometimes use a lottery process to enroll a students. Missing student aid and scholarship deadlines can be a huge mistake.
Social Services: The system of care is based on knowledge of the odds. Miss a HEAP date, no help for you. Fill out a form wrong, wait another month to apply. Missed the date for signing up childcare assistance, you can not apply again. Rent assistance, HUD, and Food Assistance. All have elements of a lottery process.
There are many more examples. We lottery almost every service in this country. Would it not be simpler to streamline the process. After all, we spend billions supporting a lottery system of care. Why not directly target money to impact programs universally without mandates and complicated lottery measures? Is there a better system of care than the one we have now. Lottery systems are expensive and ineffective. After all, a dollar and a dream is just that, a dollar an a dream.
Another tragedy in Paris. You may ask yourself how do we end these events? We feel helpless. Yet the answer to the problem is very simple. The world needs to unite, and address why teaching children that your God is better than my God has horrific consequences.
Global terrorism is based on this ideology. Blow something up in the name of our God. It is a recruitment tool. From the first day of class to the last day of your life, you repeat back to yourself, "I will do this for God." It is a sick disease that has plagued humanity for thousands of years.
While some will argue this is unique to Muslims, they are incorrect. Evangelical Christians do the same thing. They use Jesus as a recruitment tool to base all their actions on God. Evangelical leaders teach God will only reward those who worship a certain way. This philosophy can be just as catastrophic. Instead of buildings falling down, families are torn apart. Communities fall prey to the evangelical terrorists. Similar to France, they allow them in, and they have one mission, to convert in the name of their God. If your kids are Catholic, their children will explain to them the Pope is the anti-Christ. If your children are gay or lesbian, they will tell them they are living an "evil" lifestyle. They will learn how their relationship with God is based on preferential treatment. Survive cancer? Our God is good. Come into some money? God takes good care of you. No different than Muslim terrorism. It is a very sophisticated process with the same intent. To build up walls for their side and to tear down walls for those who believe differently.
The boldest step we could take both locally and around the world is to teach and reinforce the separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson and the writers of our early government saw what is happening today in their world, and boldly created the first government to separate church and state. We need to reinvigorate this philosophy and teach children to respect all religions. We need to teach children that a private practice of faith does not give one the right to tell another person their God is better than another person's God. When we start teaching respect of all faiths instead of tearing them down, we will end Global and Domestic Terrorism.
Many states have a population of Veterans that served their country and came home with invisible wounds from their service. Most likely, traumatic events were a part of their service. Buried deep are the wounds of such events. Without proper care, some veterans will self-medicate, have violent episodes, and unfortunately become a part of the criminal justice system.
While giving service to their country the human body and mind has been altered by trauma. For this reason, our Veterans need a model of care that is focused on restoring a person to wellness after a traumatic event happens. This model is an informed approach to treatment that goes well beyond the physical wounds that can result from a traumatic event. A treatment plan will focus on the cycle of traumatic recovery. Often times, when an individual is homeless, hospitalized, or in a state of crisis, the trauma informed model should be implemented. Research has shown that Veterans when in a state of crisis, generally are more open to intervention strategies.
The good news is that this model is increasingly available to Veterans. The problem is access to care is not universal at this point. Knowledge is power when it comes to care. If you know a Veteran that is struggling with reentry to their community, seek out a service provider or caseworker and ask them about the trauma informed care model. Our Veterans deserve the best care available after during and after their service to our country. It is time to heal the invisible wounds of war.
Starbucks has come under fire for simplifying their holiday cups this season. Evangelicals have taken the simple red cup as a war on Christmas. Here is a sample of the social media that started the boycotts and attention to the issue: This is from a Joshua Feurstein and he was given over 2 million likes for his post.
Here is the response from Starbucks to the social media attacks.
"In response to the video, our core values as a company is to create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity," the representative said. "Each year during the holidays we aim to bring our customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season and we will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world."
The attack on Starbucks stems from company decisions that are against "Christian Values." The real "beef" is that Starbucks has been a supporter of marriage equality. Back in 2013, the company was willing to take a temporary dip in stock values to ensure that support for marriage equality was a part of Starbuck's corporate policy. The CEO had to respond to criticisms from his board that he had a greater responsibility to stockholders. (The board member was Thomas Strobhar, the founder of the Corporate Morality Action Center) He responded in kind he had a larger calling to be inclusive, and supportive of his employees.
Starbucks is criticized for actions that expand human rights by Christian groups. Maybe it is these groups that need to reexamine the true meaning of Christmas and not Starbucks.
Bill Maher interviewed Quentin Tarantino regarding the recent controversy regarding Police Brutality. Quentin Tarantino makes some excellent points about the need for honesty and transparency. He sums up the problem by calling out the barrier that exists known as "The Thin Blue Line." Simply put, the "Thin Blue Line" is a level of protection for unionized officers that prevents accountability for officers when they cross the line with the citizenry.
The "Thin Blue Line" is a conversation that needs to happen not only for the police, but also for our public education system. The police in our nation have the same issue that teacher's unions have, and that is the idea that 99.99% of the membership is competent enough to never need to be removed from their positions due to negligence. A statistic that is much higher than any other sector of our labor force.
Over 6 months ago, I wrote and article about New York teachers. Out of 112.000 employees, only a handful have been removed from their positions for their behavior. Each instance a teacher is removed, it is due to extreme circumstances. The same is true for law enforcement. It is very rare that a police officer is removed from duty. Reassignments and administrative leaves allow the officer to return to some form of active duty.
The problem with "The Thin Blue Line" is that it is not transparent. Many complaints by citizens are protected by as Quentin puts it....a snake with many heads. Somewhere, the institution of law enforcement became an institution that thinks of itself as not accountable to the citizenry they serve when the laws are broken by an officer.
We need to examine the systemic barriers and ask unions to consider transparency as a matter of substance and importance. Without it, more people will be innocently hurt by the system that is supposed to protect them.
The opt out movement has successfully demonstrated that parents can ultimately control educational policy. While the parents rallied for their children to protest common core testing, they also rallied behind an idea strongly supported by the teacher's union. What would happen if parents rallied behind sound educational policies they themselves consider important? Instead of relying on teachers, what if they listened to their parental instincts and began to opt out of educational policies that have similar consequences such as common core testing?
For many years now, parents have been complaining about many educational issues that have zero benefit for their children. For example, the half day of teaching has been argued for years to be of no benefit to children. Their is much evidence to support this conclusion by parents.
Here are some local examples of how inconsequential half days are for your children. At a local high school, a half day constitutes 28 minutes of learning per period. Some periods are dropped entirely from the schedule. PM BOCES students sit in an auditorium or the library because their is no plan for their missing at half day. Elementary students have 15 min periods. Does any of this make sense from a learning perspective.
School districts have half days due to union contracts and technicalities of instruction from the State Education Department. NYS requires 180 days of instruction. School districts have to manipulate the schedule throughout the calendar year to meet SED mandate and negotiated teaching contracts. Local educational leaders understand that 2 hrs. a day of instruction counts as a full day and utilize half days to meet their mandates. How in the 21st century, did we allow this practice to continue? It makes absolutely no sense to continue half days of instruction for the convenience of mandates and teacher contract requirements.
The truth is that parents have been opting out for years of this nonsense. Absenteeism is extremely high on half days. Classrooms sit half empty. So the question begs to be asked, why do we still have them. The reason is that the
"opt out" message is not being heard loud and clear in Albany. Albany needs to see increased rates of absenteeism in order for this practice to stop. We have learned from the opt-out crowd that civil disobedience works. It is time for parents to opt out of half days in record numbers to get this practice to stop.
I was recently engaged in an interesting debate on Facebook regarding the benefits of living in Denmark versus the United States. Full disclosure, I have never lived in Denmark. However, I see a lot of ideas from the Bernie Sanders camp like to cite Denmark. This alone makes Denmark a Socialist/Communist country.
Here is the controversy. In Denmark, and other European countries, public policies have shifted to take care of every citizen in their country by utilizing the following strategies:
Much Higher Minimum Wage
Healthcare For All - Single Payer System
Free College Education
Free Child Care
Shorter Work Week
So this is what Socialism looks like? Hmmmmm. Why are we so scared of such a system? It is due to the fact we think people will become lazy and not work. It is not about that at all. It actually makes people more productive.
Another counter point is the higher income tax (some as high as 40%) and higher sales tax (some as high as 25%) It sounds counterproductive compared to our system. However, let me provide you and example of how we actually pay a lot of taxes comparatively. It is just hidden in our system.
For example:
Student Loans - Those who go to college spend a lifetime paying them back on plans that are 10-15% of their income.
Property Taxes - In NYS some communities pay as high as 12 thousand dollars on personal property taxes.
Federal Income Tax - Can be as high as 28% however middle income families pay a much high burden than the rich.
State Income Tax - In states that have state income tax, another 5-8% of your income can go towards state income tax
Child Care - Ask anyone. At least 10 percent of your income.
Healthcare costs - Can be as much as 10 percent of your income and depending on coverage, it can bankrupt you if there is a catastrophic illness.
We are living in a lottery system in the Untied States. Those that complain about Socialism have the odds in their favor. However, once one of the big five expenses hit their family, they begin to realize that a better system would benefit all Americans.
So, maybe we should go to Denmark. Not to live, but to learn about their system. Knowledge is power and we have the power to make our lives much easier in the United States by providing an effective safety net like the models that are currently successful in Europe.
While the nation grieves yet another gun tragedy, both sides of the gun debate have immediately become immersed in an all too familiar debate. The problem with gun policy is similar to many problems facing our nation, and that is we are too polarized. Right away, Fox News and MSNBC begin to choose sides and rally their base. What is lacking is a sound policy. Do we have one as a nation?
The answer may surprise you. We have a great example of gun policy right here in New York State. In particular, NYC has worked extremely hard to promote social policy that has saved lives. The facts are astounding. 20 years ago, 2250 or more families were victims of violence. Today, the deaths have been reduced to 400.
New York State and New York City has strengthened gun laws. In addition to that, programs were created to extract guns from high risk communities. In 2006, a gun suppression task force targeted hot zones. More importantly, violators were given harsh punishments. The law was enforced no matter who you were including the famous arrest of Plaxico Burress. NYC made sure that carrying a gun without a proper permit would be punished with a harsh sentence. The continued progress will rely on other states enacting similar policy. The guns that are illegal in NYC today are mostly bought out of state. The trend is also true for the rest of New York.
The road to sound policy has not been an easy one. Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg are under constant attack to their policies. However, they have worked. For other states to see similar results, they will have to rely less on polls and more on sound social policy.
Pope Francis coming to the United States has been inspirational to many. It is great to see the openness to his message. He provided examples for our legislators to consider regarding the plight of the poor and the environment. His message of simplicity by driving in a Fiat and eating with the homeless reminded many that we have an obligation to our fellow citizens to consider inequities in our own society.
Underneath it all, social media presented a much darker view of the visit. Centuries old habits of discrediting the Pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church came to light. Instead of enjoying the message behind the visit, they felt threatened by his presence. Similar to our President and Congress, they took apart sound bytes and challenged his doctrine. Essentially, fear reared it's ugly head, and the comments and conspiracies became a standard response.
What the Pope's visit is a reminder of is the importance of the separation of church and state. What separates our civilization from the chaos in the Middle East is the Constitution. The first amendment is a protective barrier. that religious zealots try to weaken, so that their message can be universal. the belly of the beast for many is Catholicism and Secularism. The Pope coming to the United States was for them, a threat and not a message of hope.
Generous thinking. Something that goes unnoticed unless picked up by Social Media. There is a lot to learn about the concept of generous thinking. In this video, it is so important to celebrate the accomplishments of individuals that understand we are greater than one's self. Some may watch this video and focus on the disability. The truth is that this video is more about the abilities of a community to rally for one individual's ability to think generously of others. (The Coach, The Team and Opponents) Watch this video and see for yourself. The child who practices generous thinking, along with the coach allow for a very special moment to happen. There are so many dynamics at work in this one act of kindness caught on film. See for yourself.
Bernie Sanders has a point. Our healthcare system is extremely complicated and drains our nation and the taxpayers unnecessarily for profits. Since World War II, Great Britain has participated in a single payer system. It works quite well. France also has a single payer system. 
