Tag: free markets

Frankly, the fact that government is involved in the slightest way with regard to health care, is not only annoying, but flies in the face of personal responsibility, and liberty.  Having said that, we recognize the state of Michigan, and it's citizens' right to pursue certain issues of public policy outside of federal manipulation.  Senator Colbeck has also earned the opportunity to be heard IMO.  From a Press release late yesterday:

Colbeck patient-centered solution legislation moved out of committee

Free market alternative to Medicaid expansion moves to the full Senate

LANSING, Mich. - The Senate Government Operations Committee today voted to send legislation that would create a free market alternative to Medicaid expansion to the full Senate for consideration by the Chamber.  Senate Bills 459 and 460, introduced by Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton) and known as the Patient-Centered Care Act, would enact a patient-centered healthcare plan that expands access to quality care without expanding government.

It might be of interest for some to attend
OtherCare: Liberation & Innovation in American Healthcare

Free market principles, removing obstacles to competition, and recovering from the worst legislation in the history of our country.

SENATE BILL No. 324 , Introduced yesterday by Senators MARLEAU, JONES, EMMONS, KAHN, BOOHER, BIEDA,GREGORY and JOHNSON was referred to the Committee on Health Policy. Michigan Senator Marleau explains:

".. the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) allows states to license "navigators" to assist people enrolling in health insurance through an exchange. Senate Bill 324 would ensure that navigators in Michigan act in good faith.

"We must make sure our residents are protected both from bad behavior as well as from incompetence," said Marleau, R-Lake Orion. "My bill establishes safeguards to keep navigators honest and to ensure they know what they're doing."

Marleau emphasized that the federal rules are not finalized, but the bill was introduced to start a discussion about how the state can ensure residents are protected.

"This is the start of the discussion, but our time to act is limited since residents plan to start shopping on Michigan's insurance exchange in October," he said.

SB 324 will protect Michigan residents by registering navigators, requiring background checks on them and ensuring they are professionally trained according to minimum standards for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act training."

Listen Senators.  Do you mind if I call you that, or would you appreciate something more direct?

Get those damnable lobbyists for health insurance plans (authors of this legislation) out of your office for five minutes and read the garbage you are introducing. By establishing the 'Director's' responsibilities and creating framework of a 'navigator' your bill is creating Michigan's participation in the exchange. It pretends protections, yet does NOTHING to protect Michigan citizens from the evil that is Obamacare and this catastrophic blow to our individual rights. Why are we providing ANY assistance to the federal government which is asserting authority is does not have into our health care choices?

First it starts off with the appropriate culling of hypocrisy as seen in the Diane Hathaway debacle.  Hathaway, of course was the recipient of the infamous sleeping judges ad, where in a lie, an actor was hired to 'represent' justice Taylor sleeping while on duty.  Hathaway won easily at that time as Michiganders were horrified to think that such a thing could happen on the Michigan Supreme Court.  Strangely, there was nary a peep THIS TIME from the folk calling foul in THAT election, but for a few "I don't cares" coming from the lefty side apologists.

Clifford Taylor wins the moral battle to be sure.

God help us from benevolent bureaucracies!

"HOLLAND, Mich. -- Several weeks after a city zoning officer shut down his hot dog business, 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski and his parents are homeless.

The family was hoping Nathan's hot dog cart could help them through a difficult time.  Nathan's mother, Lynette Johnson, suffers from epilepsy and his stepfather, Doug Johnson, has multiple sclerosis. Their illnesses have restricted them from finding permanent, full-time work.

...

Nathan wanted to help out his family by selling hot dogs from a cart he bought with money he saved.

...

The city of Holland, however, shut down the business 10 minutes after it opened, informing Nathan it was in the city's commercial district where food carts not connected to downtown brick-and-motor restaurants are prohibited. The Mackinac Center's coverage of the issue has drawn national attention."

Unintended or otherwise, it is considered normal nowadays for government to hamper the opportunities of some, to favor others. A pretend scenario is certainly unnecessary for this family.

Truth be told, I am proud of Junior, in the way he has stepped up to the plate and handled the ENTIRE expense for his education for the last three years through his military program and equally happy that he is not starving, has a roof over his head while in school, and has truly owned up to the responsibilities he has taken on..

..just getting older.

Maybe that's why I have happily paid the insurance policy for him during his schooling. It has been relatively inexpensive to have piece of mind these last few years. To the age of 25, the policy we hold on him has cost us less than $100 a month.. Not too bad.  Its been worth it.

That is the hard fact of what it took to get a battery plant built here to provide 3300 new jobs.  Never mind the NEED for those jobs, or whether the new green economy demands it enough to make it PAY FOR ITSELF.  It is the cost of having business DO BUSINESS in Michigan it seems, and no amount of common sense ought to dissuade our dear leaders from paying that price right?

And that price per job, is only if all goes well.

As we have seen by recent events, the MEDC record for picking winners is not even as accurate as my dog's method of identifying visitors.  Never mind the trickle into the Michigan economy from these new jobs cannot offset the cost in taxes paid to make it possible.  And Never mind the very people who are running the taxpayer supported operation say they haven't been profitable.. yet:

In a filing with the SEC, the company stated: "We have never been profitable. ...We have a history of losses, and we may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability."

The company was founded in 2001 and announced its lithium-ion battery system in 2005. Since then, A123 states that it had net losses of $31 million in 2007, $80.5 million in 2008, and $86.6 million for 2009. Furthermore, it had negative cash flow of $56.1 million in 2007, $76 million in 2008 and $114.7 million in 2009.