KRUEGER: The Fast Food Thinker

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November 21, 2009

old oaken bucket

By JOHN KRUEGER The News and Tribune Sat Nov 21, 2009, 01:34 AM EST

In today’s age with 30-second sound bites, fast food and instant gratification, I find it sad nobody seems to look at the whole picture and the details before making a decision. Who wants to read, listen and digest many details, and the overall impact on some topic. “Hey I’m in a hurry. Public option. What’s that? Restrooms? Oh the government will provide us with health insurance. Great. I’m for that!”

If you ask the average Joe what he thinks Cap and Trade is the reply might be, “It’s an exchange ceremony at a graduation ceremony” instead of a horrible energy policy. If you ask them what ACORN is their answer more than likely will be it’s something that drops from a tree.

So let’s cut to the chase before an “I Love Lucy” rerun comes on TV and I lose you.

Right now the main topic being discussed is government insurance the public (ha ha) option. Your biggest problem is not the profits insurance companies make but the pay of the top dogs. Well surprise. None of them are in the top 10. Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake Energy, $112.5 million; Sanjay Jha, Motorola, $104.5 million; Larry Ellison, Oracle, $84.5 million; Robert Iger, Disney, $51.1 million. Do we want the government to take over and run the energy, tech companies and Disney? Replacing them with government employees presents another problem. Besides duplication resulting in more employees according to Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008 the average government worker was paid over $37 per hour in total compensation versus a private worker of just over $26 per hour. All of this paid for with your tax dollars versus purchases in the private sector. Furthermore, depending on the job, a private worker is anywhere from 2 to 12 times more likely to get laid off than a government worker. Talk about tax-funded job security.

Now let’s address the difference between Washington as opposed to state and local governments. State and local governments have to work within budgets and be responsible. Private companies do as well. Washington does not. Evan Bayh was told this by a colleague in an op-ed piece he wrote after being elected in 1998 in the Indianapolis Star.

The federal government is so inefficient with congressmen stepping in if a manager attempts to control costs that the cost of everything will be much higher … all paid for by your taxes. Remember when the DOD paid $600 for a toilet seat and $400 for a hammer. Medicare pays $4,000 for a wheel chair a person can purchase for cash for $1,000. This is true almost across the board in Medicare and the person in charge of trying to control costs said congress will always defend their special interest and no change will take place. We all know that’s true.

Now if you still insist those big bad CEO’s from insurance companies should be punished and go against your own interests and those of your loved ones and have the Public option (government insurance) then consider this:

Just this week I was told by an employee of the federal government agency he shipped five empty boxes to Alaska UPS Overnight! There was nothing special about the boxes. Don’t they have boxes in Alaska? Moreover he lamented he’s witnessed cases where they could have spent $5 but insist on spending $20 for something. Indeed remember the piece on “60 Minutes” a few years ago wherein a federal government agency sent out an 11 pages requirement to make a No. 2 pencil. Why wouldn’t a standard No. 2 pencil from Office Depot do the trick?

In Germany all insurance is private, there is no government insurance and costs are 30 percent less. The government insurance (public option) just isn’t needed and should be killed. Instead ask yourself this. A local hospital chain demanded the insurance company reimburse them with a 12 percent increase. This is the HOSPITAL. Then assume the insurance company adds on a 3 percent profit making it 15 percent. Who is blamed? The problem is government. Administrative costs have increased 500 percent in the last 20 years. In Japan a doctor pays $30 per month for medical malpractice (tort reform) insurance. We pay 10 percent to 16 percent of the of 2.5 trillion on malpractice measures. In England they spend 30 cents for a pill where we spend $1.20 for the same pill. Illegals flood our emergency rooms.

If Washington addresses these problems first along with allowing the OPTION of allowing each of us to choose an insurance company in each state and provide true COMPETITION we would then see our costs go down for everyone and millions provided with health care. Then and only then would we address those remaining without affordable health care.

John Krueger is a former Clarksville councilman and can be reached at MeredithSpecial@aol.com.

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