Musings of Old Man Joe

Irish guy living in Los Angeles

healthcare

perplexed

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Those that have been so kind to read the few words I post on here, as I am studying quite a bit & the old life thing going on I don’t have too much time to post.
I have found it difficult to put into words what I see politically and globally with what is going on.

Last night I was watching the series by James Burke entitled “The day the universe changed!”

We are back in 1984-1985 and the cold war is still up and running, the threat of nuclear war still looms & the world wonders what the future will hold.
We all know the mission to the moon was a pissing contest between Russia and the United States. With a side mission called scientific discovery. I was about 9 years old when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon & got to dress up as a spaceman in my class.

When I was in my teens I would read boys books about time and space and the future science will bring. It was exciting and full of hope for the future. Western countries stood for freedom of expression and movement, the idea you can make it if you try! The United States was by far the biggest economy so it was felt the best opportunities were there, not that it was any more free than any other western country.

Russia & China being the opposite of freedom, no freedom of movement and being told what you can and cannot do was not the way for the future of society, if we were to go to space and beyond!

Of course times change and the cold war ended & we left the moon and didn’t go back because we won the contest. The funding for science dropped because funding was never really about the science. Time moves along and technology moves into the mainstream. So there is money to be made, and today we have the web (light & dark). We have access to more info than any humans since the beginning. This was going to be the new dawn of humankind.

But of course the dark side was always possible, and with the availability of knowledge was the availability of crap, social media, fake sites, scams, identity theft, click bait, Fox News!

The Russians discover they can fight a media war because people aren’t equipped to filter, and they don’t know where to get news they can trust.
Trump calls any story he doesn’t like fake news because it doesn’t stroke his ego. News media continue to give time to stupid people to give the impression of being fair. People begin to believe the stupid people because they are getting exposure.

And then there was this!
THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND THE RISE OF AMERICAN FASCISM 

Before the 1970’s the christian right was part of the rest of the united states, probably just as happy with the moon landing and what science might bring for the future. A baby wasn’t a baby until it was a baby, not today when some consider a few cells to be a baby. But things changed and it may change what was once the bright future of the United States.

For some the multi-diverse idea of society breaks what they consider the mold from their youth. It was a fiction but real enough to them, and they feel it is gone & want to rekindle the past. They have been deceived into thinking it can come back. Society and business moves forward because business in the end wants to make a profit. The old industries are no longer really viable but they have been told the reason is immigrants, unions, the other side selling jobs overseas.

Business did move overseas, but it was purely for profit, and cheap labor. But another  reason not mentioned too much was due to technological advances. Now we have people being voted into government who don’t believe in science, who want to make the United States a purely christian country, which goes against freedom of religion. I believe in freedom of religion, you should be able to practice what ever religion you choose. But do not try and impose your religious beliefs on me. If you take away my right to choose, I may as well be living in 1985 Russia or China!

I vote Democrat, so what am I really for?

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I grew up with healthcare, how great it was or wasn’t really doesn’t matter, if my leg was busted it would be fixed; no charge! It was nice, I never had any thoughts about socialism or government over reach. I actually never thought about it at all unless I needed it.

I know some friends and family who are of an age that they now get Medicare. I can tell you without a doubt they are thrilled, it’s just a thing that just being there adds a kind of calm, it’s called a safety net. It’s provided to citizens who have paid into the fund during their working lives. It’s a way for the government to say thanks for the taxes you have paid all your working life.

In the United states healthcare is a business, where people/companies make money for treating people who are sick. This would be why medical costs are so much more than pretty much anywhere else. I can understand why people who are making money with the system don’t want it changed, but the people who don’t have healthcare & who vote against their own best interests have me perplexed!

When I vote I don’t vote for people, I vote for policies and where I see a party aligns with my goals going forward. I will change my Party in an instant if I find a different party has my best interests at heart. So again I ask myself why do people vote against their best interests? Is party affiliation the same as following a sports team? I have always voted such and I shall always do so? The idea the GOP are fiscally responsible is a joke, as the debt has increased under GOP leadership. These are facts that can easily be checked.

I vote Democrat because the Republican party supports climate deniers, tries to blatantly disrupt voting, and is quite open about it. They claim voter fraud, which doesn’t really exist; even GOP states have said as much. I can’t say the democrats are way better, but they support progressive points which I agree with, climate, equality, health care for all. There is the idea that as I vote Democrat I would agree taxing the hell out of people, it is a misconception! I don’t care to pay lots of taxes, but to fund healthcare for all, to provide a social security check when I retire, better safety nets for citizens, I will pay more tax to see results. But please don’t think I am for waste, I want my taxes to be spent wisely, and I want to know what the money went to.

I have two friends who are Trump supporters. I disagree with our President on pretty much everything and even if he does a good thing, I won’t give him credit because he is such an ass. But the two guys I know are really nice guys, they are honest decent hard-working guys. Aside from the internet trolls I think people are pretty much the same, we have the same moral stance. We are divided by propaganda from religious institutions and media (aka Fox news). I tend to get my news from multiple outlets to get an even view, including international sources.

I think we should make a Law, If you are found to have deliberately lied while running for political office you can be disqualified from running, that would make it interesting!!

Robot is going to take my Job, and the government doesn’t care!

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Human Employee Termination Workers Silhouettes
Human Employee Termination Workers Silhouettes

Ever since the 1970’s with the advances in automation we have seen the decline in manufacturing jobs. Between 1990 and 2007, machines killed off up to 670,000 US manufacturing jobs alone. These jobs will never return because it’s cheaper to have many machines and one operator maintain them.

In my last post on this subject I was pondering how different countries are dealing with the advent of AI taking over many of the manual jobs done by people today and how this will change the idea of work when it relates to a persons identity.

Governments will be playing a big roll in the transition to an economy with 46% of the population not actually having a job. Because this is something that companies will not do, it’s not their roll. And to be brutally honest the United States Government with many crying socialism at the hint of the government actually helping a citizen has a shit reputation in this regard. With the advent of the driver-less vehicle, cars and trucks no longer needing a person will add millions of people to the lines of the jobless. Manufacturing jobs while in some markets (next generation energy production), may expand in the United States for the most part they are not coming back.

In the US there seems to be a cry to go back to the 1950’s when there was lots of manufacturing jobs and people were paid a wage that led to a decent life. I agree it was probably great and why not want that again. Those jobs are not coming back, if someone tells you they are they are bullshitting you. Whether we like it or not it’s a global economy now. And however altruistic you might like Apple to be they cannot and won’t be bringing production to the US, all the parts are made in Asia and they have many more qualified engineers than in the US.

Alas the United States is its own worst enemy, China has universal health care, that’s 1.6 billion people, while it is always a work in progress for health care they still manage it and it’s cheaper per person than in the US. That’s a big saving for any company, and with a state educational system they are bouncing out many more engineers and scientists than the United States. The US could and should be competing but it’s not. This is because in the US it’s not about workers or education or healthcare. It’s about the people in government making a dime and convincing the people that their problem is because of other people in the US, people of color, migrants, homeless, mentally ill, when in fact in the end it is always been about money.

I really don’t mean to bitch about this but it breaks my heart to see waste, and while some in the US are crying take America back. it’s not going to happen and any politician that promotes this crap is doing them a injustice. We must look to the future and find the kinds of jobs that will be open for people. And for those that won’t be able to work because the job just isn’t there. It will be OK because the government had made plans to give you some dignity & options to try because you don’t have to worry about where you are eating next.

The issue of the race against the Robots is not just a issue for the United States, it’s a global issue which every nation is going to have to grapple with. Some will do better than others because the population is better educated and can adjust to different types of jobs that will be needed in the future. Other nations will be hit harder because they had their head in the sand, for either politics or personal gain. We shall see!

Will we ever get our shit together!

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I am truly concerned with the direction the world is moving at. Half the population of one of the most advanced countries in the world don’t believe in climate change. Like the scientists who can send craft to space to study different worlds can’t figure out the behavior of gasses on earth.

Before Lead was removed from gasoline due to the effect it was having on people, (making them sick)! There was kickback by the companies who liked the status quo. Eventually common sense gave way to unleaded gasoline.

Tobacco industry fought for years claiming smoking did no damage, even they in the end had to face the fact it wan’t healthy to smoke. Climate change is no different, industry likes to keep the status quo & they will play what ever cards they can. They know the truth and being businesses they are planning for the future The oil & gas climate initiative. I expect smart people to make plans and move forward.

My concern is the millions of people who I believe have been told a crock & at some point are going to discover they have been lied to. It’s not fair to these people who have been deceived, for political gain in most cases. There are real divides between areas of the united states that it feels like we have different countries. With the politics of division running at full speed, how can we come together in truth not fake facts to move forward with the potential this country truly has.

There are real challenges ahead, employment or to be more specific the kind of jobs that will be available in the future have been changing since the 1970’s. I know some would like to blame immigration, but the truth is very easy to understand. Some manufacturing jobs went to other countries because they don’t have to pay as much. In countries with universal healthcare the companies save a fortune as they don’t have to pay for health insurance, which is significant! But the biggest factor in job loss in the united states has been due to automation and robotics. This trend isn’t going to change and in the next ten years a significant percentage of the population will be out of work.

With the advance in driver-less technology and automated delivery services the future does start to look like the science fiction we dreamed of when we were young. It could be absolutely great! But the change in society is going to be big, and for some reason the powers don’t seem to be doing much about it.

Universal basic wage is a idea being tested in a few countries, it’s a base wage paid to citizens to allow then to survive and allow the option of part time work or starting their own business. Some argue it will cost too much, but it’s replacing unemployment and if 46% of the population are in fact out of work you had better find a way to make it work!

Maybe the answer in the end will be something I have not read yet, or maybe with the current people in charge they won’t deal with it at all, and just let people go hungry and tell fake stories to cover their ass. The problem will not go away so we shall all get to see what heppens.

 

How small should government be?

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big-governmentIn the united States we have a situation that is a bit different from other countries, in that you have two governments over you. One being the State which has it’s own rules and depending on politics is either for or against the Federal Government. This means that we have federal laws to protect citizens that can be completely ignored by the states by finding some loophole. In other countries the laws would be primarily from the Federal level and the state would be in charge of running the state services financially. So the conflict I see today with Conservative governors trying their best to undermine the healthcare law by not expanding Medicare, and not setting up healthcare exchanges seems to be just a United States thing!

I grew up in Europe with universal healthcare, AKA socialism, but the truth is when you break a leg it gets fixed, don’t even have to be in the communist party! So when people cry out socialism over the ACA AKA Obamacare, I wonder with the rest of the planet how you can be so miss-informed. When you sign up for Obamacare it’s with a health insurance company, not the government. You can compare prices and choose the plan you like, that’s called the market place and it’s definitely not socialism. As to the reports of death panels, a true government health plan is Medicare, and as of yet seniors have not heard about the death panels. Most seniors love Medicare, even the ones who don’t realize it’s government healthcare.

Then I hear people saying that government is bad and we need small government, lets take America back to some time in the past. Is this before we had safety standards for industry or building codes. Is this before we had food safety, or tried to have food safety if the FDA gets funding. How dare it try to tell us what to eat, I love contaminated beef. Or maybe that toy from China is the greatest, and the poison doesn’t worry me; I won’t be sucking on it! I know bridges are falling apart, and yes if States politicians  put infrastructure up there and not getting reelected (both parties), maybe there wouldn’t be so much unemployment.

So I come back to my question; how small should government be? I don’t like waste, and this includes my tax dollars, I don’t like to have politicians telling me what to do, vote sensible laws and I have no problem. I respect laws (well most of them anyway). I believe in religious freedom, you should have the freedom to practice your religion with out the government imposing on you. Of course people who are not of your religion have the right to follow their own religion and follow their religions rules (hence freedom). When those religious rules don’t conflict with the laws of the land. Imposing your religious teaching on someone not of your church is in fact religious persecution, and we don’t like that!

So when people say small government do they mean just the federal government, and the disaster aid, one of the most powerful militaries in the world & shear influence of the United States means nothing. They just want the State to be the body in charge, local politics only. Maybe some people just have not liked being part of the Union, and would prefer secession from the United States completely. Form a theocracy and live away from those heathens who believe women have a choice and should be paid the same as men. Have the freedom to marry who you love, and not denounce it in public; but when you are caught just go to therapy and ask god for forgiveness, and it will be ok!

So how big or small should government be?

I don’t give a rats ass, it should not waste my tax money and should be looking after my best interests. Don’t spy on me unless I have actually done something to deserve it. And allow me to pursue endeavors in the future for my families happiness and myself. I am not afraid of government, I get to vote; but I want it to function for my interests and not just for the corporation who makes donations.