Healthcare, Importance of Experience, Personal Responsibility

On my July 27, 2009 blog, I shared what my personal experiences have been with medical insurance and also my opinion regarding what the current administration is attempting to do along with what I think would be prudent steps. As a country, we need to change our perspective as to how the individual is perceived. Instead of encouraging the victim energy with the 'government will take of you scenario', we need to be helping others learn how to be more resourceful and how to live within their means. This is a conservative viewpoint, yet I see that the continuation of our democracy and capitalism depends on this magnitude of a change. All the actions from the government should stem from this way of looking at us collectively. I am concerned that we are headed down the primrose path, but it is an exciting time and shows the importance of the individual standing firm in his/her integrity. The government at all levels does not know what is best for us. We have to influence them in a way that they listen and act accordingly, not just give us lip service and then act from what they think is right.

I see signs of our inexperience in our government showing up in the last few days. For example, we put a 35% tariff on the tires coming from China. They are in great consternation which tells me that there was no greasing of the wheels before acting. I wonder if anyone thought this whole process through, given the leverage that China holds because of their ownership of our debt to a tune of close to a trillion. Imagine the interest rate increase on this debt if they decided to protest against this tariff by dumping some of it.

There is great eloquence of self-expression coming from Washington D.C., but the actions are not matching what is being said. They have lost touch with the people. I am giving them credit that they had some connection in the past. An example is my personal experience with my two senators and representative, especially from their response around the TARP. They were receiving 95+% against, as was my vote, and still thought they knew better. They don't realize that their strength comes from us who see differently, more at the ground level, from living our own life experiences. A democracy has to include the people because the President's office, Senate, and House of Representatives are individuals mainly with law backgrounds who are affluent. It's easy for them to abuse their power, taking care of their needs/wants first as is reflected in their health care program. We as citizens are responsible for keeping them in check. Your power of influence is greater than you would believe. Don't hesitate to make your own words known when you know that others are not operating with integrity or ethics, or are just plain ignorant.