Canadian dignitary travels to US for cardiac surgery

It's not exactly a ringing endorsement of the Canadian health care system when one of the country's ruling class chooses to come to the US for surgery in lieu of waiting in line with the common folk. It's nothing new for the elite to play by a different set of rules, especially when they have means and resources to which the masses do not have access. In Premier Williams' own words:

"This was my heart, my choice and my health."

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

Perhaps we should think twice about which health care systems we wish to emulate when those with access to "free" health care would rather pay to come to the US for it.

Bailout Bonanza!

Apparently the executive pay limits set by President Obama only apply to Wall Street bankers. The AP is reporting that Ed Whitacre, the new CEO of General Motors, is poised to receive a $9 Million pay package this year. This is almost twice the amount of money that former CEO Fritz Henderson, the man that was essentially fired by President Obama, was paid. Speaking of Fritz, he's recently been hired back on as a consultant to the tune of $59,090/month to come back in and work 20 hours per month. All of this from the company that lost almost $31 billion in 2008 and received a $49.9 Billion bailout in 2009.

Looks like that $49.9 Billion is turning out to be money well spent!

Do we really need universal health care?

According to a recently conducted survey reported by PennLive.com, 2 out of 3 in Pennsylvania want universal health care. Many of the reader comments that favor universal health care describe skyrocketing health care costs and a lack of affordable insurance options as their motivation.

Let's look at the facts. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that government programs will soon account for over 50 percent of health care spending in the US. This would imply that we already have "some form of universal health care." Some other interesting statistics about health care:

Many claim that there are 46 million uninsured Americans when 9.7 million are not Americans, 16 million make more than $50,000, and 14 million are eligible for government programs leaving 8 million as chronically uninsured. The rate of uninsured in the U.S. is steady at about 15-16% since the early 90’s. In Pennsylvania, about 92% are insured!

Medical bankruptcy is another hot button issue, even though an American Journal of Medicine study showed that 77.9 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy due to medical issues actually had insurance at the onset of their illness.

So where is all of this coming from? It would appear that the Obama Administration has taken a page out of the Alinksy playbook in manufacturing a health care crisis. According to the most recent US Census Bureau statistics, about 88 percent of those those with private insurance have employer-provided insurance. ABC reported that among insured Americans, 82 percent rate their health coverage positively.

Is our system perfect? Far from it. But when a 55 y/o male can get health insurance in Pennsylvania through Geisinger Choice for as low as $202/month, and a 25 y/o male can get insurance for as low as $53/month, it would seem that the situation is not as dire as we're being lead to believe. There is certainly room for reform but a complete government hijacking of the health care system is probably unnecessary.

Harrisburg City to Possibly Raise Water Rates for Residents of Neighboring Municipalities

There is currently an article on PennLive.com indicating that Harrisburg City is contemplating raising water rates for residents of Susquehanna Township and Penbrook Borough in order to service the city's debt. Regardless of whether this may or may not be legal, it is completely immoral. It is one thing to raise water rates due to increased costs in processing or delivering water; it is another thing entirely to raise water rates for something completely unrelated to the service being provided i.e. inability to pay off incinerator debt. The residents of neighboring municipalities, who do not even reside within city limits, should not be punished for the ineptitude of city leadership.

I advise all residents of Susquehanna Township and Penbrook Borough to contact their local officials and state senator/representative and demand their attention in this matter.

Obama Administration Wants to Track Cell Phones Without a Warrant

According to a report by cnet, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia will hear oral arguments Friday in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices.

In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

The fourth amendment is pretty clear:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

There is at a minimum an implied right to privacy embedded in the Constitution. Should the court find in the White House's favor, it would certainly be a profound loss for liberty everywhere.