Socialized Medicine

We are currently suffering under socialized medicine. I do agree that the technically correct definition of “socialized” would mean controlled by a government bureaucracy, but our medical system is under the control of a private, profit-oriented insurance bureaucracy and the effect on our lives is virtually the same, perhaps worse.

• Our individual choices are limited by insurance company bureaucrats.
• Doctors have large administrative overhead to deal with the insurance company bureaucracy.
• The true costs of medical care are both hidden and amplified by the insurance smoke screen.

There are those who argue that it would be worse if the government ran health care. Perhaps. I consistently read that Medicare is far less costly to administer than private insurance, but I don’t know who to believe any more.

However, why not consider a system that REALLY uses the free market? Eliminate the insurance middleman! Make medical pricing, direct from the providers, transparent. Open up true competition between providers of medical services rather than providers of insurance. Take a chunk of the cost out of the health care system by reducing all the overhead imposed by insurance programs. Where is it written that only insurance companies should pay medical bills on our behalf?

What we all really need is access to health care, not access to health insurance.

I Wouldn't Start From Here - The 21st Century and Where It All Went Wrong by Andrew Mueller

I just finished reading I Wouldn't Start From Here - The 21st Century and Where It All Went Wrong by Andrew Mueller. This is a good read. This Australian went to all the places in conflict on our planet (Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Africa) and somehow made the absurdity of their conflicts humorous. It does end on an optimistic note:

"We have heard a lot in the twenty-first century to date, not least from your
outgoing president, about a grand global struggle between good and evil. I'm as
certain as I can be that no such dispute is occurring. The universal human
conflict is, as it ever was, between the smart and the stupid. In general, I'm
still betting on the smart, even if it does often seem that the stupid have the
numbers."

Good Book

Just finished a good book: On the Water - Discovering America in a Rowboat by Nathaniel Stone. This guy (Not the guy in the picture) rowed from Brooklyn, NY east to Lake Erie, down the Allegheny, Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, east to Florida along the Gulf, around Florida and up to Maine. Great story about the kindness of strangers and the primacy of experience over the accumulation of stuff.

What are Memory Bears?

I helped a lady with her website yesterday. She makes memory bears. At first, I thought it was a little creepy, but now I see it's not really creepy at all. The teddy bears wear clothing that used to belong to someone who passed away. Sometimes the clothing is ratty, worn - but that probably doesn't matter to the bear owner. I was told sometimes the clothing still smells like the loved one. People get through grief in different ways. And if this works for folks - why not? It is sort of like a memorial to someone lost, and that's not a bad thing at all. She also makes personalized teddy bears to promote or commemorate an event - it's not all about grieving. So, what I initially thought might be a little creepy turns out to be a sweet thing, a good thing. Check out her site at: http://www.hadibears.com/.

Another New Site Up

I put a cute little tavern here in town (Stop Lite Inn) on the internet yesterday.

I used Blogger as the platform. They didn't want to spend any money, and I couldn't really see a reason they should. However, it is a bit unconventional and I am curious to see how it works out.

Does putting a small, local brick and mortar business on the web really generate more business? What is the ROI? I couldn't find any hard facts to build a case. My intuition tells me there is a cost to NOT being on the internet. I believe the internet is the 21st century version of the Yellow Pages. But I don't have a strong story for spending a lot of money on a website for these small retailers.

Great Bar & Grill - Batavia, IL

My favorite place to stop for lunch, or sometimes just a drink, is OBriens in Batavia. The bartender is always friendly, the food is good and the atmosphere is mellow. There's outdoor seating when the weather is nice. It's close to the east side of the bike path, so it's a great place to stop for a refreshing drink. Give it a try.

Springtime in Batavia, IL

It's a stunning morning. I have been fretting the last few days about where to go to take some pictures before springtime ends. Silly - all I needed to do was take my camera for a walk in my own neighborhood this morning.