High Pay Low Performance

I'm all for highly educated, highly qualified, hardworking individuals getting paid well for doing a job, but the ceo compensation packages in corporate America and on Wall Street have gotten out of hand. Come on, most of these guys are idiots. The idea of tying pay to performance is logical, but seems to be above the intellect of these guys. Having worked with succesful companies who were turned over to incompetent ivy league idiots, I believe that education is too often used as the benchmark for competent management. The best executives are those who like what they do and who care more about the success of the company than the "Golden Parachute" they might receive. I think corporate america would be better served by treating companies like sports teams, if the company isn't living up to it's potential, the exec is to blame and he gets fired without a huge severance package. This is a great incentive - perform or don't get paid. I would definately take one of these jobs, and I am pretty sure anyone with a high school education could have performed as well as some of the Goldman Sachs execs who got huge bonus checks last year.

Healthcare and Subaru

Ok, I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time discussing the newest proposal from the Senate Finance committee. The only thing I'm going to say is this. The Democrats are idiots. Unless they include liability limits in this bill it is going to turn into another social security type mess. There is no way to fund this without mortgaging our children's future. That said, I will get on-board to insure those who are un or under insured if they will do this. Even if they just said if you get government aid you can't sue the doctor if something goes wrong...anything to get the malpractice insurance to drop to a reasonable level.

Subaru drivers are at it again. Last week Subaru drivers narrowly won the award for the most idiots driving slow in the fast lane. They were almost nudged out by old men driving Cadillacs but on Saturday no less than 4 of them were driving slow in the left lane on the way to Salt Lake. This gave them the win. (It was after dark and the Cadillac drivers were most likely in bed.) If you drive a Subaru, please don't.

Myths and realities about majijuana legalization

There are several arguments being used by both sides in the marijuana legalization argument. I sought to dispel some myths and excuses used by the anti-legalization effort but I tried to keep an open mind when reviewing the true "scientific studies" that I could find.

The first argument against legalization is always that marijuana is a gateway drug. The University of Pittsburgh recently published a 12 year study on marijuana as a predictor for substance abuse. I think it is important to note that the study was on the incidence of substance abuse and not on whether or not marijuana was a gateway drug. This is important because the progression of substance abuse is what the end argument against legalization is all about. The argument goes something like this:

"We can't legalize marijuana because it leads to harder drugs. Many people who try marijuana will look for something stronger and will eventually become crack smokers or meth heads."

The study focused on the prevalence of long term abuse, but the methods used also helped to show patterns in the prevalence of a "gateway" contributor. The study found that the reverse gateway pattern - the use of marijuana prior to tobacco and alcohol use - was exhibited in almost 25% of the test group. This alone would help dispel the idea that it is the contributing factor in drug abuse (anything over 10% means it is part of the norm rather than an anomaly.) What the researchers found is that the prevalence of marijuana usage was actually based on access. Several of the test subjects found it easier to purchase marijuana because it wasn't regulated like alcohol. The use of marijuana prior to alcohol or tobacco also had no increase in the number who eventually became chemically dependant on any substance. This is important because it shows that marijuana isn't an indicator of future substance abuse. The numbers were nearly identical in the study of those who never tried marijuana but became chemical dependant and those who did.

I think it is important to note that I don't advocate the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, however, I believe alcohol and tobacco are much greater threats to our nations health and prosperity. I don't believe there would be a higher incidence of drug abuse by legalizing marijuana. In fact, I think you would see no "net gain" in drug abusers. I do believe that the medical benefits of marijuana could far outweigh the dangers of legalizing, taxing, and regulating the sale. If you had to go into a state run liquor store to buy marijuana, the ease of purchasing it for underage kids would actually decrease. Marijuana is easier to obtain in our public schools because it isn't regulated.

Enough Complaining (for now)

I am going to try another way to get the idea across that we need to address tort reform with the health care reform that is going to happen. I know many of us are not happy with what is happening but I am willing to bend if the other side will actually listen to reason. I have written letters to my legislators and I encourage everyone else to do the same. I also have included a link to send our President an email. If enough people ask for tort reform, maybe we'll get it. To keep the message simple, I haven't suggested putting dollar limits on damage awards. All I ask is for anyone who cares to please ask for a cap on punitive damage awards at 100% of actual and future damages. If your earning potential is 100k per year and you have 30 years left to work, then you should be awarded no more than 6 million bucks. I know that sounds harsh to some people but I end up paying for your 20 million dollar award. If you would like to send an email to Obama please use this link http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Let's discuss healthcare...again.

The House of Representatives went home without passing a health care bill (We can breath for a few days now) but Nancy Pelosi is spreading her poison again. She is pointing the finger at the the insurance companies and blaming them for the mess. Wake up Democrats. The reason our healthcare costs are so high is the fault of the litigious society we live in and the Democrats support that. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, or at the very least break even. If we try to limit that, these companies will invest their cash somewhere else and the American people will be stuck holding the bill. WE cannot afford to keep increasing our deficit without some major changes to the way business is operated in this country. The good ol' USA is no longer the innovator we once were. This is because the risks are sometimes not worth the reward with the large settlements offered in lawsuits. Once again, I understand people wanting to be compensated for a mistake or a design flaw, but I don't think you should force a company out of business if it was an honest mistake. We are also forcing many of the best doctors to find other careers. This means that the quality of care is actually going down as a result of all the malpractice damages awarded. The hardest hit sectors seem to be specialties. Obstetricians in Beaver County Pensylvania have reported an increase in liability premiums over 150%. Most have decided to become gynecologists only so they don't have to pay the premiums. This means that there are fewer and fewer doctors out there to deliver babies. The average award has grown to over $1 million dollars. This doesn't seem like a huge amount, but only 5% of these cases were the result of death or permanent disability. Most are awards for pain and suffering. The actual damages were less than $250k on average. If we continue to allow these frivilous lawsuits, we are actually causing more consumer harm than we are helping.

Healthcare Reform Continued

Ok, Obama said "We got to have the courage to be willing to change things." Aside from the grammar problems this it total hypocrisy. Obama and most fellow democrats are not willing to change. They blame the Republicans for the health care mess, but the whole problem with soaring health care costs can be blamed on excess liability for doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. Please Obama, listen to your own advice. We could insure everyone and lower the costs if you would just quit acting like you were smarter than those of us who know how to read. Bush may have been an idiot but at least he was to stupid to think he was smarter than everyone else. I think it should be illegal for attorneys to hold public office. This is the whole problem with congress and the president. They are all saving their "fall back" jobs suing everyone for millions for honest mistakes.

Healthcare Bill Robbery

OK, for any of you out there that think a national health care system written by the Democrats is a good idea, here is why you are sooooo naive. Health care costs have outpaced inflation over the last 2 decades for one reason. Can any democrat guess what that is? Anyone? The reason that it keeps going up is because the democrats won't even discuss tort reform. That's right. The democrats, who claim they are here to help the man on the street, won't touch damage limits on lawsuits because they are all lawyers. Even our fearless president is an attorney and they don't want to take away those big paychecks from themselves. If we limited punitive damages to 100% of actual damages, health care costs would decrease by over 25%. Some economists believe this would decrease the number of uninsured by almost 25%. It would also make it more feasible for the government to help those who couldn't afford insurance. This health care plan is robbery plain and simple. I wish the average person would use some common sense before they started spouting off about how great this is. I have spoken to some highly intelligent, well educated people who don't understand the principles behind tort reform. Several say that it isn't fair if you limit the damages because those who make more are entitled to more in damages. What they don't understand is that tort reform doesn't have to put a dollar limit on damages. I believe that if you make 100K per year and you can't work any longer, then the damages awarded to you should equal your salary times the number of years remaining until retirement adjusted for inflation. But I don't think you deserve 1000 times your salary because a doctor made a mistake. The reason I don' t think this is fair is because I end up paying you. The doctor doesn't, the insurance company isn't going to lose money, so where is that money coming from? The insurance companies raise premiums, the doctors raise prices, and we all pay.

OK now my irritation with oblivious drivers. If you can't at least drive as fast as the posted speed limit, stay off the road. As I was driving back from vacation, I constantly got stuck behind drivers who were driving 10 or 15 miles an hour below the posted speed limit. It was a 2 lane road the entire trip, and passing was almost impossible. If you are too old to drive 65 or you drive a Subaru, please watch your mirror. As soon as someone gets behind you, pull off at the next turn-out and let everyone who has a life pass.