Lobbyists

The role of a lobbyist is to convince an elected representative to behave a certain way.  They do this at the behest of a special interest.  This special interest could be a corporation or an entire industry. 

A “special interest” is called that because they do not represent the overall will of the voting public.  They are not necessarily against the voting public.  It’s just that the special interest is working towards achieving their own personal goals with no regard to others.

 The lobbyist is told what to do by the special interest that hired him.  The lobbyist uses his connections to get “face time” with the elected official.  This time is used to advance the interests of whomever they happen to be working for at that time.

Suppose a Special Interest wants to get a bill written or altered or a vote to pass or fail.  They have the lobbyist try to convince the elected official to make it happen. 

What convinces an elected official to behave a certain way?

Power.

Power can be money.  Power can be a promise of support on other issues.  Power can be influence.  Power can be a lot of things.  But in the world of politics, power is what gets things done.

I am not implying that senators are taking bribes.  I think they call them something else in Washington – campaign donations, I think.  It may not be a money thing at all.  It is often a Quid Pro Quo. 

You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

For example, if you approve the earmark that attaches a spending bill for my state, I will make sure you get the votes you need to pass a pet project of your own.  The Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska is a good example.  How did that get at far along as it did?  Power.  Influence was used to get others to approve this ridiculous waste of money.

So, am I against lobbyists? 

Not really.  I think they provide a path to compromise that expedites things getting done.  However, I think they need operate more transparently.  I think they should have to wear florescent orange clothing so we know who they are.  I think every time they meet with anyone to do their job, it should be aired live on the internet.  I think we should know who is paying for them and we should be able to see the contractual agreement between the lobbyist and the special interest.

I would love to see how Big Oil, and Lobbyists and Congress worked together to make the Gulf oil spill happen.  I would love to see how Unions are spending the dues of their members to buy votes.

We have the internet.  Let’s make use of it to bring transparency to our government.

Health Care

Here is what I want: Affordable health care for all.

Sounds pretty simple.  If it is, then why can't we get there from here?

The answer is also simple: Politices, Power and Phinances (the three P's)

I don't want the government to get into the health care business.   However, I think some regulation is in order.  Here is what I think needs to be done:

Put realistic limits on lawsuits.  Multi-million dollar settlements because someone cut off the wrong foot are simply ridiculous.   Let's face it; if a doctor cuts off the wrong foot, someone wins the lottery and everyone else pays for it. 

Create a standardized set of tests per condition.  Someone comes in with symptom A is given the following tests in the following order.  Do this and you are exempt from law suits.  There are unusual cases but, let's face it, not every case is one for Dr. House.  If an outlier case is misdiagnosed but the doctor followed the accepted procedures, he is in the clear.

Let health plans compete across state line and enforce anti-monopolistic practices.

Everyone should get health care, and they do.  However, you must work for it.  If I go to an emergency room and I am not insured, then I must be willing to work off my debt.  Create a federal or state organization that simply has jobs for people to pay off their debts.  Have a broken arm set and you have to help re-shelve books at the local library or cut grass at a local park.

Bring healthcare into the 21st century.  Online office visits.  I should be able to Skype my doctor and tell him what is wrong with me.  I can have a home Blood Pressure machine.   I can weigh myself.  There are all sorts of things that can be done online without my going down and taking up someone's (and my own) time. 

Create better preventative systems.  Smoking, drinking, risk taking etc., are all personal choices.  If I do none of those but I get regular exercise, eat right and do yogo, I should be less of a risk and my costs should go down.  There are some companies that do this now with great success.

Don't make me insure my employees.  You (the government) have no idea what my financial situation is.

Don't make insurance companies spend a certain percentage of money on patients.  Instead, create an environment which fosters competition.  Make it easy for me to change plans.  For example, I use to be stuck with a single cell phone company just to keep my number.  A law was passed that allowed me to keep my number.  Competition went way up and prices dropped.

Jim

Education (textbooks)

I just did a quick test on pricing.

I went to Amazon.com and priced books using the keyword "Algebra."  I got several options, most around the $10 to $15 range.

I then changed my keywords to "Algebra Textbooks."  The price is now around $100!  That is for a single book.

The message here is clear.  Textbooks cost too much.

Here is my plan.  Let's use Algebra as an example. 
The government puts together a panel to create a single, acceptable Algebra text.
The text is used across the country.
The text is available online where everyone can download it and it can be easily updated.

The result is a textbook for every Algebra student for the cost of creating a single book. 

The next step is to do this for every subject; kindergarten through PhD level studies.  All of it is online.

Now, issue an eReader to every student. Some might say this is too costly.  Well, let's do some math.

Six books per year times 12 years of school times $100 per book = $7,200 per student in the USA for all of their pre-college school books.  Now, let's say books can be reused up to 4 times.  This still means we spend $1,800 on books.  Deduct from this a $200 fee for an eReader and the savings is conservatively $1,600 per student.

So, it's clearly cost efficient.  It also cuts down on injuries due to lugging heavy books around and excuses such as "I left my book at school."  There is no more "poor schools get what is left over," type of thing.  Everyone studies the same thing - at least in the Public Schools.  It also makes for easy updating.  We don't need new history books to include Obama - we just add another chapter.

I welcome your responses.

Jim