Of Bludgeons and Innovation

Yesterday, I got an email from the White House's propaganda wing, signed by O.  In it, he trumpets the fact that insurance companies "... will be required to spend at least 80 percent of the health insurance premiums you pay on your health care, instead of overhead costs like advertising and executive compensation."

The dolt, and the other dolts up there, seem to believe that these two things are unnecessary to the proper conduct of business.  He stopped short of saying that reform is meant to eliminate profits at insurance companies, but truly, that is the intent.  Since forever, insurance companies spent about 65% of revenues on payouts, using the other 35% for operating the business, so O has more or less appropriated 15% of the insurance companies' revenue.  (Hmmmm....is that an illegal taking?  Probably not, but it is, in effect.)

O's version of health care reform, if it goes fully into effect, will ultimately destroy our health care industry.  We will be left with a system of primary care with little capacity to meet higher level needs and will be bereft of innovation.  It will eventually be used to bludgeon us into compliance, just as TSA is being used right now.  The level of innovation will be governed by that engine of innovation that is our federal government.  You know, the organization that gave us the Post Office, the IRS, the government procurement process, the TSA and the EPA, among others.

Will You Listen Now, Cap'n Oblivious?

Back in September, I posted about Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel and his comments about investing in the US.  He ain't.

Well, OK, he is.  But most of their investment in new plants is happening overseas.  Note that the Vietnamese plant is expected to:  "...expected to create thousands of skilled jobs as the nation moves from low to hi-tech."


Vietnam is becoming hi-tech.  Viet-f'n-nam is becoming hi-tech.  


If O (and the rest of our governmental leaders) doesn't get it through his shellacked head that we compete globally for jobs, we are doomed.  Because our business leaders have figured it out.