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What’s right/wrong with Dr. Carson’s and The Donald’s tax plans: The Motley Monk's modest proposal…

9/30/2015

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Two candidates. Two very different tax plans. Positives. Negatives. Overall, neither achieves the goal of simplifying taxation or reining in the power of the IRS.

Using the Old Testament as his inspiration, Dr. Carson espouses a 10% flat tax that everyone—individuals and corporations—would pay. No deductions. No loopholes. Everyone has skin in the game. "Seemed to work pretty good for God, why not for the USA?", Dr. Carson asks.

Sounds pretty good, especially the "skin in the game part." In plain English: No free lunch. Every wager earner should have some skin in the game!

It's a plan that could work and probably very well for the USA. But there are simply too many vested interests that would keep this plan from becoming law. They've demonstrated their power to do so since Jack Kemp first proposed a similar plan 3+ decades ago…the biggest vested interests being the IRS, income tax lawyers and tax preparation firms, the real estate industry, charitable organizations, and the civil service union bosses.

The political problem with Dr. Carson's plan, of course, is the disproportionate real $$$ cost borne by low income earners. That's easily dealt with by exempting anyone earning a salary below a defined cut off, for example, $30k/year. However, what most people don't know is that government entitlements and subsidies increase income to those living in poverty but the IRS doesn’t count those freebies as "earned" income.

Ever wonder why?

Doing so allows liberals to politicize the issue…they won't ever mention that fact, just the "earned"income part. The poor in America are much better off than the liberals want anyone to know.

Ever wonder why?
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Using reality as his inspiration, The Donald espouses a simplified code where 40% of wage earners wouldn't pay income tax (this presents no real change, as about ~45% of Americans currently don’t pay taxes). "Everyone in gets a tax break," he claims, except for the super-rich "who won't be happy with me," as The Donald really socks it to them. However, he claims, his tax code will expand the economy and there'll be more $$$s than then nation has ever had. The Donald's plan is populist in its appeal.

The problem is that The Donald's plan doesn't change anything substantively. It's a good plan that appears only to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. For example, the IRS, income tax lawyers and tax preparation firms, the real estate industry, charitable organizations, and civil service union bosses will continue business as usual.

Concerning those charitable contributions that would continue to be tax deductible. Since when is a tax deduction really a charitable contribution? Where's the sacrifice? Notice the exponential growth in "non-profits" during the past 6 years? HINT: The taxpayers are picking up the tab.

Returning to The Donald's proposal, with all of those new tax $$$s flowing into the U.S. Treasury, that presents a real problem.


How? Congress' spending binge will continue unabated as its members raise the nation's debt ceiling periodically to "pay" for "adjustments" to all of the old as well as all of the new programs, entitlements, subsidies, and Christmas trees its members can dream up.

The goal? Members of Congress will continue to get rich and keep the sheeple happy. In truth, they're only kicking the can down the street to enslave this generation's children and grandchildren to those holding the nation's debt...like China.

Ever wonder how so many member of Congress millionaires through their years and decades of "public service"?
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How about The Motley Monk's modest tax proposal? It has 5 elements:
  1. Congress will deposit $20k annually into the savings account of every American citizen.
  2. A 15%-20% flat tax will be paid by all wage earners—individuals and corporations. The first $20k is tax exempt.
  3. No free lunches, deductions, or loopholes.
  4. The annual U.S. budget Congress formulates will include a 10% payment on the U.S. debt until it is paid off in full.
  5. Congress is free to develop any budget it wants, with all of the programs, entitlements, subsidies, and Christmas trees that members desire. However, for every $$$ the budget (including #4) exceeds the $$$s generated by #2, that amount will be apportioned among individuals and corporations earning $500k+ in the previous tax year at the rate of 50% on every dollar exceeding $500k.

Some positives:
  • Encourages wealth creation rather than wealth transfer.
  • Every wage earner has skin in the game.
  • Considering the entire proposal, the rate is progressive.
  • The guaranteed $20k income encourages people to work because they won’t lose their benefits by working.
  • Cuts the number of government employees required to administer social programs.
  • High income wage earners can apply their $20k annual income to their tax bill.
  • #5 doesn’t cap government spending.
  • No balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution is required.
  • Business will explode with a corporate tax rate of 15%-20%.
  • Filing taxes is simplified.
  • Both corporations and wealthy wage earners will be motivated to pressure the members of Congress to curb their appetite for spending…after all, they're the ones who are going to be gouged…and big time.
  • The power of the IRS is reined in.
  • Tax attorneys and accountants will have to find paying jobs for an additional 9-months of the year.
  • Numerous civil servants will have to find paying jobs in the private sector.

Meanwhile, the average Joe and Josephine Taxpayer wage earner pays his/her taxes and, for the purposes of budgeting, can plan ahead for things like…er…..umm….paying off a house, car, vacation house, boat, and/or investing for retirement.

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This modest tax proposal offers some of the ideas that bright people—like Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute and Professor Peter Zaleski of Villanova University—have already considered. But, no one in Congress or currently running for office is willing to embrace and champion this proposal.

Ever wonder why?


Let the discussion begin…
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Holy feces, Batman: This is surfing...

9/29/2015

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Just so super cool: The "Blood Moon" over Dallas...

9/29/2015

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Scott Arhardt spent 5 hours on a rooftop with an incredible view of Dallas to create this composite image demonstrating the moon's transition from full moon, to full lunar eclipse, and back. To caputre the entire transition, Arhardt shot each image of the moon on his Nikon D810 approximately 10 minutes apart.
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Check out Arhardt's Facebook page.
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There is no such thing as a "free" college education...

9/29/2015

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Should anyone be surprised that 50%+ of the 523 college and university presidents surveyed support Senator Bernie Sanders’ $18B plan to pay for two “free” years of public higher education at both two- and four- year institutions?

These unsurprising data come from a poll conducted by Inside Higher Ed during the early summer and long before additional details of Sanders’ plan made it even more generous to states and institutions. That also was before Hillary Clinton doubled down, proposing a plan that would double the funding Sanders had proposed, Hillary’s plan including some funds for private colleges.

The survey question did not name Sanders, but asked:

As you may know, one specific proposal calls for the federal government to provide states with $18 billion in matching awards to allow for free public higher education. Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose this proposal?
The results:
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Why would any president of a public institution of higher education not want those taxpayer $$$s being used to ensure that student enrollments grow? These women and men aren’t morons. For most universities and colleges, tuition $$$s provide the “mother’s milk” that’s necessary for survival.

Even more interesting is the finding that when the presidents were divided between public and private sector, 40%+ of private college presidents are strongly opposed to the plan.

The results:

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Why would any president of a private institution want those taxpayer $$$s being used to lure students away from their institutions? These women and men also aren’t morons. They know that deeper discounts to tuition by the public sector pose a proximate threat to private institutions, especially those that are highly dependent on tuition $$$s.

More importantly, the notion of a “debt-free” or “free” college—whether for two or four years—is foolishness. There is no such thing as “free” anything. Someone has to pay for it and, in this case, it’s the taxpayers.

In addition, federal $$$s always come to institutions with strings attached. They also disrupt the marketplace. Consider what that’s done to healthcare, K-12 public education, and public school lunch programs!

Lastly, when citizens have no “skin in the game,” they end up also having nothing to say about the game’s quality.

But those presidents sure do want that “free” mother’s milk!


Let the discussion begin…




To read the Inside Higher Ed article, click on the following link:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/08/survey-finds-support-college-presidents-free-tuition-plans?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=2113a17b07-DNU20150908&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-2113a17b07-197563725 
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A future female pope?

9/28/2015

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Pope Francis blesses a female infant wearing a papal miter...
How's that for a little bit of "¡Hagan lío!"?
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Why do so many people do it? Texting while driving is just too dangerous...

9/28/2015

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A prescription for disaster: A heart void of family...

9/28/2015

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The folks in the mainstream press and academia would have parents worry about the use of technology due to its potentially negative impacts upon the development of the minds and academic success of their children.

So, they run articles like this one in the Washington Post:
Joe Clement has been teaching U.S. government in a Fairfax County high school for 21 years. He is troubled by crumbling student responses since smartphones and other such devices were allowed a few years ago.

Before the invasion of the bright, little screens, his lesson on the Federalist Papers and the birth of political parties invariably “spawned one of the best discussions of the year,” he said. Students dug into not just what happened but also why they formed.

That’s gone, he said, even in honors courses. He still asks how Madison’s vision for minority rights is carried out today. But instead of thoughtful responses connecting the past and today, Clement usually gets non-answers — a Federalist Papers quote with no reference to today or something about modern minority rights with no link to Madison.

“They are good at telling me the who, what, where and when — anything Google can tell them,” Clement said. “The ability to make connections seems to have vanished.”

Clement and another Fairfax County teacher, Matt Miles, are writing a book about this decline in critical thinking as digital technologies grow. They admit they have mostly anecdotal data, but they are certain that brain research eventually will back them up.

They say the free periods that are part of their school schedule have deteriorated from lively talk among students and teachers to silent screen reading, each student in a little world. Online homework assignments are taking twice as long as they would if the student read a paper textbook, because programs are sometimes difficult to load and students cannot resist the temptation to play around on the same devices.

I have discussed parents’ complaints about school-assigned screen time. Some research seems to suggest too much of it reduces achievement. But Clement and Miles have given me the most vivid insights I have gotten so far from teachers. I would like more — my e-mail address is below — both from teachers who like the new devices and those who don’t.

Fairfax County schools spokesman John Torre said district officials think learning and electronics are interacting nicely, and he said data shows test scores are up at the school where these teachers work. “Teachers during classes, and for enrichment and intervention periods, can determine the type of technology and the frequency of use,” he said.

The mainstream media touts this genre of article daily, to the point that parents are looking to schools to do something to ameliorate any negative effects that technology may have upon the academic success of their children.

But, The Motley Monk would opine, that's to miss the most important point.

Brushing aside the fact that parents are the primary and best educators of their children (schools are not), here's what Pope Francis thinks parents should really be worrying about:
The important thing is not our neighbor....[leading to] a kind of radical loneliness that so many experience today....Loneliness with a fear of commitment.
These negative effects--how the gift of technology breeds selfishness--should scare the bejeezus out of parents today. If they don't deal directly with its negative effects by building stronger families, where are young people going to experience the kind of happiness that only comes from being part of a loving (not perfect) family?

Certainly not something made by man.

Sadly, all too many young people today don't have the "experience" of family for which their souls long and indefatigably seek to fill that void with everything else that promises to but will never fill that void.

As Pope Francis noted in his homily at the concluding Mass of the World Meeting of Families:

These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children, [by siblings]. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to [grow in] faith. 

Jesus tells us not to hold back these little miracles. Instead, he wants us to encourage them, to spread them. He asks us to go through life, our everyday life, encouraging all these little signs of love as signs of his own living and active presence in our world. 

Imagine living with a heart that's void of the kind of happiness that only comes from being part of a loving (not perfect) family. That "radical loneliness with a fear of commitment" goes a long way in explaing much about the choices many young people make today, doesn't it?

Perhaps it's time for parents to perform a little "examination of conscience." What are they doing to provide the first and best instruction that's absolutely necessary for their children to fill what otherwise could become a bottomless void?

It's much easier for parents to purchase all of the lastest technology to give their children a "one up" and then worry about the potential negative impacts technology may have upon the academic success of their children. But, in light of Pope Francis' observations, shouldn't parents be worrying more about the potential impacts that technology may have upon the souls of their children before purchasing any technology for their children and regulating its use?

(A "Tip of the Hat" to Andrew Rosenberger for the video link.)


Let the discussion begin...




To read the Washington Post article, click on the following link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-says-smartphones-are-degrading-discourse-hurting-students/2015/09/27/823a3950-60c2-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html
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Don't be duped: Most U.S. poor are not impoverished...

9/27/2015

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How's this for a fact? Despite having a poverty level comparable to other Western nations, the U.S. outspends nearly every other nation on programs addressing poverty.

Read that fact very carefully. The magnitue of poverty in the U.S. is comparable to other Western nations, meaning "the percentage of Americans in poverty is relatively identical to that of other Western nations."

Overlooking this fact, stormy petrels cry out, "There are more people living in poverty in the U.S. than in other Western nations."

Well, yes, that is a fact--there are anywhere from 45M-50M identified by various agencies as "poor." However, their standard of living is much higher than the stormy petrels would have people imagine because the U.S. Census ignores the value of any social welfare benefits a family receives when calculating income. Yes, there are impoverished people in the U.S., but most of those 45M-50M poor are not impoverished.

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Here's another fact: Most of the nation's poor are White.

But, the stormy petrels cry out, "There's disproportionate poverty because 27% of Blacks and 25% of Latinos are poor. Only 9% of Whites are poor. That's unfair!"

Again, that is a fact. However, because Whites constitute such a large percentage of the nation's population (their number is disproportionately larger), that 9% makes for more poor Whites than there are poor Blacks (27%) and Latinos (25%).

The stormy petrels conveniently overlook yet another fact.

A study conducted by Robert Rector of the Heritage Institute indicates the U.S. spends more on programs addressing poverty than those other comparable Western nations because there happen to be more poor people in the U.S (again, the number of people in the U.S. is disproportionately larger than in those other comparable Western nations). The two sources of that funding are government (federal, state, and local) and a larger private-sector/non-government component which provide the poor with healthcare, education, retirement benefits, and other government transfer payments.
  • Combining those two sources, ~33% of U.S. GDP is spent on assistance for the poor.
  • Exclude the non-governmental component and the U.S. still has the third highest level of per capita government social welfare spending among affluent nations.

The U.S. spends a lot to provide assistance to the poor, more than other comparable Western nations. Isn't that something about which the nation should be proud not maligned?

But, government entitlements and charitable hand outs don't raise people out of poverty.

Rector notes that the key to getting people out of poverty is to improve their self-sufficiency by increasing their opportunities to work (expanding the economy) and building healthy marriages (expanding personal responsibility for self and others). He argues that increased self-reliance will lead to an enhanced sense of self-achievement, a principal component of human well-being. Restoring healthy marriages will sharply reduce poverty, improve child outcomes, and increase adult happiness.


Let the discussion begin...




To read Robert Rector's study, click on the following link:
"Poverty and the Social Welfare State in the United States and Other Nations."
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For Anglophiles only...

9/26/2015

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Socialist redistributionism isn't social justice: Perhaps Pope Francis could learn something from microenterprising...

9/26/2015

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Due to PopeMania in New York City yesterday, the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of U.S. Global Investors, Frank Holmes, wasn't able to make scheduled appearances on CNBC and Bloomberg. So, Holmes had some extra time on his hands to write his newsletter, "Investor Alert," wrapping up the week's global economics and business matters.

It paid off, as Holmes offers readers a succinct and correct critique of Pope Francis' speech at the United Nations. He writes:
I have immense respect for his Holy One who embraces change, both within the Vatican and globally, and for the Jesuit tradition of education and ministry. Pope Francis, for many people, including me, is a provocative figure. In his speech to the United Nations today he said that economic progress can be achieved through “the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state.” I question his economic logic while admiring his caring heart and good intentions. Far-reaching progress can best be achieved through development not redistribution. The secular proverb “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, but teach him to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime” comes to my mind. Certainly the pontiff’s aspiration to feed the world is honorable, but the people who take the risk to plan the seeds and work hard to harvest the crops are not to blame for the hungers that exist. America is the most charitable nation on earth and our focus for increasing prosperity should be on helping people to fish and farm for a lifetime of financial independence.
Kudos to Frank Holmes! He identifies precisely what demarcates socialist redistributionism from free-market capitalism.
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One free-market capitalistic way to "teach him to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" is "microenterprising." The term was coined in 1976 by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus who founded the Grameen Bank ("the Village Bank ") in Bangladesh. Yunus--who believes that credit is a human right--established the Bank to:
  • extend banking facilities to the poor, especially women;
  • eliminate the exploitation of the poor by money lenders;
  • create opportunities for self-employment for the vast multitude of unemployed people in rural Bangladesh;
  • bring the disadvantaged, mostly the women from the poorest households, within the fold of an organizational format which they can understand and manage by themselves; and,
  • reverse the age-old economically vicious circle of "low income, low saving, and low investment," into economically virtuous circle of "low income, injection of credit, investment, more income, more savings, more investment, more income."

Grameen Bank has been a huge success for the past 39 years:

  • by 1980, the Bank had ~15k creditors;
  • in 1998, 2.34M creditors;
  • in 2008, 7.67M creditors (97% of them women; and,
  • in 2014, 9.4M creditors.

Those capitalist microenterprises generate the income that the poor need to feed and clothe as well as to shelter, educate, and provide medical care for their families. And, as they rise out of poverty, their microenterprises are developing economies as well.


So much for socialist redistributionism...it has failed every place where it's been tried, even Argentina.


Let the discussion begin...




To read "Investor Alert," click on the following link:
http://archives.subscribermail.com/msg/354263008ccf4aeda93cf1a8d1df0917.htm

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"Don't let the situation you're in today define how you'll finish"...

9/25/2015

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A story of real hope and change by not allowing circumstances to dictate reality...
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Antivenom: The vile price of a vial...

9/25/2015

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The Motley Monk’s physician told him to get a shingles vaccine at the local pharmacy or grocery story. He dutifully did and handed over his medical insurance card figuring the co-pay would be ~$20. Imagine the sticker shock The Moltey Monk experienced when the pharmacist told him the bill was $240.00!

In an effort to calm The Motley Monk, the pharmacist said the price was well worth the cost, that is, if The Motley Monk was ever to get a case of the shingles. While that calculation made eminent sense in terms of pain and suffering--The Motley Monk’s Dad had shingles in the back of his eye socket—the fact is that one tiny vial of vaccine cost $240.00!

Feeling upset that he’d been ripped off, The Motley Monk wasn’t a happy camper until he read an article about an antivenom shot that costs $50k/vial! That finding prompted The Motley Monk to conduct a little research to unearth the facts concerning how those prices are determined.

The founding director of the VIPER Institute at the University of Arizona, Leslie Boyer leds a research group whose members try to figure out ways to improve the medical treatment of venom injuries. They’ve already developed CroFab, the leading rattlesnake antivenom, and its competitor that’s soon coming to market, Anavip. One vial of these antivenoms costs ~$2.3k.

Pricey. But, that’s not what’s important.

Knowing what it cost to produce the antivenom, Boyer couldn’t figure out why the price was so high. So, Boyer and her VIPER colleagues built a pricing model for a typical arachnid antivenom shot sold in the United States and published the findings in an article in the American Journal of Medicine.

This is what’s important:
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The cost of making the antivenom—R&D, animal care, plasma harvesting, bottling, etc.—is ~.1% of the total cost. Clinical trials evaluating the antivenom’s efficacy adds ~2%. Other miscellaneous costs—licensing fees, wholesaler fees, regulatory, legal and office costs, and profit to medical providers—add ~28%.

That leaves 70+% of the cost taking the form of what are called “hospital markups” which hospitals negotiate with insurance providers. Think “sticker price” versus “dealer’s price” versus the final “negotiated price.” There’s a discount that’s available, if the purchaser knows it and negotiates it prior to payment. For example, one vial of antivenom that costs $14k+ in the U.S. costs only ~$150 in Mexico. The medicine and manufacturer are the same; all that differs is the pharmaceutical market...namely, the government of Mexico negotiating the price with the producer.

Boyer calls this is the “tip of the iceberg,” noting:

It sounds esoteric. It’s something that happens to so few people. But the truth is the entire American system for developing, testing, licensing and paying for drugs is broken. Things like this go on every day with every drug but in a smaller way, and it adds up.
That’s how the price of a vial of vaccine in the U.S. becomes so vile. But, really. $240.00 for a required shingles vaccine? That’s what the wizards of smart over at Keystone Health Plan East negotiated on behalf of The Motley Monk.

In the end, it’s “like it or lump it” by taking the chance you won't get shingles.


Let the discussion begin…




To access Leslie Boyer's article in the American Journal of Medicine, click on the following link:
http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)00781-0/abstract
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Virtual drawing: A seismograph of the soul...

9/24/2015

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Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven."

                                                                            from the Gospel of Matthew 18:3
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Healthcare insurance and the U.S. southern border: Try legal migration…

9/24/2015

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One Obamacare provision mandates Medicare to reduce payments to hospitals that have high readmission rates. The noble goal was to improve patient care while cutting the costs of avoidable hospitalizations.

That sounds good, in theory, especially to politicians and government bureaucrats who don't understand how markets actually work.

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine indicates that in the real world, Obamacare’s attempts to hold hospitals accountable for poor quality medical treatment is penalizing those hospitals which serve sicker, poorer populations.

The facts:
  • Medicare readmissions rates are high: ~20% of elderly patients return to the hospital within 30 days of leaving.
  • Those readmissions have cost Medicare $26B annually, with $17B spent on return trips that might not have been necessary had proper care been administered in the first place.
  • ~50% of the difference in readmission rates among hospitals is due to variables linked to the patient population being treated, including education and income levels.

As a result, the penalties Medicare imposes are depriving hospitals that treat disadvantaged populations of money needed to treat those patients and their complex health issues.

The cost? For fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1, 2.6k hospitals will lose $420M in funds due to the penalty.

After fining hospitals whose staff serve disadvantaged populations hundreds of millions of dollars, bureaucrats at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have decided to examine the readmissions penalty program and the unintended consequences it appears to cause.

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Sadly, all of this was entirely predictable. While those politicians and government bureaucrats were busy cobbling Obamacare together, all they had to ask is:
Q:  What hospitals and in which markets should we expect a higher
      percentage of readmissions?
A:  Those located in poor and underprivileged areas, like the nation's
      inner cities.

Bingo! It doesn't take a Mensa membership to figure that out. But, instead of asking that question, the wizards of smart in Washington, DC, forged ahead with a regulation to penalize hospitals serving the very population Obamacare was intended to assist.

It's time to repeal and replace Obamacare with healthcare insurance that's responsive to how markets actually work. A great first step: Treat state borders the way the federal government currently treats the southern U.S. border...let the folks migrate their health insurance plans legally across borders to get the best deals, just like the automobile and home insurance industries.


Let the discussion begin…




To access the JAMA Internal Medicine article, click on the following link:
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2434813
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Success in life: Don't misunderestimate yourself...

9/23/2015

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Catholics of the United States, and all you citizens of the United States, you have such a tradition of spiritual generosity, industry, simplicity and sacrifice that you cannot fail to heed this call today for a new enthusiasm and a fresh determination. It is in the joyful simplicity of a life inspired by the Gospel and the Gospel's spirit of fraternal sharing that you will find the best remedy for sour criticism, paralyzing doubt and the temptation to make money the principle means and indeed the very measure of human advancement.


                                                                            - St. Pope John Paul II
                                                                              Stadium, 1979


Let the discussion begin...
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The Frasier Institute 2015 Annual Report: The U.S. continues its steady trek to economic serfdom...

9/23/2015

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Economically free nations consistently out-perform their non-free counterparts in two important ways:
  1. Political and civil liberties considerably are higher in economically free nations.
  2. The life expectancy of citizens of nations in the top 25% is 17 years longer than those in the bottom 25%.

To make that determination, the folks over at the Frasier Institute use key principles associated with economic freedom to formulate data points to measure economic freedom annually. Those principles include:
  • personal choice;
  • voluntary exchange;
  • freedom to enter markets and compete; and,
  • security of the person and privately owned property.

Using 42 data points based upon those principles, the folks over at the Frasier Institute then measure economic freedom in 157 countries and territories. These data points include:
  • size of government: expenses, taxes and enterprises;
  • legal structure and security of property rights;
  • access to sound money;
  • freedom to trade internationally; and,
  • regulation of credit, labor, and business.

The most economically free countries in 2015? According to the 2015 Frasier Institute report: Hong Kong and Singapore. The also rans:
  • The United Kingdom is 10th.
  • The United States is 16th.
  • Russia is 99th.
  • The 10 lowest-rated: Angola, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Syria, Chad, Libya, the Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.

The bad news for U.S. citizens: Economic freedom in the U.S. has decreased steadily since 2000. Why? Decreasing international trade, increasing regulations, the legal system, and lower protection of property rights.

The important "take away"? This decrease lowers the U.S. growth rate 1.5% annually, indicating not only that the U.S. is less competitive globally but jobs and incomes suffer in the homeland.

Of course, it's all George W. Bush's fault!


Let the discussion begin...




To read the Frasier Institute 2015 Annual Report, click on the following link:
“Economic Freedom of the World: 2015 Annual Report.” 

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Not able to travel to see Pope Francis? Here's how to follow all of the events live...

9/22/2015

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For those who can't travel to any of the events in Washington, DC, New York, or Philadelphia during Pope Francis' visit to the United States but want to view the events live, click on the following image for a complete schedule as well as links to the events:
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Use Gmail? How to "undo send"...

9/22/2015

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Once sent, an email can't be undone, as The Motley Monk knows all too well from personal experience. However, Gmail has a feature that, once enabled, can save a lot of potential embarrassment. It's called "Undo Send," a Gmail tool that allows the sender to place a cancellation time--the period of time before the email is transmitted--on sent emails.
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According to Kim Komando over at FoxNews, here's how to enable Gmail's "undo send" feature:
  1. In a Gmail account, click the gear icon in the upper-right corner and choose "Settings."
  2. On the "General" tab, scroll down to "Undo Send."
  3. Click the checkbox for "Enable Undo Send."
  4. Select a cancellation period of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds.
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click the "Save Changes" button.

Click on "Send" and a message will appear at the top of the inbox with an "Undo" link. During the time that the message appears on the screen, click the "Undo" link and the email will reappear, ready for editing or deleting.

That 30 seconds can make a world of difference when it comes to wishing that a particular email had not been sent!


Let the discussion begin...




To read Kim Komando's article at FoxNews.com, click on the following link:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/07/25/how-to-unsend-email/
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Planet Money: How the University of Notre Dame ranks…

9/21/2015

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The Motley Monk has posted a commentary over at The American Catholic titled "Planet Money: How the University of Notre Dame ranks..."

In that post, The Motley Monk discusses two items: 1) That UND's academic administrators have formed a faculty committee to investigate reducing UND's Theology requirement to 1 course and 2) a Money Planet ranking which suggests that UND is not the place for parents to send their children so they’ll make more $$$s and/or be more upwardly mobile. The data also suggest that it makes greater financial sense for parents to send their children to UND. But, for a distinctively Catholic undergraduate education?


Check it out...



To access The Motley Monk's post at The American Catholic, click on the following link:http://the-american-catholic.com/2015/09/21/planet-money-how-the-university-of-notre-dame-ranks/

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From the "hopium and changium" file: Putting a face on the college loan debt bubble...

9/21/2015

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For more than 2 years, The Motley Monk has periodically discussed how the college student loan “bubble” presents a proximate danger to the health of the nation’s economy. While most people yawn, say “Please pass the coffee,” and click onto another website, they should be concerned because the amount of debt recent graduates have incurred negatively impacts economic growth.

How? It keeps indebted college graduates from purchasing homes, starting businesses, or investing in the market. Plus: With the federal government pouring taxpayer $$$s into higher education, that’s caused tuitions to skyrocket—since 2009, up 76% to ~$1.2T—potentially making college unaffordable, thus eventuating a slowdown in higher education, and a less-educated workforce, to boot.

Yawn. “Please pass the coffee.”

Check out this chart:
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Before clicking onto another website, the Los Angeles Times has done a very nice job of humanizing this otherwise “boring” story:
Jorge Villalba was a construction worker when the housing market began slowing in 2005, so the Glendale resident changed jobs and decided to invest in his future by going to college. [Note: Jorge is one pretty astute guy! He was reading the signs of the times, thinking about providing for his family, and preparing for the future!]

So far, the investment hasn't paid off.

Villalba, 34, owes $158,000 in student loans for his four-year degree in multimedia, 3-D animation and graphic design at ITT Technical Institute. [NOTE: What a great idea! Getting in early on a growth industry!] He isn't earning enough to keep up with the payments, so the amount keeps rising with interest. [NOTE: Yep, that’s how it works. It’s all about making sure you have “positive cash flow” or the debt will grow exponentially.]

He figured he
’d get a great job and pay off the loans. [NOTE: Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?]

“It hasn’t happened that way,” said Villalba, who is married with two young children but can’t afford to move from their cramped one-bedroom apartment.

So why should people not be yawning and saying “Please pass the coffee” or clicking onto another website?

Prior to 2008, as sources of household debt, total outstanding student loans ranked far behind mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and home equity lines of credit. By 2014, total outstanding student loans came in second only to mortgage debt. In 2015, ~40M consumers have at least one student loan with an average debt of $29k.

Forget purchasing homes, starting businesses, or investing in the market. With the federal government backing most of those loans, it’s the taxpayers who will have to cough up the $$$s to pay off the unpaid debt, thus negatively impacting the economy even more.

Thank you, President Obama. So much for “free” college tuition. And, to think that Hillary and Bernie are now touting an expanded version of the same idea!

For Jorge Villalba, the story only gets worse.

Villalba graduated from ITT Technical Institute—a for-profit institution of higher education—only to find that most companies don’t value his degree. As a restult, he’s earning $15/hour as a graphic designer, trying to figure out how to pay off his student loans, including some private ones with interest rates of ~20%. He said:

I’m looking at 30 to 40 years to pay it off. It’s a huge burden. [NOTE: It sure is, especially with a wife and two children! But note: Jorge isn't asking for a handout. Good for him!]
Perhaps Jorge will be off the hook when Congress decides to cancel college loan debt and adds the balance to the national debt.

Oopppsss! Congress will then have to raise taxes. Just who’s going to pay those taxes? Jorge Villalba!

Retrospectively, perhaps Jorge Villalba should have remained in construction. Had he done that, he’d be way ahead of the game today.

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So much for the “American Dream” in this 6-year-old era of hopium and changium.


Let the discussion begin…




To read the Los Angeles Times article, click on the following link:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-student-debt-20150906-story.html 
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Vincent R. Capadanno: Sancto subito...

9/20/2015

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No myth...no hype...just a war hero who made the ultimate sacrifice...
Servant of God Vincent Robert Capodanno was a United States Navy Roman Catholic chaplain. Posthumously, he was awarded America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his heroic actions during the Vietnam War.
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"Visiting the imprisoned": An interesting project to lower recidivism that could be a corporal work of mercy...

9/20/2015

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Recidivism is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It refers to a person's relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime.

Recidivism rates are high, according to one Department of Justice study. Among state prisoners released in 30 states in 2005, the 2010 data indicate:
  • 67.8% of released prisoners were arrested for a new crime within 3 years and 76.6% were arrested within 5 years. 
  • Within 5 years of release, 82.1% of property offenders were arrested for a new crime, compared to 76.9% of drug offenders, 73.6% of public order offenders, and 71.3% of violent offenders.
  • 36.8% of all prisoners who were arrested within 5 years of release were arrested within the first 6 months after release, with 56.7% arrested by the end of the first year.
  • 42.3% of released prisoners were either not arrested or arrested once in the 5 years after their release.
  • 16.1% of released prisoners were responsible for 48.4% of the ~1.2M arrests that occurred in the 5-year follow-up period.
  • 10.9% of released prisoners were arrested in a state other than the one that released them during the 5-year follow-up period
  • Within 5 years of release, 84.1% of inmates who were age <24 at release were arrested, compared to 78.6% of inmates ages 25 to 39 and 69.2% of those age 40 or older.

What can be done to reduce the recidivism rate?

Here's what one woman has done:
"Visit the imprisoned" is one of the Church's corporal works of mercy which seeks to help alleviate the human misery associated with material deprivation.

Those who are imprisoned experience hindrances to freedom. Helping them, visiting them, or protecting them is an act of love. Jody Coyne's program does that "plus."

Catholics should remember that they are obliged to perform the such works in the name of Jesus Christ, according to one's ability and the neighbor's need. Only works performed in this way are true corporal works of mercy which evangelize others about God's love and care for them. Absent doing those works in the name of Jesus Christ, they are truly exemplary humanitarian acts but not corporal works of mercy.


Let the discussion begin...
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Thinking about remodeling the kitchen?

9/19/2015

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Workplace stress: As dangerous as second-hand smoke...

9/19/2015

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So, you think second-hand smoke is bad for your health?

The Boston Globe reports that researchers at Harvard and Stanford found workplace stress is as dangerous to physical and mental health as is second-hand cigarette smoke.

A meta-analysis of 228 studies published in Behavioral Science & Policy Association examined 10 workplace stressors impacting physical and mental health. Among others, these stressors included: long working hours, shift work, low social support, and lack of employer-provided healthcare. The researchers then measured how those stressors impacted 4 health outcomes: self-rated poor physical health, self-rated poor mental health, physician-diagnosed health problems, and death.

The findings:
  • Work-family conflict increased the likelihood that employees will experience self-reported mental health problems by 200%+ and increased the risk of physical health problems by 90%+.
  • Job insecurity correlated with an increase in self-reported physical problems.
  • A sense of low organizational justice ("a lack of perceived fairness in the organization"), increased the likelihood of a physician-diagnosed condition by ~50%.

In sum, workplace stressors may predict negative health consequence almost as well as exposure to second-hand smoke.

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The cost of workplace stress? According to Insights published by Stanford Business, workplace stress is responsible for 120k deaths/year and $190B in healthcare costs.

Omigosh! Is it time for the federal goverment--through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration--to regulate the amount of stress that's tolerable in workplaces?

However:
  • The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) firmly asserts that "[s]econdhand smoke harms children and adults, and the only way to fully protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking in all homes, worksites, and public places." [NOTE: That’s pretty strong language implying not just a correlation but causation!]
  • A study published the Journal of the National Cancer Institute detailed 76k women over 10+ years. There was no statistically significant relationship between lung cancer and exposure to passive smoke. How can this be, given the CDC’s supposed correlation if not causation?
  • That same study found that only among women who had lived with a smoker for 30+ years was there a relationship that exhibited "borderline statistical significance."

Might not the identical problem exhibit itself with the finding that workplace stressors may predict negative health consequence almost as well as exposure to second-hand smoke ? That is, correlation and causation are implied when, in fact, neither has been demonstrated.

RULE #1 for reading research findings: Science doesn't "prove" anything. Research attests that the data gathered indicate a relationship that's not due to chance alone and at a predetermined probability of error (e.g., 1/10, 1/100, 1/1k, 1/10k). One can set the level of probability of error so low that just about any relationship can be demonstrated. But, never "proven."

This fact used to be taught in junior high science. Perhaps the folks at the CDC need a refresher course in statistics.


Let the discussion begin…




To read the Boston Globe article, click on the following link:
http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/2015/08/27/study-says-work-stress-bad-secondhand-smoke/zwmw9G7AOoP997K71QGy0H/story.html 

To read the CDC report, click on the following link:
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/ 

To read the Insights article, click on the following link:
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/why-your-workplace-might-be-killing-you

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From the "Food Police" file: American children taste what the International Food Police are forcing down the throats of their children...

9/18/2015

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Statists across the globe are intent on forcing children to eat what those statists determine children must eat. Forget what parents may want for their children. That matters not. What matters is what the statists--in the United States, the Food Police--want their children to eat. After all, the statists believe those children are, first and foremost, creatures of the state who are to be trained to think as the state thinks and to eat as the state mandates and regulates...no questions asked.
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For more than several years, The Motley Monk has chronicled the failures of the Food Police in the United States, led by their Chief of Food Police, the nation's First Lady and First Mother, Michelle Obama. But, The Motley Monk has recently discovered, there also happens to be the global Food Police International (FPI).

In the following video, there's a fun twist: U.S. children taste test school lunches those FPI members have created:
FPI argues that health is more important than taste. Moreover, FPI asserts, if U.S. children were to eat those meals regularly, doing so would add 5 years to their lives.

Yet, like the U.S. Food Police, most FPI members conveniently forget that U.S. children won't eat government-mandated school lunches. Instead, they toss those "gross" lunches, having decided they'd rather starve until they get home after school or stop somewhere along the way home to chow down some non-nutritious delictables. All of that food (and the taxpayers' $$$s they represent) feeds landfills or is pumped into the sewer, as last child in the film notes.
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The very good news: When it comes to the food U.S. children consume, it seems to The Motley Monk that the next generation has already embraced free market principles. Hopefully, the Food Police won't be able to drill those principles out of them!


Let the discussion begin...
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    Meanwhile: The intergenerational theft continues: 
    national debt


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