richh.com | a personal + political blog by rich halvorson

Sick Money

Our health care industry is $2.3 Trillion per year -- that's 16% of our $14 trillion GDP. ... About one dollar out of every six dollars goes towards health care. Apparently we are one sick country. While its true that we need to improve our overall health, the vital signs of our health care industry are problematic. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 30% of all spending was wasted:

"The CBO suggested that $700 billion of the approximately $2.3 trillion spent on health care in 2008 was wasted on treatments that did not improve health outcomes." 

The health care industry is taking us all for a ride through inefficiency, overpricing, and a complex payment system in which no one is accountable. A properly functioning system should put incentives on serving patients' needs most quickly and cost-effectively. On the contrary, our system is making money off of keeping us sick, and milking our wallets (and our nation's future) by driving up costs. Hospitals push costs higher, insurance companies have no incentive to keep them low, and they simply pass the pay hike on to employers -- creating a huge burden on businesses. 

Why should companies pay for our health care anyway? ... We could have a more efficient, cost-effective system if it weren't tied up with employment benefits. Let's cut the government largesse and regulation, and the twisted system that's poisoning our financial health to benefit its own bottom line.

Read more at:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22852/

making plans? ... difficult in the middle of a revolution

"When someone demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they are really demanding to be told that we are not living through a revolution. They are demanding to be told that old systems won’t break before new systems are in place. They are demanding to be told that ancient social bargains aren’t in peril, that core institutions will be spared, that new methods of spreading information will improve previous practice rather than upending it. They are demanding to be lied to. There are fewer and fewer people who can convincingly tell such a lie."

—

Clay Shirky in Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable [thx LD]

Fasting Builds a Water Well in Liberia - Generosity Water - Jordan Wagner

Because of your fasting and donating the cost of 500 meals, there are 500 people in Liberia who will have clean water for the rest of their lives! The total cost to build the water well is $3,000. Our partner charity, Generosity Water, will pass along 100% of these funds and ensure that the water well is completed -- even sending us photos when it is complete! 

As a part of Global Fast, you are literally changing lives through fasting just one meal per week. Please see the video below -- Rich Halvorson of Global Fast giving the first "big check" to Jordan Wagner of Generosity Water. 

More Resources:

Photo Gallery - Generosity Water Completed Wells | Generosity Water Main Site  |  Why Water? - The Clean Water Crisis - on Global Fast main site | Global Fast home page

Economic 'Stimulus' is False Growth

When the US government creates policy that tries to shape the economy, trillions of dollars can move from certain industries towards others. The problem is that any growth in jobs or GDP based on these policies is bound to be false demand leading to apparent growth -- but both will fall away as soon as the funding stream ends.

Over the last decade, "pro-housing" policies pushed literally trillions of dollars towards the real estate industry. What it created was a huge malinvestment of capital -- overbuilding and overpricing of homes and commercial real estate. The policies created false demand that was not sustainable by the underlying real demand for homes and properties.

Similarly, wherever Uncle Sam points his finger next -- in the form of a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package -- any jobs or 'growth' created will be temporary, and not sustainable. As soon as good ol' Uncle stops footing the bill, those jobs will disappear, the economy will sag again, and we will be looking for our next economic fix.

Why do we continue to turn to various forms of "economic steroids" that create the impression of growth instead of the real thing? .... Their effects cannot last, and every dose weakends the dollar and our nation's ability to grow and succeed in a high-speed global economy.

Changing the world on a budget

By Rich Halvorson

Maybe it’s the familiar warmth of the holidays. Or perhaps it is the anticipation of the new year ahead. During the last days of December, we remember what life is about – that what really matters is the impact our lives can have for others.

Deep down, we have a sense that our life is better when it’s lived in service to others. In the words of author Erwin McManus, “The story of your life is written on the hearts of those around you.”  

More than any other time, it is these last days of the year when many of us set our sights beyond immediate family and friends and extend our pocketbooks to bless others. In fact, for most charities, the last week of the year is often the most important.

One charity told me that they count on donations during the last week of the year for more than fifty percent of their annual budget.

Yet after a year of financial crisis, can we really be expected to muster serious generosity in the face of steep losses?

It’s simply a fact that with less income we have less to give. Despite our best intentions, the money we would have gladly donated last year may look quite different this year – perhaps fending off creditors, supplementing an unemployment check, or stretching to cover our mortgage.

But what if there were a way to give without increasing our budget? What if we could literally save lives without spending any more? Instead of more spending, perhaps charity can be about deepening our compassion for others through a little personal sacrifice.

Global Fast is a young movement that does this exactly – saving lives through fasting and charity.

If I’m willing to fast one lunch each week – a sub sandwich or personal pizza – the money saved from that one lunch can feed a rescued victim of human trafficking for a whole month, or provide five years of clean water – literally saving a child’s life.

Does it sound a little uncomfortable or inconvenient to fast a meal? Most of us do it accidentally – we wake up late and skip breakfast, or get too busy and we forget to eat lunch.

Physically speaking, Global Fast is no different – fasters skip just one meal each week and donate what they would have spent. The real difference is that it’s done with a purpose and a prayer – a purpose to save lives, and a prayer to create lasting change and deepen our own compassion for the suffering of others.

What is the power of sacrificing just a little for others?

In 2007, Global Fast partnered with Florida-based Food for the Poor to rally a few thousand fasters for a one-day event on Ash Wednesday. Enough money was raised from this effort to build a sustainable fishing project in a coastal Haitian village – giving new boats, fishing gear and equipment – that provide a new food and income source for the entire village.

Now one year since the launch of this project, the boats and fishing gear have provided food and income for this village for 365 days – all due to just one day of fasting. And that one day sacrifice will continue to give food and income for many years to come.

The same compassionate fasting has provided enough during 2008 to build a second fishing village project in a neglected coastal area. Hundreds of families will have food and income instead of malnutrition and despair.

Global Fast proves that real charity can be a matter of growing our compassion for others, rather than swelling our spending.

What’s the power of sacrifice for others? Truly, it is the soul force that can change the world.

___

Rich Halvorson is the founder of Global Fast. www.globalfast.org

Key resources:

> Learn how to end global poverty

> Learn about the clean water crisis.

> Learn how to end human trafficking.

> Join the global fast movement. 

Fed Gives Away the Dollar

Every week these days seems to carry another "bailout" of one form or another. Just today, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates from 1.5% to 1% in an attempt to spur economic growth.

Interest rates are basically the "price of money" -- for example, what does it cost to take out a loan? When the Fed lowers interest rates artificially and holds them down, it's not an economic boost, it's really just a way of giving away dollars -- basically, burning piles of money through inflation and often the *false* impression of economic growth. 

Just like giving away $500k homes to people who can't afford them creates over-built real estate and ends in economic chaos, so too does giving away dollars at reduced rates. We need to stop legitimizing "liar loans" at every level -- whether from the Fed, Fannie and Freddie, or from this Government  that keeps writing checks that the people simply cannot cash.

Making our Money Cheap

Lowering the interest rate and the "bailout" are both just ways of making our money cheap. ... They give away dollars to people and firms who don't have the value to warrant them. Why does this happen? Because they are given money from a political entity which has no accountability to create value. 

So how do we create economic growth? There's no magic in this, people -- economic growth is the result of increased productivity and efficiency. These are the result of an educated and motivated work force, technology advance, and creating a frictionless environment for small, medium and large businesses to operate effectively. 

Problems such as those on Wall Street occur when companies are allowed to externalize risks. In this case, all the banks and Wall Street firms could "cry wolf" that a bailout was needed -- even though many knew the risks all along. Well, they got what they asked for by sending in all their top dogs to lobby for $700 billion in their pockets. Further, unfortunately, many of the "advisors" to these firms have just as little understanding of economics as the Fed and the Government do -- and they're all flushing our hard work down the drain.

There are no shortcuts to economic growth -- production must precede consumption, and a strong and efficient commercial sector must win out over empty political posturing. Yet we continue trying to tweak things from the top without making fundamental and underlying changes that will facilitate steady long-term growth and create a secure future for our dollar, our nation, and the global economy.

Bush, Obama and McCain sell Porky Ponzi Scheme to US Public

The $700 billion 'bailout' proposal is the biggest piece of trash I've ever seen. We are being sold the biggest "pork barrel" project in history by the 'leaders' of our nation. Currently, Zogby polls shows that Americans are split 46% to 46% for and against the bill. ... We don't know what to think.

Why oppose this plan? Let's break it down very simply: 

(1) We got into this mess by creating bad debt -- ie, billions or trillions of dollars in loans given away to Americans that simply could not pay for them. We created a system that allowed people to buy a $200k home without even checking their credit scores or income. The government pressured lenders, through Fannie and Freddie, to 'give away money' to put people in homes they couldn't afford.

(2) We're told that we should get out of this mess by creating bad debt --  As of yesterday, Oct 1 2008, we've now passed the $10 trillion mark in federal debt. This does not include debts held at the state and city level, debt held by companies, families and individuals, and literally over $800 billion in credit card debt. ... We are now told that creating another $1 trillion in debt is going to cure the problem?  

There is no way that more bad debt will solve the problem of too much bad debt. Please don't buy the porky ponzi scheme that's being shoved down our throats -- and even pushed upon the hundreds of US Representatives that voted this Big Terrible Idea down on Monday.

Please google your Representatives and Senators, call your Presidential Candidates, and tell them to save our nation rather than sell it down the river with this ridiculous scheme.

So as not to be merely crying out in opposition without offering a solution, there is an alternative proposal that may be a better fix. Please see the Common Sense Fix by Dave Ramsey.

Back to School Blues

Just as US students go back to school, a news story today told of an LA high school where $350 million was spent to build it. Yikes!  ... With a student population of 2,400, that's spending $145,000 per student on the building alone ... They'll pump another $10-$20k per student in annually just to make the school run (ie, hire teachers, pay administrators, etc).

Just a few quick stats from the Wikipedia article on US Education:

• Average spending per student in US is $11,000 per year - which is #1 highest in the world (...this also equals $250k to $300k spent per classroom, while teachers only earn $25-$40k)
• Many districts with higher spending have worse results (ie, DC spends $13,000 per year, gets terrible results).
• In some areas, public schools spend 50% to 100% more than what private schools spend per student, and still get worse results.
• In 1994, less than half of all public schools employees were teachers.
• The US is tied for first place in the world on annual spending per student -- and yet ranks last in achievement and graduation among developed nations.

Somehow, we're constantly told by the teacher's unions that "we need more money" to fix the schools. Yet money has not solved our problem for 40 years now that the US has lagged behind. Can we allow the teacher's unions and failed schools to hold millions of our nation's youth -- and, indeed, the future of our nation -- hostage year after year? ... We can only hope that the next administration might be willing to stand up to this broken system and allow millions of minds and lives to be broken by a failed education system.

My Rock Star Candidate

In this election as with the last, I find myself faced with a difficult choice as many of us likely do -- there are great things about each candidate, but I find it tough to get 100% behind either one. So, in my effort to find a better choice to vote for, I thought it would be great to build-my-own-candidate. Making a hybrid out of a few of them, here's my Rock Star Candidate:

(Warning - this list starts out fairly normal and gets a bit strange ...)

** Obama on diplomacy, McCain on foreign policy.
** McCain on education policy -- freedom, choice, competition are necessary.
** Ron Paul on economic policy -- stop this damned inflation, stagflation, etc.
** Obama and McCain on abortion -- let's reduce abortions as much as we can while being politically pragmatic. Conservatives lost the issue in the 70's and are unlikely to get it back entirely. However, we should all recognize that Roe v. Wade is the ultimate example of "legislating from the bench".

** The guy from Saw on domestic policy and Washington bureaucracy -- can't we make some real cuts here people? 
** An orthodox Rabbi on earmarked funds -- Why a rabbi? NO PORK!!!
** Bruce Willis from Live Free or Die Hard for the Supreme Court -- if that guy defends the Constitution like he defends his daughter and the free world, maybe we'll have something left of it.

Ok - this is a bit unorthodox, but it's my rock star candidate. Have I left anything out? Hmm... let me know if you see anyone else to throw in the mix.

Preacher politics: McCain, Warren, and Obama on stage

Regardless of your views on the candidates or this election, it was awesome to see forum with hard-nosed, straight-talk questions from Pastor Rick Warren. I was impressed to see this California clergyman choose not to pull any punches and ask the tough questions of both Senators. For those who missed the 2-hour CNN special, here are a few highlights: 

** Obama wins the coin toss and gets grilled first, while Johnny Mac (as my die-hard GOPers in Idaho like to call him) waits backstage under the Cone of Silence.

** Obama does the usual dance-around jig to every tough question. ... While I am the first to appreciate his ability to nuance issues -- especially those issues that usually get so divisive -- I have to say that a whole hour of this dance was just wearying. Please, Obama, stand clearly for something! ... This is the same trap Kerry fell into 4 years ago -- if he were able to stand straight on an issue without waffling, he would have won the election. Does anyone else remember the week during the '04 election when Time, Newsweek and the Economist all featured animated covers of Kerry without a backbone? ... That was in July, giving Kerry months and months to find a spine - but he failed miserably to do so and thereby lost the election.

(Quick advice to Obama and his handlers: Please, don't lose the Statesman sensibility or the ability to nuance issues and see both sides. That is the biggest thing I appreciate about your campaign. However, if you are unable to take a clear, decisive stand on anything - and every answer to a tough question takes 10 minutes - it begins to feel wishy washy even to a muddled political philosopher like myself.)

** The only question Obama  answered directly was on  the Abortion question.  But, he gave an answer that set off all the alarms of conservatives.  Given his stance on  reducing the number of abortions, I think  he actually could have scored some points with conservatives by framing the answer differently -- instead of waving the Roe v. Wade flag as the first comment on the issue.

** McCain looked equally awkward during the abortion question. In his case, however, it was simply because it was such a scripted answer -- he knew what he had to say to get applause from the Red half of the nation. It seems disingenuous, however, after he mentioned his openness to a pro-choice VP earlier in the week.

** Again, McCain forfeited points when he remembered almost too late that the most difficult decision of his life "took a lot of prayer" -- which he inserted awkwardly as Pastor Warren was trying to go to a commercial break. Actually, I believe him that he was probably praying a lot, but the answer seemed forced -- a quick dive to grab at some evangelical heartstrings, rather than a natural part of his answer to the question.

** Finally, I'm not sure if I got more tired of Obama's overly verbose answers, or McCain's constant references to his time as a POW. I'm thankful that Obama is resisting the "sound byte" temptation by giving more thoughtful and nuanced responses, but jeez, pick up the pace and give us a little substance! ... On the other hand, we all have to respect McCain's service and heroism, but one act of heroism does not a President make -- tell us more about the heroism, independence and courage you've displayed as a Senator during the last one, two, or three decades - your imprisonment began in 1967, over four decades ago. It's no less worthy of acclaim, but we need more stories of your courage from the 80's, 90's and the nearly-gone 00's.