Sunday, March 28, 2010
Today's Photo -- "Hills above the sea"
A fascinating effect which only lasted for a minute or two, at least after I saw and photographed it...
Cost effectiveness and the Benefit
The recent story about a woman who returned to the DPB becuase the job, instead of improving her situation, cost her income suggests to me that the 'minimum wage' needs to be more than the benefit.
One can use this as an argument to reduce the DPB but that is inhumane abuse.
The solution as I see it is to ensure that abatements do not cut in so quickly or severely. So that it is definitely worth the persons getting off the benefit.
The problem with this is the petty mindedness of those who think somebody is on a good lurk ... They well may be from some peoples viewpoint but when one is concerned at the amount of government money going on benefits one should estimate which will cost less, a whole benefit or just part of one subsidising a persons efforts.
Sadly this has been the situation for decades through both left and right-wing governments. From the small mindedness I read in papers and now blogs I doubt if progress will be made ... but one can dream and hope for a good solution.
One can use this as an argument to reduce the DPB but that is inhumane abuse.
The solution as I see it is to ensure that abatements do not cut in so quickly or severely. So that it is definitely worth the persons getting off the benefit.
The problem with this is the petty mindedness of those who think somebody is on a good lurk ... They well may be from some peoples viewpoint but when one is concerned at the amount of government money going on benefits one should estimate which will cost less, a whole benefit or just part of one subsidising a persons efforts.
Sadly this has been the situation for decades through both left and right-wing governments. From the small mindedness I read in papers and now blogs I doubt if progress will be made ... but one can dream and hope for a good solution.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Whose Country is it?
The far-right extremists have gone into conniptions.
The bullying, threats, and acts of violence following the passage of health care reform have been shocking, but they’re only the most recent manifestations of an increasing sense of desperation.
read on ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/opinion/27blow.html?th&emc=th
Personally I think it is all rather sad.
The bullying, threats, and acts of violence following the passage of health care reform have been shocking, but they’re only the most recent manifestations of an increasing sense of desperation.
read on ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/opinion/27blow.html?th&emc=th
Personally I think it is all rather sad.
Friday, March 26, 2010
More of it .....
I thought health care was going to be "Waterloo". Now it's "Armageddon". Can these guys just make up their minds?
If you can't cry it is best to laugh
Some of the humour .....With a lack of knowledge of American history I miss some of it ... enjoy ....
You might be a Republican if:
you're afraid to buy a cup of coffee without a side arm.
you think there were dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden.
you believe we shouldn't have universal health care because God doesn't want us to.
you think the guy who flew into the IRS building "had a point".
you don't know, or don't want children to know, that Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.
you didn't know why people were laughing at the designation "tea bagging".
you like Michele Bachmann for her fine mind.
you think Sarah Palin is just gosh darn cute enough to be president.
You might be a Republican if:
you're afraid to buy a cup of coffee without a side arm.
you think there were dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden.
you believe we shouldn't have universal health care because God doesn't want us to.
you think the guy who flew into the IRS building "had a point".
you don't know, or don't want children to know, that Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.
you didn't know why people were laughing at the designation "tea bagging".
you like Michele Bachmann for her fine mind.
you think Sarah Palin is just gosh darn cute enough to be president.
A reply to the assinine right on Lindsay Mitchells blog
In case it gets moderated out unlike the silly folk who usually inhabit that 'rabbit' blog .....
America screwed the British Empire and bleed her dry in the first years of WWII. Now they are screwing themselves with their extravagent living relying on Asian money to feed their absurd lifestyle.
The foolish scaremongering of the American right and their toadies in NZ is a national disgrace and helps to promote the views of Dirk. Over the years I have spent months in the United States and with a few exceptions found them to be pretty much as I find people in NZ. Except due to the size of the country they are very insular compared to people in small countries like NZ.
The ironical thing is that with the new bill America has not followed the UK, NZ and various other countries into a government run healthcare system ... mores the pity ... but has adopted the Swiss concept which probably is the best the world can expect given the absurd and old worldly concepts of freedom they espouse.
The fearful stories one hears about State Healthcare are mostly hogwash and fabrication by foolish irresponsible people such as KG who scaremonger deliberately ignoring the truth of the subject with ridiculous untruths mixed with enough truth to fool the less knowledgable.
America screwed the British Empire and bleed her dry in the first years of WWII. Now they are screwing themselves with their extravagent living relying on Asian money to feed their absurd lifestyle.
The foolish scaremongering of the American right and their toadies in NZ is a national disgrace and helps to promote the views of Dirk. Over the years I have spent months in the United States and with a few exceptions found them to be pretty much as I find people in NZ. Except due to the size of the country they are very insular compared to people in small countries like NZ.
The ironical thing is that with the new bill America has not followed the UK, NZ and various other countries into a government run healthcare system ... mores the pity ... but has adopted the Swiss concept which probably is the best the world can expect given the absurd and old worldly concepts of freedom they espouse.
The fearful stories one hears about State Healthcare are mostly hogwash and fabrication by foolish irresponsible people such as KG who scaremonger deliberately ignoring the truth of the subject with ridiculous untruths mixed with enough truth to fool the less knowledgable.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The scream of the American Right
The wailing and knashing of teeth as the American right attack the new Healthcare legislation of Obama ....This reminds me of the screaming child just out of the womb. Obama seems to have delivered America into the circle of civilised nations who look after their sick.
Though sadly instead of creating a genuine healthcare system he has forced the American people into the hands of the con merchants, the insurance companies. This is maybe the only way the Americas would accept their human responsibilities to their fellow man, and hopefully will work for them. I think it is similar to the Swiss approach to the subject. Though according to DPF {Kiwiblog] it is in direct contrast to some provinces of Canada where private health insurance is illegal.
It would be wonderful if that was the case in New Zealand and those contributions went into the general pool instead of paying for priority treatment with care being provided as required and as facilties were available by both private and public hospitals. So public and doctors had the opportunity, the freedom, to work be helped in the system of choice. Then we would see if the bureaucratic system of the public hospitals was really neccessary.
I am firmly of the opinion that the only satisfactory system is for healthcare to be funded by government, or SOE, supported by contributions on a 'whole of life' basis, though scaled to income, rather than the confidence trick operated by companies of low premiums when you are likely to be well and high when you are likely to be sick.
Frankly while I accept and support some of the right's commonsense views I think that the extremists are utterly sick in their mindset as they attack Obama on the basis of freedom. Being required to contribute to one's own healthcare instead of squandering it on high living and becoming a burden on one's fellow man seems to be the only sensible solution as the world gets crowded beyond the immagination of the original freedom fighters/thinkers of past centuries.
Freedom to polute the world, to go where one wills was a fine sentiment in previous centuries but is completely impracticable with the current world population with emerging nations struggling to match the wasteful extravagences of the 'West' where a small proportion of the world consumes/wastes most of the world resources.
As a child one learns the norms of fitting into one's family, the sensible restrictions our parents put on us for their welfare and that of their neighbours in the home building and elsewhere ... a concept sadly missing in many cases illustrated by the noisy children in supermarkets and aeroplanes ... and in my case yesterday in a Post Shop as I waited to pay my creditcard account
So must adults learn to show consideration for thir fellow man, however revolting they may be, to moderate their behaviour to make room for the current population on earth. There is no meaningful getting off available. One of the important aspects is controlling the results of our desire to propagate so that hopefully before amagedon arrives we reduce world population to something it can support without self-destruction.
So the 'right' are obviously the barbarians of the 21st century and must be restrained from gaining control of our societies here on earth. It is a matter of self preservation and common sense.
Though sadly instead of creating a genuine healthcare system he has forced the American people into the hands of the con merchants, the insurance companies. This is maybe the only way the Americas would accept their human responsibilities to their fellow man, and hopefully will work for them. I think it is similar to the Swiss approach to the subject. Though according to DPF {Kiwiblog] it is in direct contrast to some provinces of Canada where private health insurance is illegal.
It would be wonderful if that was the case in New Zealand and those contributions went into the general pool instead of paying for priority treatment with care being provided as required and as facilties were available by both private and public hospitals. So public and doctors had the opportunity, the freedom, to work be helped in the system of choice. Then we would see if the bureaucratic system of the public hospitals was really neccessary.
I am firmly of the opinion that the only satisfactory system is for healthcare to be funded by government, or SOE, supported by contributions on a 'whole of life' basis, though scaled to income, rather than the confidence trick operated by companies of low premiums when you are likely to be well and high when you are likely to be sick.
Frankly while I accept and support some of the right's commonsense views I think that the extremists are utterly sick in their mindset as they attack Obama on the basis of freedom. Being required to contribute to one's own healthcare instead of squandering it on high living and becoming a burden on one's fellow man seems to be the only sensible solution as the world gets crowded beyond the immagination of the original freedom fighters/thinkers of past centuries.
Freedom to polute the world, to go where one wills was a fine sentiment in previous centuries but is completely impracticable with the current world population with emerging nations struggling to match the wasteful extravagences of the 'West' where a small proportion of the world consumes/wastes most of the world resources.
As a child one learns the norms of fitting into one's family, the sensible restrictions our parents put on us for their welfare and that of their neighbours in the home building and elsewhere ... a concept sadly missing in many cases illustrated by the noisy children in supermarkets and aeroplanes ... and in my case yesterday in a Post Shop as I waited to pay my creditcard account
So must adults learn to show consideration for thir fellow man, however revolting they may be, to moderate their behaviour to make room for the current population on earth. There is no meaningful getting off available. One of the important aspects is controlling the results of our desire to propagate so that hopefully before amagedon arrives we reduce world population to something it can support without self-destruction.
So the 'right' are obviously the barbarians of the 21st century and must be restrained from gaining control of our societies here on earth. It is a matter of self preservation and common sense.
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