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Posts from the ‘Dear Congressman’ Category

Mar 1

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Healthcare in the US and what’s wrong with it

The current US healthcare system is a patchwork of clinics, hospitals and independent practitioners linked by a maze of insurance programs.  Obamacare managed to patch the patchwork maze of healthcare choices and throw it to the American public to make their own choices.

The World Health Organization ranks the US Obamacare system  at #37 out of 191 countries.  Countries better than the US are Chile, Columbia, Spain, Malta, Belgium, Cyprus, Morocco, France, Spain, Japan and many others.

The US, at #37 is ahead of Cuba at #39 position.

So how does the US improve?  Ditch Obamacare and move to a Single Payer Healthcare plan.

France, rated as #1, has a national health insurance scheme similar to our Medicare.  And France does it for less money.  Lower cost, better healthcare!

So how do we get there from here?  Riot in the street?  Curse President Trump?  Republicans?  Curse Congress?  Probably none of the above.  Education is key.  The American public must be given choices – but the right choices – not an overhaul of a patchwork healthcare system.

This means prohibiting the insurance companies and their lobbyists from influencing Congress.  Congress must act in the best interests of the American people – and resist the big money insurance companies.

The US needs to move to a Single Payer Healthcare system.  Streamline the paperwork process and weed out the parasitic insurance plans.

Tell your congressperson that you want a Single Payer Healthcare system.

World Health Organization – Paper on MEASURING OVERALL HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE FOR 191 COUNTRIES

Oct 17

How Congress screws the American taxpayer

Does Congress have it’s hand in Big Pharmacy’s wallet?  Read on. . .

When Congress passed Obamacare they blocked Medicare from obtaining lower cost drugs. . .

. . .a powerful bipartisan group of senators inserted a provision into the bill that blocked Medicare, for two years, from getting a better price on an expensive drug used by kidney dialysis patients. This was in addition to a previous two-year extension obtained by Amgen, the drug’s manufacturer. The move saddled Medicare with roughly $500 million in added costs over the next two years and generated a windfall for Amgen.

This is but one example of how Congress publicly criticizes growth of Medicare costs while privately restraining the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, from getting a better deal for Medicare patients and U.S. taxpayers.

Here’s another. Genentech, another big pharmaceutical company, makes an anti-cancer drug called Avastin. It also makes Lucentis. . .  (read the full story from the Los Angeles Times)

Can you hear me now, Susan Delbene, Rick Larsen, Jaime Herrera Butler, Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Derek Kilmer, Jim McDermott, Dave Reichert, Adam Smith, Dick Heck ?

 

May 14

Dear Congressman – capital gains tax kills jobs

Some or all of these jobs are created by a property sale.
Jobs for:

The property appraiser.
The property inspector.
The property listing agent.
The property Title company.
The property advertising companies.
The property buyer’s agent.
The insurance agent.

And if the property needs improvement then these jobs can be created for:

The painter.
The gardner.
The gutter guy.
The window company.
The screen company.
The pressure washer company.
The carpet layer.
The carpet company.
The carpet cleaner.
The drapery company.
The driveway asphalt company.
The hardware supply company.

Obviously, the more often properties are bought and sold, the more jobs are created.
And more tax revenue is generated.

Congress killed the incentive to sell a property when it imposed it’s “capital gains” tax change on small rental home owners
How is that so?

A few years ago a small rental home landlord could make the rental property into their personal home. Then live in that home for a minimum of two years.
After two years, the owner could sell it and not have to pay a capital gains tax*.

Many small rental home landlords have used that tax strategy.  After the rental sale many plan to reinvest the “profit”  in “income generating” investments for retirement.

None-the-less, Congress wants that tax no matter what, don’t they?

But small rental home  “profit” after capital gains is too small to reinvest in anything that can provide retirement income equal to what the rental income makes.
The smart decision for the landlord is to simply keep the small rental properties – not to sell them.

Result:
The tax man gets nothing.
The small contractors get nothing.
Congress gets the blame.
And everybody’s unhappy.

Writing a simple capital gains tax grab law is dumb stupid.
Writing law tax law that promotes or incentivizes trade is smart.
Apparently, that is beyond the ability of Congress?


* When you sell your primary residence, you can make up to $250,000 in profit if you’re a single owner, twice that if you’re married, and not owe any capital gains taxes.