Monthly Archives: April 2009
Vanishing Doctors
Quote of the Day: “Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, ‘See, if it wasn’t for us, you couldn’t walk.” — Harry Browne (1933-2006), co-founder of Downsize DC
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Subject: The not so mysterious case of the vanishing doctors
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In case you missed it . . .
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A survey by The Physician’s Foundation finds that nearly HALF of primary care doctors plan to reduce or eliminate their practices in the next three years!
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The survey also gives the reasons . . .
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* Too much non-clinical paperwork
:::* Difficulty getting reimbursed
:::* Too much government regulation
:::* Lack of time (caused by the above problems) to form patient relationships
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These problems exist because
We hate our new website (but I have good news)
Quote of the Day: “Going into this project we generally knew about the shortage of physicians; what we didn’t know is how much worse it could get over the next few years. The bottom line is that the person you’ve known as your family doctor could be getting ready to disappear – and there might not be a replacement.” — Lou Goodman, PhD, President, The Physicians’ Foundation
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Subject: We hate our new website, but I have good news . . .
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I’ve referred to our new website as our version of New Coke or Microsoft Vista. It’s probably the biggest mistake I’ve made since we started DownsizeDC.org. But I can report three pieces of good news . . .
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1. Our new technical team is fantastic
:::2. They’re quickly learning how our system works, and how to fix it
:::3. They’ve just installed their first fix, a TEMPORARY workaround of our most serious, pressing problem with the site
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Our permanent fix will be much better. But this new temp fix will work, and you can use it for today’s action item (please read on) . . .
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The Physician’s Foundation has surveyed primary care doctors, finding that nearly HALF of them plan to reduce or eliminate their practices in the next three years!
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That’s right — HALF of America’s PRIMARY CARE doctors (not specialists) may be about to DISAPPEAR!
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The doctors planning to quit give the following reasons . . .
HMO America and Real ID
Quote of the Day: “The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments. The state can be, and has often been . . . the main source of mischief and disaster.” — Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) Economist and social philosopher
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Subject: How REAL ID will help turn all of America into a giant HMO
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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has pledged to review/reconsider the REAL ID national identity card.
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It’s not hard to see why. Many Americans hate REAL ID, and 22 states have refused to comply with the program. DC Downsizers alone have bombarded Congress with 112,227 message demanding that REAL ID be repealed. So . . .
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Should we be happy that Napolitano wants to review the REAL ID program? Not very. At best, we believe the outcome will be to . . .
The Myth of Good Intentions
Quote of the Day: “The economy is so bad the Mafia has started laying off judges.” — anonymous Internet joke
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Subject: The myth of good intentions
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A bill with a nice-sounding title, such as the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),” passes Congress. Later, when its defects come to light, even the law’s victims assume that the bill had “good intentions,” but was “poorly written.” I saw this sentiment expressed often while reading blogs about the CPSIA.
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But I think these assumptions about “good intentions” are a little naive. After all, if Congress really had “good intentions” they would have taken the time and care to write a better bill that wouldn’t have deprived poor children of second-hand winter coats. The fact that they didn’t tells me that . . .
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Their motive was good publicity, not good intentions.
How the Budget Vote Went
Quote of the Day: “The economy is so bad even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration aren’t paying their taxes.” — anonymous Internet joke
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Subject: How the budget vote went, what it means, and what to do about it
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On Friday, April, 2 the House and Senate passed separate budget plans. These two budgets differ in detail, but what they share is far more important. Both versions . . .
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* Authorize spending on vast new programs
:::* Make multi-trillion dollar budgets a seemingly permanent condition
:::* Run multi-trillion dollar deficits far into the future
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But, lest we panic, its important to understand that
Deadline Doom
Quote of the Day: “…the burden of government is not measured by how much it taxes, but by how much it spends.” — Milton Friedman
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Subject: Budget vote due within 48 hours — TAKE ACTION!
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The new budget contains trillions in new spending programs, trillions in debt, and a trillion dollars in tax increases. Speak now against this massive outrage or hold your peace.
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It will do no good to complain to your friends, or the local radio talk show host, or shout at your TV. Tell it to your elected representatives! That can do a little good. Nothing else can.
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If you haven’t sent Congress a message opposing the budget, do so now, using our “cut spending” campaign.
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Use your personal comments to object to all the new spending programs and the big deficits.
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If you have sent such a message, do so again, this time using our “cut taxes” campaign.
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Use your personal comments to oppose the trillion dollars in new taxes that are included in the budget.
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If you’ve used our quick and easy Educate the Powerful System before,
Oops! The real number may be $101 trillion!
Quote of the Day: “I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Source: letter to William Plumer, July 21, 1816
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Subject: Oops! The real number may be $101 trillion, plus a bunch of other stuff
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Somewhere in the blizzard of budget numbers and grand spending plans flooding out of Washington, we missed last spring’s report from the Social Security Trustees. Their latest estimate of the unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare is (hold onto your chair) . . .
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Add to that the $9.3 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, plus the previous national debt of nearly $11 trillion.
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But that may not be the end of it. It’s unclear to us how much the various bailout programs will ultimately cost, and how many of these costs are included in the formal budget proposal. At least three issues complicate the calculation . . .