An analysis of Mitt Romney’s connections to bankruptcy. 

Our house lies within 150 yards of a Northwest Austin two-lane, east-to-west road, which, in effect, serves as a boundary marker between quarter-of-a-million-dollar (or less) houses and those 2 to 4 times that amount.

We live in a 3/4 mile-long sliver of a neighborhood where the two residential zones (for lack of a better descriptive) overlap.

Differences between communities on either side of the boundary road are noticeable.

One noticeable difference, is the prevalence of small business home cleaning companies in the more white collar zone.  Cleaning ladies (I’ve yet to see a male) usually arrive in personal, nondescript cars, which contain a variety of house cleaning solutions and equipment.  Occasionally a company fleet car is parked curbside, with a logo and slogan painted on the side, such as this one from a Chrysler PT Cruiser I photographed last week and then cropped for blogging usage:

Is house cleaning really so menial a task that it detracts from and diminishes life?  Is there no inherent or transferable value in a few hours of weekly or bi-weekly house/yard cleaning?

I say yes.

Insisting on each family member’s weekly/bi-weekly participation in house/yard cleaning chores, provides at least the following benefits:

It counters negative minds and inert bodies. It’s Behavioral Therapy 101.

For example, you have a pressing project or assignment due, yet you feel lousy, depressed, and flat.  Somehow you force yourself off the couch and away from the TV. You start clearing the kitchen, while simultaneously stealing glances at the show you were watching. The show ends but you’re now well into the job, and it’s a short step to the laundry room, where you start folding clean but thrown-in-the-basket socks and undergarments. Before you realize it, you’ve done a mini-clean of the house and your body and mind feels invigorated and focused enough to engage that procrastinated project.

It teaches respect for the other(s).

Unless your house is obscenely large, personal and collective activities take place in “shared spaces.” Children need reinforced reminding that consideration of the other’s needs, preferences and (quirky) mannerisms are of equal importance to one’s own. What is one family member’s “clean & tidy” is another member’s stressors and vice versa.

No two families are alike. One family’s siblings do well if they talk or see each other once a year, while another’s are best of friends. My experience is that teaching respect for another’s “life and living space” is a painstaking role parents need to help facilitate.

Keeping house is perhaps a minor yet far from insignificant area where respect can be taught.  Respect for sibling, certainly, but also respect for the diversity of people, cultures, customs and beliefs our children are increasingly encountering on a daily basis.

It provides an opportune and safe place to help children learn how to resolve conflict.

In my family conflict always occurs when cleaning chores are requested, assigned, and finally inspected. House cleaning is almost always a once (or more) a month moment when disgruntlements necessitate we sit down as a family and discuss not only the cleaning assignments, but also underlying and dormant grievances that ‘magically’ somehow surface, yet which in hindsight were developing for days, if not weeks.

As my wife once and wisely remarked, “Parenting well can’t be done in just your spare time.” It’s time and energy consuming.

1sickunit‏@1sickunit28 Apr

“What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?” – President Abraham Lincoln

John D W Macdonald ‏@johndwmnow

@1sickunit “The problem nowadays is that so called #Conservatives are dangerous radicals and so called #Socialists are boring conservatives!”

The reason I call Socialists boring is that most of them are as ideologically treadmilled as the Palinites. ( And Im not talking about the Monty Python Palin although come to think of it….! )

Dodged the Bullet This Time

One winter night in early 2013 I found I was too restless to sleep: I hadn’t had any caffeine products for hours but couldn’t seem to lure the Luna Moth to my house.

What kept me tossing and turning this time was the specter of the 2012 election.  It seems that I’ve been repressing the panic I felt during the last election season and it is still leaking out, even after the inauguration speech.  The latest event might have been generated by a couple of conversations I had with some friends during the day regarding what I consider an unfathomably the close call we’d had at the polls – if you’re an American Latino, African American, American Asian, American homosexual or American woman of any stripe.

While I supported Obama in the election I felt some guilt that much of my support was due to the horror I felt for the strange candidate the other party had coughed up to run against the incumbent.  I don’t agree with everything Obama but I felt that the incumbent deserved additional time to work on the mountain of problem he walked into when he took office.

It’s still our job to pay attention to both the issues and the outcome of any decisions made at the White House but it’s also our job to watch that we have worthwhile candidates in any election, candidates that represent the entire population, not just their economic tribe, skin type or cult choice.

Travel back to the 60’s when Kennedy was elected president over much fear and loathing about his cult.  I’m not sure that I recall any outfall from his religious background after he was elected but I also can’t say I was that interested in politics or understood what the presidential choice meant to my life, my little high school world.

However, I’ve chosen the 60’s for my time-travel destination because I do remember the Uprising of Women – the 1960’s version of the Suffragettes.  I think for me the most memorable outcome for that time was The Pill and Equal Opportunity Employment laws even though I don’t think I realized at the time that I couldn’t buy property on my own as a woman until the 60’s changed an American Woman’s status from thinly disguised chattel to human being.  And by the way, I should amend that to read White American Woman.

I mentioned at the beginning that I had spoken to several women earlier in the day before my insomnia attack who commented that white men will never know what it’s like to be a walking target every moment of every day like Latinos, African Americans, Asians, homosexuals and a woman of any color, belief or persuasion.  The same comment recently came to me from a friend’s husband also.

The fear most white men have of women must be colossal – and who was it who didn’t teach them how to share while they were still in short pants…hmmm.

My mother was concerned about my unmarried status.  She was concerned, she said, that I have someone to be with me in my older years but she had also given me quiet, sometimes unspoken, messages over the years about the lack of choices for females and how it affects your entire life.  No testosterone at the breakfast table?  Can’t buy property on your own signature, can’t check out a time-share, car salesmen don’t look you in the eye (unless you go to Gresham Subaru…;)  ).  My father had no fear for my choices and had confidence that all would be well for me.

The passage of time since high school hasn’t given me confidence to relax my search for independence or my concern over the rights women won in the previous 100 years; living in a free state means constant vigilance and the 2012 sci-fi drama at the polls proves my point – how close we are to losing it.

I’m a registered, non-knee jerk Democrat and a member of the Immoral Minority: at the polls I vote for the person, not the party unless I’m cornered.  Any candidate of any persuasion will need to prove that they are ready for the job to represent me and the rest of America in government, not just the notorious 63%.  The 2012 GOP candidate may have overlooked the possibility that the part of the pie chart he was using for his percentage quote could have been secretly  riddled with liberal Republican women not ready to lose their independence or join his cult, if not by baptism but by definition.  At least in states where women vote.

Again, maybe age has something to do with it: I’ve heard the increasing sound of “what are they thinking?” like thunder in the foothills from women over the age of 50 – women who remember what they fought for in the 60’s and earlier, women who aren’t ready to be booted back to the pre-50’s by a candidate pushed in the door at the GOP convention as the pick of the litter.

Wake up, even if you didn’t get to sleep.

A test given to fourth graders at a South Carolina Christian School. (Note that they are likewise providing materials to schools in many other states- including those that are receiving public funds).  The test, and the prepatory materials were provided by a group called Answers In Genesis , a group that refers to the bible as “the history book of the universe”.

Is it any wonder our nation has so many problems? A willingness to deny facts and evidence on such a broad range of issues because it contradicts “faith”.

The presidential campaign of 2012 was possibly one of the most negative in history.

Negative ads have a long history with one of the oldest ads dating back to the 1952 presidential race between Eisenhower and Stevenson. Attack ads do not just come in one form and they have a variety of messages. One characteristic of these types of ads is clear though, voters continually say that they do not like them.

Negative campaign ads tend to show unappealing pictures of the candidate, like this one opposing President Obama.  
Photo source: http://www.newyorker.com

In contrast, studies show that negative ads work. One such study by Paul S. Martin, “Inside the Black Box of Negative Campaign Effects: Three Reasons why Negative Campaigns Mobilize,” states that “negative campaigns stimulate problem awareness, stimulate anxiety about candidates, and make people perceive races as closer.” These kinds of effects are what is needed to get undecided voters to the voting booth.

Just because negative ads work does not mean that every ad will do the trick. It is not just about attacking the other candidate. Legitimate criticism are far more effective than personal attacks. Ads like the 2012 Obama ad mocking Romney singing America the Beautiful show reports from news outlets about Romney shipping jobs overseas and keeping money in offshore bank accounts. These types of advertisements can be considered a personal attack on a candidate. It is the personal attack ads that really cause an uproar among the public and in the media.

A report in the Washington Post , tracked how much money Obama and Romney spent on ads (and where they got the money from), the percentage that were negative, and in which states they focused most of their money and ads. 85% of what Obama spent was on negative ads compared to Romney’s 91%. These high percentages are startling and what it really shows is that there is a need for a balance.

These types of ads are often in black and white and can sometimes be personal attacks, such as attacking Romney and his company.
Photo source:  www.cnn.com

“They both have a danger of being too negative, and being over saturated. Living in Florida, that’s all you see are the television ads,” said Julie Petosa of Orlando, in an interview with ABC News concerning the negativity of the Obama and Romney campaigns. Voters can recognize the importance of these negative ads, but the sheer number can be overwhelming. As Shay Johnson also told ABC News, “You’d expect that as professionals they’d talk about what needs to happen in the U.S. and not bash each other.”

Americans want to hear about what the candidates are going to do for the United States, not just what the other candidate has done, or will do, wrong. With a balance of positive and negative ads, campaigns could still mobilize voters, but also keep them informed on all sides of the election.

Let’s start by mentioning that as of January 1st, 2014, health insurance becomes a commodity. Henceforth, monopolies can exist at that point. Why will health insurance become a commodity?

According to Investopedia, this is the definition provided: “The quality of a given commodity may differ slightly, but it is essentially uniform across producers. When they are traded on an exchange, commodities must also meet specified minimum standards, also known as a basis grade.” First off, health insurance plans will be uniform across the nation due to Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze plan designs. They will be traded on the federally-facilitated or state-based exchanges. They must meet specified minimum standards known as Essential Health Benefits. Thus, health insurance meets the definition of a commodity.

Now that we have established what health insurance will become, we need to look at insurance companies’ roles both in the exchanges and outside the exchanges. Insurance companies are free to operate how they choose. They can operate in the exchange, but they are not required to. It is understood that it will be in their best interest to operate in and out of the exchanges. United Healthcare has mentioned that its subsidiary, Aetna, will operate in 14 exchanges around the country. That is a little more than a quarter of exchanges nationwide. Premiums on plans must be the same in and out of the exchange. Companies have mentioned that they plan to pay broker commissions both in and out of the exchange also. So, one criteria for becoming a monopoly will be that an insurance company operates in and out of the exchange. Secondly, each company must have a provider network that is strong. Currently, Blue Cross Blue Shield has, hands down, the best provider network in West Texas. With both major hospitals in network, Covenant and UMC, they stand alone among the major players in that regard. Thirdly, brokers make up 80% or more of business written from company to company. Therefore, it is supremely important that broker commissions are competitive. Cigna holds the trophy win it comes to first year commissions. At almost double other companies’ commission levels, it is very tempting to write Cigna policies all the time. Why don’t we? Premiums have become monopolized by Blue Cross Blue Shield recently. Since BCBS very rarely “rate-up” applicants for health conditions, they have become the dominant player for both healthy and unhealthy people. So, the three main ways a company can become a monopoly is by having a great provider network, competitive premiums, and competitive broker commissions.

Without question, consumers pay most attention to premiums when selecting health insurance plans. Due to Essential Health Benefits and Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze plan designs being mandated, plans from company to company will look almost identical. That takes all competition away when designing plans that have better benefits than other companies’ plans. Benefit packages will be rendered moot for all intents and purposes. Therefore, if a company can lower premium slightly below their competitors, they have highly increased their chances of gaining market share. Secondly, provider networks are extremely important to insureds. If their family PCP or OB/GYN is not in network with company A, but they are with company B, that insured will apply with company B, even if premiums are slightly higher. So, by contracting with Covenant and UMC, a company could gain market share that way. Lastly, broker commissions are a big deal to some agencies, not so much to others. If the broker does what is right for the client, that broker will not worry about which company pays the highest commission rate. However, if what was best for the client paid the best premium, would that broker apply that person with a company other than the one that pays the best and has the best premiums and provider network? Absolutely not. That broker would recommend that company 100% of the time.

So what does all this mean? For any insurance companies that want to gain market share, there are three things you must have…

1. Strongest provider network
2. Competitive premiums (not the lowest necessarily)
3. Broker commissions within 1%-2% of your competitors

Currently, BCBS holds rank on 1 and 2, while Cigna has the advantage on number 3. With many more players becoming active over the next several months, it will be imperative that companies take this into consideration over the coming months. Luckily, BCBS, Cigna, and Humana have an advantage out of the gate.

This made me  laugh, hahaha

Reblogged from Swampland:

Have you ever worked a day in your life?

The Firestorm-of-the-Week last week of course involved Democrat Hilary Rosen’s comments on CNN that Ann Romney “has never actually worked a day in her life.” The Romney campaign and the GOP machine exploded over the remarks; the Obama administration and Democratic establishment zig-zagged, counter-punched; and Ann Romney even opened her very own Twitter account seemingly for the sole purpose, at least initially, of tweeting, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.”

Now, the topic of working mothers vs. stay-at-home moms is a complicated and sensitive one, but what laid the groundwork for last week’s fireworks is certainly the War on Women that the GOP has declared on American females … err, or the War on Women that the Democrats declared that the Republicans declared … err, or however you see it.

Women’s issues are front and center in this election, as they should be, with Congress and religious groups haggling with the president over birth control insurance coverage, the now-withdrawn candidate Rick Santorum constantly launching into the validity of a woman’s right to choose and a conservative Supreme Court possibly addressing some measure of abortion law in the foreseeable future. Among other things.

But Hilary Rosen’s comments lit a fuse that, as of this writing, is still burning furiously. The Romney campaign has seized on the issue, desperately trying to win back women voters. The Democrats have distanced themselves, claiming Rosen doesn’t speak for the administration. And third-party peanut galleries like the Catholic League are chiming in with vicious tweets like this one: “Lesbian Dem Hilary Rosen tells Ann Romney she never worked a day in her life. Unlike Rosen, who had to adopt kids, Ann raised 5 of her own” – I’m thinking there might be something to Leonard Pitts’ point last week about our political discourse getting out of hand.

The point is, however you feel about Ann Romney’s work schedule or the sacrifices that stay-at-home mom’s make, the ridiculously vehement back and forth that resulted from Rosen’s comments are proof positive that, in this atmosphere, all it takes is the tiniest of sparks to start a forest fire. And we still have 7 months left to go. Or longer.

Sometimes it feels like a full-time job just keeping up with what we’re “supposed” to be paying attention to. Or rather, just staying focused on what’s actually important.