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Character is easier kept than recovered.English Proverb
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The Politics and Economics of Sports
Let's summarize some of the basics involving the Olympics:
The United States Olympic Committee is a private, non-profit organization sponsored by donations and corporations — as are all other National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Since 1972, television and merchandising rights have primarily funded the IOC, which passes 90% of its money onto NOCs, with preference to poorer nations, and the host city. NOCs can only raise funds on the territory they represent; and governments usually help build the infrastructure to host the Olympics.Familiar readers can predict where I come down on this: privatization, including deregulation of corporate sponsorships and NOC fundraising constraints, perhaps even some out-of-the-box thinking, e.g., reusability of existing infrastructure, decentralization of certain sports events or qualification rounds in other countries with Olympics-certified facilities. What I don't like is demogoguery and bad economics of relevant State-sponsored infrastructure as if Keynesian magic mushrooms for the economy; that is a cruel hoax and no tonic for the ills of State domination by the stealth creep of taxes and regulatory sludge gumming up a liberalized economy. No, a few billion dollars on space exploration or sports is going to make up what dysfunctionary fiscal and monetary policy costs the economy. Only a free market and more robust economic growth will lessen consumer inequality, raise the standard of living, raise wages, etc.
Mr. Haney Explains Democrat Success at the Polls Exploiting Government-Dominated Healthcare
HT Lawrence Reed
A Telling Example of Tragic Government Inertia and Bureaucratic Incompetence
From TPNN:
On Thursday, a veteran died at the Albuquerque Veteran Affairs hospital. The man collapsed in the cafeteria, which is only 500 yards away from the emergency room. Rather than someone running and grabbing a gurney to rush the man to the ER, they instead called an ambulance, as was mandated by protocol, and attempted CPR while they waited. Although the ambulance was called immediately after the man collapsed and the ER was less than a five-minute walk from where he was, it took 30 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. By that time, the man was dead.Tom Coburn (R-OK) Releases Critical Expose of Dysfunctional VA
I don't know if I commented about it at the time, but I was surprised to get a mailing from the VA a few months back pointing out many veterans weren't taking advantage of their eligibility. (Not interested; in any event, my service as a Navy officer was not in a warzone, and I did not suffer a service-related injury.). One of my favorite senators, the retiring fiscal conservative Tom Coburn MD recently published an investigatory report, and I want to summarize a few key points (my edits):
- Many VA doctors and staff are overpaid and underworked. VA doctors are seeing far fewer patients than private doctors and some even leave work early. Despite a nursing shortage, many VA nurses spend their days conducting union activities to advocate for better conditions for themselves rather than veterans. Criminal activity at the department is pervasive, including drug dealing, theft, and even murder. A VA police chief even conspired to kidnap, rape and murder women and children. The federal government has paid out $845 million for VA medical malpractice since 2001. Bad employees are rewarded with bonuses and paid leave while whistleblowers, health care providers, and even veterans and their families are subjected to bullying, sexual harassment, abuse, and neglect. For example, female patients received unnecessary pelvic and breast exams from a sex offender, a noose was left on the desk of a minority employee by a co-worker, and a nurse who murdered a veteran harassed the family of the deceased to get them to admit guilt for the death.
- As waiting lines were growing, the VA expanded eligibility in 2009 to those who already had insurance without any service related injuries, making the delays longer. Despite having the authority to do so, the VA was reluctant to let vets off the waiting lists by freeing them go to doctors outside of its system while sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for health care that went unspent year to year. Delays exist for more than just doctors’ appointments—disability claims, construction, urgent care, and registries are also slow or behind schedule.
- The report identifies $20 billion in waste and mismanagement. Most VA construction projects are over budget and behind schedule. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee largely ignored the warnings about delays and dysfunction at the VA for decades, abdicating its oversight responsibilities and choosing to make new promises to veterans rather than making sure those promises already made were being kept.
- This report details how Congress was repeatedly alerted and warned of the problems plaguing the VA over decades.
We've been there, done that. The Congress and President will do what they always do when confronted with evidence of a failed government program--reward incompetence by throwing more money at the problem, self-righteously posturing their vote as one validating their concerns for veterans. But real reform would be privatizing veteran healthcare, implementing the principle of Subsidiarity, an end to treating the symptoms vs. the disease of failed centralized healthcare policy.
On the Failure of "Progressive" Policies in Urban America
More Marriage Proposals
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Dana Summers via Townhall |
Dan Fogelberg, "Lonely in Love"
