Differences in Health Care by Country

In a recent U.N. World Health Organization WHO ranking of countries, the U.S. does poorly. This has been used as an argument for a massive overhaul of the U.S. health insurance industry.

However, look at the report closely because of the terms used. The latter represents what has become a typical U.N. report; that is, an anti-American bias whenever possible.

Read carefully and you note the study points up only the difference between universal coverage and actual care.

It thus becomes easy to see the difference the terms signify. Look at health care in Canada, Great Britain and France with universal coverage. A law on the books or government promise to cover a citizen with health benefits does not mean everyone will get timely or sufficient personal attention when necessary.

The U. S. still has the best health care in the world, though it can be tweaked to be made better.

A Corporate State in the U.S.?

There is a major lesson to be learned that is not being taught in our schools. Not in elementary classes nor high schools, and certainly not in those of so-called higher learning.

It has to do with the true nature of the corporate state. In this regard, a study of Benito Mussolini’s Italy is essential. Starting in the 1920s. Mussolini was a Socialist who advocated what we know as the corporate state.

The Obama government has now taken over General Motors, GMAC and Chrysler. It also controls banks to a greater extent than they have ever been, having dictated salaries, and thus hiring policy.

The government already controls the giant entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose collapse really were one of the bases of our financial meltdown.

Then you have the takeover of AIG, a completely unnecessary step for several reasons I have discussed before.

Banking industry bailouts and resultant government influence are yet another example of the government’s meddling in the underpinnings of our economy.

The attempt to nationalize the entire health care industry, about one sixth of the economy, is yet another flagrant example of a parallel picture of what happened at another, not so distant time.

Business Production Improvements

Business production improvement has become more a matter of fashion and less what it’s intended to be. The idea is constantly marketed by consultants as business management break-throughs.

Well-known more recent ones are still referred to as Lean Manufacturing, and the Six Sigma systems. They are simply just old-fashioned quality control procedures.

But doesn’t everyone believe in production or process improvement or quality control? Whatever label you put on them? A good business manager inherently knows this without the labeling.

The trick is in implementation. Motivation is essential in sticking to such programs on an ongoing basis. Boredom always is the fly in the ointment, so periodic appraisals are essential. Furthermore, management needs to employ in-house or outside experts to check on processes and results.

Forget the titles that you assign your project.

Corporate Boards of Directors

I’m assuming now the reader is running a small or medium size business, but the following advice can apply equally to the biggest companies.

Many corporations are guilty of using friends, relations and acquaintances to fill open spots on the board. But ability is strongly needed.

The board of directors has the actual legal responsibility for the proper function of the corporation. Moreover, each director has joint and several liability for any sins of omission or commission in this pursuit. That means he or she can be sued individually for neglect of responsibility of the entire board, in the event of any board errors or conceived fraud by board members. In other words, the board member with the deepest pockets or most to lose may get the brunt of a lawsuit.

Do you choose by race, by gender, or by culture? Definitely not, but these days, societal pressure and anti-discrimination laws may, and do enter into consideration. To the detriment of many corporations who still discriminate by quotas despite laws on the books.

Most important business experience ought to be the number one requirement for board membership. However, that too often gets short shrift.

Risk Odds

Most folks have no idea of risk, as they apply to business, or finance, or health.

Risk numbers cover too many areas to be covered here. I would suggest you go to an internet search engine just to get a hint of the vast range of risk possibilities in all your areas of interest..

List a subject in which you may be interested. Add the word or a phrase with he questioned risk.

Google the phrase health risk odds and you will get over 7 million web pages to search. Google the phrase risk odds calculations and you get the same approximate number to browse.

The results can be enlightening.

1/5/11 A Solution for Public Employee Budgeting Problems

I have recently written about problems of government paying over-market wages and pensions to public employees, amounts that bankrupt government and taxpayers alike

There is a solution. As a starter, publish wage and pension scales, along with fringe benefits of all unionized government workers. List only job description, for the public to see. Let voters know how private earnings and pensions compare to public earnings and benefits, that they, the tax-paying voters earn for comparable work.

If there is to be open government, why hide a major cost? Yet, this part of the budget is always hidden from voters.

Powerful Teacher Unions

The powerful teachers’ unions have a particular influence because they always have a good marketing ploy. Who wants to turn down funding when “it’s for the kids.”

But a good portion of that cost does not go to kids, it’s for teachers. And those costs can be budget-busting. Yes, the public probably knows how much is spent per student. But how about salaries and pensions? And all for a part-time, nine months of actual total work?

I’m not picking on teachers. The same holds for other government employees. Especially the ones who retire well before age 65, and are double-dippers on grandiose pensions.