There is an article over at the City Social Marketing Blog called “…And People Wonder Why?” that delves into the reactions of people to the recent Phoenix-Radar Shooting. The article is a commentary upon today’s society and the way (some) people think that compounds the problems of today’s world.

In high school I signed up for a class called “Persuasion and Propaganda”. The class mostly dealt with how people, mostly advertising companies and politicians, used such tools as “The Fallacies of Logic” (http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/) and “Imagery” to persuade people into a particular way of thinking in order to gain support for a political agenda or to sell a product or idea. It turned out to be one of the most interesting classes that I have taken and the lessons went far beyond the usual ‘wanting to pass a course to graduate” category that most classes fell. I’ve always gave credit to this course for my not being so willing to follow the herd as many of the people around me seemed to do.

Early in life I have heard the term “Think outside the box”, I am not sure when I first heard the term used – but I know I heard it expressed fairly often by 1974. The “Box” being spoken of is not a physical box, but rather it’s a non-tangible block that impedes a person from thinking differently or seeing things from a new and different perspective.

In 1979 Pink Floyd released the album “The Wall”. The Wall was basically about one man’s struggle with mental isolation and how he built a mental wall around himself to shield him from the world. “The Box” is a form of “Wall” used mainly to shield one’s views and ideas from other ideas that may hurt or help the concepts in one’s mind. The Wall and The Box are very similar in nature.

Over the years I have seen where many people proclaim, usually with great passion, “There is no box!” Usually when someone stresses this idea it means they are so married to their own views and ideas that they reject the very notion that they, in fact, be imprisoned by a ‘box’ of their own construction. They want the very idea that their thinking could possibly be limited by their own biases and beliefs, usually in the attempt to convince others just how great the ideas they present are.

Where does this come into play with the article over at CSM?

The concept of a “Wall” or “Box” comes into play with this discussion where people get so ‘married to their ideas’ that they forego the usual boundaries of common morality or ethics and common sense. They may be so opposed to the idea of these photo-radar units that it blurs their thinking, so they begin to rationalize something they would normally abhor (such as a murder of an innocent man) by the use of pseudo-logic and false reasoning. The result is that a person, who may be perfectly reasonable and logical over other issues, suddenly becomes fanatical and unreasonable over the issue that is near and dear to their heart to the degree that they will go to great lengths to justify the atrocity.

I am intentionally leaving out the “Troll” aspect because trolls live in their own neat, little world and are often guided by things like attention seeking and their need to disrupt.

In some cases “The Box” or “Wall” will actually go beyond the protection of ideas or opinion and enter into the realm of action. These people could be spurred to simple protests or go as far as doing harm or murdering another person for the sake of the idea or belief. In some cases the person could abhor the very idea of war and killing, but when it comes to the belief they hold dear then murder or terrorism becomes justifiable in their minds. In other words it may be ok to them if a few people are killed in the bombing of an abortion clinic or die because of something like a photo-radar unit being destroyed.

What is the V.A.?

The Veterans Administration, also known as the “VA”, was established as an independent agency under the President by Executive Order 5398 on July 21, 1930 and was elevated to Cabinet level on March 15, 1989 (Public Law No. 100-527). The Veterans Administration, also referred to as “The VA” or “VA”, is an organization who’s “goal is to provide excellence in patient care, veterans’ benefits and customer satisfaction. We have reformed our department internally and are striving for high quality, prompt and seamless service to veterans. Our department’s employees continue to offer their dedication and commitment to help veterans get the services they have earned”. Source: About VA Home

What Does The VA Offer?

The disabilities of the Disabled Veterans are not equal, some vets have minor disabilities that do not hinder their ability to make a good living and other vets are so severely disabled that they simply cannot work to support themselves. This is why the VA has a rating system to classify its Veterans.

VA Ratings and Compensation

The VA rates their veterans in 10% increments ranging from 10% to 100%, additionally the VA had a 0% rating where the Vet received no monthly checks yet still could get medical treatment from the VA for a disability received through his or her military service. The basic monthly compensation for the VA Vet runs from $123 (10% Disability) to $2,673 (100% Disability). This monthly amount for compensation can be higher if the Vet has met certain criteria.

The VA once offered a 0% disability rating, at least that is what the VA Representative told me in 1988. The 0% disability rating supposedly covered the Vet for medical, but it did not allow the vet to receive monthly compensation for his or her illness or injury… however the 0% disability mostly acknowledged that the Vet had a problem but it wasn’t severe enough for compensation at this moment in time.

The VA also had a program where the Disabled Vet would retain his or her disability rating, but he or she could receive a monthly compensation check equal to a 100% disability rating.

Additionally the VA does have a program for Vets with 70% or higher disability ratings that can no longer work. If a disabled vet has a 70% disability rating, he or she could be declared “Unemployable” and receive a 100% disability rating from the VA. This may, or may not, be the same program as the one described in the paragraph above.

Other Benefits Provided By The VA

The VA offers other benefits to its Veterans that meet the criteria set by the VA. In addition to Medical or Compensation and Pensions, the Vet can receive such benefits as:

Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
Education & Training
Home Loans
Life Insurance
Dependent & Survivor Benefits
Burial Benefits

The Vet has to meet certain criteria for many of the benefits that they can receive… and quite often there are time limits set as a part of the eligibility for these benefits. In some cases the VA doesn’t actually offer the benefit, such as the Home Loan Benefit, but rather they offer the backing for participating banks and financial institutions to provide the loan for a lower rate.

VA and Vocational Rehab

The VA does have a Vocational Rehabilitation Program (commonly referred to as “Vocational Rehab” or “VR&E”), but there are conditions that go along with this program. I realize that some may wish to argue these points with me, but what I say comes from first hand experience.

The first drawback is that the VA Vocational Rehab has a time limit of 12 years from the date of the Vet being discharged or was contacted by the VA about their the disability. When the time limit runs out it may be possible to get the VA to waiver the time limit… but it’s not an easy task to get done. The VA has rules like this for a reason and even though you or I might disagree with their reasoning… rules are rules.

The 2nd drawback is that like all Vocational Rehab programs, the VA Vocational Rehab Program is set up for the younger vets. When a Vet gets to be about 40 or 50 years of age, the VA tries to shy the vet away from the VR&E program. This may not be a part of any VA Regulation or Law governing the VA, but it has happened in the past. The odd part is that as unfair as this seems, it really does make sense to guide the younger disabled vets into a vocational rehab program first for they would be the ones to get the most use out of such programs.

A Few Facts And Figures About The VA

According to the VA there are (approximately) 25 million Veterans alive and nearly 3/4s of them during “War” or “Official Period of Hostility”. The VA also states that about ¼ of the nation’s population are potentially eligible for VA Benefits due to the fact that these people are Veterans, family members or survivors of Veterans. The VA is an organization designed for the long-term assistance for the Veteran of the US Military and their dependents. It is said that there are still 2 children of Veterans from the U.S. Civil War still alive that are on the VA rosters.

According to WikiAnswers we find out that “There are 257,100 (100% disabled veterans as of 12/31/07).

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs”. WikiAnswers also states “With more than 1.4 million members, Disabled American Veterans is an organization of disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families.”

According to the United Cerebal Palsey website “Each year, in service to our nation, thousands of former military personnel join the ranks of disabled veterans. Overall, there are approximately 2.5 million disabled veterans. Disabled veterans represent a rich talent pool that is too often overlooked.”

So what can we glean from these facts? We learn that about ¼ of the US Population (about 70 million people at the time the information was written) are eligible for VA Benefits, but only about 25 million Vets are still alive. That would mean that about 45 Million of those eligible for benefits are survivors or dependents of vets and deceased vets. Now out of those 25 Million Vets we are told that about 2.5 Million of them are disabled… and about 257,100 of them are 100% disabled. Up-dated figures dealing with these figures are more than welcome, but I urge everyone to document their claims with a proper source to be checked for accuracy of the claim.

Our Debt To The Disabled Vet

Our Veterans deserve the same considerations that are given to its civilian counterparts. Let’s look at it in this manner, if an civilian employer hires a civilian worker and that civilian worker is injured at work, or receives some illness due to the working conditions… then the civilian would expect the employer to take responsibility and provide for any medical needs and compensation for the disability. Normally, in the civilian world, the compensation and medical needs are supplied from such places as Workers (or Workman’s) Comp, or Social Security Disability (SSDI) and any insurance that the employer has… but just because these agencies and outside groups are involved, that doesn’t mean that the Employer isn’t responsible for taking care of the employee.

Where the Military and Veteran are concerned, we find that the ‘employer” is US Government. The government assumes the responsibilities of caring for its employees who become disabled just like any business owner. If their employees are injured or made sick due to the jobs they are ordered to do, the US Government (i.e. us) carry the burden of taking care of these people until such a time that care is no longer needed. If the injuries or illness is severe enough to make the service member disabled, then the US Government is responsible to cover the expenses for medical care and fair compensation for the disability. It’s as simple as that and it doesn’t matter if we don’t support the military or the things the military are ordered to do… The US Government is still responsible to those who become disabled while in their employment, as well as those who become disabled from things that happened while the person was employed in the armed forces. This means that we all share a part of that responsibility due to the fact that it is our tax dollars used to take care of the disabled vet.

The real question isn’t whether the Government, i.e. US, owes it to the disabled vet to take care of them for their service-connected disabilities… the proper question is how much is owed to the Vet?

The VA: Funding and Problems

VA Budget and Budget Requests

In February of 2008, the requested budget for the VA was approximately $93.7 Billion. (Source: FY 09 VA Budget Requests Highlights). According to an article entitled “Fiscal 2009 VA, DOD DHS Appropriation Enacted”, it is said:

“The fiscal 2009 discretionary VA funding portion of H.R. 2638 totals $47.6 billion, $4.5 billion more than fiscal 2008 totals and $2.8 billion more than the president’s request.”

The $93.7 Billion budget request by the VA includes $40 billion for health care, $46.9 billion for benefits, and $230 million for the national cemetery system. This is more than a 7 percent increase from the department’s $87.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2009.

Problems with the Veterans Administration

Since it’s beginning there have been problems with the VA, some of its problems were due to administration, other problems were due to budgeting, and some problems were due to a VA not having the better doctors and nurses. It has been noted time and again that not all VA systems are created equal, in some cases veterans have found that they received better service and treatment by changing the VA hospital or clinic that they dealt with in their own state… other veterans noted that the VA System in some states were better than the VA in other states. Although every VA should be equal and use the same laws and guidelines, it seems that those rules and policies are not handled the same from VA to VA.

Let’s be fair to the VA, for it’s a huge organization. Time changes things and the VA changes with time. Veterans who remember poorer treatment at certain VA Facilities in the past may find if they return to the facility today then things may be much better. On the other hand today’s Vets may find that the treatment they receive by the VA may not be as promised. Let’s look a few examples that I call “Case Studies” to provide a clearer picture of what I mean.

Case Studies

Case 1: A Veteran on the VA system with a heart condition that was judged as being “service connected” by both the military and the VA for over 20 years suddenly found that the VA began refusing to pay the bills incurred by the Disabled Vet for his visits to an Emergency Room at a local hospital. The reason the Vet went to the local hospital in the first place was due to the fact that the VA Doctors knew the importance of the Vet getting ‘immediate treatment’ for his Tachycardia spells that are attributed to his “Service connected” conditions. The Doctors made it clear to the Vet that he was not go to the local VA Hospital because it was too far to travel under such conditions and he was to go to the local hospital that was only a few miles from the Vet’s residence. Additionally the VA did allow the Vet to go to the local hospitals for treatment under the condition that the local hospital ER would call the VA prior to their doing anything but emergency treatment for the patient. When the Emergency Room Staff would call the VA, the doctors at the VA Hospital would find out what the situation was and how the Vet was responding to the emergency treatment… then tell the local hospital to “treat him and send him home”. In the early 2000s that all changed. At the beginning of the change the VA would use the excuse that the patient did not call the VA with-in 72 hours after going to the local hospital Emergency Room, despite the fact that the local Emergency Room staff led the Vet to believe that they did their job (as requested by the Vet numerous times during his stay in the hospital) by calling the VA. As time went on the VA simply used the excuse that a VA Hospital was in the area. When the VA Doctors were approached they simply responded by saying “Then go to the VA Hospital” as if just because some admin personnel at the VA knew more about the ‘immediate need of the medical condition’ than the doctor treating the Vet. This did not help the Vet because he now was responsible for paying the local hospital for following “Doctor’s Orders” and it made it more difficult on the Vet because when he would tell the paramedics who came out to his home because of these Tachycardia spells to take him all the way into the VA… they would say “We can do that, but you really should go to the local hospital”. The patient who’s heart rate has been beating at speeds in excess of 180 beats per minute for over an hour at this point would tire out and relent going where the ambulance drivers wanted to take him.

Case 2: Another Disabled Vet on the VA system had a condition that became so bad that he no longer could work at all. The Vet contacted the VA and filed the paperwork that he was told to file. He waited patiently for the VA to raise his disability appropriately, expecting it to take only 6 months. The VA then let it be known that there was something wrong with the paperwork and the vet needed to file again for the rate increase. It is now over 2 years later and the VA is no closer to settling the claim than it was 6 months after the paperwork was filed.

Case 3: A third VA Veteran lived in a rural place and found that the VA he went to did not handle his disability properly, after months of receiving unsatisfactory treatment he went to another VA Facility in another part of his state. The trip was a little longer for him, but the improvement in handling his case was worth the extra miles that he traveled.

Case 4: A VA Veteran who argued that the money he received from the military when discharged was for medical and therefore non-taxable finally received a notice by the VA that a court ruling made 5 years after his discharge declared that the type of severance pay he received was in fact non-taxable. The court ruled that anyone who paid taxes on their severance pay could get the taxes they paid returned – if they contacted the IRS within 2 years after the ruling. The problem was that the notification was sent out to the Vet by the VA only two or three days before the expiration date of the ruling and the Vet received the notice on the day the ruling expired. The VA never assumed any responsibility for the Vet losing almost $2,000 that rightfully belonged to him and did offer him information of who to contact to resolve the problem. The Vet ended up never getting his money from the US Government because the Senators for his state would not send in a simply letter to the IRS asking for them to pay this Vet.

Case 5: A VA Vet quit his job in one city to move to the city where his elderly parents lived for the purpose of helping his parents. Prior to moving the Vet foolishly made a few phone calls to a few places in the city he was to move asking about getting a job. The reply he received was “There should be no problem in hiring someone of your experience. When you get here simply come in and put in an application”. Very foolish of the Vet, but the Vet figured that since he didn’t really allow the time to send out resumes and await responses and that he was going to move anyway… then an area of several million people should provide some type of employment. So the Vet moved only to find out when the future employers found out that the Vet had a disability, suddenly there were no jobs available or there was someone ‘better suited” to the job. The business owners never stated that the Vet was not hired because of his disability, because that is against the law, but other reasons were given that didn’t always apply. When the Vet finally exhausted his avenues for employment over 10 years later, he went to the VA and was told “Don’t tell them about your condition.” That was bad advice because these employers need information for their healthcare providers and if the Vet ‘lied’ about his condition by the act of omission then the Vet could be fired.

What Does The Disabled Vet Expect?

To speak on behalf of all disabled vets is an impossible task due to every vet having his or her own ideas and expectations concerning the VA, however we can outline some of the most common things vets have said over the years.

Respect

The first thing that I would say the disabled vet wants and expects is respect. The disabled vet does not want to be treated with false sincerity or false promises, nor do they want to be viewed as a leach upon society or a person looking for a free ride. The disabled vet simply wants to be given what they deserve.

The disabled veteran is not some alien from outer space nor is he or she something created in a laboratory, the disabled vet is our neighbor, friend, or family member who went into the military because they were called to duty or volunteered and while in the service of our country something happened that caused them an illness or injury. The fact is that some civilian knows a disabled vet for they grew up with the person or are related to them in some way.

As an employee the disabled vet deserves compensation and medical care for the service connected illness and/or injury that was thrust upon them. Disabled Veteran are getting the benefits they receive not because they are too lazy to work, want to live off the government or taxpayer, or the government wants to treat the disabled vet differently from his or her civilian counterparts… the disabled vet deserve the benefits they get because of numerous reasons. The true fact is that many vets who would rather not have to live with their disabilities and would prefer to live normal lives… but they can’t because of whatever disability they received while in the service of our country. It’s not a life choice for the person who is a disabled vet, it was not their lifelong dream to become disabled and have to depend upon such organizations as the VA to have some semblance of a normal life.

The disabled vet should be respected for what he or she has given up and has to go through on a daily basis… just as any person with a disability deserves. They don’t deserve to be put down because someone doesn’t believe in the military or war. A person doesn’t have to like or respect the disabled vet on an individual basis, being a disabled vet doesn’t make a person a saint or hero, but generally speaking the disabled vet should be respected as a group.

Security

Another thing the disabled vet wants is ‘security’. They want the peace of mind that they, and their families, can maintain the basic necessities of life. They want to not have to worry about keeping a roof over their heads, food in their bellies and clothing on their backs because their disability limits them in some way. On the whole they don’t demand to live in lavish lifestyles, but they do want to be able to raise their families in a moderately decent lifestyle.

Medical Care and Medicines

The disabled vet wants and needs proper medical care and they want that care to be done in a timely manner. They don’t want required medicines or medical treatments to be unavailable simply because the taxpayer or congress doesn’t want to approve the funding that the VA needs to provide the care needed and fulfill its mission. In particular the disabled vet doesn’t want some doctor to tell them how important it is to have some treatment or handle some episode caused by the disability only to have some desk jockey at the VA denying paying for the necessary medical care. Many vets have expressed the desire to have people in the various administration positions at the VA who understands the needs of the disabled vet, instead of some college grad who never even spent a tour of duty in the military (let alone have no disabilities themselves).

The doctors at the VA should tell the accountants what is required for a disabled vet, not vice-versa. Many disabled vets realize the need for a system of Checks and Balances; they believe that a panel of doctors ought to approve requests for special treatment of a condition. If a procedure or operation is required, then if that procedure is not a commonly accepted thing done by the VA… the medical opinion of the doctor should carry a lot of weight in the approval process.

Additionally the disabled vet doesn’t want to be subjected to unnecessary hardships put in place by some desk jockey who don’t comprehend the needs of the disabled vet or the needs of some medical conditions. The veteran shouldn’t be expected to travel excessively in the case of a medical emergency and the VA should get the backing to force the local hospitals into notifying the VA as soon as a patient arrives at the emergency room of a local hospital. The need of making the local hospitals realize that they cannot turn down a patient requiring emergency treatment and the need to contact the VA for instructions for the disabled vet under the threat of the hospital having to eat it’s costs for not properly following protocol may be a necessity for helping the disabled vet. This is nothing any different than the requirements of some healthcare programs out there and if we can do it for health insurance companies then we can do it for our vets.

Compensation and Benefits

The disabled vet should receive fair and just compensation and benefits. Unless the disabled vet is completely disabled and/or unable to work, then he or she does not expect huge compensation checks every month… however the disabled vet may not argue much over getting the money, they are human after all. Mainly the disabled vet wants to feel useful, like most other disabled citizens, many would actually prefer being able to get the help needed to be able to become self-supportive again. Some actually may prefer loans to start businesses than be given a hand out.

The disabled vet does not want to sit around for months or years waiting on some admin personnel to decide his or her fate. If the VA has the policy to settle a claim in 180 days or a year then that is what the vet expects. He or she may wish to have his or her claim settled in less time, but the vet would like to have the claim processed and approved in a timely manner. Quite often the disabled vet can understand the fact that things take a little longer than projected, after all they have spent several years in the military and are accustomed to the ‘hurry up and wait’ mentality. The disabled vet can’t understand why it takes the VA 2 ½ to 3 years (or longer) to settle claims or approve medical treatments or procedures.

Education and Retraining

The disabled vet has the tendency to want to feel normal and useful. The vet may realize that a Vocational Rehabilitation program is best utilized for the younger disabled vets, but the older disabled vet would still like help in finding jobs or getting started in a business in order to be gainfully employed. Some vets may like a program that gives discounts for schooling or retraining, while others would like to have someone associated with the VA to help them in locating new employment. The disabled vet often realizes such things take money and the government is not a bottomless money pit, but the disabled vet finds it hard to understand the fact that the government has the money to fund many things that aren’t really the responsibility of the government to fund.

Fairness And Equal Treatment For All Vets

In the military it has been said that there are no black, brown, yellow or white people – everyone is green. The same idea of equality should extend to the disabled vet. There should be no programs based upon race, color, religion or sex. There is cause to believe that qualifications for certain programs should be based on age and the rating of the disabled vet. Additionally there should be no other preference for approval of a disabled vet’s claim or application other than ‘first come, first served’. The practice of fast tracking the applications and claims of an Iraqi Vet or Vietnam Vet is unfair, the applications and claims should be approved based solely upon when the disabled vet filed the application or claim. It’s just as unfair to make a Vietnam Vet wait because someone serving in Afghanistan or Iraq filed an application after the Vietnam Vet filed as it is to fast track the application of a person because of sex or color. Proper funding of the VA would limit the necessity of fast tracking such applications and claims.

Synopsis

The VA is said to have requested a budget of $93.7 billion dollars. The average person may think that this sounds like a lot of money, but consider the fact that a huge part of the VA Budget is to take care of the medical needs of the disabled veterans under its care. The money allotted to the VA must not only pay for medicine and medical treatment, but it also has to pay for the building and care of numerous hospitals and clinics – as well as the equipment required to have a functioning hospital or clinic. In Ron Anderson’s article “Factors Associated With The Increasing Cost Of Hospital Care”, it is said:

“In the last two decades, and particularly in the last five years, the cost of hospital care has risen more rapidly than the cost of almost any other major good or service pro vided in our society. The result has been great concern among the public, government, and providers of service. The rising total cost of hospital care is due both to the increasing use of hospital services and to the increasing cost per unit of these services. In the last ten years, use of services has accounted for less than one-eighth of the total increase in hospital costs, cost per unit increases being responsible for the rest. The latter increases can be shown to result from general inflationary trends in the economy plus certain forces acting in a special way on hospitals. These forces include an increase in wages, a rise in the value of hospital plant and equipment over and above general inflation, and a larger number of personnel in relation to the days of patient care provided, or patient days. A review of reasons for the increases in cost per unit of service suggests that there is no single factor primarily responsible. Consequently, a solution to the cost containment problem will be difficult to achieve.”

Steve Hymon’s article in the LA Times, entitled “Start Up Costs Drive Up Hospital Price Tag” says:

“The start-up costs for the hospital, whose construction expenses alone are expected to top $800 million, may add as much as $240.5 million to the price tag. The problem is, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has yet to put aside any money to cover the extra costs.
The medical records system will cost up to $100 million, said David E. Janssen, the county’s chief administrative officer. Furnishings, including portable medical equipment, could cost $105.2 million — twice the price that county officials estimated in 1998. Moving from the old hospital could chew up an additional $35 million.”

Then you have to figure in the salaries of Doctors, Nurses, Technicians, Administrative personnel, and other employees of the VA. There are also costs for medicines and supplies to consider, as well as such things as mail costs and other things we never consider. The point is when one looks at the costs to build and maintain hospitals and clinics, one sees that it is an expensive proposition… suddenly a hundred million or a billion isn’t as much money as one would think it was at first.
However we still need to consider the disabled vet, it’s not his or her fault (usually) that they suffer from the disability that was inflicted upon them. They entered the military in good condition and good faith; as a result they ended up with a condition that made them disabled. They need to be taken care of and taken care of in such a way that doesn’t cause them undue hardships. The Disabled Vet may require such services as paramedics and ambulances, plus they may need to be reimbursed for any return trip from the hospital to their place of residence. The disabled vet may also need emergency treatment as soon as humanly possible, which means the travel time to such care for the disabled vet should be as little as possible. Disabled vets who suffer from strokes, Tachycardia, heart attack and other ailments need to be treated fast and to demand that a disabled vet has to go to a hospital miles away simply because it’s a VA Hospital is ridiculous – especially if there are hospitals much closer. If the condition being treated is service connected, the VA should be responsible for paying the bills no matter what hospital or clinic the vet is treated. The excuse that the VA has a hospital in the area is a bad excuse, especially if the hospital is 30 or 50 miles away from where the disabled vet resides. It is also a bad excuse to deny paying for emergency treatment because the disabled vet didn’t notify the VA with in 72 hours. Quite often the vet depended on the local hospital to contact the VA, as it should have done, and when the vet finds out the hospital either lied or misled the patient into thinking they did make the contact – it’s often beyond the time period for contacting the VA.

So there are problems with the VA and many of those problems are rooted in funding. What may seem to be stupid policies are often policies set to help reduce costs in order for the VA to keep with in a budget.

In an article entitled “Obama: Legalizing Pot Won’t Grow Economy”, dated March 26, 2009, President Obama stated:

“I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation.”

He went on and answered the question in a manner that must have been nothing less than a major disappointment for the many Legalization of Marijuana Advocates across the nation who placed their hopes and dreams with the President for Change to finally being able to buy and smoke pot legally. President Obama stated:

“The answer is, no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.”

The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, later clarified Mr. Obama’s position by saying:

“The president opposes the legalization of marijuana…he does not think that’s the right plan for America.”

In the past Mr. Obama made it clear that he was for “Decriminalization” of Marijuana and not “Legalization” of the drug. These latest statements seem to be consistent with the message he has been conveying for over a year now.

Is Mr. Obama Right?

Over the past 2 or 3 weeks it seems that the topic of legalizing pot has reached a fevered pitch, discussions and comments about the topic are freely heard on the net and talk radio – as well in homes and workplaces across America. It seems as if one cannot go a full day with out hearing someone comment on whether legalizing marijuana is a good or bad thing for America.

Lately one of the angles to press for the legalization of marijuana deals with the taxes it could generate for America and more tax money means more money for the government to use to help strengthen the economy. One can even hear non-potheads agree that the taxes collected from sales of marijuana would be of such an amount that it could actually do some good to bolster the economy. It seems obvious to many that the taxes generated from such a move as legalizing marijuana would be good for out economy, so how can the President not see the obvious?

Apparently there is more to the issue than meets the eye.

What’s involved that is not being recognized?

The first thing people should be made aware of is the fact that Today’s pot is not the same as the Pot of Yesteryear. In the 60s and 70s pot was more natural, true some claimed that the better marijuana was soaked in THC to enhance it’s effects… but the pot that was smoked back then was basically stuff that was grown, chopped up and stuffed into pipes or rolled into joint. This stuff would still get the smoker high enough to enjoy their little nickel and dime bags… but it wasn’t laced (or laced often) with other drugs that could cause real problems – like death. It was a safer pot back then, today’s pot is lace with all sorts of stuff – including a drug called Oxycontin. The aim is to get a ‘better high” despite the costs and if this stuff sends someone to a hospital or morgue… oh well.

Now, before I get 100 people writing me nasty letters in response, I will say that most likely you can still by the ‘cheap crap’ that was sometimes called “Homegrown” or “Green” weed and you can probably still get it fairly cheap too… however the nature of people have not changed that much over the years. Through out the 70s, 80s, and 90s and into the 2000s it was pure nature of people to ‘want the good stuff’. That homegrown stuff and weak stuff is fine for many if that is all they can afford or all they can get, but when you have to smoke twice as much to get the effects you want – most people will try to buy the better stuff that gives them that high they get.

If the U.S. Government legalized pot, they would legalize ‘straight pot”. They would not condone mixing the marijuana with dangerous drugs just to please the citizenry. The legal pot one buys would not be as good as ‘the illegal stuff’. If one buys the legal stuff and does the mixing themselves then if their altering the substance were found out then the legal pot would become illegal.

Additionally the pot being sold as legal would fall under laws akin to Alcohol and Tobacco; odds are anyone under 19 or 21 could not buy the substance legally. This means all of the Grade School, Junior High School, High School and many college students could not buy the substance. This would probably equate to anywhere from 25% to 40% of all pot smokers… leaving only 60% to pay the taxes. This is also assuming that every one who smokes pot buys the legal stuff that is taxable.

Those smoking the marijuana also could not smoke it while driving, they couldn’t smoke it then drive, and no one in the vehicle could smoke it either. You’d probably end up only being allowed to smoke it in your homes or apartments, at certain ‘bars’, and maybe outside in the wide-open spaces. The pot smoker also may not be allowed to smoke it around children. If the law doesn’t explicitly state this, then you might still be prosecuted under some type of child abuse law.

There are many aspects to the legalization of marijuana that most Marijuana Reform Advocates either overlook or they simply do not think about.

My Stance

I feel that Mr. Obama played the “Politician’s Game”. He stopped short of actually saying he opposed the legalization of Marijuana, instead he allowed his Press Secretary to ‘explain’ what he meant. In the future it can be said “Barack didn’t say what Mr. Gibbs said he said” and those saying this will be right. However I also feel that Mr. Obama has made his stance on the issue clear over the past year or so.

Whether Mr. Obama is right, in my opinion, is another issue. I am not so sure whether the legalization of marijuana is ‘good strategy to build our economy’ or not. The tax dollars it generates would help with the economy… and if taxing cigarettes and gasoline or alcohol is good strategy for our economy – then why aren’t taxes received from selling legal marijuana? I feel that Mr. Obama’s words would have more merit if the government didn’t send mixed signals.

“The headlines read these are the worst of times
I do believe its true
I feel so helpless like a boat against the tide
I wish the summer winds could bring back paradise”

Dennis De Young, The Best Of Times
Paradise Theatre, Released January 19, 1981

According to Right.org, the amount of money committed to the bail out stands at $8,439,120,000,000 (almost $8.5 Trillion). Other sources, which includes the media, have stated over the past weeks that it will take over $2 trillion to bail out the banks alone and there is no guarantee that all of the banks will recover. It seems as if every week we hear of another group wanting the U.S. Government to “Bail out” their businesses and corporations. Times, indeed, seem to be ‘the worst of times’, but are we on the right path?

Let me be the first to say that I do not hold a degree in Economics, in fact the only economics expertise I have are a few classes I have taken over the years and my personal dealings with the economy for many years now. I am not an expert by any means, however I am not totally ignorant of how the economy works outside of the classroom and the academic circles either. In other words I am just like millions of other Americans.

Whenever I see those in our Government handing over millions of dollars to the very people who drove their businesses into the position of needing to ask for a bailout – I wonder if that is the wisest choice to make. I fully realize that it is the businesses and corporations out there that ‘create’ jobs and hire our citizens to work so that the citizenry can go out and spend that money to further the wealth of our businesses and corporations so that they can create more jobs and raise salaries for the purpose of keeping the vicious cycle going. Furthermore it is up to us to increase our personal wealth, or blow our money, as we see fit by a variety of methods. I understand all of this, but I don’t understand why there are those who feel that the giving of millions of taxpayer dollars to people who already shown their aptitude for failure. I, like many others, have been taught in the past the basics of economics. I realize that those in the business world create or eliminate jobs which help drive our economy.

These bail-outs are supposed to be loans, not give-away programs. These corporations and government agencies are supposed to use the money wisely and pay back the Federal Government. I am like many others in thinking that the money, i.e. our taxpayer dollars, will not be paid back as many of the experts claim. In the end it will be us, the taxpayer, and our children who will pay the cost — not the business owners and corporate heads.

Think about it, $8.5 Trillion Dollars and counting. That is a lot of money in anyone’s book. What if, instead of going down the path we are going, we decide to give the money to the people who are most responsible for keeping our economy strong — i.e. The People.

I am not against capitalism and I do not believe in ’sharing the wealth’ as many out there have put forth. If a person goes into business, their main reason ought to be to ‘do well’, you may also call this ‘getting rich’. As the person owning the business, they have the right to accumulate as much wealth as they possibly can and I or anyone else do not have the right to demand any more of their money than we earn. I do not begrudge people like Bill Gates for making billions of dollars and having employees barely earning $20,000 a year. If the employee wants a better income then they should strive to improve themselves, not every job is worth the amount of every other job. On the other hand I am of the nature to appreciate those working for me and treat them as well as I realistically can treat them. My belief that every employee deserves a livable wage is a personal view, not something I demand of others.

So let’s think about this. The US Government is committing us to approximately $8.5 Trillion. The US Government has no money other than that which we give it, therefore this is our $8.5 Trillion to give. Now there are about 305 Million people in the US today, of which there are approximately 120 Million to 150 Million taxpayers. Additionally there are approximately 200 million US Citizens age 25 or older in this country and approximately 204 Million over the age of 20. There are approximately 226 Million in this country who are 18 and older.

If we be reasonable and logical, we could agree that not every person who is 18 or over should get a share of any ‘rebate’ or ‘bail-out’. I propose setting 25 as the minimum age for a ‘bail-out’ because at 25 a person is supposed to have reached the age of full maturity, at least that is what Dr. Phil said on last night’s show. So if we assume that there are 200 Million people eligible for a bail-out or rebate, and we use the $8.5 Trillion dollars that we are committed to by the US Government, each share would be approximately $42,500.

What would you do with $42,500 (tax-free)? Remember the idea is to ’stimulate the economy’.

The fact is that most people would probably spend part or all of the money on things they want, I don’t deceive myself into thinking otherwise. They would view the money as a windfall and simply blow it. You or I may not be able to convince these people that they are blowing their money, for they would be firmly entrenched that their ideas of spending are the best thing to do, but they would blow it never-the-less. Some may spend their money on failing internet businesses, others may blow the money in bars or strip clubs, some would spend their money on things they want and not take care of business as they should. However what about the rest of us?

Many would save their money, in whole or in part, putting it away for a time that they may need it. Others would spend the money on bills and home mortgages, hoping to get their expenses in order enough to ride out these tough times. There will be people who will buy things they wouldn’t buy without such an income, but the items would be things that would be useful to them and items that ‘make sense’ to buy. The outcome would be that the economy would be flooded with over $5 Trillion dollars, being spent as ‘the people’ saw fit. The bulk of the money would flow back into the banks, financial institutions, and businesses of all sorts. The Federal, State and Local governments would receive money from taxes on the items bought. More importantly the people would have an amount of money that they actually could make useful, although it’s not enough to solve all of their problems. Businesses would not be faced with having to pay back a loan that many cannot afford, yet with the influx of money they could expand and hire the unemployed.

There are many pitfalls to this idea as well, perhaps far more pitfalls than simply giving the money to the banks and corporations directly. Many people may end up worse off in the end because they mismanage the money given to them and get themselves further in debt. There are pros and cons to everything.

Now the question poised to you all is “If you are given $40,000 (tax-free), how would that help the economy?”

Stupid idea or Genius? I tend to think it’s closer to a stupid idea, however when reading or hearing what everyday people have been saying — this is a pretty close summation to what they are talking about. The idea, now, would be to look at the idea and try to figure out if there is any redeeming qualities to the ideas at all.

Congratulations and Best Wishes are in order for Senator Barack Obama, of Illinois, for winning the 2008 Presidential Election.

I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade, but It should be remembered that this victory is only what the media is calling.  There are still votes to be counted and recounted, not to mention having to wait until the first part of December for the Electoral College to meet to officially give their votes, before the end results are official.  The outcome most likely will not change, but the numbers will change.  Keeping this in mind, let’s move on.

Election Results

I have 2 images to show here, the first one is from CNN:

The total number of votes equals 119,094,280 Votes, with 98% of the Votes cast being for McCain or Obama and 512 Electoral Votes.  A few seconds later I pulled this from Fox:

Notice that the Fox figures from the election are date stamped about 5 hours earlier than the CNN information.  Fox tallies show that 116,044,943 votes were counted, with 99% of the votes cast being for McCain and Obama and no electoral votes shown on this chart.

Now, according to an article on the Washington Post, they said that over 188 people were registered for this election and this was 4/5ths of all those 18 or older in America.  This calculates out to approximately 235 Million people of voting age.  Next, when you do a net search, you can find where the Voter Turn Out is not based on the number of registered users, but rather the number of those who are estimated to be eligible (i.e. voting age).  This means that the voter turn out for this year’s election was 50.68% so far.  When you look at the other figures, you can see where the uncounted votes may only tally to a couple million people at the most.  My question is “Where were the missing 65 to 70 Million voters?“  I will talk more of this later.

Election Results Quirks

One of the things which I found ‘amazing’ was when I went to the NPR site and checked the electoral map on that site, I was checking the stats and found the following oddity… take a good look and see if you see what I see:

Did you see it?  The map proudly states that Michigan had 102% Precincts Reporting.  Now riddle me this: How does any state have 102% precincts reporting?  There can only be 100% or less.  A search on the net about this reveals that on February 5th, 2008 that CSPAN showed that Delaware had 102% of their precincts reporting, but was later changed to 100%.  This seems like more than a mere typo, perhaps it’s more of a problem with the program running these Election Maps making an error.

The Election and the Media Reporting

As I watched the Election Results last night I noticed a few things which should outrage the viewers. The media is the only real place for us to get our news and information and they should report that information in a fair and equal manner.  However on 4 separate networks I’ve noticed that the talking heads and anchors did not properly call the election.  I admit that in most, if not call cases, it didn’t matter a great deal… but it is still a matter of principle.  Today I talked to over a dozen people from around the US and they told me they noted the same, exact things… and not all of these people were Obama or McCain supporters who may have had an agenda.

The problem was that the media was too quick to call states for Obama when they were sluggish as hell in calling states for McCain.  The biggest mistake was with-in minutes after the polls in Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii closed… the states were called for Obama when no votes were in and no precincts reported in.  Many of the people I talked to had no doubt that Obama would win in those states in a big way – but it was the principle of the thing.  What if the votes reached 70% and it was found that the McCain Supporters turned out in force and the Obama Voters decided their vote was not needed, so they stayed home?   The unthinkable could have happened and McCain could have won 1 or more of those states.  It may be a highly improbable scenario, but it is far from impossible.  What would have resulted is that many Obama supporters across the state and nation would have naturally figured that some dirty trick was played because when they went to bed – the news told them Obama won.  The media should have waited.

Similarly there were many states called way too early and/or some called too late.  Arizona, for example, was McCain’s home state and he was 3% or ahead in the polls.  The entire night the count showed McCain with a commanding lead — but the media did not use the same decision making process by calling Arizona early (as they did for Obama).  There was obviously a favoritism played by the media and it could have proved to be disasterous.

On another note Indiana was a state that was a battleground state, but many polls and experts expected McCain to win.  If the media would have called Indiana early, using the same techniques as they did for Obama in many cases, the media would have been shown as wrong.  It appears that Obama took Indiana in the end.  Yet another — Virginia.  McCain controlled Virginia for the longest of times — if one used the same criteria and called that for McCain, they would end up with egg on their faces.

Synopsis

The first point is that “We, the people”, despite our party allegiances and personal agendas, should make it well known to the media that we demand a fair and accurate reporting of the facts and quite working from agendas or trying to impress us over ‘How smart or Important they are!”.  Perhaps the media should make it a practice that no state is called during an election until a minimum of 50% of the precincts report in and they only call the state for a candidate when there is no way the opponent can win. We deserve that much from a group of people who holds themselves up constantly as ‘those in the know” and defenders of our rights to know.   If we want biased reporting then we can listen to Rush Limbaugh or Michael Moore.

As far as the number of Voters are concerned, I asked “Where were the 65 or 70 million missing voters?”   I feel voting is a right and it’s a personal choice as to whether someone votes or not.  This is America, afterall, not England or Australia or the old Soviet Union.  On the other hand I feel that if a person doesn’t vote then they have no right to complain  They had their chance to voice their opinion via the ballot box and passed on it for some reason.  I am not including those with legitimate excuses, I am only talking of those who could have voted but didn’t — whether they were registered or not.

It appears that the big push to get people registered was a massive failure.  These groups did manage to get record numbers of people registered — but what good were they if they didn’t turn out and vote?

The politicians may say they want everyone to register, but they mostly want to see those registering turning up at the polls or sending their ballots in.  They see these numbers and count on most of those registered voting.  It isn’t very fair to run out and register because ‘It’s the thing to do” and then stay at home watching Judge Judy when you ought to be out voting. 65 to 70 Million people would have been enough to even put a third party candidate into office, if enough of them voted for the same person. I won’t even talk about the 40 to 50 million who were eligible to vote but didn’t even register.  I will say, however, that if 40 million people were eligible to vote and didn’t register and then another 60 million refused to vote because they didn’t like either candidate — that is 100 Million people and a force to be reckoned with.

So in summary, I think the election went well over all.  It seemed that there were no major glitches and even the polls seemed to be close enough to make the predictions for the election easy.  There were some problems, but not anything worth casting a bad light on the election over.  So I guess that it’s time to thank Mr. McCain for fighting the good fight and hanging in there, then being the gentleman he is by not trying to make this election drag on longer than necessary.  It’s also time to congratulate Mr. Obama and thank him for a good race.

On the 4th of November, 2008 millions of Americans will cast their ballots to vote for the next President of the United States of America.  Who will win the election? Will it be Obama or McCain?  Although many of us feel sure that we have the answer, the truth is that it will not be until after the votes are counted that we even remotely stand a chance of knowing… and even then it’s up to those in the Electoral College to either go with the popular vote for their state or go against it.

Even though I tend to go with the more conservative candidates, whether they are Republican or a third party… I’ve been saying for months that Obama will win.  It wasn’t a question of whether he would win that was in my mind… it was by how much of a margin.  That’s the tough part.  Will Obama eek by and barely get the Electoral Votes he needs or will he shatter all previous records and win by a landslide?  Well it’s crunch time and after doing my normal study of the election – I will try to give that answer.
First let’s take a look at the base Map.  McCain is in Red, Obama is in Blue.

These picks were made mostly through the polls at RealClearPolitics.com.  I’ve found over the years that it’s a great site to get the poll results for most of the major polls and some of the more important minor ones.  This year I did something different, instead of declaring that a Candidate who is 5% or Less ahead in the polls as a tie… I’ve raised it to 6%.   As you can see this did not help McCain very much in the race, but I think it is still a “Fair Base Map” for it’s only a starting point.  As you can see… Obama already had 264 EV and only needs 6 more to win.

Now I only spot 2 questionable states on this:  New Hampshire and Wisconsin.   New Hampshire is what I call a “Very Minor Questionable State” because the poll numbers far exceeds the 6% mark I set and the people I know from there (who aren’t really pro one way or the other) all say that the “Obama Love Train” is running wild there.  Barack would pretty near have to drop dead to lose in the state. The state of Wisconsin is a “Minor Questionable State” for the poll results have shown Democrats winning there before and the Republican won… however Wisonsin will probably go Democrat this year because the Republicans were not exactly a ’stellar’ group recently.  The bottom line is that I won’t argue with giving the Dems either state, and I probably will be surprised if I am wrong.  As far as the other states are concerned, I think everyone who isn’t blinded by their party allegiences would realize those are ‘No-Brainers” and the Dems will win.  They might not win by the margin the polls show or the Democrats claim, but they will win the states.

I am equally confident that McCain will win the Red States on the Map.  I’ve chosen those in the very same ways I picked the blue states and I really would be surprised if the election results show anything different.

As you can see there are 11 States that are marked for neither candidate, these states are:  Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.  In the past these states have all been known to vote Republican, some also are known to have voted Democrat at one time or another.  It is very possible that McCain could win all of those states, but I deem it unlikely.

The next step was to look at the polls and see who fell in the 5% to 6% range.  I saw 2 states:  Nevada and Colorado.  In the polls both states fall in the 5.5 to 5.8 percent range and both show that Obama is in the lead.  If Nevada is won by Obama then he will only have 269 EV, however if Obama wins Colorado then he has the 270 EV he needs by having a total of 273 Electoral Votes.   It’s essential that McCain wins Colorado or else it’s all over but the crying.

There are other states, besides Colorado, that can win the election for Obama.  An Arizona win will give Obama 274 EV, A Missouri win will give Obama 275 EV, An Indiana win will give Obama 275 EV, A Ohio win will give Obama 284 EV, A Virginia win will give Obama 277 EV, a North Carolina win will give Obama 279 EV, A Georgia Win will give Obama 279 EV and a Florida win will give Obama 291 EV.  The only two states McCain can lose and still win the election is Nevada and Montana… but he can’t lose them both otherwise Obama wins.

I’ve played around with the map and found that McCain’s only hope is to win Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. He can afford to lose in Montana and still win the election.   If McCain manages to win all of the remaining states, except Nevada, then McCain and Obama will tie at 269 EV each.  This event would be as interesting to watch as the 2000 elections, but it would cause people crying over how the government stepped in and chose our leader again.  If Obama was chosen by the government to be president… the Republicans would whine that this was done solely to ‘even the score for 2000′, if McCain won then the Dems would cry over the Republicans cheating again.  It would only serve to tear the country further apart, instead of being used as a model for how our government works when the extreme actually happens.

Now the Obama supporters will love this next map, and the conservatives will probably hate it.

Even though I can take this map and adjust it up to a grand total of 364 votes for Barack, I won’t do it because I don’t think that will happen.  This is probably as high as the EV Count will get… odds are it will probably be closer.

So What’s Your Prediction?

My Prediction is that Barack Obama will win the 2008 Election, I’ve been predicting a Democratic Party win since about June or August of 2007 and I’ve been convinced of it since Barack showed his mastery over Hillary in the early part of 2008.  Hillary gave him a good run, but I never doubted she would end up on the short end of the race.  Obama is a strong candidate, but he has several things going against him.

The first thing is his youth and inexperience, but we are in a country that elected the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.  We probably would have elected Robert Kennedy, if he would not have been assassinated.  America is not afraid of electing the young or inexperienced… we just have to have good cause to do it.

The second thing against Barack is his race.  This shouldn’t be a factor, it’s wrong for it to be a factor, but it is a factor.  There are individuals and groups in America that dread any minority in a position of that much power for some strange reason and they are not opposed to ‘getting out to vote’ against the person in force.

The third thing is Barack’s name and heritage.  The fact is that it doesn’t matter what Barack says, what the records prove, etc.  What matters is the person’s perception of the facts.  These people will also get out and vote to keep Barack from obtaining the oval office.

Then you have more minor groups, such as those who are still upset over Hillary losing or those who never intended to vote Democrat in the first place.  There are plenty of people who will realize that their vote for a third party candidate is simply a wasted vote this year… these people will vote for McCain simply because McCain best fits their ideologies and principles. The election results could very well end up like this:

Or this:

None of this may be enough to stop the Obama Love Train from rolling right on into the White House, in fact I am betting on it.  The question, with me, isn’t over whether Obama will win or not… it’s “By how much will Barack win?”.  After much thought and trying to figure out a close result, the best I can say is that I expect something like this:

Out of all the candidates running, I think Barack Obama and John McCain are the best choices.  It’s not that I particularly like either candidate, but I can certainly see what each has to offer.

Barack is young, he’s personable and he’s intelligent.  The guy is a cross between JFK and Bill Clinton, in my mind, and would probably be a President which foreign leaders and nations like.  The downside is that once Obama gets into the oval office, he’ll find that there are things he will have to do which will not be popular amongst the masses.  It’s the nature of the game, you can’t please everyone all the time.
McCain is experienced, a Vietnam War vet and ex-pow.  John has been in politics for over 20 years.  He knows how to play the game and whether I like the man or not… he always seemed to be a straight shooter.  McCain isn’t bogged down by the politics of his party and never was.  The word Maverick suits McCain just fine.  His downside is that he will also have to do things which he doesn’t really want to do or that everyone will like.

The fact is that no matter who gets into office, they will end up doing things I disagree with and they will do things I agree with.  This is a fact of life and I don’t expect any president to always do things which appeases my sensibilities.  Such is life and it’s something I learned to live with many years ago.

Last year I predicted Hillary will drop out of the race sometime around the end of May or early July.  I have not changed that belief for I’ve seen nothing to indicate otherwise.  It is not the words of Hillary, or her detractors, which will dictate whether she stays in or not… it will be a combination of whether she feels she has a real shot at the oval office and how much pressure the democratic party places on her to quit. That won’t be determined until closer to the Democratic Convention, but for right now I applaud her for not dropping out… she’d be stupid if she did.  It’s very possible that she can derail the Obama Love Train and assume the helm of the Democratic Presidential candidate.  We shall have to wait and see for time will tell.