Republicans Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin

There are those in the Republican party who are pushing Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the future leaders of the Republican party.  Television journalists have picked up on this and are now given both a lot of coverage. President-elect Obama's election and the democrats addition of seats in the House and Senate in this months election have the republican party in a tizzy.

 

Governor Jindal has been in office for less than a year so as of this date he does not really have a record to run on.  Nor has it been established yet that he has good judgement, an important element in governing.  In fact he has been out of state a lot campaigning for McCain and in state for John Kennedy who ran against Mary Landrieu and her senate seat.  Jindal talks a good game but his ideology is like other Republicans who put themselves on a pedestal and look down on everyone else who does not share their ideology.

 

Jindal's administration after taking office passed a ethic reform bill that most people think has no teeth.  While preaching ethic during his campaign for governor, his own campaign had to pay a fine for violating the ethic laws.  Jindal's leaders in the Louisiana legislature passed a bill giving lawmakers a big fat pay raise and then Jindal said he would not step in. When public pressure got so great he finally vetoed the bill.

 

Governor Palin during the presidential campaign showed she is a typical republican who's method of campaigning is to personally attack her opponents instead of telling the people what shestands for and what her policies would be.  She wanted to identify with the soccer moms and create an identify as a good old girl with a wink and a smile.  National candidates should identify with the nation but Palin continued to divide the people.  Remember her comment about the real America.

 

She is now bashing those who said she was a drag on the Republican ticket.  The people had it right, she and McCain just had nothing to offer.  If Jindal and Palin represent the best the Republican party can offer as future leaders of the party they will continue to be a turn off.

The Cost Of Seniors Health Care And Other Medical Costs

Healthday News in an article published in the New Orleans Times Picayune of 11-23-08 reported the following.  Researchers who analyzed Medical and National Health Interview Survey data reported the cost of medical and productivity for 2007 among Americans 65 years and older was $196 Billion.  This covered six major illnesses examined in the study:  Chronic Lung disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia and gastrointestinal illness.  The cost in 2000 was $135 billion.

 

Ischemic heart disease was the most expensive at $60 billion.  These cost are expected to go up as people live longer.  I have commented before about this problem and how common sense can reduce this ever increasing cost burden on our people and the country.  Another report in the September/October 2008 issue of WebMD magazine points out the cost of allergies medication cost $5.7 billion annually while visits to doctors cost $300 million for office visits. 

 

The answer is prevention and education that people can easily do and obtain to reduce their dependence on prescription drugs and medical cost.  Most seniors belong to HMO's and many provide free membership at fitness centers that provide regular exercise work outs, cardiac exercise and other information on how to take care of ones health.  It is known that some forms of high blood pressure and diabetes can be controlled with out medication with the proper diet and exercise.  Other health problems can be helped in the same way.

 

Cities, states and the federal government should have as a priority programs to educate the people what can be done to better take care of their health and reduce their medical cost.  This should be done on a regular sustained basis and people should be urged to be a part of prevention at an early age.  Governments can do this through advertising, the inter net, literature, public announcements and other avenues that would not be costly to governments.

 

Prevention is the vehicle that will not only lower medical cost for the individual and government, it will also lead to a more active and healthy life style for the people.  The alternative is the price we are now paying with no end in sight.  There is no government or individual who can afford to pay for future health cost at the increases we have seen in the last 10 years.  Prevention and a good physical fitness program will allow the people to take charge and control their own health and medical cost.

Reality And Fact: The Missing Link

There is a difference between reality and fact.  It is the common thread that is missing in the Republican ideology of  "trickle down economics" and corporate American's selfish version of wealth building.

 

Bush's tax cut favored the wealthy in the "trickle down" fashion like past republican Presidents.  The same can be said of their ideology of non governmental regulation.  They tried to sell this worn out approach as reality even though the facts have proved them wrong in the past and again even now.

 

Corporate America has the same problem with a different twist.  They like the big tax breaks and loopholes in the tax code and say they need that to compete and create jobs.  They too pass that off as reality but the facts say it does not work except to make their CEO's wealthier.  They never talk about the facts even when they are appearing before congress about the economic meltdown.  They still deny any responsibility. 

 

For to long, the people have disregarded the facts.  Republicans have been saying for 30 years that democrats are the big spenders and will raise the people's taxes.  That is their reality but the facts are it is the republicans who are the big spenders and get into the average Americans pocket in a hundred different ways.  This administration has proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 

It is time the people make themselves understand the facts and put this knowledge to good use.   Remember, it is those who try to pass off reality for fact that live a fairytale.  Those who understand facts will make a difference.