The World is a Village

I have been overseas almost too many time to remember and I am amazed at the ways Americans still try to insulate themselves from the world. The USA has the largest and most healthy economy in the history of the planet. Our people are the richest and most blessed people ever to populate the world and we dominate every dimension of economics, education and creativity in the world.

Despite these facts I hear people continually bad mouth America and the opportunities it offers for us to succeed. We are at the beginning of the silly season called "the election cycle" in American politics so I know that crazy ideas intended to scare us are mouthed hypocritical and callous candidates every day. I am not shocked that many Americans are confused about the realities of our nation. However, even in the midst of all the political exaggerations, lies, rumors and nutty ideas one would expect the public to know a few basic truths about how things work.

I partly blame what we call "news reporters". I am not upset or surprised that many reporters have long ago thrown away any pretence of objectivity when discussing issues. Let's face it, what is called "the new school of journalism" has decided to place editorial comments into the middle of every "news report".

I do not mind that for I can smell the partisanship coming through and reject it. However, what I do detest is the ignorance of the media figure heads. Is there no reporter that understands Economics 101? Is there no media person that understands how capitalism and the free market operate? Have every single media talking head in the United States of America forgotten what harm Socialism did to Russia, Europe and the Eastern Bloc to say nothing of Cuba?

The review of Michael Moore's film, Sicko has a lot to commend it for the health care system in the USA is wobbly. The insurance system is set up to punish doctors and other health care workers as well as patients and to grossly reward the heads of insurance companies. Humana recently cut reimbursements over 20% while paying its President $15 Million Dollars. Al Capone could have learned from these guys.

But Sicko implies that health care in England and Europe is "free". No good or service anywhere on the planet is free . Now here is a place where any reporter that stayed awake in Econ 101 could do a great service to the readers or viewers. They could say, "How do you reckon that a service that costs patients a major part of their total income in taxes is free?" But the reporters lap up Moore's Cool Aid as if basic Economic principles had been made obsolete.

As a Christian citizen I try to stay alert to current events and educate myself about the principles that govern our universe. Economics has such principles and I do my best to understand those that are basic to life.

Scripture says that "God will not give us a big job until we prove we can handle a small job. Many of the current politicians obviously have never really done anything practical in their lives except go to school and play politics so how can they govern the nation?