tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post5763400840499138668..comments2023-09-28T07:08:53.618-04:00Comments on The Harvey Journal: Woodstock, Health Care and the New Silent MajorityHarold Michael Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06827668947854084930noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-37563222669809856472009-08-27T18:39:11.208-04:002009-08-27T18:39:11.208-04:00We agree that the health care system needs to be r...We agree that the health care system needs to be reformed. We disagree on what has caused the problems and how we should solve them. Insurance companies are a problem, but not the entire problem. <br /><br />First, government regulations that prevent the purchase of health care across state lines have stifled completion. Adding a government option will not increase competition. It will add yet another monopoly in the insurance business that will hinder competition. If Mr. Obama was serious about increasing competition, he would make it easier for the consumer to shop across state lines and find an insurance plan that meets their needs.<br /><br />Second, government spending on health care has increased and private spending has decreased for the past three decades. I believe the increase in third-party payments has contributed to the rising cost of health care. When the government picks up the tab, demand increases. Thus the costs of what needs to be produced, or to put it another way, the costs of what is demanded increases. Having the government pick up more of the tab is not going to lower health care costs.<br /><br />Third, the government give individuals the same tax incentives that employers get to provide health care.<br /><br />Fourth, the government needs to stop telling insurance companies what they must cover.<br /><br />Fifth, any discussion of health care reform must include tort reform. <br /><br />I’ll stop here. There are plenty of factors that have contributed to the current situation in health care. I won't name all of them here. We need less government involvement and more consumer driven reforms. The situation will improve when the government gets out of the way.Joseph (@oldsoul85)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-15710840419258468332009-08-25T19:09:54.357-04:002009-08-25T19:09:54.357-04:00I love the way you describe life in America at var...I love the way you describe life in America at various times. And you toss in an opinion about modern times so smoothly I always manage to understand the link. History is so key to understanding our mistakes and trying not to repeat them. Thanks for another great story.Juanitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02020833914918234943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-61746275185723249122009-08-19T08:36:50.351-04:002009-08-19T08:36:50.351-04:00Fantastic article! I was at Woodstock...as the sto...Fantastic article! I was at Woodstock...as the story goes: I went up to Woodstock, NY that Friday with some friends who did not want to go to Sag Harbor, again. A friend named Sylvia had met this guy (a black state trooper) invited us all up to his place in Woodstock because she did not want to go that far alone. So the 5 of us, 2guys and 2girls, and Sylvia headed to Woodstock. We had no idea that weekend would be that big. It got late so we booked into a cheap motel then went out to some of the local bars to eat, drink, and be merry. We were high and cool but got into the folk singing and good times.We tried to leave on Saturday but the traffic and the rain was just too much so we stayed until Sunday morning and snaked our way out of Woodstock never going to the concerts.<br /><br />Anyway you brought back some memories.<br /><br />WillisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-44945882300175395982009-08-17T10:54:56.319-04:002009-08-17T10:54:56.319-04:00Dr. Harvey,
Very well articulated! Talk to ...Dr. Harvey,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Very well articulated! Talk to you soon!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Nickalus T. HoltAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-78588610983317932562009-08-17T05:03:29.124-04:002009-08-17T05:03:29.124-04:00I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. The histor...I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. The historical content was particularly stimulating. <br /><br />When it comes to the health care debate, it seems that more people are yelling than listening. Few seem willing to understand. What are people really afraid of? The truth rarely has an opportunity to speak through so much noise. <br /><br />I look forward to reading your upcoming book. Thanks for sharing.jacquelinehttp://myideas1.podbean.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-17047541631487273242009-08-17T00:18:01.535-04:002009-08-17T00:18:01.535-04:00Hope to read your novel and we do have that in com...Hope to read your novel and we do have that in common. For it is my hope that someday I will be publish with my own work of literature. Read your blog and you have inspire me to start one myself. You are an amazing individual, just keep up the good work. <br /><br />Peace to you, Richard P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-85656762582475928722009-08-16T21:14:17.699-04:002009-08-16T21:14:17.699-04:00Wonderful piece your article is both enjoyable and...Wonderful piece your article is both enjoyable and informative.<br /><br />H. Lewis SmithAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-20091682291216503212009-08-16T20:17:57.353-04:002009-08-16T20:17:57.353-04:00Michael I read your blog...it is good...very good....Michael I read your blog...it is good...very good.<br /><br />Have you ever thought of running for office?<br /><br />We need some honest down to earth people like YOU guiding this country. <br /><br />LoriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-74195289510622108592009-08-16T20:11:23.483-04:002009-08-16T20:11:23.483-04:00Hi Michael, I just finished reading your blog, and...Hi Michael, I just finished reading your blog, and it was very interesting. It seems to me that now that the baby boomers are on the edge of retiring and they are feeling a bit panicky about what will happen to medicare and social security as the warnings that the funding will run out rings louder in their ears. It's an interesting shift how the children of woodstock are now sharing the same concerns their parents did twenty to thirty years ago.<br /><br />Congrats on getting your novel published, I would very much be interested in reading it. <br /><br />BethAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-70584995862756550272009-08-16T20:02:03.957-04:002009-08-16T20:02:03.957-04:00I read your article and thought it was well done, ...I read your article and thought it was well done, informative, and memory provoking. Such a long time ago and so much has happened since. Health care has many problems that need fixing, but helping one person should not harm another. I want them to get it right the first time, so to speak, so we don't get into a worse mess. (You might want to read my essay on Associated Content.com - "Wisdom Behind the Wrinkled Brow".<br /><br />You have quite an impressive profile and your voice needs to be heard.<br /><br />MarieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-10925336500434147942009-08-16T19:48:59.825-04:002009-08-16T19:48:59.825-04:00Thanks Publican for adding to this discussion.Thanks Publican for adding to this discussion.Harold Michael Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827668947854084930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-24293332674760366592009-08-16T19:31:25.897-04:002009-08-16T19:31:25.897-04:00"His idea is to create competition for the in..."His idea is to create competition for the insurance companies in order to encourage them to lower their costs to protect their business interest. "<br /><br />How does one do that without lowering prices of medicine, hospitals and doctors?<br /><br />How does one do that with a reform which include tort reform that raises the prices of all of this. We have high prices in part because of risks of tort and punitive damage. If there were limits on this; we might get a handle on the prices of health care and possibly come to some solutions. <br /><br />I don't hear of this being a consideration; of course lawyers (of which most politicians are) don't want us to talk about their adding to the cost of health care.Publicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01972703021752301559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-23883970453250391822009-08-16T17:04:56.826-04:002009-08-16T17:04:56.826-04:00Brian, you make a good point. Thanks for contribut...Brian, you make a good point. Thanks for contributing to this discussion. Hope to see more of you on The Harvey Journal.Harold Michael Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827668947854084930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-86115984634159982522009-08-16T16:46:52.485-04:002009-08-16T16:46:52.485-04:00Good an insightful article, maybe the Woodstock ge...Good an insightful article, maybe the Woodstock generation lost themselves over the years a bit when it comes to health care? Instead of hope there is fear and perhaps the Woodstock gen are a little more like their parents than they first imagined. This doesn't apply to all Woodstockers but when you lose a dream and become a skeptic then a person really has lost themselves.<br /><br />Just a thought.Brian Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07444087311921689141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-4164072115640764522009-08-16T14:05:20.891-04:002009-08-16T14:05:20.891-04:00Thanks for your observations.Thanks for your observations.Harold Michael Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827668947854084930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-13129633093921243842009-08-16T13:36:15.673-04:002009-08-16T13:36:15.673-04:00What an exploratory account of the human psyche, j...What an exploratory account of the human psyche, juxtaposed against social mores, readiness of the times, cyclic events that shape our modes of thinking. You touch on a triad of things that all go against an expected grain,creating somewhat of a paradox when the dust settles. I'd like to think of life not compartmentalized into closed systems without clear boundaries of points of inception. Instead, I think of life as a systematic neural line of events that gains or loses its efficacy based on barriers to thinking. If we look at life in its simplest form as in a molecular manner, thoughts, motivations, milestones, etc, all emerge from a periphery, that is tantamount to a concentric circle. The Rhetorical question is: To What ring do you belong? Where lies your loyalty. <br /><br />Great Article and marvelous critical thinking.<br /><br />Brad Bechler<br />Author, "When Will The Sky Fall?<br /><br />www.bradbecler.comThe Baker Advisorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18376842897687955172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-50568195698932483642009-08-16T11:38:44.177-04:002009-08-16T11:38:44.177-04:00HG200, I go by Michael.
Thanks for the informat...HG200, I go by Michael. <br /><br />Thanks for the information. This piece sought to give explanation to a generation as it was perceived at inception of the Woodstock nation. <br /><br />With that said, your point is well taken.Harold Michael Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827668947854084930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6088668303817033033.post-47404334011688061102009-08-16T11:12:42.727-04:002009-08-16T11:12:42.727-04:00Interesting blog, Harold, but it’s missing an impo...Interesting blog, Harold, but it’s missing an important part of the equation: Generation Jones (born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X). Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009.<br /><br />It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. Many experts now believe it breaks down this way:<br /><br />DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964<br />Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953<br />Generation Jones: 1954-1965<br />Generation X: 1966-1978<br /><br />Here is an op-ed about GenJones as the new generation of leadership in USA TODAY: <br />http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090127/column27_st.art.htm<br /><br />Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones:<br />http://generationjones.com/2009latest.htmlHG200noreply@blogger.com