Does the healthcare debate teach us about economics?

Or is this more of a civics lesson?

I start by reminding myself that this is not a political blog - and yet, I have to admit to varying degrees of upset and frustration as I see the current Congress and Administration move us rapidly down a disastrous road.

To concentrate on one aspect of this disturbing push, the "debate" over the health care system provides a lesson that we do not have to glean from history; we can watch it and experience it in person.

Economics: one side claims they will reduce health care costs, cover more people, and improve services; the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office claims the plan will actually cost over a trillion dollars; the opposing side claims the cost will be much higher than that, or else rationing will be necessary. Can we know the truth?

The history of our own country could be a guide. Ask your student to research the debate over Medicare and Medicaid. Both were touted as cures to the problems of our health care system. Compare the cost estimates generated by their proponents in Congress, the estimates of cost generated by the CBO, and the actual costs. For a more advanced economic comparison, consider that Medicare and Medicaid underpay hospitals and doctors, who then shift those costs onto patients covered by private insurance. What does Medicare/Medicaid really cost?

Now jump forward, and apply the factor by which Medicare/Medicaid costs were underestimated to the current cost estimates for the plans being proposed by Congress and the administration. How much will this experiment cost? And, considering there will be no private insurers to shift the costs onto, how much revenue will have to be raised (through increased taxes) to pay for this new system?

Wait a minute (I hear you say) - the President and Congress have said that private insurance will still be allowed. But.. let us shift to a civics lesson now. How do politicians assure you that you will have what you want, while they take it away from you? This editorial in Investors Business Daily (highly recommended, by the way, for any students who are of an age to begin investing [and yes, I admit that my girls watch the financial channel with me, and have more than a nodding acquaintance with the stock markets even though they are not yet out of grade school]) is an excellent lesson in the duplicitous nature of the political beast.

More civics: what happens to a government when there are no longer checks and balances? When the Congress and the Executive are in lock step with each other, and the party in control has a majority of sufficient size to block dissension, where are the checks and balances?

The Judicial is supposed to be the final check, but is the nationalization of a portion of our economy unconstitutional? If there is a chance for court intervention, would any particular citizen have standing before the court? OK, this may be getting into questions most homeschoolers will not be able to answer, because I think scholars will be divided on the answer. It makes for an interesting thought experiment, though.

Ah, but the final check and balance comes from the so-called Fourth Estate. No, not the conventional press, as few in the legacy media seem to have an interest in providing detail in this debate. Yes, they publish the press releases and cover the media events, and perhaps add a little editorial comment disguised as news, but have they provided us with a look at how these proposals work in other countries? Surprisingly, no! However, there are those enterprising folks in the so-called New Media who have. Take this young fellow, who was raised in Canada and has friends in Canada. He has given us a patient's-eye view of the Canadian system:



An entertaining look. For a more general look, taken from various British publications, try this list of links. Harry Erwin's "Letters from England" cover a variety of topics, but he often has reports on the British health care system. This is from a Google search of Jerry Pournelle's blog - another site with some tremendous information on it.

So, we have a lesson for our students. A lesson in looking beyond the speeches, diving deeper than the press releases, ferreting out the lies and distortions. A lesson in using the resources that are now easily available through the Web, and a lesson in critical thinking. And the lesson for the home school teacher? Perhaps for most a reinforcement than a lesson; we can provide our children with mental tools, with critical skills, that the public schools (and many private schools) will not encourage or develop in their students - much to the detriment of our society and our culture.

Physics and Astronomy Symbols

A very cool link to a project of the University of Nottingham called Sixty Symbols. Clicking on a symbol will give you an explanation of the symbol, and a professorial explanation of why the symbol and what it represents is important.

Revolution

For older students, the story of the Iranian election and the protests following may be fascinating. Living as we do in a country founded by revolution, one may try to find parallels here. For instance, an aspect seldom considered is the economic consequence of these protests. We see people marching in the streets (even though little information is allowed out of the country right now), we consider the personal risk taken by the marchers, but how often do we consider what this does to the economic structure of the country? This may inspire students of history to dig a little deeper into the economic consequences of the American revolution. Of course, the economies of early America and of modern Iran are vastly different; still, the impact of the revolution went well beyond what the fighting men experienced.

It may be that nothing in Iran will change. It may be that we are witnessing history in the making.

I cannot help but root for anyone fighting for liberty, and I wish these protesters success. This link is to a YouTube video highlighting some scenes from the Iranian protests underway. The soundtrack is great, and the scenes stirring. However, I did not embed the video because some of the scenes are bloody. Use your discretion in following the link.

Makeshift Car Repair

Had a radiator hose blow out on my old Land Cruiser (not pictured below). Funny how far duct tape can get you as an emergency repair.

I think that's why this image called out to me. Loose your roof on a Florida vacation? No problem! Thatch a roof from palm fronds.

Plus, you have to love the way this dog rode for the whole trip. Uber cool!

Click the image for the full size photo from Shorpy - a great historical photography site.

First picture of the Earth from the Moon

For space fans (and most kids are fascinated by space) this is a cool look back in time - well, a relatively short time for some of us. This is the first image of the Earth taken from a lunar orbit. If I recall, the image was sent using technology similar to that used by fax machines - you can see the lines left from the printer.

This is from Nasa's web site, which provides details about the image and links to much larger images.

Flying with the Supremes

Well, one, at least. This is a nice story about two kids meeting a Supreme Court Justice while flying coach. Hey, do you think he would speak at our graduation? Nah... well, yeah!

By the way, the story is great - the rude and sometimes racist comments that accompany the story are not fit for young ones. I wish NBC did a better job of filtering such comments.

Entrepreneurial Kids

Kids seem interested in business. Whether spending part of the day with Mom at her job, learning how to work in a larger company, or wanting to help Dad with his small business, kids are interested in business.

My oldest has been hounding me to help her start a business. Not yet eleven years old, I suspect that the business will be more work for Dad than for her. Yet, I want to cultivate that desire to work, to earn, to succeed.

I have not yet fully explored this site, but it seems interesting. As I am able to explore it further, and possibly get my tweenager involved, I will report results.

Funny story - My oldest loves to dance, and told us she'd like to work at the dance studio. Of course we encouraged her - nice way to earn your way through college! That's when our youngest popped up and said "I want to own the studio!" Bless her little pea-pickin' heart (name that entertainer).