Let the best man win,!?

Finally - Some raw truth.
Recently, Our President gave his State of The Union Address. I have a confession to make, I did not watch it. I am less about what someone says they will do and more about what they actually do, so speeches don't impress me.
What has impressed me is that a certain conservative show host has come out with some real truth for a change. While filing in on another show as guest host, he said: "If I were giving the State of ther Union address, here is what I would have said; I will cut medicare, I will cut medicid, I will cut Unemployment benefits, I will cut welfare, I will cut money to schools." Finally the true concervative position has come out. All to often, conservatives are ready to preach smaller government and less taxes, but when questioned for details, they wont say things like medicare and medicaid are on the chopping block. They like to say they are reforming these programs. (Side Bar: Medical savings plans have been around for 20+ years, and are still the first thing you hear about from conservative touting reform.)
So, I know what your thinking. If your conservative your saying, "Whats wrong with that?" and if your Liberal your saying, "Unbelievable." Well, quite frankly, nothing is wrong with that if your being honest about it. If your being honest, and  all of these things are being cut, do you really believe our taxes will go down because we have smaller government? Well lets take a look at some facts. Lets cut medicaid and medicare. What is the net result. Do all of these people who lost access to medical assistance just go away. Well, in a way yes,most of them are older, so they die quicker than if they had insurance. But before that, they flood the hospital emergency rooms when its to late and after they could have been helped with less expense. They are treated for free until they die. The hospital is left with unpaid medical bills, which they promptly pass on to you and I in medical costs. If we have insurance the rates go through the roof, rapidly become unaffordable, we lose our insurance and well, you already read what happens to those without insurance. Then the average life expectancy goes down. Do you know what the life expectancy was before available healthcare? Then because we all do not have health insurance, we are all sick more often, miss work, and guess what? We lose our job. But don't worry, there is unemployment and welfare to help until you get back on your feet. O wait, no there is'nt. Your house or apartment is gone, you  and your kids are out on the street in a cardboard box. "But wait a minute Dan, your being rediculous, that would never happen. We dont mean, that none of these programs would exist, we just don't want the Federal Governmant doing them." Ok fair enough. If the Federal government is not doing them, but they still exist, where does the money come from? The state? If so what has changed. Your federal government is smaller, and lets assume for a moment that federal taxes go down. Then the state picks up the tab to help its residents, because this is constitutionally the way things should be,  right? But have your taxes gone down? NO! there just going to the state instead of the federal Government. Now, because the state has a smaller reach, less people are available to help pay for these programs and in reallity, we all pay more for taxes, as long as we don't believe we should just let everyone who needs a helping hand die in the street.
But, wait Dan, I think what should really be cut is assistance to states for roads and infastructure. Let the states handle there own infastructure according to what the people want, and get the federal government out of things like that." Ok, lets just put aside, for a minute that the interstate system was put together for national security. A way to move our military around the US. So, the federal government is out and the state is in. Federal taxes go down. Great, mission accomplished, right? Wait a minite, we all still drive cars, and we no longer work close to home, we have become a commuting society, so we need to drive, therefore we need roads. The state has to come up with this money somewhere, so where? You guessed it, You and me. Either we are taxed directly for roads, we are taxed indirectly in things like gas taxes, which raise fuel to prices to 5.00+ dollars per gallon, the economy crashes again, because, remember, we learned that $4.50 per gallon gas prices was the tipping point. The economy colapses, no one can afford to drive. Jobs disappear and, wait a minute.... I see it now. Gas costs to pay for roads goes up, the economy crashes, we all lose our jobs, and walla... we dont need roads because we dont have a job to go to, or money to buy anything.so we dont have a car to drive. We dont have a home and will Die pretty soon anyway...Perfect! And to think, I didnt think the conservatives had a plan.
Now, let me be clear, I am neither for completely free healthcare for everyone, unless everyone is being taxed appropriately to make the system work properly, not the way most government programs work. And I am also not for everyone for themselves, let the best man win (Loser die in the street)healthcare system. My first action if it were up to me would be to require each action a healthcare facility, doctor, hospital, or physician charges to be clearly posted, much like a resterant menu. Then the true meaning of concervative can take hold and honest competition can begin to form. People can then choose their doctor or hospital based on cost. In order for this to work, we would also need an ingredient list of sorts for our healthcare, aftwerall we all know what goes into a Big Mac,,,mostly. A description of exactly what is covered under a certain procedure, where does one procedure end and another come in, and a plain english bill for services, so we can easily determine cost. Then, a reasonable government healthcare program based off of these ingredients, and available to those who are most needy and open to anyone else at a prorated rate based on income. Insurance companies would need to operate the same way and all programs, including the government offers would  need to be self sufficient.
Now doesnt that sould just a little more reasonable that cut, cut cut, cut. Yes, there is some government regulation, which concervatives hate, but with moderation only.
This is the greatest nation in the world, lets start acting like it.

Hybrid Country

Whenever there is one party in power in our government you will inevitably hear someone from the other party say "we are headed for disater, If we don't get the current administration out of power their policies will destroy this country." These comments to me seem to be directlt contridictory to what our founding fathers set up for us as a government. If you really think about it, our government is set up to prevent that very scenario.
One of the most treasured constitutional right we have is our freedom of speach. Each individual person is entitled to their opinion. Now, if we need unity and agreement for this country to work, then it would seem we are doomed. You cannot have unity and differences in opinion at the same time, or can you?
I had a very interesting example of unity vs disunity presented to me today. Lets say for instance you have two people and you find that when those two people meet and talk, you find that they both have the same smartphone. Well, you would then be able to conclude that these people are united - correct?. They have the same phone, therefore they are united. But then, when you look a little further, you find that when you check the contacts and apps on each phone they are very different, in fact one person could not function with the others phone. There lives would be in turmoil until the could change the phone to contain the information they need to function. So then they must not be unified correct?
I say to you that unification is not dependent upon people acting and thinking the same way. Probobly one of the biggest issuers I have with the concervative view, is not their beliefs at all, but the need to call all other views lies. They claim all who disagree with them are unpatriotic, people with liberal opinions hate america. I say to you nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the policies of the current administration which are very liberal and impose a larger amount of taxes on the american people to pay for government programs, and the policies of the concervatives who wish for less taxes, smaller government and free markets are unified. Both partiers have a common ground in patriatisum. Yes, the apps and contacts are different, but both parties begin with the same smartphone, The United States of America. Both parties have the same phone, they just have different apps. Both parties  are doing what they believe is in the countries best interest, they just have different opinions on how to achieve the american dream.
The problem is not in the idea that we have different opinions. The problem comes when one opinion feels the other opinion is wrong and must comply with what they believe in order to be a patriotic american.
Do you remember when Toyota created the Prius. For most of us, this was the first time wer had ever heard the term Hybrid, however, we have been living in a hybrid society (The only one of its kind) for more than two centries. At times, this country will need to run on a smaller, less intrusive form of direction, which conserves money and power and still keeps us moving forward, while at other times, we will need to move faster, or need more power to keep our country moving forward. A unique form of republic government, where the people periodically vote on which type of government we need based on the current conditions of our country. If we lose either one of these driving forces, we lose the ability to have the american people chose their government. We lose our fundamental right to speak, have an individual opinion, and the choice for the direction of our country.
A vote for one type of government over another is NEVER a moritorium to dispense with the type of government currently facing defeat at the poles. The current climate simply didcates a change. The climate will change again and we will need the other form of governmental patriatism. To think otherwise is to say we do not need opinions. We are fine with one trane of thought, all the time.
Nothing could be further from what the founding fathers setup for the United States of America.