national issues,important issues,American economy,homeland security,top opinion

7/24/2010

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

Dear Media Friends,

Most of the job growth is inherently related to the “housing”/“construction industry”, which is directly and indirectly related to about 75% of the national economic life. Most of this segment of the economy is populated by small businesses which generates about 70% to 75% jobs in the United States, which emphasizes the importance of “housing”/ “construction industry” for the national economy.

But, so far, we have failed to rejuvenate the job growth with the measures we have taken. Despite having all the success history, affluence, largest population of PhDs, know how, resources, and the Will, we seem to be going in circles without solving the “job” problem. Lack of appropriate action is speeding us toward recession each and every day. And each day of inaction will cause us at least 10 days in the recovery time, because this sluggish economy is wiping out the economic life cycle of millions of Americans. Even if the economy picks up in a couple of years, millions of Americans will be out of economic stream for good. Their earning cycle would be over. Appropriate inaction is literally killing millions of Americans slowly and prematurely, which will also make some much needed “skills” disappear. In spite of job gains, we are still losing jobs due to belt-tightening, business closings, doom and gloom, and layoffs at the expense of outsourcing.

For the past several years (since 2007) when the economy took a downturn, we have been needing people with street level business experience, economic common sense, skills, guts, initiative, will and the know how to get the job done in a short time, and who can relate to the people and their specific problems to rejuvenate the sluggish economy. But, instead, we seem to have been circling the issues without solutions.

President Obama has been able to accomplish a lot within a short time, and he is, no doubt, working very hard to achieve all the things he promised Americans. His accomplishments, so far, are commendable. The current crisis requires almost dictatorial approach for taking remedial measures to bypass the hurdles posed by the political and vested interest groups.

Economy needs to be stimulated with: incentives, stimulating measures, expertise, bold and dedicated actions, taking industrial protective measures, initiating construction projects, protecting the property owners, inspiration, atmosphere for investment, etc and, at the same time, the Governmental expenditures need to be minimized.

Bringing majority of troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and even some from Korea will accomplish most of these objectives simultaneously. It will stop the needless loss of life, physical disability, and lifelong psychiatric problems, and while at home soil these troops will be contributing to the local economies as consumers. Bringing most of the troops back will definitely affect the local economies of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea, military contractors, and many others, but the benefits will be numerous. The recipients of U.S military aid and financial assistance will do anything to keep Americans from leaving their countries. For this reason or may be other, the current wars are likely to travel to other countries before or immediately after the troop withdrawal starts. We have major economic crisis at home, which requires total focus and resources immediately. We need to get back home. To continuously sustain our military superiority and excellence, we need a healthy economy and an unexhausted military. The current war funding should be diverted to projects at home where it is urgently needed.

Allocation of federal, state, county, and city land should be frozen until all the available housing inventory is used up thereby improving the real estate values nationwide; Housing Authority/Section 8 assistance recipients and other recipients of public money should be coached and made to accept and live within the minimum and essential accommodation and financial assistance, which will help spread the available funding among more people needing help.

Would be single moms and first time single moms should be coached aggressively….Child support should also be looked in to for savings. Also, grants, and disability area need to be looked in to because billions of dollars can be saved yearly through efficient management. There are many other measures beside these few.

Is it politics that is causing so much delay in overcoming the economic upheaval, or something else? The solutions have been there but it seems hard to implement them, primarily due to politics and too much intellectualism. If the ‘demand” for the home financing had been sustained and later rejuvenated, “mortgage loans” would have found and closed them, either from domestic sources or foreign. The loan seekers were still healthy and would have remained healthy and eligible for loan approvals. Today the loan seekers are starved because of lack of jobs or loss of business, and are not a good risk for the bankers. Most of the bailout money should have been diverted to construction/housing industry which relates to majority of jobs in America. Everything depends on “jobs” which is the storefront of a healthy economy and the stimulation of which may require dictatorial powers because our current and much loved system doesn’t seem to be producing the desired outcomes.

Warmest regards,

Prem Bhandari

www.PremBhandari.com

Hopefully, President Obama will bring our troops back just as soon as it is possible. Protection, if any, is needed here in the United States. Besides, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining America of borrowed money, and creating havoc in American lifestyle. Money currently being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan should be diverted to salvage the U.S economy from the recession which is causing huge unemployment, foreclosures, business closings, and unspecified misery. These funds should be spent on creating jobs through various domestic infra-structure projects, housing industry, small business, environment, alternate energy source development, revival of lost industrial base, etc.

It is probable that the bombings and killings in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will become minimum just as soon as our troops return, the US spending and aid in those countries are minimized, and the nuclear arsenal in Pakistan is under US lock and key. Who knows if all these elements in the war theater are inter dependent and feeding each other.

President Obama may choose to do something to restrict the size of very large business enterprises, their sphere of activity, and their direct or indirect influence, which will encourage and stimulate competition within similar business arena. Large corporations tend to monopolize the marketplace by completely suffocating, may be unintentionally, the smaller business entities and also sprawling to other business arenas where they were not before. At present, a few large corporations, including their subsidiaries and sister companies, control or influence most of American economy. Major financial corporations are no exception to this unbalanced economic structure which does not serve Americans or anyone else in the world. Major corporations have economic power here in the USA and overseas, which exerts extreme influence on our foreign policy, commerce, technology, military might and its application.

American printed and online media should voluntarily reserve a small spot on the front page of their publications for “U.S.A is a nation of all ethnicities, races, skin colors, and faiths”. This will help fellow Americans living in small towns, less developed areas, and remote and sparsely populated regions to stay in touch with the current issues, developments, and reality.

While keeping up with the currently reported Environmental Disaster in the US Gulf, journalists and talk show hosts may wish to call British Petroleum instead of BP, which is more revealing and registering. We need to address all environmental disasters as many times as possible, because this will alert those who either have not been found out as yet, or are very close to committing a similar blunder.

Establishing Consumer Protection Agency, instituting Financial Reforms, establishing industry-wise Corporate Size, including all Americans in a National Healthcare Plan (private or government funded), welcoming and extending kindness toward immigrants from Latin America upon whose hard labor most of us depend, compelling importers to direct at least 25% of their purchases to authentic American sources, in America, offering almost 100% American products within 30 days,

President Obama may have to eliminate a lot of programs and grants, duplications, cut salaries and benefits which in some cases are exorbitant, consider taxing the profits earned by Non Profit Organizations, taxing the Trusts created to divert taxable funds, significantly increase the number of years to qualify for pension (congressmen, police, teachers, etc.), trim down the pension amounts to fall in line with the rest of the country, consider Flat Tax of 10% - 15%, and to consider investigating the enterprise behind Disability, Medicare, Housing Authority, and their interdependency, relationships, and beneficiaries. A lot of money can be put back in the treasury for the benefit of all Americans.

Healthcare should be made compulsory for each and every American whether it is affordable or government provided, because it is an essential element in everyone’s personal and communal life. It pays to make it affordable because it will increase productivity and improve the quality of life by keeping working Americans healthy. If the provision of affordable healthcare, under the free enterprise business model, to all Americans is not feasible then the alternative has got to be the universal healthcare plan run by the federal government.

It is important to have all Americans registered in some healthcare plan because it is essential to the national security. It is no longer a mere personal choice, but a communal necessity. Today, the threat from a nuclear attack is less likely, but probable from biological and chemical attacks. The origin and the resultant impact of a nuclear attack can be determined immediately and twice as powerful response can be executed within a few minutes (a great deterrent), but not in the cases of biological and chemical attacks. The biological and chemical attacks are silent, noiseless, not visible, and with no clues to the extent and intensity of their infliction which can wipe out a significant segment of our population within a matter of hours, that is, if the preventive and remedial measures are not taken immediately. Databases of the voters’ registration and censes bureau won’t help to assess and contain the damage caused by biological or chemical attack, but medical accessibility and healthcare records will. During the crisis of this nature, only the government initiated leadership will help which directly depends upon the instant accessibility of healthcare records, and it is only possible if they are developed and maintained by the government.

No sophisticated delivery systems are required to launch such biological and chemical attacks whose source may be contained in a small bottle. Under these life threatening attacks, Americans with healthcare plan will rush to seek medical help, and ones without may never get identified thereby letting the effects of biological or chemical attack reach pandemic proportion. People without healthcare may pose serious danger to the rest of society. I want to have healthcare for myself but I will never be safe without my neighbors having it too. No body can be safe if even one American remains without healthcare.

If a comprehensive healthcare database on all Americans is in place and medical help is made available to all, it will be somewhat easier for the government and various research laboratories across the nation to contain the spread of such inflictions in relatively short time. The recently passed healthcare reform bill is a step in the right direction, because it provides numerous benefits to the children, seniors, small businesses, currently uninsured, etc., and is national security friendly.

*Banks should not be allowed to sell loan packages neither individually nor collectively. Banks’ role should be reinforced as providers of financial services, and not repackaging and selling loans as traders, which will benefit banks enormously. Buyers should only be allowed to buy bank stocks. The ownership of loans should be tied to the ownership of banks. When a loan is sold to another party, the history of loan payments, escrow analysis, the actual escrow balance, etc become blurred and obscure, if not unavailable, which does not favor the borrower who either can’t find out the differences or is compelled to shuttle inquiries at the old bank and the new with unsatisfactory outcomes. The borrower gets fielded on a regular basis.

saved on daily basis. We need this money in the U.S.

Tired and exhausted military will get well deserved respite. We need to
revitalize and re-equip our military for the future wars which may prove
to be much more challenging, and which may occur sooner than expected.
(Former President George W. Bush did make a wise attempt to exit Iraq by
declaring 'mission accomplished' which if materialized would have saved
thousands of lives and at least $900 Billion which could have been used
for various needful purposes at home).

Danger associated with these wars is a 'distant' one, and no attack is
anticipated in the immediate future and, therefore, avoidable loss of
life and expenditures are not essential. Besides, these wars are
depriving us of many other essentials that need focus and funding 'now'
in the United States. Pulling out will adversely affect certain war
related businesses and jobs, but the benefits will outweigh the losses
many times over.

Affordable Universal or National healthcare plan must be passed because
1) adequate healthcare should be a given thing in America and no one
should be without it, 2) future terrorist or military attacks on the
U.S. may not be the ones we have seen before; they could be bio-chemical
or something else. It takes a few months for the labs to develop an
antidote for a yearly flu virus, which may not be workable when several
viruses, each of different kind, are introduced in various parts of the
country simultaneously, thereby causing very challenging conditions, 3)
it provides a solid platform for small and big business to develop and
thrive, which produce jobs in America. Healthcare to all Americans can
be provided at half the cost of current expenditures.

Without a healthy and thriving economy, it will be difficult to fund
anything, even defense and homeland security. Depressed economy is the
'immediate' danger which needs to be dealt with.

Without revitalizing the housing market jobs won't be materialized in
the numbers that make the economy healthy. Banks have been helped, but
not the homeowners and homebuyers. Short sales and foreclosures are
killing the real estate market but helping just a few, which calls for
new laws for property appraisals, realtors' commissions, and closing
attorneys' fees, codes of conduct, etc. An individual's option to sell,
by choice or difficult circumstances, should not negatively affect
neighbor's property……..Banks are here to make money, and shortage of
business is leading some to develop innovative ways to make
money…….Closing attorneys should be discouraged to own realty
companies…..Property/hazard insurance requires much more competition
than there is.
Pulled funding from Iraq and Afghanistan wars should be applied to
reducing deficit and national debt. Industrial base should be revived
and expanded Export related industries and enterprises should be
promoted Position and status of US Dollar must be strengthened in the
international marketplace, so that it remains the most powerful medium
of exchange for a long time to come.

Warmest regards,
Prem Bhandari
www.PremBhandari.com

*************************************

Why low cost healthcare is crucially important for America? Healthy Americans are better workers with higher output, businesses can afford to hire them, jobs are more likely to remain in the U.S rather outsourced overseas, important for national security considering enemy’s options of using biological weapons, important for the small businesses who create most of nation’s new jobs, etc, etc.

U.S healthcare can be provided at almost half the current cost of $24,000 Billion

v $2.4 Trillion ($24,000 Billion) will be spent on healthcare in 2009, or $8,160 per U.S resident, based on the total of about 294,000,000.

v Center for Medicare and Medicaid projects healthcare spending will exceed $43,000 Billion, or $13,100 per U.S resident, by the year 2018

v In 2009 healthcare expenditures are estimated at 17.6% of the GDP, which will exceed by 2018 to 20.3% of the GDP.

v About 10% people account for 63% of spending on healthcare services, 21% of the spending is only for 1% of the population. You may be in this category.

v More than 50% of the U.S population gets only 3% of the total healthcare spending. You may be among them.

v Private healthcare expenditures account for 54% of the healthcare recipients, while Public sector expenditures account for 46% of the recipients

v Center for Medicare and Medicaid projects that by 2018, Public sector share of healthcare expenditures will be 51% as compared to 49% of the national healthcare expenditures by the Private sector. Private sector’s participation will decline due to the aging population

v Recent interview on the TV network revealed that Europeans and Canadians incur 4% on healthcare administrative costs, as compared to 25% in the U.S

Obviously, the cost of healthcare in America has been consistently rising, and the major portion of national healthcare expenditure is spent on a very small segment of U.S population, while only 3% of the total is spent on half of the U.S. population.

President Obama may wish to present various cost models to Americans, describing the reduced burden of monthly healthcare insurance premium on a single, single mom, family of 3, etc under two options:

In option (2) the healthcare premiums will gradually drop over an extended period of time, while in option (1) the healthcare premiums will drop immediately. If the U.S residents and the congress want to see healthcare costs to drop, they have got to understand it and want it. People who can afford to pay between 10% to 30% of their total income toward healthcare, may not care to understand these options. Lack of adequate healthcare can bankrupt any one, if they want to live. A rough sketch can show how the healthcare cost can be reduced immediately:

**There are huge economies to be made in the redesigning of cost distribution model which is currently disproportionate, resulting in further cost savings.

With the cost of around $12000 Billion, every person living in the United States can

Receive healthcare with no complicated paperwork, co-payments, special enrollments in various programs, and spending a good portion of their time and money during the remainder of life on medical visits, etc. It will also relieve families from the enormous financial and emotional stress. Small businesses will welcome it.

There are plenty of savings to be gained by eliminating abuse, waste and fraud, reducing administrative costs, IT costs, bringing lifestyle changes, proper distribution of expenditures to reach all sectors of society, etc., etc and providing needed healthcare to each and every U.S resident.

KEEP YOUR PREFERRED HEALTHCARE AND LET THE POOR LOVED-ONES HAVE IT TOO

Universal healthcare will enable an average American to obtain healthcare insurance at an affordable cost, provide much needed real time competition in the healthcare marketplace, will reduce or eliminate racial or ethnic bias, improve the quality of healthcare, reduce waste, eliminate the currently inefficient providers, improve the economy, provide jobs, provide much more homeland security than now, stimulate new medical research, create new entrepreneurs, and improve the bottom line of most private healthcare providers. The beneficiaries of Universal Healthcare will be the Americans of all political affiliations, ethnicities, faiths, social classes, economic levels, health conditions, ages, and professions etc.

American healthcare system has been acknowledged by many to be the best in the world. In fact, only a portion of it is the best in the world. This best portion is enjoyed by only a segment of our population which is in the highest income bracket and therefore can afford its higher premiums. Average American cannot afford it, and poor people cannot afford any. Universal healthcare is the best healthcare reform for American healthcare system. Let a federally instituted plan enter the marketplace and create an option for the less affluent and poor. The outcome will be enormously beneficial to all Americans.

The current estimated cost of healthcare is about $8,000 per year per person when about 47 million are without any insurance because they cannot afford it, and there are millions more who find it hard to pay at the current prices. In about 7 years this cost under the current system can rise to $12,000 (inflation adjusted) which will make it unaffordable for more people than today. Those who can afford it will find it much more burdensome than now. The cost will keep on rising unless a healthcare reform is instituted preferably in the form of universal healthcare which will create a cheaper and affordable option for the poor, and the small businesses which generates about 75% of all new jobs. In 10 years time, the teenagers of today may find it almost impossible to afford healthcare insurance under the current system.

People with no healthcare or minimum healthcare or with co-pay will tend to ignore the symptoms of some illnesses and postpone visiting a medical facility for fear of expense involved. Infections and viruses can spread and can get out of hand, resulting in loss of wages, productivity, etc. Healthcare for everyone has always been very important for any nation, and it is becoming more so in the modern times when travel, pollution, chemicals, toxins, etc. are a part of life.

Today, it is more important to have universal healthcare than ever before, because tomorrow may bring an awakening should some act of bio-terrorism takes place on our soil, which can cause a significant devastation involving a large number of people in matter of hours, and a national calamity in a matter of days. America cannot afford to have someone infected with a virus not getting immediate medical attention. It’s an issue of national security and wellbeing of all Americans. Universal healthcare will create an atmosphere of responsibility and relief beside affordability.

Those who have a satisfactory healthcare should maintain it, and allow their less affluent and poor loved ones and fellow Americans to have a choice as well. This can only be achieved through a universal healthcare system, step by step. There is enough money in the system, but it requires redistribution because the medical community seems to maintain a large number of patients for routine visits, tests, prescriptions, etc. for recurring revenues. Instead of expediting the healing process, patients seem to get captivated for one reason or another. Some patients have become permanent clients of the medical community and the associated prescriptions and routines. This creates imbalance in the total cost; money and efforts being spent where not needed and denied where needed, that is, beside the enormous waste. It is possible that 25% to 30% of the money currently being spent in the healthcare can be saved almost easily. Here is a potential for which an incentive needs to be provided through an opportunity. Additional savings can be achieved through the promotion of self-health management and changes in the lifestyles of most, which are going to be the most prominent issues of tomorrow.

Let billions of dollars get donated to the lawmakers by the lobbyists, competition from federally sponsored healthcare system will create a unique scenario where competitive pricing and healthcare quality will matter the most. This will help average Americans to obtain healthcare, improve the quality of care currently available in the marketplace, reduce or eliminate racial or ethnic bias, eliminate currently inefficient healthcare providers, and improve the bottom line of efficient providers.

Speak, call, or write to your congressman or congresswoman and ask for Universal Healthcare for all Americans.

HEALTHCARE FOR EVERYONE

6/20/09

Dear Media Friends,

Being the richest and the most powerful country in the world, the least the United States can offer to its inhabitants is guaranteed healthcare for every one. No one should be found having no healthcare, because it is in the national interest to have healthy and well taken care of population. Besides, it is extremely important for national security reasons. Just visualize the scenario when an uninsured with a dangerous viral infection remains untreated and brings down a good portion of our population………….Healthcare is a national and human issue of great importance, and it should not be perceived as a commercial or political one.

Qualitatively, our healthcare system may be the best in the world, but that quality refers to only a certain segment of our population. Our population, like any other, consists of many age groups, income levels, disability levels, regions, etc and all of the people falling under these categories do not enjoy the same quality of healthcare as the upper crust of our society.

Our healthcare system is based on competitive marketplace system which is excellent for innovation, breakthroughs, and research and development, with a complete focus on revenue generating endeavors. Statistics will show that overtime the number of corporations servicing the provision of healthcare tend to shrink while the corporate size

increases. Corporations tend to drift toward controlling the marketplace by eliminating the competition either by acquisition or ruthlessness price tactics. They are not in business for humanitarian reasons, but for profit, and profit only. This methodology serves the corporations and their employees, but does not serve small businesses and the majority of Americans.

Millions of Americans are either uninsured or under insured, and millions more find it hard to pay for their healthcare. U.S. Government should start offering healthcare insurance, under the national healthcare plan, and accommodating the uninsured and underinsured Americans right away. Also, their entry in to the marketplace will provide a real time competition to the established healthcare providers. A lot of waste will be eliminated.

The initial stages of national healthcare plan will provide a real taste of competition in the marketplace, and will also create quality grades. Overall healthcare costs will drop, premiums will drop, price of prescriptions, prices of brand names and generics will drop, and the cost of long term care, hospices, homecare, etc will drop. This competition will encourage new facilities providing a variety of healthcare services at an affordable price range will emerge. It will also accommodate the small and big businesses to provide healthcare to their employees at an affordable cost upon which the viability of their staying in business depends. We should remind ourselves that millions of baby boomers are about to enter as Medicare recipients, and will be looking for affordable supplemental insurance, when the total number of healthcare insurance contributors will be decreasing because of the higher number of aging population. More uninsured Americans will join the current number of uninsured individuals, and the insurance premiums will increase. It is an ideal time to launch the national healthcare plan. There is plenty of money already in circulation within the current healthcare system, which may need to be re-allocated. The national healthcare package will serve two purposes: 1) universal healthcare, 2) national security.

An absolutely simple healthcare access process will be a winner in America. Creative and complicated healthcare plans do not work and serve satisfactorily. All the possible options should be in the electronic database where all the options, choices, changes, and flexibility should exist. All the healthcare related choices, options and changes regarding a health condition should be available to all recipients upon their contact or arrival at a medical facility, which will be most appreciated by almost all Americans.

Reciprocally, each individual will become responsible to seek medical attention immediately upon developing symptoms of viral infections, poisons, toxicity, radiation, etc which will serve the individual, fellow Americans, and the security of our nation.

A national health plan offering universal healthcare to all Americans will be an ideal step to take; even though the exercise will not be without pains during the initial stages, the overall benefits would be priceless. Guarantee of total healthcare to all Americans should be a given privilege which when instituted will be appreciated by the current and future generations.

Warmest regards,

Prem Bhandari

HEALTH, WELLNESS, HAPPINESS