This is just absolutely ridiculous! That we as a society have stooped to this level is abominable. Shame on us! If this is the only way for some to get their point across with misinformation and the selling of fear, then we should be ashamed. What happened to good old debates? Yes, even then each side would have their own slant, but not a total distortion of the facts.

If we took a poll today, I doubt if 50% of the people could accurately relate what ‘end of life counseling’ or ‘single-payer system’ means.

Before we even get into that, what’s being discussed as healthcare reform is in reality health insurance reform. The insurance companies have run amok. I have no problem with a corporation making a profit. That’s capitalism as it should be. But you want to talk about death squads, well they are the real culprits. Insurance companies make life and death decisions about what coverages they will allow us based on the cost-benefit, but not to the insured, to the corporation and of course their good old actuarial tables. Yet, they have deep pockets (profiting from us) and lobbyists so all we are hearing is the rhetoric that they are spewing, which carries very little truth.

Pres. Obama did not say that government would make decisions about who gets care. Actually, quite the opposite. He said, “I don’t want bureaucracies making those decisions.” He also said, “The point is we want to use science, we want doctors and medical experts to be making decisions that all too often right now are driven by skewed policies, by outdated means of reimbursement, or by insurance companies.”

I think it’s very important for seniors to have counseling in regard to options, especially when it comes to Hospice care. I used them when I knew it was time for my mother. They were there for pain management and their goal was to make her comfortable so she could pass, when the time came, in her own home, not in a hospital bed with strangers, tubes and machines.

Comparing a single-payer system to socialism is absurd. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. A socialized health care system is one in which all health care facilities and personnel are owned and operated by the government. A single-payer system refers to the funding of health care, not the services rendered. An example of such in the U.S. is Medicare. It is a single-payer system, not socialized medicine.

The difference between our present single-payer system, Medicare, and that of other countries such as a Canada, is that ours is for seniors and the disabled whereas theirs is a universal health care. In simplistic terms, we are just talking about our system, but on a larger scale.

People! Take the initiative to research what is being discussed instead of listening to pundits. It doesn’t take long to Google any of these topics mentioned here. The news is now big entertainment. With the proliferation of all the channels on the television, all these so-called pundits need to attract viewers. The majority can’t do that by just giving us the facts & letting us come to our own conclusions. It’s about sensationalism, whether it be from the right, left or middle.

While researching this post, I came across a very informative site www.FactCheck.org. It is produced by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Want to learn more about Health Care and debunk some of the myths, check it out.

Till next time….Marc It Sold!

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…or is it just time to get rid of the Legislature?

In this day and age with lightening speed modern technology, why are we not the one’s making the decision on our future?

We put people in office to represent us, but is this really the case? Do they actually represent us or that of their own personal agenda & their corporate campaign contributors?

Yes, if we are not happy with our congressperson, we can vote them out of office.  But, that may be too late.  The damage could already be done.  The missed opportunity may be gone.

Is what we are seeing a true democracy? I’m surely not promoting autocracy or oligarchy.  But don’t we need changes in our present system to really and ultimately represent that of the people?

Presently our system is that of a representative democracy, but don’t you think we should possibly consider a more direct form of government with limited representation.  Just take a look at Vermont where they have yearly town meeting to decide local issues.  On a larger scale, we have Switzerland where they vote on national referendums two to four times a year.  Granted, we have not seen direct democracy utilized on any large scale such as that of the United States.

With all the information at our fingertips, why not change, besides the fact that many of our representatives would then be out of a job?  Think of the monies that we could save and be put to better use.  Wouldn’t you like more of a say in our government and how it works? Wouldn’t you be more involved if you were given the chance to say yea or nay to an issue?

Of course, then this begs further on other issues such as campaign reform; lobbyists; and, of course, the dreaded electoral college.

President Theodore Roosevelt, in his “Charter of Democracy” speech stated “I believe in the Initiative and Referendum, which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative.”

We hear a lot of talk from all levels of government, but isn’t this just rhetoric? Is what you are hearing generally representative of your point of view?

Till next time….Marc It Sold!

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Campaign Election Signs vs. Open House Signs

Yes, this is somewhat of a rant. OK, I take that back, it is a rant – not somewhat! It appears that everywhere you turn there are political campaign signs popping up all over the place. These are a blight on our landscape. My senses are assaulted and I am forced to look at these everywhere I turn through election day.

As if that’s not bad enough, now you’re getting all of those pre-recorded messages telling you how great the politician is; what they’ve done; and, of course, the vote for me crap. Don’t you just love it! Yeah, I’m sure as much as a stick in the eye.

Many of the local municipalities here have cracked down majorly on roadside signage, especially for those of Open Houses. We have many that actually go around on the weekend and will pull Open House signs while you are trying to do one and then we wonder why no one or so few showed. Yet, our roadsides are littered with campaign signage. Why? Because our politicians, legislators, lawmakers, whatever you wish to call them preclude these from the laws. I guess that they feel this is there inalienable right. They must be better than you and me. Remember, they are serving the public’s interest – or are they really? It’s not like they don’t have enough privileges.

Yet, our signs get picked up and tossed away. There is one municipality that is at least working with us and is allowing us to put our Open House signage out from Friday through Sunday. It is only hoped that others will follow suit. Our local Realtor® Board has sent proposals to many cities, but with very little response. Yet, when election time comes around guess whose support they want?

I think the Do Not Call list is great. I detest getting these unwanted sales calls and do in fact file complaints on the DNC website at www.donotcall.gov. But again, our politicians thought they should be precluded from this. As a Realtor®, I can’t make calls to expired listings or FSBO’s without having a customer that is interested in their property. I can’t play the old game of Dialing for Dollars.

Yet, our trusted politicians thought well of themselves so much so that they excluded themselves from any Do Not Call rules and regulations. I guess that they felt that their campaigning is a public service that will only enhance my life. Not that it may be an intrusion of sorts at all.

It must be great to be a politician, because it appears that we continually find in all types of legislation, items that either are beneficial to them and/or their campaign contributors. It appears that even though we’ve elected them, we’ve become second class citizens. I resent that fact! How dare they? I don’t know how we get around this except for possibly keeping a more watchful eye on our politicians and when they stray, simply vote someone else into office. We really do need to send a message.

See you next time at Marc’s Corner!

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As was alluded to in a past post, I’d wanted to tackle this issue. We elect our legislators to work in our best interest. Yet, most of us would not think to look and see who’s financing their campaign. I think that the majority of us would like to think that in most cases ‘we the people’ are of paramount importance.

Didn’t our votes put you into office, Mr./Ms. Politician? Oh, that’s right your campaign is being funded by PAC’s (Political Action Committees), special interests, lobbyists, etc. Foolish us!

With that said, I came across an excellent website, OpenSecrets.org. It’s one of the best sites that I’ve seen. You can search by individuals, Congressional Committees, Congressional elections, Presidential election, even by Lobbyists and PAC’s and see who they are contributing too.

Their Mission Statement is to Inform, Empower & Advocate –

• Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
• Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
• Advocate for a transparent and responsive government

So, instead of giving you facts and figures, check out their site. It’s definitely interesting and worth the time.

See you next time at Marc’s Corner.

Marc It Sold!

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