LSJ Blogs: People's Politics

Will they ever shut up?

Nancy Pelosi, possibly the most ill equipped individual to ever handle Speaker of the House duties, is at it again.  Under her leadership, the House had sunk to an unbelievable 9% approvability rating; as much as the Dems hated W, he had three times the favorability rating of the House.  Now she has opened her mouth again and blamed the evil insurance companies for the ills of the state of health in the country.  "Of course, they've been immoral all along," she added. "They are the villains in this, they have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening and the public has to know. They have had a good thing going for a long time at the expense of the American people and the health of our country."

Time for a real change

I have been following the political scene for a number of years and have been equally disgusted with the output from Washington regardless of the party controlling the White House (with the notable exception of the Reagan years).  The general tone is “we know what’s best” and we’ll take care of the unwashed masses out there because we don’t know enough to take care of ourselves.  Admittedly we have let the education system go so far down hill with social promotions and politically correct teachings that we may no longer know how to be free.  Trying to figure out a way out of the mess brought me to an epiphany, Glen Beck is correct.  A pox on both political parties as neither of them have any interest whatsoever in the quality or level of freedom in our lives. 

Real Health care Reform: Outlaw Health Insurance!

That’s right, eliminate health insurance (including Medicare) (make it illegal) and require everyone, (yes, absolutely everyone including politicians) to pay cold hard cash when they need medical attention. When your health care dollars are coming directly from your wallet, you will be greatly encouraged to spend the money wisely, prudently and only when necessary. 

Lansing Primary

On Tuesday, August 4th, voters in the City of Lansing have a primary election to reduce the number of candidates for City elected offices.  Seems like we ought to start talking about this, so let's review the choices.

He “acted stupidly”

I was going to leave this post to someone else, but I’ve waited in vain.  Perhaps the leftists in the group are hoping no one else noticed Obama on Wednesday night in his answer to Lynn Sweet’s question about Professor Henry Louis Gates’ arrest at his house in Cambridge "What does that incident say to you? And what does it say about race relations in America?"  For those of you who haven’t followed this, Gates “is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University” and had been on a trip to China but couldn’t get into his house upon return as the front door had “jammed.”  Apparently one of his neighbors saw two man trying to force his front door late at night and called the police; turns out that the house had previously been a subject of an attempted burglary.  Gates was subsequently arrested for "disorderly conduct."

Minimum wage hike

The idiocy in Washington has spread to Michigan.  As I understand the article on the front page of the LSJ this morning, the MI “Democratic Party is considering asking voters to raise the stat’s minimum wage from the current $7.40 an hour to a national high of $10 an hour, increase unemployment benefits and require all employers to provide health coverage.”  This is as the national minimum wage is being raised this Friday from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour; the raise brings the national law to less than the current minimum wage here.  Are the MI Democrats serious?  This is a proposal only Bob could like.

Administration “Rescued the economy”

I have not been a fan of most of Obama’s actions since his inauguration, but I must confess I thought Rahm Emanuel’s selection as White House Chief of Staff was a good one.  I thought Emanuel was tough enough and knew enough people that he could push through Obama’s policies, which he certainly has done.  I think most of the policies are wrong, but certainly Emanuel has pulled his weight and gotten things done, by and large by staying in the background and doing stuff the CoS should do and letting the principal do stuff he should do.  However, I think he got off the reservation today.

Health Care: A Right or A Privilege?

It seems to me that this question politically defines who favors or opposes universal health care.  But more than that, it defines who has access to health care and who doesn't.  It's easy for universal health care to seem like a philosophical debate if you have access to health care.  But if you don't, it can be a matter of life and death.

Obama’s “Stunning list of achievements”

I am constantly amazed that the left continues to turn the conversation back to George W. and Dick Cheney whenever the shortfalls of Obama’s plans are mentioned instead of defending or even acknowledging there may be different solutions to existing problems.  The MSM and the left leaning commentators on the People’s Politics still attack W and whine about the “mess” that Obama has to clean up with no thought to alternatives.  While I don’t claim that this post offers any high level thought or major philosophical insights, I thought a counter to the blame W on everything is appropriate.  This doesn’t mean I think everything W did was good; however, nor do I think he got a fair shake in the press nor in the minds of the left.

House Dems Holding Insurance Companies Accountable......

When you pay insurance premiums, you expect to be covered when something goes wrong, right? Not in Michigan.

It’s common practice here for insurance companies to wrongfully deny or unreasonably delay legitimate claims in order to increase their profits at the expense of consumers. Current Michigan law allows insurance companies to engage in “wrongful denial” of a legitimate consumer claim as a way of postponing payment to the consumer. If a homeowner and insurance holder’s house burns down, that homeowner will immediately file a claim with his or her insurance company in order to begin the process of rebuilding or repairing.

Ideally under this scenario, the insurance company would quickly assess the claim and pay the requisite amount to the homeowner in order to minimize the financial strain on the family or individual.

Not so in Michigan. Due to our lack of consumer protections in our state, insurance companies will often immediately deny claims and tell consumers they will investigate the circumstances. This “investigation” process can take months or years, and consumers may be forced to engage in drawn-out legal battles just to collect insurance money for a legitimate claim. While the consumer is facing bankruptcy, foreclosure, or worse, the insurer is often able to invest the money to increase their profits.

State Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga), who chairs the House Insurance Committee, and other House Democrats have set out to change that practice. The House Democrats’ plan fixes Michigan’s inadequate consumer protections in two ways:

No. 1: It creates powerful deterrents for insurance companies that wrongfully delay and deny legitimate claims and break their promise. No longer will Michigan reward insurance companies that wrongfully deny legitimate claims. The plan will create a $1 million fine for insurance companies that repeatedly delay and deny legitimate claims.

No. 2: It holds insurance companies accountable when they participate in wrongful denial practices.  Under the plan, corporate leaders who foster or encourage wrongful denial of claims will face four years in prison plus a $50,000 penalty. When a regular citizen commits fraud against an insurance company, they can be sentenced to years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. Under the House Democrats’ plan, corporate CEOs will be held to the same standard as you and me.

For more information, visit: http://housedems.com/wrongful-denial.