This is a most complex topic. While the published benefits of the Obama health plan are well received, I cannot for the life of me get past the fact that I do not believe that we can afford this plan. I think health care should be reformed but struggle with how. I think that lifting certain limitations will be beneficial but only for a while; after that, the system may collapse under the financial weight of the too many people using it.
I do, however, think that it is long overdue to reform health care. Insurers are known to limit coverage or deny coverage to those who need it most. Tiering cost based upon need (like auto insurance) seems to be fair but does little to help those with the greatest need, as medical expenses are astronomical compared with the cost of repairing a vehicle.
I invite my classsmates to offer real solutions to this issue; I am at a loss. There is a crossroad between what people need and what they can afford, and a chasm between making healthcare affordable and diminishing quality of care for quantity of those covered.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
1. After reading the textbook, my view of who constitutes the poor is essentially the same, though I would add that the poor are those who are not able to maintain independence due to financial as well as psychological issues.
2. My view is also unchanged on this topic.
3. Globally, politics play a huge role in the creation of and potential to eliminate poverty. People become victims of the political machine and critical resources are usurped from the very people who need them the most. In some ways, though not as much, politics plays role in the U.S., as well. Resources tend to blow with political winds for and against the people most in need. Additionally, there are differing perspectives on who is poor and how they got that way and what it would take to help or resolve their issues. This naturally drives different schools of thought on resolution.
4. I don't think poverty is enough of a priority in the U.S. We seem as a nation to be more concerned with the plight of others in the world. The chronically poor are an invisible, voiceless, powerless entity in this country. The "haves" overall show little concern for the "have-nots."
5. I would suggest that the best way to permanently address poverty will take time (as with any genuine solution, rather than a patchwork temporary fix). In the U.S., we must address and resolve deficits in education and job skills prep so that people have the resources to engage mainstream in the free market society. Globally, the problem is not one so much of resource but access. That will require getting past the the monsters holding back resources in an effort to manipulate political power.
2. My view is also unchanged on this topic.
3. Globally, politics play a huge role in the creation of and potential to eliminate poverty. People become victims of the political machine and critical resources are usurped from the very people who need them the most. In some ways, though not as much, politics plays role in the U.S., as well. Resources tend to blow with political winds for and against the people most in need. Additionally, there are differing perspectives on who is poor and how they got that way and what it would take to help or resolve their issues. This naturally drives different schools of thought on resolution.
4. I don't think poverty is enough of a priority in the U.S. We seem as a nation to be more concerned with the plight of others in the world. The chronically poor are an invisible, voiceless, powerless entity in this country. The "haves" overall show little concern for the "have-nots."
5. I would suggest that the best way to permanently address poverty will take time (as with any genuine solution, rather than a patchwork temporary fix). In the U.S., we must address and resolve deficits in education and job skills prep so that people have the resources to engage mainstream in the free market society. Globally, the problem is not one so much of resource but access. That will require getting past the the monsters holding back resources in an effort to manipulate political power.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Cause and Effect
Chapters 5 and 6 provided a significant amount of insight, including reinforcing the lesson learned with our Budget Exercise. Namely, an under skilled, under educated person in the U.S. is consigned to the cycle of poverty. Our reading also showed the racial disparity experienced by minorities, as well social and familial factors, such as the significance of female headed households.
Social, racial and ethic stratification are like ankle shackles attached before a long race: you may still finish, might even have a long shot at winning, but know that you start out handicapped.
This reading focused on issues pertaining to poverty in America, including class, gender and even geographic distinctions in job opportunities. Still, though, these factors reflect relative poverty and quality of life issues that are so dramatically different than the abject survival mode poverty on the global front.
Social, racial and ethic stratification are like ankle shackles attached before a long race: you may still finish, might even have a long shot at winning, but know that you start out handicapped.
This reading focused on issues pertaining to poverty in America, including class, gender and even geographic distinctions in job opportunities. Still, though, these factors reflect relative poverty and quality of life issues that are so dramatically different than the abject survival mode poverty on the global front.
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