Purely Politics

It’s time for a purely political post. I haven’t done this for a while—and I have no idea how I was able to resist for so long with all the juicy political stories out there. So put on grab a drink and sit on the left of that chair, because here we go…

I was not entirely surprised to see Ted Kennedy pass away considering the cancer he was fighting. To me, Kennedy is undoubtedly one of the major Democratic figures of recent times. At first he was just riding the family wave (his story seems to me to be like the kid who inherits the family shoe shop despite having no interest in shoes but ends up doing well for himself in the end) and then he became known as a partier (and one who enjoyed a nice “joyride”). For better or worse, he was somehow able to mellow with age and overcome all that baggage to become an icon in his last years.

I guess the lesson here is that even if you drive off a bridge with a young lady in your car and leave her to die, divorce your wife, drink heavily, and go shirt chasing with a nephew when he is accused of rape—you too can become an iconic figure (although being from a famous family doesn’t hurt). Ok, so that was a low blow joke. In reality, he was very committed to his causes and did an incredible job to work for the betterment of Americans—especially the poor among us who have now lost one of their great defenders. He will be missed in the healthcare debate.

Now I turn from someone who was a bit of a mess early on to become an icon for the right reasons to someone who started out decently but has been in a slow motion crash for the last few months. Yes, that would be Sarah Palin. She seems to grow progressively more insane by the day (something about stopping digging when you are already in a hole comes to mind). As a Democrat, I am ecstatic that she is the leading face of the Republicans—I really do hope they run her for president since that will mean a Democratic majority for years to come. But as an American I am horrified. To my eyes, she embodies the visceral rejection of science and modernity that is rife in the Republican party and the right as a whole. This is in the exact moment in history when we need science and a rush to modernity to stay competitive in this global world.

Speaking of science I am a disciple of Thomas Friedman in that I absolutely agree we need a massive investment in clean fuels if we want to keep our standard of living and stay at the top of the world order. Yet, our politicians seem totally incapable of this—even a toothless cap and trade bill is being hung up. Even France has been able to offer up a carbon tax while we struggle over a watered-down cap and trade bill.

That is why this story caught my eye about solar panel manufacturing and implementation: (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/business/energy-environment/25solar.html?_r=1&hp as well as http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalClimateandAlternativeEnergy09/idUSTRE58A0SO20090911). If China comes out ahead in producing and implementing clean technologies they will eat us for lunch (note: I do realize the article says the Chinese solar market is not there—yet. I will tell you unequivocally: it will be. They are starting massive solar projects including a solar farm that will cover over 25 square miles in the Gobi Desert. And given the massive market potential high exponentially increasing production capacity—one that tends to overproduce due to industry decentralization—the domestic Chinese market will be there. It is simply a matter of time).

Our politicians have not been honest with us. The rules of the game have changed. Unless we commit ourselves to become the most prepared to take advantage of globalization we will have a future that looks increasingly dim because other countries are rushing to prepare themselves.

Finally, the healthcare reform debate. I am biased since I have no coverage. But in that regard I am lucky to live in Taiwan because of the national health plan that provides cheap coverage.

Example, I had an outer ear infection recently. So I went to the doctor’s office close to my apartment one time and then went back for a follow up appointment. Both times I was able to see a doctor after less than 5min of waiting (walk in with no appointment), be examined in a professional manner by a nurse and doctor, given medicines, and sent on my way (and followed up with by the hospital). The total for two appointments and two rounds of medicine without national health plan coverage: about $32. If I had national health plan coverage the cost of the visit would be less than half of that amount.

I find it strange that the US spends more on healthcare than any other nation, but by most measures we are still less healthy than those countries with national health plans. I think a national health plan is a great idea and would lift the burden of health coverage off of employers and thereby make American products cheaper on the global market (by removing a significant portion of business operating costs associated with providing health coverage for employees—a cost not shared by most of our competitors).