The Freedom Bulletin

…without telling you. According to a recent federal court decision, law enforcement can read your emails as long as they give a warrant to your Internet service provider (like Comcast or AOL). They don’t have to serve you with a warrant.

This seems a little creepy to me. People have much more interest in the privacy of their emails than ISPs do. The government ought to let you know if they are going to read your emails.

Last week Ann Coulter was on the Joy Behar show and she said something I completely agree with about health insurance companies:

“I don’t think they should pay for Viagra. I don’t think they should pay for people to have babies. I don’t think they should pay for marriage counseling. I think you should buy catastrophic health insurance which you’re not allowed to do because why — government intervention.”

Exactly! Health insurance companies shouldn’t pay for things that are not medically necessary,  and it’s not medically necessary to have a baby or to have sex. Things that only people who make certain choices need (like maternity services and STD treatment) and that no one needs (like Viagra and infertility treatments) shouldn’t be covered by insurance. At least, insurance companies should be required to offer at least one plan that does not cover these things. It’s unfair for people who don’t have sex or have babies to subsidize those who do.

Customers of a Marblehead gym are mad that there’s a big flag hanging from the ceiling! According to Fox25…

“The Fitness club’s owner, 23 year-old Mark Shea, hung the 12 foot long flag from the gym rafters on Friday and had over a dozen complaints by Monday. Some have complained that the flag blocks gym televisions, while some members have gone as far as to say that the flag is offensive. One members (sic) was quoted to say ‘It’s like putting a Jesus cross in my face.’”

Okay, I can understand the issue with the televisions (the gym owner subsequently moved the flag so it didn’t block them), but offensive? The American flag???

I can also understand why someone who didn’t believe in Jesus would be offended by a “Jesus cross,” but a flag is not comparable to a cross. People legitimately disagree on matters of religion, but I don’t think anyone disagrees that the gym is in America. An American flag doesn’t stand for a particular political theory, but simply for our nation, which happens to be where the gym is located. What could be offensive about that? Do these people think America shouldn’t exist?

If I was in another country and that country’s flag was displayed in a gym, that wouldn’t offend me in the least. It’s awesome to be proud of your country, no matter what country you’re from.

If you don’t like America (and you must not if you find our flag offensive), then you shouldn’t live here.

I’m doing something a little different for the Democratic Senate candidates’ debate tonight. I’m going to be writing my thoughts on everything the candidates say as they say it, more or less in real time, and updating this blog post from time to time during the debate. Enjoy!

7:10: Mike Capuano kept mentioning how much federal funding he’s brought home to the state. I’m not really sure why he would want to brag about this. Wouldn’t it be good to bring home as little funding as possible so that the federal government spends as little as possible and therefore can lower taxes?

7:17: The moderator just asked them what they would do if another senator offered them a deal that would involve cutting either Hanscom Air Force Base or Natick Labs, and they all said basically the same answer!

7:19: Would you support another stimulus package?

Pagliuca: Yes, as long as it was targeted in the right way. It should be funded by increasing the marginal rate for the wealthiest individuals. It’s only 30% here and is 40% in other countries, so we can handle it.

Coakley: “The jury is still out” on the first stimulus. It’s unclear whether she supports another one.

Khazei: “We absolutely need another stimulus.” He’d repeal all the Bush tax cuts and deal with the debt when we get out of the bad economy.

Capuano: If you made me emperor, I’d raise taxes. “Horse trading” is bad because it allowed 4 Republicans to cut $25 billion from the stimulus package. (How is that bad?)

7:28: Would you hold out for a public option in the health reform bill? They all say yes.

7:31: Do we need Republican support for the health reform bill?

Coakley: No, having the 60 Democrats is enough.

Khazei: We just need to pass the reform bill. I’d support medical malpractice reform to try to please the Republicans.

Capuano: We only need 51 if we move for reconciliation. We have to get it done ASAP.

Pagliuca: Basically says same thing as Capuano.

7:35: What would you do about Afghanistan? They all say don’t send any more troops. Capuano and Pagliuca want to get all of our troops out.

7:42: Should illegal immigrants get drivers’ licenses or be covered by universal health care? What about legal ones?

Coakley: It’s terrible that people come here and can’t find a path to citizenship. The moderator asks her what she thinks about drivers’ licenses and health insurance, and she says that what’s being done in Massachusetts is appropriate, but she doesn’t support giving licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Khazei: Yes to health services for legal immigrants. Don’t deport illegal immigrants, instead offer them path to citizenship.

Capuano: “This country needs immigrants on a regular basis,” but we can’t absorb all of them so we need secure borders. What about drivers’ licenses and health services, asks the moderator. Capuano doesn’t really answer the question. The moderator asks it again, and he says that a package containing those things wouldn’t come up. We can’t “blame immigrants for all our problems.”

Pagliuca: No to drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants. Legal ones should get health insurance; illegal ones should get a path to citizenship before they can get health insurance.

7:48: What would make you vote against one of Obama’s supreme court nominees?

Khazei: If they wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Capuano: It’s almost impossible that Obama would nominate such a judge.

Pagliuca: His 3 criteria for a S.C. nominee are equality (meaning gay marriage, I think), privacy (meaning pro-choice), and an understanding of the struggles of the American people.

Coakley: “Common sense is incredibly important.” She agrees with Capuano that Obama probably wouldn’t pick someone incompetent anyway.

7:51: Would you ever support a preemptive strike against Iran? Khazei takes a long time to answer, and the moderator scolds him and threatens to take time away from his closing because he’s used the most time so far of any of the candidates.

7:55: Closing arguments!

Pagliuca: We need to fix health care, unemployment, etc. I have 25 years of business experience, and I will fight tirelessly for you.

Coakley: We need affordable health care and an energy policy that makes sense. We need to keep kids and seniors safe here and our troops safe overseas. I’ll be a new kind of leader in Washington.

Capuano: I’ve had the courage to vote against the Iraq War and the Patriot Act. I’ve brought home more money to the state than anyone else. I know how Washington works. Not voting for me would be telling Ted Kennedy he should have been replaced halfway through his time in the Senate. (What would be wrong with that?)

Khazei: Coakley’s doing a good job as Attorney General, Capuano is doing well in the House, and the Celtics need Pagliuca. Let’s keep these terrific leaders where they are and you’ll get me too! I challenge the other candidates to weekly debates.

My conclusion:

None of the candidates said anything surprisingly good or surprisingly bad. I know that this is supposed to be the Democratic primary debate, but it would have been a lot better if Scott Brown was in it!

Citizens for Limited Taxation, a great anti-tax organization, might shut down! They are running out of money and are in dire need of donations before the end of the year. One way that you can help is by going to their annual brunch on Sunday, November 15 at 12:00. See this page for more details. If you believe in liberty and you have any extra money sitting around, you should really consider donating to CLT. They helped to prevent a graduated income tax in Massachusetts and to pass Proposition 2 1/2. They’re one of my favorite organizations in Massachusetts, and it would be sad to see them go!

P.S. I know things have been slow around here lately. That’s because I am ridiculously busy with school and the extremely fun process of trying to get a job. I’ve seen many things in the news that I want to blog about but just haven’t had the time! I will try to blog more often but probably won’t be able to blog every day or every other day until my life gets less busy.

I usually don’t think that any group of people makes too much money. I don’t have a problem with the fact that famous people, like movie stars and professional athletes, are millionaires. I dislike it when people bash government employees because I think that if you work, you have a right to make enough money to live comfortably. However, there is one group of people that should make less money: doctors.

Take a look at this chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing (among other things) the mean salary for every occupation. (It takes a long time to load but it’s worth it.) Almost every category of doctors makes far more money than nearly any other occupation. Most people think that the richest people are doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople. In reality, however, the richest people are doctors. Period.

Dentists, on average, make $154,000. Oral surgeons make $190,000 and orthodontists make $194,000. General practitioners make $161,000. Obstetricians and gynecologists make $192,000. Surgeons make $206,000. Lawyers, on the other hand, make $124,000. General and operations managers make $107,000, sales managers $110,00, marketing managers $118,000, and CEOs $160,000.

If the system of paying for health services is going to be reformed, someone is going to be worse off. Currently, poor people and even middle class people suffer because they are unable to afford services that they need. If an individual mandate passes, then people who choose not to purchase insurance will be hurt. If insurance companies are forced to accept everyone who applies, they will be hurt because their profits will go down. My suggestion of price ceilings on medical services would make doctors’ incomes go down, but what’s wrong with that? Everyone knows that the exorbitant costs of medical services are a problem, but few people seem to recognize the connection between the amount of money medical services cost and how much doctors make. Maybe medical services cost so much because doctors charge so much. I think it would be completely reasonable if doctors’ incomes went down to the same level as lawyers.’

Barack Obama recently claimed that requiring everyone to have health insurance, which is part of all of the health reform plans that have been considered recently by Congress, does not amount to a tax increase.

I agree with him, but only because I think that mandatory insurance is worse than a tax increase. Forcing people to have health insurance is degrading, unconstitutional, and unfair, it is a huge assault on our liberties, and it will make the cost of health services go up and the quality go down. I am categorically opposed to any health reform bill that includes an individual mandate, and I think that anyone who believes in liberty ought to be as well.

First, an individual mandate is degrading because the government is basically telling us that we don’t know what’s good for ourselves. There are two ways of paying for health services: getting insurance (paying a flat fee no matter how many services you get), or not getting insurance (paying separately for each service you get). These are two legitimate ways of paying, which people have a right to choose between. By requiring everyone to do the first option, the government is telling us that it doesn’t trust our judgement. Supporters of an individual mandate don’t believe it’s possible for someone to rationally choose to take the risk of paying out of pocket for any services they receive. Instead, they want to tell you that you don’t know what’s good for you – you’ll end up incurring medical expenses that you won’t be able to pay, even if you don’t think you will. That is paternalistic and insulting.

Second, an individual mandate is unconstitutional. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government given the power to require people to buy a product or service. The closest the Constitution comes to allowing an individual mandate is the commerce clause, which authorizes Congress “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” This doesn’t come very close at all though – whether or not an individual person has insurance doesn’t really affect interstate commerce. 

Third, an individual mandate is unfair. People who don’t need many health services have a right to not pay for many health services. They have a right not to get insurance if that is what makes the most financial sense for them. Forcing them to buy health insurance equates to forcing them to subsidize people who receive more health services. It is simply unfair to make people pay for things they don’t use.

Fourth, and pretty straightforwardly, an individual mandate shrinks our liberty. It eliminates the choice of whether or not to buy health insurance, something that people have every right to do because it hurts no one and is not immoral.

Fifth and finally, an individual mandate would make health insurance costs increase and quality decrease. Why? Well, in a free market, companies have an incentive to keep their prices as low as possible and their quality as high as possible. This is because if the product is too expensive or too low quality, people won’t buy it, and the company won’t make money. With an individual mandate, however, people don’t have the option of not buying the product. Therefore, health insurance companies can charge as much as they want and make their product as confusing and bad as they want, and they won’t lose any business because people are forced to buy it.

Here are some awesome posts from other blogs about the injustice of the individual mandate:

• Below the Beltway – Republican Senator Expresses Support for Mandatory Health Insurance
• Washington Post – Illegal Health Reform
• Cato at Liberty – That Costly Mandate