In Defense of Capitalism

The political blabber on TV is really starting to drive me crazy. The two party system is supposed to work like a rope bridge over a canyon: both sides are tight and pull really hard and that brings everyone else up (like the middle of the bridge) Most people in the United States fall somewhere in the middle, but people tend to define themselves and others based on their stances on a few hot button issues.

For example, if you support late-term abortion, your pretty much considered far left even if you are right leaning on everything else. Or if you are completely against homosexuality and gay marriage, you are, more-often-than-not, considered a right winger.

Our differences and the two wings are supposed to bring everyone higher, not create a deeper chasm.

Right now, capitalism is a hot topic in the political sphere. But capitalism is about economics, not politics. It is an economic theory, or system, or whatever, that operates on a set of loose rules: if more people want iPods than Apple can make, the prices go up; if consumers are knowledgeable then a merchant who sells crappy goods won't last very long... etc.

It drives me crazy to hear about how capitalism is evil, or that the poverty in this country is due to "the free market." Capitalism isn't a faith, or a lifestyle, or a person--it's a description of how a system works. Capitalism isn't bad; greed and selfishness are bad. And for some reason, people who support some sort of hybrid socialistic capitalism think that greed and selfishness will go away if we have enough regulation. Does that really make any sense to anyone? Greed and selfishness only go away if people learn to be kind and loving, and if everyone in the world was kind and loving, it really wouldn't matter what economic system a country used.

Okay, I'll admit it: capitalism doesn't make everyone rich. I'll also admit that "poor" has to exist in order for "rich" to exist. Honestly, "rich" is always defined in relation to something else. And what we consider to be poor now would have been a luxurious lifestyle a few centuries ago. Capitalists generally understand that results aren't going to be even... but capitalists also understand most people would give up guaranteed mediocrity in exchange for nearly endless opportunity. And so we enter the classic debate of free markets vs. government.

Those who oppose freedo... ah hem...I mean, free markets, are quick to point out the underprivileged people who are left behind. The rich have better schools and better health care. Millions of Americans are uninsured, and millions more lost half of their retirement because of the free market. "If we just provide proper regulation and more government support, millions of Americans will have better lives." Well I think that's fantastic. I think everyone should have health care and everyone should have a great education. We can argue all day over whether the government or consumers would do a better job of deciding where money should go, but that's really not the point. The true issue concerns the future status of all of the amazing things the markets and capitalism have done. Almost every modern convenience you have in your lives was brought about by competing companies fighting for dollars. Universities in this country are generally regarded as the best in this world, and that is largely due to the fact that they have to compete for prestige and the best students. We need to address the 10% of the economy that isn't working very well, but we cannot do it at the expense of the other 90%.

Now, this isn't an argument against redistribution of wealth (we'll save that for later). This is an argument against the government getting in the way of freedom, innovation, and creativity. Every dollar the government spends is one dollar that someone else doesn't get to decide how to spend.

Lets examine the big bad wal-mart for a minute. First I want to compare walmart to the federal government.

Number of civilian employees--Federal Government: 1.8 million; Walmart 1.4 (approx)

Total Revenue--Federal Government about 2.5 trillion; Walmart: about 400 billion (Paid 7 billion in taxes)

Total Long Term Debt-- Federal Government: Approaching 12 trillion; Walmart: 32 billion.

Debt as a percentage of total revenue-- Federal Government: 480%; Walmart: 8%

So yeah... it's obvious that Walmart is the one stealing all of our money.

But really, even with the loosest lending of 2005 walmart could never have gotten away with the kind of debt that the federal government swims in. Walmart could pay off all of their debt in a year and a half with PROFIT only. The federal government doesn't have any profit.

Now I know some of you (like anyone is actually still reading) are saying that the government has a lot more to take care of... and you are right. But take another look at those numbers. Do you really think we will ever be able to pay that debt? Is that really a responsible way to run a country?

But wait... lets go back to assuming the federal government is this angelic think=tank of business superheroes for a moment. One of the problems with walmart and its domination of the free market is that it is allegedly forcing smaller stores out of business. "See what capitalism does! Pretty soon we'll only be able to shop at walmart, and soon they will raise their prices and enslave us all!" So what is the free market solution? Well, walmart dominates for a few more years and everyone shops there and everyone else goes out of business... and then walmart can get away with poor standards and greed because there isn't any competition, and then smaller stores have the opportunity to compete again. This would take a lot of time, and the damage would be done.

What's the government solution? Fine or tax?

So the government could just take money from Walmart and send it to the other stores. But would the other stores really have the incentive to improve? And even if they did, how would the government decide which stores get the money? Another question is whether that money would even make it down to the little stores, or would the debt machine eat it all first?

But there is another solution: The other stores could just figure out a way to compete. It's already happening all over the place. Grocery stores are becoming more specialized, and offering new products; many drugstores are going toe to toe with walmart and offering $4 prescriptions, and some retail chains are even willing to match walmart pricing.

The economy is just far too large for anyone to really understand completely. But capitalism is one of the freest forms of freedom. Elections only come around ever couple years, but you get to vote with your dollars every single day. If walmart has the best selection you can vote for them, if nebraska furniture mart has an innovative sale you can cast your ballot.

I understand that there are a lot more issues to discuss, and I'd be happy to talk to anyone about it. (i.e., the idea that a clean environment and growth are mutually exclusive, or that capitalism can't survive with the level of corruption in the country etc.)

Random Thoughts v2.0

A friend of mine once told me that everything he didn't understand was magic to him. Like a car engine, for example, was basically magic. "Now I'm going to turn this key, and continuous explosions will make these wheels turn at amazing speeds." Well, rechargeable batteries are magic to me... extremely frustrating magic, mind you. Electricity is amazingly powerful: it sent marty mclfy back to the future, it can petrify felines on super high power lines, and it can travel at super speeds. Nevertheless, my battery takes an hour or two to charge. I just don't understand this magic. I can fill up a gallon of water with the tap in about 30 seconds... but I can't fill up a tiny battery with electricity unless I plug it in over night? that's lowsy, I say.

I love diet drinks. I just love them. Sure, I'm probably going to get cancer from the artificial sweeteners, and my lungs are slowly turning into swiss cheese as a result of the potent carbonation of my brews... but those drinks give me pleasure. However, I am no longer a fan of regular soda. Regular soda tastes like medicine, or maple syrup. It's too sweet, and it's just trying to hard. It's like it's trying to trick me into thinking that something nasty is actually tasty (Like Cherry flavored dimetap). This strong opinion causes me problems when overqualified Arby's employees, who currently can't find a job anywhere else, give me regular Dr. Pepper instead of Diet. Therefore, I move that all diet drinks shall get new names! Apparently, the word "Diet" is not enough of a modification to the regular name. My Guiltless, zero-calorie addiction shall now be called Dr. Splenda!

I love the show "Lost". My wife and I have recently started watching it on the internet. I think it's really convenient that the island community has a good looking, confident, super strong doctor to lay down the law. (It's like he's bear grylls or something) But what if you really got stuck on an island with a doctor, but his specialty was podiatry... or better yet, proctology. I mean come on... in the rare case that you would actually need a colonoscopy on a diet of boar, berries, and bananas, I don't think bamboo medical tools would do the job very well... ouch!

We recently signed up for a free trial of Netflix, and so far we are really happy. Part of the coolness of netflix is that it lets you rate movies, and then it gives you recommendations for movies to watch. Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but I've rated 600 movies. It goes really quick, and it didn't take that long to rate them, but just think of how long I spent watching them! Good grief. That's 1200-1500 hours of movie time.. not including the time it takes to choose the movie and drive to watch it or pick it up. A 4 year college degree only takes about 1800 in-class hours. Oh, and that doesn't include the 168 hours of 24 I own, or the 300+ hours of American Idol I've enjoyed. (I've also watched all 178 episodes of star trek the next generation)

Yikes!

I'm constantly amazed by my daughter Kate. She's changing so fast and it's amazing to watch. She can't talk, walk, or feed herself, but she's already the most fascinating person I've ever met. She's a good baby, but like all babies, she does cry here and there. I was trying to comfort her the other day and a thought came to me: What if adults never got over the whole crying thing. What if everytime you were hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, bored, or tired you could just wail and wail. Most of my law school classes would never have a quiet moment. I imagine every class I've ever been to in my 18 years of education had a least one person that was hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, bored, or tired. I imagine there would be someone crying in every minute of every class. My first reaction is that nothing would ever get done... but maybe I'm being to negative. Maybe we'd live in a more accommodating world with individual thermostats, food and drink on demand, and siestas throughout the day. That sounds pretty nice.

Average ability, great opportunity.

". . . but be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some acheive greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." (Shakespeare's "Twelth Night")

"Ability involves responsibility; power to its last particle, is duty." (Alexander Maclaren)

So what about the rest of us? Born average, average achievement, completely unthrusted upon (out of the gutter please) Spiderman the movie even takes a cue from Mr. Maclaren when Uncle Ben says "with great power comes great responsibility." I love those quotes, and they make me feel all warm and fuzzy, but I don't think they are complete. I believe Jesus said it better: "for whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required . . ." (Luke 12:48) It's true that greatness or power can be given to a man, and therefore much would be required, but opportunity can also be a gift. There is so much need in this world, and as a result, there are many opportunities to make a difference.

The economy is in the tank, millions of Americans don't have access to health care, the public school system is falling behind, and even the post office is on the road to failure. So what are you going to do about it? Wait and see if the politicians fix it, and if they don't you'll vote em the heck out of there? Good luck with that.

Now is the time to come together. Families, communities, churches, and other organizations can improve any situation as long as people are willing to work.

We've been given the opportunity to live in one of the greatest ages the earth has ever seen. New advances in medicine, technology, and creativity are unprecedented. And now, as our security and prosperity seem to be slipping away, we all look around to find someone to blame. But in the end, you will be judged, whether by man or God, based on what you did with what you had.

I still believe that we can turn things around through hard work, determination, and a load of optimism. We are constantly having great opportunities thrust upon us. And even though these opportunities are coming in the form of adversity, we must do our best to face them with enthusiasm rather than cynicism.

Got healthcare?

Just a warning right off the bat, the length/interesting ratio is probably not sufficient for most people. But if you do feel like reading this, I'd like to hear your comments.

I've almost always wanted to be a doctor. Sure, there were times when I wanted to be a fireman, action hero, or astronaut, but being a physician was my most consistent dream. I sort of feel like it was my calling in life, but it might just be those fancy white coats they get to wear. I suppose buying one at a supply store would be more affordable than a medical education. But no matter what the cause, every time I go into a hospital or a doctors office I feel like I'm at home, or like I'm supposed to be there. Nevertheless, as it often happens, plans changed. I got distracted by potential adventures in Asia, or bankers hours, or an easier lifestyle. After I finally snapped out of it I walked down the medical road for a bit, but I was too far away from contention for medical school, and I had more family oriented goals that needed to be attended to.

So now I'm a lawyer in training--a "blood sucker," if you will. One of my goals in life is to use my powers for good instead of evil. I want to defend Doctors and Hospitals. Don't get me wrong, I think patients need good attorneys too, but that's just not my thing. Hopefully whoever I go up against will be capable, and the truth will come out. (Of course in this job market, I'd be happy to fight for the oppressed patients! or patents, or contracts, or whatever.)

So I have very strong feelings about health care, and it's making me so mad lately that the solutions are getting all screwed up by politics. Public options, socialized medicine, free market, government health care, blah blah blah. But before I get to that I want to talk about the "why" instead of the "how".

Is health care a human right? An essential requirement for our government to provide? Or is it a privilege or luxury? This is an important question, because if you are arguing with someone who answers that question differently than you, then you will have trouble coming to any type of agreement. Honestly, if you think it's a privilege, like Cable TV or the internet (which some might argue is essential) then a mandate requiring everyone to have it might rub you the wrong way. Honestly, it would really irk me if President Obama said "Every home in this country must have the internet! If you don't have it, you'll be subject to a fine. To keep competition honest, we will provide a government internet service provider" I don't see health care as a privilege or luxury-I've thought about this for a couple years and I just don't see it that way. If you slip on some ice and break your arm, you should be able to go to the ER without it destroying your finances. If a cute little girl gets leukemia, she should get care without bankrupting her entire family. I find it hard to believe that anyone out there would really say "TOUGH LUCK" to the uninsured if they looked at it on a case by case basis.

So how do we do it? I don't know. But I think I'll spend a lot of my life trying to figure this out. I'm just afraid the government might act a little too rashly and screw it all up first. :)

First, to all you Democrats out there: stop blaming the markets and insurance companies for the high cost of medical care. That's kind of a bull crap argument. Health care is expensive, and we want to have the best health care in the world, so don't pretend that it can just be cheap because you want it to be so. NASA isn't affordable, and neither is the Military. Sure, preventative care and better efficiency will cut costs, but the current health care proposals won't really do a good job of that. What are they going to do? Mandate that everyone get a physical every year? Create drive-thru proctologists? Or maybe tell you that you can't get that MRI even if your insurance covers it? That sounds like a reduction in freedom to me.

Both sides seem to favor tort reform, but there are serious consequences I won't go into here, and the financial impact will not be all that substantial. (One speaker at a seminar even said that completely eliminating all medical lawsuits would only reduce costs by 2-3%, so that 20k medical bill is now only 19,400)

Next, I have to argue with the republicans out there. I don't think public options are the same as socialized medicine.....at all. A simple example is the post office. Even though UPS, Fed Ex, and DHL are limited in terms of shipping letters, they are free to compete with the post office on packages. Is there any evidence that the existence of a government postal service has eaten up all the private competitors? I know it isn't the same thing, but I feel like it's taking it way to far to say that having a government health insurance would automatically swallow up other insurers. I guess if you think the government is completely evil, you may think that they will offer ridiculously cheap insurance that will drive all private companies out of the market and create a socialistic health care system. But do you have any evidence of this happening in another industry? I think worst case scenario a public option would just end up like public education. Private schools are limited but still widely available.

I would personally be much more comfortable if the government had a very limited role. Why not offer preexisting condition insurance through the government? Or trauma insurance that is available to everyone. If private companies didn't have to cover preexisting conditions or amounts over $100,000, the premiums would most certainly go down. That would mean that you'd still be in the market to compare rates and choose the cheapest/best coverage for you, but you wouldn't be completely disadvantaged because of a medical condition that is partially, if not completely, out of your control. Of course this would create a gov't bureaucracy that would have to decide what they would cover and what they wouldn't cover.... but it's not like Congress' current plan is going to run itself.

So what are your thoughts? Is healthcare a right or a privilege? Will a public option destroy the system and turn us into Europe? Can we have the best health care in the world without it being the most expensive? Are saturated fats and willy wonka really to blame for this mess?

Wife Magic

So I was sitting around the other day at home, thinking about my comfortable apartment and marvelling at how nice and affordable it is, and I decided to write a tribute to my wife for introducing me to a couple examples of the magical wifey type stuff out there.

Laundry Basket

During my bachelorhood, this was called "the corner." I always figured that if my clothes didn't stink or look terrible, then I could always get them back out of the corner. I would have a big mound of clothing, like a little clothing club, and I would do huge loads of laundry on occassion. I understand that I'm a man, and that clothing gets dirty, but my stink factor is low enough that the underwear acts as a decent shield for at least 3 wears... and I didn't actually do manly work, so it's not like I was getting grease all over my banker clothes. So the philosophy was : "wash the undies and exercise clothes often, and the rest will last me a while. Think about it, 10 outfits, three days each= 30 days with no laundry. And I really only had to go shopping once every 18 months or so. I think if I didn't have to separate lights and darks, I would probably just use the washing machine as a laundry basket.

But now my eyes have been opened. I still manage to make a little pile where my wife doesn't walk, but there is this magic white basket where my dirty clothes can go, and then I can tell the difference between dirty clothes and clean clothes (I'm not really that bad, but maybe a little) And for some reason, some crazy crazy reason, my room doesn't smell like a muskrat. I'm still a slob compared to my wife, and I try to make it up to her, but serious progress has been made.

I always said "Who needs a laundry basket" and apparently the answer is "anyone who can afford $3.99 at walmart."

Curtains

Curtains are just not manly. Do you disagree? I'd be fine correcting my post with any manly examples you can think of, but I really can't. Men don't need curtains... if mini blinds just won't do, then we'll make up a teflon-titainum substance that fights back the sun army and keeps our house cool. Think of a super spy that has curtains in his office? Anyone? Anyone? Do lumberjacks have curtains in their cabin? Do pirates have curtains on their port holes? I think the President of the United States has curtains in the oval office, but I'm not supposed to think that's a manly job, and I'm sure he doesn't do the decorating anyway. When I was a bachelor and I didn't like the bright light in my window at 6 am that the blinds couldn't fight off, I just hung a jungle sheet that I found at the DI. It blocked out most of the light, and put tiger stripe shadows on the wall.

But again, my eyes were opened. Did you know that curtains are awesome? I'm not yankin' yer chain here, I'm serious. The light in our apartment is all golden now, and I have so many options. Open window, open blinds, open curtains.... open curtains, closed blinds... I can even have open window closed curtains and then they just blow in the wind like a russian ballerina, instead mini blinds, that clank in the window like a monkey in a cage.. Maybe curtains should be manly... But that's like making a skirt manly... wait, wait... Kilt Curtains! Can you say business opportunity!

Zip Loc Bags

My teeth can chew threw steel. I'm a man.. I can eat tree bark. Do you seriously expect me to be afraid of stale licorice? And I'm resourceful, I can just use the grocery bag to cover the cheese after I open it. Air tight? No, but who cares... Air never hurt me none.

But little did I know.. really, did you know that if you use a zip loc bag for licorice after you open it, it's like you have fresh licorice every time? Fresh redvines are sweet heavenly gifts... and stale redvines are like cherry dog toys (still delightful, however) And, did you know that cheese doesn't get that weird baking soda flavor if you keep it sealed air tight? Before I got married I just figured that it was silly to spend 2.49 every 6 months on bags.... oh was I wrong!

So thanks Nat, for bringing these miracles into my life.. Oh yeah, and for having my Baby. :)

(Disclaimer: For those of you who don't know me, I'm not really that stupid, and I understand that a Baby is more of a miracle than a zip loc bag.... do they make zip loc diapers? Business opportunity number 2! Think Billy Mays would pitch the idea?)

My Brain = No Vacancy

My brain can't take it anymore; no, wait... my brain won't take it anymore. I don't really know how to explain this feeling, but right now my brain is like a bank vault at night: nothing can open it but time. This isn't fatigue, and I'm not sleepy. My brain actually will not accept information. This has happened 3 times in my life: right now, the night after I finished my 8 hour final last semester, and after memorizing 300 chinese characters a couple years ago. I can still access information, and I'm still thinking clearly, but I can't learn anything.. This is especially inconvenient because I need to be learning about joining parties in a lawsuit. I think running would help, but I already did that. Alcohol is not an option. I think television is my only hope, and that's kind of ironic. Avoiding learning and wasting time watching Heroes on hulu.com might actually help me get ready for my next final. Pure awesomeness.

Random late-night thoughts.

Running aggravates every current condition. Sore knee: aggravated; asthma: aggravated; full bladder: aggravated; "squirts", uh aggravated. Then you see a UPS truck. What can brown do for you? Nothing pleasant, thank you very much.

My wife's office (old building, probably built when mildew was a preferred fragrance) has a bomb/fall-out shelter. I'm glad she'll be safe if the "War Games" computer actually starts a nuclear war, but the real question is whether a person really wants to live to see a zombie apocalypse with only stoner students and academics to protect them. "I teach philosophy, we must convince the zombies to listen to reason" [eaten] "I'm a scientist, I will find a cure" [eaten].

A good way to gain humility is to feel stupid for a while. A good place to feel stupid (for me, and probably you) is on a farm. Put me on a farm and I'm friggin Billy Crystal (city slickers) My IQ is probably okay, but my farming IQ is embarrassingly low. But who needs to know how to grow food right? I mean, honestly, I'm in law school. Great, a lot of good the uniform commercial code is going to do me in the zombie apocalypse. "I have a legal action against you, Mr. Zombie" [eaten]

Everything I know and do is influenced by movies or TV in one way or another. I've been to school for a long time now, but I find that I mix movie and TV knowledge in with real world knowledge. "Mr. Berger, do you need probable cause to stop a person from entering their home and possibly tainting evidence?" "Yes." "And how do you know that" "Um, huh... well, it's on page.... let me see. Oh. Nope, I actually saw that on a Law and Order episode. Sorry."

Other example:

How do you stop an asteroid from destroying the earth?

Drill a hole in it and put a nuclear warhead inside to split it in two= movie knowledge.

Use the gravitational pull of a spacecraft to slowly shift the asteroid over a long period of time = real world (albeit hypothetical) knowledge.

For the most part, I only get addicted to stupid things. Facebook is a great example. Facebook has a 20/1 stupid/good ratio. For every one tidbit of useful information I have to sift through 20 pieces of virtual crapsludge. "What car would you be" quizzes, "pieces of flair" , and "John Doe is finally going to do it" statuses. Really? Do what? What are you going to do? Apparently you don't think I care enough about what you are actually doing to tell me, so you want me to guess, because whatever I guess will automatically be cooler than what you are actually doing. But heck, I'll bite. "What are you doing?" --- "I'm going to move". Yeah.... "John Doe is going to move" was way too hard to type. And then there are the TMI people. To help those people who lack brain filters to help them I've developed this:

List of topics that shant be discussed in public view on facebook: (Statuses, and walls)

Divorces, hemorrhoids, female anatomy, how stupid your boss is, bankruptcy, moral bankruptcy, racism, sexism, stranded on a desert island fantasies, and anything else you don't want EVERY SINGLE ONE of your friends to know about.

I love my wife. I'm really surprised she puts up with me. My brain works like windows vista. It doesn't matter how much man-ram I have, some processes will just take all of my attention. It's like when your computer is trying to get all booted up so it takes 5 minutes to open a browser to check the weather. For example, during the last 2 minutes of any sporting event, from football to badminton, I am completely useless. "Sorry, your simple request can not be processed at this time, please wait for available man-ram." "Honey, what time do you have class in the morning" ---100% of Man-Ram is being used for this thought: "Come on team USA, don't let that shuttlecock hit the ground!!!"