Rationing Health Care

Health care is the topic of the day on every media outlet. People who have none, want some type of basic care. Many Republican and the wealthy who have it, don't want to pay for others care by increased taxes,etc.

Should health care be rationed? Many diseases and health problems are due to individual choices such as eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, smoking, etc. Should care for the obese, smokers, sexual diseases such as STD's and HIV be limited in some manner?

What about extreme care for convicts in prisons, drug and alcohol addiction, transplants & heart surgery, and numerous life extending techniques for the elderly over the age of 75? Some would estimate those groups account for over 50% of health costs!

While there is no simple answer to health reform, all options should be examined, including rationing.

Marketing America

Gone are the glory days of never ending prosperity, unlimited resources, free open lands, and unending possibilities of the future. “The Golden Age” lasted a short 100 years. From the age of “Robber Barons” such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, and others to the modern, just plain robbers of Enron, GM, AIG, and the likes of Bernard Madoff.

The land of opportunity is now the land of foreclosure, bankrupt companies, unemployment and welfare. The American dream of a house with a picket fence, married with two children, a new car in every garage and the good life, is now attainable by only a few. The quote, “Give us your tired, your hungry, and your poor”, no longer applies.

The “Welcome “ sign on American shores has been replaced by signs that say “Do Not Disturb”, “No Vacancy”, and “For Sale”. How do we market failure? How do we change a myth into a possibility? Perhaps a reality check is in order.

Lifestyles based on immediate gratification and credit, were always bogus, but ignored.

Get rich quick, aggressive personalities, schemes and scams, cannot replace hard work and intelligence.

Money cannot buy happiness, but being a wage slave is not fun either.

As ye sew, so shall ye reap. What goes around comes around. Karma is a bitch.

The mega rich have always been unscrupulous, immoral, arrogant, and greedy. We have only begun to notice, cause they have been caught at it.

Rather than market America as a concept of unlimited potential for wealth, prosperity, and success, perhaps we should market America as “home”, a place of honor, stability, respect, love, beauty, morals, integrity, and self-reliance. A concept that men/women really are equal, not merely words on paper.

Imagine marketing America that way. Imagine being “Home”.

Blog Updates, Statistics and More

OK, now I've added statistics (analytics), blog rankings, RSS Feeds, updated search engines, updated directories, added new content, affiliates, links, etc. It seems to be slowly working, but I don't see any money yet..like not even one cent!

I peruse other blogs that claim to have thousand of hits. Some are better than mine, or older, but most are worse in both content and appearance. I don't get it.but am unwilling to PAY anyone for results they promise. So day by day, hopefully after five years of blogging, I'll make my first dime! Cool.

Blog Rankings

I've rebuilt my blog appearance, blog more often, updated affiliates, updated blog directories, added "statistics", social media links, and in general have increased promotion. Now, after four years...show me the money!

I don't use scams, misleading information, spam, junk leads, etc. I don't expect to have to "pay" for followers, promotion, or to increase traffic. After looking at "competitors", I see many of the exact same promotional videos, secrets, and general hoopla on every blog. This would appear to make mine "different".

I'll retain my own "Lone Wolf" methods of honesty, self promotion and scam free links and sites. It works or not, but my personal ethics remain intact.

Advertising, Sales, & Turnover

I have lived in several major market areas in the last 15 years: Detroit, Denver, and Portland, OR. They all have one basic thing in common, the number one advertiser's on TV are Mattress and Furniture stores, who run sales 24/7, 365 days per year! Obviously, no one ever pays full retail for a mattress or a sofa. But 20% off, all the time, is just a lower "everyday" price. Off hand, their Ad budgets must be 25% of sales, and what about profit? In these same markets, dozens of these same stores go out of business yearly. Whose left to buy from?

At the opposite extreme, many merchants seem to never advertise or have sales, or ever lower prices, as if that would demean the products and reputation of what is sold. Yet, they too are slowly going out of business. Both extremes are perhaps symptoms of poor or bad management.

When I was in retail management, back in the 1980's, sales were often a monthly event, clearance was to move slow or poor sellers, in another word, turnover! Most sales or clearance starts at 20% off and continues until the inventory is exhausted. Most retailers would probably be happy with 1.5 turns per month. Some others are more aggressive, basing replenishment and mark downs on as little as a weeks sales. I am in that category...if it's not selling, why keep it?

In summary advertising and "sales" should be part of a management plan wit a goal in mind over the long term. Managing inventory for maximum profits is just as important as human resource, marketing, or financial management.

Retirement Without Money...Better Than Working?

I remember when I worked, before my forced retirement in 2005, all the stories about how much money one needed to have stashed away for retirement!

Yes, you need millions if you want that $750,000 home in a gated golf course community with a $5000 mortgage payment, a new BMW and a Lexus for that trophy wife. But you don't need that to "live" or survive.

As I blog this, it has been almost two years since I have had any money, income or assets. I'm not old enough for SS and my SSDI was denied twice. I had a "survival job for one year, working for $7.49/hr, but with %525 rent, utilities, food, and bills was worse off than with nothing!

As previous blogs mention, I was living on the street in two different states for six months, than five months in homeless shelters. It's not great eating in soup kitchens or living in a dorm with 95 other guys. I thought of it as "Camp".

But it is better than being a wage slave, not knowing if your soon to be laid off, to lose you home and car, and be responsible for feeding two kids and a wife who blames you for all that is wrong! Suicide is better than that, which is why more folks take that route!

Am I happy? My counselor probably will say no. But I am surviving, until that first SS check arrives in October 2010. Life has given me lemons and I made Margaritas!

Scams, Shams, & The Internet

Scams and shams…the Internet is chuck full of them. I fell for a Twitter Follower scam, “Get 10,000 followers per day” for my Twitter account of this Blog. I signed up…and got dozens of African–American rapper, gangster, and crack hoe followers tweeting from the hood, following faster than I could delete them, finally I had to take the site “Private”. These “followers” had nothing to do with marketing, advertising or Internet affiliates, they were just annoying and junk spam! Readers know, I have even been scammed by Ebay & PayPal…my advice, don’t take the easy way, get your followers the old fashioned way…. earn them!