March 10, 2008 - What a busy Monday. I got out of the office first thing and went on the road dropping off flyers around town. The rest of the business day went by fast. Ellie and I went to the gym right after work, then had dinner. We drove downtown to St Petersburg after dinner for a swing dance. I got an email earlier that Jamie and Arlene were going to be "auditioning" at a new club and it was free tonight, so I figured we should show up and support him, so that the owner would be impressed with his turn-out. The building was really nice. Everything was stripped and re-done. The floor was all hard wood, the brick-exposed walls were covered in art, the stairs had custom made railings, there were nice leather couches and exposed ducts, it was an ideal urban loft. The only feature lacking was stools at the bar and tables to sit at. We had a good time, making our triumphant return to swing dancing after about a six month hiatus. I remembered most of my moves. I guess dancing is like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how to do it, you never really forget. Today's Presidential Issues discussion is health care. As someone who has had extremely limited exposure to the health care industry through both aversion and luck, I have very little desire for federally provided health care. I don't think anyone should be turned away from basic medical coverage. If they have an emergency and need help, the doctor/hospital should do what they can to keep someone alive. Whether funding for this comes from tax subsidies or from the goodwill of the provider, there is a basic human need to care for someone who is sick. I don't think the government needs to go as far as providing health insurance for every citizen in exchange for a tax similar to social security. Instead, we need to eliminate the predatory billing practices of medical and pharmacologic companies which have different rates depending on who they are talking to - rates that vary grossly depending on whether the person paying is an insurance company representing a huge company, a small company, or if the person paying is an individual. If some individual cannot afford a particular procedure or medication, then we should see the government possibly intervene if it is a necessary and beneficial procedure. Otherwise, the person needs to fund their own health care with their own money. They might have to - gasp - not get Starbucks every day for a few months to pay for it, but that is the way the world works. I, as a taxpayer, shouldn't be subsidizing every other persons medical needs so that they aren't inconvenienced in their daily life. I realize that there are some people whose medical health is extremely messed up and they need serious care, but I also realize there are millions of people taking totally unnecessary prescription drugs because their doctor makes more money when they prescribe drugs rather than telling the person to go on a diet and get some exercise. And once you get on the prescription drug plan, there is no way to stop the train from rolling down the tracks. You get more drugs to counter act the drugs side effects, then you get something else for some new condition, and pretty soon every day you are popping 12 different pills. Well jeez, I wonder why the health care industry is so expensive...everyone is being given pills that cause other problems that have to be treated, rather than being put on a diet to curb their heart disease, their obesity, their diabetes. Doctors should be trained to actively promote constructive rather than destructive behavior, but as long as prescription drugs are the easy way out, they will continue to be the chosen method. And as long as this trend continues, I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing a health care industry that is not serving the population in the best way possible, since we can almost guarantee that whatever the government adds will only be more fat the costs.