Obama soon departs on his gracious tour of the Far East. Obama’s policies and personality will have no impact in this region. They will outplay him at every turn. Another non-result. But the trip will be a lovely holiday for his family.

It is also well known that in the UK, and due to the heavy costs, there has been a discreet withdrawal of service for certain sectors of the population. If you are very young or above 50 y o, and suffer from a long and debilitating injury or disease such as coma for example, the doctors will advise that all medicines and food be withdrawn for the patient. In the late eighties, my father had an aneurism in his neck and was in coma. After only two weeks, the doctors advised withdrawal of all medicines and food. I protested, but other family members allowed it. I fully admit that my opinion on the NHS system is biased, but with very good reason I think. This same protocol will arise in the new health care system in America — the only reason being so that the government can save money…

When Obama’s health bill is passed — mark my words — it will be all the worse for Americans. The Bill will also initially provide inefficient, uncompetitive and expensive health care for US citizens. Don’t listen to the blab from the government, who are, without any doubt, in the pockets of the health sector.

The so-called public political debate concerning health care is merely a distraction because the health care bill has already been decided long ago in the health sector’s favour. In The Houses and at the Committee stage, these health care decisions and issues have already been bought and paid for by the health sector.

Bad for America and her citizens.

For so long now, a large segment of our population has been demonizing not only giant oil companies like Exxon, but any “corporation” as evil incarnate. It was a simple political game for most who simply chanted in the rhythm of the chorus of blame. And the castigations were not all always without reason.

Corporate management choices and policies and their sometimes brutish or unintended consequences in a complex world made to seem simple by bumper stickers and political slogans was reason enough for all of us to exercise our right to complain about the stupid or arrogant phone company or gas station raising prices fast but lowering them slowly. The latter being the jerks who make us buy gasoline that pollutes our air and as Al Gore says will drown us in wandering liquid icebergs sooner rather than later or force us to become refugees seeking higher ground.

They did make us buy it, right?

Not sure about that, but am sure we will someday rue the day we did not value our industrial and economic assets as much as the rest of the world does theirs, some of which were once ours.

Flaws and alls.

We may not individually ever admit it, but anyone and everyone with power, from your local politician or regulator, to Obama, Bush or the US Congress, anyone holding the cards to commercial or political rewards, abuses that power, intentionally or unintentionally.

Especially in our increasingly efficiently political world, the most ubiquitous growth industry on a tear, ever. Vastly underestimated in the statistics.

International corporations will go to where the economic growth is. We are killing economic growth in America for the reasons argued by slowsmile and a few more.