The Phoenix metro area is a huge valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. Driving home from a meeting tonight I could see lighting in those mountains that seemed to be heading down into the valley. It was pretty much non-stop, a great light show. But I got to thinking about it as I drove along with a tanker to my right, one that delivers gas to stations. Do those drivers just pray that they don't get hit by lightning? Or is there some provision built into the rig?
The pundits are debating whether or not Sarah Palin is drawing women voters to the Republican ticket that McCain wouldn't get on his own. The poll results show an overall jump for McCain but are female voters a significant part of that jump? The experts can pour over those poll results, but maybe an easier way to answer the question is to look at the T-shirt creations showing up on Zazzle. My favorite is "I'm voting for Palin, and that guy she's running with."
Which brings me to my announcement.
After encouragement from many individuals whose counsel and wisdom I respect, and careful consideration and consultation with my family...I'm taking this opportunity to announce my candidacy for President of the United States!
In the spirit of total honesty and transparency I have to admit that there weren't really any individuals who encouraged me. And Pam will learn about this if/when she reads my post. But I've got at least the same chance that Ron Paul has, and I figure to get more votes than Ralph Nader.
Over the next several posts I'll be laying out key aspects of my platform. I'll be discussing these and other positions in the months ahead, but for now we'll begin with what I believe is one of the most critical issues facing our country.
No, it's not the war on terrorism. Since 9/11 we haven't had a single terrorist attack in the U.S.
And it's not the economy, though that's certainly a cause for some concern. But the best thing the govt. can do for our economy is get out of the way and let market forces do what they have always done - draw things back toward equalibrium. We will, from time to time, experience inflation, or recession, or bubbles in one sector or another. But the free market system is self-correcting if well-intentioned politicians and beurocrats don't meddle with it.
IMHO the greatest challenge and the greatest evil in America today is the number of children in our country who get inadequate health care. In the face of catastrophic medical issues most kids get taken care of with the help of various agencies that step up. But routine dental care, vision care and the like are absent for hundreds of thousands of children in America because their parents lack sufficient medical insurance. How many children struggle in school because their parents can't afford glasses? Or face ridicule because their teeth are decayed or in desparate need of braces? Then there are the routine childhood illnesses that go untreated, causing needless suffering and sometimes grow into serious medical issues.
Here's my solution: tax all spending on pets.
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assoc. Americans spent $38.5 billion on their pets in 2006. Yep, billion. And that figure grows at a rate of 6% per year. Pet supplies and over the counter merchandise accounted for $9.9 million, with another $18.5 million on vet care, medication and non-food supplies. Now add in the thousands of dollars that get spent for a single animal - cat, dog, horse, etc. Forty-five percent of households own more than one pet.
If we place a special tax - say, 2% - on all pet-related spending and designate it for child health care we'd solve the problem in short order.
We do that with other products. We pay special taxes at the gas pump for things like road construction, and special taxes on cigarettes fund anti-smoking campaigns. So it wouldn't be unprecedented.
I don't have the specifics worked out. The funds could provide insurance policies for all children under 18, or pay directly for medical treatment. I wonder about asking retired execs with strong administrative experience to volunteer their time for a year or two to oversee the program, something similar to SCORE (a great program). But all of that can be worked out in time.
The best part of this? Who's going to argue with the plan? To stand up and object is to say that pets are more important than children. You can afford $5,000 for cancer surgery for your Pomeranian but not another $100 so a 6-year old can have glasses? Whassup wid dat?
I have more plans, but there's where I want to start.
We're holding our convention tomorrow night at our house (I hope Pam reads this pretty soon!) It's a BYOP affair (Bring Your Own Pizza) but we'll provide the water. Come on over! And before the night's over I'll be announcing my choice of VP.
Stay tuned!
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