Here is a letter I wrote to Florida Governor Rick Scott:
Dear Mr. Scott,
When you successfully ran as governor, you said you were a businessman, not a politician.
I have a little business experience, but I have never studied business in school. I have no MBA or any other business degrees or certifications. Economics was not my best subject.
But one business principle I did learn in all my years of working in retail business is this: If a customer has made a buying decision and is ready to spend money your way, lead him directly to the cash register. Do not try to change his mind by trying to upgrade him into a more expensive item or questioning his purchase.
You only need to say one of three sentences to that customer:
“I’ll see if it is in stock.”
“Will that be cash, charge, or credit?”
“Thank you for your business!”
In your decision to end High Speed Rail, you violated this principle. The Federal Government was going to give you money to build a rail line in one of Florida’s most populous and fastest-growing regions. You ignored almost two decades of work by leaders of both parties. You turned down money from someone else that would provide badly needed jobs to this state. While you said it would be too expensive, you did not even take the time to consult with rail vendors to find out what the cost would be or even do a feasibility study.
Imagine a tailor who just started at a well-established and respected shop. His boss comes in after seeing a longtime customer come out of a competitor’s store.
“Didn’t Mr. Smith come by our place?” the boss asked. “He’s shopped here for years!”
“Yes he did, but I told him we couldn’t help him,” the tailor said. “I don’t think we can afford to do business with him.”
“What?” the boss asked incredulously. “Don’t you think you should check with me first before you turn a customer away?”
“First of all, he’s too fat!” the tailor said. “He weighs close to 500 pounds. There is no way he can afford a suit from us. We don’t even have enough material for him! If we did, it would cost us too much!”
“Did you check with our suppliers first to negotiate a bulk rate on the material? They said they could help us out on special purchases.”
“No.”
“Did you sit down and quote him a price?”
“No, but I know it would be more than he can afford. I’ve heard he’s spent too much around town.”
“Did you bother to check his credit? He’s always paid our account with us.”
“I just knew it would be too much trouble. I suggested he come back and see us when he loses weight. We don’t want fat old customers like him ruining our image!”
“Our image has been making fat old customers like him look good!” the boss said. “That’s how we have made money all these years!”
Do you really think that tailor would stay employed long? If I were his boss, he would be out the door immediately.
The tailor’s actions do not make good business sense. Neither does your decision. Your actions show a lack of salesmanship and total disregard for the work so many people have put into this project. If this is the way you do business, people should take their business elsewhere.
People want to talk about how the vitriolic rhetoric contributed to the shooting that left Judge John Roll and five others dead and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded. Some liberal blogs blamed Sarah Palin and others in the Tea Party.
I agree we need to be more civil, but the shooting was not the work of the Tea Party. The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, posted plenty of anti-government rants, but none were anti-Semitic (Giffords was Jewish), pro-gun rights, or even against Obama. In fact, had Giffords been a tea partier and birther, she still might have been in Loughner’s crosshairs.
But one fact is apparent – Jared Lee Loughner is a mentally unbalanced man. His YouTube rant makes little sense. His classmates at Pima Community College were scared of him, sitting next to the door in case he snapped. He was suspended from class , not allowed back until he underwent a mental health evaluation.
Eventually, the focus of discussion of the shooting is going to be on mental illness. Online psychologists say Loughner is probably paranoid schizophrenic, but no one can diagnose him from a distance. And even if he was truly paranoid schizophrenic, that alone does not make him dangerous. People with schizophrenia are no more likely to be dangerously violent than anyone else.
But Loughner was not just weird and fearful; he was downright scary. So, the question remains – was Loughner ever evaluated? The warning signs were there, but did anybody try to get this man any help? Could anyone get him any help?
And if the help was there, it is doubtful that Loughner would take the help voluntarily. He thought the Army, the Government, and Pima Community College were out to get him. Imagine how he would feel about psychiatrists.
If we’re going to discuss the politics behind the shooting, let’s discuss the politics of mental health. There is no part of government that needs more reform than our current public policy on mental health. Years ago, we threw the mentally ill in jail. Reformers came, and we established sanitariums. When those were deemed too cruel and expensive, we closed the. But we never replaced them with anything useful.
So where do we put the seriously mentally ill now? In jails! The three largest mental health institutions in the United States are New York’s Riker’s Island, Chicago’s Cook Island Jail, and the Los Angeles County Jail. None of the three are known for their compassionate care, although they do get care. Many more are homeless and receive no treatment at all.
Another problem is that we no longer commit people unless they are “an imminent danger to themselves or others.” In other words, before he shot of the Safeway, Loughner could not be forced into treatment. He made no direct threats to anyone. With 31 rounds into 20 innocent people, he can be committed now.
But even with those laws, the treatment is inadequate. Public mental health is poorly funded. Once the committed are stable, they are released. And when they are released, they discontinue treatment and relapse.
Part of the reason governments don’t fund mental illness treatment properly is the stigma behind mental illness. Tell someone you have cancer, and that person will give you compassion. Tell someone you’re seriously mentally ill, and you are treated as if you are contagious.
Because of that stigma, the privacy laws regarding mental illness are stringent to the point of doing more harm than good. If you want to find out the condition of a family member who is in the hospital with a heart attack or even hemorrhoid surgery, the doctor can fill you in on the relative’s condition. But ask about an adult relative who is being treated with a mental illness, and the doctor cannot talk to you. Unless the patient signs a release, the doctor cannot even acknowledge that the relative is a patient.
Tea partiers may complain about the ACHA (aka Obamacare), but mental illness requires government-backed health programs. Many private insurance plans limit the amount of mental health treatments to between 8 and 12 a year, but some patients need to see their therapists more than once a month.
The most effective treatment for mental illnesses are drug therapy, but drug policies often prevent the right drug getting to the patient. Take for example two anti-depressants, Prozac and Zoloft, and two patients suffering from depression. Two drugs are similar, and the patients are about the same age, sex, and body type. They have the same symptoms. Prozac may work for first patient, but Zoloft doesn’t. The second patient responds to Zoloft, but Prozac does nothing for the patient. Suppose the second patient’s insurance allows only Prozac? The patient must pay out of pocket for Zoloft, a drug that can cost hundreds of dollars a month.
Yes, treating mental illness is expensive, and the ones who need treatment the most cannot afford it. But if governments do not treat mental illness, it becomes more costly. Effective community treatment reduces the amount of time spent institutionalizing the patient, whether the institution is a jail or a hospital.
But right now, governments are cutting back on mental health along with other public services. When help is most needed, most agencies have to figure out a way to keep the same treatment with less resources. It’s getting worse.
We need to change our public policy to allow more assertive treatment for mental illness and properly fund programs. We also need to change our attitudes about mental illness, removing the stigma involved. Some of the changes require more government, but this is one time we need government to act. Other changes only involve our attitudes and don’t cost anything.
If we don’t change, we will have more incidents like those in Tuscon, at Virginia Tech, and other places.
With all the talk about healthcare, let me share my recent experience.
For the record, I am 49, unemployed, and a Type 2 diabetic. Since my last employer did not carry health insurance, I had to buy the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan offered through Cover Florida. It was my only option, since private health insurance companies are not lining up to offer policies to 49-year-old diabetics.
Lately, I have been having pains in my abdomen, along with other symptoms that should not be discussed in public. I saw my regular doctor, who referred me to a specialist. The gastroenterologist recommended a colonoscopy to see what was causing the pain. He charged me $200 for the consultation. My insurance only covered $50 of the cost of the visit.
For those unfamiliar with a colonoscopy procedure, it involves sticking a tube through your anal sphincter and up the Hershey highway. As uncomfortable as that sounds, it is relatively painless. You are conveniently knocked out while you are violated with medical equipment.
Seriously, a colonoscopy can save your life. It is the most effective test for colo-rectal cancer. If there are polyps found, the doctor can remove them during the procedure. Also, a colonoscopy is normally done on an outpatient basis, so you don’t have to stay overnight in a hospital.
The worst part of a colonoscopy is the preparation. The day before the procedure, your digestive system must be cleaned out. You can only consume clear liquids and laxatives. No solid foods, and don’t stray to far away from your bathroom. You will literally have a shitty day.
Since I was surprised by the amount for the consult, I asked the doctor’s office how much the colonoscopy would cost out-of-pocket. The $200 for the office visit set me back, and I needed to make arrangements to get the money.
After a few phone calls to the doctor’s office and the hospital where the procedure would be performed, I got my answer: $700 for the doctor, and $3000 for the hospital. My insurance has a $3000 deductible, meaning it could not help with any of the expenses. It was like I got the colonoscopy without the ansthesia!
I cancelled my appointment. There is no way I could afford it. The pain in my stomach remains. I will wait until I have the means to pay for the colonoscopy then reschedule.
If I lived in a so-called “socialist” country such as Great Britain, Canada, Japan, or France, I would probably have to wait awhile for the procedure too. Government-run medicine does have waiting lists. But it would not cost me the money that it costs in the good ol’ capitalist USA. My wait time might not be as long as it is here.
A partial solution to the problem lies in Congress right now. It will not solve my problem, but it will alleviate it some. Yet, I hear a lot of crazy stories about what this healthcare will do – raise taxes astronomically, deny old people and disabled children care, and replace our doctors with government bureaucrats – and none of this is true. Healthcare is already rationed by private insurers. Corporate bureaucrats make decisions that doctors should make.
Worse yet, we pay twice as much as other most other countries. Because we have no cost controls, Americans literally subsidize the rest of the world’s healthcare. Don’t believe me? Check out this graph from National Geographic.
Until we a good national comprehensive healthcare package passed, all of us will be stuck with our current inefficient package. Financially, we all get colonscopies until this bill is passed. And those of us with inadequate health insurance will have some shitty days.
Much to the dismay of Cleveland fans, Nike, network officials, some of the refs, and many in the national media, the Orlando Magic knocked off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-90 in Game 6. Now they face the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Dwight was amazing. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkolu, Mickeal Pietrus, and Rafer Alston kept raining in threes. Everybody played defense. King James played great, but the rest of his team failed to step up. The better team won.
Now there is more talk about how sad it is for Cleveland. How the poor fans of Cleveland have suffered since 1964. How bad things are in the “Mistake by the Lake.” How Cleveland fans worry that their superstar will leave for the bright lights of New York.
Puleeze! Orlando needs this more or as much as Cleveland does. We don’t have a 1964. We had a 1995, where we went to the Finals, only to get swept by the Houston Rockets. Instead of developing a dynasty, our superstar Shaquille O’Neal left town for LA the following year. Next came Penny’s meltdowns, Grant Hill coming on crutches, and a hockey GM.
Cleveland has the Indians, the Browns, and the Cavs. We only have the Magic. Cleveland may be ugly, cold, and feeling the recession. Orlando is definitely a better-looking town, but there are some very ugly tacky parts. And for every high-rolling fans in the stands of Amway, there are five working at minimum wage jobs in a hotel, theme park, or restaurant. Not a lot of great union jobs here!
But the biggest reason is that Orlando needs the Magic to bring it together. Most of us are transplants from other places. The Orlando is just a tourist spot or a stopover, and the home office is elsewhere. Most of us here keep our hometown allegiance.
The Magic remind people that we actually live here. We can come together to make this a home instead a layover. We can have good schools, nightspots, and culture right here.
We took care of the storied and defending champion Celtics. We overthrew King James and the Cavs. Now we need to finish Kobe and the robbing Lakers.
Didn’t he know that waterboarding and stress positions were against the Geneva Convention and all American laws? That the only answers you get are the ones you want to hear, not the actual truth?
Didn’t he consider that these actions will inspire more terrorism instead of making us more safe?
Like many people, I wonder what all the fuss is about Twitter. The only value I see is that it limits posts to 140 characters. But if the point is to let everyone know what I’m doing at the present moment, let me save you the trouble.
Here’s my tweet:
I’m typing on a computer. It’s what I do for both work and play.
If I’m not typing a computer, then I am in a meeting (where I might be typing on a computer), driving, sleeping, or playing with my son. You see, I don’t have much of a life or at least one people would find interesting. Unless you are climbing a mountain, crossing a continent, or making love to a beautiful woman, I’m not interested in your life, either.
But when I do something fun and interesting, then I have something better to do with my time than type on a computer. Therefore, I don’t tweet.
The New York Times Magazine has a great cover story of Allonzo Trier, a 12-year-old basketball phenom who is already attracting a lot of attention and “handlers.” Everybody wants to help him.
Allonzo is quite a talent as the clip below shows. He works hard at the game, practicing by himself and with his AAU team for hours each day. His mother, who raises him alone, sacrifices to help him work on his game.
Needless to say, a lot of men want to help him. A high school coach gives him private coaching. Others want him to play for their AAU teams. Allonzo already has all the basketball shoes he needs and his own line of clothes. College coaches send him questionnaires, the only way the NCAA allows them to contact kids not yet in high school. Allonzo has dyslexia, so he gets tutoring help paid for by NBA star Brandon Roys’s foundation.
Of course, what do these people want out of it? Do they really want to help the young man, or do they want a piece of whatever NBA fortune that comes Allonzo’s way? Henry Abbott of ESPN’s TrueHoop casts doubt of everyone’s motives, including Roy’s.
It could be a little of both. If Allonzo’s talents were in music, would anyone question the motives of people buying him instruments and lessons? Would you not want to help out a budding Mozart or Stevie Wonder?
Yet basketball attracts its share of handlers looking for prodigies to hang onto until they make it to a major college or the NBA. Most basketball phenoms come from lower economic classes. The contrast between where they come from and the minimum NBA salary is night and day.
But unlike other sports, basketball prodigies are easier to spot. At 12-years-old, baseball players have not faced curve balls or anything close to major league pitching. Football players risk injury, and their true size and skills do not appear until high school.
But look at Allonzo in the video. Most 12-year-olds basketball players can only dribble and shoot effectively with one side of their body. Although Allonzo still favors his right side, he can do layups from both sides of the basket. He has tremendous peripheral vision and zips right past taller players.
So what do you do with a phenom like Allonzo, who seems unspoiled by the attention? Wish him well. Tell him there is more to life than basketball. Help him like Roy does with his reading skills. And cheer him on as he plays.
