Making the Case for Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines

The federalist makes a good case in rebutting one of its own. The case for competition across state lines between insurers is not between different companies, who will always compete on prices and services but in state regulations. Laws and regs will always cause price and quality to vary and allow for states to compete just as the insurers do. 

Clancy argues – correctly – that what Republicans really want is not so much competition among insurers, but competition among regulatory regimes; undoubtedly more insurers would already offer a wider array of policy options if not for governmental mandates requiring, say, “mandatory maternity services for single men“. He also notes that such competition is mostly unnecessary in the life and auto insurance markets because states don’t regulate those policies as heavily and just let people transfer their policies from their prior state of residence. (On the other hand, it’s hardly unknown for people to keep cars registered, often illegally, in a state other than where they live in order to evade taxes and fees).

Where they clash is on taxation of these services:

But Clancy goes astray in analogizing to taxation: 

Imagine if we let people pick their “governing state” with respect to taxes instead of insurance. I could, for example, opt to pay South Dakota’s dirt-cheap tax rates while still living, and using the roads and police, in high-tax New York. Why would New York stand for that? Why should it? Under our Constitution, state sovereignty isn't a suggestion, it’s the law. 

The problem here is that taxation exists to benefit the state, and to finance the services it provides to its citizens. It is for that reason that New York has plenary power to require New Yorkers to fork over a portion of their income or property to support our government. It is also for that reason that the Constitution denies New York the power to tax persons and business activities outside its borders and requires that taxes be “fairly apportioned” to the taxpayer’s presence and conduct in the state; other states will tax who and what appears within their own borders. If New York taxpayers are allowed to pay South Dakota, New York cannot retaliate by taxing South Dakotans. 

But voluntary health insurance transactions are for the benefit of the insured, not the State. New York suffers no injury to its sovereign power if I buy an insurance policy offered in Delaware, any more than if I order a computer manufactured in Texas. Indeed, if you assume insurance is commerce (more on this below), New York would be prohibited under the Dormant Commerce Clause – on grounds of discrimination against interstate commerce – from barring me from buying an out-of-state insurance policy were it not for the fact that Congress, in the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, specifically permitted individual states to have exclusive control over the regulation of the insurance business within their borders (a statute passed in response to a Supreme Court decision that had permitted insurers to be subject to the federal antitrust laws). Changing any of that remains within Congress’ power.

This is an idea that the left adopts and mystifies me: Taxes are there for the state. The state is not the same as the people who reside in that state. While I may benefit from things like roads and bridges, I do not get money handed to me, I pay money to the state in exchange for these services. When I buy something in another state, they act like I'm stealing from the state I live in. While I do want to support local business, I honestly could care less if I am supporting local taxes. Indeed I want to pay as little tax as possible, no matter where I live.

If a state wants revenue, it will make it attractive to people to do commerce in that state by lowering it's taxes and simplifying the regulations. This will bring economic activity and the sheer volume of that will more than overcome any reduction in rates. Until guys like Krugtron can understand that, we will continue to be slaves to the state, rather than cooperatively working together to have the state provide basic services and a level playing field. Otherwise, it should leave us and our choices of health insurance alone.

Good pair of articles.

Mother Jones finally Realizing Keystone Might be Better than Oil Rail Cars Exploding

Seriously, if Mother Jones is starting to wake up (emphasis on "starting") how long to get Obama on board? You telling me that a pipeline is worse than rail cars full of oil exploding?

Early on the morning of July 6, 2013, a runaway freight train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, setting off a series of massive explosions and inundating the town in flaming oil. The inferno destroyed the downtown area; 47 people died. 

The 72-car train had been carrying nearly 2 million gallons of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken fields. While the recent surge in domestic oil production has raised concerns about fracking, less attention has been paid to the billions of gallons of petroleum crisscrossing the country in "virtual pipelines" running through neighbor­hoods and alongside waterways. Most of this oil is being shipped in what's been called "the Ford Pinto of rail cars"—a tank car whose safety flaws have been known for more than two decades. 

... 

Not waiting for a final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, oil companies are also building rail terminals in Canada's tar sands region. The Association of American Railroads says that the vast majority of rail shipments arrive without incident. But more oil on the rails has also meant more spills. Trains leaked more crude in 2013 than all years since 1971 combined. (These figures don't include the Lac-Mégantic disaster, in which 1.6 million gallons of oil spilled.)

Rachel Carson would be 107 Today, Not Sure How Old the Malaria Victims Would Be

Google's doodle today:

This is to celebrate Rachel Carson's birthday, who would be 107 today. She wrote "Silent Sprint" that got DDT outlawed. I highly recommend John Berlau's "Eco Freaks" book detailing the damage the removal of DDT has wrought. Here is some of his findings:

3. But DDT was once nicknamed “Double Death Twice” in the popular press. What happened to people exposed to higher than normal amounts of DDT? 

Studies show they turned out fine, and the experiences of some folks makes me wonder if exposure to DDT actually prolongs your life. Joseph Jacobs was a chemist directing the effort to mass-produce DDT to protect World War II soldiers from insect-borne disease. In the rush to get the first shipment out the door, a valve that Jacobs happened to be standing under was accidentally opened, and Jacobs was soon covered with hot DDT. Jacobs did indeed die – more than 60 years later at the tender young age of 88. He would go on to build a top engineering firm, write books, and have a family. But he always considered his role in the early production of DDT as one of his greatest accomplishments. The story is same for others, including one man who is still alive at 97. (A lot longer than Carson lived. Maybe she should have had some DDT herself. -- Yoda) 

4. But what about birds and forests. Doesn’t DDT do a lot of damage there? 

DDT can be harmful if used in excess, but application of DDT has also saved many trees from insect infestations and may be partly responsible for an increase in bird populations. Starting in the late ‘40s, it was sprayed on elm trees to successfully stave off predatory beetles spreading Dutch Elm disease. After DDT was banned, the U.S. population of elm trees fell by more than half, and many American towns have few of the elms that once lined their streets. DDT also saved Oregon’s “old-growth” Douglas fir trees, home for the celebrated spotted owl, from devastation by tussock moths in 1974. 

In some of the instances where DDT was alleged to have killed birds, other factors – from excess hunting to mercury poisoning – were more likely the real culprits. Further, the bird population would often increase in areas spread with DDT as there were fewer insects to spread bird diseases. Ironically, today the mosquito-borne West Nile virus is killing many of the birds – including robins, condors, eagles and peregrine falcons – alleged to have been harmed by DDT. Yet greens still oppose most spraying programs that use any type of pesticide to fend off mosquitoes.

"We Don't Take Obamacare." Family was Told.. But at Least it Cost More

Yes the insurance appeared to be cheaper. But if nobody takes it and you get no return for your money, the cost-benefit ratio is sky high.

 But the Robinsons soon learned the HMO Blue Cross Blue Shield plan they pay about $375 each month for wasn't quite what they expected. 

For example, when it came to finding an obstetrician in Texas for their upcoming baby earlier this year, Rachel said she called all 28 practices listed as acceptable options for their plan, but could find none to take her as a patient. 

“Some would just come right out and say, ‘We don’t take Obamacare,’” she said. ”Or the best one was, ‘The doctor takes it here at the actual practice, but whatever hospital you use … does not take that insurance.’”

Obamacare doesn't work. All the cries of "Racism" won't help a couple pay for the baby they are trying to have, or pay for the hospital visits after a car crash or any number of other things. These are the realities and as John Adams said, "Facts are stubborn things." 

New Site Name, Same Great Taste

We are now www.conservativeyoda.com. The old link will still work but we are looking to update a bit. We'll be doing a site redesign and maybe moving from here to Wordpress as they do better with the podcasting. Thanks for your support and if you like what's happening here, spread the word!

@Toure May Be the Most Hateful Stupid Person at MSNBC... and That's Saying Something

What makes me so upset? This twit.. I mean tweet:

The power of whiteness: RT @hope_and_chains: My family survived a concentration camp, came to the US w/ nothing, LEGALLY, and made it work.
— Touré (@Toure) May 23, 2014

Surviving the holocaust is skin color based now? Even if he means making it work coming over here was somehow a white power, I'd like him to go to some of the poor white areas and tell me all about the "power of whiteness."

Toure I would assume thinks that racism is bad. To use racism to fight it however makes him a grade A hypocrite. In our last podcast, we spoke of not moving the conversation forward because of tainted thinking. Jill Abramson couldn't get past the idea of victims and oppressors. In the modern era, this is outdated thinking. Sure, in Iran, Nigeria, Burma, and most of the Islamic dictatorships there are victims and oppressors, a cause Toure doesn't seem to muster a lot of enthusiasm for. But being white is not a superpower. I truly believe that Toure thinks this video is real:

It's not. It's satire Toure. It's damn funny satire showing that perhaps your view of a black and white race based world is absurd. Progressives like Toure haven't actually progressed. They are living in the past and cannot see past skin color. It's sad. At least free speech has let us identify this idiot for the racist he really is.

Obamacare Incompetence Roundup

Cover Oregon Director was shown the door after the mess that was Oregon's Obamacare website. His punishment? He still gets to collect his 14k a month paycheck.

The resignation was “effective immediately,” said officials in the governor’s office. 

Or so we thought. 

It turns out, Goldberg never really left and is now drawing a full-time salary from the state. Oregon officials confirm Goldberg returned to full-time status at the Oregon Health Authority on May 15 and will use his accrued vacation pay until July 18. 

He’s getting paid $14,425 a month.

The administration won't release enrollment numbers anymore anyway so Oregon's failure sounds like it's the tip of the iceberg.

During the initial open enrollment period, the Obama administration released monthly enrollment reports that — even if they were exasperatingly incomplete and/or doctored in what data they chose to reveal — gave us at least some sort of idea of what was going on with the president’s crowning legislative achievement. Now that the Obama administration has that alleged 8 million sing-ups number to tout, however, they evidently no longer feel the need to even keep up the pretense of releasing regular reports on the law’s progress.

Well we lied about the initial numbers so why keep giving them? It interrupts our being lazy.

One of the reasons they touted having Obamacare was that people without coverage would use emergency rooms since they didn't have insurance. Now that 8 million do (uh-huh) at least the frequency of visits would go down now, right? Nope.

The ObamaCare boosters in the mainstream liberal media are once again avoiding negative news on the health care law’s unintended consequences. According to a study released Wednesday by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), emergency room visits are on the rise, in spite of promises to the contrary by supporters of ObamaCare.

Well don't worry. With all the money they haven't saved, they've used it to buy 21 helicopters for just one president. Like Mr. Burns said "I like to put my feet up."

There is much huffing and puffing by Navy officers and elected officials that such a debacle will not recur — and it may not. And yet… Gizmag reports that this is “initial US$1.24 billion contract is for six S-92 helicopters and two trainer simulators for the US Marine Corps as part of a development and conversion program that will see a fleet of 21 aircraft built for presidential use by 2023.” 

$1.24 billion is a lot of money.  For six helicopters and two simulators. 

Then, presumably, many more dollars to scale up to 21 “aircraft built for presidential use.” 

This columnist might find no sum excessive to protect the United States of America from (to appropriate and adapt a phrase from MoveOn.org) the three most frightening words in the English language, “President Joe Biden.” Yet … the delivery of these craft will occur much too late to fulfill such a noble mission. 

And… 21? 

To transport one president? 

Really?

Really. The boy king needs his carriages.