H3N2 Versus H1N1; Hilary's Impressive Foreign Display; Obama's Ridiculous Exec Pay Cut Demands And Health Care 'Zaggerations

Not sure what this means but did you know that more people die each year from H3N2 (that's medical jargon for more familiar flu's like the regular kind (is there any other kind?) influenza, etc.) than H1N1? The stats are for the U.S. but from what I found, it's the same case for Canada - couldn't find updated numbers for Canada. I know. I'm losing my touch.

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While Obama fumbles with cap & trade, health care, bail outs and the Olympics (to be fair, he seems on course with Iran - even then), Hilary finds her stride. It was quite impressive the U.S was able to keep Turkey and Armenia (who are grateful) on course with their accord to keep relations between the two nations normal.

Whatever normal means.

Is there going to be a Sarah versus Hilary showdown in 2012? Bring the jello and oil, baby!

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"Do this and that because I have the people's money!" The Obamanians are out to cut executive pay within the Big 7 companies ( Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial) who stuck their hands out, begged and got taxpayer bail outs. It seems the Sassy Seven started making money again and well, they were keeping all the money. Obama was having none of it.

The Prez has sent his "Compensation watch dog" (the Comp Canine) to make this bastards see the populist light. NPR described Kenneth Feinberg this way: the special master at Treasury appointed by Obama to handle compensation issues. I prefer Comp Canine.

Round 1: Populism versus capitalism.

Obama has assured Americans" "More needs to be done."

Ouch with the ominous words.

Here's my take. Government imposing itself - even on behalf of the people - on the pay structure of what should be a company operating in the free-market system (which they are, bailouts notwithstanding) is a bad idea. Very bad.

I'm no fan of the bailouts and the companies who bagged them. I would have let them collapse, but they got the cash. So let's roll with it. However, the idea that the government is acting like a "conscience" in the capitalist system is laughable as much as it is depressing.

What will this do to workers?

Well, I learned a long time ago is you touch people's salaries and it's buh-bye. Years ago the Royal Bank (those masters of high turnover worker employment rates and purveyos of middle management mediocrity) decided they were going to cut the salaries of financial planners who were earning a good living- with bonuses and commissions some were earning as high as $120 k per year if memory remains my ally with a base of $75 k - Canadian.

Royal was going to cut back their salaries to, say, $50k and limit their bonuses so that they would not earn more than $90 k. Again, the figures may be wrong but I'm illustrating a point.

Guess what happened? The best FP's bolted and left for the competition. Clients were unhappy because by that time, they were fed up with the high turnovers and the other banks absorbed superior talent.

What the fuggarino do you think will happen here with Obama's little populist ploy? It's really not rocket science.

The mind staggers and spins and staggers again.

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Politifact tackled two things about health care reform that always left me uneasy. One was simplistically citing insurance companies as the main culprits and the costs associated with the plan.

Read more here.

Exaggerations about costs. Democrats have at times implied that covering everyone will ultimately save the system money. President Obama has repeatedly said he wants all health care plans to cover preventive care, such as screenings for breast cancer or colon cancer. "That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives," he said during his address to Congress. Actually, the evidence shows that screening everyone still costs a more money than it ultimately saves. So get a screening because it may save your life, not because it will save you money. We rated Obama's statement that preventive care "saves money" False. Similarly, several of the Democratic plans would add to the budget deficit; the Senate Finance Committee proposal is the only one that does not. Democratic Rep. RussCarnahan claimed that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analyzed the House bill and found it paid for itself and then some, but we found Carnahan was using creative interpretation on the CBO numbers by counting other budget-friendly legislation that had not yet passed. We rated his statement False.


The villains. Health insurance companies have been a favorite target for supporters of health care reform, and the attacks are often wrong. In July, President Obama said health insurance companies were "making record profits, right now." We reviewed their public filings and found that profits were actually down from previous highs, so we rated his statement False. The advocacy group Health Care for America Now blasted insurers for paying their CEOs $24 million a year. We found they were cherry-picking the highest example and that the average of others is considerably lower — just under $4 million. We rated the statement Barely True. The same group said the health insurers deny 1 out of 5 treatments prescribed by doctors. We found that statement was based one study that included claims that were later approved, and other studies found a much lower denial rates. (Between 3 and 7 percent is a better estimate.) We rated their statement False. Finally, Obama told a story of a man who was denied cancer treatment because he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't know about. "They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it," Obama said. Actually, the man fought his insurer, received treatment, and died three and half years later. We rated Obama's statement False.