After notorious time delays on everything from how to handle the North Korean crisis to new state laws, a new senate bill is being fast-tracked in an effort to get the fines rolling in for those who “refuse” health care.

The new bill, if passed, will fine Americans who refuse to buy medical insurance, much like state laws now fine automobile drivers with insufficient or no insurance.  This is incredibly dangerous on a number of fronts.  With the potential of $1000 fines annually for people who don’t have or can’t afford medical insurance, it’s unclear as to what the purpose will serve.  For the now 50 million-plus Americans with no health insurance, it’s certainly not because anyone is refusing it.  It’s simply not an option when there are groceries to buy and mortgages to cover.  Who determines what “affordable” is remains to be seen as well and hasn’t been addressed, at least in the media, to sufficiently answer this and other questions.

With the estimated $36 billion dollars in fines the government expects to collect over the next decade, where exactly will these dollars go?  Will they go into a pool to cover those who can’t afford what the government is calling affordable?  Will these funds be used to offset any of these additional burdens on the mother with two kids and barely enough to cover the bases before being forced to buy an “across the board” medical insurance policy?  For a tax system that’s been broken for years, it hardly seems realistic to expect these fines to be collected via the IRS, which will be responsible for collecting these fines.

With the clever name our equally clever political leaders have devised, “Shared Responsibility Payments”, the fines will be based on what the government defines as “affordable basic medical coverage”.  It’s the basic medical coverage now that’s responsible for 66% of all bankruptcies being filed in this country.  It’s insufficient even when folks aren’t being forced to buy it and certainly not enough to keep people from going bankrupt.

And the saving grace?  A government exemption for hardship cases. Again, who exactly will define hardship cases?  Whoever it is will have a tall order to fill with unemployment numbers that continue to climb, despite reassurances from these same government leaders that the recession is on the decline.  Will a family who’s lost not only their jobs, but their homes and every possession they’ve worked for be enough to justify a hardship case?  If so, look out - the line will definitely be long for those wishing to apply for the exemptions.  Take a look around - there are few, if any, who can’t identify someone they personally know who have lost everything.

Medical insurance, or the lack of it, is certainly a priority in this country.  But it stands to reason that a decline in unemployment will greatly reduce those who have no health insurance, homes,  groceries or automobiles to get to those jobs.  Americans refusing medical insurance?  That’s doubtful.  It’s more like Americans refusing to allow the government to shove insufficient medical insurance that will serve very little purpose down their throats, especially when there are clothes to buy for the school year, food to put on the table and utilities that require immediate attention.

Once again, New Orleans has reclaimed the unwanted title of the nation’s murder capital.  The FBI released its statistics this week and after losing this title for a year, it’s found itself at the top yet again.  With 64 killings per 100,000 people, it comes in well ahead of St. Louis, in second place, with 47 murders per 100,000.

No city wants this title, but New Orleans has had an especially tough time over the past several years.

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Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects remain, both on a physical and psychological level, unemployment rates have never recovered and are still incredibly high and of course, poverty runs rampant in one of the most beautiful and historical cities this country has to offer.

2008 looked promising for the city.  Murder rates were down nearly 15% at the end of the year with a total of 179.  That was a decrease of 31 murders from 2007.  Hopes were high as the city struggled to move forward, despite its violent reputation.  The fact populations numbers were on the rise, even as the murders were declining only added to that hope.

2008 also brought an increase in the number of police officers on the city’s force and with that, city officials were hoping for a continued trend in the decrease.  Unfortunately, that simply didn’t pan out and now, once again, leaders struggle to not only understand why, but how they can begin to see those numbers decrease.

As time moves forward, so does progress as this southern city works to reestablish its court systems.  New buildings are still being constructed four years after Katrina and new infrastructures are being developed as well.  Hopefully, with federal funding and a continued commitment among the residents and police officials, New Orleans can finally shed its unwanted title and can work to become a favorite vacation or retirement area.  For those who’ve never visited New Orleans, you owe it to yourselves to see the historic cemeteries, churches and other landmarks.  And, too, you’ve not lived until you’ve survived a night on Bourbon Street and witnessed the personalities and charm that makes New Orleans…well, New Orleans.

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There was a recent story in the news about Kansas’s efforts to make drug testing mandatory for anyone receiving any kind of public assistance.  Now it seems there are several other states who are considering these same measures.  West Virginia is home to one of the most vocal supporters.  Craig Blair, who is a Republican in the state’s legislative arm, asks the same question many of us have voiced over the years, “If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?”

Of course, there are those who believe this is an effort to further complicate the lives of those most

WV Delegate Craig Blair

vulnerable during these tough economic times.  That falls short with many, and for good reason.  If money or other valuable commodities (such as food stamps) are being used to purchase or trade illegal drugs, then it boils down to the taxpayers supporting those illegal habits.  There’s a saying: Those with nothing to hide, hide nothing.  As Blair says, “Nobody’s being forced into these assistance programs”. 

Not since the mid-60s has America seen so many on its welfare rosters.  There are 5.4 million people who are collecting unemployment.  Of course, it’s a trend we’ve all expected and have watched as it progressed to these incredibly high numbers. 

But is this unconstitutional? Considering we must undergo drug testing before we’re hired for a job and more recently, high schools that require drug testing before students are allowed to participate in any school-sponsored activity, I think the argument could be made that it’s certainly not unconstitutional.

In the meantime, Blair has brought live a website that reveals his adamant belief this should be passed into law, not only in West Virginia, but in every state.  Sally Susman, a Democratic member of West Virginia’s legislature, sent a scathing letter to Blair who so kindly posted it on his site for the world to see.  There are a few sentences in her letter than fall short of making sense; nonetheless, you can read it here.  One rhetorical (I hope it was rhetorical) question struck me as odd, “Why not force the Hollywood movie stars to submit random tests?”  The Hollywood movie stars are not receiving public assistance. 

Blair has far more support than I realized until I visited this site.  According to several media polls, the vast majority of the residents in West Virginia agree with Blair.  Not a single one reflects less than 80% of those who agree with him.  So is this one of those hot button issues that’s been long overdue and just waiting for the right person to demand change?  Probably, especially since the polls show overwhelming support.  My guess is it just took the right person to step up to the plate and not back down from political pressure.  These programs are in place to help our neighbors most in need; it fails when it’s not used for the purpose it was designed for and becomes a burden we, as taxpayers, have come to resent.  You can visit Blair’s site here.

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I’ve only been catching the highlights of the hearings this week from the “Big 3″ automakers, mostly because I can’t seem to get my mind around the justifications. I understand the importance of remaining in business. Regardless of the layoffs they’ve already incorporated, closing their doors only ensures those remaining would be unemployed. But what I can’t understand is how to plan to remain in business six months from now. The new unemployment numbers come out later today and with last month’s numbers above 6% coupled with words like, “frightful”, “skyrocketed” and other adjectives used to tease us from those who’ve already seen these numbers, I’m doubtful any of us will be shopping for new cars. In fact, my own personal list of priorities go something like this:

· Keeping myself with a roof and four walls

· Ensuring Christmas happies for my family

· Keeping groceries in the cabinets and diet Coke in the fridge

· Keeping the utilities going

I’m sure my priorities are no different than any other Americans’ own lists. If you’ll notice, there’s no mention of any contributions via the purchase of a new car to any of these troubled auto manufacturers. Again, I tend to believe that’s applicable to other Americans too. My question is, even if we bail these companies out, and we’re currently not buying new cars, what makes Congress and these CEOs believe this is their “cure-all”? If folks aren’t running to their local dealerships now, they certainly won’t be doing so six months from now either. In fact, here are the major headlines this morning:

· Viacom to slash 850 jobs in response to the economic downturn (Yahoo News)

· Employers shedding jobs as recession deepens (Drudge Report)

· Employers cut 533k jobs in November, most in 34 years (Associated Press)

I’m just incredulous this is even being entertained. In fact, I’m amazed it’s even a priority at all. Even with their claims of keeping employees with jobs, it simply doesn’t ring true. And for them to threaten us with bankruptcy is a joke. It’s as though they’re saying, “Well, if you don’t help us, we’ll just file bankruptcy” and deliver this statement with an undercurrent of “do it or else”.

My favorite late night jab, courtesy of Jon Stewart, asks if these executives were schooled in how negotiations work. He said (and I’m paraphrasing) if they didn’t receive the 25 billion last month, what made them think they could come back this month and request 34 billion and were they under the impression Congress declined their earlier request because it was too low a number? I think many of us are wondering that very thing.

So as the vast majority of Americans are preparing to head off to their jobs and have redefined a “productive day at the office” as the absence of a pink slip, the head honchos of the automakers prepare to face Congress yet again so they can resume their martyred presences with declarations of “I carpooled here and we split the costs about fifty-fifty”. Welcome to the real world, gentlemen. Carpooling has been an acceptable cost-cutting measure for years.