Category Archives: Government Issues

the root of the problem

Close Presidential Elections

Broken in the USA, Government Issues, Perspectives

Close Presidential Elections

How close was the last Presidential Election? What many people do not realize is that it was only the 13th closest (12 prior elections were closer).

RankYearWinnerNumber of electors votingNormalized victory marginPercentage
totalwinnerrunner-up
   (c)(w)(r)  
591824John Quincy Adams2619984Decided by House vote37.93%
581876Rutherford B. Hayes3691851840.00350.14%
572000George W. Bush5372712660.00950.47%
561796John Adams138[b]71680.02951.45%
551916Woodrow Wilson5312772540.04352.17%
541800Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (tie)1387365Decided  by House vote52.90%
532004George W. Bush5382862510.06353.16%
521884Grover Cleveland4012191820.09254.61%
511976Jimmy Carter5382972400.10455.20%
501968Richard Nixon5383011910.11955.95%
491848Zachary Taylor2901631270.12456.21%
481960John F. Kennedy5373032190.12856.42%
472016Donald Trump[d]5383042270.1356.51%

An interesting fact is that four elections were not decided by popular vote but (as by law) by the electoral college. All four were won by Republicans. About 38% of all registered voters are Democrats, 29% are Republicans and 33% are either “Other” or Independents.

The Electoral College gives an advantage to smaller states since the formula allows each three electoral votes regardless of population. The following chart:

HouseElectoral
RankStatePopulationSeatsVotesRedBlue
152Wyoming            581,381133
251  Vermont647,0641                   3          3
350  District of Columbia671,8031*                   3          3
449  Alaska733,5831                   3         3
548  North Dakota779,2611                   3         3
647  South Dakota909,8241                   3         3
746  Delaware1,018,3961                   3          3
845  Rhode Island1,093,7342                   4          4
944  Montana1,122,8672                   4         4
1043  Maine1,385,3402                   4purplepurple
1142  New Hampshire1,395,2312                   4purplepurple
1241  Hawaii1,440,1962                   4          4
1340  West Virginia1,775,1562                   4         4
1439  Idaho1,939,0332                   4         4
1538  Nebraska1,967,9233                   5         5
1637  New Mexico2,113,3443                   5          5
1736  Kansas2,937,1504                   6         6
1835  Mississippi2,940,0574                   6         6
1934  Arkansas3,045,6374                   6         6
2033  Nevada3,177,7724                   6          6
2132  Iowa3,200,5174                   6         6
2230  Utah3,380,8004                   6         6
37,674,688955928
Total US331,449,281          538
% of Total11.4%17.7%

11.4% of the population has 17.7% of the votes.

The electoral provides an advantage to Republicans. My question is how well represented are the 1/3 of the registered voters that are not either Democrat or Republican? I have often heard the quip “If you don’t vote for either of the major parties you are throwing your vote away”.

The Need for Workforce Growth

Broken in the USA, Economics, Government Issues

The Need for Workforce Growth

The U.S. economy loses billions of dollars a year due to the sharp decline in refugee admissions, economist says https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-economy-loses-billions-of-dollars-a-year-due-to-the-sharp-decline-in-refugee-admissions-economists-says-11663698920#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20sharp%20reduction%20in%20U.S.,Florida%20Gov

Our government estimates that there are about 11 million undocumented persons currently living in our country. Many of these people have been living here for generations. Despite what many think, most of these people did not come across our borders illegally. Two of the most preferred methods are to enter on a tourist visa and to come across on a temporary work visa. The way our system works is that it is very difficult to track down persons who overstay their visas if they do not want to be found. To complicate the issue of the shortage of workers willing to work for low wages it is easy for these immigrants to gain employment. Many enterprises knowingly hire illegals and I do not blame them as there is a demand for lower-wage employment that cannot be satisfied through traditional methods. What would our workforce shortage be like if we did not have these workers?

U.S. economy loses billions of dollars a year due to the sharp decline in refugee admissions, economist says

Last Updated: Sept. 22, 2022 at 1:10 p.m. ETFirst Published: Sept. 20, 2022 at 2:35 p.m. ET  BY Zoe Han

For each missing refugee, it costs the ongoing GDP $30,962 per year, according to an Oxford Review of Economic Policy paper

Although the past refugee exclusion policy carries complex implications, it has ‘permanent, ongoing, annual costs’ to the economy, according to new research.

 The decline of refugees arriving in the U.S. costs the overall economy over $9.1 billion a year, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 

“The sharp reduction in U.S. refugee admissions starting in 2017 costs the overall U.S. economy today over $9.1 billion per year,” the paper concluded. It also cost public coffers “at all levels of government” over $2 billion per year, it added.

“Beyond claiming a need for protection, refugees and asylum seekers are economic actors. All are consumers, most are (or become) workers and many are (or become) investors,” the author Michael Clemens, director of migration, displacement, and humanitarian policy at the Center for Global Development, wrote.

The paper studied the impact of the more restrictive refugee admission policies from 2017 to 2020. The exclusion policy has blocked approximately 73% of the refugees that would have arrived in 2018, Clemens estimated.

The drop in international migrants costs the economy $30,962 per missing refugee per year on average, and costs the government $6,844 per year per missing refugee, the study found. 

The report comes at a time of heightened tensions around refugees and migrants. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, sent two flights of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas last week. A Texas sheriff opened an investigation on Monday into the legality of the flights.

The amount of admitted refugees to the U.S. fell to 30,000 in 2019 from 84,994 in 2016.  This has adverse economic consequences for the country, economist Michael Clemens said.

Julio Henriquez, an attorney who met with several migrants, said they “had no idea of where they were going or where they were,” the Associated Press reported.

The amount of admitted refugees in the U.S. fell to 30,000 in 2019 from 84,994 in 2016, according to Migration Policy Institute data. 

“In short, the implications of prior, recent refugee-exclusion policy in the United States are complex,” Clemens wrote on Twitter TWTR. “Many are non-economic, obviously. But they include a large, ongoing, permanent economic cost to the average American.”

The problem stems from two facts: 1. Our aging population 2. Our negative “internal” population growth rate. We need to either document the current illegal workforce or deport them. This will allow them to pay taxes. We need to streamline the legal immigration process and make it easier, quicker, and more affordable.

Broken Healthcare

Health Care, International, tax related issues

Broken Healthcare -From an American traveling abroad

I was having a fancy dinner with a new friend when I received the phone call no mother wants to hear. 

“Mom, I have to go to the hospital,” my son said. 

Just then the waiter began bringing out our food. I jumped up, threw down some cash on the table, and gathered my belongings. My son was doubled over in pain and had been vomiting nonstop for two hours.  Ordinarily, I would rush home and bring him to the hospital, but we weren’t home in New York. We were almost 5,000 miles away. 

I was helping my son settle in Spain

We had recently arrived in Spain, where my son planned to spend the year playing soccer. He’s only 16 and had never been away from home, so I rented an apartment for a few weeks to make sure he settled in before heading back to New York.

I arrived at his residence and one of his coaches drove us to the hospital. My friend from dinner, knowing I didn’t speak Spanish, kindly accompanied us. As I signed papers I didn’t understand, I fleetingly wondered how much this emergency visit would cost but was thankful he had health insurance through his soccer academy. 

The nurses triaged him quickly, taking his vitals and making sure he was stable. Then I assumed we were in for an hours-long wait, as we probably would’ve been in the US.   

It turned out to be nothing serious, but I was worried about the cost

When they examined my son an hour and a half later, the doctor explained that it was likely a bad stomach virus. I was relieved it wasn’t appendicitis. They did blood work and administered an IV filled with four types of medications.

Now that my son was improving, I began worrying about the cost. When the doctor said my son would need four prescriptions, I added that up in my head, too. I was told I’d have to pay out of pocket for the medications, and since we weren’t residents, it could be pricey. In the US, an emergency room visit could set us back a few thousand dollars and medications could run into the hundreds. I braced myself for the bad news. 

“How much?” I asked. 

“If you were a resident, it would be about 50 cents to 2 euros, but unfortunately, you’ll have to pay between 2 and 10 euros per medication. I’m sorry.” 

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. This proves how needlessly expensive healthcare is in the United States. I talk about this in my recent book, “Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir,” where I highlight gaps in healthcare and how a lack of accountability can change a person’s life. Two to 10 euros for medicine seemed more than fair. 

Early the next morning, I headed out to fill the prescriptions. I was told to find the closest pharmacy, hand over the script, and they would give me the medication on the spot. This sounded too easy. Often I had to fight with my insurance company to cover medications, and then I’d have to wait precious hours to get the prescription filled. In Spain, the total cost was 12 euros and the whole process took less than five minutes.

The normal reaction to a story like this is but how much do citizens of Spain have to pay in taxes? Also, how about the overall quality of care? Ok, here are a few facts. The overall quality of care is comparable between the two countries. The overall tax burden in the USA (including all taxes: income, property, sales, etc. (on average) is 24.7%. In Spain, it is 34.7%. Using the average US family income of $71,000 this amounts to an extra $7,100 or about $2,200 per person for the average family of 3.2. So there, that explains it. Or does it? One more fact. The average per capita cost of healthcare in the US is just under $12,900 while it is just under $4,000. The difference is almost $9,000 per person in hidden tax. The issue we have is cost. Why is it so much higher here? I have answered that question in several prior postings.`

Who is paying for the outrageous cost in our country? It breaks down into about thirds with 1/3 paid for in the form of Medicare and Medicaid, 1/3 paid via company healthcare plans (which reduces funds for salaries), and another 1/3 paid out of pocket in the form of premiums, copays, and deductibles.

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/health-spending-u-s-compare-countries/