Most of you recall the famous quote from Ronald Reagan, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Yes, that means real property as well, which tends to not move, but is taxed to help cover the costs of running schools and local governments.
Thanks for the research and thinking and sharing you are doing here!
It is only recently that I've noticed that I have not ,through most of my life, taken responsibility for being aware and thoughtful about our local government, taxes, budgets, etc. except to do my best to vote for people I believe have both integrity and skills to manage all of that. You are helping to bring to light that the situation is complicated to the point that regular people need to support their elected officials in doing really important and profound thinking about all of this so that they can make really good and informed decisions on our behalf.
The link to the Bureau of Labor is INCREDIBLE in the amount and depth of information it offers. This information is fascinating to me and relates to issues you highlight because it actually reports, not just how MUCH people spend on food but WHAT food they spend their money on.
I haven't wrapped my head sufficiently around the data and how to read it, but it looks to me like an much of the money that is spent on "food" is actually not spent on what I call real food: meat, fresh and frozen vegetables, and unprocessed grains.... you know, what animals eat!
It appears vast amounts of American's spending on "food" is actually on "commodities" that are processed with additives, preservativaties, fillers, etc.
Simultaneously medical insurance costs are rising.
Simultaneously American's health are deteriorating. People regularly are on one or more life-time pharmaceutical. Medical costs are rising because of a huge rise in chronic diseases including autoimmune disease, asthma, heart disease, cancer, allergies, etc.
Our children's health, especially, has deteriorated incredibly, and childhood obesity has skyrocketed over the last 30 years. So sad. My heart breaks thinking about kids having to deal with chronic health problems.
When I connect all of the dots I see a disturbing picture:
More money is being spent on physicians and pharmaceuticals and we are NOT getting healthier but sicker.
I had my own serious bout with an autoimmune thyroid crisis (Hashimoto's) about seven years ago. I did not have, nor have I had medical insurance ( sickness insurance) for most of my adult life.
So when I crashed on the couch with zero energy and an extremely foggy brain I didn't immediately go to an endocrinologist. Instead I did a bunch of research and found that thousands of people are NOT happy with the one-size-fits all synthetic thyroid medication that is generally prescribed to people FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES!
I didn't want to be on a medication for the rest of my life. Just feels wrong.
So in a weird way it was actually a blessing to NOT have medical insurance. Because I DIDN'T have sickness insurance, I choose to first take responsibility for WHY I had an autoimmune condition and then take measures to address that condition rather than take a pill that inadequately addresses the symptoms. I changed my diet, I added many supplements, I learned that our food is not very nutritious any more because the soils have been depleted and now, 8 years later I no longer have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and I take a very tiny amount of non-pharmaceutical natural cow thyroid that addresses the lingering problems. This was not easy but as a result my total health has improved immensely. I am 70 and take no pharmaceuticals and have no chronic pain or illness.
So when we talk about rising medical insurance costs for county employees, that I as a taxpayer pay for with taxes I begin to scratch my head.
I would never pay for anything for MYSELF that didn't do what I wanted it to do. Of course I want to pay my fair share for supporting the health of county employees. Absolutely. We need qualified people working for our county.
But I DON'T want to pay for "sickness care" that does not bring health.
It's a thorny situation.
And then, on top of that, we pay for an education system that, in order to get Federal money, is mostly focused and in my opinion, too focused, on trying to "pour information" into kid's heads in order to pass tests administered by federal granting agencies to see if teachers are effective at pouring a selected curriculum.
What kids "learn" from that, without it being explicit, is that Authorities know what kids need to know. Not local school boards, superintendents, teachers, the parents, or even the kids themselves!
I see this as a tangled system that encourages broad spread reliance on outside authority rather than on one's own inner common sense and experience. That prevents individual critical thinking and responsibility. We've been taught to hand over our health to authorities, our "food" to authorities, and what qualities of character our children develop, to authorities.
It looks to me like this perfect storm of Authority Culture sells medical (sickness) insurance to people who are justifiably afraid to take responsibility for their own health, their diet, their education, and in the end, their government.
I don't know where to begin.
I so much care for my fellow humans, and especially the young ones. I want young people to develop self-confidence, creativity, and true health.
And here I am in a position where I am paying for what looks to me to be the opposite. Schooling regulated by the wrong people. Health care determined by pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists who don't appear, by and large, to have our true health interests at heart. And a pseudo food system that sells commodities rather than real food that is laced with high fructose corn syrup , artificial flavors, and hidden pesticides and herbicides.
Where to start?
It seems like your contribution to all of this is get us thinking for ourselves and looking at the data, asking great questions, and beginning to connect the dots, and perhaps most importantly beginn to talk with one another, so we CAN be responsible for ourselves and happily, generously, supporting our families, friends, and neighbors to do the same.
Thanks again, Jon. More helpful info. I'm left pondering where this might go. A citizen advisory group? A local PAC? A group that hosts "town hall" meetings with candidates? Working to "influence" legislators and councilpersons, or working with them as aids and researchers and advisors in some capacity? Lots of possibilities.
I've long known that the Crone and I have valuable information, skills, and insights which might be of use to government representatives, but have never really known how to make that connection. Here at the local level, perhaps there is a way. You give me hope of that, at least.
Thanks for the research and thinking and sharing you are doing here!
It is only recently that I've noticed that I have not ,through most of my life, taken responsibility for being aware and thoughtful about our local government, taxes, budgets, etc. except to do my best to vote for people I believe have both integrity and skills to manage all of that. You are helping to bring to light that the situation is complicated to the point that regular people need to support their elected officials in doing really important and profound thinking about all of this so that they can make really good and informed decisions on our behalf.
The link to the Bureau of Labor is INCREDIBLE in the amount and depth of information it offers. This information is fascinating to me and relates to issues you highlight because it actually reports, not just how MUCH people spend on food but WHAT food they spend their money on.
I haven't wrapped my head sufficiently around the data and how to read it, but it looks to me like an much of the money that is spent on "food" is actually not spent on what I call real food: meat, fresh and frozen vegetables, and unprocessed grains.... you know, what animals eat!
It appears vast amounts of American's spending on "food" is actually on "commodities" that are processed with additives, preservativaties, fillers, etc.
Simultaneously medical insurance costs are rising.
Simultaneously American's health are deteriorating. People regularly are on one or more life-time pharmaceutical. Medical costs are rising because of a huge rise in chronic diseases including autoimmune disease, asthma, heart disease, cancer, allergies, etc.
Our children's health, especially, has deteriorated incredibly, and childhood obesity has skyrocketed over the last 30 years. So sad. My heart breaks thinking about kids having to deal with chronic health problems.
When I connect all of the dots I see a disturbing picture:
More money is being spent on physicians and pharmaceuticals and we are NOT getting healthier but sicker.
I had my own serious bout with an autoimmune thyroid crisis (Hashimoto's) about seven years ago. I did not have, nor have I had medical insurance ( sickness insurance) for most of my adult life.
So when I crashed on the couch with zero energy and an extremely foggy brain I didn't immediately go to an endocrinologist. Instead I did a bunch of research and found that thousands of people are NOT happy with the one-size-fits all synthetic thyroid medication that is generally prescribed to people FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES!
I didn't want to be on a medication for the rest of my life. Just feels wrong.
So in a weird way it was actually a blessing to NOT have medical insurance. Because I DIDN'T have sickness insurance, I choose to first take responsibility for WHY I had an autoimmune condition and then take measures to address that condition rather than take a pill that inadequately addresses the symptoms. I changed my diet, I added many supplements, I learned that our food is not very nutritious any more because the soils have been depleted and now, 8 years later I no longer have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and I take a very tiny amount of non-pharmaceutical natural cow thyroid that addresses the lingering problems. This was not easy but as a result my total health has improved immensely. I am 70 and take no pharmaceuticals and have no chronic pain or illness.
So when we talk about rising medical insurance costs for county employees, that I as a taxpayer pay for with taxes I begin to scratch my head.
I would never pay for anything for MYSELF that didn't do what I wanted it to do. Of course I want to pay my fair share for supporting the health of county employees. Absolutely. We need qualified people working for our county.
But I DON'T want to pay for "sickness care" that does not bring health.
It's a thorny situation.
And then, on top of that, we pay for an education system that, in order to get Federal money, is mostly focused and in my opinion, too focused, on trying to "pour information" into kid's heads in order to pass tests administered by federal granting agencies to see if teachers are effective at pouring a selected curriculum.
What kids "learn" from that, without it being explicit, is that Authorities know what kids need to know. Not local school boards, superintendents, teachers, the parents, or even the kids themselves!
I see this as a tangled system that encourages broad spread reliance on outside authority rather than on one's own inner common sense and experience. That prevents individual critical thinking and responsibility. We've been taught to hand over our health to authorities, our "food" to authorities, and what qualities of character our children develop, to authorities.
It looks to me like this perfect storm of Authority Culture sells medical (sickness) insurance to people who are justifiably afraid to take responsibility for their own health, their diet, their education, and in the end, their government.
I don't know where to begin.
I so much care for my fellow humans, and especially the young ones. I want young people to develop self-confidence, creativity, and true health.
And here I am in a position where I am paying for what looks to me to be the opposite. Schooling regulated by the wrong people. Health care determined by pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists who don't appear, by and large, to have our true health interests at heart. And a pseudo food system that sells commodities rather than real food that is laced with high fructose corn syrup , artificial flavors, and hidden pesticides and herbicides.
Where to start?
It seems like your contribution to all of this is get us thinking for ourselves and looking at the data, asking great questions, and beginning to connect the dots, and perhaps most importantly beginn to talk with one another, so we CAN be responsible for ourselves and happily, generously, supporting our families, friends, and neighbors to do the same.
Thanks again!
Thanks again, Jon. More helpful info. I'm left pondering where this might go. A citizen advisory group? A local PAC? A group that hosts "town hall" meetings with candidates? Working to "influence" legislators and councilpersons, or working with them as aids and researchers and advisors in some capacity? Lots of possibilities.
I've long known that the Crone and I have valuable information, skills, and insights which might be of use to government representatives, but have never really known how to make that connection. Here at the local level, perhaps there is a way. You give me hope of that, at least.
Pax-C