The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, Februar y 27, 2019 C- 9 years between 1998 and 2017, the na- tion's overall consumer price index in- creased 50.3 percent. Over this same period, the cost of medical services in- creased by 105.3 percent and hospital services by 189.3 percent. Perry — and many other econo- mists with a free-market bent — ar- gue that it is lack of competition in health care that drives up prices far more than general price escalation. Health care is defined as having a "third-party" payer. That is, someone else pays your bill — your employer, your insurance company or the gov- ernment. Just think about a typical visit to the doctor. Your health plan gets you in the door, but you have no idea what the doctor is being paid or the cost of anything he or she prescribes you — whether various procedures, tests or drugs. Even the doctor has no idea the costs of what he or she prescribes. How can a market possibly function this way? Can you imagine going to the su- permarket and seeing the shelves filled but no prices displayed? How could you decide what and how much to buy? Could you imagine buying a house and having a third party represent you and negotiate what you will pay? Perry shows, practically, the im- plications of a third-party payer in terms of costs. He brings the exam- ple of the cosmetic surgery market, in which procedures are overwhelm- ingly elective and individuals pay for them on their own. Looking at a basket of 20 cosmetic surgery procedures, the average price increase between 1998 and 2017 was 34.2 percent — less than the consum- er price index and about one-third the increase of general medical services. From 1970 to 2017, the portion of U.S. health care expenses made by a third party — insurance or gov- ernment — went from 65 percent to 89 percent. The portion of expens- es made out-of-pocket by consum- ers went from 35 percent to 11 per- cent. Over this same period, per cap- ita health care spending increased by at least a factor of 6. The government is involved in the health care of just about every Amer- ican. About 130 million Americans get health care through Medicare or Medicaid. Another 156 million get it through their employer; they still have the government involved because em- ployers provide health coverage as a tax-deductible business expense. The best thing we can do for the country is get health care back to a re- al market with real transparent costs and competition. For those that need help, provide subsidies, but don't dis- tort prices. In other words, we need to go in the opposite direction of "Medicare- for-all." Star Parker is an author and presi- dent of CURE, Center for Urban Renew- al and Education. Contact her at www. urbancure.org. derful gift, but you can also be a very challenging privilege. Our experi- ment for the past 200 years plus hope- fully will continue to travel a course of peace, civility, orderliness and pros- perity. • • • Well, lets go to some lighter top- ics. I came across some questions that made me chuckle. Let's go over some of them: Why is it that lemon juice drink is made with artificial fla- vor, but dish washing liquid is made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests your hard earned money called a "broker? " Why is that time of the day with the slowest traffic called "rush hour? " Why isn't there a mouse-flavored cat food? When dog food is new and has im- proved tasting, who tests it? Why did Noah not swat those two mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches? And bedbugs? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? You know that indestructible black box that is used in airplanes, why don't they make the whole plane made of that stuff? • • • It's always nice to hear imported jokes- like these from the Philippines: Overheard at the immigration section in an airport in the USA. . . An immi- grant from the Philippines was asked by the officer if it is true that some na- tives live in house trees. 'So, how do they get up to their tree house? The immigrant after think- ing for some time said, Oh, we have escalators." Then he was asked the next ques- tion, "Are you naturalized by birth? " Immediately, he answers "No sir, by cesarean section." The officer didn't know if he would laugh or get upset. So he asks the next question, "Do you still have a lot of horses for transportation? " The guy answers, "Yes sir, we have a lot of Mustangs. Some however pre- fer Camaros." Now, that 's hilarious. Have a great week! Continued from page 8 BELIEVE net edition yeah, it's that fast! Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe It's The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. Delivered every Wednesday morning! Add it for $5 to your current print subscription or stand-alone for $35/year. Court Report CRIMINAL Pike Circuit Court Justin Ray Pride charged with count I corrupt business influence, a level 5 felony, count II possession of meth- amphetamine, a level 6 felony, count III maintaining a common nuisance - controlled substances, a level 6 felo- ny, count IV unlawful possession of syringe, a level 6 felony, and count V possession of paraphernalia. Amanda K. Turpen charged with count I possession of methamphet- amine, a level 6 felony, count II un- lawful possession of syringe, a level 6 felony, count III visiting a common nuisance - controlled substances, and count IV possession of paraphernalia. Wayne R. Wedding charged with count I operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more, a level 6 felony, and count II operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more. David Snow charged with count I obstruction of justice, a level 6 felo- ny, count II dealing in a schedule III controlled substance, a level 6 felony, count III possession of a controlled substance, and count IV operating a vehicle while intoxicated. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Michelle L. Thompson charged with count I operating a vehicle while intoxicated, count II knowingly or in- tentionally operating motor vehicle without ever receiving a license, and count III reckless driving. Delores Dillon charged with crim- inal trespass. Matthew S. Condon charged with invasion of privacy. Stacy N. Holmes charged with deal- ing in paraphernalia. CIVIL Pike Circuit Court Crown Asset Management sues Nancy Cummings on complaint. Personal Finance Company sues Christina Rogers and Todd Dowden on complaint. William E. Hudson II sues James Collazo and James E. Collazo III on complaint. First Federal Savings Bank sues Thomas Abbott, Terry Abbott and Tre- va Abbott Gonzaleset al on complaint. Michael Watkins sues Sonya Wat- kins for dissolution of marriage. Leon T. Smith sues Laura Smith for dissolution of marriage. Shea L. Harris sues Timothy J. Cox for dissolution of marriage. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Greg Watson charged with failure to carry registration off-road vehicles and snowmobiles. George S. Terwiske charged with knowingly authorizing a violation of IC 9 -18.1-14-11. Evan J. Twitty charged with disre- garding stop sign. Dawn D. Haymond charged with speeding. Bobby A. Wells charged with speed- ing. Daniel S. Milbourn charged with speeding. Raun M. Smith charged with speed- ing. Mary A. Condon charged with speeding. Kiefer A. Light charged with speed- ing. Allyson M. Coomer charged with speeding. Ricardo R. Braganca charged with speeding. Nathanial J. Dixon charged with speeding. Dennis M. Brumfield charged with speeding. Dustin A. Gresham charged with speeding. Hunter L. Meadows charged with speeding. Trevor J. Beck charged with speed- ing. Lance A. Woods charged with speeding. James Mack, Jr. charged with count I speeding, and count II driving while suspended. Bradley P. Wells charged with speeding. Daythan Whitman-Walburn charged with seatbelt violation. Justin M. Raber charged with speeding. Kayden J. Riggins charged with speeding. Amber N. Likens charged with speeding. Joe E. Mullins charged with count I operating a motor vehicle without fi- nancial responsibility, count II driving left of center, and count III driving too fast for conditions. Kyle P. Slain charged with operat- ing a motor vehicle with a fictitious plate. Nathan F. Stokes charged with speeding. Jarvan D. Montomery charged with speeding. Timothy L. Johnson charged with seatbelt violation. Steven Fecanin charged with speed- ing. Ariel C. Eck charged with follow- ing too closely. Nicole A. Large charged with speeding. Noah E. Miskimen charged with speeding. Aidan J. Lynch charged with speed- ing. Jennifer A. Smitheram charged with speeding. Zachary M. Ball charged with learn- er's permit violation. Antonio D. Daniel charged with speeding. Tyler S. Reibold charged with speeding. Kortnie E. Hendrix charged with speeding. Brittney D. Chastain charged with speeding. Amazon isn't the only company wary of locating in New York. Many other in- dividuals, families and busi- nesses are fleeing the state as well — ones who don't re- motely qualify as the hated "1 percent" — and they're taking their income and tax revenues with them. How bad is it? Between 1997 and 2016, every dol- lar of income that left New York was replaced by only 71 cents coming in. No state can sustain that if it hopes to grow. What states need to do, in short, is stop meddling. Rather than pick winners and losers (which would be a mistake even if it were qual- ified to do so), it should cre- ate a low-tax, low-regulation environment where all busi- nesses, big and small, can compete fairly for its share of the economic pie. No one can blame de Bla- sio for lamenting the jobs that won't be created as a result of Amazon spurning New York City's offer. But this isn't "an example of an abuse of corporate power," as Mr. de Blasio called it. It's the inevitable result of a bad business environment. And it certainly shows the folly of relying on crony capitalism to attract companies to your playing field. The sooner you level that field, Mr. Mayor, the bet- ter off you'll be. Cut taxes, reduce regulations and do whatever else you can to make your city a more at- tractive suitor. Amazon isn't the villain here. Your economic poli- cies are. Ed Feulner is founder of The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). Continued from page 8 AMAZON or worship for they too are traditions. The early Protestant re- formers [Zwingli, Luther, and Calvin] did not reject the traditions of the Church as a whole. What they reject- ed to was they had become corrupted and were viewed as works of righteousness that took away the simplic- ity of the gospel message of faith and turned them into works. More than one Church/ denomination [and pastor] has taken to pen to explain why the disciple and Church should "Give up Lent." Their reasons may be compelling, but all miss the mark. Lent is a time to pon- der and commemorate the Passion of Jesus and to rec- ognize that His death on Cal- vary was for our redemp- tion, and redemption was not free! What we may find in those who decry man-made tradi- tions as a reason not to ob- serve Lent is the desire to escape all aspects of afflict- ing the body as a means to recognize how difficult con- trolling one's urges are. Historically, the practice of observing Lent was uni- versal in Western Christen- dom until the Reformation. Today the Roman Catholic Church, along with most Lutheran, Methodist, An- glican, and Episcopalian Churches continue to ob- serve Lent with varying de- grees of devotion. However, large segments of Protestant and Pentecostal Churches do not observe Lent, feel- ing it is too closely associat- ed with Catholicism. Modern observance of Lent has changed from the past. The BBC News several years ago wrote: "The Chris- tian Churches that observe Lent in the 21st century use it as a time for prayer and penance. Only a small num- ber of people fast for the 40 days of Lent, although some will fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is more common these days for be- lievers to surrender a par- ticular vice, such as favor- ite foods or smoking, than to fast." Nevertheless, the Lenten season begins next week. Will you be among the faith- ful who prepares his/herself for a time of reflection, fast- ing, prayer, and giving: "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the proph- et: A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' Think about it! Continued from page 8 SOUL Continued from page 8 SMOLLETT body in charcoal, but upside down, suggesting that she wrote them herself. The grand jury exoner- ated the accused men in a 170 -page report based on 250 exhibits and more than 6,000 pages of testimony. One of her boyfriends told Newsday a year later that Tawana confided that she and her mother conceived the hoax to avoid punish- ment by her step-father for staying out all night. Yet director Spike Lee flashed "Tawana told the truth" graffiti in his film Do the Right Thing. He gave Sharpton and Brawley cam- eos in Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" music video, which he directed and pro- duced. When the falsely accused men won defamation suits against Sharpton in civil court, O.J. Simpson attorney Johnny Cochran paid Sharp- ton's judgment. Brawley changed her name to Mary- am Muhammad and fled the state without paying any of her judgment for 26 years. Attorneys finally tracked her down in 2013 and got a court order garnishing mon- ey from her paychecks as a nurse. A Columbia Law School professor, under the pall of "critical race theory," said it doesn't matter whether Tawana was lying or not. Professor Patricia Wil- liams wrote young Brawley was "the victim of some un- speakable crime. No matter how she got there. No mat- ter who did it to her—and even if she did it to herself." This is invincible igno- rance. Even after an accusa- tion is refuted in detail, vic- timhood prevails. It is abso- lute impunity for false wit- ness. Thus Anita Hill and Angela Davis are honored for "speaking truth to pow- er." Frothing young femi- nists man the barricades shouting that "we believe Christine" when Dr. Ford hasn't even testified yet, much less been cross-ex- amined. Fasten your seatbelts, America. If radical multi- culturalists have their way, we are entering a truth-free zone. Continued from page 8 PLUNDER its authority to bypass its enumerated powers from the general welfare clause. There are a host of proofs that the Framers had no such intention. James Mad- ison, the "Father of the Con- stitution," wrote, "If Con- gress can do whatever in their discretion can be do- ne by money, and will pro- mote the general welfare, the Government is no lon- ger a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one." Thomas Jef- ferson wrote, "Our tenet ev- er was ... that Congress had not unlimited powers to provide for the general wel- fare, but were restrained to those specifically enumer- ated." Rep. William Dray- ton of South Carolina asked in 1828, "If Congress can de- termine what constitutes the general welfare and can ap- propriate money for its ad- vancement, where is the lim- itation to carrying into exe- cution whatever can be ef- fected by money? " What about our nation's future? Alexis de Toc- queville is said to have pre- dicted, "The American re- public will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." We long ago began ignoring Bastiat's warning when the federal government was just a tiny fraction of gross domestic product — 3 percent, as op- posed to today's 20 percent: "If you don't take care, what begins by being an excep- tion tends to become gener- al, to multiply itself, and to develop into a veritable sys- tem." Moral Americans are in- creasingly confronted with Bastiat's dilemma: "When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or los- ing his respect for the law." Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Continued from page 8 HEALTH CARE Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-354-8500 Put a free photo with write up on Weddings, Anniversaries & Engagements.