Tim Miles

ETF Update: Health Care Enters the Home Stretch

My opinion is that health care reform must include the public option. Without it, the insurance industry will reap a windfall and will not be forced to bring down costs through competition. Consumers will also still be faced with mounting healthcare insurance costs over time and the U.S. Government will not have a solution that allows it to address the Medicare crisis ahead and to reduce the deficit. The current bill is a sell out to the insurance industry.

Obama's Washington Post Editorial: Reading Between the Lines

I agree. Another Wall Street rant. These folks should try to be part of the solution, not continue to be the problem.

Tim

U.S. Economy: There Are No Problems, Only Solutions

You have some good ideas and observations in your article. Yes, in the end, we are all going to have to sacrifice and change our lives if we are going to work ourselves out of this mess. That's the reality. However, I expect that there will still be those who will spend lavishly and prey on others.

Congress' Economic Literacy (Or Lack Thereof)

Jim Carey: I get your point. I hope that you won't decease and insist. I think maybe we all take ourselves too seriously, but I would say that these are hard times with a lot at stake. I apologize. We do need laughter.

Congress' Economic Literacy (Or Lack Thereof)

Jim Carey: You need to get a life or stop being like your namesake, the film star and comedian.

Congress' Economic Literacy (Or Lack Thereof)

President Bush was once a businessman. His record and understanding of the economic ssues over the past 8 years blows up your theory about the necessity to have more business people in Congress. Fewer lawyers is probably a good idea. I think what is needed are people who are willing to listen to many experts and different points of view and then have the ability to use good judgement rather than ideological constructs.

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

I guess I am going to bow out here. I think much of the discussion about Mr. Quinn's article has been thought provoking and constructive. I also think that it is important to eliminate from our national political conversation the tendency to indulge in character assassination and to accuse people of being unpatriotic when they don't agree with you. However, I realize that this is a problem that has deep roots in American history. Just read McCullough's biography of John Adams. There were "swiftboaters" back then too.

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

In response to Alan von Altendorf, I am glad he found my comment humorous, but the economic situation in our country is not funny. It will require all of us working together and making informed choices about the people we elect, not basing our decisions on "Swiftboat" drivel. By the way, I made the comment because I have found many of the people who bitch the most about everything, including government, are the ones that don't bother to get out of bed early and go to the polls like I do.

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

Thanks D.A.N. for your response to Donnerv. Yes, the wealthy always do seem to find away around paying their fair share of taxes through loopholes in the system. Corporations have their creative accounting methods too. The answer is tax reform that eliminates all of the loopholes and creative accounting and distributes the burden equitably.

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

Thanks, Jan Steinman for your comments on energy. I would urge people to read Lester Brown's Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. It is a well thought out and reasoned book which deals with the coming scarcity of resources that all of us will face in the future and offers ideas on how to handle it. I am more optimistic than some of the bloggers about our chances since I see articles every day on U.S. companies and innovators who have practical solutions to various problems like our energy crisis. The beauty is that they all want to make money and will employ Americans in the industries of the future if politicians make the right decisions about nurturing innovation, improving education and healthcare, and reforming a tax system that favors the wealthy and allows many corporations to avoid paying their fair share (see a recent GAO study that focuses on corporate tax dodgers).

I am not sure that the government is corrupt since I have spent nearly 32 years in it and work alongside highly dedicated and professional public servants. Perhaps certain people in our political system are corrupt, but American voters have a responsibility to do something about it. I have voted in every election since I received the right to vote so I am not to blame.

The Great Consumer Crash of 2009

I think the article is dead on and agree with those who say that politicians in general have been reluctant to tell Americans the truth and to inspire them the way FDR and JFK did to sacrifice for their country. I firmly believe in America's ability to meet challenges and to achieve great things. We all need to understand that the era of cheap oil is over and to wean ourselves away from our addiction. Drilling for more oil is a stupid response to our energy crisis. We also need to be more responsible for our environment and how we live our lives. Europeans tend to be more frugal and energy efficient than Americans, but also appear to lead happy lives. So the future does not have to be grim.