Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Response to the Illinois LiberTEA Organization's Federal Candidate Survey

Written on April 27th, 2016

Edited on July 19th, 2016



           Q: What is your view of the monetary system in the U.S. today?

           A: The declining value of the dollar is the chief cause of calls to raise the minimum wage, alleviate poverty, and tax the rich. Congress should routinely audit the Fed, abolish it as soon as possible, and wrest the control of monetary policy back to the people from this private "independent" organization and the moneyed interests that control it. Government should not limit the development of new and alternative currencies, but it should also refrain from treating debt and C.D.O.s as currency.


           Q: What corrective actions could we take right now to improve the economy?

           A: Lower tariffs, and taxes on corporate personal income, to bring jobs and resources back to the country from overseas. Get the balance of trade under control in order to boost and stabilize the value of the dollar. Lead efforts to abolish onerous occupational licensing laws that make it difficult for low-income people to start ordinary enterprises. Stop punishing savings by getting inflation under control and auditing the Fed stop punishing earning money by taxing personal income, stop penalizing trade by taxing sales.


           Q: Do you agree with the actions the Federal Reserve has taken to solve the financial crisis? If not, what could the Fed have done differently?

           A: The Federal Reserve, if it should even exist at all, should not favor low interest rates over high employment. The Federal Reserve's promise to secure loans to risky borrowers was ill advised, and it cannot be trusted to fix the problem that it had a large part in causing. The Fed should not print money, devaluing it in the process, when government can't pay its bills; instead, spending should be decreased.


           Q: Should the Federal Reserve be audited fully, no secrets, or does it need to keep some information under wraps?

           A: Full audit, no secrets.


           Q: What are your thoughts on government debt? Do you believe it is acceptable for the Federal Government to raise the debt ceiling? If yes, for what reason?

           A: It is not acceptable to raise the ceiling; there is no point in having a debt ceiling if you're only going to raise it each time you come close to reaching it. The Federal government must drastically reduce spending, in order to reduce dependence on and debt to the Fed, China, Japan, and future generations of Americans. Even if we don't figure out how to take in more than we spend in order to pay off the debt, we can restore our credit rating soon, as long as we demonstrate as soon as possible that we can at least have a balanced budget without deficits. I would support an amendment that would require a balanced budget, requiring more cuts than revenue increases.


           Q: What is your opinion on current US foreign policy?

           A: With some 800-900 overseas military bases, and troops in about 150 countries, the military is overextended, and our trifling in the internal affairs of other countries is causing disastrous blowback. We spy on our own allies, when we shouldn't have formal alliances in the first place. We train, fund, and arm foreign armies, often only to end up sponsoring decay of societal order and fighting against our own weapons. We can and should drastically reduce spending on military projects not essential to our defense, without cutting pay of military personnel.


           Q: How should we fight a “war on terror”?

           A: By ceasing to train, fund, and arm terrorists. By ceasing to take our counterterrorism strategy from apartheid states with undeclared nuclear weapons. By ceasing to be an imperialist nation that fights wars to obtain natural resources and protect commercial interests instead of the safety of American citizens abroad. Certainly not by continuing to renew the unconstitutional U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, the N.S.A., the T.S.A., and putting politicians, celebrities, and infants with names similar to terrorists' on No-Fly lists and lists prohibiting weapons purchases.


           Q: Should the U.S. occupy other countries? If not, would you push to close all bases? Are there any you would keep open and if so why?

           A: The U.S. should only occupy other countries following a congressional declaration of war, and given either danger of American citizens abroad or the invitation by a sovereign country to intervene to stop a humanitarian catastrophe. I would support the dismantlement of all military bases farther than 100 miles from U.S. shores.


           Q: Should the U.S. maintain its standing army? Explain...

           A: The U.S. should maintain its standing army, but a constitutional convention should be called to restore the 2nd Amendment to its original intent of protecting the right to conscientious objection to the draft. Draft registration should end, conscription should be unconstitutional, and the Congress must convince the people that the use of the standing army is in the best interest of popular and national security. The size of military personnel is appropriate, but the Navy and Air Force fleets would do well to be reduced to pre-9/11 levels.


           Q: Is the Patriot Act necessary to protect America? If not, would you vote to fully repeal it?

           A: It is not necessary, and I would vote against renewals and vote to fully repeal it. The Patriot Act violates due process, and makes Americans less safe by violating their right to be safe from those who seek to invade their privacy.


           Q: What information may the U.S. government legally gather about its citizens? When would it be necessary to overstep those boundaries?

           A: The federal Government may only gather information voluntarily surrendered by citizens. It would never be necessary to overstep those boundaries; telephone, internet, bank records, even universal automatic voter registration violates our right to be secure in our papers and effects.


           Q: What limits, if any, should be placed on the U.S. government’s ability to search its citizens without a warrant?

           A: All limits possible. F.B.I. agents can write their own search warrants, and so could the British King's guards. A warrant may not be generalized; it must apply to solely one person or solely one property, and specifically describe the places and items to be searched.


           Q: Should the U.S. government be allowed to protect its citizens’ health by outlawing foods it considers unsafe, or to force medicate (i.e., fluoridation) or force vaccinate citizens?

A: No; this violates people's rights to control what they put in, and do with, their own body. It violates the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship. It also adds an unnecessary stigma to the supposedly beneficial foods and drugs and procedures it supposedly promotes. Additionally, food and drug and health standards create a moral hazard, wherein the public assumes these things to be safe simply because they are illegal, and they lower their guard, and personal responsibility is lost in the process. Moreover, health is not mentioned in the Constitution, so the F.D.A. has no business even existing.


           Q: What controls, if any, should be placed on the right to own a gun?

           A: None. Gun control laws are largely written and defended by gun-illiterate people, they are unenforceable save for resort to tyranny, and they have disastrous unintended consequences. I fully support the Second Amendment, however I would not interfere with state laws pertaining to in-state manufacture of weapons, and I do not believe that the law should interfere with people's rights to sue gun sellers and manufacturers. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe that once a gun is sold to you, you take full responsibility with what you do with it; these cases should be settled out of, and laughed out of, court.


           Q: Is there an effective way to keep guns out of the hands of madmen and criminals without encroaching on the rights of free, law-abiding citizens? Please explain:

           A: The only effective way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals is a well-armed, vigilant law-abiding populace, that is capable of and willing to defend itself against violent criminals, instead of relying on police to show up (after 20 minutes on average, and 5 to 7 minutes at best). Sheriffs promoting private citizens being armed is not the result of police dereliction of duty; an armed populace should a complement to armed police keeping as much peaceful order as they can.


           Q: Is our involvement in and subjugation to global organizations, such as W.H.O. (World Health Organization), N.A.T.O., the U.N., etc., a benefit to U.S. citizens?

           A: No. Our membership in N.A.T.O. only obligated us to defend other nations, the list of which is ever expanding, and we additionally bear disproportionate costs of that defense. While our presence at the U.N. surrenders part of our sovereignty, it at the same time empowers us to exercise a tyranny over the world through our Security Council veto power. I do not support U.S. involvement in any international organization, including W.H.O.; I would not consult the E.U. nor the Arab League before going to war; and besides, the United States of America is already an organization composed of multiple "free, sovereign, and independent" states.


           Q: Would you work to repeal international agreements that purport to hold U.S. citizens and/or property under its jurisdiction, or do you think there might be times when benefits outweigh concessions?

           A: Yes, I would work to repeal such agreements. U.S. citizens and property must be subject only to local, state, and constitutional federal laws. The U.S. is unable to submit to international governments, as it is supposed to submit itself to the states and to the people.


           Q: Are trade agreements with other nations, i.e., N.A.F.T.A., C.A.F.T.A., good for U.S. citizens? Please explain your answer:

           A: I oppose N.A.F.T.A., C.A.F.T.A., T.P.P., and other trade agreements, but not because they fail to retain American jobs and protect American Industry. I oppose them because they are managed trade, not real free trade. Raising tariffs (although it would certainly be cons titutional) would not punish worker exploitation and low health and safety standards in industrializing countries; all it would accomplish is cause countries and companies to increase those problems and worsen human rights and workers' rights in order to turn a profit that would help them offset the costs of the increased tariff. I would oppose managed trade agreements and fight for free trade, and the idea that free trade IS fair trade.


           Q: Should the U.S. give foreign aid to other countries? If yes, for what purposes would it be justified? If not all countries, which would you continue to support?

           A: Absolutely not. Although the foreign aid budget is less than 0.5% of the total budget, it is a perfect place to start. We should not spend taxpayer money financing the military defense, nor the welfare states, of foreign countries, even if they are our allies (which we shouldn't formally have in the first place). Calls to provide aid to two countries in a conflict – ostensibly to make things fair – only increases the chances that America will fund both sides of a foreign war.


           Q: Do you know what nullification is? If yes, how do you plan to use it?

           A: Nullification is when states refuse to enforce federal laws, or pass laws that invalidate federal laws. I would not vote that the federal government interfere with states wishing to pass laws that invalidate unconstitutional federal laws, even if and when formal acts of Congress have not yet removed the federal government's usually temporarily permissible, presidential reorganization authority driven, power to legislate on the matter. I would also support jury nullification, and educating the public about the rights of a jury to decide the facts of the case as well as the morality of the law, in addition to educating the public about Lincoln's response to Wisconsin's nullification of the Fugitive Slave Act.


           Q: When does state law take precedent over federal law?

           A: In all cases, except when it comes to: ensuring a republican form of government with due process and fair trials, etc.; punishing treason, piracy, and counterfeiting; providing for the national defense; coining money and regulating the value thereof; establishing post roads (but not necessarily building roads); keeping interstate commerce regular; protecting intellectual property in a limited way; and a few other powers specifically enumerated in Article I Section 8.


           Q: Would you stand up to the federal government and demand that it stay within the bounds of its enumerated powers and out of state business?

           A: Yes.


           Q: Do federal officers have the right to arrest non-military citizens within the individual states for any crimes? If so, explain:

           A: Yes, but only when they have been charged with committing treason, piracy, counterfeiting, or obstructing justice in a way that severely interferes with the maintenance of a just and fair legal and political system.


           Q: What do you see as the #1 problem with illegal immigration?

           A: The #1 problem with immigration is that the D.R.E.A.M. Act, D.A.C.A., and D.A.P.A. have been pushed through executive orders and memoranda, not legislative power. The president's job is to enforce the law which Congress passes, not to write law.


           Q: What actions could we take to stop illegal immigrants from taking advantage of social services?

           A: Allow states to run their welfare and poverty and social systems the way they please, free from federal orders, limitations, interventions, and tempting grants with strings attached. However, non-violent undocumented immigrants should not be prohibited from seeking voluntary charity to provide services normally distributed as public social welfare.


           Q: If you could make one amendment to the U.S. Constitution, what would it be?

           A: A Balanced Budget Amendment, requiring at least a 7-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases whenever there is a deficit and/or a standing or accumulating national debt.


           Q: Would you vote to end government subsidies to private industry?

           A: Yes.


           Q: What should our government’s action be against whistle blowers, if any?

           A: No action should be taken against whistle-blowers if the information they leak pertains to illegal or unconstitutional activities undertaken by government. Their passports should not be revoked, and they should not be charged with treason unless they provide either substantial support to, or comfort of, or pledge allegiance to, a foreign sovereign nation.


           Q: Do you know what Agenda 21 / Sustainable Development and the Communitarian agenda is? Do you support it? Why or why not?

           A: I do not support Agenda 21, I believe that the U.S. should withdraw from the agreement, even though it is voluntary and non-binding. Although I do believe that demands for sustainable development and other environmental regulations can and often do hamper industrial development and productivity, I support imposing fees on unsustainable development, and on blight and disuse of land, in order to take the tax burden off of income earners, buyers, and businesses, and in order to implement a taxation regime that punishes destruction of our planet instead of discouraging production and taxes away productive development of private property and the commons.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Speech to the Illinois State Line Rifle Association on April 27th, 2016


            The following piece was written as an introduction to my 2014 piece “Altering the Second Amendment to Protect Conscientious Objection”.
     At the Illinois State Line Rifle Association (S.L.R.A.)’s April 27th meeting in Round Lake Park, Illinois, I read the following piece to an audience of about fifteen people, followed by that article on the relationship between gun control and draft registration.



            Thank you very much for having me. My name is Joseph W. Kopsick, and I’m a candidate in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives, representing my home town of Lake Bluff, as well as Round Lake Park, and much of the North Shore, including most of Lake County, and parts of northern Cook County.
            Illinois state “sore loser laws” prevent me from running as an independent, so I’m running as a New Party candidate, and seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party. I am the only candidate in the race besides incumbent Republican Bob Dold; and challenger and former congressman, Democrat Brad Schneider.
            A little bit of background on me: I was born in Lake Forest, grew up in Wildwood, went to preschool right around the corner in Grayslake, and when I was five, my family moved to Lake Bluff. I attended Lake Bluff public schools, and graduated from Lake Forest High School in 2005. In 2009, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, having majored in political science.
            Growing up in an upper-middle-class suburban household, I was never around guns; I never went hunting. In fact, before the age of eighteen, the closest thing I ever saw to a hunting rifle was a potato gun. For part of my idealistic, naïve liberal youth, I even thought that it was immoral to defend yourself… and then I turned fourteen. Since then, I’ve handled a few guns, but I’ve still never fired one.
            I started showing some conservative inclinations during high school, and throughout the Bush era, I grew to value the Bill of Rights and civil liberties. I was especially concerned that I’d be drafted, since I was upset about being required to register for the draft at the age of seventeen, with a $125,000 fine threatened against myself and my parents for failing to ensure that I registered. It was only recently that I noticed the connection between the Second Amendment and draft registration.
            In 2007, I discovered Ron Paul and libertarianism; my interest in civil liberties; individual rights; and personal, social, and economic freedom only grew from there. I went on to run for Congress from Wisconsin’s 2nd District in 2012, and Oregon’s 3rd in 2014.

            In early 2011, after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, I saw the demand for increased gun control grow exponentially. Since that, the massacres in Aurora, Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, and other places, have only added fuel to that fire.
            Calls for quote-unquote “common-sense” gun legislation abound; especially at the federal level, despite the contents of the Second Amendment. Bans on so-called “military-purpose assault rifles”, high-capacity magazines, stronger background checks, elimination of gun-sale background check loopholes that arguably don’t exist, safety precautions – like safety locks, requirements that guns be stored in locked places, and even requirements that guns only be able to be fired by their owners, perhaps through the use of a fingerprint scanner – these regulations are based on purely cosmetic differences, they are unenforceable, they are written and defended by gun-illiterate people, and they have disastrous unintended consequences.
            Some say “guns don’t kill people; people kill people”; others say guns do kill. But accidentally shooting yourself or someone else does not mean guns kill by themselves. Many defenders of gun control are peaceful, well-meaning people, but their rhetoric is flawed, and they fail to see the connection between guns and our freedom.
            I’ll get to that in a minute, but first I want to say that if I am elected, I will not support any gun control legislation at the federal level. Since I believe in the Tenth Amendment as much as the Second, I would not cast a vote that interferes with the states’ rights to legislate on matters of guns.
            However, any such laws can only, rightfully, be applied to the intrastate manufacture of guns; not interstate manufacture, and certainly not to commerce and trade of guns across state borders, due to the Commerce Clause. Furthermore, while I would not vote to interfere with the states’ rights to craft constitutional gun control legislation, I would also support the resistance to overbearing state gun laws, by supporting communities’ rights, counties’ rights, jury nullification, and civil disobedience of such unjust laws.

            The only (arguably) “pro-gun-control” position I would take, is that I would oppose protections for gun sellers and manufacturers, from being sued by victims of gun violence and their families. But I take this position because, as it says in 42 U.S. Code Section 1981, “All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States, shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue”, among other things.
            Don’t get me wrong, I believe that after a gun is manufactured and sold to you, it becomes your property, and what you do with it is your responsibility. And the seller – and especially not the manufacturer – ought have any positive obligation (outside of direct contract with you) to do background checks on you, nor take any other measures to ensure that you will be responsible with it.
            I believe such lawsuits are frivolous, and I believe that they should be settled out of court, and laughed out of court. If Ben Carson hits his mother in the head with a hammer, it wouldn’t make sense for her to sue Ace Hardware, but I’d welcome her to try. I oppose these protections, also, to take a stand against corporate privilege.
            To those who would argue that this position puts me to the left of Bernie Sanders on the issue of lawsuits against gun sellers and manufacturers, I’d respond that while Sanders voted for such protections, he was glad that Sandy Hook victims’ families won in a preliminary judgment concerning their right to sue, so Sanders has not been consistent on this issue.

            But on to my main point: I’d like to read a piece that I wrote several years ago, which is entitled “Altering the Second Amendment to Protect Conscientious Objection”. I think this information is crucial, especially now, a time when seasoned liberals – from Carl Bernstein, to Robert Reich, to Charlie Rangel, to Rahm Emanuel – are openly calling for some form or another of mandatory national civil service; even calls to require women to register for the draft.







Please click on the following link to read the remainder of this speech:








"Speech to the Illinois State Line Rifle Association":
Written on April 27th, 2016Edited on May 28th, 2016





"Altering the 2nd Amendment to Protect the Right of Conscientious Objection":
Originally Written in May 2014
Edited on January 9th, February 18th, and May 28th, 2016

Friday, April 22, 2016

Health Care and Health Insurance: Where Libertarians and Progressives Can Agree



Originally Written on March 30th and 31st, 2016

Edited on April 23rd, 2016


Written in Coordination with Annie Dean



Table of Contents

1. Constitutionality of Federal Involvement in Health
2. Health Care vs. Health Insurance, and the Individual Mandate
3. Single-Payer Universal Plans, and Employers and the States
4. Taxes, Medical Device Sales, and Lawsuits
5. Taxes and Profits


Content


1. Constitutionality of Federal Involvement in Health

It is unnecessary to pass a constitutional amendment specifically authorizing the existence of the Department of Health and Human Services (H.H.S.). The department is constitutional, and so is federal involvement in health policy in general, despite the fact that health is not a specifically enumerated duty of the federal government among the eighteen powers outlined in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
The predecessor of the H.H.S. – the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (H.E.W.; which existed from 1953 to 1980) – is therefore constitutional. This is because President Eisenhower’s “Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 1953” – which established the H.E.W. (which was the only department to be created through presidential reorganization authority) – was not unconstitutional.
The reasons for this are that: 1) nothing in the Constitution specifically allows, nor forbids, presidential executive orders; 2) the congressional Reorganization Act of 1939 gave the president the authority to reorganize the executive branch; 3) legislative vetoes which would have prevented Eisenhower’s reorganization plan were not attempted at the time, and such vetoes were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1983; and 4) federal departments may not be abolished without an Act of Congress, so any executive orders attempting to abolish the H.H.S. would be unconstitutional. Reason #3 is likely the strongest argument supporting the H.H.S.’s constitutionality.


2. Health Care vs. Health Insurance, and the Individual Mandate

In order to ensure that doctors continue to abide by the Hippocratic Oath they took – requiring them to provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay for such services – hospitals should hold doctors accountable to their oaths. Any doctor refusing to provide free-of-cost care to patients should be put on unpaid leave for several months, and the offense should be noted in their permanent record.
The federal government does, and shall, have the authority to enforce these obligations, if and when states impair the obligation of such contractual oaths into which doctors enter. To ensure such obligations would help ensure universal care, thus rendering the health insurance industry obsolete. This is because health insurance coverage would not be necessary in order to receive care. This is one of the reasons why the individual insurance purchase mandate (established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; i.e., Obamacare) is unnecessary.
Additional reasons why the individual mandate is harmful, include: 1) concerns relating to premium costs, 2) objections to involuntary servitude through coerced purchase, and the differences between 3) a tax and a penalty, and between 4) the commercial activity of purchase, versus the non-commercial inaction of refraining from purchasing. For all the foregoing reasons, the individual insurance mandate portion of Obamacare should be repealed by the Congress or overturned by the Supreme Court.


3. Single-Payer Universal Plans, and Employers and the States

            Although ownership of a health insurance policy ought not be necessary in order to ensure treatment, health insurance coverage should be expanded through two reforms. In order to help ensure that people can keep their insurance policies – or, at least, be able to afford similarly priced policies – when they 1) lose their jobs, and / or 2) relocate or move to different states, 1) the tax credit for employer provided health insurance ought to be repealed, and 2) the purchase of health insurance policies across state lines ought to be made legal. Reform #2 would be especially beneficial to people living near state borders, and in geographically small states.
            Neither 1) legal interstate purchase of health insurance policies, 2) employer provided health care plans, nor 3) individual purchase of health insurance on the private market; can co-exist with universal single-payer health insurance systems.
A federal universal single-payer plan would turn the federal government into the sole purchaser (i.e., the monopsonist) of health insurance policies, thus precluding individuals and employers from purchasing policies. Also, requiring all states to establish state-wide single-payer systems, would turn each state into the sole purchaser of health insurance within its borders, encountering the same problem.
Additionally, while legalizing interstate purchase of insurance policies would technically be possible if as many as 48 states were to establish such single-payer systems, this would almost completely defeat the purpose of the establishment of the United States as a free-trade zone. Moreover, the risks of such a plan would include states writing favorable legislation for health insurance companies within their jurisdictions, as well as states giving undue corporate welfare and numerous other protections to such companies within their borders.


4. Taxes, Medical Device Sales, and Lawsuits

            There are numerous additional reasons why the costs of health care and insurance are so high. These reasons include: 1) the high costs of medical devices, 2) the taxation of hospitals and their employees, and 3) medical malpractice lawsuits.
            Regarding 1) the high costs of medical devices: medical devices are expensive because profits on medical device sales are taxed, and also because sales of medical devices are taxed before profits can be calculated. Sale is productive behavior, which should not be taxed, in order to avoid discouraging such productive behavior so that the seller may avoid the tax. The reaping of profits on medical device sales could be argued as the same type of productive behavior, although this is more difficult to argue. Either way, taxes on the sales of medical devices should certainly not be taxed, as this is likely to decrease the sale and purchase of medical devices.
            Regarding 2) the taxation of hospitals and their employees: the corporate income of hospitals, and the income deriving from hospitals’ sales, should not be taxed. Nor should the personal income of the employees of hospitals, such as doctors, nurses, and other staff. This is because working to earn income is a productive behavior, and so is the sale of health care, and so are corporate investments made by hospitals. The income, sales, and investment of hospitals and their staff should not be taxed, so as not to effectually discourage workers from working to earn income, nor discourage hospitals from selling and making investments in order to earn income. Otherwise, such taxation is likely to cause decreases in employment and hospital profitability, thus decreasing the availability of care.
            Regarding 3) medical malpractice lawsuits: tort reform legislation that limits the awards which doctors and hospitals may be required to pay to patients who become victims of medical malpractice in civil suits, should not be passed, and where it exists, it should be repealed. This is because tort reform limits the powers of juries, which are supposed to have the ability to decide both the facts of the case and the appropriateness of the law, and make judgments regarding what compensation is appropriate. Although passing tort reform would cause hospitals to incur increased costs, thus reducing their capacity to provide treatment, these costs would be off-set through the reduction in taxes on hospitals’ sales, investments, and staff income.
            Additionally, other negative effects of refraining from passing tort reform would be off-set because of the following reasons. The fact that eliminating taxes on profits from medical device sales, and eliminating taxes on the sale of medical devices itself, would have the effect of lowering the costs incurred by hospitals in acquiring such devices. Additional effects of this include decreases in the costs of using such devices which are incurred by patients, and increased access to medical devices.
Thus, since medical devices would be more easily affordable, doctors and hospitals would be less likely to neglect to purchase such devices. This would diminish the chances that patients would file medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors or hospitals, charging them with failing to use the most up-to-date and technologically advanced medical devices, in order to make correct diagnoses of their illnesses. Thus, hospitals would lose less money in lawsuits, and have more money and resources to invest in treating patients, and additionally the costs of health insurance would decrease as a result of the decreased cost of treatment.


5. Taxes and Profits

            Each hospital should be allowed to decide for itself whether to operate as a for-profit, not-for-profit, or non-profit institution. Currently, about 60% of hospitals are tax-exempt not-for-profit institutions, and as such, they are supposed to treat low- and moderate- income individuals and families, and patients lacking coverage.
            The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires hospitals to operate on for-profit bases, which causes them to lose their status as not-for-profit institutions. This makes them subject to taxation, and thus, subject to federal regulations, while also becoming eligible for subsidies and tax credits.
            All hospitals ought to be free to operate on tax-exempt, not-for-profit, charity bases; and all hospitals should be free to allow doctors to provide free treatment and care, as well as discounted treatment and care, and pay in installations, for low- and moderate- income individual patients and families. Again, decreased cost of care will help achieve reduced cost of health insurance premiums.
            While it may result in increased profitability for a hospital to receive government subsidies and tax credits, providing tax credits to not-for-profit, non-profit, and charity based hospitals would be impossible. Tax credits would therefore seem less necessary to hospitals, if they have the choice to avoid taxation by operating as non-profit institutions.
            Additionally, subsidies would seem less necessary, due to the cost reductions which all the aforementioned reforms would bring about. Namely, 1) the elimination of taxation of the personal income of hospital staff, and 2) the elimination of taxation of profits on sales of medical devices; in addition to 3) the cost reductions which hospitals would see by avoiding having to pay for medical devices whose sellers raise their prices in order to offset the burden of taxes on device sales and profits.

Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham Normalized the Same Type of Political Violence He Claims to Oppose When it is Practiced by I.C.E. (800th Post!)

I. Introduction      The following speech is an address, regarding immigration, which I delivered to the Waukegan City Council on October 20...