It’s Time to Think About the Children

Dave Davis Commentary, COVID-19, Policy, Uncategorized

We are about to make a horrible mistake. In numerous parts of the country, grade-schoolers will be going back to school on a less than regular basis or worse, not at all. We are regularly being lectured by many of our elites; we must follow the science. Yet, some of the same people have willfully ignored it. President Trump is excoriated for merely pointing out our children need to be in school. Already our children have fallen behind by up to a half year. This loss falls most heavily on our most vulnerable. We’ve found the younger the student, the less well distance learning works. The American Academy of Pediatrics has pointed out how important it is for children to be in school. Not only for education but also for social development they want the kids in school. If we don’t get them in school this fall, they may never catch up. This would be a devastating loss for our children and for our country.

The odd thing is we are having this conversation at all. There never was a coherent reason for closing the schools in the first place. Sweden never closed its primary schools. Its neighbors, Denmark and Norway, have been re-opened for months. Norway’s prime minister Erna Solberg has asked, “Was it necessary to close the schools?” She answered her own question, “Perhaps not.” In any case, they all opened without significant problems. A recent study showed schools in Finland closed schools between March 18 and May 13 while Sweden’s schools remained open. Despite that, the authors concluded, “Closing of schools had no measurable effect on the number of cases of COVID-19 among children.” It seems the worldwide consensus is the danger of keeping kids out of school far outweighs the risks of being in school. After all, the data shows children are much less affected by Covid-19 and spread it less.

Given the data, schools across the nation need to be formulating plans to open at least primary schools ASAP. There may be Covid-19 flareups in individual districts, but the goal has to be open all as soon and as much as possible. As in other countries, some employees, from teachers to bus drivers, may have pre-existing conditions that preclude their physical presence. If they can’t contribute remotely, they will need to be replaced. With double-digit unemployment, substitutes should be available. Any problems such as supplies and testing need to be identified so help can be delivered in a timely fashion. The Federal government could anticipate needs and be ready to backstop. The big thing is everyone needs to commit to getting the kids back in school. The assumption has to be we are going to be open in the fall.

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Why Not The Best?

Dave Davis Commentary, Dave's Healthcare Plan, Policy

Recently one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Ezekiel Emanuel, wrote a Wall Street Journal OP-Ed. In the article, he concedes the ACA has mostly been an expansion of Medicaid.This is a program paying providers so poorly many refuse or severely limit service. In light of this, Emanuel now acknowledges the ACA isn’t working and needs replacement. His recommendation is we look to the health plans of Germany or the Netherlands. He chooses these two, “where citizens choose among competing private health insurers called “sickness funds,” are closest to the U.S. system.”

Why would we want something close to what we have? Our present healthcare system is a costly mess. Just 11 days earlier, George P. Shultz and Vidar Jorgensen had an article on the same Op-Ed page. It pointed to Singapore as providing top-notch healthcare at a low price. By most measures, Singapore is at the top national healthcare heap. Why ignore this success? Why promote the lower performing German and Dutch systems? Maybe Emanuel only writes for the WSJ Op-ed page rather than reading it.

With the possibility of the ACA being declared unconstitutional, real discussion healthcare has to take place. Even if a decision is delayed, it will be a significant topic in the upcoming election. It’s no embarrassment to look to other nations to find what might work better. According to Shultz and Jorgensen, Singapore is the place to start. Some may say Singapore is too small to compare. Yet, many people keep throwing up comparisons to the Scandinavian nations. Only Sweden has a larger population. Singapore also measures up favorably on a per capita wealth basis.

Shultz and Jorgensen mention Scripps College economist Sean Flynn as a statistical source on Singapore. Strangely, this name came up in Steve Forbes’ fact and comment in his magazine’s June/July issue. Forbes lauded Flynn’s book “The Cure That Works.” I found it on Amazon and immediately downloaded the Kindle version.

What I received was a clear and easy to read look at arguably the world’s best healthcare system. The author frames this with an understanding of how we got to our present healthcare system. What’s peculiar is this remarkable book was published over a year ago. Still, Forbes and I are only talking about it now. Regardless of flying under the radar, it is an essential contribution to our healthcare discussion.

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Some Observations

Dave Davis Commentary, COVID-19, Policy, The Future Party

It is interesting to observe some of the things I predicted would happen have taken place. If we did a better job of protecting the elderly and others with underlying conditions, I said we could reopen the country without causing a massive death toll. Younger and healthier people may get the coronavirus in higher numbers, but very few would die. Most of the country has now been opening up. Protecting the vulnerable has been better. Also, people at risk and those close to them are more aware and have taken proper actions. Mask wearing other PPE use around the vulnerable has dramatically expanded. Even Gov. Cuomo now seems to recognize nursing homes must be protected. We still haven’t taken all the measures I proposed, but we have made progress. If better-targeted protections didn’t reduce mortality, then increasing confirmed cases would lead to increased deaths. This chart shows otherwise. Cases have significantly increased, but as I predicted, fatalities haven’t.

Early on, I also wondered why mask-wearing, especially where vulnerable people are present, wasn’t at least encouraged. Even though masks were widely worn in Asia where they had better outcomes, it wasn’t until April 3. The CDC reversed itself and favored masks. There was a shortage of medical gear, but the CDC in April encouraged homemade masks. Peop[e responded. Nothing prevented earlier adoption. This waffling by the authorities has led to needless controversy. Until now, our President seemed to resist wearing a mask. He should’ve set the right example. Can we all agree to wear a mask whenever you might be near an at-risk person? You may save your grandma.

Our failure to do targeted things to protect the at-risk early on has caused needless deaths. Now that more is being done, the results are evident. The better job we do protect the at-risk, the lower the number of deaths. That was always the choice. Not the false one of lives vs. the economy expounded by so many of our leaders.

n my posts at the time of the Ferguson, Mo in 2014 riots after the death of Michael Brown, I warned of the “Ferguson Effect.” If the police were placed in a no-win situation, they would be much less aggressive. This would result in rising crime and murder rates in lower-income areas. The statistics since have borne this out. Rather than recognizing more deprived regions anywhere in the world need more not less police presence, the police are demonized. Instead of striving for a workable community balance to improve the lives in higher crime areas, we have gone in the opposite direction. By disrespecting policing to the point of defunding, the predicable rise in minority deaths is already occurring. This will only get worse. We will see even more Blacks’ lives lost. We are endlessly told “Black Lives Matter,” but do they? To whom?

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Wealth And How To Get It

Dave Davis Commentary, Dave's Healthcare Plan, Policy, Uncategorized

The prevalent idea promoted across much of our media is the vast disparity between white and black wealth is indicative of “systematic racism.” No matter the reason, the gap exists. What is lacking actual proposals to increase black or anyone else’s wealth. What is offered generally involves money transfers or mandated higher wages. This may or may not increase wealth, depending on whether the additional money is saved or consumed. Wealth is just another way to say net worth. We determine our net worth by subtracting what we owe from our assets. What is left is our net worth.

An easy way to understand this is to look at how many people’s two biggest assets would determine one’s net worth. Say you buy a house for $100,000 and auto for $20,000. You were able able to acquire both with 10% down and to borrow the rest. You have $120,000 in assets and debt of $108,000. That leaves a $12,000 net worth. From that point forward, we have to mark the assets to their present market value. Autos are a depreciating asset. They lose value the instant you buy one. Real estate may depreciate or appreciate depending on several factors, the greatest one being location. If the real estate fails to appreciate and the car continues to depreciate, you’ll have a declining net worth. It could even turn negative. Keep this in mind.

Only the portion of one’s income actually saved can add to net worth. Unless it is used to obtain a capital asset, it cannot grow. Putting money in your mattress stays the same. If the assets acquired appreciate it adds to net worth. Maybe the asset gives a return of interest, dividends, or net rent. If those are reinvested, they can also add to wealth. If the value depreciates, your net worth reflects this adversity. This is all basic stuff but is often overlooked.

How do we help those with a net worth deficiency? I submit the “Expanded Dave’s Plan” would be an excellent place to start. Everyone has a Personal Benefits Account (PBA). It consists of two sub accounts at the financial institution of their choice. One combines all tax-favored savings accounts and the other a regular bank account. A catastrophic Health Care plan is associated with the tax-sheltered account. Significant medical bills can wipe out savings, but here we have protected them with a Catastrophic Policy. Employers and governments contribute proper benefits directly into the appropriate account. They’re yours even if you change jobs, locations, or both.

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A Different Perspective

Dave Davis Commentary, Policy, Uncategorized

What if the Floyd and Brookes families had migrated to Ghana? The nation on the West Coast of Africa was the first Sub Sahara British Colony to get its independence. Relatively prosperous, the English speaking nation might be a reasonable destination for Blacks uncomfortable in the US. Unfortunately, fate still plays out in the new location. George Floyd passes a counterfeit bill at an Accra market and gets arrested. The arresting officer in charge has him down and presses a knee on Floyd’s neck till he dies, while other officers standby. There are several onlookers, some recording the incident. The offending policeman appears to be aware of their presence but doesn’t seem to care. Everyone is shocked at a seemingly senseless murder. Why did the policeman do it? Investigators look for clues. It’s determined that the policeman likely knew his victim. The policeman’s wife left him the next morning, Maybe he had a domestic crisis. Did he have a breakdown? Both men worked at the same nightclub. Floyd had multiple drugs in his system. Did any of this play into the officer’s murderous decision? Investigators work to solve the mystery.

Rayshard Brookes was found passed out in the drive-thru lane at an Accra fast food restaurant. The police are called, and they find Rayshard is intoxicated. Everything is peaceful until they arrest him for DUI. Brookes then attacks the policemen, grabbing one of the policemen s taser. He tries to flee but fires the taser at one of the officers. The policeman returns fire, killing Rayshard. All of it is caught on tape. Police investigate to determine if it was a reasonable shooting.

This sounds pretty much like what happened to Floyd and Brookes in Minneapolis and Atlanta. Bad things can happen in Accra or most any other city in the world. Someone in law enforcement suddenly commits an unfathomable act or kills someone resisting arrest. So what makes the same thing happening in Accra rather than the Twin cities or Atlanta different? There is no question of a racial motive by law enforcement. Ghana’s population is almost totally black. They have excessive force issues like any other city in the world, but obviously, it’s not based on race. They investigate each case based on the actual facts, not “institutional Racism.”

Does this mean there is no bigotry based lawlessness in the US? Of course not. I think Ahmaud Arbery’s death will prove to be a result of prejudice. We know it was behind the Charleston church massacre. However, ugliness isn’t confined to just blacks and whites. Lives were lost in the conflict between Jews and Blacks in Crown Heights, NY. Race-based gangs battle each other in and out of our prisons. But there is no basis to believe all deaths of Blacks at the hands of white policemen are racist.

The reason I say this is the problems between police and the residents of less wealthy areas of cities is a problem the world over. Almost every city we visited the world over had dangerous areas tourists were advised to avoid. This is true, regardless of whether it entails more than one race or not. Accra is an almost totally black city that doesn’t shield it from friction between the police and residents. More impoverished areas have more crime. Those crimes tend to be more violent. These areas need more policing to protect those living there. More police mean more encounters. That means more chance of ugly incidents. If the police pull back, the residents suffer. If the police feel you’re throwing them under the bus, few good people will want the job. Finding the proper balance is the “Holy Grail” for police departments across the globe.

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