Day 33

Sorry for those viewing, my Internet went down with today refreshing the Massachusetts statistics today.

Massachusetts Statistics

As far as licensing requirements the bottom line is Massachusetts seems to have happy contractors doing their work and no one is losing their licenses. Could be attributable to healthy workers and low rates of drug use and alcoholism in the trades thereby work performance is better. This again attributable to the universal health insurance whereby drug and alcohol abuse is a downward trend.

Home statistics are that the number of home sales over all hit a high like everywhere in 2007, and during these hard times the negative trend of home sales was seen until 2011 where an uptick in sales to only 10% of the state high. This again could be attributed to the health insurance with consumer confidence up and sales trends recovering faster.

Unemployment: The Federal Department of Labor statistics show a high of 9.6% in Jan 2010 and a current rate of 7.4% with a seasoned adjusted average of about 5.8%.

Consumer confidence: According to Mass Insight, quarterly Consumer Confidence Index rose from 65 in October to 74 in January. The group’s Consumer Confidence Index for Massachusetts was 61 in July 2010, 80 in April 2010 and 73 a year ago in January 2010. MassInsight is a Boston company that acts as a consultant to industry and government on business competitiveness issues involving the state.

The Washington, D.C.-based Conference Board put the national Consumer Confidence Index at 70 in January and the New England average at 73 in January. In October 2010 it was 50 in the United States and 44 in New England.

The MassInsight and the Conference Board plot consumer confidence on a scale that varies above and below a baseline of 100.

Results of these simple statistics see that things are looking up in Massachusetts, Consumer confidence is like everywhere and slightly higher, unemployment is close to its averages, and with inflation being the same everywhere and at lows everywhere, the state is seeing none of the downturns in government revenues because they have passed the tipping point of revenue income per capita and again probably all can be attributed to CommonWealth Care.

A note on the issues of Massachusetts health insurance being punitive in that they penalize people $200 if they refuse health insurance is pure folly. The reality is that $200 is an incentive from the government and in no way is a direct cost debit to an individual.

Day 28

I do not care if it is a Democrat or a Republican who gives us states rights universal health insurance, just that it happens.

Some statistics in my world as a retired California real estate broker.

Number of Contractors whose licenses have been revoked: 2007 average 30 per month, 2011 average 65 per month. One of the biggest factors of revocation is insolvency. source: CA Contractor License Board 2007 and 2011.

Number of new single family homes built: Averaged 6300 from January to September in 2007, less than 1800 average thus far in 2011. One of the biggest factors of new home starts is lending and a healthy workforce. source: CA building industry assoc 2007 and 2011, statewide SFR.

Number of licensed real estate agents: November 2007 high of 398716 agents, to August of 2010 of 327341. The licensed agents are directly coupled to the vibrancy of the economy.source: CA DRE 2007 and 2011

Number of statewide single family residence home sales: Approximately 616,000 homes sold in 2007 as compared to 398,106 for 2011. The driving factor of homes sales are three axioms: Low unemployment, high consumer confidence, and low inflation. source: CA MLS 2007 and 2011

Unemployment: 2007 rate was 5.4%, today we have 12.3%. source: CA Edd 2007 and 2011
Consumer Confidence: 2007 rate was 101.9% to 2011 70% source: San Jose State statistic consumer indices 2007 and 2011
Inflation: 2007 4.1% to 2001 3.2%. source: US Inflation Calculator 2007 and 2011 inflation statistics

All these three elements point to needing a fix here. 2007 was just before the financial mess. We need to cure the unemployment mess and Massachusetts clearly shows us that healthy workers are happier and more productive and they have less than the US average in unemployment. Consumer confidence for a 4th straight year is not doing well enough. Again happier healthy employed workers points to greater consumer sentiment. Inflation is under control and is still less than the 2007 high. Add in mortgage rates and the cost of real estate things should be looking up, but they don't. I again point out we need a similar shot in the arm like the GOP did in Massachusetts. We are lagging and will continue to do as UCLA economists are precluding. Universal health insurance is the needed shot in the arm.

Day 27

Things that just happen,

Last night I was thinking about the Song "Hey Annie, I'm not your Daddy" by the Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and boom in the news our Ex Governor.

Hate to sound alarmist but with that noise now, the State and it's affairs will have a tough time of it. Couple that with no willingness to talk about health care insurance ala Massachusetts the fight just got a lot tougher.

This fight needs soldiers and now.

Day 26

This day is a rainy one. Still at my weight and doing small walks.

This day the Governor announced we have more money in the taxes. That is great but where do we go now with the healing of health insurance in this state. We are not in South Carolina where that Governor yesterday proclaimed no to universal health insurance, but we are in a state where it is all in a stalemate.

So come on lets stop our cookoo thinking and get to work.

7 million people demand it.

Day 25

Here are some interesting facts about unemployment today.

South Carolina: 9.6%
Massachusetts: 8.2%
California: 12.3%
US Average: 8.7%

source: March 2011 labor department statistics

Bottom line is Massachusetts for years running now with universal health insurance has beaten the nation average and is better than conservative states who say no to any universal health insurance and certainly to California which the 7 million uninsured, the 6 million unemployed, and the 10 million under-insured we hopelessly lope along.

All states have to invoke universal health insurance to deal with the wicked problems. South Carolina is simply all about the country club and to heck with the poor.

Day 24

Ah finally through the Attack phase of the Dukan Diet. What I did:

Weight starting 194 lbs.

Ate nothing but proteins and oat bran in smoothies made from non dairy non fat items. Walked 10,000 steps or 5 miles each day and sweated to release all the fat stored toxins. I made sure I was never hungry and ate chicken and small steaks for snacks. It was very hard to do, I felt like I had the flu, and then I knew I was feasting on my own fat and losing weight. That is our feedback, if you do not have that flu-like symptom, there is too little or no weight loss. It takes 3 days and any longer is not healthy.

Result is 185 lbs and half way to my goal of 174 lbs. So now the long march to July 16 where I should reach my goal. It is vegetables and somewhat regular meals one day and meats and oat bran the next day for the next two months. Should be interesting.

My Blood pressure is: 130/85 with an 87 pulse (I have coffee right now).

All in all a very successful 3 days. I am not all the way there but with keeping the faith here, it will happen.

Day 23

Sorry could not post yesterday as something was wrong with Google Blog. I think all is fine now. If this continues I will move my blog elsewhere.

When will we be rid of our current system of rationed health care through the county systems, to fully integrated 93% covered health insurance as Massachusetts currently has as we still have over 7 million people uninsured in California?

Yesterday I was invited to a Webinar of people working on what is perceived as the needs of healthcare. One would think we would attack this from every angle but only two points of port are embarked from. One port is the IT end of this. Apparently it is a huge issue to getting the information technology understood and standardized. The other port is clinics being born. This is happening in LA apparently and both these efforts are laudable, but that is it, and clearly not enough. We are not putting a dent in the uninsured in the state nothing in that vein is talked about other than as a footnote, and talk is cheap.

We are clearly shown as fools with PhD’s and Medical doctors having complex websites and complex vendor relationships. Here is one simple item that shouldn't sit well, “favorite nation status” bids. If they get one dime of Federal money they are breaking the law. In these hard times for California, I am amazed we are still looking to outsource IT products we need right here. And what will happen when they get cheap? It will have systemic failures. Like Defense, all contractors have to be American companies run and worked by US citizens, not some foreign country that will sell us more lead tainted plastics. This is what our tax dollars are paying for. You tell me do you smell a rat?

We can do much better, we can submit to what Massachusetts has done and succeeded with in job creation a healthier population probably very effectively dealing with drug addicts and alcoholism. We are about to spend millions of dollars in health care and not doing one thing for the poor and the uninsured. Shame on this 30 person effort.

Day 22

Fasting with only meat, and water and oat bran. Whoo this is tough. Point lose 2 pounds in 3 days. Did a 10,000 step walk today or 5 miles.

Saw Oprah today with a "lady" from the royal house Lady Fergie. What a spoiled, evil intent opportunistic woman with now poor girl who has no one loving her. She suffers from looking for approval all the time. Get over it sue the Duke for $10,000 a month for spouse support, go to Africa and help those poor people in Darfur. But no her lifestyle as a caged bird is all too good. She sings but her selfish song no one hears her whining.

Enough of that, we need health care insurance in this state, maybe Lady Fergie can be the spokesperson.

Day 21

Now it is the day for weight loss program. I am using the Dukan diet with Rose and we are ready with 3 days of groceries to start the attack phase. My goal is to lose 20 pounds as my ideal weight is 172. This will start tomorrow as today we shopped and ate badly form not following the diet. My target weight will be achieved in mid July and the total time for the diet is until October.

With my need for watching iron toxicity form the hereditary form of Poryphia I have the diet cookbook and can later it as needed to sustain a low iron diet as well.

My doctors will love that I did this and I am hoping for better health too.

The Dukan diet is free, Google it and start today even for a couple of pounds. Be honest and it will provide you with the plan. I ordered the book on Kindle and it works great although kind of hard to deal with the recipes. Would recomned the paperback for the kitchen recipes.

Day 20

This past weekend was a break from all the hubbub, or was it. One of my relatives is an uber car salesman who recently has gone to a leading dealership. There we talked on the merits that car sales are a leading economic indicator and Tom went on with dealers pay a significant amount of money in inventory programs and they need to move cars quickly. I summed up that if a dealers lot was full of cars that means bullish thoughts relating to sales thus a returned economy. Tom agreed and added that currently most cars have to be ordered because car dealers are too hesitant to fill their lots right now.

In the news we are also now hearing about the failures in schools where the arts and PE programs are again in trouble statewide. This on the heals of Governor Brown announcing steep cuts and raising taxes.

Again I say we have another plan here as with Mitt Romney six years ago facing these exact same issues. Can we talk about instituting universal health insurance in the same breath as lowering taxes, and fully funding schools? I say we can because Massachusetts proved it is reining in unemployment and has a very healthy workforce; almost 94% of the population.

As everyone departed, I asked if maybe this would be a good time for me to throw in my hat into a recall for the governors office because we cannot wait until 2014 for the next election cycle.

Day 17

Yesterday I went to Oprah.com and placed my plea for Oprah to please read my blog and get the millions of listeners to go here, read, comment and help.

If Oprah you did read this, God Bless You and thank you at least for that.

Its hot here we have a mini heat wave. I get up and run the ceiling fans to cool the rooms off. Later today Rose, and I will be visiting with relatives as they are very concerned so lets put some fears to rest. Hope they can bear the heat.

Since it is rude to write with people staying, this will be my last post for a few days.

Lets please keep up the faith here. Not lose the momentum and move forward with a true belief that it just takes one person to move a mountain when thousands say yea, and we get 7 million people insured, get 12 million people with no more deductible limits, and get the economy running again. Google and Microsoft and Apple and all the rest are fine; however again it is small business that leads the way, and small business's are shutting their doors everyday.

Day 16

So here we are today, we give Pakistan billion of dollars, they harbor a mass murderer, taking our money with one hand while stabbing us in the back; and universal health care goes nowhere......

What is wrong with this picture.

Day 15

Missing one critical doctor office visit. That is the heart of the problem here with rationing of health care under our current system. Will have to follow up on that.

Day 14 a neat relaxing job opportunity

So here we are today, a massively changed world, the USA being respected once more, me feeling great to be an American. If the much beloved President does read my blog, I am honored and thank you for taking the time. I know I can go on and on, but from the bottom of my heart, I feel this is so important.

A couple of months ago, when this all was starting with my health, I talked to a very dear friend of mine, David, in that working in stressful environments is something I no longer can do until the uncertainty of my potential Poryphia is diagnosed and a possible outcome comes from it. I need to think long and hard what I can do that one helps the planet, that I think is also so very important, and something that is low stress making a few bucks. You see my needs are not that great, just keeping busy, doing something I love, and that it at least pays for itself.

So I found something I think meets that criteria. Sometimes I think my ancestors talk to me in unseen ways. Sunday night I was watching PBS on a Nature program, in that our salmon populations are in big trouble. They also are asking for help. They need regular people like you and me to go fishing. The salmon have a threat it is the Northern Pikeminnow. It eats the struggling salmon on their way out to sea. The salmon have a real tough time of it already and our dams we have built the warm slow waters post dam lead to pikeminnow populations to grow all at the expense of the salmon.

See here for more information: http://www.pikeminnow.org/index.html

If you are interested as this is a lot of hard work but fun and best in twos, let me know. The best is a boat, so if you have one all the better. I want to outfit it with an electric motor batteries and a solar array charger so we do not have any costs with expensive repairs or any consumable energy costs. It starts now and requires two fishing licenses.

Oregon has a special program for a Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Permit which includes a fishing license and can be seen here: https://or.outdoorcentral.us/or/license

The state of Washington is here: http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/crss_endorsement/

Needless to say both these states are very worried about this. As usual California is in denial the problem even exist and lo we have a decimated salmon population even with no hunting. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with us.

A favorite quote comes to mind with our desires to hire PhD's and put them in high places like our California Fish and Game.

"It has time after time fooled people who weren't fools, people who merely miscalculated, or failed to take into account its almost infinite variables, or used inadequate models, or out-of-date models, or mistaken assumptions."

That comes from a legislator in Missouri talking in the 1970's about the desire to blow up a levee to save the town of Cairo Illinois.

Day 13

Today marks a new Chapter in this Glorious United States of America.

I am so proud today to be an AMERICAN.

Day 12

Yesterday, our honorable and much loved Governor was sent to outpatient services to have a skin cancer growth removed. I think it wonderful our much loved Governor has those critical path health insurance benefits so that our much loved Governor can quickly get to health. I do not say this as a criticism only that we have to do much better so that all California residents have that option. To date only a certain percentage of people get that performance in health care.

We still have over 7 million people without health insurance and I wonder who of that group has basil cell carcinoma, and cannot afford any health services.