Cool Cake

I'm catching up on some old items here. My wife made this cake several months ago for a baby shower. I was pretty stunned. Not that I'm surprised at her supernatural abilities in general; I've known for many years that I am married to Wonder Woman. But she had never made a cake like this before, so it was pretty cool to see what a great cake decorator she could be.

We talked about her future career, but she reminded me that her passions are photography and making jewelry. I didn't push it. But I'm still amazed.

The Federal Reserve

I recently read a book called "The Creature of Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin. It offered a really interesting analysis of the history of banking and the effects of fractional reserve banking and central banking's monetary policies. The title refers to a secret meeting that took place on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia with several bankers and politicians to craft a plan for creating a central bank in the US patterned after European central banking. The ultimate result of this was the creation of the current central bank of the US, the Federal Reserve. The meeting was later documented by participants, but it was kept secret at the time because public knowledge of the banking industry's involvement in the creation of the draft plan would have killed the political possibility of it being passed as legislation.

I've dabbled in economic theory, but as any economist can attest, I'm no economist. It was helpful to have some economic background going into that book, but I found my understanding of money was dramatically improved by reading it. Griffin gives historical examples of governments that enforced a policy of money backed by precious metals and the resulting stability of the money supply and value.

If Griffin is to be believed - and I think his research is pretty thorough, though I may not be in the best position to critique his analysis - the United States has had only one brief period near the beginning of its existence in which the money supply was truly tied to a precious metal - silver. In other eras, although we haven't had central banking during many of those years (we've actually had three central banks - four if you count the bank of the colonies prior to the revolution), we have allowed publicly-chartered and/or regulated private banks to employ fractional reserve banking, which allows banks to inflate the money supply by a fairly large multiplier depending on the reserve percentage.

In other words, even when we had a gold standard, fractional reserve banking allowed our money system to be inflated by the banking industry with new money generated by debt. If a fractional reserve percentage of 10% is enforced, then as much as 90% of the money supply could be based solely on debt with the other 10% based on precious metal. That's sort of a hybrid between a gold-standard and fiat money. Now, of course, we have total fiat money with no backing by anything of value.

The stability of a gold- or silver-backed money supply, Griffin argues, comes from the fact that the money is itself something with intrinsic value. This money, then, when it becomes less valuable, can be converted into other things of value and taken out of circulation, which bolsters the value of the remaining money. When it becomes too scarce (and consequently more valuable), individuals and firms will be more motivated to conduct mining operations or find some other method by which to obtain some of this more valuable money. Those activities bring the value of the money back down. Thus, traditional market forces tend to stabilize the value of the money itself just as they do with any other commodity when there is no government interference.

With a fiat system, the government indirectly dictates the value of the money through various control mechanisms. The idea that a central control mechanism would offer greater stability is a very socialistic idea. Why would a group of bankers/economists in Washington be more capable of stabilizing the vast financial system than millions of individuals operating within the framework of a free market?

According to Griffin, the brief period following the ratification of the Constitution in which the US money supply was truly tied to silver generated an incredible period of growth and prosperity. As I said, I can't really critique his analysis, but if it's true, it begs for a closer look at the virtue of a sound money supply with value controlled by a distributed market instead of centrally controlled by bureaucrats.

Call me crazy, but I'm more and more convinced that freedom is a key ingredient in the formula for prosperity. Thanks to Mr. Griffin, I have a few more ideas solidified in my mind that give me a stronger theoretical foundation for that belief.

Running a 5K

I'm a little behind on my blog; life has been kind of busy. In early May, we went to a family 5K run and I thought I'd better report to the world how it went.

I'd love to tell you my time, but I have no idea what it was. My wife had another commitment, so I had four kids in tow and only one of them wanted to run. The rest of us didn't even finish, but we had a nice talk as we walked.

Child number three, however, has a passion for running and he gave that run 100%. He told me his time was 27:43. That's just under 9 minutes per mile. That may not be a great time for a 20 year old, but I think it's pretty darn good for a kid his age! And it's very possible he would have beaten me if I had run with him.

Ok, good. Now it's documented. I'll have to keep track of that boy's running times. I think he could be a pretty fantastic runner as he gets older.

Allergies

I had some allergy tests done today. The doctor told me he hasn't seen someone as sensitive as I am in about six months. I thought that was good news, so I told my wife what a sensitive guy I am. The doc thought that put me in the top 1% or so among allergy sufferers. A bit of an unscientific guess, but I'm proud of the estimate.

So now I'm looking at the possibility of allergy shots and wishing there was a more natural, long-lasting solution, but I'm seeing very few options. I wish I understood my body a little better.

I think one way to look at allergies is an overreaction of the body's natural defenses. We react to something that isn't really a threat, but we do so because our body's defensive cells don't recognize certain substances as friendly or benign. There are a lot of health issues that can crop up when our body has this kind of misunderstanding. Blood type mismatches, organ type mismatches, even type I diabetes, I believe, where our defensive cells fail to recognize the markers on cells in the pancreas and they attack it, disabling its ability to produce insulin. This is the western view of the body and it works pretty well.

That got me thinking a few months ago of our body reacting to impurities. And then, as I often do, I made a leap to spiritual things. I realized that being sensitive wasn't always a bad thing and I prayed that I might be as sensitive to spiritual impurities as I am to environmental allergens. Wouldn't that be great? Still working on that. But it was a nice thought and got me focused on purity a little more.

I think there's another view of allergies that stems from an oriental view of the body. It is that allergies are a natural side effect of a body whose systems are out of balance. Bad things happen when the body's communication system breaks down, when energy (the Chinese qi or chi) doesn't flow properly, when one or more parts of the body are neglected. And while I don't know of any good treatments along those lines (the Internet has a few claims that may or may not be true), I think this is a pretty good way of viewing our bodies to ensure proper health.

And so, jumping to spiritual matters once again, I thought that maybe the negative spiritual health we experience is sometimes brought about by a spiritual imbalance. Perhaps we sometimes seek after impurities because something is out of whack. An example I've found that impacts me both physically and spiritually is exercise. When I neglect to exercise, my health deteriorates and I also feel less sensitive to spiritual connections to God. I think the body, mind, and spirit are very tightly connected and what affects one will have an effect on the others. But whatever the stimulus, taking care of ourselves by balancing the needs of every part of us seems really important.

So I'll be searching for a bit more balance in the near future ... and hoping to be a little less sensitive.

His Grace Is Sufficient

I read a talk recently that I wanted to share, but I haven't had time to get to my blog lately. Work has been crazy busy! The good news is that it seems to go in cycles, so it should slow down eventually; and I foresee a badly needed day or two of vacation coming for me soon ... after a big deadline in the next week or two.

Anyway, back to the talk. I thought it was a great Easter message, so maybe the timing worked out well since Easter day will be here in about an hour. Here's a video excerpt of the talk; you can find the text of the entire talk here. I recommend reading the whole talk, but I'll post the excerpt here for the visual learners among us.



Since I was a child, I have heard people refer to life as a test. While that may be a useful paradigm for understanding why we're here on this bouncing ball, I have for many years considered it insufficient and potentially misleading. I prefer to look at life as an education. That may be just my addiction to education talking, but I think that's a useful way for thinking about the purpose in our lives here. I think God wants us to become like Him and with His help, we can do that. But not without His help. That divine help is often called Grace and that Grace was embodied many years ago in a man called Jesus Christ.

Christ's sacrifice offers us a gift to overcome our natural state and become something different - something more like God. And on the day (or at the time I'm posting, the eve of the day) when we celebrate His triumph over sin/evil and death, I think it's appropriate to spend some time thinking about the magnitude of His gift and what it can mean for us personally. I think Brad Wilcox offers some great insight on it, so if you have a few minutes, take a look at the video, or better yet, read the entire talk (here it is again in case you missed the first link) and think about what Christ's Atonement means for you.

It isn't just about salvation - from sin, from evil within and without, and from death; ultimately, for me, it's about transformation. It's about becoming pure in heart, becoming filled with a pure love for others, having no more desire to do evil. It's about becoming like Christ.

Happy Easter!

The Riddle

I discovered the music group Five for Fighting a year or two ago. I had heard a couple of their songs many times and always loved their sound.

One of the lesser known songs is called 'The Riddle'. I love the message. Their songs are so poetic and beautiful. And the video's kind of fun to watch too. :)

Mauldin on Health Care

I read a weekly email from an economist named John Mauldin ... at least, I occasionally read it when I can find the time. I pulled from one of those letters for my previous post and I think I'd better do it again.

John had some very interesting things to say about health care that I think are an important contribution to the debate about how to handle the problems in our system. As he says near the end, the problems are more complex that most of us would like to admit.

John Mauldin, Economist

This post will be really long, but I couldn't cut it shorter and still convey the complexity of his ideas, so, refraining from further comment, here's what John has to say about health care.

... [my] good fiend Mark Yusko ... noted that an acquaintance of his, who was worth north of $10 million, had just had four stents put in his arteries. The hospital bill was $288,000. As he was over 65, Medicare paid everything. He paid nothing. Yet he is worth $10 million. I am not judging, by the way. My mother gets veteran benefits and Medicare, as well as Social Security. I will most likely take Medicare and Social Security when the time comes, if it is still there for me, even though I could afford not to. If my income were of the same stripe as Mitt Romney's, you can bet I would pay just 15% of it in taxes. Hold that thought.

On the same panel, Rich Yamarone said he had a stent put in last year. The bill was $90,000, and he was also nothing out of pocket, as insurance paid for it. His employer had paid for that insurance, so he used it. Just as I use my insurance when I need it. Hold that thought.

A good friend of mine recently had hip surgery, for a problem known of in advance by his insurance company. So they are not paying, saying it was pre-existing. And will not pay for the follow-up costs that are now looming, as it looks like he will need a full hip replacement. And he can't afford it. So he lives with steadily growing pain, while an attorney tries to get the insurance company to pony up. Hold that thought.

Two weeks ago my #2 daughter (in birth order - otherwise they are all #1) had some medical work done and mentioned a lump in her throat. The scan came back, and it was not good. The growths on her thyroid were almost as big as the thyroid. I called my doctor (Mike Roizen ...) and asked what to do, and he gave us a referral to what he said would be the best doctor in Dallas for this type of thing. We went to see him last Monday, thinking we would schedule a biopsy and hoping we could do it soon.

He said we could do a biopsy, but given the scan we already had, if it were his daughter he would remove the thyroid as soon as possible, whether or not the growth was malignant, and then do the biopsy. He had an opening a week later and she is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Both he and Roizen agreed, and both told us the odds are quite high that it is benign, although complicated by the fact that Melissa's mother had thyroid cancer some 20 years ago.

Why talk about this with you? Here is the rest of the story. She is the one child I have with no insurance. I knew it and kept hoping she would get a job that included insurance. Now that looks like a bad economic choice.

I gently asked the doctor about costs. It was not as much as I feared, but definitely not cheap. As maybe in the mid-range of tens of thousands of dollars. His fee was the minor part. (I was actually surprised at how low as it was. I make more than that for an hour-long speech, and what skills and training do I have? Just saying.) But then he quietly said that the costs would go up a lot if it was malignant, as just the drugs to kill a thyroid cancer would be $25-30,000. The good news is that if it is a thyroid cancer, there is a proven therapy to beat it. Actually, the exact same treatment (radioactive iodine) as her mother had some 20 years ago.

I didn't bother to call other hospitals to negotiate a better price, or find a less expensive doctor. I simply had them schedule it. This is my daughter. It is her life, not a new car. Time seems to be of the essence. And life has blessed me that I can afford it.

But that's the point. How many people find themselves in that situation and their father can't step in? Or there is no father? You then go to a free clinic or an emergency room and try to get someone to help you, even though it's not an emergency. Or you put it off until it is an emergency, or it's too late.

Talk to your friends in the health-care world. And especially the nurses, who are the real soldiers on the front line. The stories they tell us about how broken our medical system is have shocked even me at times. And it is not just a system that has no money. It is a system that we expect to take care of all the needs that, in my youth, were considered as minor. And that is expected to take care of the homeless and the mentally unstable. Drug users. And a lot of people who do not take care of themselves with a simple, healthy diet and exercise, but expect full service when their bodies rebel, crowding out the service and driving up the costs for those who are in real need.

Medicare fraud? It costs us into the hundreds of billions. Doctors who test for everything because they are afraid of being sued if they miss something, running up costs sky-high? An unbelievable lack of technology in this day and age, because of government rules? Insurance and paperwork? Costs that are the highest in the world by a wide margin, yet no better outcomes?

And all staffed by amazing people who care a lot but are overwhelmed and caught up in a system they want to see changed.

The litany goes on and on. So, is the answer to simply to put hour heads down and accept the higher costs and rising taxes? Or let a bureaucracy control costs and require everyone to buy insurance, even if they can't afford it on the $15 an hour the average worker makes before taxes? Or let a "free" market somehow set the price of health care, working with private insurance and safety nets? All in a world of unlimited demand? Because when you or someone you love is sick or hurt, you want the best care you can get as soon as you can get it.

It seems simple. We need to have more-universal coverage. But there is a limit as to what any nation can afford. We look at countries with universal health care, but it is not something that many of us would be familiar with. Could we really ration health care at the end of life, which is where a large portion of our expense in the US goes? Or give up our right to sue if something goes wrong?

We have promised the Boomer generation more health care than we will be able to afford, without major reforms in what we spend our taxes on. And if we raise taxes enough to even come close to what we need, the shock to our economic body will mean recessions, higher unemployment, and fewer jobs which pay less.

.... There are no easy choices. As we will see, raising taxes has consequences in the short and medium term. The transition to where 30%, then 40%, of the economy will be taxes will be wrenching. If we can believe the polls, dialing back health care will not be popular. Raising taxes is no less popular. We want more health care, and we want someone else to pay for it. But there is no one else. It is just "we the people."

And what we do will define our job market for decades. There are no easy choices. We all marshal the "facts" as we see them to support our personal choices on jobs and health care, but it is far more complicated than most anyone wants to admit. There will be costs for whatever choices we make, even if we decide to do nothing at this time.