Time for a National Healthcare Solution?

G.M. and Union Reach Tentative Agreement

The result of the UAW strike illustrates something very interesting about the ongoing health care debate. The US is the only major industrialized country that does not have some version of a national government-financed/run health care system. Very few people have noted, but the article does, that this puts American corporations at a disadvantage when competing with other international corporations. Health care costs are signifcant portion of US corporations' income statements, and also can be a huge liability on the balance sheet, resulting in a lower credit rating for the corporation.

Since Americans seem averse to government-run health care, I propose a uniquely American solution to this problem. Similar concerns were raised about a national bank back in the early 20th century, so the US created a decentralized quasi-public/private bank - the Federal Reserve. Can we do something similar for health care, and establish a privately-run, federally-regulated non-profit corporation with regional subsidiaries to manage a national health care system?

Political Sins

I have a shameful secret: I used to be a Republican.

Even worse: a Republican Party activist.

As part of my political reparations, I will slowly, over time, reveal the sordid side of Republican politics on this blog. While my experiences might not be the norm, I have a strong suspicion that they are not unusual. These posts will be an on-going series within this blog called "Political Sins."

I started my Republican sojourn in the summer 1996 looking for volunteer opportunities for the Dole for President campaign. A friend of the family pointed me towards the county Republican organization. I quickly became a fixture there until I went to college in fall 1997. Summers and breaks, while home in New Jersey, you could find me there (mostly during 1997-1998). In 1999, my Dad, at my urging, ran for a local political office, and I was elected as a County Committeeman in my home town in the Republican primary. 2000 was a high point: I interned on an important New Jersey Congressional election. In, 2001 I worked for another county organization during the summer, and that experience, combined with an inner awakening and realization of who I was promoting, led me to cast my first Democratic ballot in fall 2001.

My stories involve sex, lies, dirty politics, sex, more lies, and the politics of personal destruction. Some stories teeter on the boundary between unethical and illegal.

The names will be left out to protect the guilty. Let's say that some of the people I used to work with have dropped off the radar, while others have climbed up the political ladders and hold positions of influence in New Jersey politics. Enjoy!

Urban Design in the 21st Century

It still amazes me to this day how little the planning & urban design profession has learned from what I consider its failed attempts to create healthy urban and suburban communities throughout the 20th century.

I recently drove past an area of West Philadelphia that was "re-developed", and I use that term very lightly. Dilapidated row-homes were torn down and replaced with duplexes replete with lawns, backyards, and driveways. It looked as though some horribly designed suburban sub-division was dropped in an urban area. Nothing was congruent with its surroundings. It felt wrong.

The only book I have ever read with extremely sound guidelines for constructing the physical spaces that house our communities is Jane Jacobs' The Life and Death of Great American Cities. In a nutshell, Jacobs advocates for urban communities that are:

• Diverse in multiple dimensions, including socioeconomic status.
• Mixed in land-use, so that commercial and residential areas are integrated, with an emphasis on commercial centers at street intersections.
  
• Small-scale, as small blocks encourage interaction between people.
  

One thing I would add to the above:

• Connected to an integrated public transportation system to decrease the need for automobile transportation. Pedestrians and bicyclists should reclaim urban neighborhoods from the blight of traffic and car congestion. Other planning techniques, such as traffic calming and street parking design, should be used as well.