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July 26, 2007
Bald A**ed Socialism or Entrepreneurial Spirit?
by Tina Grazier
A good friend to Post scripts recently had this to say:
“Kaiser works, more or less, beautifully. And it is bald-assed socialism. Everybody pays into the pot ... the sick people take what they need out of the pot ... and Kaiser's administration does its damnedest to see that the ratio of sick people to well people doesn't put them out of business ... as in: "Eat your greens and exercise, for freakin' pity's sake! We don't want to see you in here!" It is absolutely, entirely, the best thing.” – Libby
Her enthusiasm for “socialism” is evident in her gleeful description of Kaiser but is she correct in her assertion or not? To answer this intriguing question we begin by defining socialism:
1. any of various theories or social and political movements advocating or aiming at collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods *** 2. a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state *** state socialism is defined: socialism that advocates utilizing the power of the state to equalize income and opportunity (as by progressive income and inheritance taxes, by compulsory insurance against old age, unemployment, sickness, and accident, and by state administration of industries, public utilities, common carriers, banking, and housing *** Utopian socialism is even more fun: socialism based on a belief that elimination of unemployment and the attainment of economic security by means of social ownership of the means of production could be achieved by a voluntary and peaceful surrender of their holdings by propertied groups (Oh... well…at least it’s “voluntary”)
“Find a Need and Fill It” – Henry Kaiser
Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945 by a BIG industrialist, Henry J. Kaiser and a physician Sidney R. Garfield. Garfield's simple cooperative plan evolved into the organizational entity it is today with the cooperation and influence of his business partner. The following is a little background from found here:
Kaiser Permanente is a consortium of three distinct groups of entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and its regional operating organizations, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and the Permanente Medical Groups. *** The Health Plan and Hospitals operate under state and federal not-for-profit tax status, while the Medical Groups operate as for-profit partnerships or professional corporations in their respective regions.Kaiser Permanente provides care throughout eight regions in the United States. Each of these regions comprise two or three (and, in one case, four) separate but interdependent legal entities. This structure has endured since Kaiser Permanente physicians and leaders agreed to this framework, known as the Tahoe Agreement, in 1955.
1948-The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) is formed as a partnership. The physicians no longer work for Sidney Garfield; they are self-employed. With the nearly simultaneous formation of the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and the Kaiser Foundation, the organization takes on its modern, multi-entity shape. *** 1955 - The Kaiser Boards of Directors and the Permanente medical come together at Henry Kaiser's home in Lake Tahoe and reach a compromise known as the Tahoe Agreement. This groundbreaking agreement affirms the doctor's primary responsibility in all matters relating to health care.
Kaiser was founded by two innovative and energetic people without the help or interference of government. This workable model is a direct result of the creativity and generosity of two human beings who were freely engaging in life. I don’t know this, but I would bet the not-for-profit health plan and hospitals were made such because it made better business sense under the tax laws and not necessarily because it was the best possible way to structure the organization. One way or the other, it is NOT socialism. It does include the purest form of liberalism; liberalism of the heart that individuals are wise to adhere to and practice. But this is a matter of personal choice rather than being compulsory or "arranged' by a heavy hand, a la Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro.
There are a lot of business people in America like Kaiser and Garfield and it has made America the greatest place on the planet to live. The spirit of America's rugged individualism has been smeared and maligned by socialist a**es for some time now...it's about time folks started noticing the bald a**ed lies they tell so we can more fully appreciate the contributions that business people make to our nation and our way of life.
Posted by Post Scripts at July 26, 2007 11:14 PM