Health Reform: Cure Vs. Care

There’s a new twist in the health care debate: cure or care? Which do you think is going to cost less and is preferable: a cure for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, or caring for people after they are diagnosed with these illnesses?

It’s better medical and public policy to direct more resources toward finding a cure for diseases that cost a lot to treat, instead of relying on government insurance programs, such as Obama Care, which seeks mainly to help pay bills for people after they become ill.

This is a no-brainer, especially in a recession-drained U.S. economy struggling to increase employment, drive down debt, maintain services and improve the quality of life for Americans.

But many politicians are locked into an “old school” paradigm that focuses too much on hospitals, doctors and prescription drugs and too little on medical research and preventative care, so people will not need hospitals, doctors, or drugs.

Obviously, we need another prescription for true health care reform.

Change Status Quo

As syndicated columnist Cal Thomas notes, the pursuit of cures as a priority will be thoroughly explored in “Serious Medicine Strategy,” a forthcoming book by James Pinkerton, a former senior advisor to the Mike Huckabee for president campaign.

Pinkerton, a former Newsday columnist , asserts it’s not a failure to fund research to cure diseases that ends lives prematurely but, rather, it’s absent the commitment by political leaders to make research a priority in their speeches and policy statements.

More than 50 years ago, political and medical communities rallied and led the public to a cure for polio and the elimination of the need for “iron lungs.” This feat was the medical equivalent of walking on the moon.

One has to wonder why we can’t develop a united front to find cures for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other major illnesses.

Pinkerton says it’s because of the “baneful influence of the (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration and trial lawyers.

Reforms We Need

WMB believes that if the government would protect the ability of entrepreneurs and scientists to create products without the risk of being sued into oblivion, capital would come pouring into the pharmaceutical sector from global investors.

WMB suggests opponents to Obama Care pick up on this strategy of cures before care. Instead, most politicians almost are singularly focused on repealing the entire health care “reform” law.

The health care package should be repealed, or at least experience an extreme makeover; Obama Care law doesn’t cure anyone of anything. Finding cures for diseases helps people live longer, and it’s cost-efficient for our society.

Consider all the money that has been saved by no longer having to treat victims of polio, smallpox and tuberculosis. Imagine the savings when a cure is eventually found for cancer!

Additionally, the retirement age could easily be raised since older people could work longer and live more vigorous and productive lives. More tax-generating citizens can help fuel the economy.

Sure, there are many promising research programs under way, ranging from stem cell research to genetic engineering. Researchers need to focus on diseases we are closest to curing and prioritize accordingly.

The question remains: Would you rather be healthy and fit and live a long life, or be taken care of in your illness by a government health system that sees you as a burden and is constantly trying to reduce care and lower costs?

The problem is that once a nation has made a wrong turn, it is difficult, if not impossible, to reverse the course.

WMB believes America still has time to make the right choices and move in the direction of cures. Now, all we need is decisive political leadership to provide the pathway for a much more productive society, with a better quality of life for its citizens.

This post is by TechMan, WMB co-author who blogs about trends, issues and ideas affecting business, industry, technology and consumers. If you like this post, please share it.

ChinaWatch: Ford Expands

We Mean Business offers the latest installment in our new feature, ChinaWatch, our digest of selected industry and consumer news from the world’s other major economic and military power.

Poised To Surpass U.S.?

“China’s per capita income may be among the 100 poorest nations, but these are still the early years of its opening-up” on the world economic stage, The China Daily reports.

“The fact is that China’s economic modernization is surpassing in decades what developed nations took centuries to achieve,’’ according to the paper.

“The world’s two largest economies, the U.S. and China, currently have GDPs of $15 trillion and $5 trillion, respectively. However, China saves and invests 35 percent of GDP, but Americans consume more than they produce.’’

The China Daily asserts U.S. policymakers are not aligning their country’s interest with China’s economic success, even though major American companies are in China to be profitable.

“Will the U.S. align its success with China’s or are the two countries changing places? The answer depends on many factors, but the Obama Administration’s current policies assure failure. What he needs is a new grand strategy for success. ’’

Stock Fraud Hits $30B

Fraudsters in the Chinese stock markets have proved to be as active as those in India, The Times of India reports.

China’s ministry of public security has revealed that the total sum involved in securities and futures markets crossed $30 billion since 2002.

Investigators have managed to recover just $4.5 billion of the total money stolen. Police have cracked 150 major crimes, including the prominent case of Huang Gangyu, former chairman of the electronic retail chain Gome, now serving a prison sentence of 14 years.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court confiscated $30 million worth of Huang's assets and fined him $90 million for insider trading and illegal business dealings.

The ministry accepts that China's capital market is still in an “early and transition” stage, and various systematic problems might have given way to some illegal activities. The country's stock market begun operating as late as 1990 in the financial hubs of Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The Chinese government recently introduced a slew of measures that include regulating government officials, who have access to insider and non-public information about listed companies, and ensuring confidentiality of sensitive information.

Ford Expanding Dealerships

Ford Motor Co. plans to add 66 dealerships in China before the end of the year, according to a Ford document reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.

The one-fourth expansion of Ford's China sales effort will focus on what are considered the tier-two and tier-three cities in Western and Northern China.

In all, Ford will have added approximately 100 new dealerships in China with its partner, Changan Automobile, by the end of the year.

The total number of Ford dealerships in China will be roughly 340 by year-end, according to the Ford statement reviewed by the WSJ.

The tier-two and tier-three cities in China include Nanning, Shijazhuang, Harbin and Anyang, cities with populations over one million. Car demand isn't the only consumer trend being tapped in the Chinese tier-two and tier-three cities.

It's part of a much larger trend in China, from education to health care and real estate, as the tier-one cities become saturated, according to TheStreet.com.

Sunny Outlook For Solar Power

The best things in life are free and that’s certainly true when it comes to solar energy and the potential benefits it offers to the world, in particular the United States, one of the largest energy consumers on the planet.

President Obama’s recent announcement that the government will award $2 billion for new solar plants comes as much-needed welcome news amid all the political uproar about out-of-control government spending. If this particular spending of taxpayer money works as planned, it will create thousands of new jobs and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

Two companies will receive money from the president's $862 billion economic stimulus. Abengoa Solar will build one of the world's largest solar plants in Arizona and create 1,600 construction jobs; Abound Solar is building plants in Colorado and Indiana.

The Obama administration says those projects will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs, according to the Associated Press.

Our politicians have jawed about ending our dependence on foreign oil since 1973-74, when the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) embargo jacked prices and created a shortage that led, among other things, to gasoline rationing at the pumps. Some folks may remember the odd/even license plate system for vehicle refueling?

While technology in all areas, including solar, has continued to evolve since the 1970s, our attitudes remain locked in the thinking of the previous century when it comes to the use of fossil fuels. That’s dangerous for America because many of our enemies sit on the largest oil supplies.

The growing interest in electric hybrid cars and windmill farms are good transitional steps that can be complemented by our country’s investment in widespread development of solar power. Individually, these things are a drop in the bucket but combined they could really reduce our use of oil (and minimize the need for more offshore drilling rigs?).

Abound Solar, a manufacturer of low-cost, cadmium telluride, thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, said in a news release that it would use the U.S. Department of Energy’s conditional commitment to the company for a $400 million, seven-year loan guarantee to expand its solar module manufacturing capabilities.

Colorado-based Abound Solar will use the DOE funds to increase production of its thin-film photovoltaic modules at an existing manufacturing plant and to establish a second manufacturing plant that will create more than 1,200 high-tech jobs in Colorado and Indiana, while “driving down the cost of solar power for its United States and international customers,” company officials say.

Abound Solar, which has raised about $200 million in venture capital and private equity since its founding in 2007, built its first production line in Longmont, Colo., and began commercial operations. Abound anticipates using $100 million of the U.S. loan proceeds to increase the capacity of its existing Longmont facility to 200 megawatts per year by the end of 2011.

The company plans to invest the balance of the guaranteed loan to support construction of a larger manufacturing facility in Tipton, Ind. When both plants are complete, Abound Solar will be able to produce more than 840 megawatts of solar modules annually.

“The DOE loan guarantee program is essential to helping companies like Abound Solar scale-up innovations in photovoltaic manufacturing that are critical to reducing the cost of alternative energy,” says Tom Tiller, Abound Solar president and CEO. “When Abound opened its first manufacturing plant in 2009, we committed to providing high-performing, lower-cost modules to our customers; DOE is helping us keep that promise. The proceeds of this loan will build on the momentum we have already established and confidently expand our operations,’’ Tiller says.

The DOE has offered a conditional commitment for a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar, headquartered in Denver. The loan will support the construction and start-up of Solana, a 250-net megawatt concentrating solar power plant in Arizona, a facility the company claims to be the largest of its type in the world.

Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, says “this conditional guarantee could allow us to start construction of Solana this year.”

Vice President Kate Maracas says “the building of Solana will also create between 1,600-1,700 new construction jobs, and operation of the plant will add another 85 permanent jobs. These construction and operating jobs will create a few thousand additional indirect jobs. Taken together, 98% of the jobs created by Solana will be American jobs – primarily from Arizona, and a smaller portion from neighboring states.”

There’s no doubt solar energy projects are, pardon the pun, basking in the sun these days. Take for example SolarWorld’s pitch by Larry Hagman, who played Texas oil tycoon J.R. Ewing in the hit 1970s shows Dallas and also starred in I Dream of Jeannie in the 1960s.

Hagman is calling for people to embrace solar technology as part of a new "Shine, Baby, Shine" ad campaign for the Oregon-based solar panel manufacturer which employs 2,700.

"In the past, it was always about the oil. The oil was flowing and so was money. I quit years ago but I'm still in the energy business. There's always a better alternative. Shine, baby, shine!" Hagman, 78, says in a commercial posted on the SolarWorld website, before cackling happily.

The ad shows him looking at a portrait of himself as Ewing, exiting his hillside estate in Ojai, Calif., where he lives with wife Maj, and looking up at a red roof containing a solar panel.

Hagman is a longtime advocate of renewable energy and owns one of the largest U.S. residential solar panel systems, which cost him $750,000 when he bought it in 2003. He says they reduced his annual power bill from $37,000 to $13 (no typo).

Commercials aside, solar energy offers U.S. consumers and businesses a reliable, cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels. Saving the planet and sparing your wallet: what a powerful combination!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com.

Reform Talk Doesn't Add Up

The good news is employment rose in April by 290,000 jobs – the largest gain in four years, but the bad news is the unemployment rate moved up to 9.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While some see the job generation as a step in our economic recovery, a one-month report hardly constitutes a pattern of positive growth. The impact of the financial meltdown is far from over, and those who claimed they’ve changed their free-spending ways haven’t proved a thing except: Talk is cheap.

Still, many folks long discouraged by the lack of available work since the recession began in December in 2007 are once again seeking jobs, the bureau reports, noting an uptick in the labor force. This boosted the unemployment rate, from 9.7 to 9.9 percent, with the total number of unemployed standing at 15.3 million.

Jobs were added in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care, and leisure and hospitality. Federal government employment also rose, reflecting continued hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010, the bureau reports.

Jobs were axed in state and local governments, which are grappling with budget issues; transportation and warehousing firms; and information companies, mostly telecommunications firms.

The number of underemployed individuals, those employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) remained unchanged at 9.2 million in April, according to the bureau. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

Another sobering statistic was the number of long-term unemployed -- those jobless for 27 weeks or more hit 6.7 million. Nearly half (45.9 percent) of all unemployed people have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, the highest percentage since the bureau began tracking that indicator in 1948, according to Rachel Kaufman, blogging for MediaJobsDaily.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for whites (9 percent) edged up in April, while the rates for adult men (10.1 percent), adult women (8.2 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent), blacks (16.5 percent), and Hispanics (12.5 percent) showed little or no change, the bureau reports. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.


"Companies feel more comfortable that growth in the economy and in their own sales is here to stay and that they can start preparing for the future and add to their payrolls," Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, told the Associated Press.

The unemployment rate rose as 805,000 people without jobs entered the labor force in April to search for work.

"Individuals are gaining confidence in their ability to find a job and are now throwing their hats into the ring," John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told the AP.

Many economists predict the unemployment rate will continue to rise as people who had given up on finding a job feel better about their prospects. The labor force includes employed people and people actively seeking work -- not those who have stopped looking.

President Barack Obama called April's job growth "very encouraging news" but said much remains to be done to put more Americans to work, according to the AP.

Obama, since taking office, has pegged U.S. economic recovery to health care reform, which the president and a bitterly divided Congress approved after a highly partisan debate that left most of the American public upset, confused and worried.

Some on both sides of the aisle, as well as independents, continue to insist job creation should have taken center stage, not health care reform in the middle of the worst recession America has seen in decades. They argue: What good is health care if one does not have a job to pay for it?

It’s true U.S. officials, during Obama’s tenure and under the previous Bush administration, pushed through so-called stimulus packages and a variety of “tax relief programs” – George Bush urging us to all shop and Obama giving us more in our paychecks (only to repay at end of the year in higher federal income taxes).

But neither Bush nor Obama provided any long-term gains for the middle class, with the notable exception of bridge, road and highway improvement projects. The orange road-work signs have sprouted this spring like dandelions and, to their credit, officials are wasting no time in making use of available federal funds. If you’re lucky enough to have a job, at least your commute will be on smoother roads and safer bridges!

Bush, a Republican, and Obama, a Democrat, urged us to spend our way to economic health. Remember, Bush and Obama are opposite sides of the same coin – the tax-and-spend crowd. Party labels are meaningless, except for the extreme right and left in partisan politics, a position We Mean Business firmly defends.

Here’s a novel idea for our leaders: exercise some fiscal restraint, purchase only what we really need, not necessarily what we want, and stop passing debt onto generations not yet born. Imagine if they had used that strategy right along? We might not be hearing “years” in the time it may take for a full recovery.

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com.

U.S. Banks On Black Gold

President Obama’s plans to open a huge section of East Coast waters and other protected areas in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico has fueled a politically explosive debate over the hunt for more domestic production of oil and gas.

The president’s initiative, which would reverse 20 years of federal policy, allows exploration from Delaware to central Florida as well as the northern waters of Alaska, according to the Associated Press. Drilling could begin 50 miles off the coast of Virginia by 2012. Obama also has proposed that Congress lift a drilling ban in the oil-rich eastern Gulf of Mexico, only 125 miles from pristine Florida beaches. The entire Pacific seaboard will still be untapped as well as Alaska’s Bristol Bay area. Conservationists have defined these areas as national treasures for wildlife.

We believe this recent decision will have far-reaching economic and national security implications for the United States. The outcome will affect where and how U.S. consumers purchase oil for an ever-increasing oil-dependent nation.

While some think Obama is trying to divert attention away from the recent health care reform controversy, others believe his aggressive and somewhat practical policies are necessary.

Obama’s exploration announcement, coupled with his push to provide cleaner energy and efficient cars, is seen by some as a way to help stimulate the U.S. economy and create jobs. At a news conference last week, the president said “that the answer is not drilling everywhere all the time. But the answer is not, also, for us to ignore the fact”.

Some Washington insiders view Obama’s decision as a ploy to win Republican support for a comprehensive climate change bill. They suggest that if the Democratic president is to propel the renewable energy industry forward, he knows he will need support to limit carbon emissions.

On the other side, environmentalists are criticizing Obama and comparing him to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, whose call for changes in the nation's energy policy at the 2008 Republican National Convention raised chants of “drill, baby, drill!” Urging more nuclear plants and increased drilling, warning about the threat of an Iran or terrorists holding U.S. energy supplies hostage, the former Alaska governor, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, said: "We Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We've got lots of both."

It comes as no surprise that Obama’s policy is drawing fire between environmentalists and oil industry supporters. For example, the conversation group Oceana declared that the president is “unleashing a wholesale assault on the oceans.” Oceana, founded in 2001, calls itself the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation.

America will increase oil production of 5.31 million barrels of crude per day to 6.13 million barrels of crude per day over the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This represents an increase of 820,000 barrels per day through this period. The EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.

It’s clear we need to step up domestic production from a consumption standpoint. But it’s also apparent the president has a political agenda; he’s trying to show the opposition party that he is willing to compromise with the GOP in some areas. He has already done so in nuclear energy, but winning a broad environmental and energy bill likely will be daunting.

Some Republicans see this initiative as a positive sign, but others argue that too many exploratory areas are off limits.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, calling Obama’s initiative a step in the right direction, questioned whether the administration would actually open new areas for oil production.

Access to oil and gas in the South Atlantic waters likely will meet stiff resistance unless Congress enacts a plan to share the billions of dollars in potential revenue from the lease sales and oil and gas development. Other senators argue that proceeds from oil and gas resources should be paid to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Obama also said he will release new requirements mandating automakers build more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The standards include first-ever rules on vehicle gas emissions since they have been blamed for boosting carbon dioxide levels. As usual, it’s easy to see the president’s measures will affect individual industries with varying degrees. For instance, what may be negative for the automakers in the United States may prove to be a boon for oil companies and “green” start-ups vying for untapped business.

We believe that anything we can do as a nation to become more independent is in our best interest. This will force our country to develop necessary renewable energy resources while minimizing terrorist threats to our economic system.

This post is courtesy of TechMan who reports on trends, issues and ideas across industry, business and technology.

Stem Cell R&D Draws Debate

Stem cell research is one of today’s most controversial and interesting areas of biomedical research. It offers huge potential for improving our quality of life but raises ethical and moral questions.

Researchers and practitioners are intrigued and still learning how the body uses these cells to restore and regenerate human tissue. Doctors hope to restore and harness the power of stem cells in efforts to have a human “repair kit.”


However, there is still a deep divide over how safe and ethical this practice is. It’s true that stem cells could revolutionize medicine, but the subject also raises profound ethical and moral issues about how far we should take this research and development to save lives and extend life.

Stem cells are found in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms, according to Wikipedia. They are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic (mitosis) cell division and differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types.

Research in the stem cell field grew out of findings by Canadians Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960s.
The two types of mammalian stem cells are embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocycts, and adult stem cells found in adult tissues.

In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintaining the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin, or intestinal tissues.

Adult stem cells are unspecialized, undifferentiated cells which exist in very small numbers among specialized cells in an adult organ or tissue. Their main function is to maintain and periodically repair tissues in which they are found.

Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues, such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells from a variety of sources, including the umbilical cord blood and bone marrow, are used in medical therapies.

Embryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning also have been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies.

The Controversy: When Does Human Life Begin?

The isolation of stem cells took place initially in 1998 and thrust the subject into debate related to the battle over abortion. Isolating embryonic stem cells and destroying an embryo in the process have been raising ethical issues. Most of the debate centers over when life begins.

For instance, is an embryo a person? Should scientists forgo embryonic stem cell research to protect the embryo? Is it ethical to jeopardize a potential life in the name of science? Or should researchers investigate adult stem cell technology only; thereby avoiding the “right-to-life” issues altogether?

The Case For Using Embryonic Stem Cells

Scientists think human embryonic stem cells can provide the most immediate opportunity for curing human disease.

“Embryonic stem cells could serve as replacement cells for those that have been lost or destroyed because of disease,” according to Dr. Robert Goldstein, chief scientific officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Adult stem cells are difficult to isolate, and they do not propagate well in culture media. There’s little proof, researchers contend, of a wide array of human adult stem cells which can differentiate into multiple tissue types. However, despite the questions, there is little doubt that most scientists want to research adult and embryonic stem cell research on parallel tracks.

President Obama last March signed an executive order that brought about major change in stem cell research. Obama lifted the ban (imposed by former President George W. Bush) on federal funding to help promote state-of-the art embryonic stem cell research. “We will aim for America to lead the world in discoveries it may one day yield,’’ Obama said.

We support this policy change and believe it may create new employment opportunities within the health care system. With the historic overhaul of America’s health care system just approved, it remains to be seen if funds will be available to support stem cell research.

We applaud this new initiative and hope this progressive thinking will carry forward to other new potential industries.

Still, the question remains: Does and can the United States provide the brain trust and creativity to solve complex answers to fundamental needs and demands? The success of this model represents our ability to grow and prosper as a nation, and ultimately create jobs.

This post is courtesy of TechMan, a contributor who writes about science, health, education and other areas affecting industry, business and technology.