Affordable Care Act (Obama Care)

A friend of mine from home came in to Boston today and it was great to see a familiar face!  We went to a panel discussion on the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) hosted by the BU Law School.

We arrived a little late so I missed some of the presentation but it was still quite interesting. Some of it had too much legaleeze for me to follow but there were a couple of interesting points.

1) Expansion of medicare.  One of the things that the bill does is expand the people who are covered by medicare.  It has always covered certain categories (six, I believe) that were defined back in British Common Law ('elderly, widows, orphans, extremely poor people, etc).  The speaker defined them as the people who are generally recognized as  'the deserving poor'.  This bill added a new category: those who make up to 130% of the federal poverty level.  This expansion was one of the things that the opponents found most objectionable.

The speaker seemed to feel that the expansion was a legislative issue - not a judicial issue.  And thus should not have been relevant to the legal case.

2) Funding for the expansion of medicare.  Medicare is provided by the states but (most ? all? ) funding is provided by the federal government.  The bill makes federal funding for medicare contingent on a state's acceptance of the affordable care act.  There was a lot of discussion about whether this was 'coercion' - which would make the law unconstitutional (if I got it right).

Interesting discussion about the legal basis of federal funding for state programs. Some conservatives are happy to have federal funding flow to the state's as long as the federal government doesn't dictate how the money is spent (i.e. block grants).  In my mind, this brings up thoughts about federally funded but locally administered programs in the South during the Jim Crow period.

3) Impact on Massachusetts.  Someone asked the question that I wanted to know.  "What impact does this have on Massachusetts?"  But the answer didn't get to the point I wanted to know.  The answer was that we need to adjust some of our categories and other relatively minor procedural matters. (Massachusetts care is more generous than the Affordable Care Act). But what I wanted to know was - if Obamacare had been determined unconstitutional, would that also make the MA program unconstitutional ? I didn't have the guts to pose the question (this was an event for BU law students, after all).  It's also moot since the law wasn't overturned.

4) Health Care vs Health Insurance.  Someone asked if this created a right to health care.  Answer: no constitutional right.  Legislative right to purchase health insurance.  Interesting discussion about the difference in the right to 'health care' and the right to 'purchase health insurance'.

The panel felt that this decision is quite murky in that it is hard to know what other existing laws would be impacted by the reasoning in this decision.  There is likely to be many more court cases flowing out of this case.

High Road / Low Road

It's a beautiful early fall day today.  I was feeling a little stir crazy so I suggested that Bill give me a call when he left BC and I would meet him on his walk home.

There is one spot where the sidewalk on the reservoir side dips down a little.  So, of course,  our paths crossed when Bill was on the high road and I was on the low road.

I hadn't taken my phone with me (sigh) so we searched for each other for awhile and eventually connected.

Pretty sad to miss each other on the oppose sides of a single road !

Copley Square

I just got back from Copley Square.  It was a cool overcast day on the way there but it is pretty gorgeous now.  It's hard to know how to dress when the weather is so changeable and you don't have a car to leave things in.

I am ambivalent about mass transit - though I know that's not politically correct. I use the Green Line almost every day now.  It is a little bit slow but it's usually well worth it because it goes directly where I am going, I don't need to contribute to the traffic and I don't need to worry about parking.  We'll see how it is in the winter.  Waiting for the T may be a bigger deal then.

But today was an example of when it doesn't work so well.  Driving to Copley Square would take about 15 or 20 minutes, I think.  It took an hour to get there and about 45 minutes to get back.  The T was very crowded and very hot on the way back.  Not a satisfying way to travel.  But it would be terrible, of course, if the T didn't exist and there were that many more cars on the road!

I went to the Boston Public Library to do my homework.  It's an absolutely gorgeous building.  Once several years ago Bill and I had gone in just to hang out and read there.  We found a room with comfy leather armchairs and spent a very nice day.  Now the comfy chairs are all gone and have been replaced with tables and chairs.  It's a fine place to do some work but it does have a little less character than it used to.

When I was tired of doing homework, I went out to Copley Square to hang out.  I took a couple of pictures before the battery in my camera died (aargh).  There was a Farmer's Market on the square so I wandered around.  It was wonderful to smell the fresh produce and see what was for sale.  But I didn't buy anything because I would have had to carry it all back on the T.

I found a comfy bench where I could watch the fountain, the birds and the people.  I was enjoying the moment when a guy on the next bench decided to strike up a conversation with me.  While he enjoyed his beer (one of a long series, apparently), he told me about how he had cheated the insurance companies by claiming disability and scammed someone else by taking care of his grandparents for money. When he started complaining about how Obama had broken his trust by lieing to him I figured it was time for me to move on.

Disappointing...

Last night we were scheduled to hear Cokie Roberts at the Moakley Courthouse.

GPS said it would take about 10 minutes and the event said that parking was available adjacent to the courthouse.

We left our apartment 45 minutes before the event thinking that would give us enough time.  Well, that was overly optimistic given rush hour in Boston. We arrived at the courthouse 5 minutes before the event was supposed to start only to find that the parking lot was blocked off (even though it wasn't full and cars were streaming out).

We were unable to find other parking and eventually gave up and wended the traffic strewn roads back to the apartment.

Very disappointing.  I had been looking forward to this for quite awhile since I am a big fan of Cokie Roberts.

Oh, well.

I woke up this morning to overcast skies and cooler weather.  I decided that I needed to get out of the apartment and do some exploring.  So I wandered around the streets near here until I found a likely spot for breakfast.  Adequate, I would say. (Where is the equivalent of Angelo's in Ann Arbor ?  I am beginning to think that other college towns just don't compare to Ann Arbor :-( )

Now I am picking up my class homework and I will go down to the Boston Public Library in Copley Square just for a change of scenery.  Might as well as do my homework in a spectacular location.

A litte 'blustery' night music

Yesterday was a very blustery day.  During the afternoon the wind picked up and I saw leaves floating up by my window (the tallest trees are far below us).  That was pretty cool.

Outside the air was heavy and it felt like something new was blowing in.  Also pretty cool.

In the evening, Bill and I went to a Boston College Faculty Concert.  It was held in Gasson Hall which is one of BC's impressive Gothic buildings. The room had a large stained glass window in the center and next to it were tall windows looking out over a square filled with trees.  During the concert you could see the trees being buffeted by the wind.

The concert was a Brahms Sonata for cello and piano.  I have always associated 'Brahms' with 'lullaby' so I didn't really know what to expect.  The music was dark and lush.  Perfect music for the weather and the site.

Juggling

It was really nice to spend the weekend at home.  We got to see some friends and take care of a lot of errands.  I know it is not cool to say so, but – life in the suburbs is really easy.  It’s easy to find the stores you need, it is easy to park, it is easy to go to a restaurant.  There is more variety in the city and WAY more night life.  But the suburbs are a lot more convenient.

We are mostly settled into our apartment now.  It is starting to feel more homey and less generic.  We have brought a lot of things from home to spruce it up a bit.  We had a small rug stored in the basement and putting it in the living room under the coffee table made a surprising difference in how nice the place feels.  We have a number of things to put up on the walls but we haven’t done that yet.  But the place is starting to feel more like a home and less like a hotel room.

I am watching the sunrise over Boston right now and that is pretty stunning.  There are a lot of high clouds and as the sun comes up they are first red and then turning white as the sky turns blue.  I just saw an airplane take off and cross the red disc of the rising sun.  Pretty spectacular.  I have tried to take photos but my ‘point and shoot’ isn’t really up to the job – especially through the window.

I have a lot of balls to keep in the air right now – which is difficult while trying to live in two places at once.  There are several commitments I have made to town business which are coming due now: organizing the focus group for the library long range plan and helping the library foundation decide on a commercial database package.  In addition, I have two database customers who need time from me: the Discovery Museums and Household Goods Recycling.  FinCom is pretty light right now but that will ramp up as the year continues.  We are having some house remodeling done which can be difficult to manage when we aren’t living there.  And, of course, I need to keep up with my homework!  There is a fair amount of reading to prep for the class each week.  It’s quite interesting but much of it is brand new to me and that can make for a slower read.

Tonight Bill and I are going to a concert at BC.  I will meet him for dinner in the ‘Faculty Lounge’ and then we will go over to the concert.  I am looking forward to that. The venue is supposed to be really nice (one of the churches on campus) and the concert is by the faculty, I believe.  It’s really nice to be able to take advantage of that type of thing.

Living the slow life in the city

Sept 14^th, 2012

Our apartment is on one of the upper floors in a highrise so we get a nice view over the city.  Another nice thing about that is that no-one can really see in our windows.  So we don’t close the shades.  It’s nice coming to bed in a dark bedroom and seeing the lights of the city outside the window. 

Of course, when the sun comes up, it is BRIGHT.  As a result I am generally out of bed before 7 a.m.  This makes for long days J

It’s a gorgeous day today in the city (well, to be honest, it would be a gorgeous day anywhere).  I went for a walk out by reservoir.  Very peaceful.  There are always people running there and it is nice to see how much dedication they have (no – I am no even remotely tempted to join them).

After that I wandered over to the local Starbucks.  Starbucks is still over the top for me but I understand the attraction.  Many people there drinking coffee and on their computers, phones, etc. I think that in a city especially it is nice to go somewhere to do those things – even if you could do them at your own place.  It’s good to be around other people.

Now I am back in my apartment and plan to do a little work.  We will go back home tonight for the weekend and I am looking forward to the quiet.  The noise here isn’t loud exactly but it is constant.  I am looking forward to being somewhere where it is quiet and where I am likely to see people I know.

Glowing Blimp

Sept 13th

The Goodyear Blimp (or somebodies' blimp) is hanging in the sky (probably above Fenway??)  The sun has set and it is lit up.  Looks very much like an alien spaceship hovering over the city.

Falling Skies anyone ??

Whoops, now it is moving.  Cue the spooky music.

The Geopolitics of Energy

Sept 12^th, 2012

Bill and I went to a talk at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.  It was sponsored by ‘WorldBoston’ – an organization that brings in speakers, organizes forums and sponsors students to learn about world affairs. 

The Boston Public Library is an amazing building, of course.  It was built in a time when beautiful civic buildings were a point of pride and a center piece for communities.  Bill and I sat near a window where I was able to watch the sky darken outside around a beautiful brick building façade on the other side of the street.

The talk was on ‘The Geopolitics of Energy’ and the speaker was a ‘Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary’ in the state department.  The talk itself was pretty disappointing.  I haven’t hard so much acronym soup since attending sessions of the IETF.  A laundry list of programs that the state department is promoting that relate to energy policy worldwide.  The question and answer period was a little better.  The audience was extremely well informed and many of the questions were quite interesting.

But I did learn some things I didn’t know and some random things clicked together to form a better picture.

Energy policy is fundamentally attached to security issues, economic issues and climate issues, of course.  The speaker stressed that current government policy is work on increasing supply, increasing diversity of energy sources and improving efficiency of energy use.  The goal is to reduce the risk of our dependency on foreign sources of energy, drive down the cost of energy and reduce carbon emissions.

Supply:

• ·      Energy prices are currently low in the U.S. now because of a combination of increased local production of oil (because of improved technology – he didn’t specify what but perhaps better drilling technology ??) and dramatically increased production of natural gas (through improved technology which he didn’t name but I assume this is ‘fracking’). 

• ·      Nuclear.  The U.S. has issued some (10? 20?) permits for new nuclear plants.  I didn’t know this.  I don’t know where they are.  Japan is looking hard at their nuclear future.  But since Japan is an island they are unlikely to be able to walk away from nuclear energy.  They have no other option that they can afford.  The cost of importing energy is already strangling their economy.  Germany is evaluating the future of nuclear power in their country but it is extremely controversial and it isn’t clear what they will do.

Climate Change Issues

• ·      In the U.S., natural gas has effectively displaced coal as an energy source.  One of the results is that the U.S. carbon output is dramatically down.  He said it was down to the level of the 1990s.  I find that a little hard to believe without seeing some more details.  However the natural gas worldwide market is more complicated than the oil market. (In economic terms, it is less efficient).  Natural gas is more expensive in Europe than it is here so they are more likely to use coal.  The carbon output in Europe is rising because of this.  In Japan, the cost for natural gas is even more expensive so they don’t really use it at all.  

• ·      A member of the audience asked why the U.S. provides huge tax breaks to oil companies that are perpetual but tax incentives for renewable source like solar and wind come with sunsetting provisions. The answer was pretty unsatisfactory.  First – the state department deals with international issues – not national policy.  Second – the level of capital cost and risk associated with finding more oil is so high that it can’t be done without government support. (The implication is that the capital costs for renewable energy sources are lower and/or less risky).

Security Issues

• ·      20% of the world’s oil supply travels through the Straits of Hormuz.  This remains a huge risk to the world economy.  However, he mentioned several things I didn’t know that mitigate the risk somewhat.

o   There is a huge stockpile of oil that is intended to manage the world economy in the case of an emergency shock that will buy time to resolve things if there is a crisis.  (The goal is to have three months supply and we actually have between 4 and 5 months supply currently).

o   Several gulf countries have built underground pipelines that allow them to bypass the Straits of Hormuz in case of emergency.

• ·      The U.S. military is the largest user of fuel for transportation in the world.  The U.S. military is investing significant effort in reducing its fuel consumption through better technology.  (Vehicles running on natural gas, using solar power in Hawaii, other examples).

Political Issues

• ·      Russia is a large supplier of oil through pipelines to various countries in Europe.  They have used the threat of cutting off oil as a political strategy to influence neighboring countries.  The growing supply and technological ability to deliver LNG with tankers mitigates the threat.

Health Issues

• ·      The U.S. is working with a global coalition to provide better cookstoves to 3^rd world countries.  Air pollution from bad cooking fuel in cookstoves is a major health risk.  Better technology can provide healthier choices at a reasonable price point.

Being a rube

Sept 12^th, 2012

Most of our experience so far has been interesting and fun. Or at worst, mildly annoying. But I have had several experiences that cross the line into something worse. 

Yesterday evening I picked Bill up after work and we drove down to the Boston Public Library in Copley Square for an interesting talk (see next blog for details).  We could have taken the T but given the time constraints of when Bill was done with work and when the talk started, we decided to drive.  We expected to pay for parking, of course, since that is the nature of the time vs money tradeoff.

As we approached the Library, we saw a sign for parking that said prominently – Parking, $5.  That sounded really good to us and we dove underground.  As we passed the sign more closely, Bill noticed that in small print it said ‘per half hour’.  Misleading and annoying.  But we didn’t want to be late and figured that it was the type of area where they could get away with high prices for parking.  As we walked out of the garage, I looked at the sign more closely.  In even smaller print, it said that after 6 p.m., parking was $12 for the entire night. 

After the talk was over, we returned to the parking garage where they charged us $20 for parking from  6 – 8 p.m.  I challenged them with the info about the $12 nighttime fee and they refunded $8.

I resent being treated like a rube.  In particular, I resent needing to be on guard against being treated like a rube.

Perhaps it is inherent in living a dense urban environment.  The likelihood of repeated interactions is lower so people are more likely to try to cheat you.  At least that’s one of the patterns of behavior suggested by a book I read recently: ‘The Evolution of Cooperation’.

In a small town, all businesses assume you are a likely repeat customer and they treat you accordingly.  Similarly, everyone you meet you are likely to interact with again (or with their children, siblings, parents, cousins, friends).  So there is a strong incentive to be fair and honest to avoid developing a bad reputation.  None of those things is inherently true in a city.

Most people have been very friendly and most businesses have been fair but this experience wasn’t the first time that we have been taken advantage of.  We can, of course, always be on the lookout for that kind of behavior.  But I really would rather trust that people and organizations are fundamentally fair and take these type of transactions at face value.

Not a huge deal, of course.  Just one aspect of living in a city.

I am becoming a bag lady

Sept 10^th, 2012. Evening – I am becoming a bag lady

Things I have learned so far:

1. Every time you leave your apartment, you should take a bag with you.
2. Every time you go to your apartment, you will need to carry stuff up to the apartment.  Lots of stuff. Multiple trips.
3. Every time you leave your apartment, you will need to carry stuff with you. Lots of stuff.
4. When you are in your apartment, you cannot know what the weather will be like outside.  Whatever you decide to wear, you will be wrong.
5. Elevators are a nuisance.
6.  People in Boston are extremely friendly. Even if they don’t know the answer to your questions.
7.  People in Boston seem to think that I will know the answer to their questions!
8. It is wonderful to be able to see a broad section of sky.  The clouds change all the time.
9. There is SO MUCH going on all the time.  And most of it is free. I have put together a tentative schedule of things for us to do and I don’t know how Bill will manage to get any work done in September J
10. Young people are beautiful.  All of them.