Do we as citizens of the United States truly value our status?  For the most part, I doubt that we do.  Immigrants from less fortunate countries do.  They have struggled to get here, because they sought opportunity for themselves and their children, not available in their home countries.  Our soldiers and veterans do.  They have served their country because they recognized it was essential to preserve our freedoms and way of life.  I think our first responders in times of disaster and emergency do.  They often risk their own lives to protect their neighbors.

How about the rest of us?  Who has taken the time to read the Constitution?  It is a truly marvelous document.  We have ignored it, and, even worse, have allowed too many to tell us it is deeply flawed and that parts of it are over rated.  Our Constitution is the protection we have against tyranny.  How many of us understand that?  Our military personnel do.  Each of them has taken an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and bear true allegiance to the same”.  As Lt. Col Allen West (Ret.) explained, there is no statute of limitations on that oath.

Today, I regret that not every American has had the privilege of serving.   I truly believe it makes us better citizens.  That is not to say that one must be in the military to be a good citizen.  I think I was a good citizen before I was on active duty, but I think I am a more responsible citizen now that I have had that experience.

How about our elected officials?  Our congressmen, senators, president and vice-presidents all swear to protect and defend the Constitution whenever they take the oath of office.  Now, look to see who is actually doing that.  It would seem that too many either do not know what the Constitution requires, or they choose to ignore it.  If they do not know, teach them!  Read it yourself, and require the candidate for whom you vote knows, respects and will follow the Constitution.  That will be the salvation of our country, our government of, for and by the people, and our very way of life.

Dr. Jacobs is a Reproductive Endocrinologist, practicing in Carrollton, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas. He completed his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and remained at that institution to become its first fellow once Baylor achieved accreditation for an advanced training program in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Jacobs has served on the faculty of several medical schools and was director of Reproductive Endocrinology at Texas Tech Health Science Center in Amarillo. Currently, in addition to his clinical activities caring for infertile patients and those with recurrent pregnancy loss, he is Chairman of the IVF committee at Baylor Medical Center in Carrollton.

(Scroll down for the URGENT ACTION ITEMS.)

US News & World Report is reporting that Democratic Leaders are planning secret health reform deliberations.

Despite their claims to the contrary, the way that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have handled the healthcare bill has been anything but transparent. And, if the left-wing blogosphere is to be believed, the two congressional leaders intend to keep the deliberations secret as they try to merge the House and Senate versions of the legislation into something that will pass both chambers.

C-SPAN has challenged the President and Congress to open Health Care talks to TV coverage, writing:

President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation’s editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health care system,” he wrote. “Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American.

And then C-SPAN reminded the president that he “pledged during the campaign to open up health care talks to C-SPAN’s cameras”.  In fact, what Obama said was:

That’s what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are.

Today Pelosi responded to C-SPAN’s request that the reconciliation process not be hidden from the American People.  Her reply?

There has never been a more open process for any legislation.

Quite a bold statement.  Never.  Never, ever has any other bill had a more open process than this one that has been totally conducted behind closed doors.  She must have sensed the absurdity of her statement because she then added

We will do what is necessary to pass the bill.

That’s more like it.  A little truth, finally.  And if what is necessary means dissembling, hiding, breaking campaign promises, and shutting out the public, then she’s willing to do it.

We don’t have to stand for it.

Step one is to let everyone we know that this is going on.  If we can inform enough people that this is going on, we can encourage a groundswell of opposition and force the legislative process into the open.  Remember, it was President Obama who promised transparency and televised broadcasts on C-SPAN, and we are demanding that he and they keep this promise.

What can you do?

URGENT ACTION ITEMS:

1. Please go right now and join the Facebook group “We Demand Congress Televise All Health Care Legislation Deliberations” (just click on the link) and then invite all of your Facebook friends to join, too.

2. Then sign the petition at Letthecamerasin.com and encourage your friends to do likewise!

You can also forward this blog post along to them.

If we can get this information to spread quickly, we can force their hand.  But we must act quickly and decisively!

The six steps are a pattern to follow when talking with others about a proposed Big Government program.

The steps are predicated on helping others who naively support Big Government programs see that these Big Government programs don’t work because they can’t work.

If you want to change hearts and minds – and that’s what we’re trying to do – step one is the most fundamentally important to ensure that steps 2-6 are most effective.

The six steps are:

1. Empathize with the person’s (or program’s) positive intentions

2. Explain that Big Government programs don’t work

3. Provide evidence that Big Government programs often make things worse for the very people they’re intended to help

4. Show that Big Government Programs create new problems

5. Teach that Big Government Programs are wasteful and costly

6. Explain that Big Government programs divert money and energy from positive and productive uses

We’ve used this formula for years and it works.  It changes hearts and minds.  Most people are reasonable and respond to such, but they’ve been conditioned  – usually through mind-numbing public education programs taught by people who eat at the government trough -  to believe that government is inherently good, efficient, and the cure for all ills that ail mankind.

The example below shows how we can apply the six steps to help a friend who cares deeply for the suffering sick and so – as conditioned – invariably thinks the solution is to be found in the establishment of a Big Government program.  Where we’re employing each of the six steps I’ve noted the corresponding step below (in parenthesis).

–

FRIEND: “I just think everyone should have health insurance and that sick people should be able to get medical treatment even if they can’t pay for it.  No one should have to suffer without health care.  So I support government run health care.”

YOU: (1) “I think it’s great that you want to see sick people get the help they need.  Like you, I want to see sick people get the treatment they need.  I also don’t want to see people suffering and I think all of us should be concerned and feel for people who are in need.  And I think that there are things that can be done to help people get more insurance coverage and needed health care.

(2) But the question is, can government actually do this or will it just make things worse? – It seems that the evidence is very strong that historically government programs intended to help with health care have not worked. Just took at the government’s Medicare program, which was established to provide health care to older people.  Medicare started in 1965, just 44 years ago.  And already, the program has cost more than ever expected and hasn’t really helped out people the way it was intended. According to the Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees, Medicare is predicted to go bankrupt by 2017.

(3)  All those people who have been paying in will have nothing unless other, non-retired people start paying drastically more money into the system just to pay for the people on it now – money that they themselves will then not receive when they retire.  How does a system that takes people’s money for 44 years, then goes bankrupt and leaves them with no services, help people?

(4) What do we do about these new problems the program created?  A whole bunch more people dependent on government and no money to pay for it.  And the government took their money in the form of a Medicare tax so they don’t even have that money now in their retirement to pay for their own health care.

(5) The thing is, government always significantly underestimates its own costs.  Whether they do it deliberately or not isn’t important; they’re just not a good source for honest analysis.  Did you know the following?

In 1967, the House Ways and Means Committee predicted that Medicare would cost $12 billion in 1990. In reality, the program cost over $110 billion in 1990.

In 1987, Congress estimated that the Medicaid Special Hospitals Subsidy would reach $100 million in 1992. The actual cost exceeded $11 billion.

In one case, Congress underestimated costs by 10 times.  In the other case they underestimated costs by 110 times!

The truth is that government has proven itself incapable of predicting costs or staying within budget, and that’s why all their programs are going bankrupt and leaving people worse off.

Despite the government’s best intentions, it can’t take care of people.  By trying to do so it’s bankrupting us all.  More government programs will just mean we’ll be bankrupt that much more quickly.

(6) Just think where we could have been right now if government hadn’t taken all that money away from people and wasted it.  The people it took from could have saved their money and taken care of their own post-retirement health needs.  They would have known it was their responsibility to save for it rather than being dependent on a government that wasn’t there for them.

What we need to do is get government out of the health business.  We need lower taxes so that people can keep more of their own money.  We need to keep government out of our lives so that an economic climate favorable for job creation can take root.  After all, having a job is the #1 way to get health care and health insurance, since either you’ll have money to purchase a policy or pay directly for health care or your employer will do it for you.  Having a paycheck is the best way to build up a savings for your own retirement health-needs.

A low tax environment means that businesses can also create more jobs because they have more resources to work with – resources that haven’t been confiscated by the government.

The truth is, if we really care for the poor, the elderly, the needy, we will oppose government getting involved since it just makes their – and everyone else’s – situation worse.  In fact, Big Government policies actually create more neediness and dependency by confiscating so much of people’s hard earned property and handing it to wasteful bureaucrats.

We can take responsibilities in our families and local communities to help one another, to help our friends and neighbors.  By turning over this responsibility to the government, we lose the opportunity to really help them and instead leave them in a position of being dependent on an entity that will ultimately abandon them.”

–

And that’s it.  This approach can be done for other big issues such as:

The Poor (how Welfare and the resulting Dependency keeps peopel poor)

The War on Drugs (how Prohibition doesn’t work and leads to Violence and Dangerous Black Markets)

Bailouts (they create Moral Hazard and the Too Big to Fail Mentality means that failing businesses are allowed to parasitically live off the productive ones)

Education (Public Education’s Failure to improve education despite ever increasing levels of spending)

–

We’d really encourage you to take a little time and think through this and prepare to be able to help others understand the truth about Big Government and how it hurts them.  Also consider picking up the book, Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion. (Disclosure: if you click on that link and buy the book, we get a small kickback from Amazon.com, which we’ll plow back into marketing the group to more people).

In the comments below, please take shot at a way to do the above with other important topics.  By sharing your thoughts below it will help all SBABG members to create better narratives that we can share with others.  What do you think?  What are your ideas?

We’ve bolded a few items in the email that we think this member did very well – we particularly love how he used his association with SBABG to send a message.  We encourage you to do the same.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 2:23 PM
To: sbabgorg@gmail.com
Subject: Healthcare – I made a difference today

Yesterday, I got so fed up with the congress, Pelosi and the health care nonsense that I finally boiled over, picked up the phone and called Harry Mitchell’s (Arizona Democrat in the House of Representatives) Washington D.C. office and asked to speak with the legislative director. Rep Mitchell has still not publicly tipped his hand on how he will vote on this bill and I wanted to voice my opinion and wanted to make sure my voice was heard.

When I called I identified myself as a local small business owner and a member of an organization of 8,000 small businesses allied against big government policies.  I had a 25 minute conversation with the legislative director about why I oppose the proposed legislation and what it means for me, my family, my business and my employees. After finishing the conversation, I felt like I had truly made an effect on the legislative process and clearly explained why I am so opposed to it. If you’d like, you can pass on my experience to your readers so that they can also call their representative’s offices and tell them strongly how they feel.  After speaking for nearly a half an hour and clearly explaining why I strongly oppose this legislation.  I used one statement that I believe made a big difference.

“If Mr. Mitchell votes for this legislation, I will make it my personal mission to do everything in my power to make sure that he does not get re-elected. I will give my time, my money, my support and I will enlist other small business owners from our organization to campaign against him.”

This really seemed to resonate and I could tell he was taken aback. There was a long pause and then he said “wow… ok… I will make sure Representative Mitchell knows how you feel.”  At that moment I realized that this legislative director will also be out of a job if Mr. Mitchell does not get re-elected, so I think it sunk in right then that I would be campaigning to put him personally out of a job.

He was cordial, bright and well-informed so the conversation was actually quite interesting and informative and non-confrontational. He did try and cite some incorrect figures about certain things and about the bill, but I was able to correct him and he seemed to defer on those points.  I was expecting to get a fire-breathing Pelosi clone on the phone for some reason, but was pleasantly surprised and impressed with how receptive he was and with the fact that he told me he would take my thoughts and speak to Mr. Mitchell about them. I almost felt bad for – in effect – telling him I was about to do everything I could to get him fired.

I hope other members are calling their representatives, too, and speaking with their staff members about how we will oppose them if they continue to pursue policies that hurt our businesses and communities.  I know it makes a difference.

—-

That was a cool email to get today.  We’ll get to see how Rep. Mitchell votes on the bill very soon (too soon!), but whether he votes yes or no the approach this member took is very effective and serves as a case-study in how to call a representative.

First off, this member spoke to the right person. The legislative director is key to the process.  He or she monitors the legislative agenda and makes recommendations to your representative regarding issues.  If we can influence the legislative director, we will likely influence the politician.

Remember that when we talk to the staff of a politician and you tell them that if the politicians votes a certain way that we’ll draw upon all resources we have and organize a campaign against that person, and we are credible, we can influence that person to influence the candidate.  It’s often very effective to target the people around a primary target.

Second, this member was well informed, civil and talked for a long time about the whole issue in depth, registering opposition by explaining why he was opposed to the bill and who would be victimized by this bill (note – we have a future post forthcoming about “pleading on behalf of the victim,” which is a technique this member provided).  By doing so, the member’s threat to oppose the politician was credible.  Also, long conversations are good.  The legislative director has only so many hours per day.  If those hours are filled with conversations from people like us, carefully and rationally explaining our opposition to this bill, that is what will dominate the director’s day.

Third, the member identified himself as a small business owner. This is vital. Whereas left-leaning politicians love to bash big business and “the excesses of capitalism,” they are usually very sympathetic to small businesses, which they often identify with “the working man.”

Fourth, the members used his association/affiliation with outside groups to communicate the reality that there are many more people like him who the legislative director might not be hearing from, but who are none-the-less real and who feel similarly. Use your associations with various groups to your advantage and feel free to use your association with SBABG in your conversations.

Do not give up the fight.  Now is the time (NOW is the time) to pick up the phone and call the legislative directors of your representatives!  Please email us (through the contact form above) with your experience.

Also, please subscribe to our RSS feed and our newsletter, and join our Facebook group so that we can keep you informed about how you can fight against Big Government.

Look at this recent chart in the Wall Street Journal.  Only 27% of Americans feel positively about Nancy Pelosi.  That’s pretty remarkable considering that means that only half of Obama voters like her.

In 2006 and 2008 Republicans tried to tie Democrats to Nancy Pelosi, but didn’t really work for several reasons.  One, she wasn’t as well known and so wasn’t really the face of Big Government, and, two, the Republican party was also very unpopular (and deservedly so).

But now, as the Speaker of the House presiding over a large majority, she’s the well-known face of Big Government.  She is associated with out of control spending, interventionism, and corruption.

For that reason, anyone, and I mean anyone, who espouses a Big Government agenda needs to have Nancy Pelosi tied around his neck and worn from now until she is no longer the face of Big Government.

The way you do this is by joining her to the other person by showing they (1) support the same agenda and (2) have shared ownership of it.

For example, Lindsey Graham has gone completely squishy on Cap and Trade, proposed legislation which is disastrous for small business and is based on fraudulent science.  If you are in South Carolina, represented by Graham, when you talk with others about these policies you could say, I’m opposed to “Lindsey Graham’s and Nancy Pelosi’s prosperity-destroying Cap and Tax Legislation, and here’s why …”

You could also say, after a vote in which the politician voted with Pelosi, “I can’t believe that is so supportive of Nancy Pelosi on X, Y, and Z issues.”

You need to get these people attached to Nancy Pelosi.  She is now, finally, an electoral millstone.

Write letters to the editor of your local paper that link her to your local politicians.  Blog.  Call into talk shows.  Email your friends.  Just.  Do.  Something.  Anything.  It all adds up.

This goes for Republicans and Democrats.  You’ll notice in the example above that I used the Big Government Republican Lindsay Graham (and, by the way, Graham has said he may support Cap and Trade provided that the Democrats throw some things into the bill that he wants).  Libertarians and Conservatives cannot let a party label next to a name prevent them from calling a spade a spade; to do so is to engage in “situational ethics.”

Big Government Republicans are JUST AS DANGEROUS (maybe more so) than Big Government Democrats, because these Republicans expand government from behind the facade of restraint.  Do NOT hold fire on them.  Go after them especially hard in the primaries.  Make sure they’re sufficiently bloodied.

The recent events in the NY-23 race were a great example of this dynamic at work.  It’s very important that – win or lose – it keeps happening.   The main stream media will try and dissuade such by mocking it (just as they did with the tea parties and town hall protests) and claim that it’s “destructive.”  Keep the following in mind – if it seems like the mainstream media is giving you advice on what they think you should, do the opposite.  They do not have your best interests at heart.  Pay them no heed.  NY-23 was a HUGE victory against Big Government, because it took out a Big Government Republican while simultaneously proving the viability of Small Government candidates.

So, to recap, Nancy Pelosi is toxic to most Americans.  By effectively tying her to a candidate, you stand a good chance of turning that candidate to poison.

Tie away!

Sign up for our RSS feed and become a fan of our Facebook Page and we’ll keep you informed about how to defeat Big Government politicians at the polls.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote within 48 hours on its draft of ObamaCare.  The Senate version contains destructive Individual and Corporate Mandates, as well as a version of the competition-killing Public Option.

Because this is a “draft” the committee has not published legislative text, but you can see the draft (262-pages) that will be voted on this week here.

While the bill seems likely to pass the committee, it is not a foregone conclusion.  Some important swing votes on the committee are still undecided. Each Senator on this committee must feel immense grassroots pressure today and tomorrow.

Below is a list of Senators on the committee (their contact information is linked).  If you see your Senator’s name, call them today!  It’s vital you contact them before their vote is cast!  Also, contact other members of the committee, especially the committee chairmen and encourage them to vote NO.

Especially let them know you oppose healthcare reform that contains any form of an individual mandate and urge them to vote NO.

CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
JON KYL, AZ
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID
PAT ROBERTS, KS
JOHN ENSIGN, NV
MIKE ENZI, WY
JOHN CORNYN, TX
MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
THOMAS CARPER, DE

Finance Committee direct number: 202-224-4515

The reason that this vote is so important is because once the vote passes the committee it will allow the Democrats to use procedural authority to merge the two competing bills together, taking the worst of all competing plans, and bring them  Senate floor and force a vote.

Your efforts make a difference. We have come a long way and made this Big Government road to socialism a very tough slog for the Big Government advocates.  Think about it.  Obama has a super-majority in the Senate.  He owns the House.  He could pass any piece of legislation he could get his party on board with.  Moreover, there are squishy Big Government Republicans on Capitol Hill, too.

So why hasn’t this bill passed yet?  Because we, the people, don’t want it and have been very vocal in our opposition. We must keep it up.  If we do, we can make a huge difference for our children and our children’s children, for our businesses and our employees and co-workers.  Keep fighting.

Please share this information with others you know are represented by the Senators listed above.

If you want to know of calls-to-action that make a difference, sign up for our RSS feed and become a fan of our Facebook Page. We’ll keep you educated on the issues and motivated to fight against Big Government.

Check them all out.

The event was very peaceful.  Everyone was almost too polite. Lots of families there, kids, young people, all very courteous and the place was perfectly clean when the rally ended. We never met such a bunch of nice folks in one place before – they flew and drove out from all over the country. The mall was PACKED.

UPDATE: To get an idea about how many people were there.  Watch this time lapse video that captured the 3.5 hour long parade (which was over a mile long of people wall to wall).

Over the last few weeks Congress and the Administration have been trying to call government takeover of health insurance and health care “competition”.  They have hijacked words and are using them in completely new ways to try and trick people into believing they are selling something they’re not.

The expansionist and interventionist nature of Big Government means that it always has as its goal to set up Monopsonies (single payer systems in which they control the production of goods and services) or Monopolies (single provider systems in which they control the provision of goods and services).  They try to do it in the name of “competition” as if they actually plan on competing fairly (if at all) with the private businesses and charities they’re trying to muscle out of a market.

Battles against Big Government are often won or lost over whether or not we are willing to concede the actual terms of the argument to Big Government, or whether we’ll refuse to conduct the argument with Big Government’s terms.  Below are a few examples of how we can change the terms and, therefore, how people feel about Big Government’s activities.

“Revenue” vs. “Confiscation”

Here’s a glaring example.  Big Government calls taxation by the name of “Revenue”. The agency in charge of collecting taxes is even called the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Set aside whether or not it’s technically correct or not or has become such through use of the word for a long time, “revenue” is a business word.  That’s our word. That’s the word for sales – the free market exchange of goods and services between voluntary parties who are both made better off by the trade.  Revenue is something freely given for something of value freely received. Taxation is coercion and wealth confiscation by force.

At the very least, we should refuse to grant taxation legitimacy by calling it that.  Moreover, revenue is a “positive” word that government has hijacked.  When our goal is to reduce the size and intervention of Big Government, why would we ever concede to use words that might grant Big Government any semblance of legitimacy?

While taxation is an OK word to use when talking about the means through which Big Government finances itself, it is one that has become desensitized and still does not make strongly enough the central point that it is coercive.

So we propose to use the word “confiscation” instead.  When discussing our opinions with friends, family, employees and co-workers, we would say, “I think government confiscates too much,” or “Government confiscated 10% more of our private property this year than they did last year.”

“Earnings” vs. “Private Property”

Notice that in the statement above we used the word “private property” instead of “earnings.”

“Earnings” actually should be a pretty good word to use because it implies that what is taken from people is something they’ve earned, or labored for, but this word has also been used for so long that people have become desensitized to it.

How about talking about confiscation in terms of “private property“?

Also, how about talking about the confiscation of private property in terms of “productive people” or the “productive sector” funding the “unproductive people” or “unproductive sector”?  Big Government, after all, merely redistributes the confiscated property of productive people, so let’s call it what it is.

“Welfare” vs. “Dependency Programs”

We talk about Government “Welfare” programs in language that implies they help others “fare” more “well”. We even use terms such as “Charity” or “Entitlement” to talk about these Big Government Programs. While it is true that some of these programs can provide temporary relief to those in need, the full truth is that they often create permanent dependencies and reward dependents for inactivity and bad behavior.

Furthermore, private charities (which have to compete for donations) are far more efficient at helping those in need and suffer when Big Government confiscates more private property to itself, rather than allowing those resources to be employed by the more efficient and accountable charitable organizations.

So, instead of calling these programs “welfare programs,” we can call them by the more accurate terms, “Government dependency programs” or “Government handout programs.”

Then we could say things like, “Government dependency programs confiscated 10% more private property from the productive sector” or “Government handout programs saw their rolls grow by 5% in the last quarter.”

That helps others see the truth about Big Government.

Big Government not only uses words to justify its big programs, but it also selects words that can be used to silence dissent and opposition to the programs. Think about the “Patriot Act.” It has nothing to do with being a patriot, but by using that name anyone who opposes the act it can be labeled “not a patriot.”  Cunning.   If you oppose “No Child Left Behind” you can be labeled as someone who does not support helping children succeed.  Think about the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act.  Nothing was improved or modernized so much as spending was drastically increased – the biggest Government Dependency Program expansion in decades.  But if you didn’t support it you were labeled as one who didn’t want to improve and modernize Medicare, and therefore were against the well-being of the elderly.

And that’s why it’s important to do our best to not conduct the debate in the terms Big Government tries to force upon us.

Our movement must use the terms we choose, words that expose Big Government for what is really is, helping others to see clearly the forces that impinge upon their freedoms. As we do so, we’ll help undermine the legitimacy of Big Government and we’ll counteract its efforts to hijack and change the plain meaning of our language and then use it against us.

We would love to hear your thoughts about what to call various government agencies and practices in order to more accurately show what they really are.  For example, IRS “audits” are really . . . what?

In the comments below, please provide your ideas for how we can use language to expose Big Government for what it really is. Also, if you’re aware of other resources on the web that have attempted or are working on this project, please provide links to them below.

Please share this post with five friends, family members, employees or co-workers and then subscribe to our RSS feed and our newsletter, and join our Facebook group.

We’ve divided the books/resources into three sections – Business, Activism, and Economics / Finance / Politics.  We’ve linked the books at Amazon.com if you want to learn more.  If you click on one, then buy it, we get paid a portion of the sale.  We’re not trying to sell you books, but since you’re here, if you click and buy, we get a kickback, which we’ll re-invest in marketing SBABG to others.  Full disclosure.  So here goes.

Business

The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World’s Largest Private Company by Charles Koch

A must own for any small-business person.  Koch Industries started as a small business and is now the second-largest privately owned company in the United States.  The Chairman, Charles Koch, runs the company based on free-market principles – a system they’ve developed over many years of trial and error which they call “Market Based Management” – and they credit their success to adhering to the system through good times and bad.  Bottom line, you do not want to be competing with Koch in any industry, because they will outclass you, and they don’t need – or want – government favors to do it.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

This book contains principles you can apply to influence any person in any situation (for better or worse).  We are all “hard-wired” to respond certain ways to certain techniques.  When we’re treated well, we respond.  This book shows you how to effect change in your life and in any organization you belong to.  It also will help you protect yourself from people who wield this techniques (politicians!  dishonest salespeople!) in manipulative ways – you will immediately be able to recognize when others are employing them to take advantage of you.

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson

Just read it.  It will blow your mind.  Despite the similar titles, this book is very different from the book by Cialdini.  This book is the blueprint for how to bring about lasting change.  It actually walks you step-by-step through the process to develop your own change program ( in business, in your community, etc.), and helps you understand best practices and avoid pitfalls, whereas Cialdini’s book helps you understand human psychology.   Our #1 read this year.  It’s the reason SBABG.org exists!

The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results by Mark Gottfredson

Learn what competitive dangers await every business, and how you can prepare and overcome these dangers.

Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond by Bruce Greenwald

Business people need to understand the value of the assets and businesses they own, work with, and purchase.  This book teaches business valuation better than any of the formal textbooks we have read on the subject, and does so in a radically more simple way by applying timeless techniques first established by Benjamin Graham, who was Warren Buffett’s mentor (and we all know how that worked out for Buffett.)

Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy by Bruce Greenwald

Written by the same author as the book above, this changed the way we approached building a business.  Many business people learn Porter’s Five Competitive Forces and derive strategy from analysis of such; this book simplifies Porter’s work (in my opinion) and is more useful to small-businesses looking to grow.

Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business by Mark Robichaux

John Malone was a brilliant man, building a bleeding-edge business on the frontiers of America, outfoxing the governmental forces-that-be every step of the way.  A great story of risk, opportunity, and what can happen when a person chooses to see the world differently than everyone else and stick with that vision.  Particularly fascinating are the chapters that discuss the acquisition strategies, employment of debt, accelerated depreciation strategies, and wars with banks and bankers that couldn’t seem to see  the value Malone was building right before their eyes (and so distrusted and fought him every step of the way).  If you’ve ever spent a sleepless night because you’re warding off creditors while you’re building a businesses, know you’re in good company – Malone spent more than a decade fighting with them and he turned out OK!

The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth by Fred Reichheld

Contains an immediate, practical strategy that you can use in your business today to make sure that your customers are not only happy with you, but turn into promoters for your business.   One of SBABG’s favorite sayings is “By Small and Simple Things Great Things Come to Pass.”  In this book, you’ll learn one of those small and simple things you can do to make great things come to pass in your business.

Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box by The Arbinger Group

We are our own worst enemies.  We seem to have a pathological ability to take relationships of conflict and make them worse through never-ending battles with others that leave them and us worse off.  Some companies get paralyzed by infighting and contention.  This book teaches you how to “get out of the box” and bring an environment to the workplace that is both peaceful and productive.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

It’s the little things that make all the difference in our lives, and in our businesses.  It is awareness of, and attention to, these things that will often determine whether we experience success or failure.  This book explains how to identify those little things that make a big different.  (Also, see the below note on the book Ubiquity).  Again, by small and simple things great things come to pass.  Don’t think that big results need come from big effort.  Big results come from the right effort at the right time.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

If you want an edge, you can’t play the game the same way as others.  To play the game differently, measure things differently.  This page-turning story shows how Billy Beane, the general manager of the A’s, used his relatively paltry $41M payroll and unique measuring system to identify overlooked players and assemble teams that routinely beat other teams that employed $100M+ in payroll and bought up the “obvious” talent.  Small businesses everywhere can learn from this story and use it’s principles to slay the Goliaths they go up against each day.

Activism (making change happen and combating injustice)

Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky

Helps give one a sort of Occam’s razor for non-violent activism.  One expression of Occam’s Razor is “When deciding between two models which make equivalent predictions, choose the simpler one.”  To adapt this for activist work, one might say, “If there are two way to bring about change, always choose the least violent one.”  (Actually, in fairness to Kurlansky, he would probably counsel to always use non-violence [not just the "least amount of violence"] when attempting to bring about change.)

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky

We find many of Alinsky’s personal beliefs to be extremely unpalatable.  But Alinsky does provide a framework for helping Activists understand their opposition and form a strategy to overcome.  He shows how a small group of people can take their limited resources and bring about a revolution.  These aren’t new ideas.  The patriot Sam Adams said, “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”  Alinsky tells of one way it can be done.

A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-Violent Conflict by Peter Ackerman

Ackerman traces a history of revolutions that have been carried out through non-violent opposition.  Non-violence works, and here’s a book of perfect case-studies that prove it.

Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion by Michael Cloud

Cloud helps you teach others about free-market and liberty ideas.  He helps you expose fallacious beleifs others have in a non-threatening and friendly way.  If you have a desire to be able to explain the benefits of free markets and limited government, this is your book.

Ubiquity: The Science of History . . . or Why the World Is Simpler Than We Think by Mark Buchanan

This book helps explain how seemingly complex systems can appear to be very stable, yet once they reach a critical state change can happen blindingly fast, and these systems exhibit uncannily similar characteristics.  This book is similar to The Tipping Point, but whereas The Tipping Point is focused on rapid, mimetic social changes, Ubiquity primarily focuses on how critical state is reached in the physical world.  Prediction is difficult, events hard to determine, but based on probabilities, and the attempted quantification of uncertainties (which of all the straws actually breaks the camels back, which of all the fault-line perturbations causes the earthquake) critical state helps us understand two things, one of which is unnerving, the other not.  First, there are a lot of unpredictable potentialities that could occur and they’re completely beyond our control or ability to predict.  Second, small changes and forces can yield big effects and get big results.  Every small business (or activists) hopes to achieve big results.

The Girard Reader by Rene Girard

This book is not for everyone.  It’s a difficult read in places.  It spells out a philosophy of non-violence.  Basically, a part of the philosophy reduces to the idea that by refusing to fight fire-with-fire, by returning good for evil, you expose the violence in others, reveal it in them and to them, and thereby stop violent cycles, have peace in your own life, and persuade others to adopt a non-violent lifestyle.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

This one gets a repeat!  One way to influence people is through repetition . . . hence, we’re following Cialdini’s advice. This book is THAT important!

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson

Again, this one gets a repeat.  Mentioned this before, but in case you skipped over it, SBABG.org was started because we read this book.

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert.

Be a Happy Warrior. People aren’t inspired by grumps.  Lots of studies about what makes people unhappy or happy find that our brains constantly trick us into making decision we think will make us happy but have the adverse effect.  The cure to this “blindness” is provided in this fantastic book.  Look at people who are happy, who have died happy, and do what they were doing when they were your age.  Hint: It’s kind of commonsensical – work hard at something you love, stay married through good times and bad, don’t do drugs and all that.  All that stuff that sounds great but is actually “hard” at times and which your brains sometimes tries to tell you won’t make you happy.  Happiness is not pleasure seeking.  And pleasure seeking does not equate to happiness, especially long term.  You will have a happy life if you stick to the principles of living that lead to long-term happiness, and that’s the surprise. Doing the stuff your brain often tell you wouldn’t make you happy, does.  Life right, by happy, and make a difference in the world.

Economics / Finance / Politics

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt

The most important economics book we’ve read.  Not written for economists, but for the lay person.  After reading this book, you will understand why government consistently fails to obtain the objectives it sets out to obtain.

Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Why the crisis happened, why government was responsible (by aiding, abetting, and rewarding bad behavior) and why the bailouts won’t work.  Concludes with common sense changes that could be made; but the sense is too common and too much too straightforward to ever hope the politicians would embrace it.

Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One by Thomas Sowell

Another book that doesn’t require prior knowledge of economics to understand.  In fact, if you don’t have an economics background, start with this book.  Written for the lay person, you’ll never see the world the same way.  He’s a great writer.  We got this book from the greatest small business consultant, ever.

The Income Tax: Root of All Evil by Frank Chodorov (this is a direct link to the full text online for free; in html and .pdf forms)

How’s that for a provocative title?!  It’s a provocative book and gives much food for thought.

Mises.org

This is not a book, it’s a website.  It’s the best economic resource (ever!) and saves you a lot of money getting educated for free during times like these when getting a return on every penny counts.  Find TONS of free ebooks, collections such as The Bailout Reader, podcasts and videos, etc.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

We thought this was was better (and shorter) than the more-hyped, and later-published book by Taleb,  The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.  A great meditation on risk, chance and probabilistic thinking.

For a New Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard (here’s the entire book of  For A New Liberty free in PDF form)

One of us read this one when he was 18 yrs old and it set him on a liberty-loving path for life.  Rothbard makes a compelling case that the excesses of freedom will always be preferable to the excesses of despotism and tyranny.  When people are free to make decisions, sure, they’ll make “bad” ones, yet they should be free to experience the consequences of such (rather than be bailed out).   This is how knowledge accrues to individuals and markets.  However, when people are not free, but rather are controlled by others in their “best interests” there is always much misery.  The world is not perfect, and it is not perfectible, but it is at its worst when a despot or despotic group of people lives at the expense of another by coercive force and threat of violence.

Weekly Market Comment by John Hussman

This is a must read for us each Monday.  Professor Hussman runs one of the best-performing mutual funds over the last decade.  He’s a wise man who freely shares his knowledge and educates others.  He also has some great education articles that explain his approach.  Check out his primer on economics for some mind-blowing learning.

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul

Ron Paul has never voted for a tax increase, and has promised he never will.  In the US Congress there is no better friend to small business owners and employees, although, this guy isn’t doing so shabby himself. Also check out some of this other books A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship and End the Fed.

The Greedy Hand: How Taxes Drive Americans Crazy and What to Do About It by Amity Shlaes

A history of how the government – particularly the federal government – got its hand so deep into your pocket.  In order to undo the stranglehold of Big Government we first have to understand how things got to be the way they are.

How the Federal Reserve Hurts Small Businesses and What You Can Do About It by SBABG.org

This is a long blog post about the Federal Reserve that even the most “economically illiterate” person will be able to understand.

How about you?

What resources and books do you recommend?

Please share them in the comments below.

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There are two big fat lies going around. (UPDATE: a third lie added to the end of the post.)

One is a lie by omission.

One is a lie by distortion.

First, the lie by omission.  Politicians claims that 46 million Americans are “uninsured”.  What they imply is that these people want to be insured or qualify for insurance, or otherwise couldn’t get it if they wanted it.

Here’s the truth, the data the politicians leave out.

Of the 46 million:

• 10 million are ILLEGAL ALIENS (they are only “Americans” in the loosest sense, and to include them in these numbers is misleading).
• 8 million are young and won’t buy it b/c they are healthy and don’t want to pay for it or use it
• 10 million make more than 75,000 per year and STILL WONT BUY for whatever reason they have
• 9.4 million are between jobs and are classified as “temporarily” uninsured, but for the sake of putting the “rosiest” picture on the Big Government argument, we won’t deduct these people from the numbers.

See here for our citations for the above numbers.

So, that leaves 18 million people (or 9 million if you deduct temporaries), or 6% (3% if you deduct temporaries) of Americans – there are 300Million of us – who are “legitimately” not insured.

And you know what?  Many of those 3-6% qualify for Medicaid.

So it’s likely  less than 3-6% of Americans who legitimately don’t have access to health insurance coverage.

So, for less than 6% of Americans, we’re going to throw out the health care system that is the envy of the civilized world?  A system that  93.6% of Americans reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their physician services.

Someone just sent me this political cartoon from an Investors Business Daily Editorial that visually sums up what was expressed above. (this insertion is an update to the original post)

This is about a power grab and socialism pure and simple.  The problems in our health care system are all ones that can be solved by introducing competition into the health care market.

And that leads into the second lie, the lie by distortion.

Proponents of socialized health care (and this is what the health care proposal IS, socialism), claim that “the free market has failed.”

The lie is that health care is a free market. That completely distorts the reality of the situation.

There are 133,000 pages of health care regulation in the U.S. Federal Register.  If that were a book, it would be a book 44 feet thick!  It would weigh 1330 lbs, more than a half a ton!

That’s the bureaucracy that health care providers wade through and the regulatory burden that providers and insurance companies have to deal with, and that raises costs significantly.  And then there are the regulations on Insurance companies that restrict where and how they can sell insurance.  Does that sound like a free market to you?  One expert estimates that in it amounts to a $169 Billion annual tax.  No wonder health care is expensive.  You’ve seen doctors’ offices.  They employ many people whose sole job is handle the reams of government paperwork they have to file, and some doctors are turning to new systems that allow them to see less patients, but have adverse consequences in other areas of health care.  The remarkable thing is that it’s not more expensive!

How we got there is an interesting story all in itself.  Medical Boards bear much blame for Nationalizing Health Care.  The AMA helped to “Cartelize” medicine, reducing the supply of health care all while government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid increase it (all of which leads to longer wait times, reduction is services, etc.)

If you can believe it, about half of all US health care costs are already government funded, according to the OECD. (note that link resolves to OECD spreadsheet and is an excel file).  When 3rd party taxpayers pick up the tab for much of health care, that’s not a free market.

So, we don’t have a true free market and people who make claims that “the free market has failed” are making false claims.  The “market” that has “failed” (and if by failure you mean “provides the best health care in the world”) is one that has had to fight against massive government intrusion and inefficiency.  Cost increases have been due to many factors, largely self-inflicted by the government and the industry itself.   When you combine supply shortages at the same demand has been increasing due to government picking up the tab for services (when one is picking up the tab for one’s services, there is a tendency to save on costs, to shop, to look at differing options), you have a recipe for cost increases.  (And then tack on skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs because  of runaway jury awards that award not just actual damages, but also punitive ones . . .)

Imagine what a truly free health care market would be like!  As good as our services are, they could be better, cheaper, and more timely.

Want to read about more lies and broken promises related to Health Care (or ObamaCare, as it’s increasingly being called)?

Here’s a great roundup of myths surrounding the US Health System.

The New York Post has a whole roundup of broken Health Care promises.  This is perhaps the best article I’ve seen on the issue.

There’s a great blog run by a small business owner called The Coyote Blog: Dispatches from a Small Business that I’d encourage you to follow for great insights about how the proposed Health Plan will affect small businesses.  Some recent highlights include:

• My Greatest Fear on the Health Care Bill
• More on the Health Care Bills
• Follow up on Preventive Care
• Perhaps the Most Egregious Statement of the Health Care Debate

Again, keep up the fight.  Join the DownsizeDC.org campaign and it is, I believe, the easiest,  most effective way for citizens to pressure their representatives on this issue.

UPDATE: We’re adding a third lie, since this one is getting a lot of play today.  Supporters of government run health care are claiming that the a World Health Organization report says that the US has only the 37th best health care out of 121 countries.  It’s a bogus report. The biggest variable in the report on “quality of health care” has nothing to do with quality of delivery or timeliness of delivery, it has to do with whether the government pays for it. It’s a worthless report.  So, the most important factor used to measure the quality of health care treatments has to do with whether or not someone else picks up the tab?  It’s nonsense.

The WHO report already been debunked and you can read the debunking it here.

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*Note: Wording at the beginning of the article changed on Aug 21  from “It has been established that” to “We have argued that” on the suggestion of a reader.

1. It takes away freedom and choice from hundreds of millions of Americans

I’d like to be able to choose my doctor, to choose whether or not I want health insurance, what amount I’ll pay for it, what my deductible will be.  I’d like to be free to determine the care I’ll receive, and not have a group of bureaucrats standing between me and my doctor.  But all that will soon end if the Administration gets its way.

You know how President Obama is telling you, “You get to keep your private health insurance?” Well, he’s only telling you half the truth.  The whole truth is that if you lose or leave your insurance plan, or if ever want to switch plans or change your employer, you cannot have private insurance and instead MUST go on the government plan. That means you get what the government decides to provide you, when they decide you merit it, and you have no choice.  How’s that for hope and change!

2. It’s expensive, bureaucratically bloated, and it won’t work.

In fact, costs will go up by a trillion dollars.  Isn’t the whole reason for taking on health care reform is because Americans believe health care is too expensive, not because they think we should impose socialist universal coverage?  Well, how can you increase costs by a trillion and look us in the eye and keep a straight face . . . this isn’t about health care costs, never has been.  It’s a about control.  And we all know our taxes will be going up to pay for this grand socialist experiment.  Oh, except for the Unions.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all headed toward bankruptcy, and we’re introducing yet another unsustainable entitlement program?  It’s like approaching a cliff in your car and hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake!

Check out how the bureaucracy will look under Obamacare.  Can you find the “Doctor” and “Patient” in there?

3.  It doesn’t require politicians to go on the plan, only the people they govern.

The health plan stinks so bad the politicians are giving themselves exemptions so that they don’t have to use it, but instead get to opt-out, while the rest of us don’t get this choice. (link updated)

I have no comment on this.  I’m just speechless.  When a cook won’t eat his own cooking, run from the restaurant.  The food might kill you, but it most certainly will put you in danger.  Same with this health care plan.

UPDATE: oh yeah, and it exempts Unions, too.

4. It funds controversial procedures that many Americans deem immoral and coerces all taxpayers to pick up the tab.

Right now, it’s set to fund abortions with tax dollars. Of all the things tax dollars shouldn’t fund, it shouldn’t fund these.  More than half the country opposes the legality of abortions and finds it to be wrong – and then to require them to take their hard earned dollars to pay for others to have abortions?  It’s just wrong.

5. It punishes small businesses.

Small businesses that don’t currently provide health care get an 8% penalty tax taken from their earnings.  Shelly Roche explains more about this in the clip below and more about why small businesses are set to take the brunt of the pain from this plan.

This is wrong and we’re going to stop it.

I’ve written my congressional representatives and explained that I oppose government run health care because

• it robs us of our freedoms
• it’s expensive and we can’t afford it
• it’s bloated
• it won’t work
• it exempts politicians
• it funds procedures I oppose on moral grounds
• it punishes small businesses

You can take action, too.  Write your congressional rep by using DownsizeDC.org’s tool to quickly get a letter sent (free) to your representative. And then sign Grassfire’s Petition which will be delivered within the next 48 hours.

Send this blog post to everyone you know.  Do something, anything, because you make a difference!

If US health care really is sick, then the government must think the cure is to kill the patient!  We can’t let that happen.

Image originally posted at PoliGazette

UPDATE: Be sure to check out our follow up post to this one: The Two Biggest, Fattest Lies in the Health Care Reform Debate.

UPDATE:  I have an exit questions to discuss in the comments.  Big Government keeps asserting that health care is a “right.”  Is health care a right?  A right is something that is owed you, that you are free to partake of.  You have the right to free speech, for example, if others owe you the space and freedom to speak, and you are free to speak if you choose.

Some people distinguish between claim rights and liberty rights – claim rights being something you have the right to take, and liberty rights being something you have a right to do.   Big Government says that Health Care is a Claim right (not a Liberty Right), something you ought to be free to HAVE (claim right)  not just something you ought to be free to PURSUE (liberty right).   In fact, under the current proposal the government is taking away your personal liberty right – preventing you from being able to pursue the health care you may individually want – in order to provide every one with a (now more limited) claim right.  They trade choice, freedom and quality for less-choice and less quality, but more “equal” distribution of health outcomes.

Note some key things here – the importance of “Others” in the provision of a right.  So, is health care a right?  Because if it is, then someone has the Obligation and Responsibility to provide the “right” so that you can be freely allowed to partake of it.  That’s another way of saying that someone has the can be forced (obligated) to give you what “rightfully” belongs to you.  Health care is provided only by oneself to oneself, or to oneself by other people.  When government speaks of a health care right, they are speaking of care provided to one citizens by way of another citizen.  So, who are these other citizens who have the obligation to provide health care?  How are they identified?  How will they be coerced?  Is the person who “provides” the health care the one who delivers the service?  Or is it the person who pays for the service?

Our take?  Health care is not a right.  It is one of many goods and services that free peoples can choose to provide to others if others are willing to trade for it.   No one should be coerced into forced labor providing any service – and that means indirectly, too; no one citizen should be forced to hand over a % of the fruits of her labors to pay the people who are providing and consuming the service.

Human beings are mortal.  They die.  We all will die.  It is a given that we’ll all suffer from poor health at some point in our lives and to varying degrees.  Our longevity will in part be determined by our body’s ability to maintain systems in optimal operative condition.  We have an obligation to OUR SELVES to care for our own bodies.  If we want others to help us maintain and repair our biological system, we have no right to coerce them to do it.  We can either learn that service ourselves, and provide ourselves with our own care, or learn to provide a service of value to others so that we can trade with them (and make them better off) in exchange for their service.

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