Cartwright: No. Any national run health programme suffers from vast inefficiencies and healthcare rationing. The National Health Service in Great Britain has long been plagued by problems like lack of doctors and long wait times to see a doctor. What happened? People got tired and started finding private insurors and private doctors. Did it cost more? Yes. Did they get better treatment? Yes. Was it more efficient for the patients? Yes. Take a look at Canada as another example. If you’re old and you get sick, you’re not going to get the same level of treatment and care as someone half your age. They figure you’ve lived long enough, so why bother spending money to keep you alive a few more years. So, the death panels decide who lives and dies. This isn’t speculation; this is fact. I can point to examples of personal friends from Canada who relied on the system and they’re dead. Is this what we deserve here in America? No, but it’s what we’ve got now with Obamacare. Continue reading
Annual Symposium
2013 Symposium: Should We Raise The Minimum Wage?
Cartwright: No. Personally, I feel businesses should pay their workers a good, decent, livable wage. I support an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Not all businesses feel that way. And for a lot of businesses it’s a matter of economics. They simply can’t afford more than minimum wage and still generate a profit. Businesses aren’t non-profits. As part of a capitalist system, they’re in it to make money for the owners or shareholders. If they’re offering minimum wage, you don’t have to work for them. And in the free markets, the market will set the level of wages to attract qualified talent for a business. If you can’t attract good workers at minimum wage to profitably run the business, you’ll have to pay a higher wage. That’s simple economics. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Healthcare Is Very Important. What Would Be A Way To Get American’s Covered Without Penalizing Them For Not Having Insurance Or Forcing Them To Enrollment In In Government Run Systems?
Cartwright: I don’t think anyone has a problem with paying something for their healthcare. People just don’t want to be raked across the coals when it comes to paying for healthcare. Competition is the best way to drive down prices. If insurers could compete across state lines, would premiums drop? Yes. If the federal government offered its own coverage that competed with private insurers as an insurer of last resort, would premiums drop? In all likelihood, yes. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: We Have People Serving 10-15 For Possessing Marijuana And 10-15 Years For Felony DUI Yet Murderers, Gang Members, And Violent Criminals Walk Free. Does Our Legal System Need To Be Reformed?
Cartwright: Absolutely. We waste a lot of resources prosecuting people for ridiculous charges like possessing marijuana yet murders, rapists, and violent criminals go free. Going back to an earlier discussion, we need to decriminalize drugs, tax them and regulate that industry. We accomplish nothing by locking people up who have possession of marijuana. It hasn’t stopped people lighting up. Nearly half the federal prison population is incarcerated on drug charges. About a quarter of the states’ prison populations are incarcerated on drug charges. This all costs the taxpayers money. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Are You Really Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
Cartwright: Legally you are still innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers. However, as we’ve seen with so many high profile cases, you’re judged and either convicted or exonerated by the court of public opinion long before you come to trial. And of course, the media fuels the fires of this for ratings. They love sensational trials where they can tear people down. They don’t care whether someone is innocent or guilty or how their coverage impacts the case and the people’s lives. All they want is ratings and sensationalism. And with that comes money! Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Should Entrepreneurs Be Rewarded Or Punished For Starting A Business?
Cartwright: Absolutely, you should be rewarded for entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur is hard enough as it is. Add the government taxes on top of that and it becomes even more difficult. Wonder why businesses are losing their competitive advantage against foreign businesses? Labor costs and taxes. We have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. But let’s look at the reality. Most small businesses are LLC or S-corps that are taxed at the individual level. So, they’re paying self employment taxes and individual income taxes on the profits of the business. It adds up real quick. When you have to factor in the cost of taxes, you may work all year and come up with very little once you pay Uncle Sam who’s going to allow politicians in Washington to squander your hard earned dollars. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: We Are Currently $18 Trillion In Debt; What Should We Do?
Cartwright: We’ve discussed this extensively before. I believe we debated it at length at one of the champagne summits back in October. The Republicans had the Democrats and Mr. Obama over the barrel back in October with the government shutdown and they caved in. They got scared that the media was blaming them and that the public was turning against them, so they rolled over and gave in. They could have forced the Democrats and Obama to do whatever they wanted by just keeping the government shutdown. The voters would have forgotten about it all by the time the 2014 mid-term elections came up. But no, they gave in and got nothing for it. In fact, Mr. Obama and the Democrats came out smelling like a rose. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Education In America Continues To Decline As We Fall Further And Further Behind Other Countries. How Do we Fix This?
Cartwright: We have to stop teaching to the lowest common denominator. I’ve spoken about this many times before. You have all kinds of kids lumped into the same classes and some of these kids have different learning aptitudes. So, the teacher has to teach to the level of the slowest kids in the class. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: What Is Your Outlook For The Economy In 2014?
Cartwright: Either I’ve been wrong about the US economy for the last year or so or else the economic data being provided by various federal departments is wrong and intentionally misleading. Unemployment is down to 7%? How about all the people who exhausted the unemployment benefits and aren’t included in that statistic? And if everything is going well why is the Congress considering extending unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed? I don’t think the economy is doing particularly well right now. I think we’re just sort of stagnant. Forget the GDP figures. Businesses aren’t really growing. They’re just maintaining the status quo. The real retrenchment comes once Obamacare is in full force and businesses find out how it’s going to impact them. Consumers aren’t all that optimistic. I think retailers will find that the Christmas shopping season didn’t live up to expectations. Prices are rising. Just take a look at groceries. Everyone has to eat so everyone has to buy goods at the grocery store. This is going to continue to hurt consumers. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Do You Have Any Mid-Term Congressional Elections For 2014?
Cartwright: I hope the Republicans keep the House of Representatives and retake a majority in the Senate in 2014. At least we’ll have a chance of emasculating the Obama administration and keep it from doing any further damage to our nation and our economy. However, I would point out that I think the DNC is capable of anything. I think they perpetuated massive fraud in the 2008 and 2012 elections, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they try the same thing in 2014. After all, Mr. Obama’s aim it to make Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House again. God help us if that happens, but I wouldn’t put anything passed Mr. Obama and the DNC. Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 