Search Results for “photo america 16 ” | Page 15

October 15, 2017 Morning

Good morning! Average High is 60. Three weeks to Daylight Savings Time Ends. Cloudy with fog and 65 degrees in Williamsport. There is a east-southeast breeze at 8 mph. The dew point is 57 degrees. The skies will clear tomorrow around noontime.

Today will be cloudy, with a high of 74 degrees at 4pm. 15 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 60 at 2pm. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies with more clouds in the afternoon. The high last year was 63 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 1897. There was a dusting of snow in 1939.

The sun will set at 6:26 pm with dusk around 6:53 pm, which is one minute and 32 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy conditions and 71 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 14 mph with gusts up to 20mph. Today will have 11 hours and 5 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 39 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low of 52 degrees at 5am. 10 degrees above normal. Southwest wind around 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. In 2016, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 45 degrees. The record low of 25 occurred back in 1978.

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Daylight Savings Time Ends when the sun will be setting at 4:57 pm with dusk at 5:26 pm (Standard Time). On that day in 2016, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 57 and 32 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 52 degrees. We hit a record high of 75 back in 1994.

Day one of the Great Autumn Trip wasn’t particularly sunny but it was mild and in many parts the colors were pretty good. I know today we are supposed to get showers by evening, but I’m hoping that the skies will be clear for the bulk of the day. We did have a few sprinkles in the evening when I was camping at County Bridge but it wasn’t a big deal.

I didn’t get a real early start on my trip because I wanted to make sure everything was packed that I needed. I think I succeeded at that goal, as I used a check list and I left my apartment pretty darn clear.

US Route 6 hasn’t changed much. I have driven that route too many times, but it’s still a hell of a lot more scenic and interesting to drive then the Southern Tier Expressway. It’s interesting to see the industrial small towns, the paper mills, slaughterhouses, and all the industry that supports the natural gas industry. Unlike New York, rural Pennsylvania has a lot more heavy industry it seems. I think they have different tax laws and are generally friendlier to smoke stack industries. Whether or not that is a good thing is a debate point, but once can saw at least the land is being put to work. I like the gritty nature of Pennsylvania backcountry. Just like I like West Virginia and Virigina. I kind of like the landscape, it reminds me of what America had to have been like during the 1950s. Backwards maybe, but charming at the same time.

I often find myself needing to take a piss while driving. I stopped twice at rest areas and then ended up stopping at the McDonald’s and getting a milk shake so I could use their bathroom and take a piss. I think the milkshake was like $3.50 — for that price, I think I would have been better off to go to ice cream parlor or if I was in New York State, Stewarts.

I was going to stop at Stewarts and buy some firewood but I passed the last Stewarts on my way down to Pennsylvania. So I ended up skipping that and was able to find some firewood around the campground, but the wood I found was pretty damp and punky, but after a good smoke show, some paper and plastic from he campground trash cans, I had a decent fire going by around 7:30 PM. Once the whole mess got started it, wasn’t that bad. I didn’t need the fire for the warmth — it was well in the mid-60s until after in later in the evening, when I put my beloved orange hoodie. I expect I will be wearing that for most of the rest of the week, especially after the front comes through.

First time camping at County Bridge Campground, which is four miles from Morris Run, which like many Northern Pennsylvania villages is little more then a grouping of old houses and hunting camps from some historical era. Blossburg is the next village of any size, but it’s just an exit on US 15 aka future Interstate 99. It’s a fifteen campsite campground, well spread out. There was somebody camping on the other side of the campground in an RV, but they were a good ways away. It was pretty under the maple trees when the sun was open. Lots of nice color. The Morris Run made a nice background for sleeping at night even if it made me kept thinking about taking a piss.

So far the trip has been going well bar the firewood issue I’m ready for the rain showers, especially if I camp at Ohiopyle State Park, where they have hot showers. I was surprised that the none of the Park Service Campgrounds on the Blue Ridge Parkway have showers, even though they charge $20 a night. Well then I probably just overnight at North Creek Campground which is half the price, usually empty on weekdays and doesn’t have showers. Maybe on my trip back home, I should find out if there is a “Modern” campground in Pennsylvania that I can stay at for $20 that includes showers. Maybe I could come farther east and camp on the way back. I’ll figure out at the week progresses. Heck, it tempts me to do Shenandoah National Park, as they have coin showers at one of the campground. But I don’t know I’ve done that before, and I’m not that interested in revisiting much of my 2015 trip. I want to see new things on this trip, and the problem with Skyline Drive is it kind of locks you away from seeing things down in the valley. But on the other hand, it had so many nice views and the road was well maintained.

Discovered last night that I left my card reader home with the second microSD card. Not a big deal but I want to get another microSD card so I can save my trip and pull stuff off it each night. Sometimes the adapter that comes with the SD card can ean be tempermental, but hopefully it will work or I will have to buy another SD card reader. Not expensive but I am annoyed because I thought about this before leaving but did not act. Walmart should save my ass though with this. I plan to stop this morning.

Today I plan to drive down through Mid-State Pennsylvania along I-99 and US 15/US 220 to Ohiopyle State Park, stopping at the Flight 92 Memorial, which is located off the old Lincoln Highway. Ohiopyle looks quite scenic, at least for the overlook. I know we are getting some rain this evening, but I’m hoping it won’t be too bad.

The Appalachian Throughway is absolutely beautiful between Blossburg. I will be posting more photos and videos later on from that part of the trip.

September 10, 2017 Morning

Good morning! Happy Sunday. Next Sunday is 7 PM Sunset. Mostly sunny and 58 degrees in Delmar. Closed some windows early this morning, warm enough to start opening them now. There is a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. It’s a beautiful morning here in Trump’s America, although the days are still getting shorter. Not too warm either but I’ll take the sun over a warm and rainy day. Autumn is less than two weeks away now but I bet with the cool weather it will come early in the Adirondacks.

Today will be sunny, with a high of 70 degrees at 3pm. Five degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 50 at 10am. North wind 6 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies with some clearing in the afternoon. It became very sticky as the day progressed. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1931.

Definitely a beautiful day. Later on I’m heading up to Thompsons’ Lake to do some paddling and fishing. Should be a beautiful day. Then I’m bringing baked ravioli, garlic bread and peas to my parents house for dinner. Maybe also hike out to the escarpment or visit the gaudy visitors center that is beloved by the liberals and the corporations that are building McMansions in wetlands and endangered species habitats.

The sun will set at 7:12 pm with dusk around 7:41 pm, which is one minute and 46 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for clear conditions and 63 degrees. The dew point will be 49 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 12 hours and 41 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 50 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 45 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees below normal. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. In 2016, we had partly cloudy skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It was very sticky. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1917.

Yesterday was a productive day. Spent some time cleaning up my truck, hooked up a relay to automatically turn on the CB radio and dash cam in my truck, found my missing digital camera, made a bunch of maps up, got a new kayak paddle which I really like, and spent some time cleaning. Oh, and I went to the Save the Pine Bush Booth as Mississippi Day and hung out there for a while. I found I still had a lot of the Save the Pine Bush stuff that I needed to return.

I was pretty worried that I had lost or that my digital camera was stolen from my desk at work. It turned out to be in my truck. I use much smartphone for too many photos but my camera takes better pictures and much better video for sure. Now I can make some more videos up.

The automatic relay for the dashboard camera and CB radio is fantastic. It makes it so easy as I often forgot to turn them on and off. Now as soon as the truck it comes on, assuming that the accessory battery is at least 12.1 volts or otherwise the other relay doesn’t kick in for 30 seconds to minimize alternator overloading. I retained the old switch so I can manually turn on the radio when the truck is off. I sometimes use the weather radio when parked at camp so that’s important. The wires are all cleaned up I removed the PA speaker amplifier I have yet to get working right. Eventually I may buy an amplified speaker but it’s such a low priority.

I also implemented some fixes to the blog and made up some new and improved maps. They will be featured this week so keep an eye out for them. I’ll also take some pictures and upload some videos over the next few days.

As previously noted, next Sunday is 7 PM Sunset when the sun will be setting at 7:00 pm (shocking) with dusk at 7:28 pm. On that day in 2016, we had rain, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 78 and 55 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 72 degrees. We hit a record high of 89 back in 1942.

February 15, 2017 9 AM Update

“The only constant in the world is change, and some changes are good and some are personally devastating. That’s the conclusion I got from looking at the graph of the hilltown population over the years. The economy changes and sometimes people lose their livelihoods and half to move on. Despite promises of politicians, it’s very hard to reverse creative destruction of the economy but government can encourage new industries and new uses of the land. Exurban uses of the land, small homesteads and hunting camps brought back by increased wildlife replaced the agrarian economy of an earlier era. “

Heading into the 9 o’clock hour we are up to 34 degrees on our way up to 40 degrees. Some sun and breaks in the clouds, with some light snow showers later. Not a lot of snow, probably just a dusting and no more than a inch or two. Snow is starting to melt somewhat.

The sun will set at 5:28 pm with dusk around 5:57 pm, which is 1 minutes and 18 seconds later than yesterday. Today will have 10 hours and 37 minutes of daylight, an increase of 1 minutes and 43 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a slight chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low of 26 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees above normal. West wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, it got down to 18 degrees with periods of fog and rain. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1943.

Tonight is the Save the Pine Bush Dinner at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Tonight we have Chris Hauver of the Pine Bush Commission speaking. Throughout the evening we will have a slideshow of 1,912 photos — from the archives of Albany Pine Bush along with several photos I’ve taken over the year. I was going to use my laptop but due to the two snowstorms over the past week, my HDMI to VGA adapter was delayed in the mail. Save the Pine Bush’s projector is a few years old, and it doesn’t have HDMI, which is a new standard. It was only $10 and I was going to donate it to Save the Pine Bush after the showing, but I guess I will hold on to it for now and use it for a future presentation. Hopefully it will work well. I have a VGA port on my monitor, and I will test it out at home.

Watched the American Experience Special on Ruby Ridge, followed by Independent Lens show on the Charles Witman shooting at Austin college back in 1966. Talk about a depressing series of shows, but I like to be informed about history and how we got from there to where we are now. I still blame President Bill Clinton for much of the 1990s, the heightened hatred he spawned by his unneccessarily atagonistic policies towards the west. I think Bill Clinton is a lot of reason why the Democratic party is in as serious trouble as it now — there was a time when the Democratic Party was more focused on helping people and improving our infrastructure and not a party primarily focused on helping liberal ideologues.

We are starting to head towards the big climb in temperatures as we head to spring time. Maybe 45 or 50 degrees come the weekend. We might get a few more big snow storms but I don’t expect snow to last at this point. We should have averages a few degrees above freezing everyday now.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until March 1st when the sun will be setting at 5:46 pm with dusk at 6:14 pm. On that day in 2016, we had rain and temperatures between 38 and 21 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 39 degrees. We hit a record high of 61 back in 1991.

I hope it warms up a lot by the weekend, because I really don’t want to have to dig my truck out by the weekend. The landlord cleaned up the driveway nicely over the past few days, but my truck is still buried under a lot of snow. The good news is where it’s parked, I don’t have to move it for a while, and when I do, I can just knock the snow off it, because it’s not parked on the plowed driveway. Hopefully it won’t be all ice.

I’m almost to work! Have a great day.

My Dashboard Camera, A VIOFO A119

People often ask questions about my dashboard camera.

I have a VIOFO A119 with the GPS base. You will want the GPS base, not just for logging, but because it makes it very easy to remove from your truck to download the photos (it just slides out of the GPS base, with the standard base, you have to unplug the USB cable each time you remove it).

With the GPS base, you get a second plastic-only base (USB wire connects directly) for using in a second car in the package. The cost with the GPS base was around $100 (it was $90 without the base plus $10 for the GPS base). You will also need to buy a Class 10 USB card which are about $25 from a local retailer. 64 GB gets you 6 hours of video at 2560×1440, which is automatically overwritten oldest video first. I have two cards to store things while on vacation. Plugs into any computer with a USB port, looks like a USB hard drive when it plugs in.

http://www.viofo.com/home/30-a119-1080p-60fps-dash-cam.html

I am very happy with it, and has very good quality on sunny days, with some pixelation issues in low light levels and if there is a lot of trees moving in the picture. As soon as you get it, you will want to update the firmware to A119.20160829.V1.1 from their web page (it’s possible the newest models have this firmware version). The newer firmware allows you full control over the labels (you can turn all of them off) and adds an option for MPH rather than the earlier firmware’s Km/h only option. The firmware can be updated from any computer with USB port as you just have to download a file on it in a specific folder from VIVOFO’s web page, and it can be installed on any Mac/Linux/Window computer with a USB port.

The camera is powered by a USB cable (11 foot cable included). It starts recording automatically when plugged in, but should be put on a switched outlet in your truck, so you don’t kill the battery. Make sure you have a steady voltage supplied to the USB port, as it will stop recording shortly after losing voltage and may corrupt the currently recording file if it repeatedly loses voltage, like if you have a rough road, and the power connection is flipping on and off.

https://dashcamtalk.com/a119/

All of the relatively affordable dash board cameras are from China. They don’t make many many American ones, as they aren’t as popular in America. But I’m pretty happy with what I got, and it was well packaged and good quality for being an obviously Chinese model (and everything was in English).

Here are some my observations about using my dash camera in my truck.

Replacing All My Camp Lighting Next Year with LEDs

Right now, my primary source of camp lighting is a set of two 100-watt equivalent florescent bulbs, hooked to my truck’s inverter. Due to the nature of camping, and because things often get wet or dropped, they really do not last very long, and frequently need replacing.

When they don’t get broken, I usually bring them home, and save them to the some day in the future when I return them for recycling. When they break — I don’t freak out — I usually just chuck them in the campfire, and pack out the glass and unburnt debris in the morning. I don’t really freak out about the mercury. But for environmental reasons, I would like to get away from mercury-based lighting, despite the relatively tiny amount of mercury in each bulb.

In recent years, I’ve been slow moving away florescent lighting whenever I can for camping. An early purchase of mine was LED Christmas light strings. The purpose of the Christmas lights was not so much for decoration — even though they’re pretty — but to provide a small amount of backlight to the campsite, so I don’t trip on things. A string of LED Christmas lights uses a fraction of the energy, even a smallish compact florescent uses.

This past year, I noticed that LED light bulbs have finally come down enough in price to reasonably affordable. I bought my first one this past July, a 40-watt equivalent bulb that uses only 7-watts of electricity, for a bright warm white lighting of my American flag. It not only seems quite durable and efficient, it always bright regardless of the temperature. It keeps the flag lit regardless of the weather.

With prices coming down even further, I bought a second LED bulb this fall for $10. It’s a 60-watt equivalent that uses only 10 watts of electricity. Best of all, even during the cold winter months, it works quite well. I wasn’t crazy about the heat shielding on the model I bought, but many of the newer ones lack the ugly heat shielding over the glass. Despite 15 degree temperatures, the 10 watt LED bulb kept things bright all night long.

LED lighting is the future. Fluorescent lighting not only contains mercury, it also uses more power and dims dramatically even under modest temperature drops. Florescent lighting is fine indoors, in relatively warm rooms. But it doesn’t work well outside, especially when camping, when air temperatures can 50 degrees or even lower in the even lower. Common fluorescent lamps dim in the cold, while LEDs shine their brightness, regardless of the cold.

Two years ago, when I bought my truck cap, I bought a series of LED strip lights to light up the cap. At the time, I had the choice between warm-color LEDs and cool-color LEDs. I bought the cool colored ones, as I thought they would look more neat in the truck cap. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with them since purchasing, and would consider having them as part of a future off-the-grid home.

What’s nice about LEDs is they are natively 12-volts, so they work well with batteries, solar-panels, and most renewable sources of energy. The onces I bought for my truck, required no transformer or adapter, as they worked on natively at that voltage. It’s also relatively easy to step down 120 volt AC power and run it through a diode to create 12 volts DC to run LED lamps. Most LED lights are natively dimmable with common thysor-based dimmers and require no ballast.

A decade ago, I toured an off-the-grid house in Clinton County. It was a neat home, and one of it’s best features was the use of 12-volt wiring for lighting. Rather then step up the voltage from the solar panels and batteries for lighting purposes, they chose to efficiently just use 12-volt DC lamps, mainly the relatively new LED bulbs and some halogens. They also had a large inverter to power 120-volt AC appliances and select number of florescent light bulbs.

I think LEDs are the future. I am sure after spending $10 a bulb to buy a third or fourth camp light, prices will come down even further, and I will look back and think what a waste of money.

Technological progress has meant LED bulbs are cheaper, more efficient, and work well in the cold outdoors conditions.

Gorging on Gorges, An Adventure, Day 1

About a month ago, I took a trip I gave the name “Gorging on Gorges”. As the name would suggest, most of the trip involved visiting various gorges, taking photographs of them, and otherwise exploring them. About half of them I had previously been to, while the rest were new. I also visited several other state parks, state forests, and national forests – and did something I haven’t done in a long time – camped one night in a developed campground.

I started out my trip from Albany, taking US Route 20 West from I-88. I really wanted to avoid expressways for the bulk of my trip, is my general view is that expressways are the best way to get across America without really seeing anything. It’s more then a philosophical argument for me – what’s the purpose of a vacation if your rushing from point “A” to point “B”.

The first part of the trip, I drove to Chittenango Falls State Park via Nelson and beautiful farm country so high above. I walked down into the gorge, and up and around the falls. The color was somewhat muted, but it still was quite pretty. Then I headed off, taking some side roads as recommended by my GPS’s most direct route, and ended up passing a few miles from Labrador Hollow and the beautiful Labrador Pond, and said, heck, I got to stop on by there.

I drove down to Labrador Pond parking area, and hiked down to the pond. The colors were still not fully-turned on Jones Hill, but on Labrador Mountain were well past peak. Despite the crowds of fall foliage peepers from Syracuse, crowding the area, there were adequate opportunities for solitude. I walked down to the lake, snapped a few photos, then hiked the nature trail/boardwalk. It was nice. It also was great to see the boardwalk being used by a disabled man – he could get out and enjoy nature, despite his difficulties he had walking. One of the large dairies in the area was spreading something on fields nearby, and it sure stunk – it seemed nastier then fermented grain, although that’s probably what it was. Didn’t stick around too long, as I had places to go.

Drove down through Prebles, another deep, rich agricultural valley, dotted by large dairies that take advantage of the area’s rich soils for producing many bushels of corn on each acre. Got held up for about 5 minutes during a paving job, where they had the road restricted to one lane, for what had to been a half mile or so. Noticed how most of remaining trash burning barrels had disappeared from the landscape, that might have only been there 3 or 4 years ago.

Then it was off to Homer, where I passed a moose, made out of welded scrap metal along the road. It was kind of a neat roadside attraction, and I really should have stopped and got a picture, but I had a tight schedule and was burning daylight. I would come to later regret not getting that picture, but heck, I figure I can probably find a picture of it on the Internet using Google Images or Flickr. If not, it will certainly be there, the next time I find myself going through this roadside wilderness.

I got lost on my way to Moravia. Not really lost, because I was following the GPS, but because I had programmed the “most direct route” rather then “fastest route”, the GPS.decided to take me up a rough dirt road through Hewitt State Forest. I declined, and eventually the GPS found a new route, that happened to take me past Milton Fillmore’s birthplace. There is now a picnic pavilion and a some landscaping in that location. I turned around, snapped a few pictures, and explored it briefly. I wanted to a get a picture for dad for his historical markers collection.

Then it was off to Fillmore Glen. I was running a bit late at this point, but it’s a pleasant drive down to Filmore. The landscape is pretty rural until you drop, rather quickly into Moravia. Moravia is a pretty, small rural town; the glen is located at far southernly end of the town. There was a bridge being replaced in town, and you had to wait, for what seemed like an eternity for the light to green on the on-one lane bridge.

Finally, I got to the park entrance. The older guy there, grumbled when I said I had an Empire Pass. He was like “where is it – I can’t see it”. The rear window on my truck where the Empire Pass is tinted, but not that dark. I was slightly annoyed that the park entrance guy wasn’t friendly, and I forgot to ask for a map. I was kind of rushing. Got parked, and there was a big wedding going on, complete with horse drawn carriage. Crossed the “Dry Creek” and started up the trail, first to the Cow Shed falls, then decided to take the Northern Rim Trail. It wasn’t apparent at first that it was the rim trail, but I didn’t have a map. I actually printed up a map, and had it my truck, but I of course forgot it.

The Northern Rim climbs a fair bit, then runs along the rim, with very limited and occasional views. It crosses a pretty little creek that tumbles down the gorge, and eventually leads to a path down to the gorge trail, three-quarters the way up the gorge. I decided to hike down to the gorge trail, and then head back down the gorge towards the parking area. I missed a bit of the gorge trail, and the overlook, but so be it, time was tight.

The Gorge trail was scenic, but certainly not the most scenic of gorges. There were several small waterfalls, and some stairs and bridges, although most of the trail was gravel along the edge. The “Dry Creek” had plenty of water, but in general, the gorges was smaller then other Finger Lake gorges. There were several glens of interest, but the most beautiful portion of the glen was the Cow Sheds in the button of the gorge. Cow Sheds falls, are the wider portion of the gorge, where at one time, historically, cows would gather for shelter in severe or cold weather.

Snapped a few more pictures of Fillmore Glen, and it was off to Ithaca. I made pretty good time to Ithaca, although I admit I certainly wasn’t poking along. I really should have stopped more places, but I wanted to get to the Finger Lakes National Forest relatively early so I could set up camp and/or make alternative plans should my desired campsite on Chicken Coop Road be unavailable. Passed a giant bull statue on a farm, along NY 38, a few miles south of Moravia. I really should have stopped for a picture, but I was burning daylight, and the Finger Lakes National Forest, was over an hour away. I think this is the one, that the farmer paid like $10,000 to haul from an abandoned Steakhouse in Binghamton to the farm. I am sure the bull will be there for a long time – in case anybody forgot what is raised on farms.

Then it was down to Freeville.. The only thing real remarkable about that town, was the pine barrens and swamps, consisting of heading into it. When you think of the Finger Lakes, you tend to think open landscapes and farms, at least until you get mostly south of them of them, or in the highest points to the west. But not here. The Finger Lakes Trust owns some land, on the north side, where it the land is mostly the backwaters of the Oswaco Inlet.

Finally made it to Ithaca by 4:45 PM. I was lucky at this hour that traffic wasn’t too much of a slog by Ithaca standards, then I was off heading up Trumansberg Road. It seemed like an endless drive. Finally made it to Perry City, and then to the Finger Lakes National Forest. There was no sign of the government closure when I got there, but a bit disappointed, my favorite campsite on Chicken Coop Road was already taken. It was off to campsite on Potamac Road, just past the hunting camp.

I wasn’t thrilled by campsite, a big field campsite, but it had some trees along one edge for hanging the flag and lights. It was pretty good site for observing the stars, although there was a hunting camp down the road a little ways, so I had to keep the music down. I really don’t want to piss off the hunters. I gathered up some firewood from the woods, and got a fire started. The sun was fading fast, but so be it. I wired up my lights, some Christmas lights, and got the spot light on the flag.

It got dark, and I tuned into the Ithaca Progressive Radio Station, and gazed on the stars for a couple of hours. Nibbled on some snacks, cracked open a beer or two. Tossed some more wood on fire, and was happy to finally be on vacation.

It was a good first day… more adventures to come.

Why I Think Obamacare Will Lead to Single-Payer Health-care

Tomorrow is the official kick-off of the Obamacare Healthcare Marketplace, that will allow people who lack insurance but have disposable income or who are sick to buy insurance in a competitive fashion, without consideration of their current health status. The idea is no longer can people be denied insurance, because they are sick and do not get insurance through their employer – but of course, they must have money to buy that insurance – as it’s a commercial, only partially-taxpayer subsided benefit.

The problem with Obamacare is it basically continues the existing system, with some extra duck tape, to try to bridge in the problem of the uninsured sick, into the current health insurance system.

That’s a laudable goal, but if you only add the sick into the various insurance risk pools, you will only add to the price of insurance. Despite the Obamacare tax on those who are uninsured, it’s not clear if it will get many of them to buy insurance. The reality is most people who pay the uninsured Obamacare tax, won’t even really notice it – as it will come out as a slightly lower refund when they do their taxes in the following year. Few if any will actually pay the tax directly – because most poor and working folk either get an earned income tax credit or getting a tax refund for overpayment.

Obamacare is a boon for those looking for insurance. It will make insurance much more affordable for those who see a need in having an health insurance policy. Many responsible and informed people, who couldn’t afford insurance policy prior to Obamacare, will choose to get a insurance policy to protect their assets. Unfortunately, I suspect that is a minority of the uninsured. Most of the uninsured, are relatively healthy, and relatively poor and without assets. Expanding Medicaid will help the poorest of these individuals, especially those with families, but it won’t help the relatively healthy, and only slightly better off.

There are a lot uninsured Americans that make between $8-$15 hourly, but aren’t lucky enough to work for companies that provide regular healthcare insurance at an affordable rate. Many of those people work paycheck to paycheck, drive older cars, and rent. Their assets are very limited – if they got really sick – there isn’t much for hospitals and doctors to seize in collections. Those Americans also are unlikely to have even $80 monthly or so for the minimal insurance, offered through the Obamacare low-level plans, that only really cover you if you get seriously sick. Even if they could find the money by giving up their cellphone or cable television, do you think they will?

To protect the system, it makes sense for all Americans to health insurance – at least in incidents of catastrophic illness or hospital visits. For most individuals, health insurance only makes sense if you get it cheaply from your employer, you have assets, or are sick or feel you have a risk of getting sick. The solution is not a tax on the uninsured, who are largely struggling to get by.

The solution is to provide a basic insurance benefit to all who suffer catastrophic illness or injury paid through the broad tax collection powers of the federal government.

There are a few very wealthy in our society, who can afford to pay a lot into the system. Once you have a certain amount of money, any additional money declines in utility. Working folk, should also contribute a marginal amount into the health-case system. The reality is we could have a broad-based tax-supported health insurance system, that could cover the highest risk parts of the insurance, leaving individuals with the ability to buy insurance to cover routine doctor visits and other lower-cost services. Some would choose to go without any insurance, and simply pay in cash, for what is necessary, up to what is covered by government.

Any single-payer system should not restrict private insurance, above and beyond what the government covers in it’s system. It’s simply undemocratic to ban queue jumping, or paying for extra services, with private money, if people so choose. They’re should also be a cost burden put on private individuals – like co-pays or fees – to discourage excessive use of the health care system and keep it affordable for government. If government decides not to cover something, private individuals or their privately-purchased should be allowed to cover it.

I think the President made an honest attempt at reforming health-care insurance, but the net result was the same basically broken system, we’ve always had in America for those under Age 65. Adopting a Medicare-for-All system, would move our country forward, yet to still allow people to purchase private plans and purchase additional health-care, not covered by the basic Medicare system.

Andy Arthur.org

Search Results for: photo america 16