Daddy Got Run Over By A Reindeer (well, sort of)
Perhaps that is somewhat of a reach. After all, reindeer don't inhabit these parts do they? Mmm...I wonder.
Imagine traveling four and half hours in your van with your wife and three children. Destination--South Dakota. Objective--a weekend of festivity and merriment. Date--Wednesday the 24th. Now that the context has been firmly established, harken back to that second sentence. Let that sink in for a moment. Three children, four....and......a......half.....hours. A root canal is less excruciating. That being said, on this fine day in question, the troops were strikingly well-behaved. Usually, by this point, I would be trying to wad kleenex in my ears and praying for the relief an impending eardrum rupture would bring. Either that, or stare in horror as my brown head of hair turned white before my very eyes. But as stated, the kids were uncharacteristically calm. The decibel level on the Andy Williams chorus [they were singing] was just right. Remarkable really.
At approximately 5:30pm, and two miles from our ultimate destination of Casa Sprung; the wife leans forward and calmly says, "You know....now that the sun's down, the deer are going to be difficult to spot." I responded in kind, admonishing the need to watch the ditches more closely. No more than 1 minute transpires when
Dancer himself decided to make an early holiday appearance. I am not sure what he was thinking, but perhaps he heard Santa's voice beckoning him to the "bright lights." Suffice it to say,
Dancer's antlers met with the blunt end of our van. Yes, the carol is true. Reindeer really do know how to fly. And
Dancer promptly illustrated this by accelerating right toward my windshield and on into the night. Ah, the wonder of physics! The joy of flight without any of the Christmas magic!
As our van came grinding to a halt, I found myself in sheer amazement. Weren't we just talking about this? One by one, all family members checked in. Everyone was fine. No crying. Utterly amazing. The kids were a bit shocked and inquired as to what happened. A moment of gratitude in prayer. "Daddy hit a deer" I replied. Well, a buck to be exact, or so it appeared. As I got out to inspect the damage, I tried to stay positive but shook my head in disbelief. Light fixtures--gone. Grill--smashed. Bumper and hood--cracked. Air conditioning condesor/compressor or whatever-the-heck-it-is --punctured & oozing. The radiator's fate--uncertain. You can see where this is headed. "Stupid deer" I muttered, as I quickly summed up the damage into a four figure early Christmas gift. When the officials arrived, the requisite report was made and the search for
Dancer began. To my stupefication, he was no where to be found. The satisfaction I would get from eating this beast was fading quickly. All was not lost however, as I recovered a segment of antler from the ditch edge. But where could he have gone? After all, I was travelling nearly 55 mph! Could this be a little Christmas magic?
I returned to the van about the same time my mother in-law arrived to transport the wife and kinder to Casa Sprung. As Matthew, climbed out of the van and purveyed the damage, he said quite matter-of-factly, "Dad, if the mechanic says we need a new van, we'll have to obey." Oh the innocence of childhood! With this kind of attitude, he will grow up to be a sales person's best dream. Of course, I still have time to teach him the workings of commerce. A sobering reminder of how blessed we are. Another quick prayer of thanks.
In the meantime, if you see a one antlered reindeer come December 24th -- beware the gift that accompanies him.
It's Just A Presidential Election ... Get Over It
I realize that it has been several weeks since the election and that most of the nation has grown quite weary of the political commentary that has surrounded the campaign and the election. But, if you would allow me, I have one further observation regarding the reaction to this year’s election.
I don’t think it started until the 1990’s. At least, I don’t recall hearing anything about it in the 1980’s. On playgrounds and playing fields all over the country. Organized children’s sports, whether school or extra-curricular, stopped keeping score or if they did keep score they started handing out prizes to both sides. From those who were entrusted with the responsibility to oversee and educate our children the cry went up, “There are no losers.” All of a sudden it became taboo to keep score at a t-ball game. This battle cry tended to be loudest from (brace yourself for a shocker) those on the left of the political spectrum. I haven’t paid much attention to it recently, so I can’t say if the childhood development experts’ death grip on keeping score has lessened over the past few years. It makes no difference, I believe the damage has already been done.
By getting rid of winners and losers, these experts failed to provide children an important lesson: How to lose. Although they got rid of winning and losing in the school yard, they failed to get rid of it in the rest of life. In the real world, there are winners and losers all the time. And, if these children enter the real world and are suddenly faced with losing, they will have no idea what to do because they have never had to deal with it before. They were never taught the proper way to lose.
Let me provide you with two examples from the sports world. Every year I love to watch the end of the last game of the Stanley Cup finals. After doing battle (and I do mean battle) throughout the series, the game ends, the winners celebrate and the losers feel the agony of defeat. But then something strange happens. The winners stop celebrating. The losers do not slink off the ice. These two teams line up, shake hands, and congratulate each other on a well played series. Now that is sportsmanship.
Another example of good losing comes from the world of college football. The Army-Navy game is filled with tradition. But one of the great moments of the game doesn’t occur during the game. It occurs after the game. These two teams share a very serious rivalry. But, when the game concludes, both the players and the cadets (Did you know that the cadets stand through the entire game?) sing the alma mater of the other school. Naval cadets sing West Point’s song and the military cadets sing Annapolis’ song. It is a great tradition. It’s also fun to watch the sports reporters try to interview players after this game.
Why can’t politicians and their supporters act the same way? Why must the constantly whine about the fact that the lost? They accuse the other side of cheating. They cannot admit that they lost. I think it goes back to the trend in this country not to teach people how to lose. I can’t prove it, but it does make sense to me.
John Thune gets it. In the 2000 South Dakota Senate race, he lost by a very small amount. Did he complain? Did he make up some outlandish excuse about how his opponent had stolen the election? No. He conceded. It showed a great amount of class. And, that is one thing politics in this country needs a lot more of … class.
A Heart Of Thanksgiving
Today is one of those typical November days in Minnesota. Those that haven't bagged their deer are heading out of town. The yard procrastinators are showing visible signs of concern, as this cold rain we're experiencing may turn to snow; thus burying the last autumnal vestiges of 2004. Ah the final preparations! And next week is Thanksgiving, and then the onlsaught of holiday shopping madness.
On the home front, wife & I are trying hard to instill the spirit of this blessed season in our children. We've created a
Thank You God chart, whereby every family member writes an item of thankfulness daily. This is proving fruitful in promoting a mindset or heart of thanksgiving. One thing that I keep coming back to (for my contributions), especially in light of Veteran's Day last week, is the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. I continue to be awed at the measure of devotion these galliant warriors exhibit on behalf of you, I and our great nation.
In our family life, Wednesday nights mean kid's clubs at our home church. I have been fortunate enough to participate in this fun, working with the spirited Brigade Boys. Specifically, K-2nd grade, a.k.a., The Tree Climbers. This week the leader of the Stockade had a special guest and my group joined them in their council time. One of America's best, a fine young man-a Marine, came to educate us about life in the Corps. It was great to see how the boys responded to this man in utter awe and amazement. For what it is worth, this young man, probably not more than 19, commanded the respect of not only every boy, but every man in the room. There is great promise for America's future in this Marine, and in the boys who wish to emulate him.
Henninger's Wall Street Journal piece is even more to the point. When so many in the MSM take for granted the sacrifices of these brave men and women, it is touching to read someone who gets it. Read this and pray continuously for our men and women serving us. Have a great weekend!
Time To Rethink Imbedded Journalism
Funny how garbage like this happens around sweeps time. MSM has gone apoplectic concerning the recent shooting of an insurgent in a Fallujah mosque. It seems the scent of an Abu Gharib like scandal, has sent reporters scurrying for their laptops and cameras with a renewed sense of ratings glee. Once again, a questionable decision has set us back light years in our efforts to keep the peace and win the hearts & minds of Iraqi citizens. The herculian efforts of our Marines have lead to the obliteration of insurgents and their strongholds (a good thing). Through this process, our troops have uncovered the blood drenched butchering chambers of those who torture, slaughter, and behead, with impugnity. Meanwhile, such effort and bravery from our troops is overshadowed, as MSM puts forth it's best efforts to palliate, and the moral equivalency arguments become rampant yet again.
Hugh's post yesterday was spot on, as he delineated the lack of clarity in such thinking.
All of this serves to remind me, as a citizen of this great nation, that I need to assist the war effort. As such, I think it is high time we engage in thoughtful discussion concerning the merits of inbedded journalism. I wonder if NBC photo-journalist Kevin Sites, thought about the potential fallout when he sent the video to his producers? Did he think about how it might play on Al Jazeera? The broader Arab world? Did the images shown on video give us a context as to what the marine had just been through? From watching the tape, you almost get the sense that the victim [in this case] was just an innocent in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Powerful image; however, he was in fact a combatant. Let's keep in mind that the victim, in the preceding hours was probably trying his best to kill this very marine and his brothers. Emotionally volatile situation, don't you think?
Check out this report, particularly the bottom half as it gives thought to context.
I would have liked to have seen some discretion on the part of the reporter. I think reporters used to know what that was a long time ago. For instance, it was commonly known that JFK was a philanderer, but that wasn't something you read much about in those days. Was it out of respect for the president? Good of the country? Who knows-because today, the
right to know trumps the need for discretion or responsible reporting. Why should we care what they put on tv? We the people need to know! I have argued repeatedly that war is hell. There is no such thing as a politically correct war, where only enemies die and innocents never suffer. In the fog of such destruction, horrible things can and do happen. That doesn't make it right, but that is reality. To paraphrase Peggy Noonan (of WSJ Opinion Journal fame), where did we get the idea that war was something other than what it has always been? Awful. Garbage like this happens and always has. It always will. Again, that doesn't make it right, but the actions of one marine are not representative of all marines. Unfortunately this line has become more blurred and our armed forces find themselves denigrated all the more viscerally. Media reporting such as this, have lead many to speculate on how the MSM of today would have reported during WWII.
Lileks gives us a great example. It gives one pause doesn't it? I wonder what the cameraman was thinking as he photographed the insurgent's death?
Wow, they killed an enemy right in front of me! Poor slob. Never saw it coming. I can't believe they killed him like that. What are they thinking? Did he deserve this? Well, he was trying to kill us earlier, BUT...I have never seen a human being die. This is so surreal.
I think my optimism is getting the best of me again. I suspect his thoughts were probably more along this line:
Wow! Did your eyes really see that? I think I've got a real-life war-crime here! Oh, I hope there isn't a problem with the tape. This is going to make a great story.
Too bad. Poor decisions all around equals a hamstrung war effort.
The Polar Express
My wife hosted a bridal shower for my sister this past Saturday, so naturally, the kids and I found ourselves away from the home front. Going to the movies is a rare phenomenon in our household, but on this day, I decided to take a chance on The Polar Express. I can tell you this, I was not disappointed. Robert Zemekis and Tom Hanks have done it again. This film is a visual feast. The animation is purely phenomenal! The story and soundtrack--excellent. A film that is sure to put you in the mood for Christmas. I found myself transported by the stunning colors and cinematography, and at times feeling like a kid again.
Like the previous efforts of this titanic duo, this film is full of symbolism. Hope is thematically woven throughout the tale and I found parts of the story to be richly consistent with a Christian world-view. I won't spoil it for anyone, but there is one clip, concerning a lost ticket, which masterfully and breathtakingly illustrates the providence of God. Furthermore, the film builds to a climatic scene at the center of the North Pole. Although, this involved Santa, the ebullience expressed by the characters, had me envisioning The Lamb's Feast in heaven. Needless to say, the kids and I had a great time. Worth every penny.
All you ever needed to know about the left...
The hubris of the left continues to be astounding. As Squirrel, has so eloquently articulated, there exists a deep mistrust of America from the left. I, like my esteemed colleague above, continue to be disconcerted at the caricature portrait of middle Americans like us, who ascribe to the Judeo-Christian ethic. We at Armchair Pundits, like many of those who read us, are hard working, well-educated, Jesus loving Americans, who happen to be in the mainstream of American life. We are not intolerant, bigoted, homophobic, war-mongering fanatics. How easy it is for the left to be dismissive! I find it interesting, that Bush and conservatives are labeled as divisive and in need of uniting the country, when what has been divisive in this nation is the blatant hatred expressed toward the president and those who support him. Such vitriol has been expressed through print, film, television, slashed tires, broken noses, and vandalized campain offices. It is clear, as to what moral values the intolerant espouse: secularism, socialism, and equality. This stands in direct opposition to what the mainstream of our society cling to as core values. Namely, a religious ethic, capitalism, and liberty. Dennis Prager has written extensively to this end and is must reading concerning this. Failure to honestly appraise ones thinking concerning this is foolish. But alas, I ramble.
I concluded an earlier post by invoking the adult / child metaphor. When you examine all that has transpired and is yet before you, it is striking how timely that metaphor is. After all, we live in the real world; and in the real world there exists real consequences. The natural extension of which we see here
http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=10194&category=Local%20.
May God help us!
The Arrogance of Liberalism
Having lost the Presidential election to George W. Bush, the liberals in this country are trying to figure out what went wrong. In doing so, however, they have once and for all removed their mask and are revealing their true identity to all who care to look.
Liberalism is arrogant. Liberalism stands for the premise that the average citizen is incapable of accomplishing the most simple tasks. It requires that, in order to be done correctly, these tasks be done either by the liberals or by the government. You and I, however, could not possibly do it correctly.
Conservatism, on the other hand, focuses on lifting up the individual citizen. In many instances this is done by providing the citizen with the right tools. It is this lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps that not only gets the citizen to where they need to go, it also makes the citizen stronger and enables them to advance farther. We all know the old saying about giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish.
In the past, the arrogance of the left tended to be hidden, at least partially, by other aspects. Take tax policy for example. Liberals do not believe that the citizens of this country can handle their own money. They feel that the government can do a much better job. Therefore, they have no problem advocating higher taxes. The criticism of this policy was focused for a long time on the large government programs that created the need for higher taxes. President Bush pulled back the veil on this arrogance during the 2000 campaign when he advocated lower taxes and a tax rebate (known in some circles as a “risky tax scheme”) and constantly stumped on how he trusted the American taxpayer to do a better job of spending their money than the government. Social welfare provides another example. Liberals advocate more welfare programs to “assist” those in need. They oppose Republican programs designed to get people off welfare. But people argue against these liberal programs not the underlying premise that liberals arrogantly believe that a person cannot help themselves. In both cases, the arrogant premise is hidden by the criticism of the program.
How are the liberals responding to their recent loss? Is the problem their message or their candidate? No. The problem is with the people who voted for Bush. These people are unintelligent and uninformed. The problem was that the Democrats didn’t properly communicate their message to these voters. Because, after all, their message was so perfect that any voter with a shred of intelligence would have voted to support them. One liberal commentator actually said that Democrats may have used too many multi-syllabic words in communicating their message and that they needed to take a page Republicans and “dumb-down” their message.
Over the weekend I listened to another liberal commentator who was citing a statistical study that found many of the southern and Midwestern states (i.e., the red states) have lower income and education levels that the northeastern states (i.e., the blue states). Are they really saying that Republicans are poor and stupid? Could they really be that arrogant?
Juan Williams made a very good point the other night on CSPAN (its hard to believe, I know). He suggested that maybe the Republican voters understood the Democrat’s message and just didn’t agree with it. I think he hit the nail on the head. The Democrats did not do a poor job of presenting their message. They laid out their message very well. The voters, especially the Republican voters, understood their message perfectly. But, they did not agree with it, they did not accept it, and they voted against it.
The left, however, in their arrogance, cannot fathom this. They do not see that there is another solution to the question. I have liberal friends and I know that they will not agree with me on certain issues. That does not mean that they are unintelligent. But if you disagree with a liberal, then you’re an uneducated hick. In Washington, the left no longer views the right as “the honorable gentleman across the aisle.” Rather, politicians on the right are viewed as conservative Nazis. For a group that supposedly applauds free thinking, they are pretty closed-mined.
I have a friend who told me that when she is hiring she is suspicious of people who claim to understand the technical aspects of her industry. She instead is looking for people who admit that they don’t know everything. Because in the business world, that kind of arrogance can cost you money.
What is the cost of the left’s arrogance? I believe it will cost the Democrats dearly. As they continue to “evaluate” their loss, they will alienate more voters. And, the longer they do it, the worse it will get. America will also pay a high price for this arrogance. The more arrogant the left gets, the less likely it is to debate and negotiate and compromise. Important legislation will be halted and important nominations held up as arrogant legislators refuse to bend.
Liberals need to realize that it is better to admit you don’t know everything and exceed expectations, rather than claim you know everything and prove yourself wrong.
Arafat Dead
As the international community mourns Arafat, I find myself humming a John Lennon tune. Thing is, I think I'll change the lyric--"All we are saying, now peace has a chance." I know, I know what you're thinking. Man, is he ever optimistic! Well I suppose you can't fault me for that. A friend of mine, Matt sends the following from Dispatch From Jerusalem, a publication of Bridges for Peace:
"Yasser Arafat had the heart and attitude of Adolf Hitler toward Israel and the Jewish people, the terrorist persona of an Osama bin Laden, and the despotic style of rule of a Saddam Hussein.
In fact, Arafat is rightfully credited as being the father of modern terrorism. It is Arafat who invented an organized and systematic terror organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization; perfected plane hijacking with deadly precision (e.g., the hijacking and destruction of TWA, Pan-Am, and BOAC planes on September 6, 1970); orchestrated terrifying hostage taking and killing of civilians (e.g., the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, schoolchildren in Israel, the Munich Olympics massacre); directly ordered the execution of individuals and diplomats (the United States ambassador in Sudan); planned the destruction of national infrastructures such as water carriers, power facilities, and oil depots; and created one of the worst evils on earth - the dreaded suicide bombers, whom he personally financed and who have killed and maimed thousands of innocent people. For a comprehensive list of terror events connected with Yasser Arafat, click on
http://m1e.net/c?5348351-m8lpCwKy6g8cY%40725922-iaHLCJPEl9/Qc
Given an opportunity for a two-state solution that would have brought peace and prosperity to the Palestinian people and Israel, Arafat could not shift into a new diplomatic role to build a state and remained entrenched in his goal to destroy Israel. For Israel and many Palestinians, the 1993 Oslo Accords were an opportunity for a hopeful future. For Arafat, it was part of his 1974 Phased Program, which called for a staged plan to destroy Israel. In the end, he rejected Israel's offer for peace and started the current Al-Aqsa War. Throughout his leadership of the Palestinian Authority, he has indoctrinated a whole generation of Palestinians to hate; he stole billions from his own people, much of which may never be located; he neglected economic development and the building an infrastructure, leaving his government and people bankrupt; and he unleashed his own Fatah terrorists and groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have mocked the rule of law and corrupted and oppressed Palestinian society. Arafat was the worst possible leader and the worst thing that ever happened to the Palestinian people."
That pretty much sums it up.
Semper Fi
Semper FI! (Always faithful!)
On Veterans day, I'd like to offer up Thanksgiving to those who (as I write), are in fierce battles on the streets of war torn Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world. Their great sacrifices don't go unnoticed by true Americans.
"Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag." -Zell Miller
They still don't get it
For the past week, I have been wading through the post-election analysis and it seems that conventional wisdom has MSM as the big losers in 2004. I have to concur with this synopsis. Sunday’s OP EX pages in the Minneapolis Star Tribune demonstrate the severity of the $250 million dollar hangover that democrats are experiencing throughout the country. Was it campaign management? Was it the almighty swing voter? Was it the religious right harkening back to the glory days of 1950’s Americana, e.g., the impossibility of fathoming a world where gays marry and late term abortions are treated as birth control? How about the 527’s? Could it have been the Hollywood elite? Was it the economy? Iraq? Moral values. They didn’t see that one coming did they? A popular graphic making the rounds on the web has the red states depicted as Jesusland,
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzkultur/0,1518,grossbild-405553-326686,00.html and the NY Times has been filled with the disillusionment from the left coasts. One such article decries Manhattan as “a little island off of Europe” all the while elucidating the cultural divide between it and middle America. Poor Lawerence O’donnell is beside himself calling for secession; while Maureen Dowd, Eleanor Clift, and the rest of the media elites find themselves stuck in repose reminiscent of a post-traumatic stress survivor.
The discussion about moral values and the evangelical vote has been fascinating. The prudishness of middle America as some indignantly called it or anti-enlightenment as still others. Fascinating. They still don’t get it. My favorite thus far has been “Bush stole it again!” The net result of such thinking is the blatant dismissal of the vast majority of Americans (who constitute both parties) and is demonstrative of the fact that many on the left are completely unwilling to take the introspective look at what’s wrong with their party and their thinking. Psychologist-speak terms this denial. Take for instance the preoccupation with the Bill Maher’s and Michael Moore’s of the party. The fervor with which they clamor for these iconoclastic blowhards matches the zeal of the twelve for their Messiah. It doesn’t make sense. The most casual of observers is able to poke holes in the thinking and works of these Marxist companions. The persistence of such belief is why Hugh Hewitt’s employment of the term “fever swamp” leaves such an indelible impression.
Interestingly, when broken down by county across the nation, we see this
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm
It really makes a lot of sense that all of these Americans were bamboozled doesn’t it? Now certainly, blue voters live in red states and red voters in blue; there are democrats who voted Bush, and Republicans who voted Kerry, meaning that Americans are probably less polarized on many issues than those beating the drums would have us believe. Again, there are people of similar values in both parties. Could it be that these Americans are not stupid xenophobes as Moore describes, but rather astute observers of spin? Think about it. Fahrenheit 9/11, CBS and the forgeries, the exclusion and marginalization of Swift Veterans for Truth, the blatant vitriol for the president in countless stories, and the blatant undermining of the war effort and denigration of the sacrifices our military is making. What about Cameron Diaz crying that a vote for Bush is a vote for rape, or John Edwards saying that a Kerry administration will cure the Christopher Reeve’s of the world? On and on and on it goes. The reality of life in these United States is that the best scientific minds of our age say that we are a generation away from such medicine. Not to mention, that embryonic stem cell research (since 1981) has yet to yield a worthy application. Keep in mind that cord blood and adult cells have produced over 300,000 applications/cures to date. Keep in mind that most sensible people recognize the destruction of a child via partial birth abortion as a scourge on humanity. Keep in mind the lunacy of Hollyweird. The homosexual marriage issue is not about religious Americans stifling the freedoms of a group of our fellow citizens. It is about sensible people wanting a voice in the matter before redefining a centuries old institution. It is thinking clearly about the meaning of natural rights. Go read Lileks:
http://www.lileks.com/bleats/archive/04/1104/110804.html
Aside, from the moral issue surrounding abortion, perhaps one of the reasons this remains so divisive is that the collective voice of Americans has not been heard on this issue. One party prefers to govern through judicial fiat, the other through legislative process. I like many conservatives, have faith in the American people to be discerning. Democratic elites do not.
Here’s the problem. Media and Hollywood elites put the face of the Democratic Party before America. What they show is the far left of the party as opposed to those who represent the center left. So to the leftist I say, great! Keep doing that and you will never win again on the National level. The reason is obvious-you have abandoned the sensible for the manic. You have hijacked the party of FDR, Truman, and Kennedy and are out of the mainstream concerning values that are uniquely American. So by all means, persist in the nonsense that tells you that voters want to learn about values and politics from the likes of P-Diddy, The Boss, and Michael Stipe & Co. Persist in the foolish notion that the president who one more votes than any other in our nation’s history stole another election. Bear in mind, as Hugh has pointed out so astutely, “if it’s not close, they can’t cheat”. It is killing you.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=239735&page=1
In Tapper and Miller’s article they quote Doug Chapin, election analyst, as follows:
“Before the election in many places you saw people questioning the process because they were concerned about the result," said Chapin. "And now there are people looking at the result and using that as a basis to question the process."
I see. Not the result you wanted, couldn’t be the will of the people now could it? I understand. A national repudiation smarts a bit. Sublimating rage are we? That’s it persist in your adolescent denial. The adults are still running the country.
Ditch “Use It or Lose it”
Many of you out there have probably been doing the same thing that I have been doing recently. And, if you haven’t, you may be doing it soon. I have been completing my annual enrollment for my company’s employee benefits.
As a part of this annual ritual, I am forced to make the dreaded flexible spending account (aka cafeteria plan or 125 plan) election. Making this election requires that you do one of two things. Either you use the mystical powers that you possess to predict the future or you make a lucky guess. How many times will I have to go to the doctor next year? How may times will my wife wrench her back when lifting our son and have to go to the chiropractor? How many times will we send our children to the church nursery or to Sunday school where they will come into contact with another child who is carrying the Q-strain of the Burmese cold virus and how many trips to the doctor will it take to detect and eradicate the virus from my child’s body? The combination of events is both depressing and endless. But each year I am forced to make this election. Under the tax code, you have to make your election prior to beginning of the new year and you cannot change your election unless you have a “change in family status” (i.e., birth of a child, death, or one of a very limited number of specified events).
For those who are unfamiliar with flexible spending accounts (FSA), let me describe them. An FSA is a benefit plan that allows employees to defer a specific dollar amount from their paycheck, up to a maximum of $5,000, in order to pay specific medical expenses. This money is taken out of their paycheck on a pre-tax basis. There is, however, one small catch. If you miscalculate and defer more money than you actually spend during the year, this difference is forfeited. In most cases it is forfeited back to the employer.
This “use-it-or-lose-it” provision has two major drawbacks. First, and most obviously, if you over defer, you lose your money. The second disadvantage of this provision is that in order to avoid forfeiting their money, many employees end up under deferring and, therefore, they pay more for their healthcare.
Correcting this problem, however, falls to the politicians. Every election cycle politicians say that they are going to do something about healthcare costs. They usually come up with grandiose, pie-in-the-sky plans, which are either too complex or too vague for the average individual to understand. And, let’s face it, Congressmen Smith from the 4th congressional district of just-about-any-state-you-care-to-name has about as much chance of pushing their healthcare plan through Congress as I do of winning a gold medal in men’s figure skating at the next winter Olympic games. But, there is something simple that they could do to help ease the burden of rising healthcare costs. Congress needs to ditch the “use-it-or-lose-it” provisions for FSAs and allow for money in FSAs to be rolled over from one year to the next.
Here is how it would work. In year one, I defer a total of $2,500 into my FSA. That same year I have $2,000 in medical expenses. At the end of the first year, instead of forfeiting the $500 that is left in my FSA, it would automatically rollover into my next-year’s FSA. So, in year two, if I defer $2,500 into my FSA, I would be able to pay for $3,000 in medical expenses on a pre-tax basis.
A provision to do just that passed the House this year. Unfortunately, it was tied to one of those dead end bills, such as the 2004 Minimum Wage Increase bill or the 2004 Socialization of Healthcare bill, and died a slow and painful death in the Senate.
Simple solutions are not popular in Washington. There will be no front page headlines announcing the passage of legislation allowing the rollover of FSAs. For once, however, it would be nice if politicians, who constantly claim to be “looking out for the little guy,” step up to the plate and do something that will benefit the average working American.
And so it begins
Welcome! This is the seminal post for our blog, which has been a long-time coming. There have been so many late night conversations and lengthy emails over the past few months, that I believe this will be a more effective means of communicating. This being opposed to lengthy email diatribes defaulting to spam, due to the sheer enormity of addressees. As I am sure the more astute of you have already noted, I used the term "our blog." Good eye! This will be a forum for the musings of Joe B., Joe H., Dan F., and Mike S. on a host of topics relevant to our day in age. Matters of politics, faith, family, literature, philosophy and all things pop culture will be standard fare. Hang on, this should be fun!
