Tupperware Trump

Oh, Donald. Tacky, tacky, tacky…..

We’ve all become familiar with the various kinds of pyramid schemes operating in the U.S. Most aren’t as monumental as the Bernie Madoff ponzi-scheme variety, and some even sell arguably useful products, but they all share certain characteristics: they’re based on recruiting an increasing number of “investors,” and typically, those new recruits pay a sum of money to join the “program” and become a distributor of a product or service. They’re told they’ll make money based on the number of new recruits they bring in. The basic idea is that the higher up on the pyramid you are, the more money you’ll make.

In reality, what happens is that only the originators of the pyramid scheme make money and the rest lose theirs when the pyramid scheme collapses.

Evidently, in-between bankruptcies, bottled water and steaks, Donald Trump engaged in a pyramid scheme to sell a “diet product” to the desperate/credulous:

The company’s flagship product was called the PrivaTest, which supposedly relies upon a mail-in urine test to determine one’s individual nutritional needs and create a custom vitamin formula (about $140 for the test; $70 per month for the vitamins; $100 to retest every 6 months).

From a scientific viewpoint, urine tests do not provide a legitimate basis for recommending that people take dietary supplements. Moreover, even if they could, the nutrients in the so-called customized formulas can be obtained far more inexpensively in retail stores. The Trump Network also acquired a weight loss program called The Silhouette Solution, which consisted of a book promising to lose the weight you want and have the silhouette you choose, which was included in the starter weight loss kit, all for a whopping $1,325. The package was marketed as “a complete eight-week program that contains everything you need to achieve your short and long term weight loss goals.” In it, they send you eight weeks worth of low-calorie food….

But it gets better….you could also purchase the $400 “business kit” and market the product to your friends and family, ala Tupperware. Trump sold Privatest and the Silhouette Solution in 2012 to a company called Bioceutica, LLC., apparently due to concerns about liability. Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported on Trump’s claim that his involvement with Ideal Health merely allowed them to use his name for marketing purposes and that he was not involved in the company’s operations.

But statements by him and other company representatives — as well as a plethora of marketing materials circulating online — often gave the impression of a partnership that was certain to lift thousands of people into prosperity. In fact, within a few years, the company fell on hard times, leaving some salespeople in tough financial straits. It ultimately was acquired by another firm.

But when Trump joined forces with Ideal Health, he was enthusiastic about its future.

“When I did ‘The Apprentice,’ it was a long shot. This is not a long shot,” Trump told a Trump Network convention of at least 5,000 people in Miami in 2009, his face projected onto a giant screen. “This is going to be something that’s really amazing.”

Yep. Amazing. You’ll be thin and rich.

And this is the charlatan who’s going to “Make America Great.”

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I Told You So

There’s nothing more annoying than people who say “I told you so”–especially when they told you so.

But, dammit, I told you so. Not that I was the only naysayer–not even close–but I posted several arguments against the privatization of Indianapolis’ parking meters.

So I’m going to be obnoxious, and share the lede of a recent report from the Indianapolis Star

In the five years since Indianapolis leased its parking meter operations to a private company, rates have skyrocketed, hours have expanded and the number of paid spaces has increased.

But the city is reaping only about a quarter of the dollars ParkIndy projected when it paid $20 million to the city to operate the meters until 2061.

Those of us who opposed this “deal” (a word that is beginning to take on Trumpian implications for me) raised several issues:

The fifty-year length of the contract. Even if the deal had been less one-sided fiscally, decisions about where to place meters, how to price them, what lengths of time to allow and so on have an enormous impact on local businesses and residential neighborhoods. They are decisions requiring flexibility in the face of changing circumstances; they are most definitely not decisions that should be held hostage to contracting provisions aimed at protecting a vendor’s profits.

Added costs to downtown development and civic events. More often than not, new  construction interrupts adjacent parking. If the city is managing its own meters, it can choose to ignore that loss of parking revenue, or decide to charge the developer, based upon the City’s best interests. Street festivals and other civic celebrations also require  that meters be bagged, and usually there are good reasons not to charge the not-for-profit or civic organization running the event. The ParkIndy contract requires the City to pay ACS whenever such interruptions disrupt its projected revenue from those meters.

Why privatize at all? This isn’t rocket science. There was never a satisfactory response to the obvious question “why can’t we do this ourselves, and keep all the money?” Why couldn’t Indianapolis retain control of its infrastructure, and issue revenue bonds to cover the costs of the necessary improvements? Interest rates were at a historic low at the time, making it even more advantageous to do so. If the Ballard administration was too inept to manage parking, it could have created a Municipal Parking Authority, as Councilor Jackie Nytes  suggested at the time.

There really was no compelling reason to enrich private contractors and reduce (desperately needed) City revenues.

Why ACS? ACS is the primary partner of ParkIndy. There was extensive publicity about ACS’ performance problems in Chicago; there was also troubling information about the company’s track record in Washington, D.C., where an audit documented mismanagement, overcharging, over-counting of meters, and the issuance of bogus tickets (ACS got all the revenue for tickets). Washington lost $8,823,447 in revenue and experienced a twenty-fold increase in complaints from the public.

As I noted at the time, one of the problems with privatization in general is that it leads to speculation about cronyism and political back-scratching. In this case, the Mayor’s “personal advisor” was a registered lobbyist for ACS through the same law firm that employed the then-President of the City-County Council (who did not recuse himself, and whose affirmative vote was what allowed the contract to be approved by a narrow 15-14 margin.)

All of these criticisms were brushed aside as mean-spirited and uninformed. We were told that ACS/ParkIndy’s “expertise” would generate more revenue than would be realized under city management.

So, according to the Star, how’s that working out?

ParkIndy has collected $40.5 million in parking fees and fines since converting the first meter March 3, 2011. Projected over 50 years that amounts to about $426 million. The city’s take in a profit-sharing agreement has been $15 million, which would total about $158 million in 50 years.

ParkIndy estimated the city would earn $620 million over the 50-year life of the contract. To achieve that, ParkIndy would need receipts of about $1.5 billion, or more than three times its current pace.

Told you so.

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Right to Die

Those of us who listen to public radio are familiar with Diane Rehm, the raspy-voiced hostess of a respected public affairs program. Recently–in the wake of her husband’s terminal illness–Rehm has become a spokesperson for an individual’s right to decide how and when he will die.

Rehm said she decided to write the book because she was frustrated by the way her husband died.

“People need to talk about this issue,” she said. “Doctors need to be taught about this issue. The whole idea of doctors being taught about helping to keep people alive, but not being taught how to listen to those who are ready to die — that seems to me sad and misguided.”

One doctor who has come to agree with Rehm is my cousin, Morton Tavel, a cardiologist whom I often quote on this blog. He recently analyzed the issue thusly:

As a physician, I originally supported the dictum that death should be prevented at all costs. But more recently, I have come to realize that perhaps we should also consider suffering as well as dying.

These thoughts have directed my attention to the so-called “aid in dying” laws that are in force in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and California. They are sometimes referred to as “Physician-Assisted Suicide”. These examples often require that a patient’s death be expected within six months, and they compassionately offer a voluntary, self administered end to suffering at an individual’s own preferred time. Since 2014, aid-in-dying bills have been introduced in Washington, D.C. and several states. Canada is also considering such a bill. Other countries, including Switzerland and Belgium, allow aid in dying for people who are not even terminally ill. All these laws provide freedom for a physician to prescribe a lethal drug to a patient for self administration. At present, such a practice is unlawful in 46 states, including Indiana..

In the example of Oregon, which has had such a law in effect since 1997, subsequent study has uncovered no abuses, and, interestingly, about a third of patients who receive medication to end their lives never actually use it, meaning that many are likely reassured by the simple knowledge that they will be able to end their lives at any time of their choosing.

What people want, often, is knowledge that they can control their own lives and deaths.

Tavel recognizes the potential for abuse, and the need to ensure that people do not terminate their lives because they are depressed, or in pain that could be alleviated with proper medical intervention, but he insists that such issues can be addressed.

Laws addressing such issues should be clearly defined. First, I believe a specific time for life expectancy need not be spelled out, for misery without hope doesn’t necessarily conform to a distinct number of days or months. For instance, someone suffering from a severe progressive neurologic disease such as Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) can continue suffering for many months prior to death. On a personal level, I witnessed the suffering and death of a patient/friend of mine from a similar neurologic disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a disease that claimed the life of actor Dudley Moore, which is an uncommon progressive fatal brain disorder that affects movement, control of walking (gait), balance, speech, and many others.Given the choice, and if it were legal, he would have gladly opted to end his life by assisted suicide. Even various terminal cancers can behave for variable durations, but also cause prolonged pain and suffering.

In Oregon, for example,the attending physician and a consulting physician have to confirm the patient’s diagnosis and prognosis and determine whether the patient is capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him/herself. If either physician believes the patient’s judgment is impaired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder (such as depression), the patient must be referred for a psychological examination.

If this and the other safeguards of the Oregon law are satisfied, the prescription may be written.

In most cases, the drug used for this purpose belongs to a group of so-called “barbiturates”, commonly used in lower doses for the induction of normal sleep. In large doses, however, death is painless, peaceful, and will occur within a matter of minutes to hours.

A death in this fashion is usually far better than other, less desirable, alternatives. Thus I might conclude with a simple question: Isn’t it more humane to deal with one’s own species in a manner at least as appropriate as the smooth and painless exit we provide to our beloved animal pets?

What is the justification for over-riding individual autonomy, and insisting that a terminally-ill person suffer?

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Tell Me Again How There’s No War on Women…

While I am on the subject of women’s rights, I see that the thoroughly despicable Chris Christie has vetoed a New Jersey bill that would have required businesses to pay men and women equally when they are performing the same tasks.

On average, women in New Jersey make 80% of what men make for substantially similar work.

Christie called the bill “nonsensical” and said it would make New Jersey “very business unfriendly.”

Christie is currently stumping for his former nemesis Donald Trump, who holds a 70% unfavorability rating among women.

Forgive me if I am uncharitable, but the only justification (if one can call it that) for this veto is as part of a pathetic effort to be The Donald’s running mate. I mean, let’s face it–Christie is massively unpopular in New Jersey where, on those rare occasions when he has visited the state he governs, his “accomplishments” have consisted mainly of lowering the state’s bond rating and closing a bridge.

There are a lot of things that people like Christie (and Indiana’s Mike Pence) believe make a state “business unfriendly.” Laws requiring employers to pay a living wage, or give bathroom breaks or sick leave, for example. Or laws against wage theft. (Do you know what would make a state really attractive to business– “business friendly” in the Pence/Christie model? Slavery! It would be great; you wouldn’t have to pay workers at all!)

To Christie–and Pence–“business friendly” measures include right to work laws (often called “right to work for less laws,” because they make it difficult if not impossible for employees to bargain effectively with their employers), and low taxes (although lots of research suggests that the low quality of life that accompanies low taxes is a big turnoff to businesses looking to relocate).

Add to those “business friendly” measures laws making it perfectly acceptable for employers to pay women less than they’d pay a male worker. After all, we women are just incubators, necessary only to produce the next generation of voters and workers, and ultimately beholden to the un-self-aware “mansplainers” and bullies like Christie. Why should we expect wages equal to those of a man?

Come to places like New Jersey and Indiana,  “business-friendly” states where you can hire women and save money!

I’m sure Trump approves. And I’m sure Pence is taking notes….

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Your Religion, My Body–Happy Mother’s Day

It’s Mother’s Day–an appropriate time to think about human reproduction.

So…let me suggest a science fiction scenario.

We’re 25 years into the future. In reaction to massive population growth, NoNo, a religion encouraging ritual sterilization, has become the majority religion  in the U.S.  Practitioners believe (sincerely and devoutly) that God wants humans to avoid reproduction. (This religion’s conception of Diety is noncommittal on sex–it’s just making babies She is discouraging.)

As this religious community has grown, it has come to control the majority of the nation’s hospitals; well over 60% of them have become part of a national network of medical facilities run by and faithful to NoNo principles.

Our protagonist is not a NoNo, but she lives in a small town with only one hospital, and it is part of the NoNo network. She suddenly becomes ill. She is taken to the hospital in her area, where she is diagnosed with a treatable condition that will require minor surgery–and she’s told that, according to the tenets of NoNo, she will also be sterilized during the procedure. She objects–she’s only twenty, has never had children and desperately wants to be a mother–but her objections are deemed irrelevant. She is deprived of her control over her own body and any chance of having biological children.

Far fetched? Not if you switch the text.

The California Medical Association is seeking to join the ACLU of Northern California in its lawsuit against a Catholic hospital system over one of its facilities’ refusal on religious grounds to allow a doctor to perform a tubal ligation after a planned Cesarean section….

The suit stems from a case at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, one of Dignity Health’s 29 hospitals across the state. Mercy Medical says its refusal to perform the procedure was based on the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Directives – followed by all of California’s 35 Catholic hospitals – prohibit birth control, abortion and, in most cases, sterilization.

The California Medical Association says hospitals should make decisions that are medically appropriate–and should not make medical decisions that are contrary to best practices for reasons of religious dogma, especially when the patient does not accept that dogma.

Civil libertarians–in this case, the ACLU–say individuals should not have to cede control over their bodies and beliefs in order to receive medical care.

Over the past quarter-century or so, Catholic hospitals have assumed control of a significant percentage of the nation’s hospitals. What the courts need to decide is whether the merger of these hospitals entitles the Church to dictate medical decisions that would at best be considered “non-standard” or at worse would constitute malpractice.

Because God.

Suddenly, my “science fiction” scenario doesn’t look so far-fetched. As I’ve said before–a government with the power to prohibit abortion (or birth control) is a government with the power to require it. As a friend used to put it, poison gas is a great weapon until the wind shifts.

Unless the courts rule otherwise, hospitals with a monopoly on medical care can impose their own rules. Based upon their religious beliefs. No matter which way medical science’s winds blow.

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