Important headlines for April 2nd

Important headlines for April 2nd  

Bottom Line: These are stories you don't want to miss and my hot takes on them...    

Excerpt: After a dozen elders overheated and died in a Hollywood nursing home during Hurricane Irma, the state passed new rules requiring health facilities to install ... AHCA said it plans to conduct inspections specifically for the generator rule, but did not state any schedule for when those inspections will occur  

Hot Take: This continues to be a topic that really grinds my gears. I'm less concerned about the specific concern cited in the story (about the unclear timeline for the Agency for Health Care Administration inspections) and more frustrated about the entire premise of the new law. I understand why the state took action to provide generators for nursing homes in the wake of the debacle at the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Facility, but I don't think it's the responsibility of the state or us (taxpayers) to provide them. From the moment that awful Wednesday after Irma when news broke about the ill-fated Hollywood Hills facility I dove into state regs and requirements. They were specific and clear. Safe temperatures between, 71 to 81, degrees must be maintained always, checked by onsite staff on every floor regularly except for "brief periods" during an emergency at which point every effort must be taken to restore safe temperatures as quickly as possible.  

As we came to learn none of that took place. We also came to learn that while most like facilities around our state had generators, they often weren't substantial enough to power AC units for extended periods to maintain proper conditions. Whose failure/responsibility is this? The operators, right? So, while I understand the desire to act to attempt to prevent catastrophe in the future I also feel like we're potentially bailing out bad operators and/or operators who didn't have proper priorities. For those poor-mouthing saying they couldn't afford generators - they essentially were admitting that they weren't prepared to abide by the law and regulations they accepted by virtue of operating these facilities. Do we really want these types of operators in the first place? And if you can't afford generators for your facilities where else are you cutting corners and what's the impact on vulnerable people counting on proper care?  

Excerpt: Even as Stormy swirls, the president seems to have found his footing. Reporting from the White House press corps is that after a year of on-the-job training, the president is feeling much more confident and eager to follow-through on his 2016 campaign promises. Since the beginning of the year, he’s cleaned house at the cabinet level, taken a harder line on tariffs, especially on Chinese products, and is planning a sit-down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. At the same time, Trump’s overall job approval ratings have been on the upswing. 

Hot Take: And this provides the perfect dichotomy between them and you. In their world (the national media), it's all about appearances and what they perceive is important. They don't work paycheck to paycheck. They don't struggle to raise a family of pay for healthcare. So, they care about Stormy Daniels, whatever fake collusion story someone can invent and the perceived chaos of Trump's turnover. On the other hand there's a real world that includes you. It's not complicated.  

Would you rather A. Have a President that's perceived by the media to be poised and "Presidential" but with a much worse economy? Or B. A President that's perceived to create chaos and lack "Presidential" qualities but with a great economy?  

We could make it much more complicated, but it doesn't need to be. We have the best sustained economy in 13 years by way of GDP growth, best in wage growth in 11 years, biggest year-over-year increase in net take home pay (with the tax cuts factored in) in 32 years, lowest new unemployment claims in 45 years, lowest minority unemployment on record and until recently record stock market performance and retirement/investment account balances. I have a hunch that stuff matters more to most people than whatever Stormy has to say today or whomever the next administration official to fall happens to be. Speaking of that btw...  

My point isn't to give the President a free pass. It's clear there's a been a lot of on the job learning about whom he can trust to carry out his agenda vs. those with their own. His turnover has been the highest on record. But that's also exactly what successful leaders do. They id mistakes and fix them. Let's say he'd left Comey, Bannon, Shulkin, Price, etc. in their posts. Sure, there'd be less turnover, and seemingly less chaos but would the country be better off? The question is whether he makes better choices as he learns from mistakes. Much of that remains to be seen but in the meantime enjoy what the national media doesn't understand. The impact of a better economy for you and your family.  

Until tomorrow...    


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