Behind The Headlines

The shooting of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, has dominated headlines since the crime occurred. While none of us should take any satisfaction in the murder of a fellow human being, what I have found fascinating is the embargo on network television news of inconvenient truths about the deceased's life.

Before delving into that, I highly recommend David Graham's latest post, An Unsympathetic Death. Graham provides outstanding information about the health insurance business in America, and the daily perils Americans face even when they have healthcare insurance. It is a reminder of how fortunate we are, despite its shortcoming, to have socialized medicine in Canada.

In its refusal to 'blame the victim',  mainstream media have sanitized certain facts. 

The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.

If you read Graham's post, you will see that much of that profit and bonus accrued from United Health Care's 33% denial rate of medical insurance claims. One need not have a particularly vivd imagination to see the emotional and physical toll this would have on the 'insured'.

However, there is much more to Brian Thompson's story.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was facing a lawsuit accusing him and other executives of insider trading related to an ongoing Justice Department investigation before he was fatally shot outside a New York City hotel on Wednesday.

Thompson, 50, was one of three UnitedHealth Group executives named in a class action lawsuit filed in May that accused them of dumping millions of dollars worth of stock while the company was the subject of a federal antitrust investigation, which investors say wasn’t immediately disclosed to shareholders.

“UnitedHealth was aware of the DOJ investigation since at least October 2023. Instead of disclosing this material investigation to investors or the public, UnitedHealth insiders sold more than $120 million of their personally held UnitedHealth shares,” the suit filed by the City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund alleges.

 Nearly $25 billion in shareholder value was erased once the investigation was publicly revealed in February. Thompson was able to sell off more than $15 million of his own UnitedHealth shares [emphasis mine] before the value dropped, however, the suit states.

In my view, mainstream media's withholding of such information is both a disservice to loyal viewers and additional fuel for the almost endless criticism directed at the legacy outlets. Even I, an unrepentant supporter of such media, have had my faith shaken.

Life in the United States is often described as "dog eat dog." It would appear that some dogs live a charmed life, until they don't.

 

 

For Love Of Country

 

It seems, at least to me, that this day and age has seen a debasement in the concept of loving and standing by one's country. We see it in the constant derogation of Canada (under Trudeau) by PP, who incessantly insists to us that everything is broken. Indeed, some might be inclined to say that his efforts are in accord with the attempts of the incoming U.S. president to paint Canada in a very negative light. Love of country and grace seem to be singularly absent in PP's makeup.

But of course, PP is a politician, doing everything he can to disaffect Canadians so that he can be our next national 'leader'. More worrisome is those ordinary citizens who seem to see our nationhood as both provisional and transactional. While those people are surely in a minority, my life experience has taught me that bad ideas, if spread and repeated enough times, sometimes become a form of reality.

Take, for example, the following letters that I culled from the National Post, a journal that I almost never read, its extreme right-wing bent an offence to the normal spirit.

‘A small price to pay for the economic benefits’

At his recent meeting with our prime minister, President-elect Donald Trump mused that Canada could become the 51st state. Let’s consider the possible benefits.

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Under the American taxation system, Canadians would get to keep more of their hard-earned cash (no GST holidays needed).

We would finally have a leader who would unwaveringly support the only democracy in the Middle East (and not UNRWA) against the terrorist bullies who battle for Israel’s demise, and a leader who would stand up to the dangerous despots in Russia, China and North Korea and shackle Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu would be welcomed without fear of being arrested. (The U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court.)

Our armed forces would proudly serve with a technologically-advanced and well-funded military.

And our ever-falling loonie would be exchanged for the greenback, which is currently worth Cdn $1.40.

If it means not having cannabis shops on every street corner, that’s a small price to pay for the economic benefits that would accrue to the average Canadian family.

Susan Silverman, Toronto

Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state is a great idea. Given its population of almost 40 million, Canada would have a large block of votes in the electoral college and therefore a large say in picking the president. There would be no worries about tariffs on exports to the U.S., which would allow our economy to flourish. There would be no more worries about the protection of the border, and the costs associated with it. And our military would finally be well-equipped with modern armament.

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It is indeed food for thought, laced with maple syrup.

Roger Cyr, Victoria, B.C.

It is indeed sad to see citizenship reduced to a transactional mentality. I pray that such sentiments will always remain in the minority. 

With Apologies To Dr. Seuss

The Heart Of This Grinch Would Not Grow, No,

 Not Even An Inch

H/t Moudakis

The Government We Deserve?

I can't say that I have ever really subscribed to the above quote by Thomas Jefferson, largely because politicians misrepresent themselves all the time.  One may vote with a certain hope for better things based on their promises, but those promises rarely materialize. Because of that, truly informed decisions are difficult to arrive at. (Of course,  the recent U.S. election proves the exception, with voters willfully embracing the chaos agent known as Don Trump.)

However, I believe there is much truth in the quote when manifestly unfit governments continue to ride high in the polls and repeatedly get re-elected. Such seems to be the situation in Ontario, where Doug Ford, despite his grave fiscal and ethical malfeasance, enjoys ongoing popularity.

This brief CBC report on the auditor general's report gives some insight into the shady and fiscally profligate practices of the government:

In addressing the auditor-general's report on the government, Edward Keenan writes of a theme that seems to permeate the Ford government's decision-making approach, one found in the AG's report:

“Without proper planning.”

That was her description, in Tuesday’s annual report, of how the decision to close supervised-consumption drug sites was made.

On supervised injection sites, the auditor notes harm reduction strategies that prevented 1,500 deaths from overdoses are being discontinued without proper planning or impact analysis. Which sounds like a roundabout way to say people are likely to die.

But six years into the life of a government that has always shown an eagerness to fire before it aims, it seems more like an all-purpose description of The Doug Ford Way.

The report contains plenty of other language that might seem jolting when applied to government actions, but by now seems overly familiar. The decisions to issue minister’s zoning orders (or MZOs)were “not fair, transparent or accountable.” The assessment process for the Ontario Place redevelopment was “irregular” and “subjective,” and “rules and guidelines … were not followed.” 

There are a few themes there that are at the forefront of Spence’s report. Decisions seem to be made quickly and on impulse, according to either the political whims and vendettas of the premier or the backroom desires of developers and corporate interests. Traditional accountability checks or analysis of impacts are discarded. Rinse, repeat.

Keenan asks the question of where all of this leaves us. My answer is, unfortunately, without any viable alternative that will cure people's addiction to the populist premier. When she was first chosen as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, I harboured some hope that Bonnie Crombie might prove to be that viable alternative.  But as I wrote in two previous posts, one in June and one in November, she really only promises more of the same fiscal recklessness in her desperation for electoral support. In in her latest ploy for popularity, she promises to axe the (carbon) tax. 

I’d rather cut your income taxes permanently than cut you a rebate cheque.”

The rebate remark was a dig at both Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford, who have promised cheques of $250 and $200 respectively to defray the high cost of living. 

Perhaps when they do go to the polls, the people of Ontario can be forgiven for voting for the same old thing, since that is all that will apparently be on offer. 

About That Annexation Thing

Even if Trump was only 'joking' about Canada becoming the 51st state, this cartoon by Moudakis seems timely:

But Were They Allowed To Sit At The Adults' Table?

I have to admit to deep ambivalence in hearing the news that Team Trudeau jetted off to Mar a Lago to have dinner with the incoming American president. My mental images included exaggerated genuflection, followed by a kissing of Don Trump's ring. Sometimes hyperbole helps clarify my thinking. Not so much this time, however.

On the one hand, my sense of national pride is deeply hurt at the thought of our prime minister and his entourage jumping to the beat of a madman. On the other hand, I wonder how much choice we really have in the matter, well aware that the consequences of the visit, both good and bad, may be long lasting.

Some are applauding the pilgrimage.

“I’m surprised and impressed,” said Flavio Volpe, head of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, that the Canadian leader was meeting with the president-elect, adding that kind of personal facetime with the former and future president is invaluable for Trudeau, and for Canada in the months ahead.

“The PM is demonstrating the humility that’s required (by) going to the source. Also the prime minister is demonstrating to the contrary of all the predictions (the idea) that Donald Trump wouldn’t want to work with him is untrue.”

Others, however, are not as sanguine. Of our country's snap-to-it reaction to Trump's threat of tarifffs, Bruce Arthur writes: 

Canada’s reaction, though, showed a country ripe for the picking, smelling of panic and surrender. There are facts, of course. The two borders are incredibly different; barely any fentanyl is caught coming from Canada to the U.S., though it’s rising slightly. The same is true of irregular crossings, on a border than spans nearly 9,000 kilometres.

Still, many Canadian politicians didn’t just accept Trump’s bark-at-the-waiter framing, but hopped to attention, ready to serve. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, predictably, put out a statement asking Trump to exclude oil from tariffs, and pledged to send extra patrols to the Alberta border, which is, uh, not a hotspot. One supposes she is already familiar with the crossing at Coutts.

A similar reaction came from Quebec premier Francois Legualt as he called for increased border security, and Ontario's Doug Ford even 

met with Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S.‘s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to find out “what needs to happen to secure our border.” 

Of PP's response I will not speak, except to say that from his perspective, it can all be blamed on Trudeau's incompetence, a refrain that must be growing tiresome to even his most ardent supporters.

As well, there are darker implications to the visit.

[Timothy]Snyder’s first rule of tyrants is simple: do not obey in advance, and too many seem ready to forget that rule, in a vulnerable country.

But the die has been cast, leaving me to wonder what other extraordinary demands the mad Trump will make of Canada in the future. What will he do to obtain our much-coveted water? What threats will he make to open up our entire agricultural industry to American predations? How much longer will we have even a semblance of policies independent of the American colossus?

Oh, and for the record, in an act of real 'forbearance', Trump allowed Team Canada to sit with the 'adults' last evening.

.

 

A Novel Suggestion

In my more fantasy-laden moments, I imagine a response from Canada to Trump's tariff threats that would really get through to the Americans. Since appeasement never works, how about meeting their tactics with some of our own?

Canada needs to review trading relationships

A quick fix to bring Donald Trump’s bullying tactics to heel would be an equivalent export tax on all energy resources and raw materials exported to the United States. [Empahsis mine] Canada is America’s  largest energy source and  number two supplier of nonenergy mineral resources after China. Canada should not cringe in fear of Trump’s tactics of bullying and misinformation or cave in to his demands. We need to use whatever tools we have available to work out a reasonable fair-trade deal that benefits both partners. Without that, it is no longer a trade deal but exploitation and no partnership. Trump will try a workaround to existing agreements and we must be prepared to act in kind.

We also need to review our trading relationships. Expanding our trading relationships with other partners would make us far less susceptible to Trump’s tactics. We must also expand our military capacity. National service and our own military supply chain and sources could create thousands of new jobs across Canada in manufacturing. If we love our country, is it not worth defending it economically and militarily?

Robert Holden, Keswick, ON

Apply Trump’s logic to our illegal gun problem

Countries have been fighting drugs for a very long time. The Opium War was in the 1840s. No one has figured out how to solve the drug problem, including Donald Trump in his first term in office. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should tell Donald Trump he is putting a 25 per cent tariff on U.S. products until he stops the thousands of guns entering Canada through the United States bringing higher levels of violent crime. Last time I checked, countries are responsible for securing their own borders. This is not something you outsource to another country.

Michael Yaffe, Toronto  

Of course, the above scenarios will never come to pass, but I can dream, can't I?