The Dream Is Dying
By Kenneth L. Hanson
President Barack Obama recently declared, “The nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism.”
Tell a story? Well, there are a lot of us these days who have stories to tell. And far from reflecting unity, purpose, and optimism, these are testimonials to another sad reality: the “American dream” — at least under the Obama administration — is dying.
My story is not that special, though it is unique in some ways. My wife is a medical doctor from the former Soviet Union — as smart as she is beautiful. A surgeon by training (holding a Ph.D. in medicine on top of her M.D.), not only is she extremely capable as a hands-on physician, but she is also a businesswoman. Being a doctor has always meant everything to her, but she also knew that state-employed doctors in Russia earn on average only about $400 a month. She, however, had enough of an entrepreneurial spirit that, after practicing many years in emergency rooms and in cardiovascular surgery, she established her own plastic surgery clinic in the heart of Siberia.
Over time, she was grossing a “respectable” $2,000 a month. When we married and she came to America, I was thrilled to bring her to the “land of opportunity,” where, as a doctor, she could earn multiple times her Russian income. Earning her American citizenship, she dug in and started studying to meet the American medical requirements. That meant passing a series of exams, every bit as stringent as the ones she took when she first became a doctor. Over the course of three years, studying day and night, in what was for her a foreign language — English — she did it. She took her exams and passed. Now “certified” as a physician in the United States, she still lacks a license to practice medicine. That’s because the U.S. first requires the completion of a medical residency program, under supervision in a hospital, that takes anywhere from three to six years, depending on one’s specialty.
Bear in mind that not all countries require this for incoming medical doctors. In the European Union, for example, there are reciprocity agreements, whereby my Russian wife could work as a medical doctor with no further hurdles or obstacles in front of her. There are many regions in the world where a properly credentialed doctor in one country can practice in another. Not so in the United States.
Here, medical residency positions (of which there is a drastic shortage) first go to graduates of American medical schools, which of course my wife is not. She must therefore wait far back in line for a residency position to open somewhere, anywhere — which never does — regardless of her qualifications. These include training medical doctors in cardiovascular surgical techniques at one of the largest medical academies in Russia.
Now, after years of frustration, along comes ObamaCare, with its promise of providing free medical coverage to how many millions of new patients, including throngs of undocumented aliens? Respectable estimates are in the range of thirty million. Now, wouldn’t one imagine that if the administration were really serious about this, the first thing they would have done would be to take some of that initial trillion dollars of “stimulus” money and fast-track the creation of new residency programs for all the doctors trying to get their licenses? Maybe they would even eliminate some of the residency requirements altogether and foster more reciprocity agreements, so that more foreign-trained medical graduates could legally work in this country.
Has the Obama administration contemplated any of that? Of course…not! There is not a single new residency program, and there will not be a single additional doctor in this country to care for the thirty million new patients. And “we the people” are expected to believe that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it”? We’re expected to believe that there will not be “rationing” of medical services in this country?
The truth is, the new health care law (now upheld by the Supreme Court) isn’t about providing medical care to the millions who can’t afford it. It’s about creating enough phony “compassion,” via the biggest bloated entitlement program ever invented, to buy the votes of the “dependent class” and forge a permanent socialist/Marxist power bloc that will indeed “fundamentally transform” America. > > > READ MORE
Yes, doctors like almost all skilled specialties, including mine as an electrician, have become guilds, not for the protection of the customer/patient, but for the protection of the practioners income. The licensing system has bought into crony-capitalism hook, line and sinker.
A prediction, in 25 years you will not be able to get an electrician, or plumber, or HVAC tech to work on your house. Probably not a Doctor either.
So, um, if I need electrical work on my house ‘ better get it NOW? LOL Ugh can’t afford it!
“Ugh can’t afford it!”
And that is exactly my point. In most states, it takes about 5 years experience, passing a test and the signature of another electrical contractor to get an electrical contractor’s license. It’s an oligarchy, enforced by law.
The other thing is, we are all having trouble hiring apprentices, from the smallest firms, to the largest. I know very few journeymen who are not in at least their 40s, what happens when they retire?
and how does one enter the field? become a journeyman? I have a 26 yr old son looking around for what he wants to be when he grows up! lol He works full time and pays me rent, but. . . it’s not a career, just a job!
Your in PA, right? I’ll look it up and get back to you (I know I saw it but, don’t remember where.)
You’re lucky, in a sense, PA is freer than most.
” The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has no requirements related to the registration, certification or licensure of contractors (or their employees) that are engaged in the construction industry.
Some of Pennsylvania’s 2,565 municipalities have established local licensure or certification requirements for contractors or construction trades people. Typically, these requirements pertain to home improvement contractors, electrical contractors (or electricians), and plumbing contractors (or plumbers). Since the Commonwealth has no jurisdiction in this matter, the Department maintains no records concerning municipalities that have established licensure or certification requirements. This information can only be obtained by contacting the municipality where construction work will occur.”
Pittsburgh is tough however:
When You Need An Electrical Contractor License:
Anyone who acts, engages, advertises, or otherwise represents to be an electrical contractor (registered electrician) must first obtain a license from the Bureau of Building Inspection.
How To Obtain An Electrical Contractor License:
Step 1
Please check below to make sure that you meet ALL of the pre-qualifications for eligibility.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
You must be able to read and speak the English language.
You must have graduated and received a certificate of attainment in electrical wiring from an accredited school, and have at least two years of experience working as an electrician.
OR you must have ten years of experience working as a registered electrician in another state or municipality or ten years experience working with an electrician registered in the City.
Their website is:
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/bbi/html/electrical_contractors_license.html
Hope this helps, it’s a good business. If I can help with anything else, let me know.
Dave
We’re a blue state, but a conservative blue state, so it keeps things interesting!
Yup, and this is right down the middle, The state is one of the best but, Pittsburgh is as bad as anything I know of (for licensing)
haha That figures! lol
Yes more of the bullshit from Obutthole and company
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What a chilling post that is full of misinformation. I work in healthcare, and if you think for one second that these foreign medical docs are up to snuff, think again. Some barely speak the language and their skill set similar.
Seems you’ve completely missed the point of this blog post. You are more than welcome to your own opinion based on your experience, however this post is this author’s experience. you and I cannot argue with it. It is what it is! The point is, as stated in the last paragraph printed here … The truth is, the new health care law (now upheld by the Supreme Court) isn’t about providing medical care to the millions who can’t afford it. It’s about creating enough phony “compassion,” via the biggest bloated entitlement program ever invented, to buy the votes of the “dependent class” and forge a permanent socialist/Marxist power bloc that will indeed “fundamentally transform” America.
I do appreciate the point. My concern is with a suggested solution. We do/did have the world’s best Heath system.
Absolutely … we DID … but as long as there are millions of Americans wit their hands out, unwilling to participate productively … there will be those who feel the only way to “take care of them is via the government!”