Mark Mcgwire Trendmendous Success Essays - Chicago Cubs, Free Essays

Mark Mcgwire Trendmendous Success Essays - Chicago Cubs, Free Essays Mark Mcgwire Trendmendous Success Mark McGwires Tremendous Success Mark McGwire is one of the most electrifying figures in sports today. This six-foot five inch, two hundred and fifty pound monster is a man on a mission. McGwires mission began when he went on to play high school baseball for Damien High School in Claremont. After high school McGwire attend the University of Southern California to play college baseball. McGwire would then go on to break a few home run records while at USC. The great work he did in USC earned him a spot on the US Olympic baseball team in 1984. This would be the beginning of a successful career. From there, McGwire became the tenth pick in the first round and signed with the Oakland Athletics. In McGwires first year with the Oakland As he became Rookie of the Year. Whether hitting home runs on the field or working with children, Mark proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of baseballs most popular players to watch. Whenever people walk into a ballpark to watch Mark McGwire on the field, people can believe he is a dedicated player to the game of baseball. McGwire has had much success because of all the hard practicing he does to get better each day. McGwires dedication came when Coach Stanley hit ground balls to McGwire, he tried to hit them hard enough that it would hit McGwire on either the wrist or the shin (Rains 61). I believe the long hours of taking ground balls helped him become one of the best fielding first baseman and earned McGwire a few Gold Glove Awards during his career. McGwire has also shown his dedication when McGwire took countless ground balls on a patch of rocky ground, trying to practice some of the bad hops and unusual bounces (Rains 62). Without a question McGwire was determined to work hard on his fielding. When McGwire wasnt fielding ground balls, he would be practicing his swing during batting practice. McGwire would make his adjustments in batting practice to find his right stance to hit a home run. Many players dont take the time to work on their stance to become a better hitter like McGwire does, which is why I think he has shown much dedication in hitting the big home run. McGwire has also shown a dedication off the field by setting up his own foundations. The Mark McGwire Foundation for Children is a foundation he has committed three million dollar of his salary to help physically and sexually abused children (McGregor 1). McGwire shows how important kids are to him by signing autographs for his fans and by working with abused kids who need a role model to help them. This also shows McGwire has become a public figure for what he has done for his community off the field. With his busy schedule McGwire said, He wants to help people (Reily 45). Thats why I believe McGwire is such a dedicated player not just on the field but also off the field with his foundation. Finally to prove McGwire is such a dedicated player is when McGwire comes to the ballpark early to sign baseballs, hats, and cards for fans who await his arrival to the stadium and even after the game McGwire finds time to make his fans happy. As McGwire continues his success in baseball it all comes down to the hard dedication he puts during practice to be one of the best ball player of all time. Mark McGwire has been a successful player throughout his career with Oakland and St. Louis. McGwire has become a successful by hitting home runs. His recent success came two months ago on September 8, 1998 when McGwire broke Roger Maris single season home run record of sixty-one homers. It wasnt one of his long homers either; however, it barely cleared the 330 foot fence. McGwire also set the home run record for rookies at forty-nine homers in 1987. When McGwire steps into the batters box he is feared by pitchers and by coaches. McGwire has set all kinds of records since his college years at USC. McGwire is also the first player in his first four years to hit thirty of more homers in each season. Mark has also been proven to be one the most successful players of all time with his great achievements he has had throughout his career. In 1995 McGwire led the Major League for average home run distance with 418 feet. McGwire has also hit homers that have gone 538 feet long. McGwire is a serious man when

Conservative Perspective on Health Care Reform

Conservative Perspective on Health Care Reform Contrary to popular opinion, conservatives do indeed believe there is a need for health care reform. If there is one thing upon which Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives can agree, it is that the health care system in America is broken.The issue, then, is what exactly is broken about it. Liberals generally believe the only way to fix the system is for the government to operate it, the way Canada and the United Kingdom run their systems via universal health care. Conservatives, on the other hand, disagree with this notion and contend that the American government is wholly unequipped to take on such a huge endeavor, and even if it were, the resulting bureaucracy would be terribly inefficient like most government programs.Conservatives arent just naysayers, however. Their plan is more optimistic in tone because they believe the current system can be fixed with reform measures such as promoting competition between health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, reforming the Medicare payment system, establishing clear standards of care and ending the lottery court system by capping damage awards ordered by activist judges. Latest Developments Democrats on Capitol Hill have been floating the concept of a single-payer health care system similar to the ones currently in practice in Canada and the United Kingdom.Conservatives staunchly oppose this idea on the grounds that regardless of what filmmaker Michael Moore says government-run health care systems are notoriously slow, inefficient and costly.Before he was elected in 2008, President Barack Obama promised to save the typical American family $2,500 annually by reforming the insurance market and creating a National Health Insurance Exchange. In his press releases, the president claims the Obama/Biden plan will Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies.The National Health Insurance Exchange is ostensibly modeled after the Congressional health benefits plan. The plan would allow employers to reduce their premiums by switching most of their employees over to the government program (of course non-unionized workers would have n o say in the matter at all). The new nationalized health care plan would then absorb these new individual health care costs, bloating an already overburdened federal government even further. Background Costs surrounding the health care industry are inflated by three very particular elements, two of which involve the insurance industry. Because of (in many cases) preposterous court settlements that create a veritable lottery for plaintiffs seeking damages, liability insurance for health care providers is out of control. If doctors and other medical professionals want to continue to operate and generate a profit, they often have no choice but to charge exorbitant fees for their services, which are then passed along to the consumers insurance company. Insurance companies, in turn, raise premiums on the consumers. Physician and consumer insurance plans constitute two of the culprits in the high cost of health care, but both are related directly what is happening in American courtrooms.When consumer insurance companies receive the bills for these high-cost services, it is in their best interest to find reasons not to pay or reimburse the insured. In many cases, these companies are unabl e to successfully avoid payment (because in most cases the services are medically necessary), so not only the consumer but the insured consumers employer experiences a rise in health care insurance premiums, as well. Bottom line: activist judges, seeking to drive home a point or make an example of a particular physician, combine to drive up the costs of liability insurance, which in turn drives up the costs of health care insurance.Unfortunately, these problems with the health care system are compounded by an out-of-control pharmaceutical industry.When a pharmaceutical manufacturer makes an important discovery and successfully introduces a new medication into the health care market, the immediate demand for that medication creates a disproportionate rise in cost. Its not enough for these manufacturers to make a profit, these manufacturers must make a killing (literally, when certain consumers are unable to afford the medication they need).There are pills that cost upwards of $100 each in the retail market, yet cost less than $10 per pill to manufacture. When the insurance companies receive the bill for these very expensive medications, it is in their nature to attempt to find a way to avoid absor bing those costs. Between exorbitant physician fees, exorbitant pharmaceutical fees and exorbitant health insurance fees, consumers often cannot afford the health care they need. The Need for Tort Reform The main culprit in the battle over health care costs is the extensive damage awards doled out by activist judges every day across the country. Thanks to these inflated awards, defendants hoping to avoid a court appearance are left with no other option than inflated settlements.Conservatives realize, of course, that in many cases there are reasonable complaints against providers who misdiagnose, mismanage or neglect a consumers proper treatment. Weve all heard the horror stories about doctors who confuse patients, leave utensils inside surgery patients, or make an egregious misdiagnosis.One way to ensure plaintiffs receive justice, while keeping health care costs from becoming artificially inflated is to develop clear standards of care to which all physicians must abide, and assign clear penalties in the form of reasonable financial damages for breaches of those standards and other transgressions.This may sound eerily like the concept of mandatory minimum sentencing, but it is not. Instead, it sets maximum civil penalties, which judges may impose, with the maximum penalties being awarded for circumstances resulting in wrongful-deaths. For more than one transgression, more than one penalty would apply. Such guidelines could also urge jurists to be creative; requiring providers to perform specific community service or, in the case of physicians, pro-bono work for a specific segment of society.Presently, legal lobbyists have made imposing caps on damages virtually impossible. Lawyers have a vested interest in procuring the maximum penalty possible, since their fees are often a percentage of the settlement or award. Reasonable legal fees should also be built into any system placing caps on penalties to ensure settlements or awards actually go to intended parties. Extravagant lawyer fees and frivolous lawsuits do as much to drive up the high costs of health care as the scandalous damages awarded by activist judges. The Need for Competition Many conservatives believe families, individuals and businesses should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide to heighten competition for their business and provide a variety of choices.Further, individuals should be permitted to obtain insurance privately or through organizations of their choice: employers, churches, professional associations or others. Such policies would automatically bridge the gap between retirement and Medicare eligibility and cover multiple years.More choices in coverage is just one aspect of a free-market health care system. Another is allowing consumers to shop for treatment options. This would promote competition between conventional and alternative providers and make patients the center of care. Permitting providers to practice nationwide also would build genuine national markets and give consumers greater responsibility in their own health care decisions.Competition ensures the public is better educated about preventative health care and treatmen t options. It forces providers to be more transparent regarding medical outcomes, quality of care and the costs of treatment. It also means more competitive pricing. Lesser quality providers get weeded out, because like elsewhere in the free-market economy they get priced out of malpractice insurance and have no way to raise their prices. Developing national standards of care to measure and record treatments and outcomes ensures only top-quality providers remain in business.Dramatic reforms in Medicare would have to supplement a free-market health care system. Under this scenario, the Medicare payment system, which compensates providers for prevention, diagnosis and care, would have to be overhauled into a tiered system, with providers not being paid for preventable medical errors or mismanagement.Competition in the pharmaceutical market would force down drug prices and expand cheaper generic drug alternatives. Safety protocols permitting the re-importation of drugs would keep competition in the drug industry vigorous, as well. In all cases of health care competition, the consumer would be protected through enforcement of federal protections against collusion, unfair business actions and deceptive consumer practices. Where It Stands Democrats in the US House and Senate are preparing legislation that would include government-subsidized insurance plan and would require individuals and businesses to be covered or face financial penalties.Obamas vision of a National Health Insurance Exchange is a step closer to reality, while the nation is a step closer to universal health care.The governments entrance into the health insurance market could spell disaster for private insurers, which would be unable to compete. Adding further complications for the private health insurance industry are new mandates included in the bill that would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals based on their medical history.In other words, Democrats want to create a public health insurance program that competes with private companies, and at the same time, make it harder for private companies to stay in business.Conservatives, meanwhile, fear that the legislation could lead to an entire takeover of the health care ind ustry, thus implementing a model of European socialism in America.