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"Mr. Hamilton's argument on sales tax and larger government falls in line with some health care studies. They showed that if Doctors and clinics listed the cost of each procedure where consumers could see them, and customers were responsible for at least part of the bill, the cost of both offered and total provided services went down compared to the much more anonymous insurance-pays-all approach.
There's a good book I've been reading, "The Lean Startup" by Eric Reis, available at Amazon.com for less than $30. It discusses, among other things, how in many large businesses separate departments come to demand more and more of the pie, and sabotage other departments. In other words, office politics. Wouldn't it be nice if we could dispense with the bickering between dogmatic politicians, and concentrate on what works? Reis offers a way out that he shows can apply to all types of organizations, from business startups, to innovation centers in large companies, and to government and non-profit agencies.
Further, his suggestions for innovation "sandboxes" may show the way to improve the outcomes of the "technology incubators" that so often provide more promise than results. If Oklahoma were to consider this approach, it might get more people off the dole and back to work quicker. It would even help just to have State support in paying fees for Provisional Patent and Trademark Applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In the interest of full disclosure, I live on disability and the State dole. I have three engineering degrees and a Ph.D., all currently useless. I'm stuck on the dole because if I earn just one dollar more a month, I suddenly lose many more dollars in State benefits that add up to $160 to $170 a month in expenses. A hit I can't take. This is no myth. A nice lady at DRS laid it out for me.
What if the State, using all the methods advocated by Reis, started doing small scale experiments in changing DHS rules and OSBDC programs to see if more people could get off the dole, and create jobs and businesses. Wouldn't it be worth a try? It's called split-testing, and has been proven to work in business. It wouldn't be kicking people off the dole or cutting benefits to save money. It would using some seed money to find the best ways, plural, to get the American dream back on track. Whatever works. How could either political Party rationally disagree with that?
I've heard that the Legislature is considering changes in DHS rules. If you have read Reis' book and happen to agree, please feel free to print this out and send it to your State and Federal representatives, along with your own comments."
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