Mark Twain once said “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”

This is a case where the ’statistics’ can be misleading. Here’s how: everyone has a cell phone these days. So, it’s logical that everyone that is in a car accident has a cell phone. Statistics will show that a significant number of people in car accidents have cell phones. But, that doesn’t mean the cell phones caused the accidents. For example, everyone also has a radio, CD or MP3 player. That doesn’t mean that these devices cause the accidents and it doesn’t mean that cell phone cause accidents.

For example, a widely quoted Insurance Institute for Automobile Safety reported that drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to be in an accident than those that are not using cell phones. Remember that more than four times as many people use cell phones as those that don’t. The report is misleading.

Then some people saying that just talking is the problem. Give me a break! Don’t tell me states are going to pass laws to make it illegal to talk while driving. That’s absurd.

The Louisiana Senate recently refused to pass a law prohibiting cell phone use while driving.

In fact, the number of crashes has been declining according to U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Statistics data for the years 2000 through 2005.

2000 - 6,393,000 automobile crashes
2001 - 6,322,000 automobile crashes
2002 - 6,316,000 automobile crashes
2003 - 6,328,000 automobile crashes
2004 - 6,181,000 automobile crashes
2005 - 6,159,000 automobile crashes

Many people believe that the hysteria about the use of cell phones while driving will drive people to demand legislation to limit cell phone use while driving, but the legislation will not reduce the number of crashes. No more than preventing the listening to music. The legislation will benefit cell phone stores that will sell hands free devices to everyone in a state.

Should we pass a law prohibiting the use of drive through fast food restaurants? Let’s be realistic about cell phone use and accidents. These laws are intrusive and unnecessary.

The best part of his plan is it creates a fundamental shift away from a healthcare plan that is subsidized by employers. It does this by providing a cash benefit of $5,000 annually for families to purchase health insurance or $2,500 for an single person to purchase healthcare insurance.

This means that people will no longer be tied to an employer for healthcare. Despite the improvements in portability, I know of someone at my company that cannot change change jobs, because they have a preconceived condition.

It also means that the vast majority of Americans will be able to get health insurance regardless of their job or the company they work for. Probably every person in the United States has a family member that doesn’t have healthcare. My self employed brother embodies the American entrepreneurial spirit and sadly he doesn’t have healthcare. McCain’s healthcare plan will change this inequity.

When looking at the healthcare issue, the population can be divided into two very different groups. Those that have healthcare insurance and those that don’t. The overwhelming majority of people with healthcare get it through their employer and their employer negotiates competitive premiums and, in most cases, the employer pays for a portion of the employee’s healthcare. Ooops! Isn’t that the definition of “subsidized”? Someone else is paying a portion of the employees cost of healthcare. And as everyone knows the group that doesn’t have healthcare works in unskilled, low paying jobs or is unemployed or self employed.

It’s about time that this country switch from an employer subsidized healthcare program to a government subsidized healthcare program. Don’t be fooled and scared by the scare mongers about socialized medicine. because subsidized healthcare is not the same as socialized healthcare. We need a subsidization plan that is available to all Americans and not just the fortunate few that have a skilled, high paying jobs.