Peaceful "Protest," Obamacare's Cost, Competition And A Great Job

*The most peaceful “protest” in years. Congratulations to the hundreds of thousands of caring, concerned Americans who gathered on the Washington Mall last Saturday, for Glenn Beck’s huge rally on behalf of God and country. Even the liberal media had trouble making you folks look bad. Not only were you the best-behaved gathering Washington has ever seen, you were also the neatest. The grounds were actually cleaner when you left than when you arrived. Nice going!

*The price of Obamacare continues to climb. A friend just sent me this note: “Six months after healthcare ‘reform’ was signed into law, my company received its renewal on its company health program. Our rates have more than doubled due to the various new requirements in the measure.” And he added sarcastically, “Thank you, Obama.” I’m afraid this is just the first of many thousands of shoes that will be falling. Wait ’till you hear about next year’s tax increases.

*So that’s what competition means. The Wall Street Journal ran a lengthy analysis a few days ago of the incredible variation in the price of airline tickets. The range was from nine cents per mile flown to 99 cents. Why are some routes 11 times higher than others? Here’s the Journal’s not-so-surprising conclusion: “It’s the number of competitors and the quality of the competition.” Can we all say “duh”?

*Try to annualize that paycheck. When Jonathan Chadwick was made the new chief financial officer at McAfee three weeks ago his deal included stock options on more than 200,000 shares of the company’s stock. Two weeks later, when Intel bought the company, his options jumped in value by more than $4 million. Congratulations, Jonathan. That was certainly a good day’s work.

— Chip Wood