Pass along a news tip by clicking HERE.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Cincinnati Tea Party Founder's British Boss Can't Profit From Socialized Med If Wrongly Listed As CEO Of Firm With UK Healthcare Pact

Captured from Firstpoint's homepage
IMPORTANT UPDATE: 10/15/10 12:36 pm -- I just changed the headline.  An e-mail has arrived from PCMS Datafit Inc., the company that employs Mike Wilson, saying that the John Court in Britain who is the CEO of PCMS is not the same John Court who runs Firstpoint Healthcare.  The e-mail said the information contained in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek executive profile and biography is incorrect.  Bloomberg says, "John Court serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Firstpoint Healtcare Ltd. and PCMS Datafit Inc."   This is what came in the e-mail:
 
"There are (at least) two John Court’s in the UK.  One is “ours” and is the CEO of PCMS (partially represented below).  The other John Court is the CEO, we assume, of Firstpoint.  They are definitely different people.  While PCMS’ John Court is aware of the other John Court, they have not met and he did not know he was the CEO of Firstpoint."

The Daily Bellwether passed along a link that would allow Bloomberg to correct its data, and the PCMS e-mailer said she would seek a correction:  I appreciate the link as I will attempt to contact Bloomberg to rectify the inaccuracy on their end.

Hopefully, that straightens out any confusion over the two CEOs in Britain who are named John Court.  PCMS is working to show Wilson's CEO does not have anything to do with FirstPoint, the National Health Service contractor.      

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Investment research data compiled by Bloomberg lists Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson's British boss as CEO of Firstpoint Healthcare Ltd., which holds contracts with Britain's National Health Service. On its website, Firstpoint describes itself as "proud" to have a contract with England's governent-run healthcare system, as the accompanying document shows.  Wilson is running as a Republican for the Ohio House (District 28) in suburban Cincinnati. Wilson is challenging State Rep. Connie Pillich, a Democrat who is a lawyer and former U.S. Air Force captain. Wilson says he will: "Support nullification legislation should Congress pass a health care bill that requires consumers to purchase government-approved insurance." Wilson paints Pillich as backing out of control government spending programs, yet corporate financial data makes it looks like Wilson's bread is being buttered by execs profiting from socialized medicine in England. Wilson says he works for PCMS Datafit Inc., an IT and data-mining firm. Bloomberg says the CEO of Datafit also holds the same job at Firstpoint, which is based in Birmingham, England.  Here's a snippet from Bloomberg:

"Key developments for Firstpoint Healthcare Limited
Firstpoint Healthcare Limited Wins Multiple Awardees Contract for Nursing Services
Firstpoint Healthcare Limited won a multiple awardees contract award from NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency for the supply of nurses of all bands and sub-job families including community services nurses, dental nurses, health visitors, midwives and theatre nurses to all NHS bodies within England and any other named organizations within the United Kingdom. No contract amount was specified (Ref. No.: CM/ANS/08/4961)."  Firstpoint is a subsidiary of Servoca, another British corporation that has numerous government contracts, including some with the National Health Service.

Meanwhile, Wilson says he's going to oppose government programs here: "Our Constitution was written based on the principle that governmental power is derived from the consent of the governed and that the most effective government is exercised as close to the people as is possible. Over the last 120 years, arrogant politicians have subscribed to the fatal conceit that a one-size fits all federal government could more effectively direct our country than the 50 states or hundreds of millions of people scattered across our fruited plains. As a result, the federal government has continually asserted new powers beyond those enumerated specifically, and contrary to the 10th amendment."

Wilson has been endorsed by the Ohio Tea Party PAC.  Its candidate survey says endorsed candidates have to support limited government, and candidates are expected to "support the Healthcare Freedom Amendment of the Ohio Constitution that would overturn the recently passed federal health care mandate."  But the Bloomberg data shows he works for British bosses, who run businesses that make money from nationalized health care.

UPDATE: 11:50 am -- Just noticed the comments.  Yes, Britain's National Health Service does pay for abortions.  This link will take you to the NHS and its abortion policies. I don't know that the Tea Party has a position on Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the United States.   The first anonymous commenter makes an interesting point, but there is a counter argument.  If you work for a company that owns casinos, it would be difficult to say you are opposed to gambling; if you work for a gun maker, it is hard to say you are opposed to guns; if you work for the government, or a company that derives income from the government, it is hard to say that you really believe the government should go out of business.

UPDATE 2: 10/08/2010 5:10 pm -- Righty Ohio blogger Matt Hurley at
Weapons of Mass Discussion is hacked at me for posting about Mike Wilson and his British CEO's contract with Britain's socialized healthcare system. Hurley thinks it is the kind of stuff that will drive good citizens away from seeking public office. Hmm. Not quite up there with "Ma, ma where's my pa. He's in the White House, ha, ha, ha." But Hurley is entitled to his opinion and you should read it. That is the point of the Internet and blogs -- to let it all hang out, to unplug the corks that bottled up the flow of information.  That way you get to decide what is interesting or useful, or not.  So click on the link above to see what Matt Hurley has to say.  Here's a sample: "Complete nonsense from top to bottom.  Really, Bill, you are better than this... Is it just me or is all the stupid people out with the most frivolous and irrelevant rubbish they can find during this election cycle?  Or am I just getting too old for this crap?" By the way, Matt Hurley's blog has the coolest name in the blogosphere.

9 comments:

  1. This is quite literally the most ludicrous leap in logic I have ever seen in print.

    By this line of thinking, no one can have sincere political views different from that of their employer.

    Seriously?

    Its the most nonsensical thing I've ever read.

    I'd argue that at least half of Americans (duh!) dont agree with their employers on a whole host of issues.

    Stick with substantive points. This just makes no sense at all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. His employer is engaged in the kind of things that the Tea Party opposes on principle. If he worked for the communist party, that would be ok? Because didn't agree with Marx and Lenin? You'd be screaming conspiracy. So let me ask, does the NHS perform abortions? Do the workers at the healthcare company perform abortions? Anon, you are just a sucker.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wilson is free to advocate whatever he wants. What I get from the story is that he's risking pissing off his boss by bad-mouthing the new national health care plan when his boss' other company feeds at the trough of the UK's national health care plan. That's between him and his boss, and PCMS Datafit doesn't appear to benefit from the Firstpoint-NHS contract, but you have to wonder if Wilson is happy for his boss' fortunes with Britain's socialized health care system.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, what a bunch of garbage. I also worked for this company (PCMS Datafit) at one point. There is no connection between the activites of PCMS Datafit's US based business and the healthcare company you refer too. It's an IT consulting company in Cincinnati with many clients in the Cincinnati area and if you look at Wilson's website he's in IT, not healthcare. Mike Wilson must be a pretty regular guy if you have to go to these lengths to try to "prove" he isn't. That or you are trying to stir up trouble for him so he gets fired from his job. God help this poor guy who's trying to do the his civic duty.

    ReplyDelete
  5. *yawn*

    Someone wasted their time on this?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Now we know a little more than we knew before. Is Wilson even an American citizen? Double standard: Fine for the wingnuts to ask about Obama; offensive to ask about a Tea Party zealot. Wilson should have more scrutiny. The Cincinnati Enquirer is too lazy to do any work.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ok, so you all know that Mike Wilson MUST be the best guy for the job if this is where his opponents feel they need to go to discredit him! Really? Hey, did you know that Mike Wilson's boss', cousin's wife works for a doctors office in Canada.....and we KNOW how Canada handles THEIR healthcare! People, please, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. OR, in this case, if Mike Wilson is giving you a run for your money and you can't take it, just get out of the race!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So is Mike Wilson really a pagan from Iceland who worships the Norse gods? Where is his birth certificate to prove he's an American citizen? All we know is what he says about himself. How about proof?

    ReplyDelete
  9. This article is a sad one. An attempt to create guilt by association.

    Mike is an employee of a company that is financed by the UK, but is a US legal company, registered as a delaware corporation.

    If you have not realized we live in a global economy, I feel sorry for you. Acquisition is a state of affairs that is so common in the US, that for a UK company to do it, we apparently view that as a special interest. In reality, its common, and is a practice used by US companies to expand and contract. The company is mid-sized by UK standards, and matches many others that are European owned, yet US run.

    Note that PCMS is PLC, meaning it adheres to all required standards outlined by both US and UK publicly traded companies, even though it is private. Mike's influence on that as a mid- manager, is non-existent. He is a working man a part of the world we live in, accept it, or continue to make sad attempts to throw stones at it, only to realize that our economy is built on the very thing you are attacking..

    ReplyDelete