The cranky youth Robert Gibbs struggled and failed to explain the extravagant concoction of the Obamacare posting on the White House website. The Democratic caucus is less organized on Day 2 of the posting than Day 1. The Republican leadership is confused and lame and cowardly (why attend anything that is run by the Democrats for the Democrats?) but that ist not the issue this time. The Democrats are at each other's throats. Healthcare is the Titanic. No lifeboats left to launch as the White House has already filled them up.
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Iceberg Dead Ahead
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I don't often do this, but I'm submitting something (anonymously) that came to me only yesterday. I personally do not agree with any of this on any number of levels (incl. the NYT editorial referenced here). Still, it represents the heartfelt view of an intelligent, flesh and blood person I have known and respected for longer than I care to remember:
“Today my health insurance premiums were raised 40%. That's the same as last year's increase.
“Now, I may be able to take this in stride. Maybe not. We'll see. But I know I'm one of the lucky ones who (at least) has a chance.
“There are no easy answers, and every side has some has valid points of view. But the bottom line is that we have far too long waited for someone to push health care reform all the way through. This is expressed much better than I am able to in this NYT editorial...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/opinion/23tue1.html
“It is sensible, well written, and clear. It may not align with everyone's politics, but it rises above the fray in its call for a longer perspective, some patience, and the urgency of getting our representatives to start working to resolve rather than dissolve.
“I sure hope they get it.”
It is my hope that my friend’s comments here will generate some thoughtful responses.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/
All the points made by Peter may make you feel warm and fuzzy, but the fact is that too much Government is not a good thing for the individual person. America was established on the concept that the individual, not Government, is what makes our lives so much better than anywhere else on the earth because of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
Just ask the Canadian Official who chose to come to Miami for his heart procedure instead of using his National Health Care System. And now you want to reduce what is available in Miami to what they have in Canada, or worse? Where will the elite of the world go for health care if we destroy the American Health System? How do you think the common man will be treated under such a system? The short-term benefits you think you are going to get do not bode well for the long term disaster that must, of necessity, follow.
And remember, one data point does not make a trend. Anectdotal stories are emotional, but do not serve as a justification for the greater good.
HMichaelH – Good point! I agree with you 110%. The point of my post above is to make you and others aware of "the dog that doesn't bark" (on this website, at least). All of us 'regulars' are pretty much in agreement on the big issues. We quibble about the little things like who we might favor above others in our own camp. We're all agreed that big government socialism is bad; we're all agreed that the Dems are leading us to ruin; we're all agreed that Obama has been an unmitigated disaster for this country. The big thing we seem to disagree on is whether or not it’s deliberate.
There are, however, people on the other side - real people, flesh and blood people, intelligent people - who have bought into the big government spin; who wholeheartedly endorse what Obama is trying to accomplish. For them we’re eternally flirting with disaster. They always anticipate the worst. Their solution is anyone who claims to have a snake oil solution. They have their own reasons for this. Truly, anyone can look around and see that things are not going well. In many ways it seems worse than ever now. We and an increasing number of citizens blame Obama and his leftist, un-American, pie-in-the-sky policies. While the Left still blames Bush and Republicans and, increasingly, the (falsely) supposed stupidity of the American people.
In the end it’ll come down to raw numbers. And this will depend on how many either side can convert wholesale. There is no longer a middle ground. The center has collapsed. Those who insist on staying in the middle have forsaken both sides – one of which will ultimately win out.
America has a political system that encourages corruption, medicare and Medicaid corruption is out of control. Canada has a system of "Good Government" and going after fraud.
Each individual state regulates insurance, a small state can keep competition out.
I do not have a solution, and I do not trust the Federal Government to look out for my Interests.
I have some healthcare questions. In this great national quarrel has anyone addressed anything like these?
where is the Moore's Law of healthcare? why aren't drugs like semi-conductors? why isn't medical equipment? Why aren't medical imaging devices "mass market" items? Is bleeding edge technology subject to diminishing returns?
where is the Demming insight that improving quality results in lowering cost?
is there a a pareto analysis of what we spend on? 80/20 rule?
Do doctors learn about cost in medical school as engineers might?
If 17% is too much of the economy to devote to healthcare, what are the other things that are more important to spend on?
who should decide for granny? Ed Koch's new heart gear cost $1MM. I think it was worth keeping that old man around.
What is more valuable to me, granny or a bass boat? Little old ladies are precious as are babies. Economic analysis of the value of humans in terms of their productive capacity should send chills down our spines.
Cuban doctors may be quite skilled, but the issue is that when they decide to go to Miami they find out they are slaves. The implicit assumption in govie care is that cost control can be achieved once the govies have monopoly power because then they can dictate cost. yeah sure.
my sense of the current debate is that it is all either armchair ideology or inside-baseball-wonkitude.
The grown ups haven't come into the room yet.
February 24, 2010
To the Editor:
Submarines have always fascinated me. Their role in the last century cannot be overstated. From the simple man powered submarines of the civil war to the USS Nautilus’s journey under the North Pole to the modern submarines that form a critical part of the US nuclear deterrent. As over engineered as these ships are, when a torpedo hits, decisions have to be made to save the ship. Sometimes those decisions have to be made under extreme stress, and the result of the orders leads to the death of fellow crew mates. As one space fills with water, pulling the ship inexorably to the bottom, a sailor in the dry space must close the hatch to save the ship.
The United States is analogous to a submarine wounded by enemy action. Instead of an enemy firing a torpedo, we, via all of our poor political leadership have fired one upon ourselves. The political classes collective record, how ever well intentioned, has lead us here, through massive spending, borrowing, and making promises to citizens that cannot be met. Character at a point of pressure is the most important asset a leader, officer, or soldier possesses. Why? Because sometimes it is necessary to close the hatch to save the ship. The question to my mind is which party possesses the capacity to do that now.
While the collusion of both parties are to blame for our sinking ship. It is the Republican party that is desperately trying to close the hatch and save the ship. The Republican party is standing against three pieces of legislation that will forever resign this nation to a continual decline and eventual ruin. The first is commonly understood to be “health care,” this legislation will forever alter a citizens relationship to their government. If it passes medical attention will become a right that must be met by force of law. As the saying goes, if you want to make something expensive, make it free. The failure of this solution to meeting the medical needs of people is deeply felt by those who lost loved ones because the English or the Canadian governments denied vital care. Liberal Democrats have another scheme to launch on the American people this one is called “Cap and Trade” - essentially this nightmare would allow the federal government to tax a citizen when they drive, breath or turn on the light switch. Kirsten Gillibrand has personally advocated for it in the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, I assume Senator Gillibrand expects that by creating the next Wall Street scam will lead to voluminous campaign contributions on the back of the American taxpayer. Finally, there is “Card Check,” this gem would eliminate the secret ballot from the process by which a business goes from being a non-union to a union shop. Thus, the Union leadership would be in a position to put massive pressure on those who voted “no.” Republicans have stood, and are standing against all of this - in fact on the “Cap and Trade” front Republicans have earned bipartisan opposition to it.
All the while the water is rushing into our ship and the choice must be made in nine months; will the citizens of this great nation choose to stand with the leadership of the liberal democratic party, that is trying to keep the hatch open, so we all go down, or will the American people choose to stand with the Republican party, that is trying to close the hatch? I have confidence that the American people are ready to not only support the Republican party, but help close the hatch and save the ship. America is ready to sacrifice all but our liberty and our economic freedom - this has, and will always be true, and has happened in the past, it is “We The People” leading the charge. Right now the only organized political party that has the capacity to close the hatch is the Republican party.
Faithfully Yours,
Well stated. Your submarine analogy goes even further than what you are suggesting. I heard something in passing on Glenn Beck this morning. It’s positively chilling how long the Left has worked on pushing their agenda, not just on America, but also the world. On the surface, the hook they use is the promise of eternal peace. The ‘peace movement’ was the forerunner of the ‘global warming’ hoax. It got traction because the ‘absence of war’ has always been a worthy, if unattainable, goal for any thinking people. Yet, war seems to be hard wired into the protocol of global politics. It is the only remedy for when differences in the expectations of diverse populations become insurmountable. In the end, you once again have a level playing field in the shared memory of the horrors of war and kindled a desire to once again begin working together and compromise for the common immediate need to reconstruct some sense of stability. Note that many of the arguments we are currently having preclude compromise. This is dangerous and can only result in the unthinkable.
Even though this seems to be how the fabric of the human community is structured with its predictable cycle of horrors seemingly woven in, liberal and progressive think tanks have been busy working up schemes whereby the continuum of natural human history can be distorted to eliminate certain inconvenient truths: war, for instance. So, it was thought that by linking the world’s economies into an unbroken chain, no population would ever again risk a tear in this now single bolt of fabric. We’ve seen much of Europe, for example, choosing a single currency with which to conduct business. We see the ME oil producing nations advocating for a single petro-dollar. We see the Asia-Pacific rim contemplating something along the lines of what Europe has done. All the while, the U.S. dollar has been the unofficial standard of world currency.
This is like your analogy to the air-tight chambers of a submarine. If the world were to adopt a single currency – a single economic system – to bring all countries under the same umbrella as the globalist envisions, there would be no more chambers; no way to close the hatches. A rogue nation like Zimbabwe could be the tear that renders the entire cloth useless.
Will the dollar hold? Will we be able to forestall world-wide financial Armageddon? It’ll all depend on (and I keep coming back to this) whether or not we are willing to admit mistakes and hold people accountable. Without this, the system simply fails and no one is at fault. While pains are taken to discover whether a church or house fire is accidental or deliberate, we seem to be unconcerned as to the source when it comes to an attack on our financial systems.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/
"(why attend anything that is run by the Democrats for the Democrats?)"
Why not? As long as they don't agree to anything, what's to lose as far as the optics? Everyone understands that the Dems think they can get a publicity advantage by portraying the Republicans as uncooperative. They'll do that any way, regardless of what the Republicans do. So why not get a photo op out of it?
Mr Gibbs, what is your opinion of the Economy?
Very Very Strong, Unsinkable.
they say alcoholics don't reform until they've hit bottom. the addiction we have as a society for government to fix all has not run its course. we need to hit bottom. I don't know what that is yet. But I'm following the increasingly frequent fiscal crises hitting states, municipalities (US too) and the crux of the matter seems to always involve public employees unions and pensions. we are awakening to the fact that over the past 30 years civil servant have the the civil masters in terms of pay and perqs and job security. This standoff must run its course. Some state, perhaps NJ or CA will bust the union. Or the non-public employees will force the issue.
Default and bankruptcy will also be in the cards, in spades. Muni bond-holders will get tanked. States will be unable to borrow, go to cash in cash out operation, all the endless list of crap we've come to expect from government will cease (e.g., local thespian support, statues, research into useless trivia). Bankruptcy will force the hand of politicians but it will be painful.
We have tooooo many people sucking on the taxpayer tit. Greece 2010, USA 2012. you watch.
We're broke and as Lorn Green used to say, "who pays??--you do!."
In a normal market, if your insurance provider was increasing your rates 40% you would go find a different provider immediately, not go complain to your Congressman. I undertsand that pre-existing conditions or general health will affect how much better an offer can be had from a competitor, but that doesn't stop me from shopping for the best combination of price and quality when shopping for auto or life insurance.
It also reminds me of the 'too big to fail' banks. It is likely more effective for the government to step back and let the companies fear of failure drive them towards best practices, rather than using even more government regulatory micro-management to ensure the company is operated properly.