You knew it was coming. I have tried to read over the new health care bill, and I must say it is dizzying to say the least, but let me put my two cents on this. First of all we all knew this legislation was going to get passed. As I mentioned before on this blog, I was surprised Obama did not get this passed before, but I believe the Republicans used the shift in public opinion regarding the new president to block his legislature before. However he did what any good Chicago politician would do and he bullied his bill through with and earmark and a hand out to any of those still on the fence. It is frustrating the way our govt works sometimes. What surprises me is the uproar that this has caused. If I remember correctly this has been Obama's big piece of legislature since he started campaigning and a vote for change was a vote for health care reform. Who can argue that the health care system in this country is not flawed? I don't for a second believe that this is the end to our health care problems, but I do believe it is a start.
To all my conservative friends out there, lets relax a bit on the empty rhetoric. I have been hearing a lot about how we are doomed, Obama has screwed this country, the deficits are going to be so large that are kids, children, will be paying this off years and years from now. Oh and my favorite parents are supposed to pay off the mortgage to the farm before they move on, not take on a second one. Those are not truths, that is a divisive line drawn in the sand. Basically saying the Democrats are all responsible for this, and we will stand on the opposite side of the room screaming at how wrong they are. The Republicans had their shot at modifying this bill, a vast majority of conservatives want to see Health Care reform as well, but have sat idol. Now that we have some reform I find it funny at how many conservatives are basically saying, we could have done it better. Now with that being said, this bill has created the most polarizing split in this country that I can ever remember. In all honestly I feel like about 70% of the population should look at this bill and see the flaws and be upset with it. The other 30% should be happier than shit, because this is going to provide them with world class health care provided by the govt. So I can see why so many people are upset, because it is one of the most expensive bills in our history and its true benefits will only effect roughly 25% of the population. While the entire population, especially the middle and upper classes will have to pay for it. The biggest complaint I hear is the costs and who is going to pay for this. I honestly think this is going to lead a national sales tax. Something I am completely against, but I am not naive enough to think you can rob from medicare to pay for health care to 30 million people that are currently without. If it was that easy we would have done it years ago. Either that or larger taxes on the middle and upper classes. Nobody in this country wants to see anyone go uninsured, but the middle and upper class also don't want to pay for a bill that will only benefit those who cannot afford insurance or those whom are refused health care.
Who is right and who is wrong? It can never be that simple, but my thought is we are heading in the right direction. Health care needed to be reformed and it is simple as that. Do i think it is right that every person is demanded to have health care? No. In fact I think Barack and the democrats have violated the constitution by making it so, and I see that a few states attorney generals agree with me there. However I don't see this as the end of liberty as we know it. Snoopy wont be replaced by Joe Biden on the blimp. Yes govt has expanded its reach further into the private sector. Basically turning insurance companies into utilities. That is the negative. The positive is the govt will be regulating one the biggest money makers in this country. Hopefully with that regulation we see lowered overall costs on health care. Do I like the govt running what is an essence 1/6th of the economy? Of course not, however I do not see how else these major corporations could be regulated if the govt did not step in. I mean we saw with the banks that the govt does need to have the ability to come in and regulate. I didn't agree with the bank bailouts but if you have been paying attention it has worked to some degree, and most banks have paid that money back with interest. It goes for against a lot of the things I stand for but it is a reality that capitalism will only widen the gap between the rich and the poor. This is leaving the sick, the weak, the less fortunate behind, with no shot at a prosperous life, and I find nothing democratic about that. I dont want to get too far off tangent, but if I am a poor person today without any health care, I have to think that Mr Obama is doing what he said he would, and for that I commend him.
Now with all that being said, President Obama, may have signed his political death wish with this bill. As I mentioned before, it is a very interesting time for this bill to go through when the economy is just starting to recover from one of the worse recessions we have seen. The democratic party is extending its hands to all forms of the private sector from the banks, to General Motors, and now onto the insurance companies. That is a scary thought in my opinion, and something I believe that is shared with most Americans. Now is when Barack is going to have to go into heal mode, because he has angered many of those who have put him into office. If you weren't paying attention, the democratic party had to buy off many votes to actually get this bill passed, and I can guess those dems that didn't want to vote for this bill (because there constituency will have their heads!) only did so because they were ear marked or paid off to do so. I understand that is politics, but I think we will see in 10' and 12' if people still want that change they wanted so desperately years before. In my estimation, people like to hear the things that President Obama was preaching in his campaign, but in reality the costs of that change can just be too drastic. We shall see.
Finishing up this rant, I just want to say, lets wait and see. This bill is the vision of a lot smarter people than myself. I believe it has a chance to work. Obviously the reform is not done, this was just a starting point. It will continue to get modified by the next administration and the one after that, and the one after that. Hopefully at some point in my life time, the govt has fixed the problem with health care. In fact I will even say I am optimistic that this is indeed a good start. However I want to warn the democrats that their vast reach and excessive spending may be overstepping the boundaries of what the govt is meant to do. I think the American public puts an emphasis on fiscal responsibility, especially in a time when unemployment approaches 8%, and to me this administration has shown none. The deficit to me is just one concern however, as I think it will be real interesting to see what happens to the quality of health care in this country. Honestly that is my biggest concern. Will the quality of coverage suffer when the reach extends to everyone? I think that ultimately that answer will be yes. It leaves me wondering is the well being of the nation as a whole better than the well being of myself? It is hard for me to answer that right now. I think that is the question a lot of people will be asking themselves in the near future, and I will say that is a very import ideological question to look at when you go to vote this fall and again in 12'. The people in the country were begging for change, and now they have it. It has caused a polar divide that is as big as I have ever seen, and I am curious as too what the public will have to say going forward. Personally I find it hard to believe that a government so split on what is right for this country can actually think that they can fix one of the largest problems this country faces.
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Hat tip to burglekutt for sending me this link. It is a great follow up to my post, and why I feel like this type of legislature was truly neccasary, even if we dont really see the true effects for 50 or so years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/24leonhardt.html?hp
Obama even admitted that this could, and probably will kill his political carreer. As to requiring everyone to get healthcare by 2014, I have a strong feeling that the requirements will change regarding that during the pass along process of this bill.
This bill is probably the most impressed I have been with Barack. He basically is saying this legislation is what I am going to be known for whether it takes me down or not. I like that he stands by his values and will not deviate from the plan. Only time will tell whether this is sets him apart from other presidents, but I have to say his politics in getting this bill passed were quite impressive. A real Chicago gangster in my opinion.
Tasty, I tend to agree that we had to do something. There can be no doubt that there are mistakes, oversights, over-reaches and other problems in this bill. That's the nature of the beast. That is going to happen with any new major overhaul of an industry. Those problems will become apparent, and the legislature will have to address them to keep their jobs. But... it is a start.
If it truly is as bad as the critics say, it won't last long. If some parts of it work and some parts don't, we'll see some changes. I don't think it can be as great as the left thinks, and I don't think it can be as bad as the right says - as if Satan himself drafted it and the Democrats will be raping small children under this law. I think at the minimum, we'll learn a few things about what encourages efficient, comprehensive health care, and what puts too much financial weight and regulatory burden on the process.
I don't think you can solve this problem without trying a few things and seeing what works.
Speaking of the partisan bullshit, the Chicago gangster stuff? Really? He's not the first politician to push through a controversial agenda, but he did get Congress to pass it. I thought the more gangster thing was the previous administration flat out breaking the law, violating the Constitution and doing all kinds of gangster shit on the down-low without consulting with or trying to sell it to anybody on Capitol Hill.
Tk,
All I meant by the gangsta shit is that Obama, really had to work his game to push this thing through. Basically runnin shit. I am not sure exactly what you speak of with the last administration, and I am sure all administrations have done this to some extent, but I thought it was especially impressive, when Barack had so much political capital at stake when pushing this bill through. It is just a very radical bill, and to get absolutely no support from the republicans it was impressive that he was able to push it through. I like to see that as the President, I personally thought our last administration had a terrible time getting anything done, besides getting involved with a war, and we all know how Bush was able to get support for that disaster. Anyways that was not meant to be a knock on Barack, I have been quite impressed with how he has pushed his legislature and how he has demanded the support from the democratic party even though it will probably cost several of them there jobs.
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