Conservative view of the Health Care Debate
By Ric Joyner, CEBS, CFCI
This piece is a synopsis of health care at he Congressional recess break. I like to describe the health care reform or insurance reform as a maze. As I read the various news reports and political sides I start to get a picture painted with a variety of colors. I will describe the form of art as impressionistic. Hazy, varied in color, unclear images but the sense I get from the painting is frustration and anger.
Space Shuttle View
The economy is sputtering along. The stimulus package, although touted by President Obama as having an impact on the declining economy only $60,000,000,000 has been spent thus far! A great deal of the stimulus dollars were for pork projects that paid back those who helped get Obama elected. For the Obama Administration to declare the stimulus package is working strikes me as premature and harkens to President Bush’s “mission accomplished” in the early days of the Iraq war. This is important because President Obama needed the hurry up stimulus bill to stop the bleeding in the economy and this hasn’t worked. To add fuel to the fire the White House Budget Office just released they were $2,000,000,000,000 off target! This amount is about the same cost as the health care plan!
When a health care bill is looking for funding because President Obama wants a revenue neutral bill, in my opinion the money was just “miscalculated away” and now there is no money. If they miscalculated on the budget can’t we suppose they will miscalculate on the health care reform costs? This is a legitimate question that people are asking in the town halls. Another is how can the nation absorb another 1.5 trillion with unemployment at 9.4%? The tax man requires payment in the near future!
The public is angry and reacting. Some democrats are firing back and demonizing their opinions. The DNC is gathering their paid minions to go to town hall meetings and now they are going to have their own town hall meetings. This is another puzzling question for me is why if you disagree with the left wing position you are instantly labeled as ignorant, uninformed and the anti-christ? Oh yes the reason for the attacks is to minimize your opponent. That strategy is out of the Saul Alinsky playbook.
Ideology
I have yet to understand the left wing logic (fairness for all using the government) of people who are pushing to have the government involved in health care when we have 85% insured and 15% who aren’t. The democrats could easily find ways to fix those who are not insured.The cost is estimated at $24,000,000 to $49,000,000 depending on the coverage offered. My conclusion, and those who are protesting this intrusion into our lives, is that the decision of the democrats to create a government plan. To reiterate this goal Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House said today, “We will have a public option”. Thus, it must come down to ideology. Otherwise why spend money we don’t have to create a government run program that isn’t working in other countries except creating lines not health care.
The Future
As the recess comes to a close after labor day our Representatives hit the bargaining tables. Obama wants a bill
Summary
What knowledge is on the table to find our way through the maze? We know that the budget is 2 trillion dollars miscalculated. We know the CBO scored HR 3200 well above 1.5 Trillion (note this is $1500 billion). We know that the democrats have control of both houses and can decide to push a bill through and most likely will. We know that ideology versus covering the uninsured is driving the move to a government plan. We know that in most countries that have a government plan the citizens are demanding changes and so are some of the practitioners. We know that in HR3200 Congress has exempted itself form a government option, instead choosing their private health insurance programs! We know that cutting Medicare reimbursements means slicing services because a doctor or hospital will refuse to provide care that is not adequately funded.We know that health insurance is obsolete by 2012 according to the bill. We can see the push for a government run system at the expense of other fiscally sound strategies. We know that local protesters that opted to voice their opinions have been marginalized.
Obama is now “taking over” the agenda with a new health care speech to a joint session of congress. If I were looking at this “battle” for the hearts and minds of people, and healthcare reform with a government run program was the foundation signature of my presidency I would steel myself to the critics and do what was necessary to get what I believed was in the best interest of the nation.
That is why we must stop this socializing of American…now!