Obama Healthcare Herbicide

For a long time now the Democrats have wanted to take control of America`s health care industry, bankrupting America

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That industry-16% of the Gross Domestic Product-is the one industry that has been growing over the last few years, adding 1.7 million new jobs since 2001, and the expanders of government power eye this tasty morsel hungrily. Hillary Clinton, with the blessings of her husband Bill, tried to seize it in a monumental attempt at "reform" back in the early 90s, a reform that would have forced "single payer" i.e. government funding onto the industry. This would have straight jacketed Americans into government-appointed "alliances" and would have ended health care as we know it, turning it into a fascistic entity where private medical entities would still exist but would have absolutely no authority over their own businesses. Hillary`s efforts weren`t the first; Ted Kennedy sponsored the creation of Health Maintenance Organizations in 1973, and he had nothing but glowing praise for them not just at the time he authored the bill, but 5 years later. This from the Senator at a March 1978 hearing;

"The current revival of the HMO movement should come as no surprise. HMOs have proven themselves again and again to be effective and efficient mechanisms for delivering health care of the highest quality. HMOs cut hospital utilization by an average of 20 to 25 percent compared to the fee-for-service sector. They cut the total cost of health care by anywhere from 10 to 30 percent. And they accomplish these savings without compromising the quality of care they provide their members."

The HMO itself was the insinuation of government deep into a private industry. Yet it was a vehicle, a means to an end, rather than the end itself. Kennedy would change his tune. Here`s what Kennedy had to say May 15, 2001:

"It is time to end the abuses of managed care that victimize thousands of patients each day. It is time for doctors and nurses and patients to make medical decisions again, not insurance company accountants. The American people deserve prompt action, and we intend to see that they get it"

Yet he makes no mention of his own role in the creation of these "abusive" institutions. In fact, Kennedy often insinuates that HMO`s are some sort of Republican plot, created by George W. Bush to hurt sick people. Why the turnaround? Because the HMO was the nose of the camel in the tent, a way to break the free market hold on health care. This was a logical starting point, because everyone gets sick at some point, and the notion of simply remaining sick because you cannot afford to get well is not one to which many Americans take kindly. Many would like health care to be a right, like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This was-and is-a winning issue for Socialists. And now President Barack Obama, the One, or as the Italians would say Il-Duce, is calling for a complete gut rehab of America`s health care system. Obama had this to say at the recent White House Health-Care forum:

"And today, there are those who say we should defer health care reform once again that at a time of economic crisis, we simply can't afford to fix our health care system, as well. Well, let me be clear: The same soaring costs that are straining families' budgets are sinking our businesses and eating up our government's budget, too. Too many small businesses can't insure their employees. Major American corporations are struggling to compete with their foreign counterparts. And companies of all sizes are shipping their jobs overseas or shutting their doors for good." "Medicare costs are consuming our federal budget; I don't have to tell members of Congress this. Medicaid is overwhelming our state budgets; I don't need to tell governors and state legislatures that. At the fiscal summit that we held here last week, the one thing on which everyone agreed was that the greatest threat to America's fiscal health is not Social Security, though that's a significant challenge; it's not the investments that we've made to rescue our economy during this crisis. By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care. It's not even close."

It is quite true that medical costs have skyrocketed in recent years. In fact they have been skyrocketing since Ted Kennedy gave us the solution in 1973. What Obama essentially wants is to turn the entire nation into a huge HMO, with government setting prices and treatments. Of course, Obama seems to be financially autistic; he lives in his own world when it comes to how business operates. That he would believe he could reform health care by making government the sole customer is illustrative of a complete lack of understanding of the mechanisms of the market. Let`s take an example; the U.S. defense industry used to consist of numerous providers (largely because they generally also had services in the private sector) but with only a single payer those multiple providers-and the cost benefits that competitive bidding bestowed-have slowly disappeared in an orgy of consolidation (which the government encouraged-easier to deal with fewer companies). What does that give us? $200 toilet seats and sweetheart deals. Remember the fury of the Democrats and Obama at Bush over no-bid contracts? Look at the demonization of Halliburton; why does Obama think Bush had to resort to no-bid contracts? Because there is no competition, since single-payer killed it. Obama plans to do likewise with health care. He believes that, if government sets wages and prices, the price gouging that we see in no-bid contracting will disappear. What he doesn`t realize is that wage and price controls have the effect of rationing services, and the better doctors will either quit or cease busting their humps because they won`t get adequately paid for it. The Soviets learned this terrible lesson; people won`t work harder than the next guy if they aren`t going to make more. Obama thinks he can change human nature. What is amazing is that Obama believes that a semi-private system like health care-an industry that is still growing-is a greater crisis than the imminent collapse of Medicare and then Social Security. None of his plans do a thing about these core entitlement programs, and their demise will likely mean the end of the United States government as we know it. This isn`t his concern; he`s more worried about seizing a private industry than reforming one that is about to founder. Why should we trust the people who mismanaged Medicare and Social Security with the medical industry? Obama continues;

"In this effort, every voice has to be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table. There should be no sacred cows. Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything that we want, and that no proposal for reform will be perfect. If that's the measure, we will never get anything done. But when it comes to addressing our health care challenge, we can no longer let the perfect be the enemy of the essential. And I don't think anybody would argue that we are on a sustainable path when it comes to health care. Finally, I want to be very clear at the outset that while everyone has a right to take part in this discussion, nobody has the right to take it over and dominate. The status quo is the one option that's not on the table, and those who seek to block any reform at all any reform at any costs will not prevail this time around."

So, Obama has dictated that those best positioned to offer constructive solutions-the people in the medical and insurance industries-are anathema. They will not be allowed to speak, they will not be heard. The hubris of this man is astonishing; he is reminiscent of Mao Tse-Tung in kicking off the Cultural Revolution; "Let a thousand flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend" but Mao had no intention of smelling any flowers but his own, and would roll tanks over the hundred schools that didn`t teach Marxism. Obama invites alternative viewpoints, but in the end he announces himself the Anointed and His Will Be Done-shut up and like it! The Republicans should take this as a golden opportunity; if Obama wants a thousand flowers they should be prepared to cram them into an anatomically uncomfortable place, his speech orifice. How about Tort reform? A large part of the spiralling health care costs stem from the enormous costs of malpractice insurance, a result of the greedy trial lawyer lobby (ardent supporters of Obama). How about streamlining Medicare, cutting down paperwork and having medicare actually pay what patients are charged? Currently it is illegal for a man in one state to purchase health insurance from a company in another state; why don`t we change this, making insurance companies compete? Why don`t we relax professional licensing regulations to give us more doctors, nurses, etc.? For years we have rationed health care because of the relatively low number of medical professionals; isn`t it time to boost their number? Why don`t we allow taxpayers to opt out of Medicare in favor of a personal Health Savings Account? All of these things will greatly reduce the price of medical care, making it possible for patients to pay it themselves or have affordable insurance they can buy themselves. More government is the last thing we need here. Now is the time to wage war! The Republicans can contrast their visions of a free market medical system with the tired and largely worthless systems employed by Canada, Australia, and Europe. The problem is not too little government oversight of the medical industry but far too much, and that is the reason why prices rise and quality and availability falls. The Republicans should come out firing with this, teaching the public the realities of the market and why a free market solution (this industry is not free market now) would improve things for everyone. At the very least, they can show Obama for the hypocrite that he is, because he will be forced to publicly reject any ideas coming from those hundreds of schools outside of his citadel of power. He likes to appear magnanimous; Republicans should hold his feet to the fire before he liberally applies herbicide. But too many in the GOP are busy licking their wounds and Obama`s steel-toed boots, and fear standing in the way of this radical man. If they do not grow a spine soon they will find themselves in the wilderness for decades to come, and America will surely go bankrupt in the coming years as we pay for the trillions of dollars squandered by the New Messiah without a word of protest. Another saying from China, one Mao Tse-Tung would doublessly recognize; "May you live in interesting times" was a curse, since interesting times generally meant bad ones. We live in interesting times.