Last Gasp

I just finished watching Uncle Barak's last attempt at getting support for his health care reform plan. I don't think that he made up enough ground to get the American people to go for it. The idea sounds great, but there just doesn't seem to be the means to get it done.

The two things that did irreparable harm are the public option and the total cost. A public option is no option. Period. He said that it would only insure less than %5 of Americans. Maybe to start. How many folks do you think will dump their existing insurance to get on the Obama-plan? I bet it will be.................................................alot. He mentioned a "marketplace" where folks could shop for an affordable plan. Who runs that? I bet it will be the Feds.

How about the cost? It was no longer the $1,000,000,000,000, (that's one trillion dollars) bit only $900,000,000,000 (900 Billion) over the next ten years. Tell me he's kidding. How in the hell does he expect to come up with the money? Oh yeah, he said that he find the money in cutting out the inefficiencies in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. And that would pay for most of it. I hope he can do it. It was something I suggested to him in an e-mail. But still, this is his final speech and he can't figure out how to get the cost down any farther than that.

But there was also the issue of requiring everyone to get insurance just like most states require auto insurance. What I think that Uncle Barak fails to realise is that fact that driving a car is a state created liberty interest, not a right granted by the Constitution. By driving a car you are not only taking a chance yourself, but also for others. In my opinion car insurance is a requirement. But health insurance is my business only. If I want to take a chance, that's on me. I don't need some pencil pusher in Washington telling me that I have to buy insurance or face a hefty fine.

I'm told that it's the people that don't have insurance that go to an emergency room that drive up the cost. That's only partially true. Sure people get help that don't have insurance or can't pay for it. But the biggest thing to me is personal responsibility when we go see our doctors. When your doctor offers a treatment plan, make sure that there is not a cheaper route.

Of course he took his obligatory shots at George Bush. Time to let it go Uncle Barak and start taking some responsibility for your actions, dreams and agenda. What's that, personal responsibility? Novel idea for a liberal.

I don't think we need the government involved in any more of our businesses. We need to make them sell our interests in Fannie and Freddie and Government Motors. Because after all they are doing so well with these companies, aren't they?

I wonder what plan Van Jones would have come up with.