That Fact-Killing Health Care Bill

I don't like the Affordable Care Act.  It is yet another boondoggle for the health insurance industry, a compromise wherein the big powerful group gets a whole lot bigger and more powerful, and the rest of us get, well, a little more health care.

Yet we needed that little bit more health care so desperately that we allowed the big guys to bully us into accepting it as better than nothing.

And, according to the Congressional Budget Office, ObamaCare will actually serve to decrease the deficit.  It makes sense, if the insurance companies are being forced, kicking and screaming, to provide health care to those who would turn to the government because they had no health care.  And then there are those who are only remaining employed because they need the health coverage, who would retire and open up jobs for people currently unemployed and for whom the government must give assistance, meager though it is.

So when a pollster asks if I'm happy with ObamaCare, or, as Rasmussen calls it when they poll, "the health care bill", I can either say yes, which isn't true, or I can say no, which is also not true.  What I do know, is that the republic party wants to repeal the whole thing.  And I am fairly sure, based on past behavior of the same old gang of republicans that is running things now, if that were to happen, there would be no health care reform.

No more ability to insure with pre-existing conditions.  No more allowing children up to age 26 to be included in a family's health care plan.  No more incentives for small business owners to insure their employees.

People stuck in jobs because to move or retire could mean loss of insurance benefits.

Now let's assume that the repeal of ObamaCare is defeated.  Could this mean less profit for insurance companies?

I think not.

Because with all the hot air over Congress regarding health care, the health insurance industry will be well protected.  Unlike the rest of us, they will have lawyers and members of congress, republican and democrat, figuring out ways to minimize the harmful effects that the devastating loss of profit will have on the industry.  After all, it was nearly a year ago that we learned that the health insurance industry earned record profits (56%) in 2009 over 2008, and no one expects that profits will have dwindled in 2010.  Health care bill or not, it is fairly certain that the primary purpose of the health care industry is going to remain increasing its profits.

No matter what else you may think about our Congress, it is safe to say that they are in business to protect the corporate sector.  All the rhetoric you are hearing about the "job-killing", "job-destroying", "job-mangling", "job-insert-scary-adjective here" bill, the bottom line is that the jobs that are being protected are those of wealthy insurance CEO's -- oh, and of our members of Congress.

Toning Down the Rhetoric

Words really can't express the horrific nature of the violence wrought in Arizona over the weekend, although everyone wants to keep trying.  But for every politician or pundit that sincerely talks about toning down the rhetoric, there is at least one other one that makes sure to stand his/her ground, re: how wrong the other side is and how hard they have to keep fighting to make sure the other side doesn't do horrible things to our democracy.

For example, on This Week with Christiane Amanpour yesterday, fake Tea Party windbag Dick Armey, in response to the question about toning down the angry rhetoric, went on and on ad nauseum about "the important critical issues of public policy that must be sorted out", and that "this incident is no basis by which anybody who sees their duty to America to stand down from their duty but to redouble it".  And if that garbled nonsense wasn't clear enough, he added that we "must do out duty to defend our liberties in this great country."

And to what liberties are you referring, Dick?  Maybe the freedom to call the President of the United States names and accuse him of lying?  Or how about creating paranoia by claiming the proposed health care bill would create death panels?

Politico.com talks about John Boehner's efforts to calm and reassure Americans as well as colleagues in Congress during a massive conference call:

“At a time when an individual has shown us humanity at its worst, we must rise to the occasion for our nation and show Congress at its best,” Boehner said on the call.

I can't help but be cynical.  Not that Boehner et al are not being sincere.  But we have had the Kumbaya moments, the most notable being on the steps of Congress after 9/11.  And that ended up with Democrats linking arms with Republicans all the way down the road to Iraq, with the Patriot Act guiding the way.

Let's not forget that Boehner is leading the party that believes in cooperation, as long as you go along with their plan.

So listen carefully.  Lots of people are going to be singing the song about getting together and loving each other right now.  But let's hope we don't end up on another wild ride because we wanted to prove we trusted people who are really not saying anything different.

I do have a suggestion for Mr. Boehner.

How about changing the name of that idiotic "Repeal the Job Killing Health Care Law Act"?  While the rest of us may have seen it for the nonsense it is, there are some who may have truly been scared and angered by the violent rhetoric.  Just to give an example.