Saturday’s New York Times featured a piece about how nervous the Democrats are getting over the proposed health care reform plan. Democrats Grow Wary as Health Bill Advances is a curiousity. According to the authors, the Democrats are so concerned that they will be painted as fans of big government that they have given very little thought to whether their progressive base, who actually *wants* a big government solution, will reward them for their efforts:
Even as Democratic leaders and the White House insisted that the nation was closer than ever to landmark changes in the health care system, they faced basic questions about whether some of their proposals might do more harm than good.
And while senior Democrats vowed to press ahead to meet Mr. Obama’s deadline of having both chambers pass bills before the summer recess, some in their ranks, nervous about the prospect of raising taxes or proceeding without any Republican support, were pleading to slow down.
Democrats had three reasons for concern. The director of the Congressional Budget Office warned Thursday that the legislative proposals so far would not slow the growth of health spending, a crucial goal for Mr. Obama as he also tries to extend insurance to more than 45 million Americans who lack it.
Second, even with House committees working in marathon sessions this week, it was clear that Democrats could not meet their goal of passing bills before the summer recess without barreling over the concerns of Republicans and ending any hope that such a major issue could be addressed in a bipartisan manner.
Third, a growing minority of Democrats have begun to express reservations about the size, scope and cost of the legislation, the expanded role of the federal government and the need for a raft of new taxes to pay for it all. The comments suggest that party leaders may not yet have the votes to pass the legislation.
Sometimes, I have this feeling that Democrats would prefer that the liberals in their midst would sit down and STFU. Until then, they’re just going to stuff cotton in their ears and sing “la-la-la, I can’t HEAR you!” I’m sorry, but when did the concerns of the minority Republicans get more attention from the Democrats than the people who they are supposed to be representing? Haven’t the Republicans had enough time to screw up government and society for the past 17 years?? Why do we care whether they support reform or not? Do we have to make a bill bad just so the GOP will support it? They either vote for it or not. Enough of the mollycoddling already. As for the Blue Dogs, get their names. Maybe we can primary them.
But the health care reform bill, as I understand it, is so bad that they are really cutting their own throats if they continue to push for bipartisanship. Take the surtax on high incomes, for example. I have read in various places that this will consist of taxing the current health benefits of people like, oh, I don’t know, moi! Now, on the face of it, a small tax so that poor families can afford health insurance isn’t so bad. It’s the Murphy’s Corollary that’s attached to the bill that frosts my crockies. As it turns out, this so-called “gold plated” policy I have through my employer would be non-negotiable. That is, I can’t get a better plan and I would be forbidden from joining the public plan. This is to protect the private insurance industry that has been tinkering with their plans to maximize profits for themselves and not patients. My “gold plated” plan restricts me to a list of pre-approved doctors with which my insurer has negotiated prices for services, otherwise known as “rationing”. If I go outside this list, I have to pay out of my own pocket until my deductible is satisfied and then, I get reimbursed for only part of these non-network doctors’ fees. Let’s just say that I have issues with my plan and leave it at that.
Does this remind anyone of the cable companies who have a monopoly on your township? You know, the ones that charge you outrageous amounts of money for channels you want to see but which force you to buy the entire FOX package?
Ok, so here’s where I think the health reform plan is going: you, the hard working individual pulling in a pretty good salary but who is stuck in NJ where everything is expensive and a good salary means diddly squat, are going to be forced to pay a tax for a service for which you can never benefit unless you are no longer employed in the job you’re in. (Bear with me here because this is going to get ugly) Instead, a person who has far less education or gumption or whatever or who is in reduced circumstances through no fault of his or her own, but who is destined to be characterized as the new welfare queen, will be able to get health insurance through the public plan.
Let that sit there for a second to marinate.
Ok, now, that sounds pretty bad. It’s the kind of thing that causes those of us in the lower 98% of population who are not pulling in millions or dollars of ill-gotten booty bonuses to fight over the measley piece of the GDP pie that’s left. There are a couple different scenarios on how this will play out. Either the Democrats really are going to stick us in an insurance straitjacket where we’ll simmer with anger over how good the poor have it OR (more likely), the public plan will be so bad that most people who are on it will pine for private insurance.
Either way, the Democrats are screwed. Well, they did that when then voted to overturn the will of the voters and shoved Obama down our throats even though we told them he wasn’t ready and that he needed more time in the Senate to work on his legislative skills and form coalitions he could count on in the future. Obama just wants to get this health care reform bill done. Like now. Before the August recess. The bill itself wouldn’t go into effect until 2013, a year after Obama could potentially be out of office so what’s the rush? Why not get something in place that actually, you know, works? Why not expand SCHIP in the meantime to include people 4x the poverty level and allow people to buy into Medicaid? Give yourself some breathing room to craft a European style health care plan with uniquely American features, whatever that means.
But noooo. They must pass this crappy bill now, now, now. And they are looking for bipartisan support, a sure sign of impending disaster. When are Democrats going to learn that Republicans are NEVER going to support health care reform? Passing a bad bill, with or without their support, only increases the likelihood that the GOP and their media friends are going to clobber the Democrats as tax and spend liberals who like big government programs that don’t work. And Democrats are walking right into this trap with their eyes wide open. They *know* this is how it will play out but it’s almost like they can’t resist. It must be masochism.
Democrats could make this easier on all of us by doing it right the first time around and making average working folks so satisfied with the results that the Republicans look like a bunch of hard hearted meanies when they roll out the welfare queen meme (and you know it’s coming). Doing it right could mean electoral success for generations to come. And at this point, the Congressional Budget Office says health care costs will keep rising, even with this plan. So, if the bill isn’t going to slow down rising costs for those of us stuck in private plans, it’s time to put the brakes on it and work for a better solution even if it means taking on private insurers and getting tough with them.
Take your time, guys. This one’s a no-brainer.
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The Confluence 