Health Care Reform? Really?

Really. I have to admit that I didn't see this happening.
Oh, I knew that there would be SOMETHING that passed, but couldn't imaging the final form that it would take. For example, I knew that there would have to be some law passed that the Democratic party could point to as a sign of success, and that they'd be able to get something through Congress. But as far as to the effectiveness of such a law it would have been impossible to say.
So I'm very surprised, and happily so, that there appears to be a new law in the land which does protect a persons health and well being to some extent. Sure it isn't pretty, and not as effective as it could be. But goodness knows it could have been far worse.

Such feint praise is usually the sign that the greater good wasn't served and that real change or progress hasn't taken place, and I won't argue that point. Did America listen to it's angels? Not really. But they didn't shout them down in a fit of ignorance or cowardliness, and that counts for something.

So it is a great day after all.

Health Care Reform, ad nausium

I've got greater reason than ever to expect that Health Care Reform is destined to fail, specifically because Universal Health Care is too good for America and by extension, Americans. UHC is philosophically opposed to capitalism. Which means the laws going forward will be in place by the philosophy that arrived on the scene first. In this case, Capitalism.

I'm very happy about this because it meshes with my plans beautifully.

Health Care Update

My enthusiasm for Health Care Reform has officially waned. A person can only take so much.

Take Two

If there is one standard characteristic that Congress will have throughout time, it's the speed at which is passes new legislation. They are painfully slow. This ensures that any measures which are enacted into law have been given ample opportunity to have become watered down and inoffensive versions of themselves by the time a vote is taken, coupled with the additional benefit of giving whatever issue instigated the bill time to resolve itself. Under most cases the original problem which caused the glacial bill to start proceeding through the houses will either stop being a problem, or will have changed enough to make the proposed solution ineffective.
I think of it as a chronological insulation that protects people from their government.
But Health Care Reform is a different animal. It's a problem which isn't going to resolve itself, and time wasted in passing its bill has a serious detrimental effect on all Americans. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this because I'm pretty much sick of the issue by now. After seeing the torturious protestations well meaning (and ill meaning) citizens have put themselves through on this issue, it's time for action. Either kill the thing or pass it.
But I did want to take a moment to add that I shouldn't have been so dismissive in wishing that this generation pass away so that others can take up the cause and hopefully pass laws which reflect well on them. Yes, people are refusing to pass laws which will extend their lives. Yes, they are determined to shovel as many resources to insurance companies as they can. But in all of this, I shouldn't have spoken too roughly about them. Their blindness hurts themselves.
So I'll make a point of wishing them better, and commiserating with their pain. Hopefully they will have the beginnings of wisdom shine on them before it's too late in the season for Congress. Their second eternal characteristic is that Congress is lazy. If they haven't passed a law by May, it isn't going to happen that year.

Health Care Changes

     Let me put a little follow up here about my feelings on Health Care Reform and why it should be stopped. Specifically I think that if we enact universal health care in America, we change who we are as Americans, and I don't want that. Let me use our old friends the ancient Egyptians as an example.

     Let's visit a typical ancient Egyptian city.

     Here we are hovering over a vast desert striped with swaths of green where agricultural development is taking place using irrigation from a nearby river. Is the river the Nile? Probably, but at this height there's no way to tell for sure. We see building and houses, and what appears to be a bustling population working the fields and drifting through the streets. Going in for a closer look at the city we notice that the population is moving along the roads and byways. No one seems to be in a particular hurry and often stops to talk with neighbors and fellow travelers. Some of the buildings resolve themselves into shops and dining establishments and we notice what seems like the precursor of fast food restaurants. A hum of city life gains in strength as we approach, but it's still to far away to make out individual conversations clearly. This is just as well because neither you or I understand ancient Egyptian.
     Going even closer we can make out individual people industriously going about their business, or just relaxing in the heat of the day. All seems calm but suddenly we notice... slaves! Yep, the more we look the more clearly we see signs this culture has a rigid cast system that incorporates a slave workforce. It's not pretty, but neither is it good or bad. It's just there.
     So we have a choice. We can drift away and forward in time a few thousand years to see how they're doing now, or we can descend on these people and teach them equal rights. You and I are pretty persuasive speakers, and once we get the language down we should be able to establish a more moral ethical system of society on these guys. There are good reasons for doing this. Equal rights will benefit their city, encourage invention, prosper the economy and establish a better quality of life for all residents. Each ancient Egyptian here will enjoy greater efficiency in agricultural and economic development. Not a bad deal.
     But if we do this, they stop being ancient Egyptians. They'll start being something else, call them enlightened Egyptians or progressive Egyptians or something. The point is, their cultural identity will change. Right now they see themselves as ancient Egyptians which by it's very nature means participating and supporting a caste system with slaves.
     We've seen enough of these guys, let's get out of here and visit a place a little closer to home. Namely, home in modern America.
     We are modern Americans. This means we participate and support a culture that allows the rich to live longer and the poor to die off sooner. Being a modern American means if you get really sick, you give up all your money until you're on your own. Once again, this is neither good or bad.
     If we get universal health care, or to a smaller extent reform the current heath care system, then we cease to be modern Americans. We'd start being enlightened Americans or progressive Americans or some other such thing. The point is, we'd change who we are.
     Looking at the town hall fiascoes and understanding the cloak and dagger politics behind the scenes which feature enough cynical manipulation and vested interest deception to fill a shelf of Mickey Spillane novels, I can't see us willing to change our cultural identity yet. Maybe in the next generation. Maybe. But for us to enact real health care reform, we'd have to be a people who not only want equality for all Americans, but also a society resistant to cynical political manipulation. I don't think we're quite ready to take that step.

Health Care Reform needs to stop

     We (and by 'we' I'm using the Royal 'we'), need to stop the effort to reform the current Health Care system. Leaving aside the current arguments floating back and fourth between the insurance industry lobbyists and the poor souls looking for medical care, there is a true reason why we not only need to stop reform, but should embrace the current system.
     Think of all the problems facing not only America, but the world at large. America has issues that need to be addressed. Vital issues that threaten the security of not only our country, but the planet as a whole. Make a list of the top 100 issues and I can assure you that none of them will be "Americans aren't living long enough". Make a list and check it out, you'll see that I'm right.
     American longevity isn't a problem affecting our country. Quite the opposite in fact.

     It's important to keep in mind that we, as Americans, get what we deserve. We get the freedoms we deserve, the form of government we deserve, and the health care we deserve. Right now we have a system of health care which insures that we'll die 6 years sooner than a citizen in a similarly developed country would. This is neither good or bad. Some people suggesting a universal health care initiative point to this figure as though it were a point of shame on our national character, and issue the challenge of meeting or exceeding other countries health care services in an effort to create the greatest health services on the planet.
     I think this effort is a bit misguided. Can we actually look at ourselves and say that we deserve to live another 6 years? Look at the simultaneously bellowing and shrill pundants decrying any proposed changes to our health care system. Look at the ignorant rabble shutting down town hall meetings in an effort to cement the insurance lobby's stranglehold on health care. We truly deserve no better than what we have now.
     Let this generation die off a little sooner and give a head start on the next one. Maybe they can enact universal health coverage for all citizens. They'll be able to do it, if they deserve it.