Manipulation, Arm-Twisting, & Bribery (Our Government at Work)
This healthcare bill is bad legislation. Why? The quality of any bill is inversely proportional to the number of arms that have to be twisted. And we’ve seen some spectacular arm-twisting bribery, (Cornhusker Kickback, Louisiana Purchase, et al). Add to that, the parliamentary manipulation being used by Nancy Pelosi. Would such a good bill require all this? Of course not.
Nancy Pelosi promised the most ethical Congress ever. Does this manipulation put her in a gray area? (Charcoal gray at least.) What is most offensive is that the Democrats are saying this bill will reduce the deficit. This will only happen if Congress actually keeps the promised cuts that are only supposed to take effect years from now. These cuts can be reversed quite easily, and probably will be by a future Congress. Once again our government puts off the hard stuff to the next generation.
Government programs only expand; they almost never contract. Congress and the bureaucrats have no incentive to reduce costs or be more efficient. They are not allowed incentive bonuses. The only way for a bureaucrat to financially benefit or advance is to expand their responsibilities or increase their empire. The era of Big Government is building its strongest fortification yet.
Designed to Fail (For a Reason)
This bill will increase taxes on insurance companies, and prevent them from denying coverage for preexisting conditions (the latter of which I approve). How many insurance companies will be forced into bankruptcy because of this? Could this is a part of a larger plan to destroy the insurance industry, making a public option more viable? Don’t get me wrong; I have no love for the insurance industry. But that’s a far cry from wanting it destroyed.
If one looks at the massive fraud involved in Medicare, imagine how much more that would increase with a public option. Any counter-measure would require many more workers to ferret out the explosive fraud. Either way, it’s an huge increase in governmental expenditures. And many see the public option as merely stepping stone to universal healthcare. Don’t believe me? Watch the Barney Frank video clip below.
Republicans Not Without Blame
In case anyone was thinking I was a shill for the conservatives, think again. The Republicans led us here. They ignored the issue of making healthcare more efficient. In fact, President Bush added to the problem by expanding Medicare. Elsewhere, the Republicans took a hands-off approach to business which led to a whole host of problems. All this could have been avoided, but the Republicans sat on their free-market hands, believing their right-wing extremism was a virtue, and the left-wing extremism was the only enemy.
Now, they’re reduced to whining about parliamentary procedure.
