No One Asked Me But…
by Dr. Larry Moses
Published July 29, 2009
No one asked me but… I have been listening to President Obama talk to the American people about heath care reform. A number of interesting issues have been raised.
He continues to emphasize the theme of change he started during his campaign. I remember him stating something to the effect that America is the greatest country in the world, help me change it.
Some people believe change is good and others believe it is bad. However, change is a neutral concept. Change in itself is neither good nor bad. The events that occur because of the change and how people react to those events determine the value of change.
I once demonstrated this in a class I taught with candy bars. I gave each student one candy bar. I then took the bars from some and gave them to others. Those who lost their candy bars thought the change bad. Those who received the extra candy bars thought the same exact change was good.
While coaching American Legion baseball, we played the same team four times in three days and they changed uniforms for each game. We were not on that financial level and when our kids complained, I told them we can change uniforms, too. Bill you change with Bob, Ralph you change with Charley. We, too, would be changing uniforms, but the results would not be the same. Not all change is as good as other change.
Now the President wants to change health care for most Americans. No one is quite sure what all those changes are, but they have to be good because he has promised that someone other than the average American will pay for them. Some mythical millionaires will pick up the cost for yours and my medical bills. I am sure that is a change we will find good if we are not one of those millionaires.
Lost in the President’s speech was a single comment that really explains the heath care program of America. He stated that those of us who carry health insurance pay for the medically uninsured. While your doctor or hospital bill may seem excessive, the President said that this is because you are helping pay for those who cannot pay. That has been the universal American health plan for years. Your tax dollars build the hospitals, pays for the universities to educate the doctors and pays for much of their education. Who do you think pays for all of those expensive machines in the hospitals? You do.
President Obama says he can change this. He suggests we develop a national health care program that will make it unnecessary for you to carry private health care insurance. He continually states that you can keep your health insurance if you wish. However, national health care will be available for those who choose not to get private health insurance. Now if you are paying for national health insurance through your taxes, why would you also pay to carry private insurance? Could you really afford to do both as many seniors do now?
This President is anxious to get a health bill passed before this session of Congress ends. If this was to be the case, Congress would be voting on a bill they have not read and we know they would never tolerate that.
The President, of course, is hoping to push the bill through while his approval ratings remain high. One thing saving America from this poorly thought out plan is that elections are coming up. Democrats who would likely be supportive of the program are backing off because they don’t want to have to defend the tax increase necessary to pay for this medical handout.
The President stated that a major portion of the federal deficit is due to the federal medical program as it now exists. According to the President’s speech, Medicaid and Medicare are one of the major causes of the present budget deficit. In the future, unless changed, these programs will cause the federal deficit to grow exponentially. His solution to this problem is to increase the size of the federally funded medical program.
Once again, I must admit that I am not a genius when it comes to economics. I don’t even keep my own check book, but it seems to me that if a facet of our family budget was destroying our ability to remain solvent, my wife would not allow that program to continue or, let alone, to grow. It was interesting that the President indicated that two thirds of the cost of the increased health program could be covered by eliminating the waste in the present day program. How about we eliminate the waste and maybe the escalating cost he is worried about would take care of itself.
One change I would like to see is the present administration taking responsibility for solving problems rather than center on the old administration who they would like to blame for the problems. Fixing the problem is much more important that fixing the blame. The time and effort spent lamenting the past administration is time and effort wasted. As the present administration digs in to the causation of the economic problems of this country they will find that a Democrat congress was in power the last two years of the previous administration.
Thought of the week…There is a certain relief in change, even though it be bad to worse! As I often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position, and be bruised in a new place. -Washington Irving
