The Health Care Endgame

"Yay, yay, happy happy joy joy!" I say, whether my ultimate reaction to the outcome is "ding, dong, the bitch is dead," or "Stick a fork in us, we're done."  Because this has been the longest fight I can remember over one bill which will ultimately transform out country into something that I fear we will not be able to recover from.

Now I'm not going to try to argue for whatever solutions should be, versus the dangers of what the opposition would argue for.  This is not about a free market or a "single-payer" system.  It's about the unholy piece of shit that may get the up-or-down vote this weekend.

(One note on nomenclature:  "Single payer" is a bullshit term.  If there is a "single payer", that payer will be the government, and if they have control over the purse strings, then it's government controlled.  So I expect any use of the term to have quotes to denote this.)

I issue a challenge to anyone who's trying to promote this disease to explain how we're going to benefit from the bill.  I'm going to list below the major problems as best as I can tell (because the final bill isn't even put up yet (as of the typing of this sentence).  And unless you are in favor of empowering government at the expense of EVERYONE, you can't.

1. Funding abortions... eventually - I don't care what language gets inserted to ban taxpayer abortions.   Because any language is, in essence, bullshit.  The reason for this is found in an argument (false of course) that proponents have used to say that health care is a "right":  Everyone has a right to life, and health care is part of that.  But without the ability to afford it, they don't have access, therefore don't have the "right."  Substitute the word "abortion" for "health care" and get ready to argue against it. Because once paid health care is a "right," women's health care (i.e. abortion) is a de facto "right."

And to clarify, this is not about a woman's right to control over her body (or anything about regulation of women sucking their babies into sinks).  While I may not be with the more fanatical anti-abortion people on many things, I absolutely have a problem with them being forced to fund said baby-sucking.  And no candidate who opposes government paying for the practice can vote for this bill.  Ever.

2. Fuck the old - As we stand on the verge of creating another entitlement, like past "triumphs" like Social Security and Medicare, we need only look at them to see the future of government-run health care under this bill.  Social Security is getting closer to collapse (a lifetime of paying into it, and I'm getting nothing when I get there) with each baby boomer that retires with a couple decades of life still in front of them.

And Medicare?  If there was one thing that, more than anything else, has led to doctors running revolving door practice (come back next week and I'll see you for 5 more minutes) and price increases across the board (due to command fees), it's government-run health care for the old.  And the current bastard bill is going to cut Medicare more!  And yet, I see more commercials for The Scooter Store than ever (their shtick is Mediscare-funded gimp machines).  At least capitalism isn't dead, yet.


I'll refrain from getting into the whole "death panels" thing, other than wondering how else you cut costs when there will be more senile citizens sucking benefits.  In other words, there are no "death panels," but when you have the resources to treat 9 out of 10 people if you let the sickest die, or may lose 2-3 if you try to treat them all, someone's getting thrown under the bus (maybe even Obama's if he gets reelected).


So if you give a rats ass about the senile members of your family and they rely on government to take care of them (because FDR was a hell of a salesman), then you need to stop them from adding to a system that is already getting shorted.

3. I'm just a bill.... -  First, to refresh your memory on the subtitle:



I learned a new, Constitution-raping term last week in this regard: deem and pass.  It's not a bad thing when it involves moving non-controversial bits and pieces through Congress without the need to vote on them.  When used to adjust significant rules and laws, it's bad.  But when it's used to cram through a major bill that will significantly change the current law, add an entitlement, and cost trillions, it's damned unconstitutional as all get out.  Thankfully, due to coverage as to what kind of parliamentary bullshit it is, no decent congressman (no matter their vote on the beast itself, could justify passing the bill without an actual vote, lest they get a serious spanking in November.   And after the spanking, the oral sex (crossed out for total inappropriateness, but funny enough to leave in (and we need a laugh)).

That Nancy Pelosi and gang are considering such things to avoid a vote should tell you all you need to know about trusting them to get the bill right in the first place.

4. This is not about "reform," it's about government-run health care - This plan was designed in theory to use the private insurance system, in conjunction with a government "option" to ensure everyone is insured.  This is done by penalizing people and companies who don't buy insurance, and forcing insurance companies to insure people despite preexisting conditions (i.e. no matter what).  However, the penalties are cheaper than insurance, and if you get sick, the insurance companies have to insure you when you try to buy "insurance" to cover your illness, because it's preexisting.  That makes no sense, unless your goal is to gather money for the government while making sure the only people who get insurance cost more than what you charge for the insurance.  Eventually, since their margins are so damned small to begin with, then the options are either to become bitches of the government or get out of the health insurance business altogether.

So if you work for a health insurance company, or in the medical profession, or anyone who derives an income from medical services and don't want to become a government employee (drone), then here's your motivation to fight this.

5. Tax me now, insure me later - Proponents of this obscenity are trying to point to this as a way to reduce the budget (by adding an entitlement!?!?!?!?!?!) and pointing to the cost of it being under $1 trillion over 10 years.  Except that the benefits don't come for 4 years.  And since the bill "depends" on private insurance (it doesn't but I already covered that) to insure everyone, there's no reason we should wait.  Because if Social Security has one last lesson, it's what happens when government gets money it doesn't have to spend immediately:  it becomes a slush fund.

If you have any problem with the insane amount of spending in Washington, this bill needs to die.

6. Last plea for common sense - Even if you're in favor of the government-run system, even if you know in your bitter heart that America doesn't want this and the only way you're going to get it by is to bullshit people into it, the vomit that is on the verge of being dumped on America is the worst, most disingenuous, and most foolish way to achieve your end.  Because it's going to raise taxes on people who are just keeping their heads above water, leave more people uninsured over the coming years, cause thousands of people to become unemployed (not everyone at an insurance company has a golden parachute), and pile up assloads of debt long before we get to the point that the semi-private system collapses enough that your "single-payer" government nightmare comes true.  In other words, don't support this because it's simply a means to an end.  Because genocide is a means to an end of making something "pure."  And I can't think of any good reason to break out the genocide.

The vote may come on Sunday (while March Madness distracts the dumb masses).  So it's time to crush Washington with calls to stop it. If you're near Washington, go with a sign and protest. Start sending emails to your congressman.  Continue the (Rush-inspired) shutdown of the Capitol switchboard (toll free: 877-762-8762, or if you don't have an ancient (landline) phone: 202-224-3121.  And if you have a Democrat rep that might be swayed and his or her office is close enough, a visit would not be unwarranted.

At this point, we are beyond all theoretical discussions as to what should be done to fix health care and health insurance.  It's time to stop the March OF Madness in its tracks.