An age-old argument between Libertarian/Fiscal conservatives – and the Liberal-Progressive base. The one side believes that government is the enemy of we the people. If “we the people” is defined as the top 10%, then that is true, especially in the face of a Democratic leaning government. The top 10% wealthy, need very few things from a government, save national defense, trade agreements that lean in their favor and the least “other” regulations as possible.
Why does wealth not want regulation? Because if government is controlled by wealth, then no further regulations are needed – wealth will provide its own rules under the guise of “free market choice”. In essence wealth becomes regulation! Even if it looks like a Democracy of we the people, if our choices are determined, limited, and regulated by (lobbying and Superpacs), tools of wealth. If our laws also mostly provide for the top 10%, then wealth is in control. At some point our Democracy will have changed to PLUTOCRACY,
rule by wealth, in disguise.
Fact is, the United States is already 80% there. Lobbying, Citizens United, the great chasm between the top 10% and the bottom 90%, most recently, Trump urging GOP Congress to give churches political freedom (they have massive wealth and power), to lobby and finance candidates. The bottom 40% of our country have no wealth at all; these numerous are at the zero line and they have no power.
Things like equal education, equal working rights including a minimum wage, and minimum necessities, including good health. These safeguards and incentives help those at the zero line, to survive; in fact, almost all of the 90%, to become – more. We are talking about a government that responds to and protects the rights of the 90%, protects them from the top 10%, and especially the top .001% of wealth. If not Federal government, which we would like to think is a product of we all the people – then who tells Trump Mar-a-Lago not to pay the staff $1 an hour and then the POTUS tells them to pay for their necessities – themselves? Even as we the taxpayers provide millions of dollars to safeguard Trump and family as they jet-set around the world – making profits.
Government should not be the enemy. The very few who now have all wealth and wealth = power and control in government – this is our common enemy!
The top 10% and especially the top .001%, are they who feel endowed to control us, some to the point they see we the people as ants whose missions are to say “yes master, how high”. Unfortunately, our government right now is so entrenched and beholden to wealth, that they are starting to look and behave the same, starting at the top. This did not start in 2017 by the way, not by a long shot.
Now, on to Healthcare: The libertarians and fiscal conservatives, not to mention GOP Congress, YOU KNOW WHO and his followers, are so fond of telling us that we each need to make OUR OWN HEALTHCARE CHOICES, not allow the the government to decide. In fact, Trump stated in Nov 2016, that WE ALL, should pay our own bills! For 90%, this is an unattainable goal. The GOP Congress is prodding us with a categorically false statement as regards who will control our healthcare choices. For 90% of we the people, if our government does not regulate healthcare then it will be regulated and delivered to us (or denied to many), by the giant healthcare insurance companies LIKE UNITED HEALTHCARE. That can hardly be called making personal choices about one’s own healthcare; rather shall government or the giant health insurance companies create the rules and regulate.
This brings to the forefront, what is the motive behind providing healthcare?
This motive is not the same, at all, for our government as is for the insurance companies. Of course, as is so common for big corporations who are facing – regulation, comes the big insurance giants, all complaining that Obamacare is destroying them, stealing all their profits?
The facts of insurance company profitability are quite a diametric. The very profitable healthcare insurance providers, like United Healthcare, Aetna, Humana, WellCare; have all had extremely profitable runs under Obamacare. I wish I could “lose” so much money.
Furthermore, it appears that United Healthcare has been busy illegally milking Medicare, allegedly, using an illegal practice of overstating patient illnesses, their tool of fraud was the GOP majority passed “Medicare Advantage”, added to Medicare in 2003. But this is not the Federal Government’s fault. It is United Healthcare who is alleged to be defrauding the government. One does not kill all the chickens because the wolf takes one?
And now comes the barn-burner – the current GOP AHCA plan and in fact, the hardcore (Trumpites) conservative voice, demands – we should call the Fed our enemy and turn our healthcare choices over to … United Healthcare, for one, as the largest single provider of consumer health insurance! This is the GOP version of we should all have and make our own healthcare choices. The GOP left off the afterthought – … to go with one of maybe half a dozen, perhaps 10 giant healthcare insurance providers, or else have no healthcare! The giants should be called – the regulators. They will regulate, using plutocracy-101, “free market conditions”. There is another word for that though.
What exactly will be the motive then, for United Healthcare and the other giant healthcare insurance companies to provide healthcare to the bottom 90% of WE? (largest healthcare companies as noted by Forbes)
We need go back no farther than 2008 to see not only what the giant healthcare insurance providers will do but also, exactly what GOP healthcare will look like. The GOP plan (AHCA) eliminates almost all regulation and gives control and delivery of healthcare, right, back, to we the giant insurance providers! The health insurance providers, not WE, will once again, determine who gets healthcare, at what levels, and who gets denied.
So what part of AHCA plan (TRUMPCARE), returns control to we the people?
The answer is none of it! Unless that is, the definition of “we the people” is the top 10% of wealthy in the United States. Therein lies the answer to the GOP motive and scheme. “We the people” are the haves! In other words, if you are not a have, then you are not part of “we the people” and deserve no vote and no control. “They can pay for their own” necessities,m as Trump stated and if not, no control cause these are not part!
So once again, we ask the question, what is the motivation for our giant healthcare insurance regulator corporations, to offer or deny coverage?
HEALTHCARE BASED ON FREE MARKET CONDITIONS – FOR PROFITABILITY!
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., flanked by, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2017, following a policy luncheon. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
According to one prominent GOP Senator, a surgeon before he became politician, if you are not in (profitable) health condition, then you “eat too much, exercise too little, and smoke”. — Dr. J. Barrasso (R-Wyoming) 2010.
This then is the GOP cure for we the people. If you are sick or deprived, eat less, exercise more and heaven forbid, stop smoking. Thank you again Doctor WTF Barrosso for that valuable and insightful advice, we love your vintage tonic. How about some one-stop seltzer?
The fact is water, food, power, even housing to a large degree – ALL HIGHLY REGULATED and SUBSIDIZED. Why? Because wealth provides necessities of life to the have-nots, based on profitability, not need. Wealth says “if you ain’t profitable, then you ain’t”.
Is there a solution and if so what is that solution to our healthcare dilemma, if we survive and persevere that is?
Surely not the existing ACA. Obamacare was a start but it was incomplete from the start. In his farewell address to we the people, Obama encouraged the new administration to put together a healthcare plan that is demonstrably better – and he will support it! OBcare had a function and succeeded but more is needed, much more. So what about Trumpcare? I think we have made a strong case that reversing all, going back to 2008 healthcare, profitability as motive (again) is not anywhere near a good or sound reason for change, start over.; quite the opposite in fact. The answer to our crisis follows, here is clue:
stay tuned
—– —– references —– —–
- FEB 2010, Medpage Today – Obama views on Healthcare Debate
- FEB 2010, Associated Press (via Deseret News) – No Accord on Healthcare
- Feb 2010, Washington Post – John Barrasso comments to OB
“Half of all the money we spend in this country on health care is on just 5 percent of the people. Those are people, for the most part, that eat too much, exercise too little, and smoke.”
- DEC 2009, CSPAN – Barrasso on Health Care Debate
- AUG 2009, Memphis Daily – Barrasso on Cost Control First in Healthcare
- JUNE 2009, VOTESMART via MSNBC Interview w/John Barrasso
- MAR 2016 – Healthcare Insurers Very Profitable under Obamacare
- JAN 2016 – United Health expects to lose $1-Billion
- MAR 2017 – What CBO Got right – and wrong – on Obamacare (ACA)
- MAR 2017 – Massive Medicare Fraud by Giant United Healthcare
- JAN 2017 – Obama Farewell Address to we the people
“Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I’ve said, and I mean it, anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it.”