Curmudgeon's Corner

Health Care Plans Kept Under A Bushel...

Posted by Al Campbell on Jan. 8, 2010

Healthcare, Political, Quality of Life, U.S.

The lack of information on the Senate and House health care reform bills that has been provided to citizens is likely happening that way for a purpose.  When I visit with generally well-informed people, there seems a void of knowledge and, thus, a lack of consternation about what our health care system will look like after the passage and the President's signature.

The fact that Congress and the White House do not want us to know the specifics is telling.  The idea that the bills are available for anyone to look at is a bit ridiculous when one begins to attempt to dig through the mass of "government-speak" and "misdirection" that is to be found in the two bills.  We are not to know because that would lead to an even greater amount of public push-back than is already occurring.

Sen. Feingold found a very energized public in his two meetings in Washington and Ozaukee Counties.  He is quoted as saying that he found the Wisconsin public "about evenly split" in its opinion about health care reform. The recordings of the two "listening sessions" available on Wisconsin Eye convey a different percentage of angst.

The general public, if these two meetings are to be used as a gage, is not excited about the prospects, and that is even after the government has managed to keep the "English-language" versions from reaching the general public.

If, and when, the public develops an understanding of the realities that are 'health care reform', there will be a lot of politicians looking for new jobs.  Liberals seem to really believe that socialism is better than capitalism; they are apparently convinced that the public sector can and does deliver much better results than does the private sector.

The real shame of this, of course, is that if this charade is permitted to go on for too long, it will become more and more difficult to re-institute the private sector approach to health care. The only hope at that point will be that government employees will be in the same lines getting the same quality care that you and me will be getting.  That just doesn't seem to me to be enough of a reward for suffering through public health care.  Frankly, I wouldn't wish public health care on my worst critic.