Now that the Senate health care bill has moved beyond the desk of Max Fuckus - sorry, typo - Max Baucus ("D"., Montana), it has a chance to be repaired, revamped and remade into something that the public actually wants. As it stands, all it needs is some gift wrap, and it can be stuffed into the insurance industry's Christmas stocking early.
That which came from the Finance Committee should be considered a form of misdemeanor treason. If these were the good old days, another Senator would feel compelled take stern measures against Baucus for this, such as a duel in the street.
In the Baucus bill, President Obama is given half of the loaf he wants, that being a "mandate" for all Americans to purchase health insurance. What isn't there is a public option for those whose employers do not offer health-care benefits and who do not make enough money to pay the exorbitant costs thereof.
Those of you who actually pay premiums every month don't use the system so much. Oh, you go in for your physicals, and you cash in a prescription now and then, but you're not the ones getting triple bypasses and whatnot. By and large, the people who utilize the system the most are 65 and older - and they have Medicare. So the money you send away every month isn't being transferred over to the medical professionals.
Rather, it gets stuffed under some CEO's mattress. Or it goes to organizations like Dick Armey's Freedom Works, which drum up phony town-hall outrage to cover said CEO's fat backside. Or it goes to people in Congress (like Max Baucus) who steer legislation in the health care syndicate's preferred direction.
You know what, America? The political system isn't working for you. Even someone as gifted as Barack Obama can't budge this thing. The Man's too big. The Man's too strong. The insurance companies are too powerful. They have too much (of our) money.
We cannot rely on, or trust, the government to pry this gigantic parasite from our backs. We have to kill the insurance industry ourselves. But how? It would be easy. All it takes is some faith and some courage. You could quietly win this fight in a matter of months if you had the guts to try:
Just Say No to Health Care. All Americans should, at this point, suck it up and unanimously cancel their policies. See who lasts longer. Absent your money, they would collapse in a very short time. Never mind the boost the economy would receive as a result of you (and your employer) getting to keep your daily bread.
If you say that's too frightening, I say you are a wimp, and you need to start acting like an American already. Come on. Walk the tightrope. Some may fall off, but that's what the emergency rooms are for. That's why bankruptcy protection exists.
At the very least we could all abandon one targeted company (United, Pacifica, Matria, somebody) and put them out of business... But we won't. We couldn't even do that with respect to the price of gasoline. We can't organize. We can't defeat the powers that buy our Senators and use them like golf tees. We can't.
Thus, we leave our hopes up to a president who will be brave enough to try but cannot possibly succeed, not with such monied interests for adversaries, and certainly not with the Republican Party mindlessly attacking him at every turn. We will be stuck with a system that requires us to be hooked up to a machine that sucks the very blood from our veins.
Do you think you deserve better? No, you don't. You don't deserve better because you won't demand it. So, after all this time and money having been wasted, this is what our health care system has been reduced to.
Leeches.
pH 9.17.o9
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