Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Just vote NO!

Here’s why I believe House Republicans are to blame for Congress’s latest failure to do their job and pass a budget:

As paid, elected representatives, just voting “no” is not an option.  It’s ok for the dirtbag whose sole participation in our representative democracy is paying taxes.  He’s allowed to come home from work, strip down to his boxers, crack open a Milwaukee’s Best, and watch TV all night in his recliner, isolated from, and not contributing to the outside world.  In fact, if he could squeeze in the occasional casting of a ballot among his commute and his beer runs, he’d be more involved than about half the population, and I’d be impressed, but our paid, elected, “professional” representatives have a slightly higher expectation of performance.  They can vote “no,” but they have to propose an alternative to that which they rejected.

So when it comes to this year’s version of Tea Party-induced debt ceiling hostage taking, the fault lies entirely with the House Republicans who have caved to this minority faction by submitting a budget they know won’t pass in an attempt to gain politically in the next election, mount at least the 42nd failed attempt at blocking the Affordable Healthcare Act, and who offer up nothing in the way of real compromise or alternatives.  House Republicans have in effect just voted “no” by shutting down our government and they’ve failed to propose any alternative plan.  Again, acceptable for beer swilling recliner guy.  Unacceptable from paid elected officials.

You can say neither party is willing to compromise but the fact is, there’s a plan on the table.  The Affordable Healthcare Act is not only a compromise years in the making, it originated as a Republican idea.  It was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law in 2010.  Regardless of what today’s House Republicans (influenced by a marginal group) think of it, (now that it’s too late to keep thinking about) they must either support it, work to improve it, or propose their own version that can be implemented in place of it.  Simply holding the nation hostage arguing over the routine approval of a debt ceiling increase isn’t living up to their responsibility.  It is the equivalent of holding their breath until they get their way.

To those of you who consider the status quo an alternative proposed by House Republicans, consider this:  America’s failed 60-year experiment in for-profit medicine will bankrupt us – individuals and the country – faster than the inevitable $1000 barrel of oil.  Medical care bankruptcy is a recognized specialty these days.  According to CDC and U.S. Court data compiled by NerdWallet.com, it’s the number one reason why individuals file for bankruptcy.  http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2013/06/19/nerdwallet-health-study-estimates-56-million-americans-65-struggle-medical-bills-2013/ 

Economic experts from varied political backgrounds agree individual bankruptcies are the least of our worries.  According to Forbes online U.S. healthcare costs rose 4% even during the worst economic downturn in several generations (2009) to 17.6% of our GDP.  This prompted the article to begin with “Health costs are by far the biggest threat to the nation’s fiscal health in the long run.”  http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0314/health-care-recession-expenditure-bankrupt-america.html

We’re all prone to ignoring economists, but you can’t ignore this:  the U.S. spends twice as much of its GDP on healthcare as the next closest industrialized country but we’ve got very little to show for it.  Our longevity, chronic disease, and even infant mortality rates fall short of countries most Americans can’t find on a map.  The average American family spends $16,000.00 http://www.statisticbrain.com/health-insurance-cost-statistics/  on health insurance per year, but that number is deceptive.  First of all, the average American typically pays less than half of the total premium, while an employer pays the rest.  Second, there are about 47 million non-elderly, uninsured Americans, according to U.S. Census data compiled by the Kaiser Foundation, which means those folks paying that $16,000 per year (and their employers) for insurance are footing some of the bill for the uninsured as well.  Wait you say, that’s contradictory.  Nope. The under/uninsured only file for bankruptcy when they can’t pay the part we don’t already subsidize – talk about socialized medicine!

It comes down to this:  the cost of healthcare in the U.S. is higher than in any other country on Earth and it continues to rise.  The quality of healthcare in the U.S. remains embarrassingly lower than in countries who spend less than half what we do.  In other words, our free-market system is not working.  Unless you mean in terms of pure profit for the giant corporations who lobby Congress to maintain it.  When profit is what drives the healthcare industry, your health falls elsewhere on the priority list.  What’s worse, many of these Tea Party folks who inspired our current government shutdown stand to gain the most from full implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  (And once again, ACA began as a Republican plan that encourages participation in the free market healthcare industry.)  According to The Atlantic, “slightly more Republicans (107) than Democrats (99) represent districts where the uninsured percentage is above the national average.”  More than half of the most conservative Republicans represent districts who would benefit from ACA.  Ideology trumps reality every time.  Just as most Americans have no idea what we actually pay for healthcare, we’re too dumb to recognize any attempt at reigning those costs in as beneficial enough to outweigh the corporate lobbyist view. 

Regardless, just voting no and shutting down the entire government, at a cost of around $500 million per day, ain’t helpin’ the already struggling economy.  Just voting no without proposing a real alternative is not acceptable.  Holding the nation hostage in order to counteract a law you’ve already passed is not acceptable.  Waging political warfare while millions of Americans go without just to set yourself up as the ideologue some tiny fraction of the electorate wants to see in the next election is shameful. 



I sincerely hope we remember this longer than we did the last time Congress shut down our government because there’s only a few places where just voting no is acceptable.  Let your Representative know you’ll send him back to the recliner if he doesn’t earn his (or her) keep by ending this sand-kicking soon.

Luth

Out