President Obama - "This Is What Change Looks Like"

In some respects, I am one of the most fortunate people who because of career military service has had health care provided to me and my family for most of my adult life. After retiring from the service, I was able to continue in a government sponsored health care program paying reasonable monthly premiums with the usual shared costs and availability of prescriptions through local military medical facilities. Without question, I and my family have over the years received the best medical care available anywhere in the world. It is therefore a fair question for others as well as myself to ask, "If you have been happy with your government provided medical care, why would you raise questions about the present administration attempting to provide medical care for all its citizens?

To begin with, the current population of the United States is approximately 309 million people compared with 1.5 million on active duty in the military. It is not simply throwing a couple of million more people on the government insurance program. Likewise, current costs including military retirees for medical benefits run approximately $50 billion dollars annually. Current costs for Medicare and Medicaid alone are costing the federal budget over $764 billion. Current projections show implementation of the new Health Care Reform bill at $938 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office. Bottom line..we are talking apples and oranges. No way to make reasonable arguments for comparison. The national administration of medical care for citizens is a huge weight on a bloated and out of control budget and the beginning of a new entitlement.

HealthCare reform is now the law but I think it was a bad idea at a time when our nation can least afford the costs. There is no question that there are problems with the current system but it is not the Health Insurance industry as the Administration would have you believe. The national profit margin for these companies consistently run in the 3-4% range. Very low in the scheme of things. I actually believe that the conservatives in Congress had very good ideas such as tort reform and selling health insurance across state lines which would bring premiums down through competition. Regretfully, and honestly, the conservatives where shut out of all discussions. Only the final meeting with the President brought the two parties together and then television coverage showed the meeting to be a joke with total rejection of conservative ideas.

Last Sunday night after the final vote, the President addressed the nation and stated "This is What Change Looks Like". Quite frankly I find it repugnant and a shameful exercise in what democracy should not look like. We elect representatives to act on our behalf. Not to make backroom deals, and financial concessions such as the "Louisiana Purchase and the "Cornhusker Kickback". Representatives would tell you that is the way things are done in Washington. That may be true but is it morally correct? I think not! This is change that is by any language ugly. President Obama in an interview last week with Fox News refused to discuss the "process" of this legislation but I contend that the entire argument by the people must be about the process.

The bill is law. Chances of a repeal at this time should be forgotten. There is a chance that legal challenges may triumph but I would not bet the farm. It is important to remember that this is going to be a entitlement. Nearly 43% of adults pay no federal income tax. As the aspects of this bill take effect, the acceptance of health care to all becomes entrenched. The conservatives need to remember what the argument is about. This November the ballot box must be the place where good people with high morals make a statement. It is not about rejecting health care for all. It is about rejecting partisan politics, reprehensible and ethically unacceptable methods of policy against the obvious will of the people.