The bottom line is that the
individual mandate would require everyone to buy in to private insurance risk
pools to decrease medical premiums. It will funnel hundreds of billions
of dollars to private insurers and Big Pharma and further inflate their
political clout. Even if it passes, an estimated 23 million of the
current 50 million Americans will remain uninsured (20). Alternatives
such as a single-payer system or at least a public option are completely
missing from the debate even though a majority of the population is in favor of
them. Of course, with these alternatives, private insurance companies
would stand to lose. Corporate executives would lose money and perhaps
workers would be laid off, but that overall human suffering would be less is an
obvious conclusion of alternatives that are marginalized by the media and our
politicians.
President Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Image by Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative) Details DMCA
Thus, the current trend can
be visualized as a hollowing out of the American identity. The military
and financial prowess of the United States makes it an undeniable juggernaut in
the global theater, but it has very little advantage for most of the
population. Unemployment and healthcare are the two most pressing
concerns for most Americans, but there's very little that can be done via the
electoral system due to its deeply financial nature. Those that do climb
the socioeconomic ladder are driven into virtual fiefdom via debt burdens that
are owed in part to the absurd costs of tuition for higher education
(21). Crushing debt burdens discourage social activism and inculcate
profit-seeking values. Those that cannot afford to climb the ladder or
choose not to will have to confront the depressing avenues of uninsurance and
poverty which only exacerbates the vicious cycle of decline.
"No alarms and no surprises, please. Let me out of here." (Radiohead)
Notes.
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CVsCnxyXg&ob=av3e
2) http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/82581
3) http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/american_decline_debated_contested_obvious_20120410/
4) http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175502/
5) http://armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/fy09_dod_request_global/
6) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14328/14328-h/14328-h.htm
7) http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7871.pdf
8) http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3633
9) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll.html
10) http://www.pnhp.org/publications/nejmadmin.pdf
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