Buying a car from Randy
I shake my head in disbelief. My gut roils with disgust. I quake in fear. All of these when it occurs to me that, yes, Americans, by and large, really are that stupid.
This one concerns the country's health care circumstance and the "debate" taking place in congress and around the nation.
Let's suppose you were in the market for a new car. There are some great deals out there. And you've $40,000 in cash to spend. You're not going to finance a dime. So let's go shopping. The first lot you stop in has some good looking and reasonably equipped models for $20,000. Feeling somewhat randy, you decide to drive up the street a ways, to see what someone else is offering. A smiling salesperson runs up to you, "Hi! My name's Randy, in the market for a car?"
While you're tempted to reply sarcastically, "No Randy - We're here to get tattooed, ya know, one that says "I'm an idiot." But being the polite person you are, you don't.
Rather, you let Randy point the way, to what his dealership has for sale. And what Randy leads you to is a tiny, under-powered, low-quality vehicle whose only upgrade is the heater. No radio. No automatic transmission. No A/C. Just a heater. Not wanting to be rude, before leaving, you ask, "How much?"
Randy smiles broadly, "Forty grand!"
Friends, that is exactly what we've been getting when it comes to our health care delivery system: It costs twice as much as every other country's, save that of Switzerland, and it renders results that, for almost every category, are considerably inferior to every nation on earth, except for those ranked 30th and lower. That's why I contend we have the world's very worst system. I mean, like you, if I'm going to pay TWICE AS MUCH as anyone else for a product, I damned sure don't want something that's not minimally better than all the rest; maybe not twice as good, but at least better. Or, I'm outa here.
But a lot of Americans evidently don't see it that way. An awful lot of Americans want to keep buying from Randy. From the Republicans they've heard the rumors (Lies) about this new system, and, like straight from the ventriloquist, "Ah shore doan wanna pay no hahr taxes." And "Ah shore doan lahk no soshul-ahzed med'sun were some bue-roe-krat's tellin' mah doc an' me whut's whut, an' rashen keer ta mah famlih an' me."
Look, here's what the Republicans are trying to do, which has not one thing to do with amending the system. First of all, there was South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint letting it slip that the real objective was to kill any health reform measure, to make of their dastardly deed President Obama's "Waterloo." Thing is, they can't do that straight-forward. It's got to be right from their fear-mongering playbook. Forget that it's neither the least honest nor factual, forget that it is one hundred percent deception, use emotion laden phrases and terms such as "higher taxes" and "socialized medicine" and "rationed care." Even post a program "2008 Republican Platform - Health Care Reform: Putting Americans First." Take a look, you owe it to yourself. (http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/HealthCare.htm)
One item of interest, or is it curiosity: The top banner - "2008 Republican Platform."
It didn't exist in 2008. In 2008, the GOP had nothing. Seems they're trying to do what all those disgraced CEOs did relative to stock options: backdate, and work a ruse. But then, hey! It's directed to Americans, and Americans will swallow most anything. Worked for Iraq, so why not? After all, from Republicans, like from the CIA: nothing but the straight dope. Sort of, you can take it to the bank.
Approximately 90% of Americans are covered by health insurance right now. The premiums are, for most, paid by their employer. They never see any reference to the premiums on their pay stubs; out of sight, out of mind. The coverage is a freebie. So it would seem. So, why should they want to change? Especially if any change might mean higher taxes?
Let's do the math. The "average" health care costs for the average family plan runs $15,000 annually. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/business/economy/22leonhardt.html?_r=1&th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print). To simplify things, let's also stipulate the employee is in a 25% tax bracket, and we're not going to itemize, or do any of those real-life CPA adjustments; just a straight-forward calculation. The first step is to eliminate altogether any employer play in this example. The employer is out of it completely. So what had been a tax-free benefit worth $15,000 is going to be transferred into the employee's pockets as net pay increase of $15,000. Who wouldn't like that? "No! Mr. Murdock, just sit down and shut up, please." We're going to assume that everyone would like to have a net $15,000 more income. To do that, however, in a 25% tax bracket, will require a gross income increase of $20,000. ($15,000 / [100% - 25%])
Next, we're also not going to invite health insurance companies to the party. Their 30% admin rates are a total rip-off. And the package that United paid to its CEO of $1.4 BILLION was a royal rip-off. We can do better. No one in the new program is going to be remunerated as if he was a sultan, or an emir. Medicare and VA health care screen no one for physical candidacy, and their admin costs approximate 5-7%; call it 10%, for ease of calculation. So now we have to "tax" the new subscriber, to pay for the new health plan. Saving the money sacrificed on the alter of homage to CEOs and to weeding out the riffraff (you, me, our families, etc.) who might actually need health care some day, the revised average cost is calculated as closer to $10,000, which might have to be paid for with some form or another of a tax increase.
But Americans don't want that. They'd be $10,000, or so, ahead perhaps, but certainly not behind a dime, unless they're in the top 1% of income earners ("earners" used loosely). But the problem here, the one that Obama and those Democrats pushing for genuine reform will have to somehow wrestle to the mat, is that, whereas previously the costs were rather invisible, now they're up front and personal. It doesn't matter that they realize the "socialism" and "rationing" and "waiting lists" are ruses. It doesn't even matter that their overall costs are lower, or that now, perhaps their employer might be really able to give them a raise in pay, or even keep the shop doors open. All that matters is that now the costs to them are highly visible.
1 | 2
