For starters, in the last eight years, President George W. Bush has managed to leave behind a God-awful mess. The nation is embroiled in two wars, a cascading banking crisis, out-of-control debt spending, an unprecedented health care crisis, an environmental mess and an international relations reputation that's downright disastrous. Its economy is in serious trouble, its manufacturing base is all but gutted, and its citizens are far less free today than they were eight years ago, thanks to the ill-named Patriot Act and all the fear mongering that followed 9/11. Is Obama being set up?Any person thinking they can waltz into the White House and fix these issues needs to have their head examined. In fact, it's not unreasonable to wonder if the half-dozen or so men who actually control the world have allowed Obama to win this election in order to have a convenient scapegoat for upcoming economic disasters. What better way to discredit the very idea of a black President than to make sure the Titanic starts sinking under his watch?
Of course, that's the conspiracy theory viewpoint on all this. The Optimists Club viewpoint says that Obama will solve real problems for our nation. And while I could write an entire article on the justified skepticism about any one President being able get much of anything done in our present political environment, in the spirit of positive change, I'm going to focus instead on offering suggestions for how we can revolutionize our national health care system under an Obama presidency. The days of Big Pharma dominance may be endingLet's start with some good news: The days of Big Pharma's dominance over Washington may be coming to an end. No more drug companies ripping off the taxpayers thanks to a Bush-approved Medicare bill that made it illegal for the U.S. government to negotiate volume discounts with Big Pharma. An Obama presidency will stick it to Big Pharma and work to help lower the cost of prescription drugs for consumers. (But that's not really a health care solution. It's just making dangerous drugs cheaper.)
You can also say goodbye to any kind of ridiculous pre-emption ruling that would grant Big Pharma blanket immunity against claims by victims who are harmed by their dangerous products. An Obama presidency will very likely see the passage of laws reinstating the rights of consumers to sue companies who sell them dangerous products, even when they're approved by the corrupt, fraudulent U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Without question, there's more chance of this happening under Obama than McCain, but let's also remember that Big Pharma is all of a sudden funneling tens of millions of dollars into the pockets of Democrats, and there's one simple truth about Washington that transcends all political parties: Money buys influence.
And Big Pharma has more money than you can imagine (thanks, in part, to the Bush-sponsored Big Pharma ripoff of America over the last eight years). Thirteen suggestions for positive change on health and health careSo what can Obama really do to revolutionize health care in America and slash the disastrous health care costs now devastating our national economy? Here are my 13 suggestions on revolutionary actions that could make a lasting, positive impact on the future of health care in the United States of America.
#1 Launch a national health insurance program that covers all citizens
Having 45 million Americans walking the streets without health insurance is an embarrassment. We need a simple, national health insurance program that provides basic coverage to everyone. That's for starters. From there, we can get into nutrition, disease prevention, natural health and other subjects.
#2 Allow naturopathic health practitioners to treat patients (and get paid for it)
It's time to end the ridiculous monopoly on health insurance collections by drug-wielding doctors and oncologists. Why shouldn't health insurance cover chiropractors, herbalists, naturopaths, bodywork practitioners and other providers of the healing arts? It's time to end the AMA monopoly and embrace the future of medicine.
#3 Ban junk food and soda advertising
As much as I believe in Free Speech, I don't support it when it's commercial speech funded by wealthy corporations whose products harm our children, promoting obesity, diabetes, heart disease and mental disorders. ALL advertising of junk foods, sodas and other non-nutritional foods and beverages should be permanently banned. Sure, they can still sell cola that causes diabetes and obesity; they just can't advertise it anywhere.
#4 Legalize stevia; outlaw aspartame
Stevia is a safe, non-caloric herb that sweetens foods and beverages without adding any sugar or artificial chemicals. It's legal just about everywhere in the world other than America, where the FDA has kept it outlawed in order to protect aspartame profits (a crime engineered by none other than Donald Rumsfeld).
#5 End FDA tyranny over health supplements
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