This is sort of a mish mash of ideas that have filled my head this morning. I say mish mash, although only two incidents, thus far, have gotten me so angry that I can spit nails.

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What Lit the Flame?

Last night, I happened upon a 1959 Mike Wallace interview.  In this interview, Wallace was speaking to Ayn Rand, the goddess of today’s Libertarian Party, the party that Ron Paul would belong to if he had any courage.  But Paul has no courage.  Paul won’t change from a sinking Republican Party to the Libertarian Party because he knows he’d have even less of a chance of being elected.  He won’t bring his millions, and he does have millions, over to the Libertarian Party and run as a Libertarian because he knows he has to keep one foot in the corporate door in order to have any chance of winning at all.

What was the other motivator for what may be a long article about society?

A Personal Experience With Wasteful Bureaucracy

I apologize that I use a personal experience to make my point, but what experiences are we more familiar with than those we’ve personally experienced.  We really have no better points of reference.

I moved from Connecticut to California in the fateful year 2001.  My right knee started bothering me when I arrived in California and, by November of 2002, the pain was so bad and the x-rays showed such a deterioration that my orthopedic doctor suggested a knee replacement.  I received a knee replacement in 2002.

At that time, the surgeon couldn’t promise me how long the knee would last.  He was very honest.  He said that they’ve gotten better and some people have lived the rest of their lives with a prosthetic knee.  Of course, many of those people were well into their 70s and some 80s.  At the time, I was 42.

The doctor told me that he expects the knee to last at least 15 years – but, of course, he didn’t promise.

Between 2001 and the present, my back began to give me trouble.  In fact, the pain has become unbearable and I’m taking heavy doses of very strong pain medication.  The medication is hardly touching the pain.

I went to one doctor who said surgery should be the very last road that I should take in order to fix the problem.  At that time the back had just started to bother me and I let it go for a while.

However, the pain increased significantly and my orthopedic doctor suggested that I see a pain management group.

I had some x-rays taken and took them with me to the pain management doctor.

Note that every time I saw a different doctor, I first had to see my primary care physician in order to get a reference.  I’d go to my pcp and he would say, “Hello.  So what can I do for you today?”

I’d tell him and he said, “Oh, you need a referral?  No problem.”

I paid my copay and got a permission slip to see the orthopedic surgeon and the pain management doctor.  I could not see any of those doctors without first having to pay my pcp for a permission slip.

I brought the x-rays to the pain management doctor who looked at them and said, “You’re in trouble, dude.”

I saw that particular doctor for a couple of years and he put me on a regiment of very strong pain medication.  It did some good at first, but my body kept building a tolerance towards the meds and the dosage had to occasionally be increased.

At the dosage at which I started and even after a couple of increases, I remained fully functional.  The dosage didn’t hinder my ability to drive and I still had my freedom.

We did get to a dosage that interfered with my functionality and I insisted upon going back to a dosage under which I could function.

In addition to the medication, the doctor attempted some minimally invasive procedures which were supposed to block the pain signal to the brain.  They didn’t work and I can now see how that could have been dangerous in and of itself.

The doctor quit working for the pain management group and I was handed over to his replacement.  Then the group itself withdrew from my insurance provider.  I kept seeing the doctor’s replacement in the group, but I paid full price for every visit, which was monthly, out of my pocket.  I knew of no other pain management group in the area.

On a visit to my pcp, I asked him if he knew of any other pain management groups in the area.  He suggested one.  I called and, lo and behold, she was in my insurance group.  I had to travel further to see her, but I didn’t have to pay full price.

She kept me on the medication, but had me try acupuncture and other alternative medicine, none of which worked.  In fact, the acupuncture was intolerably painful.

In the mean time, I saw another surgeon.  This surgeon was very proud of the fact that he’d worked with an American professional football player who had back problems.  He said that he could perform a minimally invasive procedure that, when coupled with some kind of special physical therapy, would allow me to stop taking the medication.

The fact that surgery was involved and the doctor’s overstated pride concerning his work with the pro athlete convinced me to obtain a second opinion.  Part of the second opinion reads as follows:

“In reviewing plain films of the lumbar spine, I see severe arthritic changes at every single level. The MRI scan shows the same arthritic changes and shows disc bulges at virtually every level. There is mild-to-moderate lateral zone stenosis at most levels including especially L5-S1.

Midline back pain is extraordinarily difficult to treat.  If someone presents with just one terrible disc, occasionally a discogram and/or a fusion is considered.  When every single disc is damaged, it is not possible to fix the problem surgically.  One simply cannot replace the entire spine.”

So, the score, surgery - 1, wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot poll – 1.  Tie score.

My new pain management doctor recommended I see a doctor who’s closest competitor, according to her, is Superman.  I visited my pcp again, paid my copay, said, “Hello” and got my permission slip to see the San Francisco Superman.

Superman was more like Steven Wright.  He said, “I’ll be right back” at least 6 times during the visit and left the room for who knows what reason.  He had his hands in his pockets and to say he looked disinterested would be like saying Dracula liked red drinks.

I thought at least he’d be a tie breaker.  Remember, surgery – 1, no surgery – 1?

On, no, Dr. Wright agreed with both doctors.  At least that’s what I think he said.  His bedside manner was only slightly better than his ability to speak the English language – and he’s a third, fourth or fifth generation American.  It’s not that he spoke with an accent.  Let me take that back, I couldn’t tell if he spoke with an accent.

I believe his ultimate conclusion was that the procedure the “pro football” doctor was going to perform would have been useless and, yes, there are too many levels for surgery to be an option  Then he said, “I’ll operate anyway.”  Oh no you won’t!

Remember, I had to pay a copay to see my pcp for a permission slip to see each and every one of these doctors.

My knee’s starting to bother me again.  I phoned last week to see the doctor who inserted the fake knee and at the same time I hoped that he knew yet another doctor who would look at the x-rays and the newly taken MRI and actually give me an answer concerning my back which carried some direction with it.

I called my pcp for a referral to see the orthopedic doctor this morning.  I was told I had to come in to visit him at 2:15 this afternoon.

I finally asked, “Why does he have to see me in order to refer me to a doctor I’ve seen before?  He’s the one that referred me to the orthopedic doctor in the first place.  Can’t he just send a referral to the doctor?”

The receptionist said no.  First, she said it was legally required for me to see my pcp in person in order to receive a referral.  I questioned that statement and she finally ‘fessed up that it was the private sector insurance company that was making me see the pcp each time.

I’ll go to see my pcp this afternoon, I’ll pay the copay.  He’ll say, “Hello” and then he’ll give me my permission slip.

I’d call the insurance company to inquire, but I don’t like listening to the muzak they play while I wait for an hour to speak to a human being.  Granted, they have the automated menu that I have to navigate before speaking to a human being, but those menus never, ever offer choices that would be helpful to me.  Never!

Who’s Susceptible to Coming Down with Bureaucracy?

What does this have to do with Ayn Rand and Ron Paul?

There is an argument used by large corporations and Libertarians every time a referendum is added to a ballot which, if passed, would give some responsibility to the government, whether it’s national, state or local government.

The argument goes something like this:

“Do you want to be sure that electrical power is delivered to you in a timely manner or do you want to wait for the decision to be made by some wasteful government bureaucracy?”

“Do you want to be sure that there’s enough money for you when you retire or are you going to leave that up to some wasteful government bureaucracy?”

“Do you want to wait in long lines, possibly until it’s too late, to treat your illness while some wasteful government bureaucracy decides when you can finally see a doctor?”

Get it?  When it’s the government, it’s always a bureaucracy that’s going to screw things up.

Although Dictionary.com uses the word “government” in most of its definitions of the word “bureaucracy”, they do have one definition that I believe is more accurate.  That definition says that a bureaucracy is “any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence on unnecessary procedures and red tape”.

Bingo!

If having to visit my primary care physician each time he gives me a referral to see another doctor isn’t bureaucratic bullshit, I don’t know what is.
 
I worked for a global Fortune 500 corporation for 25 years and I’ve seen bureaucracy at its best.  If one is in the midst of completing a project and his or her boss is in Greece or Germany and the engineer needs permission from that boss to take the next step, that action is being obstructed by the insistence that the engineer is not empowered to take the next step without becoming involved with bureaucratic action.

Bureaucracy is not unique to government.  There’s at least as much bureaucracy in the private sector, especially in huge, global corporations, as there is in government.

Is it wasteful for me to have to see a doctor to get permission to see another doctor each and every time?  You damn betcha! 

Ayn Rand and Every Man for Himself

I’m not certain what Ayn Rand would say about this situation.  I believe that today’s Libertarians are slightly less narcissistic, selfish and self serving than she was, but not by much.

I know that Ron Paul would fight to the death against universal health care because it’s not his responsibility to help other American citizens.  They should have planned and lead a frugal life.  If they did that, they’d have the money needed for health care and all of the other necessities of life.

Ayn Rand and her followers, including Ron Paul, must believe that humans are produced via a cookie cutter.  All humans are equal and if each human being is “virtuous”, as Rand said in her interview, works hard and “sacrifices” for himself or herself, that human being will be successful.

If all human beings are allowed to keep all of their earnings, using none of it to help others, coupled with virtuosity and hard work, then all “deserving”, another word Rand was fond of, human beings would be successful.

One of the Most Enlightening Epiphanies of my Life

I refer to an epiphany which occurred to me in 1988 quite often in my articles.  It happened when I was promoted to the position of Operations Supervisor for the above mentioned corporation. 

The epiphany came when I, as part of the hiring team, met with the rest of the hiring team.  So as to not repeat the filth that spewed from the mouths of the other members of hiring team, which included the Human Resources Manager, here’s the link to that epiphany one more time.

This was a global corporation which was on a hiring spree at the time and the year was 1988!  One can only imagine what this hiring team, and hiring teams for all such decent paying corporations did before the creation of the government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

How Would Representative Paul React to Reality?

I’d like to have asked Rand how these people were supposed to be frugal, virtuous and work hard to become successful.  But I’ll put the question out to Ron Paul.  How, Representative Paul, were people of color or people whose ethnicity or people whose gender were the only barriers between decent employment and poverty supposed to follow your rules of frugality, virtuosity and hard work?  How would they have overcome the hateful, greedy prejudice of those who did the hiring for large corporations if not with the help of the government?  And how was the government supposed to find the revenues to help these people if not by taxing Americans?

Basically, Mr. Paul, what you are saying is that the bureaucracy which I’ve been personally dealing with is better than government bureaucracy.  How so, Mr. Paul?  Would there be someone in the government who would make people jump through hoops or deny them care so that he or she could rake in millions, in one case, billions of dollars per year?  Is that how the government would work?  Because that’s damn sure how the private sector works.

And what, Mr. Paul, do you say to those who would be denied employment because of conditions for which they had no say, like their ethnicity or race or gender?  Is your answer “tough shit”?  The employer’s free to hire whomever he wants, even if his hiring decision is based upon irrationality?

If helping people whose natural characteristics bother employers enough to deny them employment is an indication of a “nanny state”, then so be it.  I think it’s an indication of caring state officials elected by caring citizens who know that all is not equal and that part of the inequality is based upon greed, racism, sexism and, basically, an attempt at ethnic cleansing.

People want to vote for you, Representative Paul, because you’re a Republican who has the guts to stand up to other Republicans and call for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

It’s interesting that those same people aren’t asking, “So, Representative Paul, what happens to these people after we bring them back from Iraq?”

You sure as hell aren’t going to take care of them.  You’re going to have some private business whose goal is to make its CEO and top executives as wealthy as they can be “take care of our veterans”.  Will our veterans who’ve been ignored in Iraq be able to afford the top shelf care offered by these corporations?  Are they physically going to have enough time to go through all of the brochures to find out which corporation offers more for less?  Will those advertisements be as “honest” as the advertisements we see on our TVs today?

We know that Ron Paul’s worldview is to do the best for Ron Paul.  If you listen to Rand’s interview, you know that she finds it “immoral” for people to care about others, at least before they’re satisfied that they’re sufficiently wealthy.  We know by what happened at such places as Enron that CEOs are never satisfied with their personal wealth.

I submit that, if Ron Paul, by some miracle, is elected president, the troops will be withdrawn from Iraq as quickly as possible.

I further submit that, after the troops are withdrawn, Ron Paul will care less about American citizens, including those troops, than any president before him, even Dubya.  Why?  Because, if you listen to Paul’s goddess, Ayn Rand, that’s the right thing to do.  Not caring about others is, indeed, the right thing to do.

Conclusion

I said that this would be long and I was right.

I also said that it would be a mish mash of ideas as a lot of things were running through my angry mind when I began to write this.  I see now, however, that it does tie together.

I wrote a fairly long personal narrative to show that wasteful bureaucracies exist not only in government, but in the private sector as well.  Since the private sector is not answerable to the people, those corporate bureaucracies can continue to raise prices, deny employment for no good reason and force people to do the work which makes them money while paying those people too little to live on.  This is what Libertarians want.  The rights of each person should be decided by each person, not a majority.  So, instead of a majority forcing people to follow the law, we should have the wealthiest and most powerful people and corporations forcing people to follow their laws.  If we look at what’s happening to the media, we know that competition won’t prevent people from having to follow corporate laws.

I brought up another personal experience to which Ayn Rand and her disciple Ron Paul would say, “Stuff happens.  He has every right to be as wealthy as he can make himself, to incorporate a business and hire whomever he wants to hire and deny employment to whomever he wants to deny employment.”

Mr. Paul believes that if one is Black and corporations are no longer required to follow a law forcing corporations to hire qualified Black people, well, to repeat, stuff happens.  Mr. Paul won’t care what stuff happens to the Black or Hispanic person who can’t find work.  You know why?  Because it would be immoral to help them.  It would take away the self esteem of the people who are refused employment, self-esteem which would no doubt be flying high as they beg on the streets for enough money for food for the day. 

Authors Bio:

Michael Bonanno is an associate editor for OpEdNews.

He is also a published poet, essayist and musician who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bonanno is a political progressive, not a Democratic Party apologist. He believes it's government's job to help the needy and that leaving the people's well being to the so called "private sector" is social suicide.