A Year Wasted?

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I've struggled with a name for the so called "Presidential Bipartisan Healthcare Summit."  I've considered "The Snooze Summit," "The Purely Partisan Presidential Pontification," or "The Blair House Hysteria." But after much thought I settled on my favorite: "The Bloviation at Blair House." There seemed to be a lot of talking but little listening. A lot of sad stories but no answers. The one question that I keep asking myself is: Do they really think that the answers to all problems can  be provided by government? As I was listening to Ms. Pelosi's reply I thought I was hearing a Prego Spaghetti Sauce commercial.  She was saying in essences: "It's in there." Well I don't care what she says, I don't want the government running the healthcare system. They are too involved now for my liking.

The thing that the Administration and the Leaders in Congress seem to not understand is the lack of faith in their leadership by the average citizen in this country. We don't trust them. They have an agenda and will say or do anything to pass it, without considering the good of the country as a whole. The Federal government does not have the Constitutional powers needed to nationalize the healthcare system. And don't tell me again about everyone else in the world having government provided healthcare. Every time I hear that I think I'm listening to a spoiled 9 year old kid saying: "But everyone's parents but mine will let them............." Our differences from the rest of the world is what made us a beacon to the world. Some of the Progressives need to grow up and take responsibility for their lives. Don't expect the government to make it perfect.

Through shear force of will and presence the President seems to think that he can get anything that he wants. He has been able to talk his way into the highest office of the land. His cult of personality goes only so far. He should go back and read a little more of Abraham Lincoln and what he said about people: "You can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." The American people can be made to distrust individuals by the news media and the words of others, but we are a forgiving people. When we find out that we have been mislead or ignored by a person, we can be much less forgiving. We don't like arrogance. We don't want to hear you brag that you won the election. We know that you won. We want you to take responsibility for the job and move forward. We want you to serve the long term interest of the country. Not everyone gets to be President of the United States, but we do pass it around every 4 to 8 years. You're not the first to hold the job. The American people expect their president to be a servant of the people. We are not servants to the President or the government. Some people make the office, some people are made by the office, and sometimes neither happens.

The President had his healthcare summit and now we realize that it was a year too late. The administration showed its cards and as many of us know the deck was stacked against the American people. There was a lot of talk about insurance but little about healthcare.  A lot of sob stories but little about solutions. The Democrats pulled out the violins but they only were playing those violins as the country burns. But of course Mr. Obama, Sen. Reid, and Ms. Pelosi had planned to push through a single payer, government take over of the nations healthcare system with no debate until they hit reality. Go back and look at what they were promising in 2008. They had a super majority. They thought that no one could stop them. Well reality, the American people, and a sudden crash of the American economy only seemed to slow them down.

They spent a full day discussing healthcare insurance. I waited to hear about quality but alas there was nothing. What good is insurance if there is no one to provide good quality service?  How does it help me if you lower my insurance premium only to raise my taxes to pay for it? How does it help to add people to the system to "lower premiums" if they must be subsidized by the everyone else paying the premiums? It sounds like double speak to me.

It is a sad fact that people die every day. None of us are going to live forever. It is time to face up to some cold hard facts and not hope that if we ignore them, they will go away. Having healthcare insurance does not mean you will not become ill. It does not mean that you will be healed when you do become sick. It does not mean that you will be able to find a good doctor.  It does not mean that the world will be a perfect place. It only means that you do have a promise of payments of some medical bills. But in life nothing is certain or guaranteed. Life is hard some times and nothing can change that fact of life.

It seems to me that the problem is not with healthcare or healthcare insurance. The problem is a lack of money for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The leaders of the past were wrong. The system can not pay its obligations when there are more people receiving money from the government then paying. Al Gore promised a "Social Security Lock Box" but now we, as many of us knew, only found that it is full of government IOUs.  IOUs that we must pay.  Of course Al Gore also told us that the sea levels were rising and that we were all doomed. (But I digress.) The money that was payed into the Social Security Trust Fund was invested in government bonds. We've spent it.

The government needs more of your money to stave off the current entitlement crisis. Our leaders have kick this can down the road for too many years. Everyone wants to blame the other party or put in a temporary fix and expect the next administration to fix it. Just for a minute, consider that this is the reason that the bill does not take affect for so many years. But as they add even more people to the entitlement roles and add another entitlement they seem to be digging the hole deeper. We must stop digging and start working to fill in the hole before it collapses in on us and we're all crushed to death.  Don't think that it can't happen.

So yes, a year has been wasted by a Congress who is determined to take over a sixth of the American economy, take away our freedoms and infringe upon state rights. While jobs are being lost everyday while businesses try to prepare for a big government bulldozer, Congress sends anti-business messages. We find ourselves slipping deeper into uncertainty. Which is our greatest enemy.

©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved