PrintApril 26, 2009
Democrats' Stealth Approach to Universal Health Care
What ever happened to Preisdent Obama's promise of an open government? All Americans should be concerned about the partisan Democrat shenanigans taking place this weekend.
Congressional leaders and the White House are spending the weekend hammering out final details of the proposed $3.5 trillion FY 2010 budget bill, with no Republican input, in a push toward final approval of the 2010 budget proposal by Wednesday. This would give President Obama something to crow about on Wednesday, when he plans to enumerate to the American people, during prime time, his accomplishments in100 days in office.
Because health care is one of the big drivers of government spending in Obama's budget -- nationalized health care for Democrats has been a dream since FDR -- Democrats have decided to use a process called "reconciliation" to pass the budget bill in the Senate (Reconciliation waives the need for a super majority vote of 60; a majority vote will do.), so there is no chance that Republicans will be able to derail the bill. Also distressing is that debate will be limited without the possibility of amendments. This sounds like a power grab to me.
Democrats are attempting to create a brand new entitlement program that that will absorb 17% of our budget, all under the public radar (Obama's 2010 budget proposal allows $600 billion for health care, but the real number is closer to $1.2 trillion.). The process of reconciliation will ensure that the massive $3.5 trillion budget bill passes, which will pave the way for the takeover of this nation's health care system based on a single-payer government plan, at a time when our government is already deep in long term and short term debt. This sounds like a power grab to me.
Are the American people really that unhappy with their health care? Is private care so bad that the American people are willing to surrender care decisions to a bureaucracy that cares little about the individual?
The Utopian notion that everyone is going to have health whenever and whatever their ailment is a pipe dream. Nationalized health care experiments in Canada and England have failed, yet the Obama Administration seeks to establish nationalized health care for the American people. This will not result in Obama's promised reform of health care, but will instead usher in rationed and inferior health care in lieu of health care on demand. There will be long waits to have tests done, there will be an absence of private capital to develop new life saving drugs and treatment methods, and Americans doctors will find nationalized health care unacceptable and will leave their profession, resulting in the need to import foreign doctors who are willing to work for a fixed salary.
President Obama is not willing to compromise on health care, but are the American people willing to accept a straight-jacket-type of health care? I don't think so, but given the Democrat's stealth approach to their dream of legislating Universal Health Care, nationalized health care might be well on the way to reality before the American people realize what is happening.
