Very articulate man, raise many excellent points.
Too bad he is playing defense now. Unfortunately that is the way it had to be, isn't it? Prior administrations, including 8 years under President Bush, didn't do much to address the problems, did they? Didn't really even admit that there was a problem.
In the meantime, we spend more and more of GDP on this and grow less and less competitive as a result. More and more companies take their work overseas, where they don't have to eat the ever-increasing costs.
Previously America had the chance to work on this CRISIS (which is the word I have been using for about 5 years on this subject) in calmer times and without the pressure of having a government plan proposed by a left wing president/congress.
So look at you now. Now, as we speak, the right is spending a lot of time addressing the problem...but only after they've been forced to do so. Suddenly, the right seems to willingly admit there is a serious problem and that we need the "opportunity" to address it. Interesting how everyone on the right is now on board...now that the left has a firm grasp on America's testicles.
Listen to this guy again. He starts out by essentially stating that we "have a huge problem in health care, and access, and quality."
But that is not what we've been hearing on this forum is it? We've been reminded again and again that it's just not that bad, that the present system is peachy and all one need do is move to a place where an employer is available to pick up the cost for you and we can move on (and ignore the costs and the uncompetitive scenarios those costs generate for Americans in general).
Alsatian, a member for whom I hold a great deal of respect, even wrote fairly extensively just the other day about how things just aren't that bad. No big deal, really. If it ain't broke, don't fix it...but that is not what this man from Michigan is saying, is it? He calls it a huge problem and we suddenly consider that "well-spoken?" Flip flop much?
Is it that dichotomy of concerns, that fostered the dire situation we now face...a situation in which an overblown government with the far left at the helm will virtually dictate terms as they take over yet another industry: Those who struggle to afford to pay for their own health care or that of their employees, or cannot afford it all, versus those for whom the cost is simply a non-issue...because someone else (the employer) pays most or all of the cost. Health care providers who are free to shift the costs to those who are lucky enough to be insured, because those who are insured are OBLIVIOUS to the actual costs being billed...most NEVER lay eyes on an itemized bill unless they specifically request it...and why should they? The average American is ONLY concerned with his or her co-pay, deductible, etc.
If you are a proud conservative, if you think you are smarter than the lefties, then learn from this. What the private sector fails to address WILL be addressed by the heavy hand of government. That you had health care insurance that you were "satisfied" with, does not mean that the system is okay. Need proof? Read the news, my friends.
Ignoring the problems of those employers around you simply because you don't experience the fallout of those financial problems is no different than someone on welfare ignoring the burdens being shouldered by others to provide them with their "free lunch."
And no, I am not equating working for an employer with welfare. Instead I am highlighting the apathy firmly encased in both scenarios (which is a point I am certain will fly over the heads of a hefty percentage of the 'deep thinkers' here).
Is this guy from Michigan impressive? You bet. Does he make a lot of fine points? Of course. But I do not recall hearing a single word from him on this subject in the past. If he did speak of it, which I seriously doubt, no one paid him any heed.
Its all too little too late. All hands rig for heavy seas. The left is at the helm and they're charting the course. It may takes decades to unwind the damage they may do because the right basically ignored it all, failed to even so much as recognize the problem.
|
100% of the sheep on this thread think he should be president We're referring to real sheep not those mindless liberals who are more like the Pied Piper's rats
