Translating Liberal (Healthcare) Nonsense
October 30, 2009
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Normally, I give no credit at all to our so-called "press." I can't stand watching the news. It's the same four stories repeated all day long on every station for twenty-four hours and then we change a couple of the stories for the next twenty-four hour period.
This leads people that watch the news to all talk about the same things. I remember when four different un-related people mentioned the swine-flu to me on the same day before even 5 people had died worldwide (and none in the USA at the time).
The sad part is that this gives the media far more influence than they should have. They can weave a tangled web of nonsense about Michael Jackson while Cap and Trade gets passed unnoticed in the background. The MSM is distraction from real issues and important issues, and I'm sure the statists love it.
Anyways, mini-rant over. Time for some comedy. The other day Wolf Blitzer actually did ask a tough question to David Axelrod about the public option. I will be translating David's nonsense for your reading pleasure:
BLITZER: Joining us in our "Strategy Session" is the senior presidential adviser David Axelrod.
David, thanks very much for coming in.
DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Hey, Wolf, good to be with you.
Translation: Hey funny beard, it's nice of you to let me steer public opinion by talking nonsense.
BLITZER: Is the president -- because we're getting a lot of conflicting information -- going to say absolutely that the so-called public health insurance option, a government-run health insurance company that would compete with the private health insurance companies, is he going to say that that's absolutely essential?
AXELROD: Look, Wolf, what he's going to do is deliver a plan that will bring security and stability to people who have insurance, that will help people who don't have insurance get it at a price they can afford and bring down the cost to the whole system.
Translation: Listen dork, the President is gonna do whatever he wants. We are going to use words like "security" and "stability" to make it seem as if America's healthcare system is spiraling out of control. We are going to sell this plan to the American people by packaging it as "helping the poor" a.k.a. those without insurance. Everyone wants to help the poor right? And I'm going to lie to you and tell you that the government can lower health insurance costs, by stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor.
AXELROD (cont.): He believes the public choice, within that pool that we're going to create for uninsured Americans and small businesses, would be helpful in terms of bringing competition and choice. He thinks that would be good for consumers and he's going to make the case for that.
But he's also going to make the point that this is not -- this is an ends to a means. It's not the essence of this debate. It's a part of the -- it's one of the tools and there are other ideas out there to bring competition and choice that are -- that are worthy, as well.
Translation: Capitalists like competition (NOT), and believe in competition (unless they can get the gov't to give them a leg-up) and so we will continue to use the buzz words "competition" and "choice," when really our ultimate plan is to force everyone under the public option thereby giving the gov't control of a huge portion of the economy (we already got a lot of the banks). We really know that subsized competition (a public option) that doesn't have to make a profit will be able to drive all other insurance companies out of business because its a little like having Lennox Lewis fight Mike Tyson while Mike's hand's are cuffed. We don't want this to be a fair fight.
BLITZER: Including what they call the cooperative option, a series of health insurance cooperatives that wouldn't be the public option, but would be some -- something in between?
Is that -- is he going to get into a detail like that and say he likes that idea?
AXELROD: He will acknowledge the fact that -- that there is that idea. There's the idea of putting a trigger on the public option so that it goes into effect at some date when it's clear that -- that a market is uncompetitive. There are a number of ideas.
But what is very important is that we have the kind of competition and choice that will help consumers. In many states in this country, there's one insurer that dominates the entire market. In Alabama, one insured dominates 87 percent. In North Dakota, there's one insurer that dominates...
Translation: We don't really want to "help consumers" because a free-market system would be the best way to do that. We want to gain more power. To do this, we will be putting a "trigger" into the bill that will allow us to force people into the public option if we can't simply drive the other insurances companies out of business. I mean look many insurance companies have state monopolies....
BLITZER: So why not break down...
AXELROD: ...the market almost completely.
BLITZER: Why not break down the state barriers and let all of these insurance companies compete nationally without having to simply focus in on a state by state basis?
AXELROD: Because we are trying to do this in a way that advances the -- the interests of consumers without creating such disruption that it makes it difficult to...
Translation: Because that would actually be free-market approach to solving our problem, and we don't want free-markets, just the illusion of free-markets.
BLITZER: Why would that be...
AXELROD: ...to move forward.
BLITZER: ...disruptive? If Blue Cross and Blue Shield or United Health Care or all of these big insurance companies, they don't have to worry about just working in a state, they could just have the opportunity to compete in all 50 states?
AXELROD: But insurance is regulated at the -- at this time, Wolf...
Translation: I am avoiding the question. It's too good of a question. I didn't expect any tough questions today!
BLITZER: But you could change that. The president could propose...
AXELROD: ...state by state.
Translation: I...I...well....
BLITZER: The president could propose a law...
AXELROD: That is not...
Translation: ...part of the gov't take-over of private insurance plan?
BLITZER: ...changing that.
AXELROD: That is not endemic to the kind of reforms that we're proposing or that...
Translation: That won't help the gov't to gain more power!
BLITZER: Why not?
AXELROD: ...that...
Translation: oops....what do I do now? Even funny beard is seeing through my nonsense...
BLITZER: Why not?
AXELROD: ...we think -- we're proposing a package that we believe will bring that stability and security to people, it will help people get insurance, it will be -- it will lower the costs and that can pass the Congress. And that has to be the test. We're not into a symbolic expedition here. We're trying to bring real relief to hardworking middle class people in this country. We believe the plan that we've outlined will do that.
Translation: Quick! Remember the capitalist buzz words: stablility, security, lower costs. Oh...and it must be able to pass the congress and centralize power. Help the poor! Avoid the question!
BLITZER: Because I want to move on, but if the president wanted great competition -- greater competition -- he could say let's change the law and let these health insurance companies compete nationally.
AXELROD: I'm not sure, Wolf, that that would -- that that would end the debate that you asked me about in the first place. And, you know, I think that the idea that he's proposal will promote that. Others have other ideas. But they are not central.
What's central here is that we get fundamental insurance reforms that will protect people, put a cap on their out of pocket expenses if they have preexisting conditions, make sure they get insurance if they get sick, make sure they don't get dropped off insurance and will a pool where people who can't get insurance today -- you know, if you don't have insurance through your employer, it costs you three times as much to get insurance today. Most people can't afford it. Most small -- small businesses can't afford to insure their employees. A lot of people won't start a small business because they can't leave their insurance.
Our plan would help cope with that.
Translation: I don't really have an answer...I can just do my best to make terrible ideas look good by wrapping them in language about helping the poor. I must ignore the fact that free-market capitalism actually helps the poor more than socialism (in any form) ever could. I will now list off the bad things insurance companies do to turn a profit i.e. turn people away for already being sick...drop people for commiting fraud....charge people that cost more to insure higher premiums....
So our solution is drive insurance companies out of business with your tax dollars because it will give us more power. To do this we will over-regulate them, create a "public option" that doesn't have to efficent and will cost trillions. We wont reform Medicade/Medicare because those were simply the first step in creating government run insurance. We won't really open up competition because even the insurance monopolies don't want that.
In short Wolf, our plan is retarded, but it will grow the size of gov't.
Dare
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