Condemning what the market does worse

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Agree, but unfair comparison

I do agree with most of what you are saying, but feel compelled to take issue with the following:

You said "Few deny the Obama Administration has mangled the health care debate. On my personal blog I have compared this to how the Bush Administration handled Hurricane Katrina."

The Bush administration's handling of the Katrina and its aftermath showed not only incompetence but also indifference to the suffering of US citizens, caused by a natural disaster. I think the lack of outrage on the part of non-affected Americans allowed this to continue for the remainder of Bush's term, but there was in my view no powerful opposition to the Administration helping the Katrina victims, although the insurance industry seems to have done its best to deny payout.

The health care reforms on the other hand face huge opposition from all the powerful vested interests, including some elected politicians. These groups spread FUD through heavy advertising and provide support for sympathetic entities and individuals. I think it is fair to compare the health care insurance industry to the tobacco industry of the past in this case, as far as conduct goes.

What is the most troubling perhaps is that most Americans are not outraged by the fact that the US spends double or more of what other rich, industrialized countries spend on health care, but gets worse health outcomes. Where do they think all this money goes? Could this be the reason the reforms face so much resistance? Most of these other countries have some form of single payer plan, which would essentially eliminate the health care insurance industry. I laugh when I hear the "rationing" argument used against a single player plan. What do they call it when their insurance company turns their treatment down?

A major problem is Americans' lack of trust in their government. In most advanced democracies, the citizens do feel much more in charge because they know they can "throw the bums out" if they do not follow the wishes of the citizens. In the US, there seems to be a fear and distrust of the government, coupled with a feeling of inability to change things, which leads to resistance to the government running anything, no matter how much sense it might make.

Allowing the insurance industry to take over health care in the name of liberty and private enterprise, may be one of the biggest domestic policy mistakes in US history. Given the insurance industry economic and political power and American distrust of their government, I am not at all confident that these reforms will succeed this time around. Eventually, America's expenditure on health care will so severely threaten its economic competitiveness, and therefore its military dominance, that something will HAVE to be done, but by then it may be too late for the US to remain as the world's only superpower.

Troubling indeed.

Posted by: Economister   Posted on: 08/24/09  (Edited: 08/24/2009 @ 07:37) You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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