Xenophobia?

The people of our country are acting like nationalistic fascists. We (the media public) gathered, from what should have been an influential promotion of health care reform, a tunnel vision on illegal and immigrant issues. Obama had yesterday evening as an opportunity to prove that he is a strong and confident leader. Very well, his term is 1/4 the way through and he has accomplished little outside of the economic stimulus plan. So I was hoping that he would redeem himself with making positive leaps in health care reform. It seems obvious now that will not be the case. Instead, our nation became focused on the minority of the issue at hand. And with no disappointment or regret to Wilson, after all his frustration is well-warranted. This is not to say that his actions were appropriate. But his sentiments may very well have been.

Today, very few discussions regarding health care reform stood outside of the ill-mannered issue which occured last night. This angers me beyond measures, as I saw Obama's address as an opportunity to move foward--as an opportunity to move this issue from the political scene to to a national healthcare scene. For the past several weeks, health care reform has become a political debate. One versues democrats and republicans, which itself even bcecame lopsided. Republicans and even democrats are persuading our people against a public option, which I myself do not support. Perhaps, however, not for the same reasons. Political parties make percentages of their yearly paycheck through essential tip-offs from health insurance companies. In fact, John Kerry has earned over 680,000$ from health insurance companies as a way to promote these markets. Inducing the public option will, inevitably, lower health-insurance policy prices, and refocus the profits in government hands. Essentially, this is unfair, and goes against our free-market traditions. Even more importantly, this will cause a big deficit in congressmen's wallets ie: Kerry, Rockefeller, and Hutchison just to name a few. Why aren't people talking about this? Instead, American taxpayers are looking for someone to hate and thus look toward illegal immigrants, accusing them for soaking up tax dollars on their visits to the emergency room. Perhaps our nation doesn't fully understand the way medical bills and insurance companies work. Illegal immigrants are STILL PAYING FOR HEALTH CARE. Being stabilized in the ER after long waiting hours does not mean that they are receiving adequate health care attention. There are hundreds of other places that our tax dollars are being misrepresented (ie. welfare?). However, I digress from Wilson, illegal immigrants, and the "you lie" comment, as it only promotes the focus on the issue.

So why was THERE NO FOCUS ON HEALTH CO-OPS? I can't figure out what is going through their minds. This is a serious and affordable health plan that can be used as an intermediary until, or "until", health reform reaches us. We are missing the big picture. Pareto's rule plays a perfect signifance here. 80% of our nation's economy is being held by 20% of the population. So when the affluent stop spending, guess what happens to the American dollar? Of course, it plummets. We need to broaden that 20%. Whether this means restructuring medicare (which would actually save our nation millions of dollars than creating a new government-run health care program--why not fix what we already have?) or developing a broader inclusion of insurance companies to minimize competition.

It seems to me that Obama hasn't realized that he is now the 44th president. He is still stuck in that campaigning mode. We're a nation waiting to be led. Please come through Obama. Stop throwing out ideas and possibilties and start feeding us plans and methods. The time is now. Well really, it was yesterday...at the very least. Instead, Obama talked about possibilities and his open-mindedness to new ideas. If "now is the time to act" why hasn't he nor congress done so? Obama and his cabinet are directing their focus in the wrong place and inevitably making the nation angry. But for good reason. For example, his idea to force insurance companies to provide coverage for those with pre-existing medical conditions is completely unfair. That is NOT what insurance is. Insurance companies are free-markets whom profit from customers paying for the premiums but not using them. This is a business. Outside of emotion, there is NOTHING wrong with that. If we wanted to do something about that, then forcing them to become a government dominated industry is NOT the way to do it. That goes against what our legal system believes in. Even more, telling our country that only the rich will be paying for the new medical benefits being advocated is absolutely untrue, or at least short-sighted. Implicit taxes are no less important than open taxes, fiscally speaking. And these implicit charges will be incurred, both on the rich and poor.

I wish I knew more about politics so I could have a hand in them. So to the 535 men in congress, I hope, for the sake of the America dollar, and for the sake of the hard-working individuals muddled in healthcare bills, that something is done soon. That a focus on health co-op is generated. That medicare is tweaked to support the poor public. That the public opinion is heard. And more than anything, that the gap between the rich and poor is minimized. I think what people are forgetting most is that being uninsured does not nearly attribute low-income.

You're a good man Obama. Please be a good president.