Whatever your political beliefs are, you have to admit Barack Obama is a great public speaker. He has a natural speaking style and seems to be comfortable talking to large groups of people. The man knows how to work a crowd.
I read something recently that compared him to Jesus. You see, like Jesus, Barack Obama wants to feed the starving masses and heal the sick.
Unfortunately for Obama, he doesn’t have the ability to magically turn a couple of loaves of bread and a few fish into enough food to feed a crowd. It takes more than charisma to feed and heal people these days.
Great Goal, Crappy Plan
I have always believed we should be charitable to those who are in need. I believe we should feed the hungry and take care of the sick. It’s the decent and moral thing to do and I applaud Mr. Obama’s charitable goals.
The problem I have with Obama is the way he wants to achieve those goals. In a nutshell, he wants to federalize the entire health care industry. He seems to believe that if the federal government takes over, the system will become more efficient and it will be cheaper for everybody.
I wonder how adding more paperwork will make things more efficient. If the federal government gets involved, there will be more paperwork, right? Or will this be the one government program in the history of the universe that doesn’t have paperwork. It sounds impossible to me, and it probably is. I’m not buying the efficiency promise.
As for lowering the cost, I don’t see how adding a layer of government bureaucracy, subsidizing premiums, and mandated coverage will make it less expensive. Are we still going to pay the doctors? Where does the money come from to pay the insurance premiums for people who can’t afford them? While it might look like it’s less expensive, all the same costs (and a bunch of new ones) are still going to be there, just shifted to a different place.
The difference is that rather than an individual paying for what they use the government will pay for it. We’re all going to pay for it through higher taxes because that government money is money that comes out of your paycheck. Well you know what? My taxes are high enough, so no thanks.
The Obama plan would also force employers to contribute to the cost of health care for employees. That will cause one of two things to happen. Either the business will pass that cost on to the consumer, or the business will move it’s operations out of the country to get cheaper labor. So your health care will be more affordable, but you’ll still pay for it every time you go to Target.
Help People Do The Right Thing
I believe that if Mr. Obama really wants to do something to help the sick and feed the poor, he should start a charity. All of the people who believe in helping the poor can get together and create a non-profit organization dedicated to helping feed the hungry and care for the sick. They can fund their efforts with donations, which are voluntary and tax deductible. All those people who support Barack can donate.
If Barack wants government to fix anything, he should figure out how government can make it easier for private organizations to solve the problem. If you have 100 private groups working to find a great solution to the problem, they’re far more likely to succeed than some bloated government entity. Perhaps he can push for an end to frivolous lawsuits that drive up the cost of insurance for doctors and by extension for the patient. How about opening up the drug markets up so the pharmaceutical companies have a little competition and we don’t have to go to Canada to get our prescription drugs at a reasonable price?
If Barack wants to encourage people to help, he might push for legislation giving taxpayers the option to earmark 100% of their federal income tax to go to the charity of their choice. Everybody I know would jump at that opportunity. I know I’d rather have my tax money going toward helping people than toward buying helicopters for the Mexican Army, or for bombs to drop on Iraq. Making the choice to help others gives people a good feeling. Being forced to help isn’t charitable and it breeds resentment.
I like Barack, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that much like Jesus he probably has good intentions. But unlike Jesus, his plan for helping involves smiling to your face while rifling through your wallet. And that’s really just not okay. So it’s nothing personal Mr. Obama, but please keep your sticky little fingers out of my health care.
