Sunday, September 06, 2009

Those Opposed

The NY Times editorializes on health care reform. They make many good points and hope for a more ambitious bill than we're expecting by now.

And they make this point about those who are suddenly fiscally disciplined and oppose reform on that shaky basis.

If Mr. Obama is reaching out for broader support, he may be too diplomatic to point out the cynicism of Republican opponents who are late-blooming advocates of deficit reduction. The Bush administration and a Republican-controlled Congress enacted a Medicare prescription drug benefit that will cost the government almost $1 trillion over the next decade without raising or saving a penny to pay for it.

They also passed tax cuts for wealthy Americans that will cost more than $1.7 trillion over 10 years, again without making provisions to offset the costs. Now they are complaining that $1 trillion for health care reform — fully paid for over the next 10 years — is too much to spend on a problem that has been festering for decades.

I'll be very curious to hear whether he goes this route in Wednesday's address. He's in a tough spot. People need to wake up and look at this with new, clear, rational eyes, and think about it with a brain unfettered by all the hype and crap and lies.

No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke or be unable to change jobs because they get sick. Health care is not a privilege, not in a country as wealthy and young and smart as ours. It's a right. We can figure this out, and we can take care of our own. Why is this not that simple?

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