23.8.09

Reformed On Health Care Reform


I, as addicts are fond of saying, have had a moment of clarity ... and it's all thanks to the healthcare reform screamers. I have found, after careful research and soul searching, that these gun-toting senior citizens and wealthy folks are right, but flawed. You see, because they are relying upon flawed sources (right wing talk radio, which is not known for truth, and a drug addict named Limbaugh) their arguments are weak and don't go far enough.

People like those Tea Party Patriots are right. We don't need government involved in healthcare. Government screws up everything it touches. And we're to let medical decisions like who lives and dies rest in its hands? I think not. I'm an anarchist. I don't trust the government. Why was I thinking healthcare reform was a good idea? The only problem is that these opponents, because of the morons they are listening to, only know half the problem.

Not only should the government get out of healthcare reform (public option, my ass), but we need to get rid of the VA, Medicare, and Medi-Cal/Medicaid – to name just a few things. These are all government run programs. These are all at taxpayer expense, and they reek of socialism.

Soldiers have taken on a job. They have signed up and are getting paid, just like any other job. If you work at McDonald's, you know the risks. If you work for the military, you know the risks. Why should we treat our soldiers any different? They aren't dumb. They come from some of the most educated, wealthiest families in the country. They are getting paid a handsome sum. If they get hurt, their own insurance should cover it. Don't have their own insurance? Too bad. Tea Party Parrots aren't saying this, but it's true. The government footing the bill for their medical care is socialism plain and simple. We, the taxpayers, are being double-dipped. We are already paying the soldiers' salaries, which are quite high given the poor job they are doing overseas (terrorism has increased, Bin Laden has not been captured and so on since they got over there), so they can afford their own medical insurance. We don't need them sucking off both government tits. In fact, I would say taxpayers should not be funding the military period. All it is paying for is war overseas. Where was this grand, expensive military when 9/11 happened? All those fighter jets and the towers still came down? Heads should've rolled over that one. We shouldn't be fighting overseas anyway, and we haven't been invaded since Dinosaur Times. Military funding is bad money following bad practices. Tea Party Parrots need to step up to the plate and call it what it is. Paying for the VA and for the military (and the soldiers bloated salaries/retirement) is a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to hard-working Americans everywhere who don't fuck up their jobs.

And then there's Medicare.

Medicare primarily covers the elderly and disabled, two groups of people who not only suck up most of the medical costs in this country but are also two groups that contribute the least. Elderly people's best years are behind them, which is why they no longer work. Outside of factory labor, fast food and occasional movie bits, the disabled don't produce more than they consume. These two groups are given lots of lip service about how valuable they are, but if that were the case would they be the butt of so many jokes? The government is paying for these groups' medical needs. Yes there is a buy-in associated with Medicare that many have to pay for themselves. The Part B buy-in at this point is $96.40 a month. The Medicare client or the government pays that. Either way, that's a small price to pay for the amount of services these folks use. We need to get our government money out of there and turn them over to private insurance companies. I know the Tea Party Parrots are some of the same people spouting nonsense about death panels, but if there ever is to be a death panel, these two groups need to be the first to go. It's not young and middle-age folks using these services. It's your grandmother and your uncle who got all fucked up in a drunken auto accident. Good-bye. And quit using my tax dollars, you leeches!

Medi-Cal and Medicaid go without saying. These are more services paid for by the government in the hopes that if people have healthcare they will have healthier children, get check ups, and get items of concern taken care of before they become bigger problems and cost more money in treatment. All well and good, but it is still tax money going to preventive measures. We all know that if people get sick without healthcare they don't clog up the emergency rooms. They crawl into a corner and quietly die. Besides, by taking money away from these programs and putting it the working people's paychecks where it belongs, we can ensure that the Medicare clients are the first to go when we let swine flu rage out of control. The two take care of each other if we just take that net away. Nets aren't always good things. Just ask tuna.

While we're at it, we need to eliminate all welfare -- social and corporate. Corporate welfare, of course, eats up more than social welfare with its subsidies, bail outs, free land give aways, airwave give aways and so on. We call all wax romantic about how CEOs are the ultimate rugged individuals who built their businesses from nothing, but the railroads, Internet, transportation industries, weapons industries, pharmaceuticals and so on would not be here without big government control of the marketplace, subsidies and the like. We need to remove the corporations safety nets, too. Nobody rides for free anymore, and corporations do not need protectionist measures at the expense of the taxpayer. No more public risk, private profit. No more bail outs. These corporations got us into this economic mess, and now we need to show them we mean business. They need to play under the same rules as individuals. And this goes for small businesses, too. No more write-offs. No more incentives. You're out to dry with the rest of them.

Ironically, Fox and Limbaugh are people/entities who thoroughly benefit from corporate welfare, and they are the ones spreading so much misinformation. They are protected by the FCC, who keeps “pirate” radio stations and broadcasts at bay and acts as a de facto censor with how it doles out “licenses.” We need to get rid of the communist-inspired FCC and let these media institutions defend themselves ... minus our taxpayer dollars. And while we are at it, we need to stop having state, federal and municipal authorities enforcing laws. These laws, which are inefficient at best, don't benefit everyone, and the amount of time it takes to draft them, enforce them and carry out justice is a waste of valuable tax money. Why should child molesters be protected from angry mobs? Why should white collar criminals enjoy the same protections as said child molesters? They shouldn't. The justice system we currently have is borderline socialist, and that also means the prisons must be abolished. I don't want my tax money used to keep these sociopaths safe from the public that wants to rip them to shreds. Let's stop throwing money at this problem and let good ol' fashion street justice take its course. Hey, Madoff! I've got a noose for you. Gonna string you up like a pinata and let those bilked take a few dozen whacks at you with baseball bats. We'll pull you right out of that cushy cell you're in. How many hits do you think it will take before your juicy bits spill out? Twenty? Four dozen? We're waiting!

No more tax money should be spent on programs meant to keep teens from having sex, either. I don't want the government making those decisions. Bigger families means more consumers and producers (at least until they get crippled or old). Fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls are at the perfect breeding age and are desired both by peers and older men. Why do we want to hamper that? Are we another China? Sure seems so. In just a few short years these young ladies' desirability will decrease 20% by every year they stay in the market. We need those babies and we need them now. I just don't think we should be paying to keep them from pregnancy or helping them give birth. That's what mommy and daddy's insurance is for.

Say what you want about Baby Bush, but he was a good president. He kept his mouth shut. He didn't try to fix problems that aren't the government's domain (such as war, energy, healthcare and so on), and he didn't stand in the way of “progress.” He let corporations ride for free, though, which was a huge flaw on his administration's behalf. If he had just cut government out of all those things it does now, such as aiding veterans (which was drastically reduced under his watch – hurray!) and maintaining the roads, he would have left office a victor instead of disgraced. Now we have this Obama character with big plans. And we have his enemies, which are a group largely void of individual thought or foresight. I've always been a big picture guy who has said the truth as I see it. These puppets shouting down politicians at town hall are suckers. Fox, Republicans (government whores like their Democrat cousins), and Limbaugh want to protect their own interests and are using these people to do it. They want the tax money to go to things like corporations and the FCC, never seeing how socialist these institutions are. (Or in the case of corporations -- tyrannies.) I just can't believe these town criers can't see this. Maybe I'm wrong and they do see it, but they lack the strength of their convictions (something far more likely). They are definitely lacking something, though, and it isn't just brains.

As I drove to the movies today, I saw the perfect of example of my tax dollars being used in a way that does not benefit me. In front of me was a car with handicap plates. I'm not disabled, so I cannot park in their spaces. If I do, I get a ticket. Cities use blue paint to denote handicap parking spaces. Blue paint costs taxpayer money. Administering the blue paint costs taxpayer money. Having someone look for violators costs taxpayer money. For someone to actually process the fine and deal with the financial end costs taxpayer money. I don't want my money going toward that. I get no benefits from that system. I only lose money in the end. How is this fair?

If you are against healthcare reform and you have a family member on Medicare, you are a hypocrite. If you are against your tax dollars funding “socialist” programs and you or a family member benefits from the VA hospital, you are a hypocrite. If you are against the government “interfering” with the free market and yet you aren't calling for the end of state, county and federal run prisons, you are a coward at best. If you think welfare should end for citizens, but don't think that it should end for corporations, you are a hypocrite and a coward. I bet that fits the bill for most people who oppose healthcare reform. The sad thing is, not only are they hypocrites and cowards – they're being played. Effectively. Smoothly. Sadly. They are pawns. Weak-minded. Untested. Uneducated. Ignorance is not only bliss, it's dangerous in some cases. Because of how weak they are, they give me my one out when it comes to the government using my tax dollars for medical purposes. You see, I would gladly pay taxes to have all of them forcibly sterilized.

Anyone with me on this one?

5 comments:

DRJ said...

wow. extremely well written. thanks for posting it.

-Doug Brunell (America's Favorite Son) said...

My pleasure.

Nikki said...

I love when you go off on long sarcastic diatribes.

Anonymous said...

So many things to say, so little time.

TPP consists of the same people that thought the Cash for Clunkers program was a brilliant plan to bolster the US economy. Cash For Clunkers is virtually a socialist program if you (TPP) sat and thought about it for a few seconds. They're also the same people that don't really understand (or care to admit) that the USA has been on the verge of socialism from Day 1. TPP also needs to go visit the Statue of Liberty and read the nonsense at her feet. Go TPP!

What does it mean when you say "I'm an anarchist."? Just curious. Seriously. No sarcasm. I promise.

As for your thoughts on the military salary, I'm not sure where your info is coming from, and I must assume you're referring to the income of generals, officers, higher-ups on the food chain, etc... Or maybe you're being sarcastic and I'm missing that in the text you provided to us interweb trolls?

If you were to go join the Army (for example) today, something I highly recommend for you, you would find out the following:

During your first 4 years of active duty service, you can expect to make an hourly wage of $8.75 - $11.62, depending on how "smart" you were and how quickly you were promoted.

That pay is actually lower during your first 4 months of service (which would basically be boot camp and other basic training elements). No point in paying a "high" wage in that particular part of your training when so many people wash-out, right?

If you happen to catch-on and promote quickly to Specialist or Staff Sgt, you can expect to make an hourly wage of $11.62 to $13.60 - not too shabby?

If you really learn which assess need kissing, you may just make 2nd Lt. or Captain and earn an hourly wage that ranges from $16.59 to $22.13, now we're talking major dollars! Holla'!

Of course there are many allowances, bonuses, and other benefits that I'm not familiar with, but I don't think a "handsome sum" really is the correct phrase in this particular case.

Granted, the uniformed drones in the Pentagon that push the papers that send the foot soldiers to war in 3rd world countries definitely make a pretty penny. I just don't think it's true of the basic foot soldiers that are dying and/or putting a "drain" on our healthcare and tax paying dollars.

On a more serious note, did you catch Lindsay Lohan's guest appearance as a celebrity judge on the season premiere of Project Runway last week? H-O-T-!

Speaking of LL, I was doing "research" for this comment/response to your post, and accidentally left this google image result I came across of LL in a 2-piece bikini up on my monitor at work. Left my office to get some papers from the copier, forgetting that the tab was open.

Boss walks into my office while I'm off retrieving papers from copier and sees the image on the monitor. "GEORGE, GET IN YOUR OFFICE NOW!"

My boss hates me.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/original/lindsay_lohan_jeremy_piven_party.jpg

-Doug Brunell (America's Favorite Son) said...

That is funny. Of course, I was being sarcastic throughout the piece, including the soldiers.

The anarchist bit ... it's my political belief system ... or at least the one that I think fits my beliefs the most. I think I've written enough about it and explained my stance on it enough times. It means chaos, dude!

Honestly, I just don't think we need any type of authority that can only justify itself by force. I believe people should be free to make their own decisions over their lives. I don't think we need government to "rule" us or even "guide" us in some cases. I can understand and even agree with some uses for our government, but (and if you had to pinpoint exactly what arm of anarchism I believe in, anarcho-syndicalism would probably fit best) I think over all we are better off without it.