Click here for a podcast of our Jan 12th show.
President Obama has everything in the world to lose by introducing health care reform that would undermine the country's economic vitality -- so why shouldn't we get behind "Obamacare," aka The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed last March?
On the other hand, the Republican' extraordinary urgency to square off on this legislation -- and get it repealed -- leads one to believe they know something about the economic effect of this new law that the rest of us don't (which is what I'm sure they would like us to believe anyway).
Trust me, I'm a conservative -- definitely not a fan of Big Government. And this law definitely smacks of it, what with its introduction of a fine, for crying out loud, for not having health coverage -- AND the requirement that the health coverage itself be reported on tax returns, giving even more weight to a taxation system that's completely out of control (did you know there are 13,458 pages in the current U.S. tax code, according to the U.S. Govt. Printing Office?). This aspect of Obamacare wreaks of over-regulation and regressive thinking.
Still, there are some things that are good about Obamacare, given the sad state of our healthcare system -- the hedge against pre-existing conditions, and greater accessibility to care overall. Coming out of this recession, those are two positive aspects of the law, especially since so many people lost their jobs and their coverage with it.
Speaking of that last point, it's a sad commentary that in the U.S., where annual GDP per citizen is more than 12 times the next country (China), more than 16% of Americans have no healthcare coverage. We're proud of our emergency care; it's tops in the world. But according to a recent study, we're 26th on the list when it comes to overall health.
Bottom line, there's too much at stake in an already-fragile economy for this kind of partisan bickering. And to underscore that point, according to a new Gallup poll, everyday Americans seem to be almost evenly split on the repeal effort. So if the Republicans aren't careful, they'll come off looking mean-spirited, and that'll bite 'em where the sun don't shine come 2012.
Final point. The president's State of the Union message is set for Tuesday, January 25th, just three weeks from now. This Wednesday's repeal vote in the House is politically motivated, seemingly calculated to inflict as much damage on the Obama administration before Barack Obama takes the podium on the 25th. While the Republicans will likely gain some short-term ground with the House vote, there's absolutely ZERO chance that a repeal will actually happen, thanks to Democratic control of the Senate and White House. With that in mind, our leaders in Washington on both sides of the aisle need to grow up and start learning to play well with everyone on the playground.
Wednesday morning on DeltaTalk (9am on SuperTalk 102.9FM in Northeast Mississippi), following a little football fun, we'll run a man-on-the-street piece:
QUESTION: Do you think Obamacare should be repealed?
In the meantime, let us know what YOU think and we'll add the results into the show (which will be available later in podcast form.
We'll also have a number of guests on the show weigh in with their opinions, including a man (whose wife is 20 weeks pregnant) who lost his existing medical coverage through an insurance snafu, an independent insurance broker, and a candidate for the Mississippi state senate.
Again, DeltaTalk airs every Wednesday morning at 9am Central time on SuperTalk 102.9FM in Northeast Mississippi.
See you then!
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