Health Care, Energy, and the Sausage Factory

I’m getting discouraged at the prospects for healthcare reform legislation. Always thought this issue would get legs, being not only a classic “pocketbook issue,” but truly, a matter of life and death.

Not seeing that. And I don’t think I’m mistaking the fringe for the mainstream. This is not a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease; it’s a matter of the worst wheel on the cart making the most noise. Doesn’t matter. When the people and the insurance companies come before Congress, the insurance companies win. Like with the banks.

The action list for those who would wrest this country back from soulless corporations and their greedhead minions includes campaign finance and media concentration, but it starts with education, and we know that it’s not getting any smarter out there.

Just as the cap and trade energy bill that emerged from the House falls short of promising meaningful reductions in carbon emissions; a healthcare system administered by the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical companies will never bring us universal coverage at an affordable price.

I got a message today inviting me to submit a question for President Obama’s Health Care Forum on Thursday. I replied..

Many of us watching are less than thrilled with what we see coming out of “the sausage factory.” Might you veto an unacceptable bill and ask Americans to send you a better Congress next year?