Wonderboy Now Expert On US Healthcare System

After his dismal performance of two nights ago, it should be obvious to everyone that Wonderboy has no clue as to what is right, or wrong, with health insurance and medicine in the US.

Back in March of this year, I wrote this post, wherein I posited five things which, if done, would improve the provision of healthcare at affordable prices in the US. All of them are parts of various alternative plans put forth by conservative legislators.

But, back to Wonderboy.

I was thinking, earlier this week, before his speech on Wednesday night, that our First Rookie has no background in the area of medicine and health care whatsoever. Listening to him talk about healthcare would be similar to me discussing bridge design.

I have never designed, nor built a bridge. I don't have an engineering degree. I've never even seen more than the odd History Channel program on how one or another unusual bridge was constructed.

Obama has zero credentials in this area. Or any other key area of presidential responsibility, either. He's an unaccomplished, carpetbagging lawyer, most recently from Illinois.

If he weren't president, would anyone care what Wonderboy thinks about healthcare?

No.

Why care now? He has nothing of value or truth to add to the millions of words already spoken on the subject.

However, from what I've heard of his palaver in the past week, when he and his administration have put on a full court press, and his Democratic allies in the Senate, I've come to the following conclusions.

1. Obama and Congressional Democrats think nothing of simply lying to Americans about various aspects of the healthcare situation.

For example, the now-famous lie that 'if you like your current healthcare option, you will be allowed to keep it.' By now, you've probably read of the section in the House bill that creates a bureaucratic office to oversee healthcare plans, via ERISA, and the manner in which existing healthcare plans may be subjectively removed from the market. Basically, it's a loophole through which the federal government can begin to declare private plans out of business. Legally.

2. The American healthcare system is broken. That's just not true. Nor is it true that we know for a fact that it is "too expensive," or that costs are rising "too fast."

What is the proper metric for costs, or the system in general? Isn't it a combination of effective use of medicine, cost, and coverage?

3. It's either status quo or Wonderboy's and Congress' big federal healthcare plan. Not true. Republicans and various think tanks have offered many, many better, simpler solutions which embody the changes I outlined in my linked post.

The one thing I omitted, but which is a superb idea, is to provide a tax credit, a la Paul Ryan, to be used to afford health insurance for the poor. This way, rather than building an expensive federal health insurance behemoth just to serve the uninsured poor, we can simply give them the money to go buy their own policies.

Problem solved!

4. We need a federal healthcare competitor to keep private insurers "honest." Not true.

First, there are enough competing private insurers to keep each other honest. That they make profits is a good thing. If they don't, nobody will be able to get health insurance.

Second, allowing cross-state competition and relaxing mandates for included services will create enormous competition for various segments of the populace with diverse health insurance needs. Adding a federal monster will simply drive out all private insurers as the federal 'competitor' posts losses, paid by taxpayers, as they underprice private competitors.

5. This needs to be done now- or at least this year. Again, simply false. There's no magic deadline, after which we all turn into pumpkins.

The Democrats are afraid of Congressmen going back home before a bill is passed and signed, because they know that voters are angry and scared about the manner in which Wonderboy, Frisco Nan and the rest of the liberal gang have given America the bum's rush on this important, sensitive topic.

What's needed is for every member of Congress to hear from their voters what is, and is not negotiable or acceptable in a bill, under threat of loss of office.

There are very few actual 'experts' on healthcare in the US House, Senate, or administration. One of them, freshman Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, has called this issue Wonderboy's "Waterloo."

He may be right. What we saw Wednesday evening was a lawyer, with no skills other than oration, attempt to fool people into believing he could explain the so-called problem of US healthcare, and his proposed solution.

He couldn't do either convincingly. He is, after all, just a lawyer in over his head. Why would he have any special, important knowledge about healthcare.

Maybe, just maybe, the issue has turned, and the liberals are going to fail with their ill-conceived attempt to socialize medicine.

There are plenty of other good ideas for reform out there, and 50 laboratories in which to try them for a few years first.

Let's not make the mistake of taking one, simple, wrong approach and socialize US medicine and healthcare. Certainly not on the word of a second-rate lawyer who lucked into the Oval Office.