Wanted: Opponents of Health Care Reform

If you're against the current bill for health care reform, better keep your mouth shut or risk being reported to Big Brother.

Surely, I'm joking. This isn't Soviet Russia. However, I must admit the following excerpt from this White House blog was a little creepy:

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

So, if you come across someone disagreeing with the President, be a good comrade! The White House apparently needs to keep track of the dissenters.

I'd rather believe that it's not as it sounded to me when I first heard it – but rather, that they're trying to keep track of what's going around so that they can address it point by point. It's more likely than the government spying on us, right?

Regardless, the White House blog sends the message that people are lying about the implications of health care reform. Even the title of the blog, "Facts Are Stubborn Things," a John Adams quote, implies that there is no basis for opposition to the health care reform bill.

The blog features a video tutorial by Linda Douglass about the President's position on keeping your private insurance. She points out a link to this video, which is just a compilation of quotes from key Democrats in favor of single payer (100% government provided) health insurance. Our friend Barney Frank says in the video that a good public option is "the best way to reach single payer."

So, excuse me for being concerned about the direction this is going, but I find it a little alarming! Intentions aside, anyone familiar with economics and willing to think it through can see the incredible burden being proposed for the insurance industry. (Don't worry; if you're not a fan of economics, I'll explain the logic behind that statement in coming posts).

No one is saying that the bill at hand has provisions to end the private insurance industry. It's posted on the internet for everyone to see. We're saying that the provisions in this bill are a good way to destroy the private industry. Judging by the attitudes of some of the politicians, it sounds like that is the goal.

If you wanted to overthrow private health insurance and expand your power, would you try to do it through an outright takeover? No, of course not. That would be extremely unpopular. It's much better to destroy the industry with restrictions and unfair competition from the government. Then all the problems can be blamed on the industry itself. Hmm, why does that scenario sound familiar?

In the end though, it really doesn't matter what the intentions of the politicians are – it's what they're actually doing. I don't care if they think they're using this plan to cure cancer, destroy private industry altogether, or fly to Saturn. What matters is the likely result.

It also doesn't matter why the White House is asking for informants – I'm taking it as a challenge to review the facts and use logic to scrutinize the bill objectively.

That's what I plan to do over the next few days. If I disappear suddenly, you'll know the thought police got me!