A case study in political fecklessness 

David Wessel's piece in today's Wall Street Journal is a case study in political fecklessness. Wishing something were true is a job for my seven year old and the pony she covets. Adults realize there are tradeoffs in every difficult task, and health care reform is no exception. He begins with the following:

 "The initial idea was logical: Cover nearly everyone and control the rise in health costs."

Actually, the sentence itself is completely illogical. You don't get something for nothing. Universal coverage, as we have seen in Massachusetts, doesn't just lead to higher prices, it sends them to the stratosphere. What's left unsaid is if we cover everyone and institute price controls to cap costs, quality invariably suffers.

As Americans, we take for granted the miracle that is modern medicine. A friend routinely complains of high health care costs as he drives his BMW to his 5,000 square foot house. Life spans increased (and continue to increase) due solely to medical innovation; innovation that will come to a screeching halt under the current reform plan. The president told Time's Joe Klein the reason Americans were so opposed to the plan was too much of a focus on the sausage making that is the beltway political process (even though he previously said transparency during the process is paramount). He still doesn't get it. It wasn't the process, it was the result. My friend notwithstanding, most of us figured out we'd rather pay more and live than pay less and die. It's that simple.

• • 2/5/2010 10:10:17 AM
  • Samantha
  • selfish
  • You make a great point for everyone who can afford health insurance, doesn't have a pre-existing condition, or is covered by a group plan at work. What do you propose we do for all of the millions of people who don't fall into those categories? Nothing is free, you are right...including helping to take care of our fellow Americans who a little extra help.
• • 2/5/2010 10:21:18 AM
  • Charles
  • "Pay less and die"?
  • I was in Scandinavia last summer and can report that, in spite of the fact that they spend half of what the US spends per capita for health care, the streets weren't littered with corpses...That was true the last time I was in Canada as well. The 30% vigorish currently funneled to the Private Health Insurance parasites doesn't translate into "value" or lives saved. They contribute NOTHING to innovation because they have NOTHING to do with the underlying product or service.
• • 2/5/2010 11:18:07 AM
  • PMT
  • Health Care Reform
  • Again...If the US Govt and "powers that be" would audit spending/fraud within the IRS and Medicare/Medicaid...The recouped dollars could fund a health care system for those not currently covered by their employers or the unemployed... and with what is left, provide training/higher education for all of our children!!!...who, in turn, will pay taxes, related to better paying jobs/careers, buy things...to stimulate/move the economy forward...and pay into Social Security... Before the US Govt runs off and starts creating new programs, they need to review the existing programs and fix them or dump them...Probably not as "sexy" as creating new programs, and more work...but much more cost effective and relevant.
• • 2/5/2010 1:02:35 PM
  • Les Dunaway
  • Government Fantasys
  • This exercise in "wishing will make it so" is, nearly, equal to the idea that a 401k is a good deal because "you'll be paying lower taxes when you retire".
• • 2/8/2010 3:02:26 PM
  • Eric
  • Ignorant or just plain...
  • Stupid. Ever since I began reading this little column of yours I asked myself, "Which is this guy?" Are you ignorant or stupid? And then I thought, "Well, he seems to be able to construct a sentence and type it out, so he can't be stupid." Then I thought, "But his premise is always so devoid of facts and intelligence, maybe he's just ignorant." But each time you've written something completely false many have pointed out the facts to you, (myself included), yet you continue to ramble on with the easily disprovable ala, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. That's when it dawned on me; you're neither stupid nor ignorant. You're something far worse. You're somebody who will outright LIE for political purpose and resort to fear-mongering to achieve an agenda of maintaining the status quo. It doesn’t matter to you that real people are affected by your playing fast and loose with the truth. Some of those people who actually are ignorant and too stupid to know that you and Glen and Sarah and Michele are lying to them and rabble rousing them to act against their own self interest. You don’t care that tens of thousands of them will die each year from lack of access to affordable health care. As long as you keep pushing the message of your puppet-masters at the big-health insurance companies, you don’t care that by not fixing healthcare the costs will continue to spiral out of control and more Americans will lose their coverage and their job. But as long as you have a job and work to protect the profits, you don’t care. Heck of a Job Sully.
• • 2/9/2010 12:33:17 PM
  • john
  • and let them eat cake
  • We do have the best health care money can buy, and that's great news for you and your rich buddies. Problem is the US is ranked 28th in life expectancy, and there are 30 countries who have a lower infant mortality rate than us. Again, that doesn't impact you and your buddies, but a lot of americans are not benefitting from the miracles in science that you have the means to buy.
• • 2/19/2010 10:20:57 AM
  • labree
  • Feckless?
  • Everybody complains about the high cost of care. Me too, but facts are facts: Americans spend too much on health care and get too little. We are 24th in the world for infant mortality (survival at birth). Why aren't we FIRST? Let's not kid ourselves ... universal coverage isn't a pie-in-the-sky utopian ideal ... it's the first step in making sure that primary care isn't in the emergency room but the doctor's office. Rush Limbaugh thought the "system" was terrific because he got good care. (If I have enough money I can get terrific care in Guatemala). Bear in mind that he was treated in Hawaii ... a state with universal coverage!
• • 2/28/2010 1:27:04 AM
  • Renee C
  • I want to live!
  • I totally agree, John. It IS that simple. Years ago when I was with an HMO, my chronic condition was tabled as "the aging process." However, eight years later I got a PPO, and had surgery within three weeks of meeting my doctor. My pain-free life began. If an HMO can't provide a level of service to restore my health--how is this lame-*ss health care reform? I'll pay more any day!