Good Lord, are the folks in Washington capable of doing anything right these days?!? I am reminded of those scenes in old movies such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington where you see the truck with a loudspeaker attached rushing down the street blasting “Wire Congress” to the crowd… well they were close…
True story… For the last couple years, the FCC has been conducting a nationwide broadband study to check on what is being sold and what is actually being delivered to consumers across these great and United States. Those of us in the study received a custom Netgear router which reports speed and quality data back to the FCC. It’s a netgear router, and it’s quite nice. In any case, I woke up October 1st to a government shut down, and I swear to God, my router was down!!!! Nary a wireless signal to be found in the house. I guess it took the shutdown seriously! 😉
In any case, a quick reset, and we’re back in working order…
Side Note: Considering the Snowden revelations, it’s been in my mind that I have to get this router out of my house… perhaps out of my house and into a bonfire with flames consecrated by the local priest… On the other hand, I’m pretty sure AT&T happily passes on any info the gov asks for, so damned if you do and damned if you don’t…
Speaking of the government, and our useless congress in particularly, what is there deal? I don’t get it. If I disagreed with one of the University’s policies and decided to shut down the lab until I got my way, I wouldn’t get a paycheck. I’d get fired… immediately!!
And while this particular episode of childishness seems to be very one-sided, I don’t think we should point fingers at a single party. I’m pretty sure there’s enough ineptitude to go around… and around and around and around…
Forget the fact that the President and Congress can’t seem to pass a realistic budget that will last the entire year necessitating these continuing resolutions in the first place. I am honestly flumoxed by the fact that they are shutting down the government because they don’t like a law that *they* passed. I know what they’re thinking… if they can delay it a few years until a new President gets in, then they can kill it, but c’mon… the deal is done.
Now, when Bill Clinton tried to pass healthcare reform, I was dead set against it. It was a nationalization of the health care system, and well… we’re all seeing how good government is at running things…
…but this time it’s different. It’s a law that says you *have* to buy health insurance. I don’t see a big problem with this as I *have* to buy car insurance for the benefit of others. Of course, it’s not a mandate in a vacuum. To make such a requirement, you have to make it possible for people to get health care, so:
- Insurers who want to do business in these United States are not allowed to turn people down for pre-existing conditions. Considering the old system where if you lost your insurance (say from a change in employment) and you had a PE condition, you were, basically, screwed, I’m all for this. This will cost the insurers a bit more, but the mandate requires that even young, healthy folk who wouldn’t normally buy insurance must be covered, so their pools will expand which will offset that.
- Those who don’t qualify for insurance from work will be able to buy through large state or federal insurance exchanges. Big pools of people to ensure that rates are reasonable for consumers and costs are manageable for insurers. Again… seems reasonable.
- Those who can’t afford the full price can get a credit from the feds to cover part of the cost. This will hit taxpayers directly, but so do all those unpaid for emergency visits from uninsured people who only come in for catastrophic issues. Healthy care is cheaper care.
- For those who can’t afford it at all, there’s a medicaid expansion. Taxpayer cost, but see above.
This is an oversimplification, but I really don’t get the froth. Yes, some things will go up in cost. Papa Johns will have to charge the extra 5 cents per pizza to cover his costs. I’m okay with that. In fact, charge me an extra 25 cents and put on the receipt “This quarter is providing health care for the Papa Johns family.” I’d be okay with that. Heck, first time I got one, I’d probably farking frame it!
In any case, we’re at a place in our history where we need to decide if healthcare for all of our citizens is something we believe in. If we think a healthy populace is more likely to become educated, to find a spot in the work force, to build the sort of America we can all be proud of. I had thought we all made that decision about four years ago, but I guess not everyone believes that.
In any case, I’m not worried that I’ll be hurt from a government shutdown. I’m not a federal employee who is suddenly out of work. Thanks for the service guys… I hope you weren’t living check to check. I don’t have a child in a Headstart program… but I wonder how all of the parents who do are going to get to work when they are suddenly without childcare? I wasn’t planning a trip to the capital to see the monuments that We the People bought and paid for… sorry if your vacation is ruined… Need WIC vouchers to grow and feed your kids? Too bad… you can cover the grocery bill yourself, right?
I’m rambling now, but you get the point… I’ll never be a Democrat, but I’m ashamed to be a Republican right now…
I guess what I’m trying to say is, Congress, get the government back to work. Remember that you represent the interests of the People not the Party. If you can’t, then just get out and make room for someone who will…
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