Eminentoes
Boxing With Barbara, Liz, and the Latina
Government power plus insecurity plus arrogance: the health care consequences for all of us.
(Page 2 of 2)
• Or like this, as you e-mail back and forth to get a desperately needed appointment that has been delayed because of long waiting lists. Unaware that you have gotten the government health administrator’s name wrong, you are startled to find that as you frantically await approval to go to a hospital nearest you for desperately needed treatment, treatment you should have had months ago but were denied by this very same administrator, she is concerned — actually furious — about whether you have shown her enough deference. She is also dismissive of your genuine attempts to apologize for offending her: “Quit apologizing and never call me anything but Elizabeth again. Also, make sure you correct anyone who attempts to call me by any other name but Elizabeth. Are we clear on this? Like I said, it’s a hot button for me. And please don’t call the Health Administrator’s office and not leave a message. My colleague told me you called while I was away at the Ladies’ room. I do sometimes leave my desk.”
• Or maybe it plays out another way. You are concerned with the opinion given you by the government Health Administrator. You are trying to find another way to approach this. How about a second opinion? With a shake of her head, the government health administrator assigned to your case denies the request, saying with an airy certitude and a pleasant smile: :“I would hope that a wise Latina woman government Health Administrator such as myself, with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male government Health Administrator who hasn’t lived that life,”
Or, better yet. You have drawn a government health administrator named Eliot Spitzer. Health Administrator Spitzer is decidedly a white guy without a feminine speck in his make-up. You, however, are not happy with Health Administrator Spitzer. Every question or request or minor disagreement has resulted in a vitriolic response from the bureaucrat behind the desk who holds your health care in his hands. Among the gems from Health Administrator Spitzer that have startled you:
“Listen, I’m a f - - - ing steamroller, and I’ll roll over you and anybody else,”…was his response when you indicated you wished to speak to another Health Administrator.
• “This is my room and we’ll play by my rules.”…replied the Health Administrator when you asked if the blinds could be lowered because the sunlight streaming into the room was bothering the eyes that needed an operation.
“I will be coming after you. You will pay the price,” snarled the Health Administrator when he learned you had complained of his handling of your request for surgery at a local hospital instead of one 100 miles distant.
“I fully intend to use the capacity of my office to act on this … I have a lot of friends in government, and I’m going to organize a boycott of the show.” …To a talk radio producer who has learned of the Health Administrator’s conduct from several angry and upset patients.
“Health Administrator” Eliot Spitzer is, of course, really former New York attorney general and governor Eliot Spitzer. And yes, the quotes above are but a few of the real things Spitzer was quoted in the press as saying in the course of wielding government power as the state’s number one law enforcement official and then chief executive.
The behavior cited above is, unfortunately, not at all untypical in the world of government power. Perhaps the initial, more spectacular example of this in American history was the stubborn insistence of Britain’s King George the Third to deny his American colonists the same rights as British citizens in the Motherland. As a result of this gross and disdainful abuse of government power came, eventually (after the small matter of the Revolutionary War), the very carefully crafted Constitution of the United States. The underlying premise of which is that all human beings being fallible, a set of iron clad rules (free speech, a free press, freedom of religion etc.) had to be established while insisting that government power be separated out into equal and opposing branches. The idea was to tightly limit government because all too much human experience had shown that humans with government power can run the gamut of craziness from the haughty pretentiousness shown recently by Barbara Boxer to the self-important egoism of Elizabeth Becton to the proud imperiousness of Sonia Sotomayor to the outright threatening of a bully-prone Eliot Spitzer. And worse.
It mattered not the race, creed or gender of the government official. Any American today who has found himself at crossed verbal swords with a bureaucrat — be they parking attendant, the guy at the motor vehicle bureau, the IRS official, the Social Security or Medicare or passport or post office career type — knows exactly the drill.
There is an attitude. And, as Boxer, Becton, Sotomayor, Spitzer, Obama, Hank Paulson and others — many others — have all vividly displayed in their own distinctive fashion, it is a very human attitude that is all too revealing when humans wield government power. In short: “I have government power and you don’t. I have no competition. Too bad for you.” In that melding of humanity with government power lie possibilities for everything from simple incompetence to maliciousness to lethal end results. This is why the drive in the Obama era to increase the power of government is so dangerous. This is why the seemingly un-related silliness of Senator Boxer, Office Manager Becton and Judge Sotomayor should serve as warning flags in the discussion of health care, the economy, the role of a Supreme Court justice and all the rest.
When you get sick, the person you want to help you make medical decisions should have one two-word title that you and you alone have bestowed on him or her: My Doctor. If you wind up facing a government official who in any way shape or form has a say in your treatment, somewhere along the line you will find yourself dealing with a bureaucrat. A bureaucrat who will display in one particular form or another the attitude that has already been displayed to a Brigadier General sitting across from Boxer, a lobbyist e-mailing Becton and the fireman who wanted non-racial justice from Sotomayor.
As ABC News sits down with President Obama in the East Room of the White House (which, however lovely, is very much a government building) and sells its journalistic soul in the name of government-sponsored health care — listen not just to the words but the music. Listen not just to Obama’s responses to the questions. Listen carefully instead to the attitude that lurks behind it all. The music, if you will. The sound that is the background music to the message that is the driving premise of the Obama era.
In the words of Eliot Spitzer: “This is my room and we’ll play by my rules….I’m a f—-ing steamroller.” Or, in the polite, if haughtier tones of Barbara Boxer to the Brigadier General: “I’d appreciate it.”
Barbara Boxer is a whole lot more polite than Eliot Spitzer. So is Barack Obama. But make no mistake.
The message — and the attitude behind that message — is the same.
About the Author
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.
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drudge ette obama| 6.23.09 @ 6:30AM
Truly scary. An excellent focus on the evil which comes out when some people taste power.
Which one is worst? Barbara Boxer sent chills down my spine when I watched her make those statements on television. Notice the nasty "thank you" at the end. It wasn't a real thank you, it was a dismissive, "I am done whipping you thank you." She did more in that horrid exchange to demonstrate her inner nastiness than anything I can remember. Let's hope she regrets it. I doubt it. It looks like she was having some fun. The Brig. Gen. handled it with grace.
As for Liz Becton, dear god, this is one piece of work. A psychiatrist would probably identify traits of some personality disorder in her. Why? Because she kept on it, dragging the thing out, feeding her frenzy. Loony Liz has been over the edge for a long time. Why would anyone in power continue to have this vicious "under my thumb"woman as an employee? Says a lot about her boss. Bet he's been told before about her. She's probably his office wife.
Little Sonia pales in comparison to these two women except that she will have more power and really believes what she said, even though most others don't. Little Sonia will parse her words better in the future to hide her real feelings.
As far as the Bank of America and GM executives go, neither had an ounce of guts and deserve what they got. The boards of directors should have stood by their executives. Obama had no right to do what he did; instead, he made it his right and the executives buckled. I am waiting for some American to stand up and publically say, "No, Obama." Where are the men that landed in Normandy?
just a citizen| 6.23.09 @ 6:32AM
Does anyone know when our Supreme Leader is going to share with us his healthcare plan?
Like, what night? We already know what channel.
Rocco| 6.23.09 @ 6:50AM
Drudgette, to put your last question a bit more bluntly than your kinder manner, where are men with some balls? : )
The real kicker in all of this, particularly in your example of the CEOs, most of whom I consider clueless Bravo male idiots, is how such "men" advance to powerful positions and don't know how to LEAD. But then again, they are beneficiaries of a system which picks pliant, effeminate males, a perverse kind of good ole boys club, who can bully subordinates, but when they bump up against someone with some steel, run and hide under the bed. Perhaps 30 years as a Marine officer have influenced my attitude about this (I refused to shoot for general - seems like you have to undergo some sort of mental castration once you get it). But our country and economy suffer because of this leadership vacuum.
Robert Rosencrans| 6.23.09 @ 7:21AM
And, in short, anything that can be approved by a government can also be disapproved.
drudge ette obama| 6.23.09 @ 7:36AM
Rocco, fat rises to the top, which explains why we are consistently disappointed with our so-called leaders.
You should have shot for general. But we need good men throughout.
Melvin| 6.23.09 @ 7:40AM
Semper Fi Rocco, 20 years as a 03. A number of years ago, I was a platoon Cmdr. at the School of Infantry. We were conducting a live fire exercise and as odd as this sounds a sweet perfume smell came across the range complex. Naturally being Marines we looked at each other and to identify who was wearing this offense odor.
Of course every self-respecting male on the field denied it that it was him wearing, "Lillie's of the Field."
To make a long story short, a Senator's Aid had come out to observe how Marines train. I walked back to where the ammunition was being handed to the Marines and standing there was the most effeminate looking poor excuse of a male specimen that I ever had the displeasure to lay eyes upon.
I asked the Company Gunny who was this person and he replied, "It's a Senator's aid observing training."
The problem is that where, "Sweet Thing" was standing he couldn't observe anything under the shade tree because the Marines were training about 200 meters ahead and behind a berm and he couldn't see anything.
After we completed our string of live fire, "Sugar Britches" left with his driver and he was going to make a report to some Senator about how Marines train and he didn't see a damn thing.
I commented to Gunny, that I couldn't decide in whether to shake this Senator's Aid hand in greeting or have sex with him.
Then after going to Washington D.C. during my tour I observed the whole damn place is filled with effeminate looking males whose handshake when greeted was about as limp as a... I'll leave to the reader to decide this meaning.
As I became more politically aware as I have gotten older, I have come to the conclusion that this is what Feminism has given us. At least in political circles males have self-castrated themselves and have handed over their testicles to the likes of Barbra Boxer crowd.
bobc| 6.23.09 @ 9:27AM
I would like to know how many caucus' we have...we have the Hispanic caucus, the Black caucus, the Progressives caucus....is there a white caucus? And what do they do in these special get-togethers, where others are not permitted to attend? Bet they just slap each other on the back!
Too many in D.C. have "gotten too big for their britches".
owyheewine| 6.23.09 @ 9:35AM
A little physics lessens for Drudgette; Fat(or cream) rises to the top because it's light weight. Keep that in mind as you look at our politicians. A few years ago, an survey listed Maam Boxer as the least inntelligent Democrat Senator. The Republican who earned the same honor is long gone, but we're still stuck with this shrill b....h.
Appleby| 6.23.09 @ 9:44AM
Too many women are so busy being women that they have forgotten how to be ladies, if they were so fortunate as to have mothers who were ladies who could teach them. Or failling that, who sent them to charm school so they could learn how to accomplish their end without sounding like toddlers too long denied their nap.
When my grandson tried the experiment of addressing me by my first name, I said with a mock frown, "That's Gramma to you, buster." He laughed and replied, "That's Paul to you, Gramma." Problem solved.
As for Ms. Boxer, she may have heard the old saying that you know you are old when people stop calling you Miss and start calling you ma'am and, after having noticed several more gray hairs and some really significant liver spots, it was just the outside of enough. Bless her heart, as we say in the South when we mean "You b***h." (But we say it with a smile.)
Bob| 6.23.09 @ 9:47AM
Jeffrey, while I tend to agree with you on the intoxication with power, this is not only with government. Company executives, entertainers, athletes, and many other highly paid people exhibit the exact same behavior. This is true of both Republicans and Democrats. Look at the intoxication of power in the Bush administration. My point is that it is not just government, it is everywhere and quite human.
While I also agree with your take on Liz and Sonia, I believe your take on Barbara may be misguided. If I am not mistaken, the general called all of the male senators by their title "Senator", and Boxer as "mam". That is a slight. If he had used the words "sir" and "mam" consistently, then I would agree.
Joe B| 6.23.09 @ 10:03AM
Under ObamaCare visiting a clinic or hospital will be just like trying to get your license renewed at the DMV in Oakland, CA.
Yup, it's that scary. My advice is try to make a doctor your best friend. Better still, marry one. In the future getting good health care will be about who you know.
Bob| 6.23.09 @ 10:32AM
One other point, Jeffrey -- Current health care plans also currently have gatekeepers. A government plan would not be any different except that it would be much more like HMO's than the plan you probably have. Health care rationing currently exists -- just go to any hospital and speak to the social worker or claims processors there and you might be very surprised. As long as there is an option for us to have private coverage -- there shouldn't be a problem. If the vast majority of people move to a public plan, it will just show that this is what they want. Don't you believe in democracy?
By the way, I think you and others are right that most people will move to a public plan. That's why I support private enterprise moving to provide supplemental plans that would keep your options open. If you want more options, it's your choice -- you can pay for it.
All of you seem to point out the ideological health care systems like Canada and the U.K., when our potential system will be much more like Taiwan -- which offers much more choice and has much shorter wait times. Please look at the Taiwan system as it is the newest, and best thought out of health care systems. Their funding methodologies were short sighted, but the total cost of health care remain under 10%. There are a lot of good lessons there.
Here are a couple of links:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/22/3/77
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Taiwan
I'm not convinced that their plan is the best for us, but it is far closer than either Canada or the U.K. and there are lots of good lessons there.
Public Servant, beeyatch!| 6.23.09 @ 11:31AM
Mr. Lord,
You poor dear. No one in the Obama administration would ever be allowed to do such a thing to you. There will be strict accountability rules in place to make sure that good behavior is rewarded and boorish behavior is punished. People who are disruptive should learn better manners and until they do, they should be willing to live with the consequences of their actions. Just keep that in mind the next time you write such a mean-spirited and obviously divisive screed such as this.
Oldefarte| 6.23.09 @ 11:37AM
I've got several words for government [or other] types who arrogantly abuse their so-called power which comes from me-taxpayer-voter]-------GO TO HELL AND BACK!!!!!!!!!
JerseyJ| 6.23.09 @ 11:38AM
Bob believes ... " If the vast majority of people move to a public plan, it will just show that this is what they want."
Bob, I have a bridge for you ... cheap.
I'm not sure why I'm wasting the keystrokes because t's clear that you can't see that a public "option" is not really an "option" at all, but for those who may actually be open to logic ... when the government competes with those they also regulate, the potential for abuse is mind-boggling. Say for example I am McDonalds and I sell burgers. I also am in charge of setting the rules for Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, Friday's and every other restaurant that exists. I dictate what's on their menu, how much they charge for it, what ingredients they must use, what their hours are, how many cooks and waiters they employ, who they can serve, how much profit you can make ... you get the idea. How do you not see that McDonalds would no longer be an "option", but would become the only game in town?
In addition Bob asks ... "Don't you believe in democracy? "
Pure democracy is inherently flawed ... that's why the founders of my beloved nation formed a Representative Republic with a Constitution designed to protect against the inherent flaws of a pure democracy. So the answer to your question is an utter and unfaltering "NO", I don't believe in democracy. Give me back my Constitution, my representation and the rule of law and go live in Taiwan if you think it's so great.
What is it going to take to wake these people like Bob up? sheesh!
L. Ross| 6.23.09 @ 12:06PM
Bob:
I have been in the military since 1981, and I can speak with reasonable authority on this issue. The General would have called all the men sir, and all the women ma'am. That is as reflexive for a career officer as putting one foot in front of the other when walking. If you read the trascript in it's entirety, even as she is bitching out the General for not calling her senator, he lets another ma'am slip out. It's just a reflexive way that we talk in the military.
I took you advice, and looked at the Taiwan model. On the pro side, people are happy with it right now, but of course on the con side, the government is borrowing money to keep this sinking barge of universal healthcare afloat.
I'm suprised you don't promote greater free market proposals. I have always been very impressed with the idea of medical savings accounts. It would incentivise shopping for the greatest value in healthcare, just as people tend to shop for the greatest value in everything else in their lives. Health insurance turns that normal human behavior on it's head.
A last point to consider is this. The United States is not just the world's military superpower. We are also the world's medical superpower. If we begin to aggressively pursue medical savings and reduce our research and development of medical technology and new drugs, not only will U.S. citizens suffer, frankly the entire world will suffer.
Paul from SA| 6.23.09 @ 12:07PM
I went to Subway for lunch the other day... the young girl there said, "Honey, what can I get you?" (I'm a very young-looking 48). I laughed and asked, "Honey?, well Sexy..., I'll have a 6 inch club." She and others around us all laughed.
Representative Boxer would probably have me arrested for such a slur.
Arrogance is the #1 sin.
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Bob| 6.23.09 @ 1:08PM
JerseyJ -- I was just being facetious. People here talk about taking votes on social issues and that it should not be a purview of the courts. If you believe that is proper, then to be consistent, you must also believe that if most people want a public option, it is the right thing to do.
I favor a tiered system where the government offers just a baseline, with lots of limitations, as a public option. That will NOT compete with most plans. Then, people could buy more coverage at a cost from insurance companies.
L. Ross -- when I was in the Army a long time ago in the early 70's, I worked directly for a Colonel Ross. He influenced my life tremendously. He's probably not related to you, but if he is, many thanks. Yes, I understand the General's reflectiveness. I didn't read the transcript. But I've heard that he called the males "Senator". If he did that, and did not address Boxer in the same way, he was wrong. If it was truly "sir"/"ma'am" consistently, then Boxer was wrong. I haven't reviewed the whole transcript -- I didn't think it was worth the effort. But if you did, you can correct me.
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sestamibi| 6.23.09 @ 2:08PM
It was my understanding that "ma'am" was a term of respect, but we're talking about Barbara Boxer the Clueless here.
I believe I once read that when introduced to the Queen of England (who I'm sure also prefers to be called Elizabeth and not Liz), one should address her the first time as "Your Majesty", and then in subsequent references as "ma'am" (or "mum" in British).
Hecuba| 6.23.09 @ 2:12PM
Putting lipstick on a female pig and addressing it as ‘senator’ rather than “ma’am” would likely agitate a gentle pig familiar and comfortable with the longstanding, polite and respectful tradition of addressing a gentlewoman as “Ma’am.”
Big J| 6.23.09 @ 2:47PM
Rocco, Melvin: Thank you for your service kind sirs.
I was utterly disgusted at Boxer's treatment of this Brigadier General. I thought of all the years of selfless service, most likely, violent combat and watching his best friends die in his arms that are required to attain this rank. When she spewed that vile, I wanted to jump into the radio and punch her. I am not easily driven to think of any woman in that manner, but this one got my goat. In contrast, "I worked very hard to get this title" was a complete lie. Any liberal democrat that has to work hard to get elected in Kalifornia is not a liberal democrat. She is a heathen and should be ashamed of herself (the best word I could actually type for fear of being banned).
By the way, brave defenders of freedom: isn't it military protocol to address a superior as "sir" or "ma'am", where as subordinates are addressed by rank?
If I am mistaken, please let me know.
Also, don't try to sell Bob on capitalism or free market solutions. As he previously posted, successful CEO's and athletes are just as rotten as this old hag. It's a lost cause. Believe me, I've tried.
Bob| 6.23.09 @ 3:11PM
L Ross -- I listened to the hearing, and it is clear that Boxer is completely out of line and showed extreme disrespect to the general. I had been told that he called other male Senators by their title, but that occurred AFTER Boxer made her statement. I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, but not anymore.
Big J -- You really don't want true free markets without regulation. The purpose of regulation should be to ensure that markets are fair and transparent so they can operate on fundamentals. As you've heard from me several times before, I abhor regulation that provides incentives, whether it is the CRA, or business tax breaks, or even progressive taxation (I support a flat tax with NO deductions. Furthermore, as someone trained in economics, I would promote abolishing the corporate tax in favor of a consumption tax. There have been many studies to show that consumption taxes are far more efficient and effective as they collect taxes from foreign goods as well as provide no incentive to locate companies off shore. As for CEO's, I've know several who are good men. That wasn't the point. It is that they are forced by the need for short term profits to take advantage of loopholes even if they think it will hurt in the long run. If they don't, they will be replaced. How can you think that I don't believe in capitalism? Just because most of the yokels posting here have no knowledge of economics and blame things on political banter rather than market fundamentals, does not mean I don't believe in capitalism. As I've shown with charts many times, tax cuts are NOT stimulative and do not raise revenues. Also, spending is an inefficient means of growing the economy. It is private enterprise that is the engine that drives GDP -- not government. That's why I didn't support the bailouts or most of the stimulus package. I do believe government has a role in things like infrastructure, however, which cannot be done by private enterprise. I don't know where your ideas come from.
David J| 6.23.09 @ 3:24PM
WHen in the military, Sir and Maam denote respect. Military people are taught to use sir and maam anytime they speak with someone of higher rank or seniority, or any civilian.
2 Guns, AZ| 6.23.09 @ 3:31PM
I didn't read all the posts so maybe someone mentioned this. Did anyone notice how the Jr. Senator from CA. didn't once address the general as General?
Jeffrey Lord| 6.23.09 @ 3:46PM
Bob...
I think you saw something and have corrected yourself, but for the record, I can tell you having been around the military both on Capitol Hill and The White House, "Sir" and "Ma'am" were pretty much the order of the day. In the WH they frequently referred to President Reagan as "Sir" as opposed to "Mr. President." This, I was given to understand, was standard issue military behavior. So Boxer was in fact being treated as an equal. I've actually met her, found her to be delightful. But this behavior...with a Brigadier General who must sit still and take it - was decidedly disrespectful and unworthy of a Senator. She has been there - House and Senate - quite some time, and as is frequently the case on a bipartisan basis, she may have been drinking of the power waters a bit too long.
As to this point: "while I tend to agree with you on the intoxication with power, this is not only with government. Company executives, entertainers, athletes, and many other highly paid people exhibit the exact same behavior. This is true of both Republicans and Democrats. Look at the intoxication of power in the Bush administration. My point is that it is not just government, it is everywhere and quite human."
You are right (no heart attacks please.) But there is a difference. Government is both in fact and in the mind of the government employee of whatever rank - It. The level above which there is no appeal. Certainly the private sector has its share of idiots. But at the end of the day, the behavior of private sector idiots is given a pass only as long as they produce a profit and beat the competition. A fact which makes the FedEx people more responsive than the Post Office etc. Britney Spears may have talent (I know, I know) but if her behavior ultimately makes her so self-destructive that people stop buying her stuff, recording execs will drop her faster than yesterday's fish. This is not the case with career government employees. This behavior I am discussing is indeed human...and I did make the point its bipartisan (the Paulson example.) The main point: The Constitution was written to deal with this kind of behavior, and knowing that it exists, handing off your health care to an environment where there is no competition and 100% authority seems not a good idea based on our collective experience with both human nature and government.
Big J| 6.23.09 @ 3:54PM
Bob,
I don't care to parse with you today. I have been working in 100 degree temperatures for two days now, and don't have "the want-to".
I figured it would turn out to be another "Little J" day, or something like it. Turns out, you've come up with "yokel", which, like most of you're jargon, I will have to look up (later, after I finish the overdue bidding and billing that has stacked up while I was sweating my whatever's off in the 100+ temps the last two days). Nope, just not quite as educated as you are, Bob. Still gotta rely on blood, sweat and tears with the rest of the peons. Thankfully, we have made it well past the April 30th date, and I now happily report that I am TRULY working for myself again, not good-ole Uncle Sam. I look for that to change, should the health care reform package pass. What'll it be next year? Maybe June? July? I don't know. I do know that whatever passes, it won't be cheap, and absolutely won't be superior to the already flawed (but advanced) system we have in place now.
I'll give you this, Bob: PROGRESSIVE taxation doesn't work, and I support a consumption tax. Flat tax would be my second choice, but punishing productivity with higher taxes and rewarding non-productive people with those benefits DOES NO WORK. I can only imagine what I would have invested in my company had I not been robbed of 35% of my earnings last year.
That's not so bad for someone uneducated in economics, huh Bob?
JerseyJ| 6.23.09 @ 3:58PM
And isn't it also true in the military superiors address those of lower rank by their rank (e.g. a Colonel would address a General as "Sir" but a General would address a Colonel as "Colonel")? I suppose Ms. Boxer felt she was inferior to the General.
Bob said ... "I was just being facetious. People here talk about taking votes on social issues and that it should not be a purview of the courts. If you believe that is proper, then to be consistent, you must also believe that if most people want a public option, it is the right thing to do."
Sorry ... I missed the facetious nature of your comment. I frankly don't believe the legislature has the right to do much of what it does (such things as redefine the term "marriage")but I suppose that's a whole other argument.
Your idea that the government offer a baseline option COULD be acceptable, at least in theory IF it was the market of last resort for those unable to obtain coverage elsewhere ... unfortunately that is lightyears from what's being proposed.
What might function better is simply an assigned risk solution as works in such other insurances as workers compensation or auto insurance. Overregulation and government mismanagement have done their best to make these mechanisms function less efficiently and effectively than they could, especially in certain states, but function they do. That COULD (if properly implemented) give you your baseline that does not compete with private insurers.
I still say nothing will work until we get tort reform. No one's bringing that up though ... at least no one who matters enough to be called senator and not ma'am.
Kevin| 6.23.09 @ 4:08PM
The general came out on top on this one. Boxer looked like an idiot (which she is), and he looked like a professional officer (which he is).
What an amazing system of government we have were the general understands that he works for the people, even when the people hire incompetent fools to represent them.
Big J| 6.23.09 @ 4:17PM
By the way, the above-mentioned heat is not complaining, but explaining. I made my bed and choose to lie in it.
As an aside, my adopted soldier in Iraq wrote me last week, asking how the weather was here. I was ready to tell him how hot it was until he informed me that it had already hit 130 degrees. They were praying for the wind to stop, as it felt like a kiln being blasted on you. I decided to suffice to say the weather was nice here, and as always, I appreciate his and fellow soldiers' sacrifice.
The distinguished "gentlewoman" from California could take a lesson.
Tim| 6.23.09 @ 4:22PM
She'll be snarling that to the orderlies when they're rolling her around the retirement home.
Bob| 6.23.09 @ 4:42PM
Jeffrey, your point is well taken, but having worked in business for my entire career, I can tell you the same lower level people exist -- and their jobs are fairly secure. Have you ever turned in a complicated expense report and had the green eye shades on your tail? Have you ever written a monthly report for a mid-level English fanatic? They do exist in corporations -- and in most cases, they are not fired. It's only when they get to be a senior executive that performance is all important as that is the first place you have full profit responsibility.
Here's where we agree -- if healthcare ends up as a no competition options, then it will surely fail. That's why the government program should be only a fall back/fail safe option. It should not be a premium plan -- only a catastrophic and preventative plan.
By the way, I'm not sure you've ever been through a corporate budgeting process. Typically, the division general manager will never reduce the budget and they always sandbag on the forecasts. In that sense, they are much like politicians. My experience in the private sector -- especially in group insurance (which includes health), would support the notion that private insurance employees are more like government employees than you think. You should be a fly on the wall in claims meetings -- if you think there will be someone between you and your doctor in a public plan, I guarantee they won't be as hard as someone very competent in the private sector.
Your experience is primarily in the public sector and mine is in the private sector. Perhaps each of us thinks the other side is better than it really is....
Roy| 6.23.09 @ 5:43PM
Yep, this about covers it, and it is indeed true that the more government power increases the worse it will get. In stories of the old Soviet Union, by for instance Solzhenitsyn, as shocking as the stories of endless purges and gulags were those of the day to day smug brutality of lower level government officials who knew they could get away with it. And no - a rude checkout counter lady is not an equivalent.
My own very minor anecdote about this, I was traveling around Europe as a teenager in 1993 and accidentally passed through Belarus(got on a train from Vilnius/Warsaw that never mentioned it went to Belarus). I had no cash in my pocket(I know, I know). When I got there they demanded $30 cash for a "transit visa", which I did not have, so they kicked me off the train.
And then what? And then nothing. Bureaucratic propriety had been satisfied, and if it left one teenager standing around a train station in a foreign country, with no way to go forward or back, that wasn't their problem. You couldn't even go to the bathroom without 50 Belarussian kopeks($0.0008).
After sitting around for a while and cursing out the whole country I eventually found a nice soldier who put me on a train back to Vilnius more or less by just telling everybody to buzz off. But I haven't forgotten it and I am glad that was a foreign country and not my doctor's office.
Roy| 6.23.09 @ 5:56PM
My mistake - 50 kopeks was $0.00008.
And to the military guys posting, I can't imagine that even in a country that elected Obama, more people respect Barbara Boxer than the military. Heck, the only think the military does wrong is rule me out :)
T Michaels| 6.23.09 @ 6:02PM
Per: Boxer. Babs may be displeased, but that's because her education is woefully lacking (California?). The general was wrong. The Queen of England is called "Mam". Mrs. Boxer? Well, you decide.
Colin | 6.24.09 @ 7:23AM
In the name of political correctness and truth in adverstising -- the general in question should simply addressed the senator by her native American name:
"Princess Drooling Ditz"
Hey, if the moccocin fits ...
Pingback| 6.24.09 @ 12:21PM
The American Spectator : Boxing With Barbara, Liz, and the Latina - Find Restaurants links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
TL Winslow | 6.24.09 @ 1:42PM
Even Pres. Obama can't mess with the real problem with health care, namely, the AMA. These overpaid fatcats don't care if they bring the whole country down, just so they get their giant paychecks and perks. The real solution to high health care costs is to get doctors where they live by creating 100 or maybe 200 new medical schools and pumping up the number of graduates, after which not stupid Socialism but good old fashion free market economics will do the rest. Ditto about certifying foreign medical school grads to practice in the U.S. instead of having to become real estate agents. On the other hand, what politician can stand up to the mighty AMA? If Obama wants to try some Socialism, try taking that over and dictating their wages :)
Pingback| 7.28.09 @ 10:57AM
Come Again, Ma’am? | Lux Libertas - Light and Liberty links to this page. Here’s an excerpt: