Pres. Obama has asked us to "lower our voices" on the health care debate. Okay, Mr. President. I can do that. Is it time to acknowledge there are good ideas on both the right and the left? Is it time to compromise? Is it time to work out a deal, or is it time to twist some arms and get legislation that will work?
My friend Michelle posted this article on facebook -- it is full of "market-driven" reforms that sound good in principle but will fall far short of the goals the President has set -- i.e., covering all Americans. Some Republicans and business people do sound quite reasonable on this issue. In all the reasoned arguments, though, lies a hidden agenda -- stopping Pres. Obama just because he's a Democrat and, perhaps, because they're philosophically opposed to "bigger government."
Maybe it's time for those who support reform to "circle the wagons," stop acting like cats that don't want to be herded (the famous metaphor for getting legislation through Congress is "herding cats"), and rally around some good ideas from the left.
Here are a few:
the public option: here's a case for why it will work;
covering the uninsured (here's an estimate of how much it will save -- between $1.2 trillion to $3.0 trillion -- in the long run);
taxing the rich to pay for it (why the rich should pay for the reform)
maybe a Value-Added Tax? Although this is probably politically unlikely.
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