Tag Archives: 2013 Government shutdown

© 2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee   [caption id="attachment_236" align="aligncenter" width="584"] "Time is Broken"        photo © by rakukkee[/caption]  

Squabbling Children  or Government?

It's time to get serious.  It will ultimately cost the economy billions.   Viewed from elsewhere and far away, the 2013 government shutdown of the United States of America might only appear to be an expensive and unnecessary exercise in exercising democracy, but is also  incomprehensible. It looks like  government  has recklessly abandoned it's responsibility and no longer represents the people. Wanting coffee, we marvel that  obligations of governance can  be used as a lever in partisan political games; the  implications of  the  US not paying it's bills and defaulting on it's debt is unimaginable. When examined,  the current spat  resembles a childish, bitter disagreement in a doddering old-boy's coffee club. Red-faced, stodgy &dodgy  politicians and power-mongers finger-wagging, hot under the collar. Foul invectives are hurled about the best way to exchange one flat tire on their mutually driven, gold-plated limo for another equally flat, useless tire.  How unfortunate. How sad. How useless.   As an aside, it kind of reminds us of the scandalous, tired and useless Canadian Senate which Canadians want abolished. No matter.  Arbitrarily "shutting down" government services is  wrong, illogical, and  unacceptable to taxpayers. Wasted time. Wasted money.  Failure by stupidity and stubbornness. Congress will not approve funding. How clever.  Perhaps everyone should resign in shame at their  failure to communicate with reason?

 Government is Broken

There is little doubt the current manipulated 'crisis' was  precipitated  by the  enactment of "Obamacare",  a legislated system considered to be unconstitutional by rightist opponents.  By any standard, partisan government is broken. Obamacare does appear to be poorly-designed, preliminary and desperate attempt to do something, anything to improve the  insurance-based healthcare system even at the risk of using unconstitutional law. The enactment of Obamacare  forces  Americans to pour profit into  rich insurance companies  buying  "health insurance products", — a strange and  predictably hated attempt to force individuals and families to buy  coverage "of their choice". "Of their choice" Raucous laughter and rage erupts.   "Insurance products" that are outrageously priced, complete with 'penalties' levied by the government  for 'opting out', i.e. not participating in a legislated, overpriced,  mandatory program.    This questionable and hot firecracker was also clearly designed  to mollify whining corporate interests  that already harvest billions of dollars  from the multi-trillion dollar business of health. Make no mistake about it; from the beginning,  the profiteering insurance industry  was not about to bow out politely in any health reform plan put forward by the administration, so the PTB  felt obligated to sell out compromise in the back room.  No matter that  millions of Americans suffer poverty, often unable to afford decent food and housing, let alone buy legislated, extremely overpriced health care insurance "products". Let's give our heads a shake for comic relief, grab another coffee, and then nod solemnly. Let's  pretend understanding of the stubborn mindset, rhetoric, and foot-dragging of all parties concerned.  Cooperation and creating a workable universal system is somehow frightening;  it is, after all, challenging the mindset of political ideology. The  contradictions. Government may be shattered in the process,obligations unfulfilled,  but no matter. We're right because we're Right, after all, we're Republicans.  No, we're right because we're Democrats.  How sublime. How out of control.  The paid plethora of politicians in geriatric gridlock no longer serves the people.

Health Care Costs Reality Check

In reality,  the  per capita costs of  the  US  business/profit-based approach to health care vastly exceed that of universal health care models  in countries such as Canada, Great Britain, and Scandinavian countries. Business, greed, and profit are only part of the root problem.  The fact that profit should not even be a part of the equation of access to health care—which is a basic human right—is politely given a withering stare and ignored to keep 'the ideology of profit'  pure. Curiously, alternative systems worldwide have functioned well for many years but no. Ideology is at issue.

Ideology Rules over Common Sense

From afar we may hypothesize that Americans, as traditional capitalists, practice iron-laced ideology, for pure capitalism is  treasured  in  the heart of the richest nation on earth.  Perhaps that model has served the most technologically advanced country in the world adequately, but insatiable greed has injected poison, dry rot and dysfunction into the vision. Regardless, Americans  continue to pursue the American Dream; profit is good. Ideology rules over common sense.

Buying  health  insurance coverage at $600.00/month with a $14,000.00 deductible  somehow MUST be 'better' than paying $300.00 or  $600.00 a year to a universal plan because THAT would be considered 'socialist'. 

Unfortunately for many Americans, the potential spectre of a universal health care system is too much to digest or even think about.  We must wonder if it is collective blind paranoia,  an abnormal fear of encroaching fascism or communism, the fear of being 'branded' as socialist  —or  the festering,  blatant lessening of personal freedoms experienced since 9/11 ? The reality check is that at times, slavishly following straight-jacket-cast iron ideology not only seems  inexplicable, but frankly, more than ridiculous. Is this the home of the brave or not? Is there never leeway for improvement in ideological models? You decide. That's not all.  There's a matter of hypocrisy.  Let's face it, the current suggestion  that  a government health care system somehow gives the government control of everyone's body raises concern.  Would doctors suddenly not have any say in treatment of their patients?  Logically, of course not. In blatant juxtaposition,  control  of everyone's health, mind and body by rich CEO's and their  profit-driven corporate proxy-government  is apparently  ideologically correct.  Other than being more expensive, is that status  really any different than "encouraging"  elected government to get to work and fulfill it's mandate to serve the people properly?  From within, ideological,  partisan  justification and excuses are always impeccable; "We,  the people,  don't want government to operate any health care system."  Can we argue with that? Well, yes. In truth,  the status quo is:   "We, the sheeple happily surrender to our proxy corporate government which consists of unelected, profiteering, pilfering corporate interests,—which shall forthwith and forever own and control our bodies and our bank accounts." Go figure.  Doesn't that impeccable logic make you  feel all warm and fuzzy and ideologically correct?  We encourage everyone, brainwashed or not,  to begin thinking for themselves

No matter:  it's the American way.

Bottom line,  the arrogance of  Republicans will likely receive the greatest share of the  blame for the costly backlash. The mandate of government continues to be unfulfilled. The cost of this shutdown may ultimately be calculated in the millions of dollars per hour, ultimately a hit of billions to an economy already struggling.  Mom & Pop corner stores, supermarkets and businesses  won't have to ponder why auto, appliance and and grocery-shoppers alike window-shop,  tighten their belts and walk away,  forced to pour more billions in profit  into "health insurance" products to enable  corporate "health business"  profiteering happiness.  It's the American way.

The True Mandate of Government

Let's cut to the chase. The true mandate of government, regardless of ideology — is to do cooperatively for the country  what people cannot undertake to do individually.  Being honest with ourselves, it may be recognized as  the only genuine mandate, —the only reason government is tolerated--or for that fact, needed at all.  Cooperation and logic are now absent.   Shut down, the government  is dysfunctional.  Is it not just a tad embarrassing?  A new model is needed. As we scratch our heads and head for coffee, we're guessing all politicians might benefit by remembering what the real mandate of government is and gear up;  it's time to get serious. Much bigger problems lie ahead. From this point of view, far away, with coffee in hand—it's great to be Canadian.   Is that Incoming I hear?   +