26 November 2009

The Snake and the White House

According to this article, the White House met "early and often" with health care lobbyists while it was putting-together its version of health care reform.  To be fair, the lobbyists came from both sides of the debate.  Both entrenched "for profit" health care interests and real reformers had a chance to pitch the White House their view of what health care should be.

I still don't like it.  For profit, market-driven health care created the mess we have now.  It's raised the price of health care to a point far beyond what many Americans can pay.  CorporateCare knows it.  The White House knows it and America knows it.  It's what business does.  Business' first responsibility is to the owners' profits.  Forget all that stuff about delivering goods and services and creating jobs.  Business exists to deliver profit.  If that means rationing health care to those who can pay for it and ignoring the rest, so be it.

Some years ago, a popular song told the story of a man who found a nearly frozen snake.  He took the snake into his home and warmed it by the fire until it recovered.  Then the snake bit the man.  Answering the stunned and puzzled look on the man's face, the snake said "You knew I was a snake when you took me in."

Listen-up Mr. President.