There She Goes Again
September 9th 2009 15:50
There she goes again. Just days after Pat Buchanan acknowledged in his essay, “Distortions – or Truths,” that the Republican/Conservative strategy of distorting the President’s health care initiative was really just a pack of lies intended to derail legitimate debate, The Wall Street Journal, that paragon of right wing conservative financial news owned by Rupert Murdoch, published an opinion piece by Sarah Palin.
Palin’s piece, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care,” argues that any government run program will result in more costs, not less. Not a bad argument and one that cannot be disputed, given rising costs for Medicare and Medicaid. She does a good job of quoting the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, who said that there will not be enough fundamental changes brought about by the President’s health care initiative to produce the savings being predicted by the Democrats.
Then, after such a good start, she becomes unraveled. She says that President Obama asked Congress to create an Independent Medicare Advisory Council which would be an appointed group charged with containing Medicare costs, and they would be unaccountable to anyone. First, the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Peter Orszag, accused Elmendorf of going out of his way to minimize the savings that could be achieved. Sarah conveniently neglected that part of the argument. Second, the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisors, some of the biggest names in American health care, published a letter in support of the Independent Medicare Advisory Council because it would lead to better quality care. Sarah conveniently leaves this point out.
Then, Sarah draws the logical conclusion, in her mind, that an independent group of people making cost decisions for the medical care of the elderly will lead to, “dare I say it ----death panels?” (The Wall Street Journal, 9/8/09, Sarah Palin, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care”). She goes on to say that “establishment voices dismiss the phrase” (The Wall Street Journal, 9/8/09, Sarah Palin, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care”). Sarah, those establishment voices are people smarter and more honest than you, such as Pat Buchanan, who knows that Republican/Conservatives have milked this lie for all it’s worth; now it’s time to move on. By the way, the Independent Medical Advisory Council members would be doctors and health care professionals, not your run of the mill bureaucrats like ex-Alaskan governors.
Mrs. Palin refers to a study by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide (it manages employee benefits programs) that if the government expands healthcare coverage while inflation continues to rise, then employee paychecks will get smaller. This stands to reason. However, inflation ran at a steady 3% all through the Bush years even though we were wasting hundreds of billions of dollars fighting two wars, and currently, inflation is next to zero. The Federal Reserve has pledged to act immediately if inflation rears its ugly head, which might prolong this recession but will please Conservatives, so what’s the worry, Sarah? As for the consulting firm she refers to, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, they paid a $108 million settlement to the pension fund of the Iron Workers Local 25 of Michigan on March 23, 2007, even though they admitted doing no wrong (Wikipedia, Watson Wyatt Worldwide). Why would they do that if they did nothing wrong? Sarah conveniently leaves that out.
Sarah, when you write an essay for publication, please don’t keep repeating the same discredited lies abandoned by members of your own political party. Very few people take you seriously now, and the list is dwindling.
Palin’s piece, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care,” argues that any government run program will result in more costs, not less. Not a bad argument and one that cannot be disputed, given rising costs for Medicare and Medicaid. She does a good job of quoting the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, who said that there will not be enough fundamental changes brought about by the President’s health care initiative to produce the savings being predicted by the Democrats.
Then, after such a good start, she becomes unraveled. She says that President Obama asked Congress to create an Independent Medicare Advisory Council which would be an appointed group charged with containing Medicare costs, and they would be unaccountable to anyone. First, the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Peter Orszag, accused Elmendorf of going out of his way to minimize the savings that could be achieved. Sarah conveniently neglected that part of the argument. Second, the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisors, some of the biggest names in American health care, published a letter in support of the Independent Medicare Advisory Council because it would lead to better quality care. Sarah conveniently leaves this point out.
Then, Sarah draws the logical conclusion, in her mind, that an independent group of people making cost decisions for the medical care of the elderly will lead to, “dare I say it ----death panels?” (The Wall Street Journal, 9/8/09, Sarah Palin, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care”). She goes on to say that “establishment voices dismiss the phrase” (The Wall Street Journal, 9/8/09, Sarah Palin, “Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care”). Sarah, those establishment voices are people smarter and more honest than you, such as Pat Buchanan, who knows that Republican/Conservatives have milked this lie for all it’s worth; now it’s time to move on. By the way, the Independent Medical Advisory Council members would be doctors and health care professionals, not your run of the mill bureaucrats like ex-Alaskan governors.
Mrs. Palin refers to a study by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide (it manages employee benefits programs) that if the government expands healthcare coverage while inflation continues to rise, then employee paychecks will get smaller. This stands to reason. However, inflation ran at a steady 3% all through the Bush years even though we were wasting hundreds of billions of dollars fighting two wars, and currently, inflation is next to zero. The Federal Reserve has pledged to act immediately if inflation rears its ugly head, which might prolong this recession but will please Conservatives, so what’s the worry, Sarah? As for the consulting firm she refers to, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, they paid a $108 million settlement to the pension fund of the Iron Workers Local 25 of Michigan on March 23, 2007, even though they admitted doing no wrong (Wikipedia, Watson Wyatt Worldwide). Why would they do that if they did nothing wrong? Sarah conveniently leaves that out.
Sarah, when you write an essay for publication, please don’t keep repeating the same discredited lies abandoned by members of your own political party. Very few people take you seriously now, and the list is dwindling.
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