By Arthur Piccolo
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Aug. 26, 2011: While you enjoy the last days of your luxurious vacation on Martha’s Vineyard or flee earlier to avoid the approaching hurricane Mr. President it is time to think about the Real World, specifically September, as I hope you continue to ponder stepping aside next year. Not lead Democrats to defeat.
First a few more thoughts about your summer vacation. Specifically how The New York Times described the Obamas’ summer of fun recently. Maybe you missed it?
“The administration flew about 150 people to Martha’s Vineyard: Secret Service agents, military aides and staff members — from Mr. Brennan down to the handler who walked the Obama family dog, Bo, onto Air Force One. (Neatly trimmed for his Vineyard romp, Bo sneaked in by the rear stairs, ahead of the press contingent.) …. Some staff members are housed in bed and breakfasts, with ruffled bedspreads and gaily painted shutters. Others are at a hotel in Edgartown, a stylish port known for its stately homes built by whaling captains. The first family is renting a 28-acre waterfront estate, Blue Heron Farm, which has horse paddocks, a boat house and an apple orchard.”
That’s 150 staff members we are paying for, including someone to walk the dog … ALL their expenses plus their salaries on the most EXPENSIVE summer resort town in America … thank you King Barack & Queen Michelle.
We’ll never know just how many millions his family vacation is costing the rest of us because surprise, The White House does not release such information. Let me offer them some advice.
Let your kids walk the dog.
Michelle Obama made a memorable comment early in her husband’s Presidency that she did not want her daughters to grow up thinking of themselves as privileged. Really Michelle?? Is that why you brought a high priced govt. staff member to Martha’s Vineyard to walk the dog so your daughters didn’t?
Anyway point made; let’s turn our attention to September and our
President doing something worthwhile for the American people not the Tea Party Whackos. No doubt he will be announcing something. He has already promised to do so but what. A modest jobs program. Some more government belt tightening. Running the Presidential limo on natural gas. A little bit of this and a little bit of that amounting to nothing much. Likely.
How about getting FIRED up, READY to go!
Sound familiar President Obama? How about tackling one of the big issues in a way that will shake up the nation, have all the Republicans going crazy, not just Tea Crazies; and Lord have mercy, somehow prove you are a warrior unafraid to say and do what needs to be said and done.
Let’s focus on just one of those big issues today.
Health care again and for a very good reason. It becomes more and more likely as proven by the recent decision of the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta that the center piece of Obama’s current health care reform program is going to be ruled un-Constitutional.
That our Constitution surprise does not allow the Federal government to require ALL Americans to buy a product from a
private company simply because we are Americans.
That of course as we know was Obama’s and the previous Democrat controlled Congress’ way of “solving” the medical insurance problem devouring the U.S. Treasury. Force everyone to buy medical insurance and for those who can’t afford it – which will be a high bar to cross – on their own well taxpayers will send
the difference to these private insurance companies making sure
they hit their profit estimates.
Wouldn’t we all like to own businesses in which the government forced everyone to buy our product from the day we are born until the day we die. Even that much better if we are in an industry with
a few big players and a lack of competition.
Except as the Supreme Court is likely to rule sooner or later our
U.S. Constitution does not allow our government such unrestrained powers nor require all of us to buy specific products from private companies or get fined or maybe even jailed for refusing.
So what’s the point.
President Obama should announce that what he supports is what he always should have and what his Democratic base always has – a PUBLIC option. Nowhere as good or logical as a single payer system variations of which every other so called advanced nation has for its health care system at far lower cost than ours while theirs covers everyone. No something far less than a single payer system but still more like what we need.
If everyone needs to have health care we need the option to buy it through the PUBLIC option which would be an insurance program administered by the government but most of all constructed to
provide good insurance and care at the lowest possible cost by demanding the best possible rates and costs from companies in the medical industry and setting standards. Needless to say the
insurance companies and medical industry hate it. Competition!
Using govt. power and a large base to bring costs down. Not a perfect solution to the mess but far better than what we have now
and most of all far, far, far better than forcing Americans to buy insurance from private profit making companies if they don’t want who set rates that are good for them and not consumers then use their massive multi-million DC lobbying apparatus to “insure” (get that double entendre) that the Congress let’s them get away with it.
IMAGINE President Obama returning to Washington and early in
September announcing he was wrong to abandon the public option he had promised to support while he was running for President.
That he had a revelation sitting there on the porch of his Maratha’s Vineyard mansion watching the approaching hurricane. Or maybe while walking Bo (just kidding ). That he has had it with inane compromises that are undermining the vast majority of Americans.
That Barack Obama will become a Fighter! No you can’t imagine President Obama doing so. Therein lies the problem.
Now would someone walk the dog please!
Arthur Piccolo is a professional writer and commentator and often writes about Latin America for New Americas.
