The Healthcare Debate: Will Anything Happen?
President Obama is gearing up for a speech before a joint session of the US Congress on September 9 to talk about healthcare. As I listened to his surrogates provide a preview of what the President had in mind on the US Sunday Talk Shows, I was surprised as to the apparent back-peddling on the public option. I also was quite surprised by talk of a "trigger" for the public option. This was an idea I heard from Ben Nelson, The "moderate" Democrat from Nebraska who actually is an ex-insurance guy.
As I eagerly await the President's Speech, I hope that the entire country and the political leadership listens to the speech with an open mind. The lines in the sand have already been drawn and it is clear that the opposition has done a great job of defining the terms of the debate by noting that the apparent reforms are a "socialist/communist/facist" idea that has no place in America. The essential question is whether Healthcare is a right or a privilege. As it stands today, the prevailing view is that it is a privilege. It is not clear that the President will be able to change the mindset after allowing the opposition to run away and define the debate as they have. The jury is still out.
As I eagerly await the President's Speech, I hope that the entire country and the political leadership listens to the speech with an open mind. The lines in the sand have already been drawn and it is clear that the opposition has done a great job of defining the terms of the debate by noting that the apparent reforms are a "socialist/communist/facist" idea that has no place in America. The essential question is whether Healthcare is a right or a privilege. As it stands today, the prevailing view is that it is a privilege. It is not clear that the President will be able to change the mindset after allowing the opposition to run away and define the debate as they have. The jury is still out.
Mike Pouraryan
