We Have No More Than We Did Before
As I ponder spending the next 700 words or so discussing the hilarious irony of our most “consitutionally astute” president being as wrong on the constitutionality of his vaunted national healthcare plan as he could possibly be, I will let you in on a secret: I am writing this column a full 48 hours before the news of President Barack Obama’s constitutional ineptitude is certified official by the Supreme Court of the United States. That is how confident I am that he is wrong, and that the conservatives who fought him, and his ill-fated plan, were right.
Yes, we hit the streets in print Thursday, so pardon my presumption, but a deadline is a deadline. In an effort to be safe, I did run the whole concept by a trusted family member, just to make sure I was on the right track.
He concurred.
I know many of you will scoff at the understanding my three-year-old son Beau may have of the Constitution and the Rule of Law as it applies in this case, but he seems to grasp the main points squarely.
Again, and call me anal retentive if you must, still wanting to be thorough I did seek final, and yes, more mature counsel in the matter, fully vetting the topic with 56-year-old Atticus B. Guillebeau.
He also concurred.
At least I think it was a concur. It was definitely a purr, which is usually what he does as he concurs. You see, Atticus, whom you might remember from his incredibly insightful (and published) letter to former Metro Spirit editor Tom Grant, is my wife’s Siamese cat.
So let’s line this up, shall we:
A college drop out, a three-year-old boy, and a 56-year-old cat (eight in human years), seem to have a better understanding of the Constitution of the United States, and what it allows, than President Obama, and all the Dems who stood with him as this abortion of a healthcare plan was forced down the throats of the American public.
I guess we should give them credit for trying to do something to address the American healthcare crisis, because the Republicans sure have not shared any good ideas on the topic, but at this point, giving the Demscudos is like giving the dumbest kid in math class a gold star for yelling out a wrong answer really, really loud.
But hey, at least they tried.
Before Mitt Romney is even given the opportunity to step into this healthcare Thunderdome so he can show the world how brilliantly he can handle the problem, he would be wise to come clean with the American people about why we are in over our heads with healthcare costs.
Take a look at the case of Aimee Copeland, for instance. Our very own Doctors Hospital, and, specifically, the Joseph M. Still Burn Center staff, have literally worked medical miracles to save this young woman’s life as she fights an insidious infection that has resulted in a near fatal case of necrotizing fasciitis. She has been in the hospital for almost two months, and faces literally years of rehab therapy and treatment, all in the hopes that she is able to lead a productive and satisfying life.
I hope she gets it all, and then some, but it is not going to come cheap. Her medical bills are reportedly already in the seven-figure range, and there is no sign of the end of them.
Twenty years ago, there would have been no miracle. There would be about a $6,000 funeral and a $2,000 gravestone marking her final resting place.
We have a local businessman, Ray Lilly, and a beloved public servant, Debbie Marshall, who are both battling horrific brain tumors. Diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM as it is better known, both Lilly and Marshall are in the fight of their lives, again, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, before all is said and done.
Thank God there have been recent breakthroughs in treatment, and, yes, some aggressive experimental trials, that offer hope to both of our neighbors and their families, but the cost of every new therapy, and the associated medical infrastructure, is staggering.
Twenty years ago, well, reference the above funeral costs, and multiply by two.
It is time for politicians of all stripes to wake up and realize we do not live in 1992 anymore. Our science has outpaced our pocketbooks, and our generosity with those who cannot afford even minimum insurance coverage is sending the nation into certain insolvency.
Obamacare is not the answer, but we don’t see the GOP pulling an answer out of their fannies, either. (BTW… a colonoscopy is gonna run you over a thousand bucks)
You want the European healthcare system? A British physician of my acquaintance tells me Aimee, Ray and Debbie would likely be dead already, if they lived in the U.K.
Any ideas?
Beau and the cat came up empty, too.You Might Also Like:
Posted in Austin