If you're on the Twitter, it's hard not to notice the Obama administration trying SO hard to sell its newest faulty product.
President Obama has one more campaign in him, and he's asking you to be a part of it: http://t.co/3gfRGCvFc0 #Obamacare
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 12, 2013
FACT: Thanks to #Obamacare, 73,000 more Floridians will gain access to care through community health centers —> http://t.co/WAcF02SMk8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 7, 2013
“This marketplace is open now … The deal is good. The prices are low.” —President Obama on #Obamacare
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 30, 2013
"Nearly 50% of young adults will be eligible for a plan under $50/month…that's an amazing rate" —@Simas44: http://t.co/byS8JaB1KN #Obamacare
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 29, 2013
This cancer survivor supports #Obamacare because it helps people with pre-existing conditions #GetCovered. http://t.co/JB7fXmYizM
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 10, 2013
Scroll through the White House or Obama's Twitter feeds, and you'll see it never ends.
My first reaction to all of this was pretty cynical-conservative-typical: Wow, must be a pretty screwed up deal if he's trying so hard to sell it.
But I should to be fair. Whenever something's messed up with government, we're quick to compare it to how a business should operate, like some sort of political plumb line. Whatever a good private business does, so should government. We say things like:
If Obama worked for me, I'd fire him for launching a product before it was ready.
Or...
The government should balance its stinkin' budget just like my business does.
If Obama worked for me, I'd fire him for launching a product before it was ready.
Or...
The government should balance its stinkin' budget just like my business does.
Why should this be any different? Even the best business needs to sell its product -- no matter how great it is, right? Right!
So, why am I having a fit when the government tries to sell its own?
So, why am I having a fit when the government tries to sell its own?
Here's why: Obama's trying sell us a product after we've been forced to buy it.
And that's not good business. That's coercion. Even worse: the product doesn't work and there's no return policy.
Obama's doing business backwards, and we have no choice but to sit and suffer from it.
The whole point of the Affordable Care Act is that it is important for our nation as a whole. That is what is being said over and over again. It is not an effort to coerce the public, cover the holes and sell the product. It is an effort to display public value.
ReplyDeletePublic value is not always instinctual. It is something that has to be intentionally shared with the public.
Whenever the government takes a position as a moral authority that knows best for the populace, things go haywire. Historically, coercion, the stripping of rights, and huge inequality always follows.
DeleteThe best system of moral justice & "good for the whole" is one of free enterprise, and individuals pursuing their own interests. It's been demonstrated over & over, again & again. Inequality is vanquished, families thrive, quality of life increases.
The ACA is slowly repeating the same sins of the past, but expecting different results.
By the way, the phrase "intentionally shared with the public" sounds like a soft way of saying "just force it on them."
DeleteIf the government were an infallible entity that knew all and made no mistake, that theory might work. But it's not, and it won't be. Placing the power to coerce in the hands of a select few -- even if they are elected by us -- is a surefire recipe for human rights violations. No matter the intention, no matter the policy. It's an eventual but sure process.
One more "by the way": Thank you for commenting!
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