Repeal and Replace

For many many years the Republicans ignored the health care crisis. They were poked and prodded by the Democrats for decades and were able to successfully kick the can down the road. Then Barack Obama becomes president off the counter winds of the Bush incompetence. health care and the obscene practices and immense power of the health insurance industry became center stage. The president and congress did some serious and ugly sausage making to finally shake things up. On paper the idea is incorporates market competition and actually designed to save money in the long run. The real balance in my mind is that competitive health care industries are more efficient but the companies retain somewhere like 20% in profits by ensuring they deny as much coverage by making it complicated or by actual chicanery. The counter is that public offices are non-profit but loaded up with bureaucracy, inefficiency, and a "set in stone mentality" where no innovation is possible.

I am excited about the prospect of the republicans taking over, I am excited because they would actually have to solve the same problems with health care 2.0. The democratic health care reform may get repealed, but the they can't repeal without a replace and you can't keep all the popular line items without solving the universal coverage issue. In the end the point I want to make and the realization that led me to share my thoughts is that the democrats got us health care and it will be next to impossible for even the most fervent republicans to turn the clock back to the point where the problem just gets swept under the rug again.

The democrats attacked one of the largest and controversial issues of America and, even if all the details change in some final republican version or grand compromise, it was that shake up that shake up that ultimately changed things. Change happened, change is scary, and I am confident this change is just starting and that it will be good. I often think back to the first fedralist papers that pre-dated our current constitution; sometimes you need democracy to crash and burn in a 1.0 version to get to democracy 2.0.

Also, in the upcoming month I will be analyzing my local candidates and any national ones that strike my interest. Stay tuned for some punditry from Jazz Hands. Today's insight, I think I kinda like Tea Party Mc' Marc Rubio and will have more on that later.