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It's not as simple as "doing what the majority opposes is bad government. " Joel Send a noteboard - 23/03/2010 06:42:04 AM
Most polls have shown that a majority of the people in the country are opposed to this reform. Passing the bill when the majority of people do not want it is just bad government and it makes me a bit sick to my stomach.

Personally speaking, I don't care very much about it passing other than the part I just mentioned...I don't know how it's going to effect things, so I'm ok with waiting to see what happens. It could be a positive in the long run, it could be a negative, there's no way to tell right now. The real proof will be if health care improves, costs go down, and this all happens without creating massive amounts of budget deficit (yeah, they claim that it will save money, but the government is pretty good at making up BS figures, so I take any projections they make about cost with a grain of salt the size of Ireland).

And it really depends on whom you ask, and how. Much of the opposition to THIS particular reform is from people who think it does too LITTLE (cost control efforts were essentially an afterthought from the past few months, and thus only present in the reconciliation bill headed to the Senate later this week. )

But there's a reason why we have elected representatives rather than just referenda on everything. Many past government decisions that lacked majority support at the time were still right. Abolition, womens suffrage and desegregation didn't magically cease to be immoral after decades because they suddenly had majority support for the first time. There are ample counterexamples, too; US entry to WWII had strong majority opposition right up until 7 December, 1941, and prohibition was so popular it became a Constitutional Amendment--that had to be repealed by ANOTHER Amendment twenty years later. That's why we let the man on the street pick the (theoretically) experienced and intelligent lawmakers rather than simply letting the men on the street make all the laws.

This particular bill is, sadly, just corporate welfare to the least needy industry I can imagine. They're already munching on a sizable and growing chunk of US GDP, and forcing everyone in the country to give them more money isn't going to fix that, not even if much of that money comes from federal subsidies paid with higher taxes. They're attacking the wrong end of the problem, trying to patch a hole by simply throwing more stuff into it rather than actually covering it. Without cost controls all the government subsidies and personal mandates in the world are a spur to costs, not a remedy.
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No posts on the bill passing? - 22/03/2010 08:22:27 AM 1257 Views
Meh - 22/03/2010 09:07:27 AM 579 Views
Re: Meh - 22/03/2010 01:53:43 PM 539 Views
I know what you mean. I love hearing that the "majority" are against this. - 22/03/2010 01:57:15 PM 689 Views
surveys are crap anyways. - 22/03/2010 01:59:39 PM 511 Views
That's ignorance speaking. - 22/03/2010 02:02:46 PM 548 Views
well yah. Sorry, I wasn't meaning to say surveys as a whole are nonsense - 22/03/2010 02:09:42 PM 486 Views
Some are a plurality, some are a majority.... - 22/03/2010 04:01:56 PM 604 Views
But most of them with a high/low don't go into enough detail - 22/03/2010 09:24:29 PM 636 Views
A question? - 23/03/2010 01:11:07 AM 554 Views
I accept that there are situations where leaders must go against popular opinion - 23/03/2010 02:53:00 AM 598 Views
on the other hand *edited stupid spelling error* - 23/03/2010 03:09:47 AM 725 Views
On a certain level I do agree with you - 23/03/2010 05:14:24 AM 512 Views
I was thinking about this after posting - 23/03/2010 12:12:17 PM 524 Views
Ahahahahahahahaha - 23/03/2010 12:57:17 PM 669 Views
why? *NM* - 23/03/2010 03:37:00 PM 274 Views
Because "populous" is not a noun in English. *NM* - 23/03/2010 03:42:16 PM 275 Views
This. - 23/03/2010 03:46:25 PM 576 Views
damn you phonetics. - 23/03/2010 03:50:33 PM 830 Views
As Emo Philips would say - 23/03/2010 04:32:52 PM 607 Views
I always laugh when I see someone say people are "retarted" *NM* - 23/03/2010 03:51:46 PM 353 Views
"Get a life, morans!" *NM* - 23/03/2010 03:55:27 PM 275 Views
I think this is one of them - 23/03/2010 12:49:35 PM 984 Views
It's not as simple as "doing what the majority opposes is bad government. " - 23/03/2010 06:42:04 AM 614 Views
A step in the wrong direction. - 22/03/2010 10:38:31 AM 675 Views
didn't realize it had - 22/03/2010 11:49:36 AM 535 Views
I am happy for it - 22/03/2010 11:55:10 AM 534 Views
The Bill passed? - 22/03/2010 12:27:36 PM 640 Views
I think with the saturation coverage it has been getting people are just worn out *NM* - 22/03/2010 01:27:59 PM 296 Views
hollah that. *NM* - 22/03/2010 01:58:47 PM 239 Views
Yes. - 22/03/2010 02:38:03 PM 544 Views
Re: No posts on the bill passing? - 22/03/2010 01:39:14 PM 565 Views
I chose to read about it first at the NYT, then the WSJ, then the Economist. - 22/03/2010 01:43:07 PM 736 Views
Re: I chose to read about it first at the NYT, then the WSJ, then the Economist. - 22/03/2010 02:01:07 PM 546 Views
The Bill won't get repealed. Whatever happens in November. - 23/03/2010 12:17:21 AM 545 Views
There are 18 incumbent Dem Senate seats; 41+18<67. - 29/03/2010 11:15:29 AM 546 Views
I am worried. The official reports show that it will actually erase some debt. But . . . - 22/03/2010 01:39:26 PM 664 Views
I think reform had to start now. - 22/03/2010 02:27:11 PM 717 Views
That's a good column. - 22/03/2010 02:44:56 PM 630 Views
I think the problem highlight what I don't like about this bill - 22/03/2010 03:20:54 PM 557 Views
Re: I think the problem highlight what I don't like about this bill - 22/03/2010 03:33:31 PM 525 Views
Let's be realistic here at least.... - 22/03/2010 04:16:23 PM 545 Views
I hope your house is built on fimrer foundations then your reasoning - 22/03/2010 04:25:49 PM 539 Views
I'm not worried, there are lots of ways to pay for the bill. - 22/03/2010 05:36:39 PM 472 Views
You should worry about cost control (AKA the only real reason for healthcare reform to begin. ) - 23/03/2010 07:02:24 AM 642 Views
bingo - 24/03/2010 03:45:48 AM 677 Views
Next question: WTF do we do about it? - 24/03/2010 04:00:39 AM 553 Views
sadly probably not a damned thing... - 24/03/2010 04:20:45 AM 532 Views
I worry the day is coming when the Bastille is stormed. - 29/03/2010 11:06:31 AM 622 Views
It is a good start - 22/03/2010 03:01:08 PM 509 Views
Re: It is a good start - 22/03/2010 04:13:28 PM 527 Views
Heh - 22/03/2010 04:21:22 PM 574 Views
Re: Heh - 22/03/2010 04:32:30 PM 528 Views
Re: Heh - 22/03/2010 08:25:05 PM 592 Views
Sorry, I was out seizing the means of production. *NM* - 22/03/2010 07:43:19 PM 240 Views
You should delve the debate before getting excited. - 23/03/2010 07:22:36 AM 625 Views
I really like what GRR Martin wrote in his blog. - 23/03/2010 09:55:11 AM 648 Views
I agree with him - 23/03/2010 12:14:47 PM 555 Views
I would say it is rather weak point - 23/03/2010 01:12:43 PM 532 Views
Erm... - 23/03/2010 01:39:58 PM 626 Views
I am pleasantly surprised - 23/03/2010 04:14:52 PM 480 Views
Exceptions? - 24/03/2010 05:08:17 AM 491 Views
I haven't been following it too closely - 23/03/2010 02:10:39 PM 669 Views

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