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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right up until 7 December, 1941, and prohibition was so popular it became a Constitutional Amendment--that had to be repealed by ANOTHER Amendment twenty years later.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 1259 Views
Meh - 22/03/2010 09:07:27 AM 582 Views
Re: Meh - 22/03/2010 01:53:43 PM 542 Views
I know what you mean. I love hearing that the "majority" are against this. - 22/03/2010 01:57:15 PM 691 Views
surveys are crap anyways. - 22/03/2010 01:59:39 PM 514 Views
That's ignorance speaking. - 22/03/2010 02:02:46 PM 551 Views
well yah. Sorry, I wasn't meaning to say surveys as a whole are nonsense - 22/03/2010 02:09:42 PM 487 Views
Some are a plurality, some are a majority.... - 22/03/2010 04:01:56 PM 606 Views
But most of them with a high/low don't go into enough detail - 22/03/2010 09:24:29 PM 637 Views
A question? - 23/03/2010 01:11:07 AM 556 Views
I accept that there are situations where leaders must go against popular opinion - 23/03/2010 02:53:00 AM 600 Views
on the other hand *edited stupid spelling error* - 23/03/2010 03:09:47 AM 728 Views
On a certain level I do agree with you - 23/03/2010 05:14:24 AM 515 Views
I was thinking about this after posting - 23/03/2010 12:12:17 PM 526 Views
Ahahahahahahahaha - 23/03/2010 12:57:17 PM 671 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 578 Views
damn you phonetics. - 23/03/2010 03:50:33 PM 832 Views
As Emo Philips would say - 23/03/2010 04:32:52 PM 609 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 276 Views
I think this is one of them - 23/03/2010 12:49:35 PM 986 Views
It's not as simple as "doing what the majority opposes is bad government. " - 23/03/2010 06:42:04 AM 616 Views
A step in the wrong direction. - 22/03/2010 10:38:31 AM 677 Views
didn't realize it had - 22/03/2010 11:49:36 AM 537 Views
I am happy for it - 22/03/2010 11:55:10 AM 536 Views
The Bill passed? - 22/03/2010 12:27:36 PM 642 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 546 Views
Re: No posts on the bill passing? - 22/03/2010 01:39:14 PM 567 Views
I chose to read about it first at the NYT, then the WSJ, then the Economist. - 22/03/2010 01:43:07 PM 738 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 548 Views
The Bill won't get repealed. Whatever happens in November. - 23/03/2010 12:17:21 AM 547 Views
There are 18 incumbent Dem Senate seats; 41+18<67. - 29/03/2010 11:15:29 AM 548 Views
I am worried. The official reports show that it will actually erase some debt. But . . . - 22/03/2010 01:39:26 PM 666 Views
I think reform had to start now. - 22/03/2010 02:27:11 PM 720 Views
That's a good column. - 22/03/2010 02:44:56 PM 633 Views
I think the problem highlight what I don't like about this bill - 22/03/2010 03:20:54 PM 560 Views
Re: I think the problem highlight what I don't like about this bill - 22/03/2010 03:33:31 PM 527 Views
Let's be realistic here at least.... - 22/03/2010 04:16:23 PM 547 Views
I hope your house is built on fimrer foundations then your reasoning - 22/03/2010 04:25:49 PM 540 Views
I'm not worried, there are lots of ways to pay for the bill. - 22/03/2010 05:36:39 PM 474 Views
You should worry about cost control (AKA the only real reason for healthcare reform to begin. ) - 23/03/2010 07:02:24 AM 644 Views
bingo - 24/03/2010 03:45:48 AM 679 Views
Next question: WTF do we do about it? - 24/03/2010 04:00:39 AM 555 Views
sadly probably not a damned thing... - 24/03/2010 04:20:45 AM 534 Views
I worry the day is coming when the Bastille is stormed. - 29/03/2010 11:06:31 AM 625 Views
It is a good start - 22/03/2010 03:01:08 PM 511 Views
Re: It is a good start - 22/03/2010 04:13:28 PM 529 Views
Heh - 22/03/2010 04:21:22 PM 576 Views
Re: Heh - 22/03/2010 04:32:30 PM 531 Views
Re: Heh - 22/03/2010 08:25:05 PM 594 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 627 Views
I really like what GRR Martin wrote in his blog. - 23/03/2010 09:55:11 AM 650 Views
I agree with him - 23/03/2010 12:14:47 PM 557 Views
I would say it is rather weak point - 23/03/2010 01:12:43 PM 535 Views
Erm... - 23/03/2010 01:39:58 PM 628 Views
I am pleasantly surprised - 23/03/2010 04:14:52 PM 482 Views
Exceptions? - 24/03/2010 05:08:17 AM 493 Views
I haven't been following it too closely - 23/03/2010 02:10:39 PM 669 Views

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