OBAMACARE DEBACLE COULD LEAD TO THIRD WORLD STATUS

THE OBAMACARE DEBACLE COULD HAVE FAR REACHING CONSEQUENCES

by Keith Shirey

Allow me to put the Obamacare debacle in perspective:

This is a time when the polls show that Americans have lost faith in their institutions.  This is particularly true of their attitudes toward government.   From the time of the Watergate scandal to the disastrous misrepresentations associated with Vietnam, through the lies that got us into the Iraq war, the American people have become increasingly suspicious of  government.   Although positive attitudes toward the U.S. military somehow remain, the U.S. has not won a war (except Greneda) since 1945, which must deep down, somehow weigh in on the public view of government (most of the blame, of course, goes to the politicians in the public mind).  

Although many Americans seem willing to give up their civil liberties to Big Brother for protection, because the tragedy of 9/11,  American intelligence agencies, which experienced a boom in public support after that disaster,  are now facing increasing skepticism because of  use of torture, spying secrets and abuses, cover ups and lying.  Just 30 percent of voters nationwide have that much trust in government officials when it comes to surveillance efforts.  Certainly, the intelligence community’s ineptitude in the Boston Marathon bombing catastrophe could not enhance its approval ratings.

There is no space to provide a totally complete framework in which to examine what so far is the ACA farce, but let us remember that this is a time when there has been a steady erosion in the quality of people who go into politics, a lessening of the bonds of community in a land of "rugged individualism," a time when the resources of the Republic are considerably diminished  by the financial demands of the American Empire and a time, now and in the future, when such resources will be put in great jeopardy by the looming climate change disaster. 

Ronald Reagan famously said that the most terrifying words that one can hear are,  “I’m the government and I’m here to help you.”  Since then, there has been a steady drumbeat from conservative politicians, think tanks, and their echo chambers on Fox News and talk radio, pounding the theme that government is  inherently incompetent.   “Government is the problem, not the solution” is a heard over and over by anti-government, corporate apologists on the Sunday news programs. 

With recent legislative paralysis in congress and the government shutdown,  the meme that “big government” is a hopeless basket case is reinforced.   The failure of government to deal with such issues as gun control and immigration terribly exacerbates the situation. A recent Pew Research poll found that just 19% of American say that they trust the government in Washington to do what is right just about always or most of the time. 

Against such a backdrop is the failed introduction of Obamacare, which the Secretary of Health And Human Services admits is a “debacle.”   It is now a cliché  to say that  the ACA is the signature legislative accomplishment of the Obama administration.  Indeed, it is the symbol of what “liberal government” can do or not do, whether “big government” can at least somewhat be competent.  That Obama would hand the formulation of the Affordable Care Act over to congress and not lead on the legislation and its details (resulting in an unnecessary maze of complexities), lie repeatedly  about the ability of individuals to keep their health care policies under the ACA, and oversee such a shoddy and pathetic enrollment program at healthcare.com is beyond any excuse and has possible ramifications way beyond the ACA.

If the ACA fails, if there is a “death spiral” as many predict, it will be a tragedy for millions of Americans who are uninsured and millions who would benefit from it.  But it will also be a disaster for the country that needs a progressive government to re-build its infrastructure, spend huge amounts to improve its disgraceful educational system, support early childhood development, provide adequate daycare facilities for working mothers and families, provide jobs for those who want to work, etc.  These essential programs can only be made possible by a liberal government modeled on the New Deal but even going beyond its ambitious domestic programs.

Barack Obama may or may not be a willing corporate stooge, a toady for Wall Street, the king of the Police-Surveillance-State, the worst violator of civil liberties in U.S. history,  one who personally enjoys killing by drones, even  a war criminal.  But one thing is clear:  In the context of conservative propaganda against liberal government, actual government paralysis, and the contempt and distrust of government by the public, his bungling ineptitude in the handling of the ACA may lead to an irreversible decent of the United States into the status of a third world country. The intense mistrust of government may now be so deep that it will take years for the representatives of the people to enact legislation to deal with problems of a civilization already in decline.

Such a prediction may not come about.  The republicans are stupid, they may again refuse to work with House democrats on a budget plan.  They may shut down the government again during the next budget crisis so that the public, which has the memory of a toad, may focus its fury again on GOP obtuseness and forget about the initial fiasco of the ACA, particularly if healthcare.com gets a reasonably quick fix and enrollment is successful.   Another likely possibility is that there will be another gun massacre and another useless “national conversation” about the tragedy to divert attention away from the initial Obamacare debacle.

Who knows, maybe Obama will luck out.