Unlocking the key to success in the healthcare debate means understanding failure much more than it entails understanding healthcare.
Whatever our Congress conjures up is NOT going to be the healthcare panacea they want us to believe it will be. Citizens and legislators must understand this. Ponder their undertaking: do you really think that our federal legislators can create a one size fits all, national healthcare plan that is fully successful on the first attempt? As you mull that around for a moment, allow me to refer you to…. (Drum roll please) ….No Child Left Behind.
NCLB could be defined as a very successful FIRST START. Unfortunately, President Bush, in his last State of the Union Address, asked us to believe the program wildly successful as it stands. (Even Laura doesn’t believe that.) However, if President Bush had asked us to consider that NCLB represents a success because we have learned a lot from it, then that would be an entirely different matter. At the very least, the program has developed excellent metrics, and it has demonstrated initiatives that DIDN’T work and so should not be replicated. There is much in the failures of NCLB on which President Obama can build.
Frustration comes from unmet expectations. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a good example. The Administration and Congress are already considering a second stimulus. Does our predisposition towards instant gratification know no bounds? Huge portions of the first stimulus remain unspent, yet we appear ready to conclude that a) the stimulus was ineffective; and b) that even though it was ineffective we should do it AGAIN. Notwithstanding the premature conclusion on the efficacy of the first stimulus, if I grant the premise I’m more inclined to conclude that the initial plan as flawed conceptually and definitely should not be repeated.
If Congress asks the public to believe that the healthcare plan they eventually hoist upon us is the final solution, two expectations are set: first, there will be the expectation by Congress that they must continually tell us how fantastic the new healthcare system is, at the expense of making required changes. Congress will be constantly “selling” their plan to Americans rather than evaluating it for ways to make improvements. Second, Americans will be frustrated because we will see the inefficiencies and problems and will be left with little optimism that tweaks and modifications are forthcoming, particularly in the face of a self-congratulatory Congress.
Congress must acknowledge that with the Bill’s passage comes the realization that healthcare reform will be a PROCESS RATHER THAN AN EVENT. Of course, saying that aloud would be self-defeating. Americans would know that tweaks are coming, creating barriers to investment in the new healthcare system limiting its effectiveness. This is, in part, why healthcare implementation should be left to the states.
Congress should play to its strengths: collecting money. Its strength does not rest in creating and managing national service programs. The states, however, are much better (though not outstanding) at understanding the needs of their residents. State implementation pushes the healthcare debate closer to the people and to governments more responsive to the people than a national system would.
Additionally, it allows for the simultaneous implementation of 50 separate healthcare experiments. Best practices will be derived. Lessons will be learned. States can make subsequent modifications to their own plans based on the success (or failure) of other states’ plans. Fifty smaller programs will be easier to initiate, more nimble to manage, and quicker to change.
Making implementation the responsibility of the States also serves to isolate Congress from accountability and it leaves open the opportunity to create a subsequent National Healthcare System should a States emphasis be a resounding failure. But, if it comes to that, the National System will benefit from the results of 50 prior experiments and the Congress will be able to say that their first instinct was NOT socialist, but federalist in nature.
The Democrats seem determined to push legislation through despite the objections of Blue Dog Democrats and many Republicans. Any plan that is not bipartisan in nature means that the Democrats will have no one with whom to share the blame when version 1.0 flops. Their plan should not only co-opt Republicans but co-opt the States and Americans at large, in order to share responsibility and accountability.
Congress’s role should be two-fold: develop a national means to collect funds that will be extended to the States in order to fund their programs (perhaps a national sales tax); and develop a set of guidelines that each state program must include. Those guidelines ought to provide coverage for all uninsured children; protection against financial ruin due to a major illness or accident; the ability to obtain coverage regardless of a preexisting condition; coverage that continues even when people are laid off, change jobs, move to another state or start their own business; premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses that are affordable relative to family income; and the ability to keep current health coverage if desired.
Congress in general and the Democrats specifically, are so busy trying to demonstrate their genius that they will miss the opportunity to truly impress us—with their humility. George Patten said, “Never tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” President Truman similarly noted that “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Our Congress ought to heed these two philosophies and empower and entrust the people and the states to do for themselves.
It’s true that failure is not an option: it’s an inevitability. A federalist approach, vis-à-vis the socialist boondoggle on the table, creates 50 opportunities for success, and more importantly 50 opportunities to learn from our inevitable missteps. The success of healthcare reform rests not in what Congress produces in the coming months, but rather how well Congress incorporates mechanisms to respond to the shortcomings of their foresight.
Failure, rather than being avoided, should be embraced.
Columbus Day
How did you spend your Columbus Day? I had no luck talking my family into caroling through the neighborhood singing traditional Italian sailing songs of Indian oppression. Sigh.
MNF: Jon Gruden
I like what Jon Gruden is doing on Monday Night Football tonight. Sure it's only the first night, but I like his perspective, his input and his delivery. Let's see if it lasts.
House Resolution 204
Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.
Just when you thought your Congress wasn't doing anything. When you thought them inept, embroiled in bureaucracy and piddly partisan politics, they came together--424 to nothing. That's right. Zip. Nada. Nothing. No dissents. No food for thought. Just unanimity.
What, pray tell, could bring about such consensus? What could cause bitter enemies to set aside their rancor and think of the country first and not their own selfish interests?
I give you House Resolution 204. Introduced March 3. Passed May 13. Sponsored by Republican Michael Simpson from Idaho.
Doesn't he have a lovely smile?
The full text is here http://www.govtrack.us/congress/ billtext.xpd?bill=hr111-204.
But let me summarize. Our Congress is, Congratulating the American Dental Association for its 150th year of working to improve the public's oral health and promoting dentistry, supporting initiatives to improve access to oral health care services for all Americans, and emphasizing the benefits of prevention of disease through support of community prevention initiatives and promotion of good oral hygiene."
Isn't change good?
The Lasting Effect of Sarah Palin
I, for one, have been wondering about the LASTING effect of Sarah Palin.
Would she have any lasting effect on the American political landscape or would she just be the political equivalent of Max Headroom?
Ms. Palin was probably beginning to think, based on her speaking slot at CPAC, that she was losing all her momentum. Au contraire. I have noticed a new trend in men's fashion eye wear that I hope Ms. Palin will be happy about.
Given the fickle nature of fashion, I seriously doubt that this is the kind of thing the GOP can turn into increased voter turnout or use to create crossover appeal with democrats. But given the state of the GOP today, they should be happy with any influence on American lives, no matter how trivial.
DUPLICITY
Just a fun thing to look for. I recently went to see Duplicity starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. I enjoyed the movie but what I enjoyed most was the portrayal of two rival CEOs, the heads of Companies Burkett and Randall and Equikrom being fashioned in the likeness of Cosmo Spacely—Spacely Sprockets
and Henry Cogswell—Cogswell Cogs.
The Duplicity CEOs were played by Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson.
As for the movie, let the memory of your childhood guide your prognostications.
Joe Biden: Oh Dear, What a Mess
For thinking people, I can't imagine any favorable response to Joe Biden's acceptance speech Wednesday night. First off, compared with the quality of speech making skills, former President Bill Clinton and Senator Clinton are clearly the cream of the crop. President Clinton's speech, like his wife's, was a flawlessly delivered effort and deserves much praise in that regard. If you make public appearances, tape and dissect these efforts. Joe Biden stumbled through his speech like an amputee in quicksand by comparison.
But on the more important substantive issues, it was full of contradictions and misleading statements. He talked about being knocked down as a child and how his mother taught him to pick himself up. (Great lesson) Later, though, he lamented that at a time when so many Americans have been knocked down, Washington has done so little to help them get back up. (I thought, Senator, the point was to learn to pick YOURSELF up.)
He talked about how the most important aspect of work is that it provides the benefit of dignity and respect to Americans; but he then prattled on about how the work people have doesn't pay enough.
He talked about how tax breaks for corporations, which McCain supports, send jobs overseas. No, Joe, they don't. Tax breaks for corporations brings jobs home; companies have been sending jobs overseas because it already costs TOO MUCH to do business within the US.
He talked about a "promise that their tomorrow will be better than their yesterday." Who is making that promise, Senator? Only we can make our tomorrow better. Government can't and if government is promising that, and Americans want that, then this is the discussion that we should be having in America.
He quoted John McCain on Afghanistan from 3 years ago and Barack Obama on Afghanistan from 1 year ago. Why not break out a quote from McCain on Georgia from years ago and a quote from Obama on Georgia from last week?
Viewers of this speech who pay attention to his words, will not have been impressed with the content or the medium. Hillary’s DNC Speech
You've got to give credit where credit is due: Hillary Clinton is an excellent orator. She DELIVERED that speech extremely well. James Carville seemed ready to serve papers on his wife Mary and propose immediately to the NY Senator. Gushing though he was, Mr. Carville was dead on. Hillary Clinton can give a speech and she made those who preceded her look amateurish.
However, the speech itself probably did little. She certainly had nothing to say that might sway Republicans to rethink their party affiliation. Furthermore, absent too were talking points that independents might find attractive. The speech seemed to have two purposes. First, convince her supporters to vote for Obama. But who else were they going to vote for? Those people involved enough in politics to be at or watch on tv the DNC convention are also likely to be people who will value their vote and not stay at home. Those who might elect not to vote at all, certainly were not in attendance and might well have been watching America's Got Talent and missed the speech completely.
Secondly, and more importantly to Mrs. Clinton, the speech was littered with reminders of why she should remain relevant in the Democratic Party. This was a "You Picked the Wrong Guy" speech.
Will we remember her or this speech in 4 or 8 years? I suspect not. The speech didn't brand itself with any tag lines that might survive the next few years. But it was a hell of an effort.FREEDOM and LIBERTY
Bert Hornbeck had an interesting blog recently. In it he noted that, “Free” is a very important word, and “freedom” is very different from “liberty.” The immediate root of “liberty” is the Latin LIBER—which also gives us “libido” and “libation.” “Libido” has to do with desire; “libations” are outpourings, from the Greek.[ii] “Liberty” is a do-my-own-thing word; it has nothing to do with the idea of society. “Free,” however, is a friendly word—literally, historically. “Friend” comes into English from the Germanic FREI, which means dear, or beloved. “Free,” remarkably enough, comes into English at about the same time—in perhaps the eighth century—from exactly the same root. The understanding in both “friend” and “free” is what we call love: the relation of self with what self holds dear. As “friend” becomes “free,” it makes the idea of freedom social. It says that you can’t be free by yourself.
I believe not attending to these differences is the cause of the apparent divide in American thought. True conservatism (not that practiced by the Republicans) understands the importance of relationships between people and values those relationships over the individual. The whole is indeed greater than the sum of the parts. Liberal ideology seeks to raise the needs and desires of the individual above the collective good. This is where the Libertarians lose most Americans. Intuitively, Americans sense the error of the "my liberty is more important than the collective good" ethos and shun the movement. Neither the modern Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has found a way to tap into the American belief in Freedom while simultaneously bonding us to society. This is the time for Democratic and Republican ideologies to be replaced by less "me" centered thinking and our nation should return to its ideological roots, which means that we understand our obligation to each other to value and defend each other's freedom, not just our own.National Democratic Do-over
If the Democrats were acting rationally as Democrats, the super delegates would quit dancing for the man and look seriously at Hillary Clinton at this point.
The Democratic support that the super delegates are so keen on being a part of should be viewed as something of a mirage. What would the delegate count be if the events of the last month had taken place in December? Would Obama have as much support as he does now? Would he be the presumed candidate? And yet the Obama of today is the one the Democrats are likely to insist represents their party. The Obama that sees middle America as "clingers," the Obama that wouldn't repudiate Wright but is now quite right to repudiate, this is the Obama that will face McCain in November. For a party as down on America as this one, an Obama nomination seems awfully optimistic. Perhaps, it's not just Michigan and Florida that need a do-over: perhaps the Democrats ought to have a national do-over.Obama’s Global Poverty Act
It might be too strong to say "All things" global bother me, but it's not far from the truth. Obama's support of this bill is indicative of my major concern of his candidacy.
Sure he's liberal. Liberal we can handle. Heck even socialist we can handle. We have systems in place to deal with presidential initiatives which we ultimately don't approve of. But relinquishing any control to any kind of world organization is very troubling. Being outside of our borders and constitution, we could find ourselves subject to a body we don't agree with and yet have few ways to get out from under its jurisdiction. This is a slippery slope. I fear Obama's need to be liked and validated will prompt him to try to enter the U.S. into many global initiatives.Talk of a Declining Obama Campaign
For all the talk of the demise of the GOP, this campaign seems more and more to foretell the demise of the Democrats.
Hillary, despite her belief that her ascension has been preordained, has a low ceiling and a high floor. Obama continues to manifest himself as a divisive candidate, creating his own new voting demographic within his party, one that surely will never be as influential as, say, the evangelicals have been for the GOP. It is no wonder that Clinton supporters would sooner vote for McCain, the two have significantly more in common and, to their credit, Clinton supporters can see through the audacity of hype. The sad fact for the democrats is that these two represented the best the Democrats had to offer. Perhaps it is a tacit admission of poor policy that the Democrats chose two candidates who are best known for their celebrity status and not their policies or experience. If the policy postulates of the democrats had more merit, a "celebrity" wouldn't have be needed to endorse those policies.Cynical on Cyrus
Miley Cyrus is apparently now "embarrassed" about her Annie Liebovitz. photo in the upcoming Vanity Fair.
I'm afraid I just don't believe that her feelings are the result of poorly timed contemplation. My understanding is that the family was present for the photo shoot and got to see the picture in advance. They liked it and moved on. NOW all of a sudden Miley is embarrassed? These are smart people familiar with the media. I, of course, have no inside information, this is just my opinion, but it would appear she wants to have her cake and eat it too: do the photo shoot (be edgy, become known to new demographics) and then make a heartfelt apology to appease the core fan group.The Democrats Jimmy Carter Problem
To extrapolate from Carter's experience, an intelligent Democratic candidate might surmise that meetings with despots around the world is a bad idea, at home and abroad.
Is Obama smart enough to see the error of his proposal to meet with such foreign leaders? Probably not. Too impressed with his own palaver, he'll stand by his words. But can McCain and the GOP make the same connection and exploit Carter's follies as empirical evidence that they were correct in postulating what such visits from US dignitaries would bring about?Faustian Economics by Wendell Berry
If you are not a subscriber to Haper's Magazine, I highly recommend you venture out to the book store of your choice and pick up a copy of the May issue so you can read Wendell Berry's excellent article "Faustian Economics" which is no where near as boring as the title would imply (sorry WB).
His words address the inherently conservative values (not republican--conservative) most Americans believe in. But he also points out that while we believe in them, we don't LIVE them. His article can be, and should be, a call for personal change. It will be an exciting read for the number of times you exclaim (too loudly for those sipping coffee nearby) "Yes!" Although, if I'm honest, it is depressing on a national scale because I know most Americans act on their immediate desires and not on the values they hold most sacred. But, in the end, change starts at home.
Drexel Kleber
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