"The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care – you watch."

In George Orwell's 1984,  the term "wordfact" is used to describe a government pronouncement which is demonstrably false, yet accepted as true by an abject populace which has to swear allegiance not only to the beloved leader, but also to whatever comes out of his mouth. To such a state do we seem to be descending when the leader of the GOP asks us to believe that his party will generate any healthcare program at all -- let alone a serviceable one. 

Putting it charitably, anybody -- other than White House sycophants -- who would endorse that fiction simply hasn't been paying attention. The GOP is the party of providing no meaningful healthcare whatsoever. So fiercely have they opposed healthcare that Paul Krugman, in today's New York Times,  describes their hatred of it as "pathological." I prefer to think of it as a natural consequence of their chief credo -- that entitlement to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be quantified in dollars: the more of them you have, the more entitled you become, and the less of them you have, the less deserving apparently, you must be of any good thing in life. From which it follows that to require the rich to help the poor is unutterably wrong -- "confiscatory," to use one of their favorite words.  Redistributing wealth downward in anathema to them, whereas redistributing upward is natural and right, the inevitable triumph of the stronger -- celebrated, they suppose, by Darwin.

Indeed, in today's corporate world, Cain's question, "am I my brother's keeper?" has developed a sinister answer, for our corporate masters do "keep" us, the way corporate  agribusiness keeps the sheep or cows it owns -- for their wool and their milk. And when we are no longer worth the shearing, or the milking, our owners dispose of us as efficiently as possible.

Thus our Republican overlords either approve of, or acquiesce in the abolition of ACA, and the gutting of Medicare and Social Security.  To them, it makes perfect sense: We are, from their point of view, simply not worth the money -- their money. For it is, increasingly, becoming all theirs.  According to an article in the Washington Post dated February of this year,  the top .1 percent own more than the bottom 80 percent.

Wealth Concentration Returning to Levels Last Seen During the Roaring Twenties

Arguably, the super-rich already own our government. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals alone devotes three lobbyists to each Senator and Representative; doubtless the rest of Big Pharma is similarly devoted: One of the results is that Medicare is forbidden to negotiate drug prices. And the only way Obama could get ACA passed was  to agree to the parameters stipulated by the Medical/Industrial establishment. It was imperfect to begin with, and Trump's continual weakening of it made it even less satisfactory,  But we should be grateful for it, wobbly as it is, for 20 million people are insured by it, and it's the only thing standing between many thousands and certain death.  And if in the courts Trump succeeds where he couldn't in the legislature the results will be catastrophic.

And as if that weren't enough,  I've just received a post from Don McCanne, who quotes an economic report signed by Trump. Its bottom line is there is no reason why Healthcare cannot operate in a market governed by free choice  -- thus dismissing the work of eminent economists asserting that the unique features and conditions of healthcare make it impossible to function effectively in a free market system. (One of many reasons: To lower costs, the risk must be spread as wide as possible. Competing systems divide the pool and thus raise the rates. In addition, many people who need medical care are in no position to "shop  around" for the best value, nor have they the information to make an informed choice. This is no time for ideology. ) McCanne says with breathtaking understatement "we can conclude that our health care financing system is not in good hands. We have to do something about that."

Oh yes we do, friends, yes we do. We live in a country which is not only in thrall to corporate interests, it has seemingly become hypnotized by its propaganda.  There are people who actually believe that National Socialists (Nazis) and Democratic Socialists (Progressive Democrats) are equivalent. And there are people who think that taking the profit motive out of medicine is an attack on our Capitalistic system. If they mean the Capitalism of unrestrained and unregulated greed, they are right.

What can we do?  We must each of us contact our representatives -- on the federal level -- and insist that only Medicare For All will satisfy us, and that we don't buy the Trumpian free market bulls**t.  And on the State level we must contact our State Assembly Members and State Senators, and tell them that the New York Health Act is what we need and what we insist on. For more info on NYHA you can click on:

New York Health Act Campaign

They've got everything from a brief, entertaining animation (see it!) longer videos with  more wonky explanations -- and everything in between. And it will have more suggestions about what you can DO.

And we must do all the above not only forcefully, but repeatedly. Don't rely on your friend or your neighbor to do it -- do it yourself.  Make time for it. Do it.  The revolution begins with us.

Everybody gets sick now and then. And when it's your turn, whose policies do you want  in place -- the Republicans (who really don't care what happens to you so long as their beloved free market is allowed to fly unconstrained) or the Democrats, whose guiding principle is EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT TO  HEALTHCARE -- NO MATTER WHAT THEIR STATION IN LIFE.

Tell others how you feel.

Dio

PS: If you'd like to leave a comment -- and I encourage you to do so -- simply click on the "number of comments" area, and share your thoughts in the "comment rectangle" that appears.

PPS: We know that there are plenty out there who have stories to tell -- stories of your trying to cope with our dysfunctional healthcare system. Trouble is, we don't know what these stories are! That's where you come in. If you have a story to tell, you can email me at indivisible12401@gmail.com. You can be as anonymous as you like. Thanks!