The Lunatic Fringe

The displays of anger, foul language, hatred and even some vandalism and violence in recent days coming from opponents of health care reform and egged on by inflammatory Republican rhetoric, indicates that what used to be called the "lunatic fringe" has moved closer to the main stream in this country. Rabid Republicans? What's going on?

To me, it seems to be this is a fire that has been fueled with several ingredients. Calculated, obstructionist, partisan "just say no" opposition by the Republicans, accompanied by angry speeches and over-the-top rhetoric (is it really "Armageddon", Congressman Boehner?)has been an important contributing factor.New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called it "blatant fear-mongering, unconstrained by either the facts or by any sense of decency." Also important was the blizzard of outright false advertising from the insurance industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others portraying the bill as a socialist (or government)takeover of the economy, a virtual coup d'etat. Others, especially in the Republican-backed Tea Party movement, were directing their diffuse anger toward Washington, the bank bailouts and their general angst about the recession and the loss of jobs to a convenient lightning rod. Racial antagonisms were also in play here, as "Obamacare" -- which is favorble to low-income minorities -- became avisceral issue for some people.

But there were also legitimate concerns about substantive aspects of the legislation. The idea of a mandate requiring everyone to have health insurance was perhaps the hottest button. But in fact, it's only fair. Nobody knows when they might need health care. If they are uninsured and cannot afford to pay what could be literally) a fortune, the burden of providing "free" emergency care would continue to be paid by the rest of us who do have insurance. So the uninsured are potentially "free-riders on the system that the rest of us are supporting, unless they are willing to opt out and not to use the system if a health need arose, like Christian scientists, for instance.

In any case, rational discussion of such issues became impossible in the the rhetorical conflagration that we witnessed. If there is any consolation, it is that a similar outpouring of vitriol, doomsday prophesies and calls for "repeal" accompanied the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. It's hard to believe, but it's also a hopeful thought.

A Victory for a Social Right

America is the only nation that does not provide universal health care as a social right for all of its citizens. Reformers in this country have been trying to rectify this situation for nearly a century. Among many others, the late Senator Ted Kennedy made universal health care his life-long cause. And poll after poll over the years has confirmed that there is strong public support for this idea. Nobody should be denied basic health care services.

However, the American Medical Association, the pharmaceutical industry, private health insurers, and the Republican party have successfully blocked the various legislative initiatives over the years -- until now. When an imperfect (reconciled) health reform measure was finally enacted in the past few days(over unanimous Republican opposition based on a grossly misleading caricature of the measure -- call it lies), it unleashed an orgy of extremist hysteria, fear-mongering and hatred. It is a very sad commentary on the state of our society, and our politics, that something so moderate, and so important to fundamental fairness and social justice (where the lives and health of the American people are so much at stake),should unleash such paranoid furies.

It is too soon to know for sure, but I suspect that, when the vitriol subsides and the Republicans have extracted all of the political points they can glean from this, history (and the American people) will side with President Obama and the Democrats in viewing this as a landmark victory in the pursuit of social justice. Indeed, it is consistent with the first of the three fundamental precepts that define what I call the "bio-social contract" in my forthcoming book (see the sidebar blurb). Our prime directive as a society is to collectively ensure that the basic needs of all of our people are met, and nothing could be more basic than health care. We should not let a coalition of the unwilling, whose self-interests are the hidden agenda, subvert a triumph for the public interest.

Glenn Beck's War on Social Justice

Glenn Beck has been a prolific purveyor of the social poison that afflicts our society. His molten hatreds have had a very destructive influence on the body politic. Now he has crossed the line into outright evil. ("Evil" may be defined as deliberately causing unprovoked harm to another human being, or failing to help when there is a genuine need.)

Glenn Beck has recently been spewing the venomous (and false) idea that pursuing social justice is a Communist and Fascist idea. It's "not an American idea." Beck claims it's also a "perversion of the Gospel." Well, maybe that's true of the Devil's gospel, but it contradicts the other one (I doubt if Beck has actually read it), including especially Christ's teachings and the example of his own life, not to mention some 2,000 years of Christian doctrine and practice.

Though Beck may be preaching only to the Devil's choir, choirs have a way of morphing into crusaders, or lynch mobs. So beware.

Fairness and the Census

I got a mailer from the Census Bureau yesterday urging me to complete and return the coming census form, in order to help each community get "its fair share" of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, et. In other words, if you're not counted, you don't count.

Some people, especially conservatives who resent paying taxes to help the poor, are cool (or even cold) to our decennial census. But any society that has a strong commitment to provide for the basic needs of all of its people -- what I call a "bio-social contract," should be grateful that our Founding Fathers had the wisdom to provide a Constitutional mandate that everyone be counted. It's really one of the foundation blocks for any democratic society.

The "Best" Health Care System?

At the recent "bi-partisan" summit meeting on the health care issue organized by President Obama, one Republican Senator claimed that we have the "best" health care system in the world. So why tinker with it?

Really? It may be the best system in the world for the rich;in our system money talks louder than health needs. But it is certainly not the best system for the middle class and especially not for the poor. In fact, as a nation we spend more than twice as much per capita as any other industrialized nation and get the poorest results overall, judging by such sensitive public health indicators as infant mortality (where we rank 45th among all nations)and life expectancy at birth (where we are 50th). Some 46 million of our people are uninsured and at least an equal number are seriously "underinsured". And this says nothing about the severe financial burdens for most of the rest of us. A typical California family of four is currently paying about $12,000 a year for insurancce, with an additional $5,000 in up-front deductibles added on if they actually need care.

And this was before Wellpoint, the nation's largest health insurance carrier, announced a 39 percent increase in premiums for its individual policy-holders. At a subsequent Congressional hearing, the CEO of Wellpoint explained that this was necessary to protect "profits". Funny, Wellpoint's profits for 2009 were already $4.5 billion, nearly double the $2.5 billion earned in 2008. Wellpoint is also providing up to $10 million salary packages for its senior executives and $27 million "retreats" for its executive staff. If Wellpoint is typical of the industry, it's overall expenses (including executive compensation, heavy lobbying and advertising expenses, and profits) were between 25 and 30 percent of every premium dollar.

When people in this country are dying for lack of adequate medical care, this is obscene.

Reprobate Republicans

One of the great and all too often repeated lessons of history is that a society is at risk of social turmoil, or worse, when various factions within it declare war on one another economically and politically. Sadly this is what has happened in our country since Ronald Reagan and right-wing conservatives made government the problem and began attacking “welfare queens.” They called it “morning in America.”

Today a power structure of predatory corporations and their (mostly) Republican accomplices in state and national politics have become hostile to the very principle of fairness, including even the basic survival needs of the many victims of this recession. This is nothing short of immoral.

How else, for example, can one explain the actions of the two U.S. Senators from Kentucky, Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, who voted against an extension of unemployment insurance benefits at a time when Kentucky’s (official) unemployment rate is 10.7 percent with 16-17 percent being a more realistic estimate. Bunning then made himself a poster child for obstructionism earlier this week by staging a one-man filibuster, egged on by some of his colleagues, for “fiscal responsibility.” And how else can we explain the Republican opposition to meaningful health reform legislation. At the famous/infamous dialogue between Republicans and Democrats last week at Blair House, the Republicans were unresponsive the plea that it was past time to address the problem of the nearly 50 million uninsured in this country. Republicans by and large in recent years have also voted against a long-overdue increase in the minimum wage, the child health program, equal pay for women, and an equitable tax burden for the rich.

My dictionary defines a reprobate as someone who is “lost in sin,” someone who has “lost all sense of moral obligation,” who is “depraved,” “unprincipled,” and, not least, “condemned by God.” To me, that fits the bill nicely.