President Obama has been working Congress and the public very hard recently in order to gain support for health care reform. During his speeches he mentions two things that I believe all Americans can agree with.

1. The health care industry today is broken

2. Health care creates is a huge burden on the economy and it affects our ability to compete.

That is how Obama sells his programs. He states the obvious, we all nod in agreement, he cites things that need to be done, we all nod in agreement, then he goes to work and pushes out the same old tired failed socialist programs that sound good but never seem to work. And that is my biggest problem with President Obama. He is so ingrained in socialist ideology that he can never look at an alternative. He talks about bipartisanship and then tries to push huge socialist programs through under the cover of darkness.

Why do I say that it is under the cover of darkness when everyone knows about his programs? It is because the programs that he is pushing are massive and extremely complex, yet only a few key Democrats have ever been given the time to study them completely. Congress and the public were given 24 hours to review his economic stimulus package before it was pushed to the floor for a vote. And he is trying the same tactic with health care. He sets an artificial time line and pushes to have a vote before all the details of the bill can come to light. Now is that really the best way to run a government? Is that the change we voted for? I would say no! This kind of political maneuvering may be effective but it leaves out honest debate and puts the power of the political process in the hands of a few.

We can all agree that medical care is too expensive. But what does this plan do to reduce costs? From what I have read, it really doesn't address cost. Democratic supporters say that they will deal with reducing costs in later bills. Others suggested they could reduce the amount they pay doctors for Medicare treatments by 20 percent. President Obama went before the AMA and reluctantly agreed to look at some kind of tort reform. but then later reversed himself and stated he does not believe this should be a cap on malpractice suits. So where is the savings? Shouldn't that be the first order of business?

If you were to reform the byzantine government regulations that drive up the cost of medical care more people could afford it. If hospitals and doctors did not have the crutch of insurance, they would have to improve their business practices and make them more efficient. If insurance companies were to standardize their medical claims so that every insurance company used the same forms and the same procedures, you could reduce the cost of health care. If you reigned in all the lawyers you could reduce the cost of medicine. If you allowed hospitals to charge non-emergency patients who show up in the emergency room, then you would reduce the cost of health care. So there is room for improvement, there are ways to lower the cost of medical care without resorting to a government bureaucracy that would only add another cost layer to your medical care.

Wouldn't it be wiser to start by reforming the current system? If we could reduce the cost of health care wouldn't it be easier to help the people who currently do not have health care? What if the government operated low income clinics where new medical students could spend so time at in exchange for a drastic reduction in their student loans? Couldn't we have some form of residency that provides affordable health care and helps young doctors who find themselves in debt before they enter the work force? Lets fix the problems that we can fix without big government.

Obama's rush to socialize medicine is a mistake. One that we all will regret if he gets his way. And as a parting shot, here is something I think we should all keep in mind when we listen to the proposals and analyze just what our elected leaders have planned for us.

The industry that contributes more money to the Democrats then any other industry is lawyers. Number two is building trade unions. Is it any wonder President Obama is reluctant to push for tort reform? Is it any wonder that Unions may be exempt for the governments health care plan?

- Thomas Paine 2

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