We're Not All Capitalists

The first thought that came to mind after reading the synopsis to an Associated Press video of President Obama revealing a plan to allow individual states to opt out of the health care law or the Affordable Care Act was, "Dennis Kucinich...Bernie Sanders...single-payer."

President Obama said the option--provided the petitioning individual state has a better idea--will be accessible in 2017, but noted that a number of Congressional leaders have put forth a proposal to push for the option sooner, i.e. 2014. Naturally, the President wants to give the law he spearheaded a chance to show its qualities. So far, we've seen its weak spots: dozens of companies have received waivers, allowing them to circumvent some of the new requirements (i.e. raising the minimum annual benefit in low-cost health plans), and mandating the purchase of health care coverage from HMO's that should have been punished instead of rewarded with 32 million new customers; precisely why the President's rhetoric rings hollow in my ears.

What's the harm in being open to the proposal led by Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio to allow individual states to implement a single-payer health care system? Well, it's clearly tied to our system of legalized bribery, in which corporations decide whose electable for the general electorate, not to mention Obama's blatant connection with Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs & JPMorgan Chase & Co; not exactly the most reputable banks in existence.

In the end, there's no money to be had in a single-payer system, just more efficiency, and real primary care for all. But, like the self-important Bill Oreilly would have us remember, we're capitalists. Honestly though, are we? Bill Gates is. Steve Jobs is. Donald Trump is. But the average, lower to middle class American is as much a capitalist as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch are in need of permanent tax breaks. We're not capitalists, we're the millions of individuals that make a capitalist system work largely for the benefit of the few; the crumbs that capitalists capitalize on.

This reality is precisely why teachers in Wisconsin are being attacked, despite declaring they'd agree to the benefits concessions, but wouldn't relinquish their collective bargaining rights. In no way should the private sector be held accountable for our economic decline; that's the mantra sung by these oligarchs. It's the leeching public sector that is responsible for state and federal deficits. And the gutless Democrats blend in like zebras on a checkered floor to "prevent" a FEDERAL SHUTDOWN! in the form of a, far from nail biting, 335-91 House vote. The similarities these two parties share are enough to make one nauseous after all the manufactured, loud disagreement on policy that's fed to us like the Republicans and Democrats are tantamount to the North and South Pole.

In reality, Republicans and Democrats are no different than professional sports teams, and the general electorate? No different than partisan sports fans. However, if these fans paid as much attention to their political team as they do to their athletic favorite, our "leaders" would truly answer to us, and ideally, when one political team loses to another that fights its way to the Super Bowl (read: progressive reform), the loser would root for the team they lost to. The only problem is, there's clearly a difference between sports ethics and political ethics, and in sports, teams that make it to the final game don't typically forfeit the game in order to hand the reins to the team they already whupped.