Health (S)Care

Well, by the time this update gets posted, Barry O. will have signed the infamous health care bill into law. Get ready for all sorts of fun shenanigans. Like the requirement that everyone except the very, very poor--including lots of people living paycheck to paycheck--buy health insurance that's going to become increasingly expensive. "But Beast," you say, "they already make you buy car insurance!" "Yes, stupid," I reply, "but car insurance is to protect other people financially from you in the event that you kill them or dent the fender of their Maserati while you're tooling around in your Yugo." Health insurance is exactly the opposite. If you choose to go without it, the only one you're putting at risk is yourself and your own household. This is a case of big government deciding that they know better than you what's in your best interest.

And to further illustrate the car insurance example...how about the "no denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions" example? This is the equivalent of calling up Liberty Mutual after you've already wrapped your car around a bridge abutment and being able to force them to sell you a policy that you can use to get reimbursed for its repairs. Sure, it's great for the person with the smashed-up car, but it's not a valid business model over the long term. Insurance companies (which are for-profit businesses, by the way) rely on the majority of people paying their premiums for at least a while before needing massive payouts in order to stay profitable.

But don't worry--the government-run Medicare and Medicaid will step in to take over a lot of the gap. Yep, that's what I want, the government, who can't even make a line to talk to a clerical worker run smoothly, managing something as complicated as my health care. Plus, in some states, these systems are already on their way to failure, and potentially dragging pharmacies and other medical businesses down with them.

But hey, we get the government we deserve, folks. Just sit back and watch some dopey bitch who's famous because she bred a litter better suited to a house pet than a human being dancing around, instead of getting informed. And don't come crying to me when your 401K is swirling in the toilet and you're waiting for days to get your compound leg fracture reset.