The Disconnect Makes My Head Hurt

Yesterday, HHS Secretary Sebelius toured the Sunday talk-show circuit, criticizing the health insurance industry after some disappointing talks at the White House last week. Unsurprisingly, the president today began criticizing  the insurance industry too, echoing Sebelius by complaining of price hikes and such.

The headache-inducing disconnect is induced by the fact that the health care reform bills that are currently being bribed through negotiated in Congress right now will mandate the public to buy from these erstwhile greedy bastards--further cartelizing the insurance industry. Unless the U.S. Congress, in its collective wisdom, has solved the knowledge problem, the insurance companies' profits will either swell beyond what they should or be entirely eliminated due to the imposed and inflexible regulation with no guarantee of lower premiums or out-of-pocket costs to the consumer. Indeed, if the insurance companies can't survive with the price controls the government will almost surely implement, then the U.S. taxpayer will pick up the shortfall a la Fannie and Freddie (...and BoA, GM, etc.). So while our insurance bills may not see an immediate spike (tho, I would bet they will after any bailout), the cost will be evident at tax time--especially for the poor.

And please, don't trot out the cost-saving aspects of the plans. 

Furthermore, it's nauseating to hear Dems simultaneously talk about the virtues of democracy and how the system is broken because a simple majority isn't enough to pass the bill in the Senate--despite the inconvenient reality that a majority of the American people hasn't been in favor of this massive insurance company welfare plan since at least July.

As the cliche goes, actions speak louder than words. Right now, the Democrats are saying that despite their public criticisms about the greed of the insurance companies, the government is going to force you to buy their services whether you like it or not and, in spite of you (collectively) clearly not liking it, it will be forced upon you...

...in the name of "democracy."