In his syndicated column “Death of a postpartisan dream”, Paul Krugman says:
(1) “Right now, the charge that’s gaining traction is the claim that health care reform will create ‘death panels’ (in “Sarah Palin’s words) that will shuffle the elderly and others off to an early grave. It’s a complete fabrication, of course.”
(2) “What’s still missing, however, is a sense of passion and outrage—passion for the goal of ensuring that every American gets the health care he or she needs, outrage at the lies and fear-mongering that are being used to block that goal.”
WATCHDOG: Concerning #1, it is sophistry to totally ignore the implications of those who conjure up the specter of “death panels.” Although way over the top in their categorization, they are addressing the key issue of health care rationing. Only the very naive would agree to spend billions of dollars to prolong a person’s life by an hour, an admitted extreme example for the purpose of making a point. Society should never advocate euthanasia, but limits must be put on how much can reasonably be expended for extending life, especially for the elderly.
As for #2, it is also sophistry to talk about covering everyone without coming to grips with how to pay for all of this. The only solution is to totally revise our system of health care in a manner that eliminates the waste and redundancy of our current three party conflict: patients versus health care providers versus insurers. It is the basis structure of our health care system including employers providing health care that causes us to spend at least 25% more and achieve less results than other advanced nations. Better no bill today than a bad bill.
It may take a year to educate a large portion of the public concerning health care issues, and possibly even longer. But better no bill than a bad bill. And we fear that the proposed compromised versions are exactly that.
