Welcome the world of Bush where up is down, right is left, good is bad, black is white, and "God is good".
The newly empowered and emboldened GOP, and the newly energized radical, right-wing, neo-conservative Republican Party is on the march. The ultra conservative Bush storm troopers in their Brooks Brothers pinstriped blue suits are on the go. America will be moving backward for the next four years at a rapid pace. It's "back to the future" of the 1950's; or possibly back to the year 1910 when corporations paid no taxes and had more power than the Federal Government itself.
The daily, frenzied campaign rallies have subsided. No more roaring crowds. No more cheering, applauding, screaming mobs yelling " Bush, Bush, four more years, four more years". The thousands of people, whipped into a frenzy, waving their little American flags have all gone home. Now it's time to get down to business---the new Bush agenda.
One of the first orders of legislative business will be to take away the right of the common man, the right of the little guy, to have his day in court. Just about any litigation brought by an ordinary citizen against a huge corporation for injury, harm or death will be prohibited (or greatly curtailed) under the new Bush doctrine. Consumer rights will now be declared "junk and frivolous". This is what the ecstatic Bush crowds cheered for, and this is exactly what they will get.
In a sick twist of this logic, corporations will be empowered to seek out and financially attack consumers, buyers, patients, and users of their products and services in a preemptive attack to crush any questioning of the safety of a corporations products and services.
This new thinking doesn't end there. Corporations are at this very moment attacking the very heart of longstanding employer/employee relationships---retiree health care insurance, pension plans, 401k contributions, workers' comp insurance for on-the-job injuries, overtime pay, minimum wage rules, illegal immigrant worker rules, sexual harassment laws, etc.
Right now, retiree health care insurance is the principal target of attack because corporations consider it such a drain on corporate profits and have little or no loyalty to non-productive, former, and now worthless past employees who contribute nothing to the welfare of the corporation. An employee who retires after 20 years of employment at the age of 65, who then lives until 85, and whose spouse may live until 95 (with several years in a nursing home) puts an unacceptable strain on corporate profits.
Profits are the name of the game when it comes to health insurance in America . You are just a piece of meat being inspected, corralled, herded, and eventually being led to slaughter---all for profit. Your money, your insurance benefits, and your life savings is the lifeblood of the American health care system. You are just an injured animal that has fallen into the river where the alligators wait to devour you (and your money).
The money mongers are all in cahoots together---the health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical corporations, (some) doctors, hospitals, credit collection companies, pharmacies (which have now become commonplace in Wal-Mart, supermarkets, and as common on Main Street as is Dunkin' Donuts and Burger King)
A single, monthly supply of many necessary prescription drugs can easily cost more than a complete home computer setup. A ten minute physician office visit can cost $300. A common surgical operation and a few days in the hospital can easily exceed $20,000.
Bush's idea of a "health savings account" is the most idiotic solution ever to be foisted upon the American public. It's designed to put the entire burden of your health care expenses right on YOU. Yes, start saving right now for that $15,000 gallbladder operation. Oh, one of your children just broke their arm playing! Hope you have $10,000 in the kitty. Don't worry. It's tax free. You'll save a thousand.
Bush's other solution is to have small businesses "ban together" so they can get better health insurance rates. What a joke. 60% of all small businesses don't even offer (and can no way afford) any type of health care insurance for employees. With health care insurance premiums increasing at 50% to 60% every four years, affordability becomes a cruel joke on employers, employees and the American public in general. And yet, Bush has prevailed. As we become old and ill; as we suffer and die; Bush will keep us safe. The Republican controlled Senate and Congress will make sure no harm comes to us. The conservative leaning Supreme Court will protect our rights---after they decide what rights we are entitled to.
With the distinct possibility that another Bush, Jeb Bush, or an ultra conservative like Senator Bill Frist, or a right wing Congressman like Tom DeLay could come to power it is possible that "Faith Healing" may be the approach to health care that will be recommended in another ten years---or possibly Voodoo. I hear that in Alabama many people have found good curative results from rattlesnake venom for any number of ailments.
Millions upon millions of ill informed, weary, fragile, vulnerable retirees voted for President Bush because he was going to make sure that "they were safe from the terrorists". Millions of senior citizens voted for Bush because he claimed to be a man of God. Millions of the frail and the sick voted for President Bush because Bush claimed that we had to "help the docs out". "We had to get rid of junk and frivolous lawsuits".
Now we know the real agenda. Why didn't President Bush level with the American people? Why didn't President Bush get up on the campaign stage and yell out, "And we are gonna make sure that all you retirees are gonna be stripped of your health care benefits. Health care insurance is bad. And I'm gonna make sure ya don't have any. I'm gonna make ya safe". "Wur turnin' the corner". "It's hard work". We're gonna get da terrorists and we're gonna make sure your life long company provided health care benefits don't interfere with meeting your Maker". "God is good. Religion is a big part of my life---I'm President---but I'm a born again Christian." "I'm gonna make sure ya don't suffer. I'm gonna make sure your health care benefits don't keep you alive just so you kin suffer". "We're Americans. We don't need benefits. Health benefits are for Canadians, and Europeans and other sissies". "Thank ya'll, Thank ya'll."
America is obviously in a state of denial, like lambs being led to slaughter. The sheepherders (the corporations, the politicians, the media, the churches, the special interest groups, your former employer) have us where they want us. We are like zombies hypnotized by the hype designed to keep us distracted so we can be relieved of our lifetime savings.
It's just begun. After corporations (yes, your employer too) gets rid of retiree health care insurance by bringing suit against unsuspecting retirees selected at random they will then work on dropping all health insurance benefits to existing employees. After all, if corporations don't have to provide health care insurance to their employees working in India, China and Mexico why should they have to provide such benefits to employees here in the USA. It makes perfect corporate sense.
The second phase of corporate "Bush-think" will be to renege on retiree pension plans. This has already started and it is now commonplace for large corporations to feign bankruptcy or claim "hard times" and then demand retiree concessions in terms of giving back or giving up pension plan benefits.
It is easy to see where America is going. Turmoil, hatred and uncertainty will continue in the Middle East with oil prices that will fluctuate dramatically and wildly over the next decade. China 's and the worlds insatiable thirst for oil will continue unabated. Terrorists will set their sites on where the power and the money is----Oil. Now that we have hoped into the can of worms we won't be able to print money fast enough to pay for our trillion dollar efforts to catch a few terrorists.
The $500 billion deficit will soar into the trillions to the point where we will wish we were back to the good old days of a miniscule $500 billion deficit. The value of the dollar will sink, as the value of the Euro rises to take command of the worldwide monetary system. Imports from China , India , Mexico and Latin America will soar to new heights and American exports will virtually dry up and blow away as we will have outsourced most if not all of our exportable products and services. We will, in fact, be importing American products and services to America and be paying American companies located in China, India, Mexico, the Philippines, and Latin America to keep the profits in foreign lands where it can be re-invested in foreign nations that employee tens of millions of foreign employees rather than Americans here in America. Quite a system! It's called the "trickle away theory". It doesn't trickle down. It just trickles away. Far, far away.
It should be no surprise then that as the deficit ratchets up so will interest rates. As interest rates go up more companies will figure new, creative ways to cut back on spending like eliminating health care insurance and pension plans for employees and eventually just outsourcing jobs entirely to save on Workers Comp insurance, Social Security, Medicare, local payroll, and Federal taxes. It's the "trickle away" theory at work.
As interest rates go up, those low, low, variable home mortgage rates will go up and when millions of workers find themselves out of work, with no health insurance, and monthly home mortgages that have nearly doubled, personal bankruptcies will soar from their current level of 1.6 million bankruptcies a year to unheard of levels. To recoup their losses, credit card companies, banks, and finance companies will raise their rates to new astronomical levels.
As we speak the wolves are in the henhouse doing their dirty work. The wool being pulled over America 's eyes is "religion, moral values, and fear of terrorists". Fifty-eight million Americans just made a terrible mistake.
For a really fascinating and revealing article published recently in the Wall Street Journal entitled Companies Sue Retires To Cut Health Care Benefits, you can get a flavor of what America will be like ten years from now, or sooner.
P.S. I am astonished at the astronomical cost of monthly health care premiums, especially for people over 50, but for all ages too. I would appreciate any comments from you regarding the monthly premium you are currently paying and any unusually story you may have about your health care insurance.
James Boyne
James Boyne is a regular contributor to opednews.com and his other articles can be accessed at Articles by James Boyne
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