The meat of the argument for more regulation of industry

Industry does not care about you. Industry is not concerned about your well-being. Industry does not worry about your family's safety. Sounds kinda like the first verse of "Head Like a Hole" by NIN, doesn't it? Well, you could replace every "Got Money" with the word "Industry", because they're one and the same. All industry wants is to bilk you for every cent it can.

That is all. That is everything they want. They want everything. They don't care what they have to do to get it. They don't care who is affected.

We need MORE government regulation of industry. Not less. Regulation is there to protect YOU. To protect me. More importantly, to protect my family.

Case in point: For the past 8 years (read: most of the Bush Administration), much of the ground beef you've consumed has had ammonia in it. Only, the people selling you the crap you were eating didn't have to tell you what they were putting in it.

I urge you to read as much of this expose by the New York Times as your stomach can handle.

Of course, this bastion of progressive journalism isn't alone in exposing ways the Assholes of Industry hide thier poisoning of the world for profit. The Washington Post recently did a piece on how 20% of the 84,000 chemicals available for commerical use in America are kept secret in order to protect industry's "trade secrets". You don't get to know what they are because someone might lose a buck. Nevermind being able to track how they affect the population.

I have to go for now, but I will pick this blog up and finish soon. More to come later.

Don't even think about leaving a comment defending Industry or your beloved Free Market Principles unless you've read both pieces in their entirety.

Compromising the Compromised Compromise

So there's a Democrat in the White House and both houses of Congress have Democratic majorities. Right? I could SWEAR that's where things stood last time I checked. So why do these people continue to whittle down health care reform?

Health care costs too much. Businesses can't afford to provide it for their employees. State governments are having a hard time providing it to their employees. Stand alone citizens are having a difficult time providing it for themselves. The people who can't afford it, just don't have it and have to hope they don't need it. Ever.

But the companies in the health care game are raking it in.

In my view, health care should not be a business. There should not be a health care "market". As a species, I feel we owe it to ourselves to provide for ourselves the best care for the health and survival of the body so that we can experience life. I think we should make it a human RIGHT.

Easiest way to do that? Single payer system. We pay taxes, taxes pay for health care. For ALL. Just because.

But of course the real world requires a compromise. Enter the Public Option. Compromise #1. Allow citizens to opt in to a government-run option to compete with insurance companies to help bring the cost of health care down. Because THAT's the problem, you'll remember. It looked like we were going to get the public option when the reform package left the House of Representatives.

But it got scrapped in the Senate. Apparently The Club thought it would be too popular and successful and their Owners would lose too much money. They say it's an unwanted intrusion into the health care system. Unwanted by whom? If it's unwanted, it won't get used and is therefor not a problem. The problem is it IS wanted! A Survey USA poll shows up to 77% of Americans WANT THE PUBLIC OPTION!

So they decided instead of a public option, they'd at least open up Medicare to younger citizens and help cover a FEW more people than today. Not even close to substantial reform, but it's something. Compromise #2.

But TODAY there's talk that Dems are scrapping THAT, too! They're apparently afraid they won't get the package passed before Christmas. They're more worried about getting it done before an arguably arbitrary date than they are giving the American people what they want and deserve! Compromise #3.

So I'm confused. After this, where is the reform in health care reform? What's going to substantially change, at all, let alone reduce the cost of providing health care to companies and individuals in this supposed greatest nation on the planet with the supposedly best health care system?

There's no reform left. It's all been compromised away by a bunch of frightened little schmucks who have the power to do real good for the people of this country but are too scared of how it hurts their shot at reelection. Or perhaps they're worried about losing the GREAT HEALTH CARE that comes with being a legislator at the federal level?!

Where is there an incumbent (after all, they're ALL incumbents) who will put the good of her/his constituency above their personal political ambitions? One could say it's incumbent upon them.

I swear if substantial health care isn't passed because this group of bastards sold us all out, I will be a VERY loud voice for firing every one of them. Every last one, regardless of party - because as you know the American Deviant is an independent voter. Emphasis on voter.

They're failing us.