Tag Archives: obamacare

The price of government

There’s this Bolshevik propaganda poster I saw many years ago that I’d give my right nut to find again.  It’s a picture of a bunch of (literally) flower sniffing aristocrats on one side, looking in horror at what’s in front of them: an assembly of state and religious officials, holding up a giant man-made flower with severed human heads as grains of pollen.  It was titled “anti-Semitism”.

The meaning of the poster is a critique of those who live quite well of the functioning of the state that supports them, with the horrific realization of what needs to happen to maintain their carefree lifestyle.

And that’s what’s happening with this “critique” of our “inefficient” government playing brinksmanship with government shutdowns and default over Obamacare.

It’s one of my pet peeves with bourgeois press magazines like the Economist, which can otherwise be quite informative and journalistic.  It’s this paternalistic tone that government never quite meets up with their expectations, as if the will of the bourgeoisie is to be followed by all of society with no mess or complications.

Sorry, but an exploitation of the population by depriving it of basic necessities does not come across simply.  It requires a lot of demagoguery, and a lot of mess, and a lot of rough running government.  And considering bourgeois institutions have been clamoring for “entitlement reform” (i.e. gutting benefits we pay into) for decades, this is a mess of their making.  Meaning, institutions like The Economist are to blame.  Not the politicians who make their careers off catering to these interests.

If you’ll notice, Wall Street didn’t sink that much.  Meaning they were aware of where the government actually stood with their interests.  They and their institutions have been clamoring to dismantle the social safety net for decades, so they see it as the standard price of doing business.

This brinkmanship isn’t just about Obamacare.  It’s about the government’s overall role in providing for human welfare.  And the repercussions about what happens with Obamacare reverberate to other programs like Medicare and Social Security.

Ted Cruz and the Tea Party likes of him (Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, etc.) may come across sounding crazy, but there’s a method behind their madness.  They know the powerful interests, the mainstream powerful interests, that give them the wink and the nudge to continue.  And since they are the most militant at pursuing these interests, it’s why they’ll continue to have a forum for their platforms.  And this will continue to be an issue.

Obamacare – a tribute

Obamacare

A Tribute to Ted Cruz’s Heroic Obstinacy

apologies to Dr. Seuss

Dem-o-dare
We’re Dems who dare
We dared to pass
Obamacare.

Those dem-o-dares
those dem-o-dares!
I do not like those dem-o-dares!
How dare they fund
Obamacare?

Would you fund
Obamacare?

I do not like it,
Dem-o-dares,
I will not fund
Obamacare.

Would you fund it
Here or there?

I would not fund it
here or there.
I would not fund it
anywhere.

I will not fund
Obamacare
I do not like it,
Dem-o-dares

Would you fund it
for a house?
Would you fund
To kill a louse?

I will not fund it
For a house
I will not fund
To kill a louse
I will not fund it
here or there.
I will not fund it
anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare,
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares.

Would you fund it
Fix this mess?
Would you fund it?
Do no less!

Not for a house
No kill a louse,
Not fix this mess,
I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare,
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares.

Would you? Could you?
For the poor?
Fund it! Fund it!
We want no more!

I would not,
could not,
For the poor.

You may like it
You will see.
Love it! it’s a
real small fee.

I say it’s not a real small fee.
Not for the poor! You let me be.
I will not fund it for a house
I will not fund to kill a louse,
Will not fund to fix this mess,
I will not fund ! I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare!
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares!

For jobs! For jobs!
For good jobs!
Would you, could you,
For good jobs!

Not for jobs! It’s no small fee!
Not for the poor! Sam! Let me be!
I will not fund it for a house
I will not fund to kill a louse,
Will not fund to fix this mess,
I will not fund ! I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare!
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares!

Say!  Budget cuts?
Pass it with some budget cuts!
Would you, could you, with these cuts?

I would not, could not,
With these cuts.

Would you, could you,
With some pork?

I would not, could not, for some pork.
Not for some cuts. Not for the jobs,
Not for the poor, no real small fee,
I do not like it, Sam, you see.
Not for a house. No fix this mess.
No kill a louse. I’ll do no less.
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere!
I will not fund Obamacare,
I do not like it, Dem-o-dares!

You do not like
Obamacare?

I do not like it,
Dem-o-Dares!

Could you, would you,
Keep your doc!

I would not, could not.
No more doc!

Would you, could you,
It’s a rock!

I could not, would not, it’s no rock!
I will not! I want my doc!
I would not, could not, for some pork.
Not for some cuts. Not for the jobs,
Not for the poor, no real small fee,
I do not like it, Sam, you see.
Not for a house. No fix this mess.
No kill a louse. I’ll do no less.
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it ANYWHERE!
I will not fund Obamacare,
I do not like it, Dem-o-dares!

You do not like it.
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may I say.

Dems!
I cannot stop you,
I will will stand down.
And we’ll be through.

Say!
Obamacare isn’t bad!
My tea-party has just been had!
My filibuster was just funny!
We’re saving us a ton of money!
It’s saving a whole lot of pork!
And budget cuts. And many  jobs.
It saves the poor. It’s a small fee.
It really works for us you see!

So I will fund it for a house.
And I will fund to kill a louse.
And I will fund to fix this mess.
And I will fund! I’ll do no less!
And I will fund it here and there.
Say! I’ll fund it ANYWHERE!

I do so like
Obamacare!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Dems-who-dare!