On the Baucus Mess
The Czar is most displeased with national referenda, as they waste time and bypass the needed representation republic structure a country of our size and shape needs. But he cannot help wondering if the national healthcare squabble (which the Democrats started, by the way) should be put to a national referendum.
Of course, it would never get there because the Democrats know full well the entire thing would end up quite badly for them, with most of the votes having “…and the horse you rode in on” scribbled in ink at the bottom.
Question. Why did the insurance industry wait so damned long to release its report that healthcare costs would leap to “ain’t seen nothin’ yet” proportions, especially with the bombshell that the only way to meet the less-than-$900-billion goal is by screwing with Medicare—the absolute forbidden fruit of healthcare reform. If word gets out—and of course it is being media-suppressed—to the senior citizens that the sacrosanct Medicare is targeted for circumcision, you would see a massive gray tide of pitchforks and torches wash over the wall of Congress with enough mixed metaphors to make your heads spin.
If a PWC report concludes that every American will wind up receiving a donkey, the Czar will go purchase bales of hay right away. Medicare equals Death for a congressional career. You do not touch it. No wonder Baucus worked hard to avoid posting the details of his bill online. He has pretty much lost his touch with reality, thinking he could hide this.
And indeed Congress reveals its total ignorance for the real world yet again, dismissing the industry report as “misleading and harmful…politicking for corporate gain at its worst.”
Yeah, for what it is worth, the Czar was very lucky to have Price Waterhouse (pre-Coopers) as a major client from 1989-1991. He got to know the company and culture very well while he was there. He has stayed attached enough since then to know that most of the elements have not changed there. So he can state with some confidence that if a PWC report concludes that every American will wind up receiving a donkey, the Czar will go purchase bales of hay right away.
PWC does not mislead, harm, politick, or work for ill-gotten gains. If PWC says that healthcare costs will double in a few years, then they will. Take it as a given.
It is, after all, more than slightly conceivable that PWC knows more about healthcare than anyone in Congress.
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.