Of, By and For the Insurance Companies

Paul Craig Roberts, a former Reagan conservative economist who has become a radical in his domestic and foreign policy views, writes about health care reform:

The current health care “debate” shows how far gone representative
government is in the United States. Members of Congress represent the
powerful interest groups that fill their campaign coffers, not the people who
vote for them.

The health care bill is not about health care. It is about
protecting and increasing the profits of the insurance companies. The main
feature of the health care bill is the “individual mandate,” which requires
everyone in America to buy health insurance. Senate Finance Committee
chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont), a recipient of millions in contributions over his
career from the insurance industry, proposes to impose up to a $3,800 fine on
Americans who fail to purchase health insurance.

The determination of “our” elected representatives to serve the
insurance industry is so compelling that Congress is incapable of recognizing
the absurdity of these proposals.

The reason there is a health care crisis in
the US is that the cumulative loss of jobs and benefits has swollen the
uninsured to approximately 50 million Americans. They cannot afford health
insurance any more than employers can afford to provide it.

It is absurd to mandate that people purchase what they cannot afford
and to fine them for failing to do so. A person who cannot pay a health
insurance premium cannot pay the fine.

These proposals are like solving the
homeless problem by requiring the homeless to purchase a house.