Just came across another example of how rich exploit the dumb, but this time it left me fuming rather than just laughing at it. I was at a Quizznos for lunch in downtown Canton to get a Tasty Torpedo for $4 and ofcourse without the bacon. There was a middle aged woman working at the cash register who just put up a pamphlet sort of, with something typed on it. Needless to say I ended up reading the two paragraphs hoping to see a joke or some local news while the credit card machine was processing my transaction. It ended up being a political message which starts by saying that the new healthcare plan will leave senior citizens (particularly 70 and above) uninsured and to DIE! I kept reading hoping the plot was getting interesting for a joke. It goes on to say how the new plan is made for the younger generation and that the government is leaving the older people high and dry as they are not the future of the country blah…blah…blah… I do not feel it is important to elaborate on the first paragraph as it is some regular conservative bullshit that is on TV almost every-day since Obama was sworn in. Particularly for the real pinheads like Bill O The clown, Fat ass Limbaugh, Worthless Hannity and the I just hit puberty Glenn Beck, this is the stage for making money by getting viewer ratings. I particularly watch Fox news as a sole source of entertainment, which it really is. Getting back to the issue, these old people forget a few things like how Medicare, US Military healthcare is run by the government and the senators have health care provided by the government.
Now comes the screwed up second paragraph on the pamphlet. It advocates the older people to buy four bullets and a gun. Their mission now is to shoot two senators who support the bill and if I remember correctly two old people. According to them, prisoners get all the medical care and do not have to work or pay income taxes, so it is a better option living as a prisoner. I hope I was kidding at this point, unfortunately I am not. There are dumb people who seriously believe and act based on these ideologies, This pure hate speech inciting violence is in the same lines of KKKs theory, goading people to kill others who do not look or act like them. Not too long ago, Dr. Tiller was assassinated by a lunatic after listening to Bill O the clown and Co. on Fox (I am not here to debate about the correctness of it or refute the ruling by courts that Tiller was a legal practitioner). At this point, it feels like people who cannot think rationally and differentiate between what is right and wrong are more dangerous than anything else.
The irony of this whole thing: This pamphlet was being put up by a “middle aged woman”, who is probably working for $7/hr and will be in the biggest beneficiary group due to this new health legislation paid for by the rich. The grin on her face says she is proud of what she put up there, not knowing who she is fighting that for. Right through the campaign, the rich and influential had their voice against tax increases, fought for them by the dumb, poor and the middle class people. Media zombies like the four mentioned above make millions of dollars and have the right channel to get to the people with fear mongering and hate. Unfortunately, the median income families ended up fighting against, what could be to their advantage.
I was wondering what it would be like if US has government run hospitals in each and every city, kind of like in India where the treatment is free to the patient. Though miles away from perfection or red tape in India, it does keep the rates low in many private run hospitals as the patient has a choice of getting treatment at one these government hospitals in case he/she cannot afford the high expenses. Let the government start building one or two good hospitals in every city that will serve any one with an ailment; rich or poor. Give a choice to the doctors to work at these locations based on pay per patient or a capped salary anywhere else if they prefer not to work for the government even part time. This would now take the monopoly out of the whole private health care system. I call it monopoly because all the pharmacies, hospitals and insurance companies collude so that they set their own rules and prices. Once they are opened up against cheaper or free health care option for the patients, they become competitive and the cost of healthcare will automatically go down. The last time I remember, X-ray in India was close to USD $12 and in Chicago it was $425. Surprisingly both showed the same fracture in my collar bone.
