Fast-Track Healthcare

I just read today in a report from Reuters that the Democrats plan to fast-track a healthcare bill, ramming it through Congress and onto Obama's desk as part of next week's budget resolution. The Democrats' reasoning for rushing this legislation is because they fear that Republicans won't work with them on healthcare reform.

Naturally, the Republicans are angry about this. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has spoken out against it, calling the fast-tracking of such a massive reform “a disservice to the American people.”

Some Democrats oppose the fast-track measure as well. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus stated that he believes a bipartisan plan would produce a more “sustainable” piece of legislation.

I like the idea of every American having access to quality healthcare. I believe it's a travesty that a nation as advanced and industrialized as we have managed to screw up the current system so horribly. However, I do not believe that much good can come of legislation rammed through Congress by Democrats and passed without constructive debate. Furthermore, I don't believe that socialized medicine is the most effective solution to this dilemma. Nationalized health care would only remove the last vestiges of competition from the health care market, and when there is a lack of competition, the overall quality of a product suffers.

In any case, it's a discouraging sign that the Democrats would even consider fast-tracking such a significant policy change as adding another entitlement program without allowing the minority to have a significant say in the debate, in a time when government spending is already at astronomical levels, no less. Particularly in this crucial time, our representatives should be working together, respectful of ideological differences and receptive to each others' ideas, to ensure a financially and socially responsible solution to the health care dilemma.

My thoughts on the impending inevitable bailout...

Here's my Op-Ed about Obama's proposed bailout as it appeared in The Clarion:

http://media.www.matc-clarion.com/media/storage/paper1324/news/2009/01/14/Opinion/Do.They.Think.Building.More.Debt.Can.Save.Our.Economy-3588101.shtml

I owe this man my life... and we've never even met.

When I saw a news broadcast about the death of former Senator Claiborne Pell, I initially thought I had never heard of him.

Watching the broadcast, I became aware that this man was directly responsible for the life I live today.  This former senator from Rhode Island was responsible for creating the Pell Grant, a fund for low-income students.  Though he also sponsored many other laws and organizations (such as the National Endowment for the Arts), it is his Pell Grant that has changed my life the most.

I was made aware from a very young age that college would not be an option for me - my parents couldn't afford it.  My high school guidance counselors were (I'll phrase this somewhat delicately) not very competent at or interested in doing their jobs, so I was not made aware of any opportunities for a higher education, beyond joining the military (not an option for me, as I am anti-war).  Therefore, I graduated high school and worked a variety of jobs, mostly in restaurants and factories.  As my friends left for college, I comforted myself by inwardly promising that I would save money, and that I too would go to college as soon as I had saved enough.

As it turns out, I never managed to save very much; but, I did learn how I could afford to realize my academic goals through obtaining grants and student loans.  When I learned about the Pell Grant (which ultimately provided the bulk of my education's funding), I didn't give much thought to where it came from, or how it came to exist.  I was just happy it existed at all.  

The college experience completely changed my life.  I was taught ways of thinking and exposed to topics I never would have been, otherwise.  I learned about many subjects I would not have had the time or resources to study on my own.  On a personal level, I met many wonderful friends and the person I would eventually marry.  I developed a sense of confidence and fulfillment as I pursued and surpassed my academic goals.  I developed a deep respect and a fervent desire for knowledge.

Currently, I'm preparing to enter graduate school.  The speaker factory in my hometown where I worked before I went to college closed down years ago; the jobs were outsourced to Mexico. 

Though it is cliche, I can't think of any other way to say it:  I honestly don't know where I would be today if it weren't for Claiborne Pell.  This man - a privileged son of "old money" New England, this eccentric man who went jogging in tweed jackets  and was quoted as saying, "I believe in letting the other fellow have my way," in regards to his negotiating tactics, had enough foresight and compassion to give the priceless opportunity of education to millions of economically disadvantaged Americans he would never see or meet.  

If only more members of Congress were like him.