It's funny how people vote for politicians advocating "Change" and then when it comes to actually changing, people balk. This is for a good reason: all change hurts somebody.
Take health care reform. That's a big change, and it will surely hurt insurance companies. I am not being flippant: insurance companies have investors who want to make a profit, and those investors could very well be me or you thanks to the 401(k) investment. Health care reform, in it's current incarnation, will also cost more money, and increasing the size of the government, hurting the taxpayer's wallet. The hope is that such a change will improve people's lives, overall.
I voted for Obama, but I have to admit his healthcare reform initiative took me by unhappy surprise. With all the crap going on the world, and with the US already bleeding money thanks to two thankless wars, why now? Why not wait until the wars are over, we stop bleeding money, and can make these changes without making the government any larger than it already is?
I want smaller government, not larger. I think there are very few Americans of any party that want a larger government. This is not a matter of principle, it's a matter of practicality: the federal government already appears to be a hulking, wasteful lumbering thing. Rewarding the government for a job poorly done is no way to spend resources. If the government were more effective, doing only those things which require a fierce concentration of power and resources, then I would be more open to giving it more money.
Change is always painful. We just have to be smart in judging whether some pain now will yield benefits in the future. The interesting thing is that, if you take virtually *any* historical decision, even ones that we now perceive as good, or even great, you will find enormous opposition. The creation of central park was going to bankrupt New York. Desegregation was going to destroy America. Entering world war 2 was going to bankrupt us and needlessly entangle us in world affairs. Landing on the moon was going to be a wasteful misuse of government resources, and probably kill the astronauts. Revolt against Britian was needless, and going to end in utter defeat.
Take health care reform. That's a big change, and it will surely hurt insurance companies. I am not being flippant: insurance companies have investors who want to make a profit, and those investors could very well be me or you thanks to the 401(k) investment. Health care reform, in it's current incarnation, will also cost more money, and increasing the size of the government, hurting the taxpayer's wallet. The hope is that such a change will improve people's lives, overall.
I voted for Obama, but I have to admit his healthcare reform initiative took me by unhappy surprise. With all the crap going on the world, and with the US already bleeding money thanks to two thankless wars, why now? Why not wait until the wars are over, we stop bleeding money, and can make these changes without making the government any larger than it already is?
I want smaller government, not larger. I think there are very few Americans of any party that want a larger government. This is not a matter of principle, it's a matter of practicality: the federal government already appears to be a hulking, wasteful lumbering thing. Rewarding the government for a job poorly done is no way to spend resources. If the government were more effective, doing only those things which require a fierce concentration of power and resources, then I would be more open to giving it more money.
Change is always painful. We just have to be smart in judging whether some pain now will yield benefits in the future. The interesting thing is that, if you take virtually *any* historical decision, even ones that we now perceive as good, or even great, you will find enormous opposition. The creation of central park was going to bankrupt New York. Desegregation was going to destroy America. Entering world war 2 was going to bankrupt us and needlessly entangle us in world affairs. Landing on the moon was going to be a wasteful misuse of government resources, and probably kill the astronauts. Revolt against Britian was needless, and going to end in utter defeat.
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