Insurance companies are the bane of economics. They are here to protect the wealth of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
What if the billions poured down the rathole of AIG were put into health care reform?
Do state and local governments ever question rising insurance costs for liability, for health care? Do they ever say, "That's gotten too high. We're not going to pay it."
No. They cut the school librarian. Increase the class size. Raise the property taxes. Raise the sales taxes. Turn a blind eye to those without access to health care.
Many individuals make the personal decision. "Insurance costs are too high for me. I cannot afford them." They go without health insurance. They go without homeowners insurance. They manage to cough up ever-increasing liability insurance for their vehicle (when they really need a new pair of shoes)--or go to jail.
Insurance companies, let's start with AIG, need accountability and controls.
Federal, state, and local governments must stop picking the pocket of the responsible, budget-minded citizen for these balooning, imploding behemoths we call insurance companies.
It's time to question the role insurance companies play in the collapse of our world and individual economies. Protecting the wealth of the wealthy is not the highest goal of government or of economies.
Robert Reich spoke on "The World of Possibilities" this week on our local public radio, KHNS in Haines, Alaska. "We need to be careful about getting our economy back on track," he said. "We need to question the track we want to be on." He spoke of the importance of "tranquility" in our lives. Go Reich!
It's time to rethink our priorities. Health is a higher value than wealth. The change we need is a radical rethinking of our priorities. We need to keep "taking on the system" at all levels and not let up. Support the President and give the rest 'em hell and then some.