The competing interests in our national health care debate can be a tad puzzling until we actually look at the opposition.Who are these senators and who do they represent?How many voices do they speak for.Why are they so afraid of the concept where we all pitch in a little to fill a greater good.The opposition are mostly from states we seldom here about in the national dialogue.Is it purely money or is it simply the fact that they are really that different from the rest of their fellow Americans. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
We are not seeing the middle in our national coverage so it is up to us to guide the dialogue.A few guys with guns strapped to their bodies or a woman waving Obama as Hilter revisited is what we have seen.In reality the bottom line is we as a nation overwhelmingly voted for a democratic platform that included national health care reform not compromise.
Why then are so few derailing what so many of us voted to acheive?
Projections of the Total Population of States: 1995 to 2025
(Numbers in thousands. Resident population. For more detailed
information, see Population Paper Listing #47, "Population Projections
for States, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1995 to 2025.")
SERIES A July 1, July 1, July 1, July 1, July 1,
1995 2000 2005 2015 2025
Alabama............. 4,253 4,451 4,631 4,956 5,224
Alaska.............. 604 653 700 791 885
Arizona............. 4,218 4,798 5,230 5,808 6,412
Arkansas............ 2,484 2,631 2,750 2,922 3,055
California.......... 31,589 32,521 34,441 41,373 49,285
Colorado............ 3,747 4,168 4,468 4,833 5,188
Connecticut......... 3,275 3,284 3,317 3,506 3,739
Delaware............ 717 768 800 832 861
District of Columbia 554 523 529 594 655
Florida............. 14,166 15,233 16,279 18,497 20,710
Georgia............. 7,201 7,875 8,413 9,200 9,869
Hawaii.............. 1,187 1,257 1,342 1,553 1,812
Idaho............... 1,163 1,347 1,480 1,622 1,739
Illinois............ 11,830 12,051 12,266 12,808 13,440
Indiana............. 5,803 6,045 6,215 6,404 6,546
Iowa................ 2,842 2,900 2,941 2,994 3,040
Kansas.............. 2,565 2,668 2,761 2,939 3,108
Kentucky............ 3,860 3,995 4,098 4,231 4,314
Louisiana........... 4,342 4,425 4,535 4,840 5,133
Maine............... 1,241 1,259 1,285 1,362 1,423
Maryland............ 5,042 5,275 5,467 5,862 6,274
Massachusetts....... 6,074 6,199 6,310 6,574 6,902
Michigan............ 9,549 9,679 9,763 9,917 10,078
Minnesota........... 4,610 4,830 5,005 5,283 5,510
Mississippi......... 2,697 2,816 2,908 3,035 3,142
Missouri............ 5,324 5,540 5,718 6,005 6,250
Montana............. 870 950 1,006 1,069 1,121
Nebraska............ 1,637 1,705 1,761 1,850 1,930
Nevada.............. 1,530 1,871 2,070 2,179 2,312
New Hampshire....... 1,148 1,224 1,281 1,372 1,439
New Jersey.......... 7,945 8,178 8,392 8,924 9,558
New Mexico.......... 1,685 1,860 2,016 2,300 2,612
New York............ 18,136 18,146 18,250 18,916 19,830
North Carolina...... 7,195 7,777 8,227 8,840 9,349
North Dakota........ 641 662 677 704 729
Ohio................ 11,151 11,319 11,428 11,588 11,744
Oklahoma............ 3,278 3,373 3,491 3,789 4,057
Oregon.............. 3,141 3,397 3,613 3,992 4,349
Pennsylvania........ 12,072 12,202 12,281 12,449 12,683
Rhode Island........ 990 998 1,012 1,070 1,141
South Carolina...... 3,673 3,858 4,033 4,369 4,645
South Dakota........ 729 777 810 840 866
Tennessee........... 5,256 5,657 5,966 6,365 6,665
Texas............... 18,724 20,119 21,487 24,280 27,183
Utah................ 1,951 2,207 2,411 2,670 2,883
Vermont............. 585 617 638 662 678
Virginia............ 6,618 6,997 7,324 7,921 8,466
Washington.......... 5,431 5,858 6,258 7,058 7,808
West Virginia....... 1,828 1,841 1,849 1,851 1,845
Wisconsin........... 5,123 5,326 5,479 5,693 5,867
Wyoming............. 480 525 568 641 694
http://www.census.gov/...
Projections of the Total Population of States: 1995 to 2025
What I do know is they are the same people that receive an average of $1.12 cents for every tax dollar they pay into the national till. They are some of the least populated states so they do not deal with any of the problems are large population lives with on a daily basis. Considering this I can understand them not agreeing with their fellow Americans on many issues. On the other hand they may not be allowed to control the debate either. I do not pretend to understand the intricate system of farm subsidies or why they need them but I do not say NO to the fiscal needs of farmers and ranchers, .That prompts me to wonder aloud why they feel it is right for them to scream NO to high speed rail or national health care. We are a huge land mass and population that is as diverse as we are large. The balance that must be struck must reflect the greater good of a nation not a few that live in it with some key Senators sitting on a couple of committees'.
If we look at the population in the USA and link it to the healthcare debate it is clear that the senators who are doing the intricate planning of the public option not only represent a small amount of American but they are not fiscally responsible for much of the costs. This begs the question how many American are they representing and how many tax dollar do they represent?
If most Americans want a public option yet the concerns of so few constituents are having loudest input into the debate how does this advance of looming healthcare crisis with medicare?How does this represent the voice of America?
Obama won by stating he will create a national healthcare option. He won yet when our plan are whittle down by our electorate we see the senate is not the place where the American population is represented as a whole. The house represents the people by population numbers So why is the senate controlling this debate instead of President Obama.
I do not believe a referendum is a tidy why to run a nation but in this case we must at least consider the national election as the point of concern not a political compromise like the senate is attempting to do now.
There is also a motion in the house to repeal the McCarren/ Ferguson Act that is crucial to eliminating the anti trust protection that all insurance companies enjoy.
To allow the voices of so few to be so powerful is a travesty. The nation wants change. To ignore this a a death blow to the Obama Administration.
Fiscally those who have the largest voice in the senate contribute the least as taxpayers to our national treasury. Fiscally they also take the highest ratio of taxes dollar received versus tax dollars paid. In short we fund there roads and schools. They also will pay the least and benefit the most from a national health plan.
I agree with our democratic republic. I believe a pure democracy would be unmanageable a nation this size. What we also can not tolerate is the majority to be silenced by the few because the senate is the vehicle that is supposed to be wise consultants to our government not partisan screamers for a minority of our fellow citizens. This is not balance and it does not represent the mandated concerns American citizens as a whole when they voted last November
The senators I have in mind are Conrad ,Grassley ,Hatch ,Baucus,and Nelson of Nebraska.If you look at the raw numbers of the Americans they represent we see it is less than the state of Illinois combined.To allow the national health care debate to be steered by so few when Obama won a national election is simply UN-American.Now I know that is a big insult.In some cases actual fighting words for some but it is the undeniable truth.Obama must step up and get his "weee-wees" moving and start reining in the senate like a president should.He cannot fufill his promise to Americans if he fails to do this.He has everything to gain or lose.