by suneko
Fixing our health care system is critical for the United States, not only because it might be the humane thing to do but also in order to maintain a competitive economy. 15% of our GDP pays for healthcare and this is projected to raise to about 20% by 2017. Our health insurance premiums have more than doubled in 10 years. We pay more than any other developed country while insuring a smaller portion of the population. Over 50% of all personal bankruptcies are due to medical expenses, something that is not even possible in most developed countries.
Health care costs to businesses are increasing much faster than profits, resulting in the mathematical certainty that either total health insurance costs to businesses will become greater than total profits or even more people will be without health care. Businesses in most other countries do not have the burden of paying healthcare out of their profits, making it easier for them to be profitable.
Finally, health insurance costs raise each year but at an unknown rate. It is quite difficult for most businesses, especially small ones, to forecast just what their health care costs will be each year. This adds another problematic layer for the financial health of small companies.
These should all be part of any debate on health care reform in this country. But we are not seeing that. What we are seeing are the same sorts of bullying, astroturf tactics that have been used before by vested interests to stop debate and to stop the democratic process.
They do not have any interest in our real health concerns. They are concerned solely about maintaining their profits.
There has been well-documented instances of astroturfing over the years. One of the most recent instances of fraud dealt with a lobbying group that forged letters using legitimate organization’s letterheads; trying to make it seem as though groups like the NAACP were against legislation that was harmful to the group that paid for the campaign.
Astroturf may be fraud. But it is used constantly by lobbying groups, and others with vested interests.
Rachel Maddow has been doing a great job reporting on the history of this fraudulent approach and who is behind its current usage against health care reform.
Here is some history – the Brooks Brothers riots:
These supposed average citizens were actually operatives hired to be provocative. It worked in 2000 and has only become more sophisticated with online approaches.
These same tactics are now being used across the country in a way that is again designed to shut down debate. In fact, the use of these tactics was delineated in a leaked memo. There is no attempt to carry on any discussion. It is purely to intimidate through the use of violent, angry mobs that can only be called hooligans.
More on orchestrated outrage, with some discussion of the leaked memo describing just what to do to rattle the speaker:
I am sure there are many people who are really angry and acting on their own. But much of their anger is being whipped up by lies spread by groups who want no changes to be made at all in health care, by groups that are quite happy with the bankrupting of our economy, by groups that exist to take money in order to stop debate. It does not happen in a vacuum.
It happens because specific people are spreading known lies in order to provoke others to act out their anger. Although it started with busing of people around to town halls, this meme has spread far enough that it no longer strictly needs constant nourishing. Just like any marketing scheme that takes a life of its own, this deliberate spread of lies to stop debate now needs little care. Just some added lies to keep things going.
“This is professional, corporate-funded, Republican-staffed PR and should be reported as such.”
Liberals have had their own recent incidents where they shamefully tried to stop someone from speaking but I have not seen anyone demonstrate that this was part of a nationwide plan put together by left-wing vested interests and political operatives.
That is what we seem to have here using corporate lobbying groups and political operatives. Normally, most people are not really interested in what happens at the national level. They care about their day to day life and local issues. It takes some real effort to rile them up. Spreading lies works quite well. It always has.
I’ve seen this same approach, this same reliance on generating anger, used by creationists. I personally have been yelled at and talked over in the same intimidating way by people riled up by their minister with lies. It was at a debate on creationism and evolution where I was a member of the audience. I had a question for the speakers. Turns out several Baptist churches had bused over their parishioners to fill the hall.The goal was not to convince me that evolution did not happen. The goal was to shut me up and intimidate anyone else who might agree with me. The feeling that I might now be recognized by crazies who would beat the crap out of me in the parking lot very much made me wish I had not stood up.
I know how easy it would be for any organized effort to rile up a large group of people. And what a negative impact it really has on actual discussion of ideas.
It may be average people doing a lot of this now but the marketing plan has been put together by lobbying organizations paid for by the healthcare industry and insurance companies.
So now we have a group of angry, scared people that no longer wants to actually debate and find a solution. The discussion has degraded to the worst kind of democracy – people yelling at each other. On something we have to solve.
We cannot keep going on the path we are on now. But many vested interests are happy to see America fail as long as their profits continue.
