Man behind the Curtain

Recently I have begun to use the word “capitalist” in my discussions of political and economic issues. Usually I am trying to highlight the hate/fear response to Marxism juxtaposed with the blind, unquestioned acceptance of capitalism. I have sensed a cultural myopia. Take the health care debate. The upcoming election is framed as a referendum on “big government” and the “socialist” healthcare reform. As Americans have been carefully conditioned to be ideologically one-wayed, appearances may be deceiving. With no public option, what some characterize as “socialist” may actually be advanced, sophisticated capitalism.

Think of the origins of health reform and you’ll recall the initial and loudest voices asking for relief were not the ‘grass roots’, but were in actuality corporations and businesses. The steady refrain was our corporations were at a competitive disadvantage with foreign concerns because of the costs of health coverage to employees. The private for- profit corporations couldn’t afford to pay the premiums of the private for-profit insurance companies, who in turn couldn’t afford the pay-outs to the private for-profit medical and pharmaceutical industries. And the private for- profit medical and pharmaceutical industries said their realities made it impossible to provide products and services their customers could afford to buy as individuals.

Now, without retracing the convoluted trail, we can agree the concerns of politicians and lobbyists were obviously amalgamated to capture the necessary votes. So what is Obamacare? It is a tax with a title. This tax will directly subsidize the costs of premiums of private for-profit insurance companies. Remember, this tax will be in addition to your personal payment or payroll contribution to your insurance costs, Yet, the government will not control the premiums; the companies will say they reflect legitimate business needs. It won’t and can’t regulate or limit their profits because that would be interference with the business incentive. It can’t dictate executive compensation because that is a private concern. And it would be anti-capitalistic to dictate the level of return to shareholders. So, in essence the government will just be the employee of the capitalists, collecting via the tax a portion of their premiums for them, which the insurers will direct to their own bottom lines. Do you really think the capitalists want to repeal Obamacare? As it stands, Obamacare is not socialism; it is capitalist Nirvana.

With respect to the sincerity of those challenging what they feel is a government transgression, the Tea Party, conceived and funded by billionaires, is a sophisticated Madison Avenue campaign to manufacture illusions of “grass roots” libertarianism so the anger of the duped electorate will help compel the government to give up the few concessions it received in the reform package, such as the prohibition against not covering pre-existing conditions and various other afflictions insurance companies had heretofore arbitrarily declined to cover. If this is achieved the government, via the tax, will still pay but have very little say. Capitalists would have even less incentive to repeal Obamacare - right?

I submit, contrary to what we are encouraged to believe or think, this is not Karl Marx pulling the strings. It seems more reminiscent of Nathan Rothschild.