In these tumultuous and historic times there is barely enough “center stage” to address every issue that we so desperately need to address. In times past, one characteristic of American politics was its tendency to bring an issue to center-stage for a few moments and then forget about the issue altogether as other issues catch the public’s eye. But so many of our issues are interconnected that it becomes impossible to adequately address one without adequately addressing another.
American health care is one such case of an issue taking front-and-center and then being all but forgotten. I was reminded of this issue as I received a notice from my healthcare provider stating that our premium was increasing (an increase of nearly 20%).
Right now, America is focused on its economy and creating jobs, but fixing the issues that face American economics is about more than creating jobs, it’s about stabilizing the economy and creating an economic environment that is sustainable and profitable for the American people; that means lower costs of living so that our high “under employment rate” can also get addressed.
I’m of the opinion that the American Health Care problem has not been solved, not even remotely. Rather, it has had a bandaid put on it and then swept under the rug. Obama’s victory in passing the new healthcare bill has little more than political value to it- if that.
In a Washington Post article, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson’s recent ruling declared that the piece of legislation is an “unprecedented expansion of federal power [which] cannot be justified under Congress’s authority to regulate interstate commerce.“
This post is more about the broad scope of issues that need to be addressed than it is about one single issue, however.
As a U.S. Citizen working and living abroad in China for the past year and a half, it is extremely clear to me how “distracted” America has become because I can see the narrow mindedness of what is being reported in the news every week.
There are major issues like health care, US-based production and manufacturing, building infrastructure, stabilizing government spending and creating economic stability, to name only a few that are being significantly downplayed or ignored (we could easily add foreign policy, immigration, and global community issues to this list).
Unfortunately, I think, the reality is that we will never successfully address any one of these issues without addressing the others because they are interconnected and add to each others problems.
If you read Chinese news at Xinhua News or China Daily, you will see the negative view that our competitors are beginning to form of us; there are daily criticisms for how we are handling these issues, some criticisms are almost intolerably biased, while others hold some measure of merit.
China is “celebrating its success” and appears to almost be reveling in America’s supposed “decline”- but it would be good to remind ourselves of the one truly unique advantage we have over any other rising country of today; we are able to request action from our government without the threat of suppression from our government.
Let’s face it, our leaders need our help. It’s not as much an issue leadership (though that plays a significant role in things), as it is an issue of community. Americans need to come together to solve these issues advantageously. It’s time to bring these issues back to center stage and help our leaders lead.
If we want to solve America’s problems, then it’s time to start embracing our responsibility and doing it together.