More on the Republican platform...

Republicans often lament the inefficiencies of big government. Their position is that the private sector works much more efficiently than government can in providing services, and that market forces will clean out abuse in the private sector, whereas there is nothing that can clean out mismanagement from government.

A major problem with their argument, which seems to be logical on the surface - is that there really are no market-correcting forces in the short term, and it is arguable that there are no such market forces (without government intervention) in the long haul. There is only profit to motivate the private sector. A crook in the private sector could continue to scam the unwitting for decades if there were no laws or regulations which allow law enforcement agencies to pursue them, or courts in which to sue them.

To argue that the private sector is so good for us, and so moral and so well-intentioned is just plain stupid. One need look no further than the banking industry and their recent credit scams that nearly threw (and still might) our nation into a depression. Republicans, despite the near calamity, are still fighting in Washington to keep the Dems from passing regulations to stop such speculation.

Imagine if Medicare/Medicaid were in the hands of the private sector. How much abuse would there be? How many of the elderly would be denied coverage once their costs overran their payments? How many corrupt deals would be struck between hospitals and the insurance company, or how many doctors would be paid under the table? Just an example to prove the point ... I have drawn this from an e-newsletter that I receive called "AFT Retiree E-News," ... reports the following...

MANY MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS GUILTY OF MARKETING ABUSES
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took compliance and enforcement actions against at least 73 Medicare Advantage plan sponsors between January 2006 and February 2009, charging them with marketing abuses, according to a Jan. 19 report from the Government Accountability Office. The companies’ actions included misrepresenting plan benefits, conducting door-to-door solicitations without an appointment, and providing meals or gifts to entice beneficiaries to enroll. As of March 2009, there were 192 organizations offering Medicare Advantage plans. At congressional hearings held in 2007 and 2008, state insurance officials and Medicare beneficiaries testified that marketing abuses led some beneficiaries to enroll in plans by mistake, and enroll in plans that didn't provide the coverage they needed. The House healthcare reform bill (H.R. 3962) would give states the right to punish marketing violations and expand the definition of such violations. The report said CMS was able to help beneficiaries leave plans that engaged in inappropriate marketing by offering special election periods that enabled them to change their plan outside of the regular open enrollment season. However, researchers also found that some beneficiaries experienced problems disenrolling from their plans, including lengthy delays in making the change.

And yet, why do Republicans try to ignore this evidence of the failure of the private sector to regulate itself? It's simple - they can make money off of these crooked firms by investing in them. They can't make any money from the government unless they can channel those tax dollars into private firms, which can falsify their records to steal even more tax dollars - thus making Republicans rich.

At least that's my take on it.