I would like to share Daniel Henninger's confidence that ObamaCare is
a doomed entitlement that will collapse under its own weight ("Let ObamaCare Collapse,"
Wonder Land, Sept. 26), but historical precedents for an orderly
dismantling of welfare-state benefit programs are very hard to find. Mr.
Henninger's forecast of ObamaCare's demise hinges on public abandonment
of the entitlement as its catastrophic effects unfold. Public disgust
is destined to rise, according to Mr. Henninger, because the
technological core of a centrally managed health system will be
overloaded by a mind-boggling array of parties involved (i.e., federal
agencies, state and local governments, employers, insurers, health-care
providers and patients).
Many of us might agree that ObamaCare's overreach will force change
but question whether dysfunction was baked into a plan to blame greedy
insurers and push for a single-payer solution or if the number of voters
who have ObamaCare buyer's remorse will exceed the number who are
partially or fully dependent on government benefits.
Many U.S. companies have been rushing to drop bare-bones health
plans and to steer employees, particularly part-timers, into insurance
exchanges. An employer stampede out of health-care administration means
that far more Americans will be dependent on government-sponsored plans
in the next year or two. Once dependence and entitlement settle into a
nation's psyche, abandonment of social progress is unheard of, absent
impending financial collapse.
As a general rule, progressive steps forward into entitlement
minefields are usually followed by stubborn and expensive stomps to the
finish line, not by retreats or surrender.
John Gardner
Austin, Texas
Allowing ObamaCare to simply collapse won't discredit the Democrats.
Instead, it will provide an opening to increase government intrusion
into the private economy, enable the Democrats to look bipartisan, and
blame conservatives, while ushering in a single-payer system. When
ObamaCare collapses Democrats will argue that the plan was based on the
Heritage Foundation's ideas from years gone by and the experiment of a
Republican governor of Massachusetts. Despite their belief in single
payer during 2010, Democrats took the unprecedented step of offering a
conservative, market-based solution instead. But alas, they will argue
that the market has failed us yet again, and the American people are
left with only one option to achieve the goal of caring for all
Americans.
The argument continues; we are compelled to offer the solution that
we believed appropriate in 2010. Our attempt at bipartisanship was a
mistake. Single payer will ensure that all Americans have their
fundamental right to health care met. This is the endgame, a new
behemoth entitlement, and the biggest expansion of government in our
history will be accomplished. What is frightening is that if this
argument is packaged correctly, Democrats in their failure will have won
their ultimate prize and ensured Democrat voters for generations to
come.
Republicans must band together now, and make an unyielding argument
that ObamaCare was doomed from the start, placing the blame firmly and
squarely at the Democrats feet. We must present a viable, true
free-market alternative to ObamaCare, which should be boldly and loudly
announced on Oct. 1, and never speak of ObamaCare again.
James R. Oppenhuizen
Grand Rapids, Mich.
ObamaCare was carefully crafted to deliver its goodies upfront, while
delaying its more painful mandates and taxes until after the
presidential election. Recently, the president unexpectedly, but
shrewdly, delayed the employer mandate until after the next election
cycle, once he grasped the potential fallout from its negative impact on
job creation.
As we now begin to digest the price increases inherent in the health
exchanges, I suspect that Mr. Obama will soon be quite willing to agree
to delay the individual mandate too (perhaps in return for a
debt-ceiling increase), thus appearing reasonable while also postponing
the mandate's financial pain until after the midterms. All Republicans
accomplish from this is to unwittingly provide political cover that will
help the Democrats hold power in the Senate, while another year of
"free" goodies further entrenches the law.
Mr. Henninger gets it exactly right. The sooner this stinker is
completely unwrapped, the better chance we have of getting rid of it.
