Monopolies Too Big To Fail
In the early twentieth century, America was being held hostage by large corporations, monopolies, and trusts. The Governor of New York at the time made it his business to fight back against those monopolies and trusts which had control over both political parties. These industries were so afraid of the Governor’s ability to fight against them, that they debated among themselves to find a way to neutralize the Governor. Their solution was to ask him to run for Vice-President.
America’s first Vice-President, John Adams, made it clear that the position of Vice-President was, “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” So the idea of promoting this trouble making Governor to an insignificant office seemed like a good idea… until the President died. Then Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt had the means and the will to stop the monopolies, trusts, and corporate greed which he believer was a direct attack on American Democracy and on the American people. Teddy Roosevelt did not become President because he was popular, but rather because he was unpopular and yet today we consider him to be one of the greatest Presidents America has ever had.
Fast forward 100 years and that corporate greed has reasserted itself. The health insurance industry is said to be the sixth largest aspect of the American economy according to our current President who claimed on Wednesday that it was too big to overhaul “from scratch.” In other words, it is too big to scrap and too big to fail. Roosevelt understood that a business which is too big to fail is too big to exist. The Government should not be run by large corporations, but should instead be run by and for the People.
I don’t think we need to start “from scratch” as the President claimed, but I do think we need to dramatically overhaul this system. It shouldn’t be the 6th largest aspect of our economy. It shouldn’t have that much control over our government. These corporations shouldn’t be spending millions a day to buy off Congress and the Senate.
President Obama is no Teddy Roosevelt. He seems more concerned with trying to get the Republicans to like him than trying to do what is right for the American people. A fellow internet blogger, Anne Lamont put it best when she wrote last week, “Mr. President, stop trying to woo the Republicans. They are just not that into you, sir.”
The sad fact is that the Republican Party is playing politics with the American people. When America was attacked on 9/11, Democrats stopped playing politics and united behind our Republican President. They did not want our President to fail even when they disagreed with him. However, Republicans do want our current Democratic President to fail and they don’t care if the American people suffer because of it. They will not vote for any bill President Obama tries to push forward even one which gives them everything they want and nothing that progressive Democrats have been asking for. The President might as well stop playing paddy-cake with these people and start actually working to bust up the health care monopolies and trusts.
Filed under: healthcare, Obama, Politics
