The Big Speech, Part 1

So President Obama delivered a major speech to encourage Congress to pass health care reform earlier this evening and I want to take the time to look at a few quotes from that speech. He said a lot of the same things he's been saying all along and he made a few statements I think we need to hold him to. I've pulled together a lot of quotes from the speech. In fact, I copied 5 pages worth of quotes so it is impossible for me to put this all in one blog. So I plan on using it as blog-fodder for the next several days.

You can find the complete text of President Obama's speech here. This will help others to look up my quotes and hold me accountable if I have taken them out of context. That's not my desire. The President is sincere, I think, but I think he has failed to think critically about the debate and some of the things that are coming forth from Congress.

So, let's begin. All the quotes, by the way, will be taken in the order in which they were spoken. I won't jump around in the speech.

Quote #1: "But thanks to the bold and decisive action we've taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink."

Very early on we see a strange view from the President. By saying that "we have pulled this economy back from the brink" I assume the President believes we've stopped the slide and the economy can now improve. This seems a bit hopeful since unemployment rates continue to rise. I'd say we're still sliding and most economists put our recovery from 2 to 10 years out. So I think this statement is a bit premature.

Quote #2: "Some can't get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed and can't afford it since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer."

Okay, first of all, the self-employed are their own employers. Coverage provided by employers is subsidized by your employer. So the self-employed are usually fully aware that they are responsible for the entire cost of health insurance. That is the choice they make and the risk they take when they step out into the business world like that. I know, I'm a self-employed small business owner. The reason health insurance is difficult to afford is because profit margins are far to thin when you're trying to build you business. Forcing me to pay for coverage, no matter how cheap, will directly affect my ability to grow my business. Small business owners often do much at their own expense. They could move back into working for others if they can't take the heat. There's no shame in working for someone else.

Quote #3: "Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or too expensive to cover."

This is mostly true, I'm sure. I would think that, just like in the auto insurance industry, that there could be provisions made to provide high risk insurance at a higher rate. Anyone who seeks coverage should be able to find it. I agree. The solution is where we're likely to disagree. This might be a good place for co-ops or exchanges.

Quote #4: "There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage."

Well, we're getting closer. We've taken out the illegal immigrants from the ranks of the uninsured that we're talking about. I still say the actual number of those who want health care but can't afford it is considerably smaller. We'll discuss that matter more with other quotes from the President.

Quote #5: "Then there's the problem of rising costs. We spend one- and-a-half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren't any healthier for it."

I think the statistics tell a different story. We've been bombarded with commercials and statements that say exactly the opposite of what the President states here. I've included links in past blogs that support the claim that our health is much better than those in other countries, specifically those in countries with socialized medicine.

Well, in order to break this up and keep these blogs short and readable, I'll stop here. We'll pick up with Quote #6 in the next blog.