Return of the 20 minute blog

In an effort to start writing more frequently, I am bringing back the 20 minute blog, where I will make my best effort to discuss the issues of the day or whatever happens to be on my mind in 20 minutes or less. So with no time to waste on yet another promise to start writing more frequently, here goes.

Today's topic is the start of the new season, and while it is tempting to write about the new football season that is upon us, there is an even more important, and likely more brutal and bloody season about to take off, namely the fall political season. While this isn't an election year, save for the local elections which almost no one pays attention to, it figures to get nasty with plenty of hard knocks coming from all directions. At least that is the hope from this corner.

The reason it is my hope that we have a knock down drag out political season is two fold. From a pure entertainment perspective good old-fashioned bare knuckles politics makes for good theater. Bipartisanship sounds good in theory, the way that a vegetarian diet sounds like a good idea, that is until someone puts a barely cooked steak on your plate with the blood still dripping onto your potatoes. I'm ready for some raw meat.

The main reason though is because without getting some blood on their hands, the forces of progress (the root of the political descriptor progressive which is how I define my political ideology) have no chance against the reactionary and often ridiculous right. Name your issue, health care, economic and tax policy, foreign policy, domestic and social policy, the progressive agenda beats the reactionary agenda of conservatives across the board. Most reasonable and rational thinking Americans who aren't blinded by mindless partisan dogma (which applies to both extremes on the left and right) would probably agree with me on this.

The issue du jour is health care reform, or more accurately health insurance reform. The actual health care that we receive is pretty high quality as far as I can tell, I've never had an issue or question with the level of expertise or the professionalism and dedication of those who provide the care. The issue lies with how that care is rationed and the increasing cost involved in accessing it.

Most Americans have health insurance, but with increasing premiums cutting into what measly raises we get anymore, and co-pays that go up incrementally every year, what we really have is catastrophic coverage. Most of us whether we realize it or not are paying out of pocket for what we actually use in a given year, in short the system as it is currently set up provides us with very little benefit unless something serious comes up.

Granted I speak as someone who thankfully rarely gets sick, and wouldn't go to see a doctor for the most part even if I did, I don't take any medications and were it not for having a family to consider I would probably do without and take my chances. But that isn't a viable option, so I pay a good deal for my coverage and I get little to nothing in return for the cost I bare.

There are different issues that affect different people in different ways of course, but the overlying theme here is that the system of private insurance needs to be reformed and managed better so that it serves the people who utilize it. I'm not arguing for a government run program or the elimination of private for profit insurance companies, merely for some common sense, progressive reform that will save individuals, businesses, and the economy as a whole a good deal of money, while continuing to allow insurance companies to make a profit for the service they provide, albeit a smaller one, while allowing for the continued deliverance of the high quality care we as a society have come to expect.

Which gets us back to the political season, which kicks off in earnest tomorrow night with Mr. Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress. What I will be watching for are signs that our president is ready to take off the kid gloves and get busy fighting for a major part of his campaign platform, and signs that the Congress will awake from its malaise and realize that their fortunes rise and fall with those of the president, and the fortunes of both will be greatly determined by how effectively they can deal with this issue. I am hopeful and skeptical at the same time, but like many Americans I will be watching the festivities with great interest, and scoring along with the judges at home. I don't expect a quick decision, this one may go the distance and that's fine so long as the ultimate result comes out on the side of hard working common folk who simply want rational and sensible reform. That would be progress indeed, and would offer greater hope that other important issues can be dealt with as the season moves along.