The One About Has The Sleeping Giant Been Awoken At Last?

[Toriach]

This article originally appeared at The One About...

The One About Has The Sleeping Giant Been Awoken At Last?

It seems like everyone falls in and out of love so quickly these days. No one really seems to want to put in the work it takes to make a relationship last long term. If you read the papers they are full of stories of couples who meet, are hot and heavy for a while, and then part acrimoniously. Like Brad and Jen, Ben and Jen, Britney and K Fed, The Insurance Industry and Washington DC.

So sad. At first it was all roses, and Champagne, and chocolates. The governing types swore they were going to get health reform right this time. The insurance industry vowed that this time they'd help instead of hinder. It was all so romantic. And then as so often happens, one partner said or did something that offended the other partner, and everything quickly went from lovey dovey to a replay of scenes from the movie The War Of The Roses.
Basically, it all started to go wrong once Congress started talking about not including in the final reform bill the individual mandate that would have required everyone to buy insurance. Suddenly the Insurance Industry saw their obscenely huge potential profits fluttering away and they reverted to type and went on the attack.

This resulted in President Obama taking them to task in his weekly address, and saying in no uncertain terms that a closer examination of the industry's exemption from anti-trust legislation might be in order.

This of course was not met with hugs and puppies by the insurance industry, who have instead stepped up their anti-reform rhetoric.

Well, now Congress has gotten into the act, quickly working to put forth legislation making good on the President's threat. The legislation would either be a complete work unto itself, or it would be part of the final reform bill.

That'll show 'em.

Maybe.

The problem is that to the discerning eye this whole scenario is seeming awfully familiar. After all it wasn't that long ago that Wall Street companies, who had taken large chunks of bailout money, were discovered to be paying out ridiculously huge bonuses. The public was outraged. Outraged enough that suddenly those in Congress started to fear for not just their cinchy jobs, but their heads as well. In a flash there was all kinds of fine sounding rhetoric being bandied about. Talk of taxing the bonuses at one hundred percent etc. But of course as we know, all that talked resulted in nothing whatsoever being done.

Most likely it will be the exact same thing this time. In short Congress will do their usual something. Sadly it just won't be something that means something.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

The following resources were used in the creation of this article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33414313/ns/politics-health_care_reform/

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