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In reference to Reader's view: Tell Congress, 'Enough' :
Two antithetical ideological views are making the nationalization argument very contentious. One is the ideology of free market capitalism, a Randian philosophy of objectivism and individualism, while the other the ideology of liberalism, a progressive societal view with concern for equality of rights and amelioration.
Nationalization means deprivatization by putting private ownership into public ownership of the government. However, that is not what government is doing, and we are a long way from that form of government control. Government investment as opposed to government control is not nationalization
Auto and finance industry bailouts are government investments. Healthcare reform is not nationalization, but it is an investment in the well-being of Americans.
For those who are constitutional fundamentalist, the preamble to the Constitution, amongst other enumerations, states the principle of promoting the general welfare. I interpret welfare from its essential meaning: health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being; prosperity. I am certain the framers, in the preamble’s expression general welfare, did not mean government welfare or corporate welfare; it was meant to mean well-being. Since it is not explicit how that would be accomplished, nor whether or not it is the power of the United States or the States to accomplish that goal, even though the principle is explicit in the preamble, the Second Amendment tenet giving powers not delegated therefore may apply. So, in this regard Mr. Chilcott may be correct. Nevertheless, the general welfare principle is in the preamble, albeit contrary to Fox News infamous Judge Napolitano, healthcare legislation is constitutional.
There is only one group of Americans benefiting from defeat of health insurance reform and that is the private healthcare insurance industry.
Anyone who thinks congress should leave the solution to our financial and healthcare predicament in the hands of free market capitalist have their proverbial head in the sand. They are the folks who are significantly responsible for today’s economic and healthcare quagmire.
Those who blame the Obama administration for all of America’s ills, evidently are not cognizant of the fact that six of the last eight years republicans held the congressional majority, and for eight years had a republican president presiding over a failed presidency: President George W Bush approved and condoned a policy of torture, explicitly in violation of the Geneva Convention, putting any American service member captured in a precarious position; violated America’s constitutional principles under the rubric of the Patriots Act; conducted an illegal war in Iraq; marred the international image of the United States, and of every American and member of America’s Armed Forces; conducted a failed foreign relations policy; and oversaw a failing economy.
This rebuttal may be superfluous, as are Mr. Chilcott’s arguments, but evidently it still is necessary. We have Fox News and the Limbaugh’s of the world who continue to express unreasonable views that attract unreasonable men and women. In that light, it’s very hard to be complacent.
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