What We’re Up Against on Health Care Reform

Six lobbyists for each legislator.  Betcha Carper’s got more than six pissing beaucoups bucks into his election accounts, as well as talking points into his ears:

The industry and interest groups have spent $380m (£238m) in recent months influencing healthcare legislation through lobbying, advertising and in direct political contributions to members of Congress. The largest contribution, totalling close to $1.5m, has gone to the chairman of the senate committee drafting the new law.

Drug and insurance companies say they are merely seeking to educate politicians and the public. But with industry lobbyists swarming over Capitol Hill ‑ there are six registered healthcare lobbyists for every member of Congress ‑ a partner in the most powerful lobbying firm in Washington acknowledged that healthcare firms’ money “has had a lot of influence” and that it is “morally suspect”.

Reform groups say vast spending, and the threat of a lot more being poured into advertisements against the administration, has helped drug companies ensure there will be no cap on the prices they charge for medicines ‑ one of the ways the White House had hoped to keep down surging healthcare costs.

Insurance companies have done even better as the new legislation will prove a business bonanza. It is not only likely to kill off the threat of public health insurance, which threatened to siphon off customers by offering lower premiums and better coverage, but will force millions more people to take out private medical policies or face prosecution.

When I read stories like this, I’m immediately reminded of a line from Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows”:  

“Everybody knows that the dice are loaded, everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

Everybody knows that the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost.”

We no longer have any real say in how our government operates. Since it is unlikely that we can ever erase the corrupting influence of huge corporate lobbyists, all we can do is to remove those who have no problem being corrupted. Starting with Tom ‘Undistinguished Leadership for 30 Years’ Carper.

This story reported, of course, by a British paper b/c journalism is still alive there.