Good, Cheap, Fast

Once there was a rich man who wanted to do something good for someone in his community. He spent a few days just traveling around his neighborhood and the general vicinity. During his travels, he noticed the poor living conditions of a certain carpenter who lived nearby. So the rich man went to the carpenter and hired him to build a house. "Now this isn’t just any old house you’ll be building," the rich man said to the carpenter. "I want you to build this house for a very special person. I want you to use only the finest building materials, hire the best workmen you can find, and spare no expense. I’m going to be out of town for a couple of months, and I would like to see the house finished when I return."

The carpenter saw this as a great opportunity to make some extra money. He skimped on building materials, hired winos that hung out at the local bus station to help with the work, paying them as little as he could. He covered their mistakes with paint and plaster and cut corners at every opportunity. When the rich man returned from his trip, the carpenter brought him the keys to the house and said, "I followed your instructions and built the house just as you told me to." "I’m glad you did," the rich man said. Then he handed the keys back to the carpenter saying, "The special person I wanted the house for is you. Take it … it’s yours!"

President Obama has decided that our current house of healthcare is broken, so he has asked Congress to build a new one.

"The status quo is broken. We cannot continue this way," Obama said in his weekly address. "If we do nothing, everyone's health care will be put in jeopardy."

He has told Congress that he wants a new one built by August. He wants lower costs, improved quality and coverage, and choice protection. How Congress plans to do that is a mystery of mysteries. That would be like telling a housewife that she needs to provide more hot meals to more people, and with less grocery money. If she could do that, she would already be doing it. I'll save my judgement for later, but something tells me that insuring MORE people cheaper, will cause quality to be WORSE, not better. It reminds me of a sign I saw in a computer repair shop. It read, "FAST, CHEAP, GOOD. Pick any Two" Obama told Congress he wanted all three, AND by August.

During the ABC News special, President Obama was asked whether or not he would live in the house he's building for of us. One of the questions came from Dr. Orrin Devinsky. He said that wealthy often propose health care solutions that limit options for the general public, secure in the knowledge that if they or their loved ones get sick, they will be able to afford the best care available, even if it's not provided by insurance. Dewinsky asked Obama if he would be willing to promise that he wouldn't seek extraordinary help for his family if they became sick and the public plan limited the treatment.

Basically, the President was asked, If the house your building for us starts to leak, will you get wet with the rest of us. The president refused to answer, but reassured Michelle and the kids by saying, "if it's my family, i always want them to get the very best care." A further look into the bill reveals that not everyone will have to live in this house. Here is the short list of people that will be exempt from paying for this,

The President

Congress

The Senate

Union Workers (That's right. As part of the bailout agreement, Unions can keep the healthcare they currently have through their employer.)

The President doesn't have to answer whether or not he would leave the house for a better one. He already has.