U.S. Social Policy

Source: Newsweek

Date: March 26, 2010

Title: 'Socialism,' Chicago Style

Author: Howard Fineman

Summary: Recently President Barack Obama signed the new Universal Health Care Bill. The bill is expected to cut the national deficit by almost 1.4 trillion dollars over the next 20 years and expand coverage to over 32 million Americans. The bill is expected to be paid for by the "Medicare Payroll Tax" and "Excise Tax" which target the wealthier portion of our population. In 2014 everyone is expected to have purchased health insurance or face a fine of $695. Howard Fineman in his article addresses the concern that the bill is socialist in nature. Fineman correlates the newly signed health care bill to "Chicago-Style" politics and the Daley machine. He ends the article by explaining how the bill is set up economically, and his personal opinions on how Obama may have saved money in an already deteriorating economy.

Analysis: Howard Fineman supports his argument that the new health care bill is not socialist by pointing directly at the health-care industry itself. It isn't in ruins and isn't in a frenzy unlike much of the Republican party. He states, "If this is socialism, then Warren Buffett is Karl Marx." What he means is that to call the bill socialism, is to call an entrepeneur the cause of it. However, as Fineman states in his article, the bill is built on the foundation of Chicago style politics. This reference is to the political machine run in Cook County, Chicago from the 1930's to 1970's, roughly. The machine had worked so well because of its use of a 'divide and conquer'-type strategy. Fineman explains that this same tactic is used in the health-care bill in the sense that the federal government has made financial deals with: big pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors. Fineman is also quick to note that the bill is by no means going to be inexpensive. In the final paragraph of the article Fineman gives his input on how the economy could take a much smaller hit by simply giving the control of health-care completely over to the Federal government. Fineman makes a witty remark in the final sentence saying, "But that's not the way they do socialism in Chicago." He is referring to president Obama's affiliation with Chicago and making a loose connection between Chicago-style politics and Obama's.

My Take: Personally I agree with what Fineman has to say about the bill. It's not an expression of socialism, but a form of big-business dominating our governments policies. The only thing I can't say I agree with is Fineman's solution to save money on the bill, and how Obama is closely related to the Daley Machine.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235558