"The Republicans' Petard" Tom Denton Letter to the editor

The Republicans’ Petard

            An etymological review of the familiar phrase, “hoisted with his own petard,” yields some rich contemporary applications.  A petard was a somewhat crude, sixteenth century, gunpowder-fed artillery device used to blow a hole in a castle gate during battle.  Sadly, it often blew up those who ignited it, hence, the expression that generally has come to mean “to suffer harm from a plan by which you had intended to harm someone else” (Cambridge Dictionary).   Linguists note the similarity of “petard” with the French “péter”—to fart.

            The biblical "they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" and the recent “what goes around comes around” also remind us that the Republicans’ current agonies over stalled attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act are thoroughly earned.  Having exploited the political utility of Obamacare opposition for seven years, the GOP now finds that power has blown up in its face.

We all have suffered, though, from the noxious fumes of their legislative assault. 

Publishing history 

NP Times     7/27

"Oh, the Places We'll Go" Tom Denton Letter to the Editor

Oh, the Places We’ll Go

As reports suggest that Senate Republicans are reaching agreement on stopping Medicaid expansion (we must depend on “reports” since Mitch McConnell is holding no public hearings
on the AHCA bill), commentary has focused on how the cuts will devastate younger, poorer Americans. All true, but generally unmentioned is the fact that two thirds of Medicaid spending goes to older and disabled Americans, largely to those who must spend down much of their assets before Medicaid will cover their nursing home costs. In total, the AHCA would hammer the most vulnerable among us as it shifts huge tax cuts to the wealthy.
But let’s shift our focus from the moral atrocities of Trumpcare to the most crass considerations. After all, the “greed is good” creed of the 90s is getting new life after November, 2016. One in three Americans, currently, will need nursing home care. That means, Trumpcare supporters, that you or someone in your family might well turn to Medicaid eventually. If it’s your mother, you will watch as she depletes her savings before Medicaid intervenes, if it does. What will be left of your inheritance pot under new guidelines? Worse, will you also be forced to spend from your own accounts to give her decent care? If the one in the bed is you, you can spend your last days worrying about how your very existence is diminishing your children’s prospects for a good life.
Bottom line: your bottom line could be smashed by Trumpcare. Oh, the places we’ll go to sacrifice for the greater good of the wealthy.

Publishing history

Southern Dut. News   6/28 

Kingston Freeman   6/27 

NP Times  6/29 

"Bring Back the Public Option" Tom Denton Letter to the editor

Bring Back the Public Option 

     In the debate about Republicans' proposed health care bills, we've been hearing a lot about death--death panels (again!), death spirals, the death of conscience.  The bills themselves are in the throes of dying; the death rattle might begin with Congress' return from recess.  We shall see.  If the misbegotten legislation is interred, even Mitch McConnell now suggests the focus will be on stabilizing ACA exchanges and including Democrats in the planning.  With death comes re-birth, so we can begin to think again about universal health care coverage for Americans, which both parties advocate, at least rhetorically (Republicans--access, Democrats--actual care)

. 

     Republicans, holding power, will continue to resist fiercely the perceived expansion of federal control of health care.  But the moment might be ripe to introduce into ACA exchanges a public option, a mechanism once favored by many Democrats.  Self-proclaimed champions of competition and choice, Republicans might now acknowledge the benefit of a government insurance "company" that can leverage its size to put price pressures on for-profit insurers and negotiate favorably with pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and doctors. 

     Independent and even some Republican voters, many of whom have developed a sudden appreciation of the ACA, might welcome this version of a kindly, supportive Uncle Sam rather than the snarling uncle in the basement foisted on us by the current legislation. 

Albany TU  7/15