If there’s one thing I feel really crystallizes the differences between Republicans/Conservatives and Democrats/Liberals, it’s how these two groups approach the future. Republicans are optimists about things to come and Democrats are generally pessimists. This really shows in the solutions the two parties propose to today’s public policy problems. I bet there’s a lot of people, mostly liberals, that would disagree with that, but it’s really undeniable if you’re able to separate yourself from the minutia of legislation and look at what Republicans and Democrats are really saying about the events of tomorrow.
It thought of this as I read a post by Mary Katharine Ham, which included the following quote from endangered Colorado Democratic Congresswoman Betsy Markey as she spoke about health care reform:
“There’s going to be some people who are going to have to give up some things, honestly, for all of this to work,” Markey said at a Congress on Your Corner event at CSU. “But we have to do this because we’re Americans.”
Let’s delve into this some.
While talking about the health care system in America, a system that is in undeniable need of reform to control the skyrocketing costs of care, Democrats have proposed giving government much greater control over the system through the creation of a public option (read: stealth single-payer plan) and a whole host of new regulations and mandates. Congresspeople such as Rep. Markey support these ideas because their first inclination when confronted with any problem is to raise taxes and bring into existence a massive new layer of government bureaucracy that will force every American into the same mold.
Of course, a natural effect of forcing end-equality on everyone is that for every winner, there is likely to be a loser. Thus, Rep. Markey refers to the fact that, “…some people…are going to have to give up some things,” because there would be no way to just magic into existence enough resources to give everyone the absolute best option. And who will decide who gives up what and to whom? The government will tell you. We will all be a little below average.
Democrats advocate policies like this because they are pessimists. They believe that things simply won’t get better. There won’t be new technological innovations. Smart people won’t figure out a new business model that provides consumers with more for less. We are stuck in time, and so we need the government to step in and split up all these limited resources between everyone because they are the only objective entity in the process (Ha!), and these resources are only going to get more and more limited as more people enter the system.
Democrats believe this is the American Way – that the American Dream is for everyone to end up equally stuck in the same situation. Now you can see how Rep. Markey actually believes the disturbing things she says – “But we have to do this because we’re Americans.” What kind of vision is that? She sees a country where we all suffer equally. Sad. Democrats: “We must all live crappily together and sacrifice things very dear to us because America stinks.”
The results of thinking this way (more government, more taxes, less ) are limiting, but two things are usually guaranteed, neither of which is actually solving the problem:
- The problem will continue to exist forever, and will likely get much worse. It will never be solved because the government has now institutionalized it. There is no incentive for the government to cure the nation of its ills, just to treat the symptoms as long as they persist – and in many instances, much longer than is necessary.
- The American people now actually have fewer means to try and solve the problem for themselves. Every new government burden (financial and otherwise), takes resources out of the system, in turn leaving people and businesses with less resources with which they can improvise, innovate, and experiment. Less for R&D, and less room for Americans to feel financially comfortable enough to try new things.
But, don’t despair, oh pessimist! There is another way!
Conservatives and Republicans are optimists. We believe that things don’t always have to be this way – they can get better! In fact, let’s make them better. Of course, to have something better than what you have now, you must have a choice between two or more options – so let’s free businesses large and small to try some new things and then free consumers to pick the ones that are best for them.
Too many people and not enough food? I’d be willing to bet some family farmers and major agricultural companies will find a way to make more (Hint: that’s already happening). Not enough oil? Energy companies are finding some really amazing new ways to squeeze oil from rocks (literally), and at the same time are investing huge amounts in renewable energy.
Health care cost too much? Let’s not accept that things can’t get better. Let’s not relegate ourselves to a permanent existence in the present. Let’s not institutionalize our problems in a tangled web of government bureaucracy.
Instead, how about we free the market up some to let consumers purchase health insurance across state lines. Allow people to buy inexpensive, high deductible policies (illegal in many states because they impose so many different types of mandates on insurance providers such as maternity care for 80 year old women and free visits to dietitians) and match them with tax-free Health Savings Accounts.
Imagine how much prices would come down if health insurance companies were allowed to compete like car insurance companies. There would be 100 companies in every state, and each company would have to compete on price to survive. Progressive Auto Insurance allows customers to name a price they can afford and then builds a custom policy for them. This would be illegal for millions of people trying to get health insurance in today’s system.
Why not give taxpayers the same tax incentives to buy insurance that are given to businesses? Why not allow small businesses and associations to pool together when buying insurance? Why not finally (!) enact some strict tort reform to prevent frivolous lawsuits against doctors who are paying through the nose for malpractice insurance.
There’s plenty of things to do besides accept that things will always suck, and so we should just chop up the suckiness and pass it around.
While Democrats want to hit the pause button and equally divide up what we have, Republicans wish to light the fires of progress and put America to work in finding a solution to the problems that confront us. Democrats see a tomorrow that’s a lot like today, just more equally split up. We’ve reached our potential and it’s just the right thing to do to give up most of what you have for the greater good.
Republicans don’t believe that this is as good as it gets; that we can do better than this. We don’t have to accept that today’s problems are going to last forever – we can solve them. We can progress.
You tell me which party’s full of optimists.
