seventy-first (tuesdays with big brother)

For anyone out there who might be sitting on the edge of their seat, biting their fingernails in wonder over what my political position might be on any myriad of issues, let me clue you in right now: I don't trust the government.  Sounds pretty badass, huh?  Yeah, well, wait until you get this next bit: I don't give a damn about your welfare.

The fact of the matter is that the government's job should be to provide for and protect any constitutional rights afforded to the average American citizen.  No more, no less.
Luckily, I don't run America.

In fact, I can barely run my own schedule at the office, let alone any sort of government position.  So, please stop with the fingernail biting, you folks in the back, because my opinion is unimportant in the scheme of things.

However, maintaining a healthy budget in a state such as California actually is important - and apparently Governor Schwarzenegger couldn't give a damn either way.

And, while I like those warm and fuzzy feelings that everyone gets whenever a politician starts throwing around phrases like 'affordable health care', the sad reality of it is that 'affordable health care' isn't a guaranteed constitutional right.  That is, it's not the government's job to provide it for me, or for anyone else.  Furthermore, in a border state such as this, one of the main reasons that health care is so damned unfordable is because of the massive number of people who are here illegally who either choose not to insure their families, or simply cannot afford to do so.  As it stands, the cost of a decent health insurance plan is unusually high in this state because uninsured individuals (read: illegal aliens) have no choice but to haul themselves to the emergency room every time that they need medical attention.  Then, when hospitals are legally required to treat them regardless of their ability to pay for the services rendered, these uninsured people can't afford (or don't attempt to) pay off the bill.  At this point, the hospital is forced to make a choice - either close-down and stop providing services, or raise prices so that the remainder of their clientèle, those who are paying their bills, shoulder the burden of keeping the hospital in business.
The way to solve this problem: start enforcing laws that punish employers who encourage illegals to enter the country, start deporting and enforcing immigration laws, and stop enacting legislation that only further entices people to cross-over illegally.

As it is, Schwarzenegger has no interest in such a solution because that's not how you win votes in California.  You win votes here by pulling heart strings and pandering to people with promises to insure all the poor children in the state, regardless of the choices that their parents may have made in raising them here.

What really should prove interesting is how this new health care plan is implemented - everything I've read so far suggests that the ones bearing the main burden in costs is going to be businesses who employ more than ten people.  Again, on the surface this may seem like an appropriate place to start putting pressure to pay for health care - but who ever said that it was your employers job to insure you and your family?  Since when was my employer responsible for the health of my children?
That's not to even mention the effect that this might have on business in the state.

Oh, Ah-nold, it's going to be an interesting four years with you, isn't it?