The Labor Day Blues (James Howard Kunstler)

[Tace]

James Howard Kunstler -- World News Trust

Sept. 7, 2009 -- One national moment-of-nausea this Labor Day weekend struck Sunday morning, when CNN's John King led off his 10 a.m. State of the Union show with a valentine to ABC's Diane Sawyer, on her becoming anchor of that network's evening news. (This was the most important news of the week???) The old legacy networks have taken on the role of dishing out reassurance to an anxious and insecure public as job number one, and the subtext of the Sawyer lede was that a Mommy figure would soon be in place to soothe the multitudes even as the nation free-falls into bankruptcy and disorder. This is supposed to be a counterpoint to the chorus of smug, braying rabble-rousers who inflame the crowds on Fox News and MSNBC, and CNBC -- the Glen Becks and Keith Olbermans and Dennis Kneales -- who work the anger regions of the brain.

The inherent conflicts arise from a nation that simply cannot bring itself to try getting its house in order. Instead of adult leadership, we prefer good parent / bad parent therapy -- a psychodrama of alternating messages of reassurance and punishment that provides distraction from problems and conundrums too horrible to face. One unfortunate result is the evaporating legitimacy of anyone or anything in authority, and that is extremely dangerous at a time like this because it creates the perfect opportunity for the rise of a corn-pone Hitler who will beat a path straight into a national ordeal-by-fire, and make everybody feel better by telling them clearly what to do.

President Obama rolls out his much-awaited message on health care reform to a joint session of congress this week after a summer of chaotic and often mendacious debate. The system now running is so unjust and ruinous that a citizenry unmedicated by psychotropic drugs would have burned down the insurers by now (and perhaps torched their doctors' BMWs). As a tactical matter, the best Mr. Obama can do about the "public option" is to endorse it while kicking the can down the road, since the stark insolvency of the U.S. treasury obviates any real ability to make it happen.

But I believe the public would be greatly appeased (and helped!) by legislation that achieved a few simple ends: 1.) Clearly and absolutely outlaw insurers canceling policy contracts under any circumstances. 2.) Outlaw denial-of-care tactics. 3.) Outlaw campaign contributions by lobbyists, period. If Obama can present these items front-and-center, he can then point to congress and tell the nation that they can hold them responsible for their plight. Other urgent health care reforms could be subject to regulation rather than legislation. For example, medical care is not "competitive" in any meaningful sense; people with severe problems and illnesses are not comparable to "consumers" comparison shopping for flat-screen TVs. The truth is, they are hostages to their local hospitals and the specialists they are referred to. The ridiculous prices charged for everything from aspirins to tests to cotton swabs to time occupying a hospital room ought to be subject to review, and procedures can be set up to accomplish this, with severe fines for abusers. Personally, I'd charge the FCC with returning to its policy of banning drug advertising on TV.

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