Who could not be amused by the picture of Congress streaming down the steps of the Capitol in route to Reagan National Airport? A much needed vacation after working intensely for three days, they suddenly found themselves facing airport delays because of the problem with the air traffic controllers being laid off. The public had been wailing about it since the onset of “The Sequestration,” but it didn’t seem important to do anything about it until they needed to catch their flights.
Of course the Republicans blamed the Democrats, the Democrats blamed the Republicans, and the President blamed them both. Al Gore probably blamed global warming
Two points are important. First, everyone has known this was coming for months, yet Congress did nothing to implement the changes they themselves had mandated to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” Remember that quaint phrase which invoked threats of Armageddon just a few months ago? Now that we are reaping the benefits of their inaction, it is an excellent opportunity to blame someone else.
Second, despite all the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, until we are personally affected, it is someone else’s problem. One cannot help but wonder if Congress wasn’t using the airlines this past weekend, would they have applied the band aid to the ATC problem. The most prescient remark came from Senator John McCain when he said, “At least now I won’t have to wear a disguise at the airport.”
We are all guilty of similar tunnel vision. Until we personally are inconvenienced, then we are more than happy to rant and rave, then blame someone else. When it’s my ox then something must be done!
I suspect many have had the experience of opening an EOB (Estimate of Benefits) from your insurance carrier and wondering what all the cryptic codes meant. It had to do with a visit to a doctor or hospital that much was clear but trying to figure out what actually had been done and who was going to pay for it is another matter. Having learned that the codes cannot be easily deciphered we skip to the bottom line which says “You may owe the provider . . .” The proper entry we want to see is $0.00. It’s my ox that’s getting the horn if there is an actual dollar amount in that space. I am incensed that it’s going to cost me something after all the money I put into premiums.
Now we are all aware that health care in America is the most expensive in the world and that it ranks not even in the top 10 of nations who supply the best care. It is a legitimate complaint that we are spending too much for too little but don’t ask for any sacrifices from me. Cut someone else’s coverage; let them pay out of pocket, but not me.
Everyone wants things to be better, on that we can all agree. It’s human nature for us to want to be exempt from the problem. We feel that was as individuals, as corporations, and as a nation. But to make the sacrifices required, then it becomes another matter. We are committed for someone else to do it. I recently saw a license plate that summed it up: ME B4 U.
Until we get rid of that sort of thinking, from Congress right down to ordinary people like you and me, and are willing to face the hard facts that we have been on an unsustainable fiscal path for decades, then we will continue the slide into mediocrity.
It’s all our oxen and we need to acknowledge that. One wonders whether we have the individual or national courage to endorse the changes needed. Maybe we should be on the lookout for a license plate that reads ALL 4 US.
– Hayden Hollingsworth