Life As It Goes By

I know I know. I am kinda’ late in talking about this piece of news: President Obama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as announced on 9th October 2009. Double happiness for the president, now that the healthcare bill has been passed through as well (not surprisingly to know). There were mixed reactions around the world on President’s winning of the Prize. There seemed to be 205 nominees for this award in this year (according to some Google search results). I really like the facts from the Wikipedia’s write-up. So if it’s true, President Obama not only becomes the first U.S. president who is a black by race, but also the first to win a Nobel Prize in his first year of term. I can offer my congratulations, sincerely.

Yet, I think there is still more to offer from the Nobel Prize winner. Let’s not forget that we are still in the early stages of a big change coming. As we begin to see the big plans being laid by the US government, we have to step up and move the implementation forward in order to see the effects of the change. There is no guarantee on the effects. There got to be good and bad ones: a mixture to be exact. It’s only the strength of which will topple the balance on the whole. Early victories for the Obama administration don’t warant total victory. All’s well that ends well.

The world is watching closely for sure. Now, many countries are starting to bet big on the few big things the Americans are on: energy, financial reform and healthcare. Not that they are the first to enforce these, they can provide the momentum much needed and perhaps the technical prowess required for the job. It’s true that more nations are giving or having international problems such as nuke threat, terrorism and natural disasters. This isn’t very much different from what we have with any other US presidents.

A couple of weeks (actually a month now… when published) ago, I came across this interesting, NY Times article,  “Roosevelt: The Great Divider“, by Jean Edward Smith. I have a mixed feeling for the author’s thoughts. I can sense his desperation in convincing President Obama to follow the steps of President Roosevelt, one of the greatest leader ever (if not, comparable to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, in my opinion), to execute the health reforms. I agree with him that the healthcare reform that Mr Obama is pushing now is something worthy of a serious consideration. We all know that medical bills (in future) are one of the reasons why we buy health insurance. Since we no longer can fully trust insurance companies after this financial crisis, it’s time to re-think why we need to pay huge medical bills. Another explanation is, of course, less and less people can afford the insurance for even basic coverage. It is such a high regard Jean had for President Obama that he tried to draw line between Obama and Roosevelt, not charismatic Clinton or Reagan.

I was actually rushing for an article before 4th July this year to review team Obama’s efforts so far but I couldn’t find sufficient strong points to complete the task. The financial bailout funds worked like wonders (though the decision behind which companies to be saved remains debatable). The energy reform creates a whole, new momentum to the industry and something that the rest of the world do look up to. Legal reforms such as equal pay bill and tobacco bill can be seen on and off. This is really the first time the Republicans manage to put a halt on team Obama’s reforms (thanks to Bush). This is pretty attributed by the same factors that kept everyone of us so disturbed in the beginning of the year. Stock markets have almost recovered in most parts of the world. World trade is also picking up pace. However, the people who voted for the Democrats last November are still jobless. They seem to be the last problem that the government would want to solve.

At the same time, there are already accusations that the culture of team Obama tends to be a corrupted one. The number of reviews rose sharply to 405. There used to be a balance between the 5 stars and 1 star reviews but now the general poll shows that most people are on the side of the author. And yet there is still no one who would stand out to deny all these. If silence were to be the chosen way to deal with this, then 2 totally different outcomes would be expected. At the moment, the moment of truth seems to be with the accusations.

However, the 1,000 page Health Reform Bill (sorry, I have not read it) is built on a fundamental “feel good” intention. It is a solution to existing problems. So, there can’t be anything seriously wrong at the root. Perhaps like what the Republicans debated, the fine prints or inflexible details given in the Bill are indeed questionable. It is not my job to proceed with these arguments. My take is this: health costs are always on the rise; doctors and qualified nurses are always in short supply; new and more illnesses will surface. So, suppressing these costs while meeting the demand is a noble idea. Implementation is definitely many times tougher than the plan itself. This is very different from the financial crisis. By dumping a huge sum of funds to flood the areas in drought, you can save the fishes and vegetation. The healthcare problems, I feel, deserve a different approach.

I have seen protestors in the news expressing that their health should be their concern, not the government’s. I beg to differ. The government looks after the whole range of people, not just the capable ones. Basically, we can divide them into 3 sections: low, middle and high. If it is a money problem, then those in the high end will have no issue. As for the middle class, it pretty much depends on their own makings. Though they can be as independent, there remain some others who are reliant on the government support. Without question, those in the low end are pretty much in the focus of this reform. Of course, the bill is also targeted at the middle class who are the majority. Not only that, it takes care of another urgent problem of developed nations: aging. Baby boomers are living longer with more healthcare needs. If the young is not enough to support 1 or 2 of their elders, it will be the responsibility of the government. This is a tricky issue for everyone. I can only think of technological or medical breakthrough as a way out (this could be where the funds will go).

In the end, it takes me 2 to 3 weeks to complete this article (could be outdated now). I can imagine the amount of debates, brainstorming, experiences, and “expert” opinions required on this topic. It’s never easy to keep doing something that has failed again and again. Going back each time will be harder. Good luck!