Mark Twain in our lands
Dear Hank,
I wonder what Mark Twain would say if he were alive today. I’ve been studying him a bit recently and so forgive me Mr. Twain if I channel you a bit here, but I do think he’d recall a conversation he probably would have had with a Mr. X.
Mr. X doesn’t like the government much and he believes that if the government would just get out of the way and let people go about their business we’d all be a lot better off.
His latest rant is about health care and why is the government getting involved? Why not let insurance companies compete across state lines then we could all pick from a multitude of plans and get the cheapest one. If the government would just get out of he way.
I asked Mr. X if he thought that would get everybody health care coverage in this country and he said he didn’t know. But if the government would just let the companies compete across state lines ... I interrupted him and asked if he believed in states rights and of course he said yes. So I asked him why he thought a person in New York would be better off getting their health care from a company housed in North Dakota. He said he didn’t and why would I say such a thing?
Well, I said, as soon as you let companies cross state lines they’ll all go to the state that gives them the best deal to operate out of. In the case of credit card companies that’s either North Dakota or Delaware, and they’re witches in Delaware. I asked him if he was so naive as to believe that the health care companies would stay operating in each state where they currently were. He said he hadn’t thought about it but he didn’t like these damn government socialists telling us what to do.
I agreed whole heartedly and asked him if his social security check had come on time and he said yes and was worried as to whether they were going to give him his cost of living adjustment or not. I shook my head and said I didn’t know. I asked him how he liked his Medicare and he said it was fine once he got the paperwork straightened out but the clerks at the office were real friendly not like his old insurance company where he could only speak to a machine or someone in India.
I asked him if he knew that Medicare got started because the insurance companies would not give health care to old people except at exorbitant prices. He seemed not to know that little fact. I asked him why he thought the insurance companies would do a better job if left alone to do their job. Wouldn’t they just cherry pick the healthy people and leave the sickies off the roles? He said he hadn’t thought about any of that and in fact didn’t believe it either. He called me a commie and said we should pull out of the U.N. that the economy was going to ruins and it was the government’s fault and that we needed to cut spending and we might have to march on Washington with our guns loaded and force a change.
I told him I thought he was a real patriot and that I noticed the army surplus store was selling tri-corner hats, but I doubted they were from the revolution - probably a knock-off from China.
He nodded sagely and said well what are you going to do?
Me? I countered. I believe all go home and clean my weapons and check my five year can supply in my bomb shelter.
He said that was a good idea because who knows how soon everything will come crashing down around our ears and we have to be prepared.
I couldn’t agree more I told him. In fact, before I checked my can supply I told him I thought I’d water my heirloom vegetable patch.
Yeah, good idea he said. Stupidity, he said, there’s no accounting for it.
No there isn’t, I replied.
We parted and he sauntered off with a certain lift to his step. I think he was headed to that army surplus store.
All the best, the tomatoes are coming in.
Bryce
