Charles Rowley's Blog

Last week, presidential candidate – dare I now say erstwhile presidential candidate – Newt Gingrich, attacked Paul Ryan’s proposal for reforming Medicare  using the nasty  rhetoric that Ryan’s proposal represents ’right-wing social engineering’. In reality, Gingrich was displaying political cowardice of the first order, a cowardice that should disqualify him forever from any political career in a self-respecting constitutional republic:

“Entitlement reform is the hardest challenge in politics, which is one reason we oppose all new entitlements.  But Republicans now tempted to retreat at the first smell of cordite need to understand that they are taking even larger political and policy risks than Mr. Ryan is.  The Medicare status quo of even two years ago, much less 20, is irretrievably gone, and anyone pining for its return is merely making President Obama’s vision of government-run health care inevitable.”  Editorial, ‘Republicans and Mediscare’, The Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2011

The Medicare reality is outlined in the recently-released Report of the Medicare Trustees.  The Report clearly shows that the program’s finances have deteriorated even over the last 12 months.  Medicare is now carrying $24.6 trillion in unfunded liabilities through 2085.  Even this projection ‘does not represent a reasonable expectation for actual program operations’ (chief actuary, Richard Foster).

The Medicare problem cannot be resolved through tax increases, since the program’s costs are increasing by several orders of magnitude faster than the economy as a whole.  Some form of rationing, therefore, is inevitable. 

Under Obamacare, a 15-member unelected board, would impose the rationing. This board would be empowered to set prices for doctors, hospitals and other providers, driving some suppliers and some services out of the market entirely. It would be empowered to regulate how services are provided and to determine what government will or will not pay for. Individuals would have no right to supplement their medical purchases, as long as they continued to utilize the Medicare program. As is always the case, such a powerful non-market program would be riddled with corruption as the politically-privileged gained differential access to its services.

Representative Paul Ryan has responded with a market-based ‘premium support’ alternative. Seniors would receive a fixed-dollar subsidy from the government to expend among a range of competing private insurance options. Higher support subsidies would be made to the poor and to the chonically sick. All individuals would be free to supplement their support premiums, should they so wish. In such circumstances, consumers would be encouraged to make cost-conscious choices with respect to their health care and insurers and providers would be encouraged to compete in terms of health-care value and quality.

Of course, a reform proposal of this magnitude bears with it a high political risk. The GOP-controlled House of Representatives had the courage to bear that risk when endorsing Paul Ryan’s proposal.  If the GOP now retreats from this courageous position, as Newt Gingrich demands for his own political safety, the road will be paved for the Obamacare disaster”

The political forces unleashed by Obamacare will grow unimpeded if Republicans now retreat from offering an alternative.  Once the White House’s efforts to limit costs by fiat fail – as they inevitably will – liberals will turn to even harsher controls.  This future is already emerging in post-Mitt Romney Massachusetts, and also in Vermont, which wants to move to single government payer.” ibid.

By his self-serving cowardice, Newt Gingrich has struck a dangerous blow against market-based reform for Medicare.  Focus your attentions on your third wife, Mr. Ex-Speaker, pay off your reputed half million debt to Tiffany & Co., for who-knows what bauble that you acquired,  and for what purpose, and leave the 2012 presidential elections to true leaders  imbued with the courage and statesmanship to serve the People well.  The GOP could do much worse than to turn its attentions to Paul Ryan, who has already demonstrated in spades the courage and foresight that you so clearly lack, and an ability to strike down President Obama is a widely-televised debate over the then-controversial  Obamacare bill.