Al-Qaeda vs. The American Health Insurance System
| Al-Qaeda | American Insurance Industry | |
| Type of Organization | International Terrorism | Health Care Funding (Allegedly) and Domestic Terrorism |
| Ideology | Islamic Fundamentalism | Free-market Fundamentalism |
| American Casualties Inflicted Per Year | Highly variable. 3K in 2001, far less in recent years. | 45,000 per year, according to Harvard study (1) |
| Governmental Response to American Losses | War against two nations, one of which had no significant involvement with Al-Qaeda. Enormous resulting death tolls, including at least 600k in Iraq. (2) | Extensive bailout of insurers with legislation written by a former Wellpoint executive. (3) Thirty million new customers delivered to private insurers (4), along with compulsory purchase of their products under threat of severe financial penalties. (5) Enforced by the Internal Revenue Service. |
| Democratic Party’s Response to American Losses | Wholehearted capitulation to war until disastrous planning and lack of focus made it politically unpopular. Afterward, half-hearted and ineffectual resistance to said policy until election of Democratic President, at which point wholehearted capitulation resumed. | Wholehearted capitulation to insurance industry demands. No Medicare buy-in. No drug reimportation. No national rate review board. No single payer. Millions of new customers delivered to the mostly private system that destroyed American healthcare and kills 45,000 Americans annually. |
1) http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/harvard-medical-study-links-lack-of-insurance-to-45000-us-deaths-a-year/
2) http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/11/iraq.deaths/
3) http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/12/0082740
4) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/oct/26/claire-mccaskill/who-is-allowed-health-insurance-exchange/
5) http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/09/if-private-health-insurance-companies-are-evil-why-are-you-forcing-me-to-be-a-customer/
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