The euro had the effect of bringing down transaction costs, but mostly it was intended to be a symbol of the inevitable progress of the EU towards “ever closer union.” As a result, when it became clear around 2010 that the euro was actually reducing growth and splitting the EU between north and south, the leadership logically should have gotten rid of it. But nooooooo! Having invested so much political capital in the creation of the euro, the leadership decided that saving it was an end in itself, even if doing so would defeat its original purposes. And so the euro stumbles on today as a reminder of what could have been, but isn’t.
The story of AHCA is somewhat similar. The bill doesn’t decrease the number of uninsured or reduce medical costs. It leaves the entitlement in place, thereby offending the HFC, but reduces its value, except for wealthy people. Poll after poll shows that it is a political disaster for the GOP. It almost certainly can’t pass the Senate in anything like its current form. And for all this, Trump and Ryan are determined to force a vote later today.
Why? There is only one reason. Trump sold himself to the American people as a dealmaker and a winner. Having foolishly attached his name to the bill instead of staying above the fray and letting Ryan twist in the wind, he thinks he has to have a victory in order to maintain his credibility with the public, to say nothing of his mighty self-esteem. Never mind what the bill actually does to Trump’s core supporters, or the rest of the American people; the objective, pure and simple, is to be able to declare victory.
That’s pathetic.