The Liberty Intrigue

by Tom Grace

  “All Americans have a right to affordable healthcare. Greedy corporations, on the other hand, exist solely for profit and are not motivated by their social responsibility. It is the duty of government to step in and reorient the priorities of our nation’s healthcare system.

  “Where my administration has not been as successful as I would have liked is in our effort to educate the American people about the benefits these reforms will have on their day-to-day lives. We have to do a better job of getting the message out. I remain confident that as more elements of the healthcare reforms come on line, the fears raised against the reforms will be proved ignorant rhetoric and not reality.”

  “Mr. Egan, your question,” Redmond said.

  “Messaging, Mr. President?” Egan asked wryly. “The problem your administration has in winning the support of the American people for the healthcare reforms isn’t PR. It’s BS.”

  The audience and even Redmond couldn’t suppress a chuckle at the remark.

  “The healthcare reforms that Congress created and the President signed into law promise a bureaucratic behemoth the likes of which our nation has never seen, coupled with a decrease in both the quality and quantity of healthcare services. There is nothing wrong with the system we enjoyed before these crippling reforms that could have been fixed at the doctor-patient level.

  “The public’s skepticism over this monumental piece of legislation is twofold. First, it puts a government bureaucrat in the position to decide the quality and even the duration of our lives. The British system, on which these reforms were modeled, rations healthcare and denies life-extending treatment to people that an actuarial table deems a poor investment of healthcare dollars. This is wrong. This is immoral.

  “Second, when has the government ever provided a good or service better than what can be found in the free market? The profit motive creates the drive to find the most efficient balance of the three things that every consumer wants—quality, efficiency, and cost. The government simply lacks the motivation to provide us with the best healthcare at the best price because they tax the money out of our wallets before we’re even sick. Government is not a solution to our healthcare problem—government is our healthcare problem.

  “The employer-based healthcare system we have today is an unintended consequence of government intervention in the free market—specifically the wage and price controls enacted by the government under FDR. In order to compete for workers, businesses began offering healthcare benefits in lieu of wages. This was the first step in disrupting the efficient balance of the healthcare free market because it made consumers indifferent to costs. The root cause of skyrocketing healthcare costs is the lack of a free and open market for these services, and the President’s healthcare reforms only worsen the situation.

  “Fixing this problem is fairly simple. We start by scrapping both the healthcare reform law and the employer-based system, and restore a marketplace where the person receiving the service is involved in the payment for that service. The government does not coerce, but rather encourages each individual citizen to establish a health savings account. The encouragement is in the form of a financial incentive that guarantees a minimum return on investment for money placed in these accounts. From these accounts, individuals can then choose to purchase catastrophic health insurance and pay directly for routine medical services— all from the free market.

  “These accounts start the day you’re born and stay with you for the rest of your life. Any money left in your account after you die goes to your heirs, like any other asset. And since it’s not tied to a job, it’s totally portable. In a free market, healthcare costs will drop with the more efficient flow of money and services between healthcare consumers and providers. It’s a fix that puts the matter squarely in the hands of the least centralized competent authority—the individual.”

  “Your reforms put the entire system in the control of the greedy corporations that are causing the problem,” the President railed. “It’s this kind of lockstep, right-wing ideology that got us into this economic mess.”

  “Is there a question in there, Mr. President?” Egan asked.

  “You plan to scrap everything and start over with individuals buying their own insurance. Doesn’t that put the insurance companies in the driver’s seat, picking and choosing only the healthiest customers and denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions? Isn’t your freemarket solution fundamentally unfair to the vast majority of Americans?”

  “Quite the contrary,” Egan replied, “and I refer you and anyone else who wants the details of this proposal to my website. As to your specific question, Mr. President, there would be an initial period in which the private healthcare companies would have to take on all applicants regardless of any preexisting medical conditions. The government would assist the healthcare insurers in maintaining a minimum level of profitability during the early years of this reform—we won’t cap how much they can make, just guarantee they won’t take a loss due to customers with expensive medical conditions.

  “The idea is to encourage universal participation in the savings accounts and in acquiring catastrophic insurance. And we expect the tax rebate every citizen will receive each year should cover most, if not all, of that expense. This will help make the decision to acquire adequate coverage a no-brainer.

  “The United States will enjoy a robust, free market for healthcare and the budgets of federal and state governments will enjoy significant financial relief once freed of this onerous entitlement.”

  “It is time for your closing remarks, gentlemen,” Redmond announced. “I thank you both for a substantive debate of the issues before the American voters this year. Mr. President, the floor is yours.”

  “Thank you, Dale,” the President said. “The value of these debates in educating and informing the voting public cannot be underestimated. They are an essential part of our election process.

  “The journey that we as a nation began on my first day in office has been a difficult one, but we knew that rebuilding the shattered dreams of America on a foundation more sound and fair, a foundation more inclusive and diverse, a foundation set atop the granite bedrock of our universal belief in a nation where we are judged solely by the content of our character would not be easy.

  “With all the progress we’ve made over this difficult road, we cannot afford to turn back, to return to the failed policies of yesterday. I have cleared the wreckage of the previous administration, plowed the still-fertile soil of America, and planted a new crop that only now is bursting up with new green shoots. I delivered on my promise for bold changes in the ways our country worked, but most have barely begun to take effect.

  “The choice could not be more clear. My opponent offers us reruns of a disaster we have no desire to relive. I offer the promise of new ideas and the vision we deserve for a better tomorrow.”

  “And your closing remarks, Mr. Egan,” Redmond said.

  “The people of this nation have been statistically sliced and diced in about as many ways as one can imagine—by race, age, gender, ethnicity, faith, income, geography. We are all hyphenated Americans of one kind or another, and this hyper-sorting of the voting public aids the efforts of political strategists in the electoral equivalent of divide and conquer.

  “In truth, the only relevant distinction that needs to be drawn between Americans at election time is by class. Country Class,” Egan said, holding up the palm of his right hand. Then he drew up his left. “And Ruling Class.

  “Ruling class elites dominate national politics and populate elective offices and bureaucracies around the country. The ruling class operates like a machine whose sole purpose is to increase its power. The rest of us are the country class. The ruling class—which includes the President— are all OPM addicts.”

  Egan pronounced the acronym as “opium.”

  “I object to such a slanderous statement,” the President interjected. “I demand an immediate apology for your unfounded remark.”

/>   “If you would let me continue, Mr. President, the substance I’m referring to is far more seductive and potent that any narcotic, and it’s perfectly legal. The OPM I’m talking about is Other People’s Money.

  “The members of the ruling class have, as their sole defining characteristic, a disdain for anyone who actually produces anything of value, because they do not. Using the power of government, they lay claim to money that they had no hand in earning and spend it to increase their hold on political power. The crony capitalist friends of the ruling class benefit and the rest of us are punished.

  “The game works something like this—the ruling class divides the country class into two basic camps: makers and takers. The makers are the people who perform productive work and create the wealth of our economy. The takers either work in government or subsist on government handouts—their primary source of income is the redistributed tax dollars of the makers.

  “The goal of the ruling class is to have just enough makers to keep the economy going, but not enough that the makers could vote the ruling class out of power. Our progressive tax system and the federal entitlement structure are designed to create a permanent majority of takers who will vote for the ruling class in perpetuity.

  “This addiction to other people’s money isn’t satisfied with spending the tax dollars of today’s producers; it now devours those of generations yet unborn. And with every dollar of debt and every dollar printed out of thin air, the ruling class pushes this country ever faster toward the abyss of financial collapse. Over the past century, the ruling class has proven itself a poor steward of the economy and those powers that it has usurped should now be returned to the people. Replacing the tax code and restoring the gold standard are two vital steps in curing this disastrous addiction.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

  “See you in two weeks, Mr. President,” Egan said confidently as the two candidates shook hands at the conclusion of the debate.

  Both men chatted for a moment with the moderator before retreating to their respective sides of the stage. In New York, studio anchors took control of the broadcast and immediately began dissecting the debate with their panels of political experts.

  The impeccably dressed First Lady strode onstage and dutifully kissed her husband’s cheek.

  “You did well,” she whispered in his ear.

  “You’re being charitable,” the President replied through clenched teeth. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The President and his wife politely endured an abbreviated meet-and-greet with university dignitaries before making their exit. They found Daniel Page waiting for them in the armored SUV.

  “Talk to me,” the President commanded once the doors were closed.

  “You held your ground,” Page replied, “but lacked bite.”

  “I expected the SOB to come out swinging, but it was almost like Ididn’t matter. Couldn’t fluster the guy.”

  “You played it like a pro,” Page offered. “You are the President and you have to remain above the fray. This is the public’s first opportunity to see you side-by-side and you came off confident and presidential. This debate didn’t cost you anything.”

  “Egan was boring,” the First Lady sighed. “I bet the focus groups lost interest as he droned on and on—especially women. You were far more eloquent and handsome.”

  The President gazed out as his motorcade pulled away from the auditorium. He absently rubbed his left forearm, feeling the fresh scar beneath his jacket and shirt. Nearby, he noticed his opponent’s security detail. Amid the dark SUVs stood Egan’s menacing Humvee.

  “To win this election,” the President said, “we have to get dirty.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  ON AIR

  SEPTEMBER 12

  “Did you see the debate last night?” Denby asked to open his final show of the workweek. “My goodness, what a whupping our dear leader took from a man the sycophant media derides as a backwoods engineer.

  “What we got last night in San Diego was a perfect display of the contrasts between conservatives and whatever the left calls itself these days. Have you noticed that conservatives in this country have never felt the need to rebrand themselves, to attempt to reinvent themselves with a shiny new sobriquet? The word conservative has never become a pejorative like socialist, or liberal, or progressive.

  “And what about this ridiculous crowd of milquetoast ninnies trying to fool voters by pretending they have no label at all. Talk about spineless—it’s like a football team that’s afraid to wear their uniforms. It’s bad enough that you’re all liberals, but you should at least be confident enough in your beliefs to admit that you’re liberals.

  “There’s no doubt what Ross Egan is. And last night he laid out the case for conservatism that would have made the Founders and Honest Abe beam with pride. I haven’t felt this way about a presidential candidate since Ronaldus Magnus went up against that clueless peanut farmer. And not in a generation have the voters been offered so clear a choice.

  “What’s funny is that our friends on the left opine that a vote for a conservative is a vote to go backwards. Let’s see now. A vote for the progressive gets us higher unemployment, higher debt, higher taxes, lower GDP, higher crime rates, lower graduation rates, a weaker military, rising unrest in the world, and a waning superpower status. If going backwards means the opposite of all that rot, then put that transmission into reverse and punch the gas, baby. Pedal to the metal.

  “For those of you looking to score the debate, you need go no further than the Who Is I-ometer that we’ve placed up on the website. While I, your humble host, can provide you with a dazzling qualitative assessment of each candidate’s performance, the Who Is I-ometer objectively determines just how far a candidate strays from objective reality. Ross Egan batted a thousand last night, triggering no objections from Who Is I. The President—not so much.”

  “We’ll be back in a few.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  AIR FORCE ONE

  SEPTEMBER 18

  Daniel Page loitered outside the President’s office aboard Air Force One while the nation’s chief executive conferenced with the Senate majority leader. The President had just completed a grueling swing through the Midwest that mixed official business with campaign stops and fund-raising, before heading to Barcelona for the G20 Summit.

  “Come in,” the President said as he cradled the phone.

  Page closed the door behind him. The President mentally switched gears into candidate mode.

  “How did we do?” the President asked.

  “Press did a decent job covering your speeches, great optics from the factory and solar sites. Your PAC pulled in a few million from the fundraisers. All in all, a productive run into the heartland.”

  “Didn’t feel like it,” the President groused. “Crowds look thinner and less enthusiastic than four years ago.”

  “You were the hot new thing then. The danger of your job is overexposure, and the voters are easily bored. Familiarity breeds contempt.”

  “Any good news?”

  “The Chinese have quietly put a lot of money into an American energy company.”

  “How much?”

  “North of a billion, and there’s no apparent reason why. The company has no advertised product line, no proven field of consulting expertise, and no patent filings on record. It simply sprang into existence at the start of the year and cut a monster deal with Beijing.”

  “Any idea why?” the President asked.

  Page smiled. “The company is Terrafuma Energy, a privately held firm owned by Maya Randell and Ross Egan.”

  “The Chinese have poured a billion dollars into Egan’s pocket?”

  “Looks that way. The bigger question is what are they buying with their money? That flap back in the nineties over campaign contributions by the Chinese nuns pales in comparison to this.”

  The President smiled. “We always suspected Randell was bankrolling Egan’s campaign, but this is better. T
he right has called me a socialist for years, yet their guy is bought and paid for by the People’s Republic of China.”

  “We don’t have any real proof to back that claim,” Page said.

  “There’s an old saw about LBJ spreading a rumor that his opponent for a congressional seat had sex with pigs,” the President said. “When his campaign manager complained that there wasn’t a shred of truth to the charge, Johnston remarked that he just wanted to make the man deny it. It’s the seriousness of the charge that matters, not the facts.”

  “Understood, but with Beijing directly involved, this is a bit stickier than a normal scandal. I know we have to play this card, but we need to be careful how we play it.”

  The President nodded. “Connect the dots as best you can. I have a private meeting with President Xaio in a few days. I think I’ll press him on it. There are consequences to backing my opponent.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  BARCELONA, SPAIN

  SEPTEMBER 21

  The President smiled politely as he and his Chinese counterpart shook hands. The scene was a typical one dutifully played out by various world leaders before the media covering the G20 Summit. The two men sat in identical chairs, a small table set between them with glasses and a carafe of ice water.

  With the greeting fully documented, summit security escorted the press from the room, leaving the two leaders and their translators alone for this private session.

  “President Xaio,” the President began, “I wish to start by offering not just my thanks, but the thanks of future generations around the world who will benefit from your farsighted decision to make China a founding partner in the carbon exchange. This makes our two nations allies in addressing the root causes of man-made climate change, and signals the joint leadership of our two nations in averting the disastrous consequences of unchecked greenhouse gas emissions.”

  “Thank you for your kind words,” Xaio replied through his translator. “Our decision to partner with the United States in the carbon exchange was made in the best interests of not only the Chinese people, but all the world’s people. Our rising position among nations is accompanied by rising responsibilities. The exchange is a well-designed mechanism for effecting the change we desire.”