Some Catholic Bishops Oppose Obamacare for Reasons Other Than Abortion

Kudos to John Allen for writing a good and fair balanced article on this subject. See Midwest prelates raise alarms on health care

He is about the only reason I click on the NCR site. One day CNN or someone is going to scoop him up. My only complaint is how can an entire article not talk about the huge “subsidiarity,” issue and not talk about this horrific proposed IMAC board. One of the Mirrors of Justice contributors that is quoted in this article states :

Susan Stabile, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis who has written extensively on the application of Catholic social teaching to employee benefit programs, said that in principle there’s “absolutely nothing wrong” with appealing to subsidiarity. It’s a useful reminder, she told NCR, that from a Catholic perspective, “the federal government should not be your first-line response to every social problem.”

Nonetheless, she expressed skepticism about its application to the health care debate.
“Subsidiarity means you don’t take away from people the ability to do things they can do on their own,” she said. “But that’s not what’s happening. We have a broken system, and we can’t simply wait around for the states or private entities to get their act together.”

Well that is all fine and good but don't these Independent Medicare Advisory Council, or IMAC concerns that David Broder have mentioned and then Kaus elaborates with a good example - See ABC--Always be Base-Closing! raise huge red flags. Why this part of the bill is not being talked about in Catholic political and legal circles is beyond me.

As Kaus so well states in part:

Hmm. Why isn't a base-closing style commission the solution to every one of our problems? After all, it's logical that the problems our peculiar system of government--featuring a Congress that gives powerful voice to regional and local interests--hasn't yet solved will be precisely the problems that our peculiar system of government is almost incapable of solving. Otherwise they would have been solved already! The solution is a quick suprise switch to a different system of government, featuring powerful judge-like bureaucrats subject only to a broad legislative veto. Trouble imposing energy caps? Base-close it! An Independent Carbon Advisory Commission! If the Midwest objects, let them try to overturn it. Heh, heh. ... Tax code riddled with loopholes? An independent Loophole Closing Commission, empowered to recommend any changes in the tax code as long as they don't result in the collection of less revenue. Immigration? A Comprehensive Regularization Commission, empowered ... well, you get the picture. Always be Base-Closing.

I mean there are all sort of urgent problems here in the nation. Does it justify that!!


Tip of the hat to Mirrors of Justice