OUR "HAMBURGER HELPER" HEALTH CARE MOMENT?

As a college student living in Chico I remember when I casually invited a female friend to dinner at my apartment. Nothing special. She was my roommate's friend too so it was just a regular dinner. As per our usual effort we made whatever we had. That night it was Hamburger Helper. Yum.

When our guest arrived I could tell immediately she was thinking something entirely different. Much different. Perhaps a ribeye steak? Ooops.

Whatever it was, it was obvious her expectations were a bit more upscale. She diplomatically told us that she had "eaten earlier" and was "not that hungry." Ouch.

This is kind of like how I feel what's been delivered by our Congress on health care over the past six months. Many of us expected much more and have had our expectations down-graded from single-payer to a public option, to a trigger, and so on ... the health care equivalent of being served Hamburger Helper.

Incredibly, if early reports on last night's health care "agreement" are any indication, we might not even get that. Like Clark Griswold at Uncle Eddie's barbecue in National Lampoon's Vacation, it's possible we might be getting Uncle Eddie's Hamburger Helper, passed off as health care reform ...



I haven't read the bill yet. So I hope I'm wrong. But the way the Democratic Party has been caving in to both the health care industry and Republican Party demands, I wouldn't be surprised to see "Uncle Eddie's Hamburger Helper" served up on our health care menu. Yum ...

Stay tuned.

- Mark