Washington, D.C.--During a recent health care forum, President Obama defended his plan for a government-run health care option by comparing it to the U.S. Postal Service, which co-exists with FedEx and UPS. And today, Obama assured voters they had nothing to fear from a giant new medical bureaucracy by appointing as its head a former mail worker with a reputation for “strong-willed determination.”“Bernie Lang is a twenty-year veteran of the U.S. Post Office and a ten-year veteran of the U.S. prison system,” said Obama of his new appointee. “As such, Bernie’s intimately familiar with the problems associated with large government-run organizations, and he knows how to cut through red tape. Even if it means going postal.”
In his own remarks, Mr. Lang noted that ”a government-run organization can be a frustrating place to work.” But he added that during his time in the U.S. Postal Service “when push came to shove, I had my Mauser BK-27 autocannon. I hope to bring that same leadership style to the federal health commission. It’s often the only way to get attention in a huge federal agency.”
Administration officials acknowledged the postal service has a monopoly on the delivery of first-class mail as well as the benefit of massive taxpayer subsidies, but still customers face long lines and the service can’t turn a profit, even while people are sending fewer messages through the mail. Even so, they said, “Our mail delivery system can serve as a model for health care, as long as we have someone like Mr. Lang at the helm who knows how to channel the rage generated by vast unresponsive agencies.”
Associated article and video: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/08/11/obamacare-the-post-office-of-health-care-plans/
