The GOP Has Learned From George Orwell

George Orwell taught us about the ways in which politicians distort language to serve their political purposes.  They are able to distort language to the point that what we think is up is really down.  The GOP was successful in the 2010 elections by telling senior citizens that Obamacare was going to cut Medicare and that it would use death panels to limit medical services to seniors.  Paul Ryan introduced a plan that would drastically change Medicare.  His plan was passed by the GOP House of Representatives.  Medicare would be replaced by a system in which vouchers are distributed to seniors that can be used to purchase health insurance.  Ryan claims that this is just like the healthcare plan that Congress has.  He leaves out an important difference, however.  The vouchers that are provided to Congress increase in value at the rate of healthcare price inflation.  The vouchers that would be provided to senior citizens would increase at the general inflation rate which has been well below the healthcare inflation rate.  In other words, the burden of healthcare inflation would be shifted from government to seniors.

The GOP has revived its successful campaign against Obamacare by repeating the lies that worked in 2010. They claim that Obamacare will reduce Medicare by $500 billion.  This article explains why that claim is false and it shows how the Ryan plan will reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion by using the voucher system.  George Orwell understood why the GOP plan is effective.  They confuse the public with false information and it takes considerable effort to educate the public on complex subjects.  Even this article, which was in the right direction, is not the best way to educate the public.  It takes the general position that both sides distort information.