Home » Writing & Publishing » Research Tools » Harry and Louise Revisited

Harry and Louise Revisited

© Glenn Hameroff

Back in 1993, the American people were exposed to one of the most expensive television ad campaigns ever waged regarding a proposed government course of action. Without any indication of sponsorship we were introduced to Harry and Louise, a middle class couple discussing all the health benefits they stood to lose under the Clinton plan for universal coverage. The commercials were effectively crafted to make you feel that you were sitting with them in the kitchen and not once did it dawn upon the audience to question the objectivity of Harry and Louise's dire predictions. The Clinton plan failed. (The Harry and Louise Show- http://www.salon.com/health/log/2000/01/... )

This campaign season there is a commercial involving a crowded tour bus and the announcer says do we want a replication of the Canadian health system? He follows up by indicating that the bus is full of Canadians coming to the United States to get their medical treatment. What are these Canadians trying to tell us about their government sponsored single payer system?

Why does our FCC allow anonymous commercials to be aired? The commercial is shown frequently enough to generate a slight spin on the issue of how best to manage scarce medical resources. The spin plays a role in developing American attitudes toward a crucial policy question and we do not know who is behind them. The IRS even provides tax exemptions for these anonymous lobby groups. Section 527 of the U.S. Tax Code allows these secret groups to funnel all this money into commercials (Issue Ads) as long as they do not support or oppose a particular candidate. These groups are not restricted by limits on their spending, gift taxes or public filing of tax returns.

This situation would not bother me in the least if Americans consistently demonstrated high levels of visual literacy or a profound sense of skepticism coupled with a persistent willingness to search out the truth. In addition, our collective memory seems to be measured in nano-seconds. The ultimate fear that Harry and Louise projected was that under a single payer program some government bureaucrat was going to decide what level of healthcare you would be entitled to receive. If we look back at the last eight years, some bureaucrat at one of 1500 health insurance providers has made the decision as to what level of healthcare you would receive. Their micro-management has even extended to providing physicians with a list of generic drugs that must be prescribed.