Jack Nicholson was perfect in the role of the superbly arrogant Marine Col. Jessup in the movie, “A Few Good Men.” The movie depicting perfectly the consequences of power that seems to so easily slide into universally distasteful arrogance. And, as we have seen all too often, it seems to slip effortlessly from a simple condition of arrogance into one of corruption, self-destruction, and finally — chaos.
Here in Vicksburg we need to look no further than our past city administration as a perfect example. Sadly, in today’s world, arrogance has become all too common. Even some of our religious leaders are not immune to its clutches anymore than the rest of us. Therefore, it is recognized as a human frailty that each of us must watch for and guard against.
Having said all that, let’s look at the most egregious and sad occurrence of arrogance currently being played out on our political stage: The key player on this case is a full Professor of Economics at one of our most prestigious colleges, the Massachusetts’ Institute of Technology.
Professor Jonathan Gruber has been there since 2003 in his current position. He’s gained great prominence and has written a good deal about his profession. We only recently have learned that he was paid $400,000 of our tax dollars to aid in authoring and advising during the instituting of Obama’s Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
All those needing to interpret this act universally agree that it is overly long, extremely difficult to interpret and understand — let alone institute into our everyday lives. Most of us like myself, go along naively, figuring the thousands of pages of undecipherable legalese is just par for the course in Washington. And yes, the media generally goes along as well.
A reporter somewhere began reporting on Professor Gruber’s speeches that began to appear as he was making four different TV appearances.
Here’s some of what he was saying: “A lack of transparence was crucial to passing Obamacare through Congress in 2010 given the ‘stupidity of the American voter.’”
Or this one, “This bill was written in a fractured way to make sure the Congressional Budget Office did not score the mandate as taxes”. Of course it was the largest tax increase ever perpetrated on the American people — and the Supreme Court approved it. Much of what he said was along the same vein.
That we have been conned once again by our politicians here in America is no longer news. What truly hurts though is that it was done by one we call our teacher — and not just a teacher, but the highest ranking professorship carrying the highly valued Ph.D. moniker with it. That it came from one of our most valued and looked-up-to colleges, MIT, hurts even more. So this is what our kids are being taught and the example being set before them? Now I am worried.
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Al Lundin lives in Vicksburg.