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Arrogance of the elites
Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, Page 8
After reading Hsu Shih-jung¡¦s (®}¥@ºa) opinion piece, it occurred to me that a
similar event is happening in the US as well (¡§Experts vs the people: democracy
in jeopardy,¡¨ March 17, page 8). President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) is hellbent on
signing an economic cooperation framework agreement while US President Barack
Obama is equally determined in ramming through sweeping changes in healthcare.
While the people in Taiwan are supportive of a vibrant economy and the people in
the US want to see improvements in healthcare delivery, both heads of state have
gone far beyond their constituents¡¦ comfort zone.
The concern for the majority in Taiwan is that its sovereignty will be lost if
its economy is overly influenced by China, while the majority of Americans
either don¡¦t want or have concerns about government taking on a significantly
greater role in their healthcare. Ma wants to cut a closed door deal with China
without giving Taiwanese the option of a referendum. Obama wants to pass
healthcare legislation with ¡§50 percent plus one vote.¡¨ What both of them fail
to realize is that on issues with major societal ramifications, a broad
supermajority consensus is preferable, maybe even required. While they both have
comfortable majorities in the legislative branch, neither of them has that broad
public support.
What is really sad is that both men are traveling around their respective
countries in a futile attempt to convince the public that their expert opinions
should override any concerns. The arrogant ¡§just trust me¡¨ or ¡§you will
assimilate¡¨ sales tactics simply won¡¦t work. As Hsu said, in this age of easily
accessible information, the elite cannot simply ignore a well informed public.
Those who go against the wishes of their people on major issues risk being
removed from office either by vote or by force.
CARL CHIANG
Richmond, California
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