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Separate the bill from bull

| March 23, 2010 9:00 PM

Want proof of the wisdom behind words uttered by our Founding Fathers more than three centuries ago? You'll find it every time those words ring true today.

On an electronic petition initiated by the national Tea Party calling for repeal of the health care bill virtually moments after Congress approved it Sunday, a Press reader attached the following quote from Ben Franklin back in 1766:

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."

Who can argue with Ben on that? Certainly not us.

Mr. Franklin would say something else very wise seven years later. He expressed shock and disappointment in some fellow Americans for "carrying Matters to such Extremity, as, in a Dispute about Publick Rights, to destroy private Property."

He was of course referring to the cast of the original Tea Party, the one that occurred on Dec. 16, 1773, in Boston Harbor. That one, you may recall, featured about 30 men who destroyed private cargo worth 15,000 pounds (more than $3.5 million today) and lacked accountability so shamefully that they tried to pose as Mohawk Indians. No wonder Ben Franklin was ashamed.

We point this out not to pick a fight with Tea Party proponents, nor are we the least inclined to embrace the health care bill with buttons a-bursting.

What we are suggesting is that before you sign any petitions or volunteer for the political campaigns of those who signed the bill, take a deep breath, do your own research and derive your own conclusions about the legislation.

Not so unlike Ben Franklin's time - and other periods of political upheaval in our nation's brief history - each of us is being pulled in different directions by individuals and organizations with motives that go way beyond a fair and accurate reckoning of what any legislation actually means. If you don't believe that, start your research by examining how much high-powered businesses and organizations invested in and against the health care bill. Our research from the Center for Public Integrity turned up these numbers (but please don't take our word for it):

n More than 1,750 companies and organizations paid lobbyists to push their perspectives on the issue.

n About 4,525 lobbyists were employed on this issue - roughly eight lobbyists for every single member of Congress.

n Upward of $1.2 billion was spent on lobbyists by advocates and opponents of the bill. The Center notes that an exact figure is impossible to determine because specific reporting by issue is not required.

In other words, few of us know much about what the legislation actually contains. Part of that is the fault of the legislation itself, so long and complex that it challenges the will to tackle it and the intellect to understand it. But much of the mystery stems from the manifold influences jockeying for political and personal gain. Most of us know more about their messages than the bill itself.

So please, research reputable, non-partisan sources and make up your own mind about the bill's advantages and disadvantages. We have far more faith in citizens who earnestly seek the truth than those who are paid to spin it.