The Fifteen Page Term Paper

Some teachers counted pages. Some counted words. If you were assigned five pages, you had to produce at least five pages. A little (ITALICS) extra couldn’t hurt. When my teachers asked for 500 words, I tried to deliver between 550 and 600. That’s not to say that we didn’t all use certain well-worn tricks and gimmicks. These papers never contained a single contraction. And we all knew how to stretch out a sentence and how to end a paragraph.

Who knew these skills would be needed as an adult, and not just by any adult, but by a presidential candidate?

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) unveiled his plan to repeal and replace The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) this week. I confess that I had no interest in reading this latest entry in the R & R game. After the disappointing and incredibly cynical bill put forth by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) – The Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment Act – I decided to skip all light fiction reading for the balance of 2015.

Still, the Walker plan had a certain appeal. His campaign is sinking and the Republican base hates anything attached to the current president, especially Obamacare. And unlike the Congressional attempts, a sitting governor might actually create a thoughtful document, a plan that could be implemented in his/her state.

The Wall Street Journal reviewed the Walker plan before I had a chance to read it for myself. I was surprised that the Journal didn’t give it the usual “best thing since sliced bread” 5 star rating these plans tend to receive. No, it was panned. Now I had to read Scott Walker’s contribution to the healthcare debate.

Please click here to access Governor Walker’s plan.

The Walker plan is a fifteen page term paper circa 10th grade. The page and a half preamble is hidden behind FOUR cover pages. The meat, the depth and breadth of how we manage 20% of our economy, is contained on the 6 ½ pages that follow the one page outline. Then there is a conclusion page and another cover page. Yep, Scott made it. 15 pages. Solid C material.

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