The spectacular failure of Healthcare.gov to sign people up for the much-promised easy-to-access “healthcare” plans, has now gone mainstream.
So, how bad is it?
Worse than Windows 8?
Just as I know of no one, personally, who has bought a medical coverage package through the new Obamacare system, I also know of no one, personally, who likes Windows 8 … at least, on a non-touchscreen computer.
So, are the disasters comparable?
Healthcare.gov fails to hook customers with insurers; Windows 8 fails to do basic o.s.-type tasks, like allow you to do your work.
Still, people are buying Windows 8 computers. Voluntarily. But sales are down, far enough that a number of manufacturers have been selling computers without operating systems installed. And Microsoft is offering discounts to manufacturers for including Windows 8.
Surely Microsoft will speed up the delivery of Windows 9, or at least some fix that makes Windows 8 more usable.
But what will the Obama Administration do?
There are a lot of expert Web technicians out there. For hire. Big companies — Amazon, Travelocity, Priceline — find them and manage to put together successful online trading services. So, surely if the government spends two or three times what businesses spend, it will get a workable system about half as good.
It’s what we expect from government.
Of course, Microsoft could fail, and isn’t too big to fail. But I expect it will survive, simply because of the possibility. The fear. The disincentive.
Those who believe in government über alles, however, forswear such incentives. Bad programs are expected to continue forever and ever.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
5 replies on “Obamacare as Bad as Windows 8?”
A large software company was interviewed re: Obamacare. They said that they would have been embarrassed to have charged more than a million dollars to do all of the software, hardware, and tech support required to register the entire country for Obamacare. Lib-progs are not fettered much by embarrassment. Nor apparantly inconvenienced by the idea that they have to actually perform. If they wanted to have consequences, they wouldn’t have been lib-progs.
Socialists make bad geeks and geeks make bad socialists.
Windows 8 is workable, just a bit more revolutionary than evolutionary. Once you get familiar it is no worse (or better) than is predecessors.
The Obamacare web site, at roll out, apparently was not operational at all, which is a very, very different level of failure which would never occurred in a free market environment. Only the government would dare bring that upon itself!
Loving the intuitive nature of my iphone operating system (which my 18 month old grandchildren can make function to access their “educational games”), I would suggest the Obama administration swallow its pride and delay implementation, giving Apple the contract to create the interface.
Web site roll out aside, the sooner the better, and hopefully before the 2014 elction.
I believe the real and significant reaction to Obamacare will be with the cancellation of commonly better private individual coverage and, at higher cost, the substitution of lesser coverage. That, coupled with the realization of its (former) supporters that IT IS NOT FREE to anyone, and therefore an additional drain on their income will be interesting to watch.
This the first socialist program in the US where at least part of the cost is mandated to be paid by the beneficiary directly, and may be the basis for a major, and long overdue economic lesson, there is no free lunch. Many will shortly wish Obamacare was never passed or implemented.
The difference between Windows 8 and healthcare.gov is huge. There is no way that a user can fix the latter’s multifarious problems, but all one needs to do to Windows 8 to make it work the way you like (like Windows 7) is to install Classic Shell, a free program from sourceforge.net. The difference between a complete mess and an awkward, but otherwise sound and easily customized operating system is like day versus night.
Windows 8 is bad, but I wouldn’t insult it like that.….hehe. Plus I know of several developers who could have built his site for him at a fraction of the cost.
The stupidity and incompetence is appalling. It would be hilarious if not so expensive. As usual, the result of all government programs is ultimately felt worse by the poorest and least able to supplement their income, but who are trying to take care of themselves. In attempting to think of a really successful government program I have never been able to find one upon making a closer analysis.