The hysteresis effect

This l'il trope keeps coming back to me:

Poor people get the short end of the stick, and then you take away the lousy short end, too, just to rub it in.

That's the beauty part of our politics: first they distract everyone with the fool's gold promise of "public option," and then they don't even give you the fricken iron pyrite.

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Note: About the title.

Update: Great minds think alike. Bruce Dixon titles a post " Universal Health Care? We Keep the Candy, But You Can Have the Wrapper. No. Wait. Give Us the Wrapper Too."