use of the underlying fear of a strong centralized government. Thus the Clinton administration attempted to keep a tight lip on the details of the health care reform, but this ended up backfiring on them. The public and media were not informed of the details surrounding “Health Security” plan and society thought the worst. By comparison; LBJ’s “Great Society” failed because people were not willing to be taxed on another seemingly excessive government policy. So less then a year after the health care plan was announced it was quickly shot down by congress like a goose in hunting season. The American mentality to be economically frugal prevented the Clinton administration from passing the health care reform that would allow universal coverage. The inability of the White House to overcome this trend makes such grandiose reforms unlikely. Skocpol agrees with this assertion when she says “In the wake of failed Health Security effort of 1993-94 and the anti-governmental backlash it helped fuel, there is no prospect of starting again…” Even with the prospect of a democratic White House and Congress in 2000, such a highly bureaucratic and federally complicated bill does not seem likely in the near future. Furthermore, with the budget surplus causing political gridlock, it is apparent that the democrats will not be able to use the economic surplus for any new government programs. In a time of economic prosperity, where the mailman has four televisions in his three-story house, the American public would rather invest in the stock market than big government....
