MS. [Rachel] MADDOW: So to the extent that this is going to actually cut the deficit, to the extent that this is designed to bring health costs down, we’ve got to do something. And I think people who vote against it are going to regret it.
MR. [E.J.] DIONNE: And 98 percent of small businesses are exempt from the taxes in this bill. This is a millionaire’s tax, basically, the biggest tax in this bill. And that the other thing is there are a lot of benefits in this bill that kick in right away. There’s a fund for people who have pre-existing conditions to get coverage right away. There are a lot of other provisions; no more recisions, so you can’t discover that, “Gee, I’m not covered after all.” They were smart enough to put a lot of things that kick in as soon as the bill is passed.
MR. [David] BROOKS: Rachel’s right that doing nothing is not fiscally responsible. But doing something that adds onto our current system without fundamentally changing our current system is fiscally insane. The idea that this is paid for is a political mirage. That tax surcharge on millionaires, that’s dead, that’s going nowhere in the Senate. The idea that we’re going to cut $400 or $500 billion in waste, fraud and abuse from Medicare, that’s historically unsupportable. We will never make those cuts, we’re never going to pull the plug on granny, all this stuff. It–most healthcare experts think that this fundamentally does not change the problem with healthcare system, which is the fee-for-service system which has been driving up costs for decade after decade.
Caught this on the way home from morning worship–read or watch it all.
All of this aside, I want to know why, if we’re going to have government-mandated health care in this country of ours, we common American citizens can’t have the same health care plan used by Congress. Those people work for US, so who are THEY to deny US what they already have? What gives them the right?
I think it’s time for Congress to come clean and stop lying to us!
Re: #2, the problem with a general comment like that is I don’t know, specifically, what you believe congress isn’t telling the truth about. Is it that the bill is paid for–that’s just my guess. Please clarify.
Kendall +,
Here’s a video that explains some of the falsehoods in the presentation of the bill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CAPc7nmWZ0
Peace!
Jim Elliott <><
eh, on second thought, not such a good video. He presents factual information, but there is no sourcing of information, which leaves it open to ‘he said, she said’ conversations.
3 Kendall, you’re correct.
If their health plan is good enough for themselves, I think it’s fair to ask if it would also be good for their fellow citizens. And we need to go directly to them with that question, in my opinion.
As a disabled veteran, I also don’t like their proposal to drop TriCare…..especially TriCareForLife, since so many disabled veterans depend on it.
Normatively, in a statistical and blue-state/red-state sense of the political demographics, voter support for veterans and our military forces is much stronger in the red areas than the blue areas.
The red-state areas are also much less supportive of the federal government meddling their private and business life and in the affairs of state and local government.
Therfore, when the Democrats speak of supporting our veterans and military, they are being more than slightly disingenuous. Why support voters who don’t support your political agenda?
Their real goal is to win and hold on to a constituency that welcomes Democrat imposed “statism” that gives them hand outs for which they do no honest work and on which that constituency is/will become highly dependent.
#8 Cennydd, according to this, our TriCare for Life is excepted.
“MYTH: “Enactment of the House health insurance reform bill would undermine the TRICARE For Life program (health care for military retirees).”
“FACT: Just as the Affordable Health Care for America Act fully protects the current VA health care and TRICARE systems, it also fully protects the TRICARE For Life program.”
“There is a chain e-mail currently going around the Internet that states that the efforts of the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats on health insurance reform will result in undermining the benefits in the TRICARE For Life program for military retirees. Once again, these charges are not true. (The TRICARE For Life program was introduced in 2002 as a supplement to Medicare for military retirees. It covers many medical costs not covered by Medicare.) Just as the Affordable Health Care for America Act does nothing to affect the TRICARE program, it also has no provisions that affect the TRICARE For Life program. The health care benefits of military retirees are fully protected.”
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/126984
Unfortunately, I have no idea that it is true, not having read the bill, but I pray that it is, since I, too, rely on TriCare. Otherwise my reliance on 26 years of service for health care help in my later years was misplaced.
I’m a Democrat. I’ve never taken a “handout”. My prescription insurance premium just went up 20%. I agree with most that has been said on this thread. Since 1950, the Republicans have held the office two thirds of the time……seems to me, if they had a solution to my problem, the militarie’s problems, congress’ first class medical care over the peon’s health care…they would have done something about it…..I’m perfectly willing to blast the Democratic Party for 50%of the mess…but its time both parties feel the heat….The working (as opposed to the free takers and the disgustingly wealthy) class take back this country….regardless of party…..
military’s
Fortunately, john 1, since I am rated 100% disabled by the Veterans’ Administration, I have a choice of using TriCare For Life or the VA Health Care System. The VA system is my secondary provider, while Medicare is my primary. Since my records are maintained by the VA, I chose to use their system, and I receive my compensation from them as well. I can use TriCare For Life if I choose to, as well. I choose not to, although I know many veterans in my area who do use that system. I know they’re concerned about the possible loss of their benefits, so I hope and pray that for their sake and for the sake of others, TriCare and TriCare For Life won’t be cut or eliminated. I have written to both of our senators expressing my views, and I know that other veterans have done the same…….we stay pretty much in contact here, and we have a very active veterans’ group in town.
As is often the case, Brooks makes the trenchant point in the post. Political realities/limitations have left the Democratic majorities feeling compelled to do something, but incapable of doing anything that substantially improves the current system (despite the fact that the current system is woefully inadequate to the needs of the country and its citizens. So we end up (assuming something like the House bill is what we end up with) after all this sturm und drang with a program that it is only incrementally different from what got us here and with huge vulnerabilities fiscally.
BTW, re comments about the health care system that Congress has: My impression is that they essentially have the same system that a lot of other federal workers have. It’s a thorough system with good coverage, but I’m not sure that it’s anything that we couldn’t buy into. I know that one occasionally reads about a Member of Congress being admitted to Bethesda Naval or Walter Reed, so maybe they have some access to facilities normally reserved to the military, but perhaps someone can inform us on what is so different about what Congress has and whether they pay for it with payroll deductions like the rest of us.
MS. [Rachel] MADDOW: So to the extent that this is going to actually cut the deficit, to the extent that this is designed to bring health costs down, we’ve got to do something. And I think people who vote against it are going to regret it.
The 2010 election will likely prove Ms. Maddow 100% wrong.
Reply to #11.
Dee,
In reference to “handouts,” I am not talking about traditional old-time all-American Democrats.
I am talking about the ‘under class wooing’ of voters that was so transparently part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty.
A “wooing” that has created generational dysfunction through dependance on government subsides of a number of population groups and has resulted in widely evident and self-defeating social stagnation and anti-achievement attitudes within those groups. And I am not just talking about the ‘big cities.’
The Democrat leadership seems to be trying to increase the size of these dependent groups rather than addressing the root causes of the ‘perceived need’ of government subsidies by those groups.
The Democrat leaders seems to be blissfully unaware of the fact that they cause more problems than they resolve and “the law of unintended consequences” seems to be unknown to them.
The Johnson years were a mistake…..its a given…but there has been plenty of time for change to that…..I worked for 12 years in Human Services and I saw the “reform” which was a right step forward. What I am trying to say is that “we the people” are damn tired of both ends, and folks, we are going to be heard. Now we know “they” won’t get it right the first time…but “they” had better make a start……the middle class, whether your at the top or bottom of that class, is tired of it…..