Being totally fluent in Republican, I take issue at the translation of "ruling elite" meaning "the people we elected." A better translation would be "top-level staffers of the people we elected."
An example of this:
"The health care reform bill signed into law by President Barack Obama Tuesday requires members of Congress and their office staffs to buy insurance through the state-run exchanges it creates – but it may exempt staffers who work for congressional committees or for party leaders in the House and Senate."
I'm glad you're so sure that everyting will be sweetness and light with the new health care law an anything that might follow. I see a few "ifs" between where we are and where you expect us to be:
IF we actually find and eliminate the half a trillion dollars of fraud and abuse in Medicare that's supposed to fund the new programs and still have enough money left over to treat all the baby boomers who will be added to the Medicare rolls...
IF the four-year running start of higher taxes without concomitant benefits will be enough to sustain those benefits in perpetuity...
IF the current recession doesn't drag on to become the Great Recession, increasing the number of people dependent on government subsidies to pay their health insurance premiums and decreasing the number of "rich" taxpayers to fund them ...
IF this new system doesn't foster a new class of malingerers - people who go to the doctor to get out of work, out of boredom, or as a form of socializing (as some on Medicare apparently do)...
IF the medical and nursing schools are able to crank out a sufficient number of family practice physicians, primary care providers, pediatricians and corresponding nurses to treat the additional 32 million people who will be clamoring for health care...
IF the increased Medicaid burdens on the states doesn't wreak havoc with their budgets...
THEN, it might just work. I suspect it will take a good 10 years before we know the answers to all these questions. We'll both be in our 70's by then. Make a mental note, and if you, me, and jobsanger are are still around by March 25, 2020, let's revisit this topic. I would like nothing better than for you to be able to say, "I told you so, CT!"
But in the meantime, just to play it safe, I'm watching what I eat, continuing to exercise (three times a week of 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4 MPH/4 degree incline), keeping my weight down, and planning on working until I drop, just in case health care is rationed by the time I turn 70.
As we're seen recently in California and New Jersey, as well as overseas in Greece and to a lesser extend in Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain, there are limits on how much the government can do for the people. It remains to be seen whether this latest law turns out to be "a bridge to far."
ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. And neither will racist,homophobic, or misogynistic comments. I do not mind if you disagree, but make your case in a decent manner.
Political Cartoon is by Lee Judge in the Kansas City Star.
Being totally fluent in Republican, I take issue at the translation of "ruling elite" meaning "the people we elected." A better translation would be "top-level staffers of the people we elected."
ReplyDeleteAn example of this:
"The health care reform bill signed into law by President Barack Obama Tuesday requires members of Congress and their office staffs to buy insurance through the state-run exchanges it creates – but it may exempt staffers who work for congressional committees or for party leaders in the House and Senate."
(Here's the source.)
If the new health care legislation is so wonderful, why did the very people who authored it include an exemption for themselves?
Speaker Pelosi said that Congress "[has] to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it, away from the fog of controversy."
I wonder how many more surprises we'll discover now that the fog has lifted and it's the law of the land.
Caveat emptor!
I have no doubt that we'll learn the health care bill is a good start on health care reform, although much remains to be done.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're so sure that everyting will be sweetness and light with the new health care law an anything that might follow. I see a few "ifs" between where we are and where you expect us to be:
ReplyDeleteIF we actually find and eliminate the half a trillion dollars of fraud and abuse in Medicare that's supposed to fund the new programs and still have enough money left over to treat all the baby boomers who will be added to the Medicare rolls...
IF the four-year running start of higher taxes without concomitant benefits will be enough to sustain those benefits in perpetuity...
IF the current recession doesn't drag on to become the Great Recession, increasing the number of people dependent on government subsidies to pay their health insurance premiums and decreasing the number of "rich" taxpayers to fund them ...
IF this new system doesn't foster a new class of malingerers - people who go to the doctor to get out of work, out of boredom, or as a form of socializing (as some on Medicare apparently do)...
IF the medical and nursing schools are able to crank out a sufficient number of family practice physicians, primary care providers, pediatricians and corresponding nurses to treat the additional 32 million people who will be clamoring for health care...
IF the increased Medicaid burdens on the states doesn't wreak havoc with their budgets...
THEN, it might just work. I suspect it will take a good 10 years before we know the answers to all these questions. We'll both be in our 70's by then. Make a mental note, and if you, me, and jobsanger are are still around by March 25, 2020, let's revisit this topic. I would like nothing better than for you to be able to say, "I told you so, CT!"
But in the meantime, just to play it safe, I'm watching what I eat, continuing to exercise (three times a week of 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4 MPH/4 degree incline), keeping my weight down, and planning on working until I drop, just in case health care is rationed by the time I turn 70.
As we're seen recently in California and New Jersey, as well as overseas in Greece and to a lesser extend in Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain, there are limits on how much the government can do for the people. It remains to be seen whether this latest law turns out to be "a bridge to far."