Hillary, 4 BIG unions this week obviously don't agree with your Obama health care outrage today

[RiverStone]

The endorsement from the Teamsters is Obama's fourth from organized labor in a week. The 65,000-member International Brotherhood of Boilermakers endorsed Obama on Wednesday, the 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union backed the Illinois senator last Friday, and the smaller United Food and Commercial Workers endorsed him last Thursday.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hA-lO0aMBY4_2VWe9kFLmo4p6aQwD8UUC7084

The Teamsters and the SEIU are not concerned about Obama's health care plan and in fact endorse him! Hillary's anger over his plan today seems out of place. We sure did not see that during the debate a few days ago...

Her "outrage" itself has become more the issue today. I really don't think people are hearing her words as much as watching her affect. The press is jumping all over her demeanour - she's taking off the gloves....it's really heated up...she is attacking with everything now...etc.

I don't think he would be receiving so much union endorsement if Obama did not have a solid plan which is good for American workers.

:think:

[DUyellow]

1. Doesn't count...

[Vinca]

2. Both of their health INSURANCE schemes suck. Not an issue. nt

[Omaha Steve]

9. Both are better than McCain’s Health Care Plan: Higher Taxes, Less Coverage

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/21/mccains-health-care-plan-higher-taxes-less-coverage/

by Seth Michaels, Feb 21, 2008



In a time of uncertainty and economic risk, people are more and more concerned about whether they’ll be covered in the event of a medical problem. As we’ve seen from the responses to the AFL-CIO’s 2008 Health Care for America Survey, those of you who have secure health care through your jobs know how lucky you are—and those whose employers have cut health care benefits are facing serious challenges.

Mary Anne, in Greenfield, Wis., has seen this dynamic firsthand:

As the Benefit Administrator in a midsized organization for many years, I have seen health insurance issues balloon into a truly ugly monster. Today, health insurance premiums are second only to wages in employer expenses. The premium costs to employers has skyrocketed, which in turn, has caused employers to pass on those huge increases to their employees by having the employee pay a percentage of the monthly cost. Not only have premiums increased dramatically, the benefits have decreased. Now employees must pay out-of-pocket expenses which can run into the thousands. These are the best-case scenarios. These are the lucky folks. I know many Americans who can afford little or no health insurance; they work; they have jobs, but are not covered by their employer. We need a change and soon.

(Click here to fill out the survey and tell your health care story. You can vote here on the stories you think make the most impact.)

Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) have proposed solutions to the nation’s health care crisis that would go a long way toward addressing the needs of working families. (You can download a side-by-side comparison of the presidential candidates’ health care plans here.) Yet, the Republican presidential frontrunner, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is backing a plan that would make health care even more out of reach for most of us.

McCain is pledging “no new taxes,” but his own health care plan might represent a massive tax increase for working families, according to the Tax Policy Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

onsider McCain’s health care proposal. He says he would treat employer-sponsored health benefits as taxable income, while giving individuals a tax credit for the insurance they buy. On its own, taxing employer insurance just like wages would be a huge tax increase—OMB estimates in the neighborhood of $1 trillion from 2009–2013.

For union members with good health care plans, the tax increase would be even bigger. An employee whose health benefits are worth $15,000 would have to pay taxes on an extra $15,000 in income.

McCain’s plan theoretically compensates for this tax hike by offering tax credits for workers to pay for their health care. Unfortunately, according to studies by the Kaiser Family Foundation, these tax credits would cover less than half of the average cost of a health insurance premium—meaning employers would have less incentive to cover their employees, pushing workers out of employer-based systems and into the private insurance market.

All of this comes in the face of evidence that employees need good benefit plans, or they’ll wind up uninsured. A study by the Urban Institute shows that as employers stop providing coverage, employees can’t keep up with the costs of health care on their own. Deteriorating coverage, the study shows, means more people are left without coverage altogether.

Leaving working families on their own, at the mercy of private companies, won’t cut costs and won’t increase coverage. Instead, it exposes people to more risks.

That’s no way to solve our health care crisis. When it comes to the economic issues facing working families, McCain just doesn’t get it.

___________________________________


Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

[Vinca]

15. I didn't expect McCain to have a health plan of any kind. nt

[Omaha Steve]

18. So why pick on the dems?

Any move away from what we have is better than standing still. Yes?

[Vinca]

19. I'm sick to death of Hillary insisting her INSURANCE plan is better than Barack's

when it most certainly is not. They're about equal. The Kucinich plan is the Democratic plan the vast majority of people are in favor of. Sadly, neither candidate has the mettle to truly take on big insurance. What they're offering is better than standing still, but overall is disappointing and not the kind of health CARE the American people deserve.

[Omaha Steve]

21. ooooooooooohhhhhhhhh

OK. Glad we exchanged thoughts until an understanding was reached.

[tekisui]

3. Shame on you, RiverStone!!!

:rofl:

[workinclasszero]

4. They don't count

:shrug:

[RiverStone]

6. Seems important to me...

OK - so I don't get the nuances of all the health care plan stuff.

But as a long time union member - I do think the unions count for something.

Maybe someone can clarify?

[Voice for Peace]

7. I think people are joking with you nt

[RiverStone]

20. You think right (actually left)

But right about the joking part :silly:

Thanks!

[Cha]

5. hilary's canned outrage,

emoting compassion one moment..steely eyed pit bull the next? Is she sure she didn't miss her calling as a Shakespearian actress?

[jillan]

8. Funny that she won the endorsement of 2.9 million nurses.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/1/28/163657/436

THE AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION ENDORSES
SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY)

[Omaha Steve]

13. HUH? CNA: Clinton Health Care Plan Just Throws More People Under Wheels Of Insurance Industry

Maybe it is because she is pro labor that they changed their tune?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1864576

Source: Workers Independent News

By Doug Cunningham

The California Nurses Association says Senator Hillary Clinton’s health care plan just throws more people under the wheels of the health insurance system without fixing the fundamental problem – an out of control industry profiting off pain and illness with unaffordable health care. Geri Jenkins is on the CNA’s President’s Council.

: “Hillary Clinton is the number one recipient of health care and pharmaceutical industry dollars of all the members of Congress. So I think that speaks volumes to why the system is the way it is that she's proposing."

Jenkins says the California Nurses Association wants a national single payer universal health care system – essentially an expansion of Medicare covering everyone. A New York Times CBS poll this year found that 64%
of Americans want the federal government to guarantee health insurance for all Americans, and 60% would pay higher taxes to do it. So if we the people want it, why can’t we get it?

: “You don't see that translate into legislation because our members of our legislature and elected officials have pretty much been bought off by the industry. There shouldn't be money made on people's lives, whether people live or die coming down to some corporation's bottom line. And that's what happens with the insurance industry and their controlling the system."

Read more: http://www.laborradio.org/node/6856


This story is not copyrighted and may be distributed freely.

[jackson_dem]

10. Bandwagon jumpers. Why did all union support go to Edwards and Hillary until Iowa?

The unions now love him post-Iowa? Give me a break...

[Omaha Steve]

14. The Fire Fighters backed Dodd

That's off the top of my head. There were others.

[jackson_dem]

22. 90% went to longshot Edwards and Hillary. Why not Obama?

[bunnies]

11. Shame on those unions! Shame on them! nt

[knowledgeispwr]

12. Don't worry about them. I'm sure they won't count.

:sarcasm:

[LeftCoast]

16. My single biggest complaint about Obama is his health care policy

By using the 'mandates' card to score points on Hillary I feel he has locked himself into supporting health care reforms that simply cannot work. Neither candidate had stellar healthcare plans, but healthcare reform based on private insurance simply will not work without everyone being covered (what Obama has called a mandate).

[Yurovsky]

17. We're going to have to go single payer eventually ...

no sense in dragging it out, other than to enrich United, Aetna, Humana, et al.

Overnight our automotive industry would become more competitive, not having to absorb the high cost of health care for current & retired workers. The $2000 price advantage for buying a Malibu over a Camry would probably double overnight. The bigger that margin, the more domestic cars Americans are going to buy, and the sooner Detroit and the UAW membership get back on their feet.