“just one sliver”

[Political Tiger]

Suddenly, just one day after Obama gave a town hall meeting on heath care/insurance reform (call it what you want), the usual misinformation sources are telling us to trust them and that Obama is really going to drop the public option portion, as if he is writing the bill by himself, because they say so, and people are shaking in their boots.

Politico, for instance, tells us "A day earlier, Obama downplayed the public option during a Colorado town hall meeting, saying it was “just one sliver” of the debate."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26158.html

Wouldn't life be so much easier if everything we ever say could be boiled down to just three words?

Yes, Obama said “just one sliver,” but that's not all he said. The "sliver" comment came in response to a question he was asked. Here's what the President said, ALL OF IT:

Q: "My question is this. And also, I'd love to have a debate, just all out, anytime, Oxford-style, if you'd like. (Laughter.) I understand -- I'm willing to do that. But my question is this. We all know the best way to reduce prices in this economy is to increase competition. How in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entity that does not have to worry about making a profit, does not have to pay local property taxes -- (applause) -- they do not have to -- they're not subject to local regulations? How can a company compete with that? And I'm not looking for anything -- I don't want generalities. I don't want philosophical arguments. I'm just asking a question."

A: "That's a great question. Thank you for the question. (Applause.)

Now, I just want to point out that I partially answered the question earlier by explaining that certainly they can't compete if the taxpayer is standing behind the public option just shoveling more and more money at it, right? That's certainly not fair. And so I've already said I would not be in favor of a public option of that sort because that would just mean more expenses out of our pockets and we wouldn't be seeing much improvement in quality.

It is true that there are certain costs associated with a private business that a government would not have to worry about; you mentioned a couple of them. It's not just, by the way, property taxes; it's also things like just the cost of capital. In terms of the cost of borrowing, a public option -- insurance companies have to have a lot of money on hand and it's conceivable that a private entity that's having to pay a certain interest rate for their money would be really undermined if the government is able to get money much cheaper implicitly because Uncle Sam backs this operation.

So that's why I say, this is actually a legitimate debate. I think that we can craft a system in which you've got a public option that has to operate independently, not subsidized by taxpayers -- it would be nonprofit, but we've already got nonprofits out there like BlueCross BlueShield -- that they would have to go on the market and get a market price for capital, so they wouldn't be able to just have the Federal Reserve write them a check. I think there are ways that we can address those competitive issues. And you're absolutely right, if they're not entirely addressed, then that raises a set of legitimate problems.

But the only point I wanted to make was the notion that somehow just by having a public option you have the entire private marketplace destroyed is just not borne out by the facts. And in fact, right now you've got a lot of private companies who do very well competing against the government. UPS and FedEx are doing a lot better than the post office. (Applause.) No, they are. And so -- but the larger point I want to make -- and it's good to see a young person who's very engaged and confident challenging the President to a Oxford-style debate, I think this is good. (Applause.) You know, the -- this is good. You know, I like that. You got to have a little chutzpah, you know.

This is a legitimate debate to have. All I'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it. And by the way, it's both the right and the left that have become so fixated on this that they forget everything else, like the fact that we can help Nathan make sure that he doesn't suddenly find himself -- (applause) -- completely broke in trying to treat his son.

So we are working on a series of proposals to address the questions that you're raising. I believe that we can work them out. But those are specific questions as opposed to broad, philosophical questions about whether government ever has a role to play or not.

Keep in mind, finally -- and this is the last point that I'll make -- that you have a bunch of countries that have systems in which government is involved but you still have a thriving private insurance market -- The Netherlands being a good example. Everybody is covered. Everybody has care. The government has regulations in there. But it does not somehow take over the entire private insurance market. So I just want people to understand nobody is talking about a government takeover of health care. I want to repeat that one last time.

All right. I've got -- I've got one last -- I've got time for one last question. I'm going to call on this young lady right here. Oops, she just lost her question. Go ahead. Who's got a microphone? Right here, right here."

FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE: http://thepage.time.com/transcript-obama-at-grand-juntion-colorado-town-hall/

[Boomerang Diddle]

1. Too much to read.

I think people would rather just stick to headlines so they can become outraged without bothering with all the facts.

[HopeOverFear]

2. yeah man what's with all them WORDS... LOL

bite sized, please. :rofl:

kidding, of course. This was great. REc'ed.