How Obama's Health Care "Reform" Kills Health Care

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/How-Obama-s-Health-Care-R-by-shamus-cooke-100228-565.html


It's difficult to understand a subject when those explaining it are motivated not by truth, but profit. In the case of health care, both Democrats and Republicans have huge financial incentives to obscure, mislead, or lie. Instead of common sense and honesty directing the debate,bags of money facilitate the conversation, funneled in from the health care industry via lobbyists into Congressmen's pockets. This is the real reason that Obama's "health care summit" was full of free-market jargon, staged debate and fake rage.

The majority of working people in this country are completely alienated from this nonsense, and are growing progressively hostile to the lies of both parties and their respective media mouthpieces. Polls continue to show rising opposition to the Democrats' health care shenanigans, while showing no upgrade in status for the Republicans.

The ability for millions of people to see through the muddle in Washington points to a larger distrust of the two-party system. Even as "progressive Democrats" and other liberal pundits bow before the health care industry by urging passage of "an imperfect" health care bill, workers, the poor and the elderly aren't taking the bait.


And why should they? The Democrats want millions of uninsured people to be mandated into buying crappy health insurance from the most hated companies in existence, where co-pays, premiums and other fees will prevent millions from benefiting from their new, shoddy health care. This individual mandate is reason enough to solidly reject Obama's health care scheme, but it's just the beginning.


more at the link --

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. I agree completely.

In fact, I faxed this to O just last week. I am angry and dead serious about this issue.

President Obama:

Even though you were virtually identical on most issues, the reason I voted for you over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary was because you were against the mandatory purchase of health insurance and recognized the necessity of a government run health insurance option to (and I am quoting you) "...keep the insurance companies honest."

What a difference a year makes, huh?

Now I am watching as you and many of your fellow Democrats in Congress work to sell me out to the very industry I need to get the hell away from. To say that I am appalled and furious at what I see unfolding is an understatement.

It is becoming increasingly clear to me that, from the beginning, you never had any intention to really stand up for the American people and bring genuine change on this issue. Your administration's meetings with the pharmaceutical industry to hammer out a "deal", the refusal to allow single payer advocates to even participate in healthcare reform meetings, the siccing of Rahm Emmanuel on the Congressional Progressives to "get in line" instead of the recalcitrant Blue Dogs, and your complete lack of advocacy for even the meager crumb of a limited government run health insurance option in the face of overwhelming public support told me all that I need to know about you and your plans.

I hung in there with you despite many startling and all too frequent disappointments in your young administration, but this is where I draw the line. This sham of a health "care" bill is the final straw for me. Any plan that forces Americans to purchase a product from a corrupt, unethical industry whose sole purpose is to make money for their shareholders is BULLSHIT.

I have been a registered Democrat since 1979 and have voted for every Democratic nominee since, but I am here to tell you, should your proposed bill be passed and signed into law, I will be looking for another candidate -- and most likely, another Party -- to support in 2012. I believe a certain ex-president said it best:

"Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

Hell Hath No Fury
San Francisco

[Political Heretic]

2. Both Dems and Reps. ignore the sinking ship, willfully, in service to the whims of the $ elite

That's the problem.

There are of course differences between Dems. and Reps. within a narrow spectrum of allowed difference tolerated by elite consensus. Sometimes, those smaller differences can translate into meaningful benefits in real people's lives.

But the ship is still sinking. We have been on an unsustainable economic path for quite some time, with plenty of help from Dem. power brokers along the way. Leadership and national representatives in both parties are uninterested in even talking about the structural injustices intrinsic to this modern capitalist society.

When the ship is sinking, making passengers more comfortable in the short run but refusing to address the reality of the sinking ship is recklessly irresponsible. So every time someone shouts at the top of their lungs, "Dems. passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act!" there's a reason why pretending as though that or any other non-structural accomplishment removes all responsibility for the party's complicity in our ship's sinking and its steadfast refusal to acknowledge our ship is sinking remains an intolerable problem.

Whether you think capitalism itself is to blame, or whether you think there are some better and worse varieties of capitalist economies out there - we need to all agree that this particular system we have today is a system of plunder.

And neither Democratic nor Republican parties are willing to even talk seriously about the economic and political structure itself that makes this the case. Therefore, change is needed. I would prefer that we keep the name of the Democratic Party, along with the millions of registered Democrats who do in fact desire structural change even though our national party leaders do not. I'd rather keep the history - the history of a time when our party nominated a man for president who stood up at his party's convention and called out "economic royalists" who were ravaging the country and defiantly declared, "I welcome their hatred."

[Echo In Light]

5. But, it's not a phony rep democracy! No way! That's just CRAZY talk!

:sarcasm:

[cutlassmama]

3. Perhaps this is the best he can do at this time and will make it better in the years

to come

[Donnachaidh]

4. and how many people will continue to DIE?

And how many MORE people will not only be bankrupted by healthcare - but will also add PENALTIES from their own goverment because they cannot give up TEN PER CENT of their annual income to insurance that does not GUARANTEE access to healthcare?

Ahh but we should be patient, while he and the rest of the Congress decide on which corporation to help next week with OUR MONEY.

[laughingliberal]

6. The trajectory in this country, in regards to social programs, is towards making them worse

I see no reason, at all, to believe there will be any will to improve this bill when this was the best we could get with huge majorities of Democrats in power. It is inherent on us to try to get it improved as much as possible before passage.

[kctim]

7. I believe you are right

and perhaps more would see that if they were willing to quit making excuses and finally acknowledge that people simply do not like or trust the plans they have heard so far.

[laughingliberal]

8. Yeah, good luck with that

I've seen very little indication they give a tinker's damn what people think of the plan. With 82% of the people in favor of having a public option, you would think they'd be standing in line to be the first to offer one in the bill. But noooo, they run like scalded dogs from an idea popular with the American people.