Americans understand real compromise. This is not it.
By Thom Hartmann A...
It's the third day of the government shutdown, and Congress appears no closer to a resolution. President Obama and Senate Democrats continue to call for a clean government funding bill, and Tea Party Republicans are still holding our nation hostage with a long list of demands. All the while, Republican leaders claim that the shutdown is the democrats' fault for being unwilling to negotiate. But, their claims are completely bogus.
The so-called compromise that Republicans offer is about nothing more than undercutting Obamacare, even after the law has started to go into effect. And, the conference committee that Republicans say that they want is exactly what Democrats have asked for 18 times, in an effort to prevent our nation from reaching the economic brink where we now stand. Speaker John Boehner won't even bring a clean continuing resolution to the floor of the House, because he knows that democrats and moderate Republicans would vote to pass it. That is not compromise. That is not negotiation.
The fact is, the Senate's version of the bill already included huge concessions to Republicans, like continuing the sequester, and proposed spending levels below the amount that the Tea Party has previously demanded. The Senate Democrats already compromised in an effort to keep our government running, and House Republicans demanded more.
Now, the Tea Party's hostage-taking has led to the furlough of 800,000 workers, the closure of our national parks, and thousands of women and children wondering if they'll be able to afford their next meal. Americans deal with give-and-take everyday in their daily lives, and they aren't foolish enough to believe that this Republican list of demands is anything close to a compromise.
Comments
#2
Ya double your taxes because they are so low in America it doesn't matter. You don't know how lucky you have it.
health care costs the same in both countries we just pay for it different.
#3
Kend ~ I'd still rather pay in taxes. To me it's like consolidating my bills. One bill and I take all the worry out of health decisions. It's just healthier. With the government paying and negotiating health care and drug costs for me, you can't tell me that it would cost the same. Just not possible. National health care would save US citizens a fortune; as well as, save countless lives.
As far as waiting for treatment is concerned, unless you have a life threatening illness you have to wait everywhere. There just isn't enough Doctors to go around. The only reason the wait might be longer in Canada is because there are more people seeking medical treatment because of your sweeeeet system that covers everybody. I'm sure that if you need it you go to the front of the line. The bottom line is that since there is a waiting list it shows that everyone gets seen and assessed early on in a health problem. That is the key. Early evaluation. After that you are treated accordingly. Don't tell me you want to deny fellow citizens health care just to speed up your procedure waiting time for non life threatening treatment? Maybe a better way to relieve the problem would be to invest in medical education and increase your pool of health care providers. It's a far better idea than trying to trim your pool of patients.
#4
Anyway, I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Goodnight everyone, and a slightly premature Happy Friday to us all.
#5
Sandlewould wrote: "How much longer are we going to behave like abused children who don't know how to do anything but go back for more?"
Excellent analogy! I've had similar thoughts.
#6
Agree. NO FIG LEAVES-- Why should anyone give these clowns a "fig leaf", which means a "compromise" or a reward for bad behavior. If you want to train an animal you reward achievement, not crazy behavior. No one owes them a thing. They decided to run out in public naked and will simply have to cover their privates as best they can while they slink back to their lairs. I wouldn't lend them a handkerchief. There is not such thing as sportsmanship or gratitude in DC these days, just slimy contempt from tea party schills.
#7
The cliches aside and forgetting the debt ceiling since it was exceeded in May 2013 passing budgets using the same old banks is unsustainable. The fact is that our currency is devaluing at a rate faster than we create it from thin air. So it buys less. Setting aside Obamacare simply means that we are faced with reorienting our priorities for health care. Obamacare is not health care reform, it is a tax and spend bill that supports large corporate interests not the people. Single payer is no better because it too depends completely on private banking interests. We could have all the coverage suggested in the PPACA Legislation without Obamacare yet we seem to be hell bent to become the new Greece. Shutting down government simply shows that we do not need government to the degree advertised. We do not need pollitical parties. We need common sense. A debt based currency system makes us all slaves and ultimately by simple math must fail. We are about to see what $700 trillion in derivatives does to the Federal Reserve Notes. Perhaps it is time to return to Treasury notes and let the Federl Reserve notes and the tax-debt based currency fade away so that really can have a civil just society. If you want a civil and healthy society look to see the power and influence the current system has on banking that creates poverty and dependence not a healthy society.
#8
Quote oneofthefreds:We could have all the coverage suggested in the PPACA Legislation without Obamacare yet we seem to be hell bent to become the new Greece.
oneofthefreds ~ I sincerely hope and pray you aren't suggesting that the PPACA Legislation and Obamacare are two different things. If you are, nuff said.
Otherwise, half of what you say I agree with. However, you are mixing apples and oranges.
Health care, order, security, clean air, clean water, safe food, legal recourse, and someone to put out fires is why the government exists. Don't tell me we don't need government. Medicare for all, regardless of cost, is the best investment we can make in our country and economy.
As far as the debt is concerned you are right. However, your approach to resolving it is less than feasible. First thing that has to be done is we have to increase the equity of the nation. The only way to do that is to lose free trade and bring our manufacturing base back. This country must produce goods to pay off the debt. Right now all we are producing is debt. We need to cut our military spending as well. That is money and resources flushed straight down the toilet. Some time after that--several years or decades after the manufacturing base returns--after the debt is paid down--we can consider putting our currency back on the silver and/or gold standard. Exchanging Federal Reserve Notes for Treasury Notes isn't going to solve anything until our equity is at least out of the red and our Treasury has something to back it up with. Once that is achieved, paying for health care for all will be easy. In fact, it will actually save us money, create jobs, and increase our GDP.
Cutting our way out of debt is a pipe dream sold exclusively on right wing talk shows in order to protect the wealthy oligarchs overseas investments at the cost of the American middle class. Common sense says that it won't work. It's like trying to pay off your car loan when you are unemployed and have no income by giving up food. You starve to death and the car gets repossessed anyway.
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Kend ~ I'd welcome the higher taxes. Double my taxes will cost me less then my premiums do. Remove the out-of-pocket costs as well, insure everyone else, and you could even triple my taxes and I'd be a happy camper. That I can afford; the current system I can't. No one in the middle class or below can. You don't know how lucky you are.
That does not even address the boom single-payer would be to business. It would free them up to compete in the world market and solve many of the nations problems at once. Business would be more profitable and wages would go up. National health care would be a win win for everyone.