Thursday, March 29, 2012
INSURANCE INDUSTRY, HEALTHCARE MIDDLEMAN
Republicans in congress are pushing for raises in the DOD budget, tax cuts for the super wealthy and continued subsidies for corporations. At the same time they are raging about healthcare costs and other social programs, proposing solutions that will only aggravate the situation instead of help. On Morning Joe,republican Senator and doctor Tom Coburn was asked by Mika Brezinski "if business is all about cutting out the middle man, if the middle man causes costs to increase, why do republicans want an insurance middleman in the healthcare industry"? He couldn't answer the question! First he gave some vague explanation about the Amish people, and then he switched to the standard repub talking point about transparency, which doesn't amount a hill of beans. Even as I write this article repub campaign donors are getting around that requirement in the law.
The issue of insurance middleman is an important one. If we are mandated to buy insurance could the insurance industry be prevented from continuously raising policy prices? I seriously doubt it! So just like the pharmaceutical prices the cost of healthcare will triple within a few years. We will be at their mercy. I don't think that is a place we want to be. The Ceo's will be making hundreds of millions of dollars a year and we'll be forced to pay outlandish premiums for inferior healthcare. If the middleman is taken out of the equation, you would have, at the very least, thirty percent more to spend on healthcare, not on administrative costs. How many billions of dollars would that save?
It would be better to pay more money into medicare and medicaid than to hand out money to insurance executives who can't be trusted to keep their word, even to investors and shareholders. Look at the way our retirement money is lost in the mutual funds and stock market. No, a better way would be to pay that money to the government for universal healthcare.
In this great country of ours healthcare should be a RIGHT,not a privilege. If we all paid ten dollars more a month towards medicare and medicaid how much better would that make the health delivery system? No doubt that every American could have more than adequate health care.
Why continue to let the insurance companies drive costs spiraling upward? So, no matter who advocates it, the individual MANDATE will definitely NOT be good for "we the people". The SCOTUS should strike down this part of the bill even if it causes the whole law to unravel. IT MAKES THE COST TOO HIGH! But mark my words, the court will rule in the interest of the insurance industry. It doesn't matter which justice votes in which direction, the result will still be the same. Corporations win, we the people lose! Even the highest court in the land will put corporate profits before "we the people".
The issue of insurance middleman is an important one. If we are mandated to buy insurance could the insurance industry be prevented from continuously raising policy prices? I seriously doubt it! So just like the pharmaceutical prices the cost of healthcare will triple within a few years. We will be at their mercy. I don't think that is a place we want to be. The Ceo's will be making hundreds of millions of dollars a year and we'll be forced to pay outlandish premiums for inferior healthcare. If the middleman is taken out of the equation, you would have, at the very least, thirty percent more to spend on healthcare, not on administrative costs. How many billions of dollars would that save?
It would be better to pay more money into medicare and medicaid than to hand out money to insurance executives who can't be trusted to keep their word, even to investors and shareholders. Look at the way our retirement money is lost in the mutual funds and stock market. No, a better way would be to pay that money to the government for universal healthcare.
In this great country of ours healthcare should be a RIGHT,not a privilege. If we all paid ten dollars more a month towards medicare and medicaid how much better would that make the health delivery system? No doubt that every American could have more than adequate health care.
Why continue to let the insurance companies drive costs spiraling upward? So, no matter who advocates it, the individual MANDATE will definitely NOT be good for "we the people". The SCOTUS should strike down this part of the bill even if it causes the whole law to unravel. IT MAKES THE COST TOO HIGH! But mark my words, the court will rule in the interest of the insurance industry. It doesn't matter which justice votes in which direction, the result will still be the same. Corporations win, we the people lose! Even the highest court in the land will put corporate profits before "we the people".
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Prophet Or Instigator? Something To Think About!
Honestly, I'm not a prophet. The title of this article was thought up for the singular purpose of drawing your attention. However there have been some instances in which I voiced my opoinion in the past ten years on some very important subjects and they have already come true or they are in the process of becoming true. Let's take a look at a few of them. The first was when Antonin Scalia was appointed to the SCOTUS. There was an incident that happened not so long after he was appointed. He went hunting with executives of the oil industry then ruled in favor of the oil companies in a case that was before the court. He refused to recuse himself. No one has ever been able to call him into account for it.
It was then that I saw something it seemed nobody else was paying attention to. Everybody thought the court was becoming a "conservative court", but in actuality it was becoming a "corporate court", put in place for the purpose of ruling in favor of corporate interests. Conservatives believe it is a conservative court, but conservatism is only a side issue. The recent court rulings support this line of thinking. First the court ruled that money is speech, then it ruled that corprations are people and then it ruled that corporations can give as much money as they want to those we elect to govern us. You can already guess that whoever contributes the most money to their election campaigns will be heard above the rest. And when the amount of money is in the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, all other voices will be drowned out. This is what is happening in the US even as I write.
Another instance has been the steady erosion of our personal freedoms in this country.. After the attacks on 9/11, all of America became so afraid and paranoid, and it was at that point that the so-called "patroit act" was passed by the fully republican controlled government and the Homeland Security Department came into being . This was the party of supposedly "less government" but now they have created not one but two whole other branches of government. Supposedly "in the interest of national security" they passed a series of laws that either restricted or took away some our rights as citizens "for our own good", or "our own protection", or "for the good of the country". THE TAKING OF OUR RIGHTS IS NEVER GOOD FOR US. It is only for the good of "CORPORATE RULE"!
Look at the recent laws that have been passed concerning the rights of citizens to assemble and to petition government. At the Supreme Court, citizens can't demonstrate on the steps of the court. They have to be a full block away, supposedly so that the court "won't be swayed by politics", but the court has become political anyway, and not in favor of the citizens of this country either! As in the case of Occupy Wall Street, Many cities are in the process of passing laws to disrupt their ability to assemble and to protest events that are of concern to "we the people". They don't want to hear from us, but they will listen to the corporate contributors! And even in the social media, such as Facebook and Twitter they are trying to control the content and monitor what we do and say.
And now the SCOTUS is hearing about the supposed constitutionality of the healthcare law passed by the Congress of the United States. The SCOTUS does NOT have the right to overrule the congress. Congress has the authority to say what the court can and can't do.
The full case is only a smokescreen for the true purpose, which is profit for insurance the insurance companies. The dems and repubs are both complicit in this. THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS THE ONE TRUE ISSUE! WE ARE DEMONSTRATING FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FORCED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE. That DOES NOT make sense to me. WE HAVE BEEN SOLD A BILL OF GOODS by a democratic president! This is NOT GOOD! There are many GREAT THINGS about the AHCA, but the INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS A POISON PILL for "we the people"!
Make no mistake about it, the court will rule that the individual mandate is constitutional. Once that happens the floodgates will be open. What will happen next is that congrees will refuse to regulate the insurance companies and claim that the markets will drive down policies. But just the opposite will happen. No regulation equals unlimited profits. And the same thing that is happening now will happen again, ON STEROIDS! Those who are able, will pay more. Those who can only afford to pay basic premiums will only recieve basic healthcare, only less for more. And the rates will continously escalate. The only change will be that the insurance companies will be raking in the profits. The corporation will win AGAIN, as they have every case that has come before the Court. THEY HAVE NOT LOST EVEN ONE!
Mark my words. A democratic president proposed it and "we the people" are supporting it just like we did when then democratic pesident Bill Clinton and a democratic congress passed the NAFTA trade agreement. That definitely did not turn out well for the working people of this country, and neither has any other trade agreement since then. The term "free trade" has had a negative effect on the American worker. Nothing has been said or done about "fair trade". Just because a democratic president saya it doesn't mean that his position is the correct one. We the people have to think for ourselves. The indididual mandate will NOT be good for us. Universal healthcre should be a right for citizens of this country. And that is the correct position that a democratic president should take. But even a good public option would have been preferable to what has been put forth, and by a democratic president, no less. And "we the people" demonstrate in it's favor like it will be something good for us. I seriuosly doubt it will. Remember, You heard it from me.
It was then that I saw something it seemed nobody else was paying attention to. Everybody thought the court was becoming a "conservative court", but in actuality it was becoming a "corporate court", put in place for the purpose of ruling in favor of corporate interests. Conservatives believe it is a conservative court, but conservatism is only a side issue. The recent court rulings support this line of thinking. First the court ruled that money is speech, then it ruled that corprations are people and then it ruled that corporations can give as much money as they want to those we elect to govern us. You can already guess that whoever contributes the most money to their election campaigns will be heard above the rest. And when the amount of money is in the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, all other voices will be drowned out. This is what is happening in the US even as I write.
Another instance has been the steady erosion of our personal freedoms in this country.. After the attacks on 9/11, all of America became so afraid and paranoid, and it was at that point that the so-called "patroit act" was passed by the fully republican controlled government and the Homeland Security Department came into being . This was the party of supposedly "less government" but now they have created not one but two whole other branches of government. Supposedly "in the interest of national security" they passed a series of laws that either restricted or took away some our rights as citizens "for our own good", or "our own protection", or "for the good of the country". THE TAKING OF OUR RIGHTS IS NEVER GOOD FOR US. It is only for the good of "CORPORATE RULE"!
Look at the recent laws that have been passed concerning the rights of citizens to assemble and to petition government. At the Supreme Court, citizens can't demonstrate on the steps of the court. They have to be a full block away, supposedly so that the court "won't be swayed by politics", but the court has become political anyway, and not in favor of the citizens of this country either! As in the case of Occupy Wall Street, Many cities are in the process of passing laws to disrupt their ability to assemble and to protest events that are of concern to "we the people". They don't want to hear from us, but they will listen to the corporate contributors! And even in the social media, such as Facebook and Twitter they are trying to control the content and monitor what we do and say.
And now the SCOTUS is hearing about the supposed constitutionality of the healthcare law passed by the Congress of the United States. The SCOTUS does NOT have the right to overrule the congress. Congress has the authority to say what the court can and can't do.
The full case is only a smokescreen for the true purpose, which is profit for insurance the insurance companies. The dems and repubs are both complicit in this. THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS THE ONE TRUE ISSUE! WE ARE DEMONSTRATING FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FORCED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE. That DOES NOT make sense to me. WE HAVE BEEN SOLD A BILL OF GOODS by a democratic president! This is NOT GOOD! There are many GREAT THINGS about the AHCA, but the INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS A POISON PILL for "we the people"!
Make no mistake about it, the court will rule that the individual mandate is constitutional. Once that happens the floodgates will be open. What will happen next is that congrees will refuse to regulate the insurance companies and claim that the markets will drive down policies. But just the opposite will happen. No regulation equals unlimited profits. And the same thing that is happening now will happen again, ON STEROIDS! Those who are able, will pay more. Those who can only afford to pay basic premiums will only recieve basic healthcare, only less for more. And the rates will continously escalate. The only change will be that the insurance companies will be raking in the profits. The corporation will win AGAIN, as they have every case that has come before the Court. THEY HAVE NOT LOST EVEN ONE!
Mark my words. A democratic president proposed it and "we the people" are supporting it just like we did when then democratic pesident Bill Clinton and a democratic congress passed the NAFTA trade agreement. That definitely did not turn out well for the working people of this country, and neither has any other trade agreement since then. The term "free trade" has had a negative effect on the American worker. Nothing has been said or done about "fair trade". Just because a democratic president saya it doesn't mean that his position is the correct one. We the people have to think for ourselves. The indididual mandate will NOT be good for us. Universal healthcre should be a right for citizens of this country. And that is the correct position that a democratic president should take. But even a good public option would have been preferable to what has been put forth, and by a democratic president, no less. And "we the people" demonstrate in it's favor like it will be something good for us. I seriuosly doubt it will. Remember, You heard it from me.
Monday, March 26, 2012
The Outcome of the Health Care Law Debate
No matter what the SCOTUS rules, with the insurance companies still a part of the equation, health costs will continue to spiral out of control. The only way to bring down costs is to eliminate the middle man and let the government bargain for cost controls and prescription drug prices,. But congress and the president will continue to side with the insurance companies to the detriment of "we the people".
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Will The Justice Department Or Congress Investigate This? Hardly!
Government-subsidized campaign spending?! We knew it was bad that the super-wealthy political heavyweights were influencing the elections by funneling millions of dollars to super PACs and associated nonprofits. But it just got worse. Now allegations are surfacing that a 501c3 organization heavily backed by the Koch brothers has engaged in political spending in Wisconsin — which would be illegal for a c3 group that accepts tax-deductible contributions. What that means is that the federal government is giving the Koch brothers and their friends as much as $350,000 in tax deductions for every $1 million they give the group to back its apparent campaign-related spending.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Repubs Try Sneaky Plan For Program Cuts Again!
www.huffingtonpost.com
By now most people have heard some of the worst things about the Republican budget proposal - commonly called the "Ryan plan" and unironically described by the GOP as "the Path to Prosperity": That it decimates programs for middle class and lower-income Americans while giving eve...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Poll: Fewer Americans Than Ever See The Supreme Court Positively
Poll: Fewer Americans Than Ever See The Supreme Court Positively: pAs the Supreme Court prepares to hear one of the most politicized lawsuits in decades, a new poll finds that public support for the nine justices has cratered: [F]ewer voters than ever view the high court positively. . . . The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 28% give [...]/p
Why Should We Have To Tell Members OF congress To Protect Our Interests?
In Congress, Big Pharma’s corporate election spending is paying off.
Your representative is getting ready to vote on H.R. 5, an extreme bill that would limit patients’ rights and allow the medical industry to go virtually unpunished when patients are harmed or killed by the industry’s negligence or malpractice.
For everyone who has ever had a parent in a nursing home, or had concerns about the safety of prescription drugs their children are taking, we need to send the strongest possible message to Congress RIGHT NOW.
Call 1-888-291-9824 to reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard, and ask for your representative’s office.
Then tell your representative to VOTE NO on H.R. 5.
Let us know you called with a quick comment on our website.
If H.R. 5 passes, the costs of medical mistakes would shift from negligent hospitals, drug companies, medical device manufacturers and doctors to injured patients, their families, and taxpayer-funded health and disability programs.
Studies show that preventable medical errors kill more than 180,000 Americans a year and injure millions more.*
With so many medical mistakes occurring, the worst thing Congress could do right now is take away patients’ legal rights.
So today we’ve got to send an unmistakable message.
Use 1-888-291-9824 to be connected with your representative. Tell him or her to oppose H.R. 5.
To let us know how your call went, go to:
www.citizen.org/HR-5-call-now
Thanks for all you do,
Rick Claypool
Public Citizen’s Online Action Team
action@citizen.org
Your representative is getting ready to vote on H.R. 5, an extreme bill that would limit patients’ rights and allow the medical industry to go virtually unpunished when patients are harmed or killed by the industry’s negligence or malpractice.
For everyone who has ever had a parent in a nursing home, or had concerns about the safety of prescription drugs their children are taking, we need to send the strongest possible message to Congress RIGHT NOW.
Call 1-888-291-9824 to reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard, and ask for your representative’s office.
Then tell your representative to VOTE NO on H.R. 5.
Let us know you called with a quick comment on our website.
If H.R. 5 passes, the costs of medical mistakes would shift from negligent hospitals, drug companies, medical device manufacturers and doctors to injured patients, their families, and taxpayer-funded health and disability programs.
Studies show that preventable medical errors kill more than 180,000 Americans a year and injure millions more.*
With so many medical mistakes occurring, the worst thing Congress could do right now is take away patients’ legal rights.
So today we’ve got to send an unmistakable message.
Use 1-888-291-9824 to be connected with your representative. Tell him or her to oppose H.R. 5.
To let us know how your call went, go to:
www.citizen.org/HR-5-call-now
Thanks for all you do,
Rick Claypool
Public Citizen’s Online Action Team
action@citizen.org
WAL-MART vs THE MORONS
Wal-Mart vs.The Morons
1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour
of every day.
2.
This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!
3.
Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St.
Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.
4.
Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger +
Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined..
5..
Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world's
largest private employer, and most speak English.
6.
Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world.
7.
Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and
Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only fifteen years.
8.
During this same period, 31 big supermarket chains
sought bankruptcy.
9.
Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store
in the world.
10.
Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of
which 2,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than
it had five years ago..
11.
This year 7.2 billion different purchasing
experiences will occur at Wal-Mart stores.
(Earth's population is
approximately 6.5 Billion.)
12.
90% of all Americans live within fifteen miles of
a Wal-Mart.
13.
Wal-Mart has gross sales that total more than the
total revenue of all the countries in the world,
except 6.
You may think that I am complaining, but I am
really laying the ground work for suggesting that
MAYBE we should hire the
guys who run Wal-Mart to fix the economy.
This should be read and understood by all Americans
Democrats, Republicans, EVERYONE!!
To the President and all 535 voting members
of the Legislature, both parties.
It is now official -
you are ALL corrupt morons:
a..
The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775.
You have had 234 years to get it right
and it is broke.
b..
Social Security was established in 1935.
You have had 74 years to get it right
and it is broke.
c..
Fannie Mae was established in 1938.
You have had 71 years to get it right
and it is broke.
d..
War on Poverty started in 1964.
You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion
of our money is confiscated each year
and transferred to "the poor"
and they only want more.
e..
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965.
You have had 44 years to get it right
and they are broke.
f..
Freddie Mac was established in 1970.
You have had 39 years to get it right
and it is broke.
g..
The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to
lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a
budget of $24 billion a year
and we import more oil than ever before.
You had 32 years to get it right
and it is an abysmal failure.
!!!You have FAILED !!!
in every "government service" you have shoved
down our throats while overspending our tax dollars.
AND YOU WANT AMERICANS
TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED
WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ??
YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN THE
AUTO INDUSTRY.... THE BANKING SYSTEM?????
MAYBE WE OUGHT TO KICK YOUR EGG-HEAD
BUDDY BUMS OUT OF OFFICE AND
HIRE WALMART TO RUN THE GOVERNMENT ???
WALMART SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS...
WHY DON'T YOU GUYS JUST ADMIT
IT'S WAY BEYOND YOUR PAY GRADE, AND QUIT?
Folks, keep this circulating.
It is very well stated.
Maybe it will end up in the e-mails of some of our "duly elected'
(they never read anything) and their staff will clue them in on how Americans feel.
"You can't fix stupid,
but you can vote it out
1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour
of every day.
2.
This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!
3.
Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St.
Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.
4.
Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger +
Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined..
5..
Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world's
largest private employer, and most speak English.
6.
Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world.
7.
Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and
Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only fifteen years.
8.
During this same period, 31 big supermarket chains
sought bankruptcy.
9.
Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store
in the world.
10.
Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of
which 2,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than
it had five years ago..
11.
This year 7.2 billion different purchasing
experiences will occur at Wal-Mart stores.
(Earth's population is
approximately 6.5 Billion.)
12.
90% of all Americans live within fifteen miles of
a Wal-Mart.
13.
Wal-Mart has gross sales that total more than the
total revenue of all the countries in the world,
except 6.
You may think that I am complaining, but I am
really laying the ground work for suggesting that
MAYBE we should hire the
guys who run Wal-Mart to fix the economy.
This should be read and understood by all Americans
Democrats, Republicans, EVERYONE!!
To the President and all 535 voting members
of the Legislature, both parties.
It is now official -
you are ALL corrupt morons:
a..
The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775.
You have had 234 years to get it right
and it is broke.
b..
Social Security was established in 1935.
You have had 74 years to get it right
and it is broke.
c..
Fannie Mae was established in 1938.
You have had 71 years to get it right
and it is broke.
d..
War on Poverty started in 1964.
You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion
of our money is confiscated each year
and transferred to "the poor"
and they only want more.
e..
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965.
You have had 44 years to get it right
and they are broke.
f..
Freddie Mac was established in 1970.
You have had 39 years to get it right
and it is broke.
g..
The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to
lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a
budget of $24 billion a year
and we import more oil than ever before.
You had 32 years to get it right
and it is an abysmal failure.
!!!You have FAILED !!!
in every "government service" you have shoved
down our throats while overspending our tax dollars.
AND YOU WANT AMERICANS
TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED
WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ??
YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN THE
AUTO INDUSTRY.... THE BANKING SYSTEM?????
MAYBE WE OUGHT TO KICK YOUR EGG-HEAD
BUDDY BUMS OUT OF OFFICE AND
HIRE WALMART TO RUN THE GOVERNMENT ???
WALMART SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS...
WHY DON'T YOU GUYS JUST ADMIT
IT'S WAY BEYOND YOUR PAY GRADE, AND QUIT?
Folks, keep this circulating.
It is very well stated.
Maybe it will end up in the e-mails of some of our "duly elected'
(they never read anything) and their staff will clue them in on how Americans feel.
"You can't fix stupid,
but you can vote it out
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Poll: Public Backs Obama Over GOP On Gas Prices, 66% Blame Big Oil Or MidEast Tension for Price Spike
Poll: Public Backs Obama Over GOP On Gas Prices, 66% Blame Big Oil Or MidEast Tension for Price Spike: pA new poll finds that the public supports President Obama over Congressional Republicans on gas prices. The National Journal survey shows that 44% of respondents trust the President “to make the right decisions to help bring down the price of gasoline,” against 32% for the Congressional GOP. We’ve previously reported that both Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal and Koch-fueled Cato [...]/p
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Is AIPAC Willing To Destroy America For Israel's Sake?
"It's critically important for any US contender for the presidency to go to AIPAC, to interact with the Israel lobby in a favourable way, because it enables that candidate to show that that candidate is strong, that the candidate believes in US exceptionalism, US preeminence in the world, that the US is still very much the indispensable nation in the world; the US has decisive influence in the Middle East and the US is not going to let that influence go as manifesting any kind of threat - real or perceived - against Israel. It allows a candidate to really demonstrate that and that's in addition to all of the tactical things here in the US in terms of getting votes, financing ...."
Hillary Mann Leverett, former White House official
Hillary Mann Leverett, former White House official
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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