Thursday, June 14, 2012

Napolitano on Health Care

16 comments:

Ducky's here said...

First he starts out by confusing health care and health insurance which is a common error with the fringe right.

But his little spiel on the meaning of regulation actually supports the clean air and clean water legislation that he rails against.

A real Libertarian clown.

Craig said...

Beyond their wildest imaginings...that govt. could regulate [health care]

In 1790 Congress passed and George Washington signed a bill mandating ship owners to by health ins. for their sailors. In 1798 they passed and John Adams signed, "An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seaman". It established govt. built and run hospitals in ports for the merchant marine.

International shipping was essential for the survival of the U.S. at the time and Congress recognized the need for healthy laborers and shipping was a dangerous job. It was paid for buy a small tax on the sailors (payroll tax). It was later expanded to cover interstate shipping and marine hospitals were built in river port cities and the Great Lakes. Govt. owned, run and regulated.

Why does he bring up a provision of the Patriot Act? What does that non sequitur have to do with the Affordable Care Act? The Patriot Act supported by W., brought to us by John Ashcroft, supported 211-3 by Repubs in the Repub controlled Congress and passed without debate. Opposed by Lefties and the ACLU. Never let a crises go to waste, indeed.

Social Security isn't "broke" and will never go broke. It currently has a $2.3T surplus. Medicare and Medicaid could still pay out 85% of benefits if nothing is done. The ACA actually extends the full benefits of Medicare by reducing costs. The P.O. is in trouble due, in large part, to a bill passed in the 2006 lame duck session of the Repub Congress that forces the P.O. to fund their pension program out 75 years. Something no business or institution in their right mind would do. It costs them nearly $6B a year. It's Union busting by busting them financially.

Either the judge is an idiot or he knows that if he wraps his BS in liberty and freedom talk, his audience will eat it up. I'm guessing the latter.

Lisa said...

Either Obama is an idiot or he knows that if he wraps his BS in Hope and Change talk, his audience will eat it up. I'm guessing the latter.

Craig said...

Clever retort, Lisa. I know you are but what am I.

I refuted Napolitano's lies with the facts. Give it a shot, sweetheart.

Joe said...

Craig: "Social Security isn't "broke" and will never go broke. It currently has a $2.3T surplus."

Not true. It hasn't a single penney. It's so-called "trust fund" was long ago moved into the general budget and was absorbed by the huge budget deficit.

The government is operating at a net deficit which is growing every hour.

Add to that the national debt, which is growing exponentially, and we are in deep fiscal trouble, not even counting the poor economy.

But you just go on dreaming with your gargantuan rose colored glasses and when these chickens come home to roost, we will go the way of Greece and the rest of the European Union.

How lucky your children and grandchildren will be.

Xavier Onassis said...

Not to nitpick, but, OK, I'm nitpicking, you aren't using the word exponential correctly. Because that absolutely is not the rate of growth. Go look the word up.

Joe said...

XO: Yeah. You would never nitpick.

By the way, do you know the origin of "nitpicking?"

One of the definitions of exponential is "more and more rapid."

ex·po·nen·tial/ˌekspəˈnenCHəl/Adjective: 1.Of or expressed by a mathematical exponent.
2.(of an increase) Becoming more and more rapid.

Ducky's here said...

Joe, you are on firmer ground when you state that the deficit needs attention.
Whether it should be cut at a time of very weak growth is a serious question also.

However, neither has anything to do with the idiot Napolitano's screed.

Ducky's here said...

Joe, the word you are probably looking for is geometric

Craig said...

Not true. It hasn't a single penney. It's so-called "trust fund" was long ago moved into the general budget and was absorbed by the huge budget deficit.

It was never moved into the general budget. By law, any surplus must be held in treasury notes. Still the safest investment in the world, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.

Yeah, the debt needs to be addressed. Mitt and the Repubs don't have a solution. They want to go back to the Bush plan, more tax cuts and austerity. If you've been paying attention, austerity has lead to negative economic growth, higher unemployment and increased debt in Europe. Why do you want to copy the European model?

Taxes on the wealthy and corporations are the lowest they've been since the Gilded Age. The increase in govt. spending is lower under Obama than under any modern Repub pres. He's frozen govt. salaries and there are 700K fewer govt' employees since he took office. If public employment had increased at the same rate it did under Reagan and Bush, the UE rate would be a full percentage point lower.

We will never be Greece. We have our own currency. Remember how the fear mongers were warning us that 2 rounds of quantitative easing will lead to runaway inflation? The Weimar Republic! We'd replace our wallets with wheelbarrows. Didn't happen.

It was only 12 years ago that Bush told us "budget surpluses mean you're paying too in taxes". Dope.

Craig said...

Forget to say, SS has never missed a payment. It will never go broke unless the payroll tax is eliminated. It hasn't a single penney. Turn off the Fox, go to your room and think about what you said.

Ducky's here said...

Let's see, if austerity increases , debt that seems to be a poor strategy.

Any comment, Joe?

Give this review a look, Joe

I know, it's in The Nation but you can read it without becoming apostate. You may find it enlightening and balanced

Xavier Onassis said...

Joe - "One of the definitions of exponential is "more and more rapid."

Yeah, that would be one of the inaccurate definitions.

Exponential growth is an inherent doubling of values.

1x1=2
2x2=4
4x4=16
16x16=256
256x256=65536
65536x65536=4294967296
4294967296x4294967296=more than my calculater can display.

Don't use words you don't understand.

Ducky's here said...

So you see, Joe, exponential might be used to describe something like the Wiemar hyperinflation but would be inappropriate to describe the national debt.

Trivial maybe but you are a stickler for accuracy so we mean to help.

Joe said...

XO: "Yeah, that would be one of the inaccurate definitions."

Straight out of the dictionary.

It is you who are short sighted and intellectually lacking.

But you don't think so.

You're wrong.

Progressives Are Erupting said...

One can only hope that the American public will do their job and protect America from a repressive dictatorial regime taking over in American AND to protect the constitution, will do their job in November and throw this Dictator out.

America is being take over by Marxists/Communists,, and Socialists ... there is no question about it.

The question is ... when will wake up up and take it back. It has happened in many countries in he past, It can happen here.

This election os going to be stolen by Obama with his dictatorial antics such as declaring an amnesty to 800 thousand illegal Mexicans in America. That is only the beginning. Obama must be stopped from this sort of thing, he has by passed Congress too many times and enough is enough..
The sooner we get rid of this Muslim Socialist Dictator the better our country will be. If he can make laws without congress, then he can make a law declaring himself Dictator-in Chief. He's not too dam far from it right now. I'm tired of the arrogant purple lipped fuck wiping his ass on our constitution, and equally tired of congress, them spineless flakes, of letting him getting away with it. Maybe we should throw'em all out!
Sorry, just a little rant because I'm tired of watching this country go down the toilet.