What do you think of Rep. Conyers HR676, universal single payer? As I understand it it opens Medicare to younger than 65’s, mandates Rx negotiations, etc. Haven’t heard much about it though.

I’d like to see our candidates who are in Congress NOW just go ahead on and push some legislation, hold some hearings, etc.

I’m 60 now and the health ins. is going to be a B#ch for the next five years.

It’s a good idea to plan ahead, but Congress has trouble doing that sometimes. They also have a lot on their plate until probably next year about this time.

And, sometimes events force our hands, so we can’t always do things according to our own schedules.

Did you know that the Canadian dollar is almost at par with the US dollar and is expected to become more valuable in the next three years ? You need to get out of this war right now and restore some fiscal sanity to your households, businesses and government or your country is gone

As a Canadian I’m not too happy about that. It’s happening for the wrong reason – because we’re now a petro economy. Blech.

Jane Hamsher @ 29

Very interesting, Ian. I wondered if you read the Matt Taibbi article in the most recent Rolling Stone. We really are in quite a bind.

http://www.rollingstone.com/po…..aq_swindle

Just reading it now. It’s fascinating. The great contracting out of US government has almost always been a disaster. Contrary to claims it doesn’t reduce costs (but often increases them) and it reduces oversight substantially. Cost plus contracts (and sole source, and all that other fun stuff) also directly contradict the whole theory of “free market competition being cheaper”. It’s dubious that the free market can do most things that belong in government control cheaper in the first place, but any truth in it is certainly destroyed by just giving people cost plus.

It’s also a huge issue in terms of how well the army can fight. Slightly (seemingly) unrelated story – the Canadian army a couple years ago couldn’t move one of its regiments out of the capital in Afghanistan and into a dangerous deployment. Why? They had outsourced the supply chain and the contractors wouldn’t go – their insurance wouldn’t cover it.

Putting your supply chain outside of direct military command (and discipline) is a horribly bad idea. In addition as bad as (forgive me) US troops have been on dealing with the Iraqis, contractors appear to have been far far worse – killing them without any oversight, disrespecting them all the time, generally playing Rambo. Regular troops despise the mercenaries with a passion from all reports.

One could apply this exact same concept to our nation’s food supply. Americans have given up food made,grown and prepared here to outsourcing. It makes me pound my head on the desk,it’s among THE dumbest things we’ve ever done. This has destroyed family farming,and will continue to do so until farmers embrace diversity in farming again and we have more people willing to grow their own food and enough to help feed their neighbors.

I like how Will Rogers put it: ‘We’re all ignorant, only on different topics.’

Ian Welsh @ 158

Mauimom @ 156. Thanks for the catch, I’ve corrected.

You’re welcome. Great post, BTW.

I’m curious if you have any reaction to my comments @ 156. [Always great to be EPU’d so no one reads you!! Not.]

Means testing: likely to destroy widespread support for SS. When FDR created it he said (paraphrasing), “it’s a lousy plan in most ways, but because people paid into it no damn politiican can ever take it away from them – they have the moral and political right to collect.”

Agree with the rest of it. There are maybe some clever things we can do with the military (turn a big chunk of it into “country reconstruction units” and have them start by rebuilding infrastructure in America, for example) but there’s going to have to be a lot of pain there. The health insurance companies simply have to be cut out and that’s going to be a huge battle. Edwards plan doesn’t go far enough because he’s not willing to tackle them head on (I figure you might as well, no plan will ever make them happy so you might as well just go for broke.)

Very interesting, Ian. I wondered if you read the Matt Taibbi article in the most recent Rolling Stone. We really are in quite a bind.

http://www.rollingstone.com/po…..aq_swindle

Having now fully read it: sometimes all you can say is that while I don’t hold with it, one can understand why some nations simply take such people out back…

~~~ModNote: Edited for content.~~~

Next lets decommission all these strike groups, fighter jets, nuclear boomers and close ALL offshore bases.

We need less than 15% of the military we have to defend the hell out of out borders.

Mauimom @ 156. Thanks for the catch, I’ve corrected.

You’re welcome. Great post, BTW.

I’m curious if you have any reaction to my comments @ 156. [Always great to be EPU’d so no one reads you!! Not.]