Comments on: FDL Book Salon Welcomes Dean Baker: Plunder and Blunder

By: bluebutterfly

bluebutterfly — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:28:40 +0000

“A January 19 episode of BBC One’s Panorama, the world’s longest running television documentary show, tackles the dismal state of health care in the United States, the lengths to which its estimated 45 million uninsured citizens will go to in pursuit of care, the pharmaceutical industry’s rigged pricing against the American patient, and the insurance industry’s efforts to deny care whenever possible.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/....._0125.html

By: bluebutterfly

bluebutterfly — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:52:09 +0000

You’re welcome..

By: sunshine

sunshine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:06:23 +0000

Ah, home equity. How many people have that now? Remember all those commercials that enticed homeowners to remortgage so they could take that vacation they always dreamed of, buy that boat they always wanted, pay for your kids college or better yet, how about that commercial that said buy the things your grand-kids always wanted and showed an elderly African American woman pushing a child in a swing-set. And lets not forget to mentioned those reversal mortgage commercials and now many elderly will not be willing their homes to their children when they die. Just more ponzi schemes if you ask me.

By: wildethyme

wildethyme — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:42:45 +0000

Thanks Bluebutterfly…very helpful to have the specifics on a topic usually subject to generalities.

By: bluebutterfly

bluebutterfly — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:40:57 +0000

“Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown …
The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/busi.....ls-economy

By: sunshine

sunshine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:16:42 +0000

Andrew K. McCain, a son of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, sat on the boards of Silver State Bank and of its parent, Silver State Bancorp, starting in February but resigned in July citing “personal reasons,” corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. Andrew McCain also was a member of the bank’s audit committee, responsible for oversight of the company’s accounting.

Silver State Bank ran into difficulty because of a substantial amount of “poor-quality loans primarily related to real estate development” in southern Nevada and other distressed markets, FDIC spokesman David Barr said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....2652.shtml

By: bluebutterfly

bluebutterfly — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:16:03 +0000

That is the way it works in Canada. Single payer covers all of the basic health care provided. Premiums paid by each individual/family is based on the previous years net income. The rich go to the US when they want to avoid waiting in line. Or, they go to one of the few private clinics that exist in Canada. The Federal gov’t pays 50% of each province’s medical costs. The Provinces and Territories pay the other 50% through the premiums. The governments negotiate fees to doctors, etc. There are no user fees and no denials for preexisting conditions and no yearly limits on care.

The system works because insurance companies are kept out; no middleman driving up the cost.

By: sunshine

sunshine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:12:33 +0000

But his son is in the financial biz and was hired to help a bank through bankruptsy last spring or summer. He has a front seat to this financial crises through his son.

By: sunshine

sunshine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:03:56 +0000

Ah, home equity. How many people have that now? Remember all those commercials that inticed homeowners to remortgage so they could take that vacation they always dreamed of, buy that boat they always wanted, pay for your kids college or better yet, how about that commercial that said buy the things your grandkids always wanted and showed an elderly African American woman pushing a child in a swingset. And lets not forget to mentioned those reverse mortgage commercials and how many elderly will not be willing their homes to their children when they die? Just more ponzi scemes if you ask me.

By: Jane Hamsher

Jane Hamsher — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:59:45 +0000

We would like that very much.