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Heckuva job, Max.
For their part, liberal Democrats said Mr. Baucus’s bill did not go far enough to make insurance affordable to people with low and moderate incomes.
One of the Democrats, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, said he could not vote for the bill in its current form, in part because it did not include a new government insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
“The way it is now, there’s no way I can vote for the Senate package,” Mr. Rockefeller said.
…
Democrats expressed a variety of concerns. Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said Mr. Baucus, by paring the cost of the bill, had also cut the subsidies that would help people buy insurance.
“This is reducing coverage for poor and working people,” Mr. Rangel said, adding that such cuts “could destroy the bill.”
Don’t Rangel and Rockefeller know that incremental steps are worthwhile?
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Maybe it would be a good idea to have a (draft) bill reading party when it comes out.
I seldom read bills, but I will read all 1000+ pages.
Not just “destroy the bill” but destroy Democrats, as well. Tax liberally to make the subsidies large enough.
This morning’s Boston Globe reports that private health insurance premiums will rise an average of 10% for the upcoming year. The actual range being from 7% to 12%. Who do you think will pay for that premium increase? Employer or employee? Who do you think will pay for the increase in premiums after the Baucus health care reform bill is passed?
And it isn’t simply about working class and middle class people being handed break the bank premium increases. There is no way that any rational lawmaker would want a more well-to-do person or firm to spend even more money on health insurance premiums as opposed to the consumption of other goods and services integral to our American economy that support employment and growth outside of the bloated health care industry.
Baucus is a perfect example of a legislative process that is almost entirely corrupt.
By a bill reading party I mean try to organize live blogging, and some live events. Read, disect, and comment on the bill.
This would be on the scale of getting at least 100000 people to plan to read the main draft within 1 week of it coming out (and some going for it in one night).
For myself my wages are frozen and health ins premiums just went up 10 percent this year!
Insurance reform without a ‘public option’ will destroy the Democratic Party. Not having single payer has already weakened the Dem Party no matter all the Obama speeches.
Yes, I’m trying to find a silver lining, but at least Baucus is toast.
Mornin’, BT, pups
So the Baucus bill will be released today. It will prolly do for health care reform what my new GPS system does for my truck.
You cute.
Good morning everyone.
Hey, that system cost me big bucks at the dollar store.
The nearby dollar store has a sign in the window: $1 to $1.25 and higher.
Is Baucus passing out toilet paper with his baby?
I thought it was barf bags.
Congress is real quick to pass bills to tax oil companies when it looks like they might make too much profit (windfall profits tax?).
Why not just pass a new 10% tax on health insurance companies, rich doctors, profitable hospitals, and mega-drug companies – everyone making money off health care pays an 10% tax.
Set the money aside for a “public option” that provides government health care to every citizen who doesn’t have it.
Problem solved.
That would be redundant.
Can you give us a link to the last windfall profits tax passed by Congress?
In 1980, the United States enacted the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act (P.L. 96-223)
30 years ago. Is it still in effect? Last time I heard the oil companies had managed to kill any legislation renewing windfall taxes in addition to avoiding paying royalties.
Thank you my dear country for over turning The Glass-Steagall Act and over turning important finance regulation, allowing the distruction of our retirement savings.
And now? Now? I thank you for destroying my efforts to save and make ends meet by allowing, ALLOWING, the health care industry to participate in phase two of the Poverty Growth Act through unregulated private taxation on holders of insurance policies and mandating citizens buy crap.
You know, all this grandness for life. liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
(klynn turns to DC and gives a snarky thumbs up.)
As for denying pregnant women healthcare, where are the prolifers on this point? They should be standing with progressives on this point. Otherwise, their years of effort to overturn R v W are fake and hollow. I do commend those who walk their talk through donating prenatal care through crisis centers. Overall, however, there should be a unified voice on this point but it is missing.
Reagan repealed it in ‘88, but that’s not the point.
If insurance companies and the rest of the health care blood suckers stop making obscene profits to where average people can afford their right to their own health, remove the tax, just like for the oil companies.
Not just “destroy the bill” but destroy Democrats, as well.
How so?
In response to bobh @ 2
Then our rates raise by 20% or we get denied 20% plus of our care.
How would you get such a tax through the Senate? It might make it through the House but I doubt it would go anywhere in the Senate. Senators would have to give up those lucrative contributions and that ain’t gonna happen.
And what klynn said at 21.
That’s the argument they use when someone suggests upping the minimum wage by 10%.
I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky;
and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
don’t know if that applies to you brown water river rats!
If there is not a good healthcare bill, what will happen? The U.S. will lose more corps, those corps. will be less competitive, we will lose more middle class, etc…a republican will get in and pronounce themselves king!
I believe this fight is no joke.
I think that what motivates the radical republicans(e.g. bush, chaney) are that they hate gov’t. On the other hand I believe around 20% would have been all for a bush dictatorship.
Does anyond have a better understanding of these amoral fucking morons??
“If you understand yourself and your enemy you will never be defeated” Sun Su
There. Fixed…
Just swinging through and not sure if this has been mentioned, but I see a familiar name up top at the HuffPo homepage:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..87094.html
Wild story.
You don’t think BCBS would raise their rates if they were hit with a tax covering only the health insurance industry? We also know that the minimum wage scare was just that.
I am for a windfall tax as long as there are regulatory measures built in that protect the consumer from other measures that could be used for profit such as watering down basic coverage and higher premiums.
Sun Tzu
Single payer would eliminate all that crap.
Yep. No argument from me on that point.
A movie has been made about Daniel Ellsberg, The Most Dangerous Man in America (according to Henry the K). democracynow’s interviewing him, his wife (who is responsible for getting him to be antiwar), and Judith Erhlich, who made the film.
Where is today’s Daniel Ellsberg?
Thanks…dyslexia
Thanks for linking. To think how they have shared their story here.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
The “moderates” keep saying “the public option is just one element” of health care reform.
They’re right, in the same sense that a keystone is just one element of an arch. Reform without AT LEAST a public option is worse than no reform at all!
No Public Option = No Health Care Reform!
I would imagine there are many couples in the same boat and have taken the same route.
moderate = neocon in a cheap suit
Projection. It’s common in DC.
Great way to state the truth of the matter. Thanks.
More like a fine art, I’d say.
Not only does Buacus live in a bubble in DC he lives in a bubble within the Dem caucus.
The only thing that isn’t making me hurl my coffee is picturing his face when he reads Rockefeller’s and the other Dems comments….like a cook producing an elebaorate meal watching as guests- make that good friends – spit it out and gag.
After I envision that…then I’m ready to hurl my coffee
I know I’m gettin’ tired of Obama talking about the “middle class” and never mentioning the real source of wealth in the world, the working class.
Joe and Mika hitting on Carter’s “racism” comments again. They think it’s silly. Joe making up Carter quotes like “if you oppose Obama you may be a bigot.” Mika thinks we shouldn’t inject racism in to the conversation again. The issue has been resolved, the white republicans have spoken. Conclusion: Carter was out of line.
Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.
US KIA Irak: 4344
US KIA Afghanistan: 833
Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.
Namaste
I heard about Carter’s statement this morning. Carter was right fuckin’ on.
Heard some of ol’ max’s comments from yesterday on NPR this morning. Still talking about republican votes. The man is obviously learning impaired. Or profoundly stupid.
Good morning all and thanks for the post BT.
Amy just asked Dan Ellsberg if there’s a new Dan Ellsberg. He wiffed: said someone’s gotta do it, and sooner than he did. Heh. I won’t hold my breath.
Solid design. I like it.
Comes in a variety of sizes and colours, too.
It should be interesting to see how “Fox” handles Carter’s statement. Probably by ignoring it…or maybe by drawing a connection between his remarks and their newest dogwhistle, Acorn. If anyone can pull that off, it would be Beck. Give him a blackboard and a box a chalk and we’re there.
Good gawd – what people will do for money
http://english.aljazeera.net/n…..47670.html
They can get a hat trick by adding his apartheid comment about Israel.
bipartisan = neocon in an expensive suit
GODDAMMIT!
Sorry, relatively new and FIRST I’ve heard of this shit.
Now THAT’S what makes me want to show up at an event packing heat.
An insurance industry convention event.
That is InFuckingTolerable in the “richest” country in the world, and happens every 30 seconds (bankruptcies due to medical bills). And of course while the Rethugs ruled everything, they got a brand new bankruptcy bill to fuck over the little man even more.
Ever notice how when the Rethugs are in total power, they get their agenda DONE. But when the Democrats are in total power, they too get the Rethugs agenda done.
Funny that.
Weiner = intellectually honest! Keith = one of a very small number who are doing investigative journalism!
Its to bad investigative journalism dosen’t pay.
Shouldn’t it be called the “back-ass” bill??
Don’t know how I missed that but I was a blue water sailor long before I was a brown water sailor. I loved being at sea. I only had one week aboard a ship, USS SACRAMENTO, where I didn’t have to do anything. In transit and since the 2 of us had just come from the Tonkin Gulf fiasco we were treated like gods.
I knew that but what the hey!
Michael Moore raised an interesting point in comparing U.S. newspapers to those in Europe. In Europe newspapers biggest revenue comes from readers in the U.S. it comes from advertisers. If European papers don’t deliver the news to their readers revenues go down. In the U.S. the news is scripted to please the advertisers. Big difference. Legitimate 4th Estate in the U.S., not so much.
That clip and the transcript need to go on KO and RM. Better yet get Michael on both shows to promote that info.