Reid's Other Message To Baucus: Why Health Care Reform Is Behind Schedule

The New Republic:

On Wednesday, according to a Capitol Hill source, the Senate Finance Committee distributed to its members a list of about twenty ways to help pay for health care reform. Everything you could imagine was on the list: Taxes on soda and cigarettes. More savings from Medicare and Medicaid. A value-added tax.

It might sound like an ordinary and perfectly reasonable thing to do. And it would be--if this exercise were taking place, oh, six weeks ago.

Read the whole story: The New Republic

Comments

[Firbolg]

I’ve already posted this on another thread but I think it applies to this item as well.
There is a story in today’s LA Times with the heading “2 mavericks may clear healthcare reform path.” When I started reading I thought I’d picked up “The Onion” by mistake.
It sets out, in fawning prose, how Baucus and Grassley are fearlessly battling all odds, dodging slings and arrows from foes and colleagues alike and “are labouring to fashion a series of compromises on healthcare that may win the support of a bi-partisan majority.”
Elsewhere it notes “(their) effort has won implicit support from Obama”.
It is clear what is going to happen.
Congress and the White house, at the request of their paymasters, are rushing to get legislation on the books. They worry that, as each day passes, more people are becoming better educated on this issue and are learning how abysmal the US system is compared with even mediocre countries. The insurance companies’ arguments for retaining the status quo are getting thinner and less plausible every minute. Obama may be a lot of things but he is no dummy. He knows that dressing up a bad act passed quickly is going to be a lot easier with his presidential pulpit, devoted followers and oratorical skills than having to persuade congress to set aside their campaign contributions and promised private sector jobs and give the people what they want and deserve