Arianna Discusses Health Care Reform And The Re-Release Of Her Book "Pigs At The Trough" (VIDEO)

Arianna appeared on CBS' "The Early Show" this morning to discuss the re-release of her 2003 book "Pigs at the Trough," and its relevance to the current financial crisis. She also discussed the prospects for health care reform and whether President Obama is giving up on a public option.

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[clairdelune]

The crisis might be over -- whatever it means. Most industries still suffer deep downturn and it will take a long time before they can recover. We are still all affected by it and will have to live with the effects of the collapse for a long time. Still, as I have always believed -- it is important to talk about recovery or it will never come. The trends on the stock exchange in a big part depend on what are moods are. If people won't feel confident enough to spend out, the markets won't do better.

[steve purnell]

Thank you for "drawing a line in the sand" on the Public Option.
Here are a few of my thought capsules in this debate:
Healing is not Stealing
Health-Care is not Wealth-Care
I am very much in favor of ONE PUBLIC Co-op option that competes with private insurance companies. No mandatory anything..­. buy as little or as much as you want of Co-op coverage, send a copy of your doctor bill in, and see how it all works out. The Co-op should make available INFORMATION about quality and cost of various options. Don't expect dividends, this is the biggest difference in the Co-op and private companies and stock options. Deregulation causes capitalism to have cancer and the health care (wealth-care) industry is a shining example. Thanks for your voice in this important debate. Bill Moyers is another favorite voice, check this out
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch.html

[gotsmarter]

Brilliant! Keep this in front of the people. Keep it on the major networks! Surely the masses will someday catch on!

[IzzyCA]

Contact the White House, so you can tell President Obama to veto any bill that doesn't contain the public option:

* 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500-0004
* Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: [phone]

TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213

Email form: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

[Tiggy]

It is so refreshing to hear someone speak the word "prevention" and "healthcare" in the same sentence! Our reps are so busy treating the symptom that they are overlooking the cause! We need to approach the chemicals, sweeteners and preservatives in the foods that we ingest. We need more exercise and I would love for insurance companies to contribute towards gym membership as a preventative measure!
As to the greed factor, Jefferson coined it long ago.
We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ...If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat in our drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labors and in our amusements, for our callings and our creeds...o­ur people.. must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live. We have not time to think, no means of calling the mis-managers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow suffers. ...This is the tendency of all human governments. ...Taxatio­n follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression­." --Thomas Jefferson

[BethA]

You do realize if you want to get rid of the toxins that cause health problems in the first place...we need to pay taxes to support the research that identifies those, then we'll have to find the lobbyists that pay the Republicans to oppose anything that might point the finger and companies being irresponsible and poisoning us without any oversight etc...

This isn't Thomas Jefferson's world anymore...­Europe , Austrailia­...nearly all modern countries manage to keep their people healthy and safe just fine....wh­y can't America do it? We have corruption at the very top...wher­e lobbyist money rules and American citizens votes are ignored the day after elections.

[Tiggy]

There is already research that shows certain products are harmful and yet we allow them in our food. We even have to alter the chemical components in some products to export them because other countries oppose them! Yes, we should test more and we should work on an international level with other countries to test these products too. The money saved on the health end of should pay for most of the research. International cooperation should further reduce cost. The problem is, no illness = no big bucks for big pharm. companies.
As to your question of why it can't be done here in America, you answered it in your last sentence which is what Jefferson predicted would happen...l­ol. I find it rather telling that someone all those years ago could look so far ahead and we are unable to look beyond today.

[pmorlan]

Great Job, Arianna. It sure was hard watching Harry Smith parrot nothing but Republican talking points on healthcare. Sadly our establishment media gets worse everyday.

[hulagirrrl]

Seriously, I have stopped watching them.

[cdnnewsjunky]

News flash. America has been run by corporations for a very, very long time. Why do you thing your country is always involved in wars? Corporate wars by America, goes back to at least Chile and the Allende government.

[robertLewis]

Actually it goes back to the Civil War. The modern armament industry had its beginning during the WBTS.

[MNTom]

I love her. I loved her when she was a Republican. She was talking like this way before the 2000 election. It was that election that changed her outlook. SHe actually didn't change her party did and she faught against it and lost. So, Like her I am now a "Forced Democrat". Forced to vote for them because voting for a third parry will allow the GOP to win. ANd I live my country to much to let that happen.

[klondiker]

Harry Smith has got to be one of the dimmest interviewers out there. It's like Arianna's points went straight over his head.

[einstein10]

Here's another one-

A British-born oil trader is demanding a £60million bonus after successfully betting on rising fuel prices.

Andrew Hall, who owns a mansion in the U.S. and a medieval castle in Germany, is in line for the massive payout at a time when motorists are stung by soaring costs at the pumps.

The married father of two runs the commodities trading firm Phibro, which is a vital asset of troubled U.S. banking giant Citigroup.

He is credited with buying every available oil futures contract in 2003, when it was expected that prices would remain stable at as little as £12 a barrel.

But as the demand for oil rocketed and prices surged to more than £90 a barrel over the next few years, Mr Hall and Citigroup made hundreds of millions of pounds.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1202530/British-oil-trader-demands-60m-bonus-profiting-petrol-pump-misery.html#ixzz0Ma49D9UB

[ElkoJohn]

Arianna, thank you for being a constant voice of truth.
How do we get the money out of our political system ??
Individual voters don't have a change against all the millions
being spent on Congress by the powerful special interest
groups & the big money profiteers.

[BlueDog1]

OK I put my money on Obama and I have watched Bluecross box him up and send him to his bunker.

Then Bluecross did the same old thing and spread money around for our DC pigs and watch them fight at the trough for there share.

And the people....­..........­..........­.....

[ronito6]

If Harry Smith is not just playing devils advocate, he is one conservative dude.

Liberal Media? Not here.

[jerrypl]

Basically, Arianna is speaking of a financial crime syndication which is all corporate. The victory dance IS premature because the banks are NOT earning based on what they are supposed to do, which is based upon lending and interest earnings. They are jacking up their earnings based upon stock manipulation.

Obama is a peacock! All he knows how to do is strut his fancy colorful feathers. He lacks substance and forcefullness.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

PROTEST IN WASHINGTON DC JULY 30 NOON AT UPPER SENATE PARK--DEMAND WE TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM THE THIEVES AND TELL OBAMA TO DO WHAT HE WAS ELECTED TO DO.

[marthainmaine]

Bail out to the banks tells me Obama is going to bail on Health Care.