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Government is better at providing health care insurance because health care is not a market. At a Congressional hearing in 2009, all health care executives and doctors pointed out that the patients chose very little beyond the doctor to whom they trust themselves. They also agreed that without the choice, there is no true market for competing services. Much like with the military and some infrastructure, health care is best funded by taxes.
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The path to financial stability is returning to FDR's New Deal. This packet of bills was erased from the books in 1999 (some of it before that). The economy knows only two short periods without this legislation: 1913-1929 and 1999-2008. Both periods ended up in depressions. We have to return to the New Deal and its mainstay - the Glass-Steagall Act. The worst legislation which tore down the New Deal is:
1) Gramm-Leach-Bliley (Financial Services Modernization Act) 1999 which repealed the Glass-Steagall act of 1933
2) Commodity Futures Modernization Act, 2000, - derivatives deregulation.
3) Depository Institution Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, banking and interest rate deregulation
4) Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, more banking deregulation.
Repealing the above acts of Congress is all that is necessary for return to financial stability and prosperity.
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Health Care: What's wrong with the Baucus health care bill:
1. The bill makes taxation without representation the official policy of the government. Individuals who do not buy insurance will be subject to fines. Affordable insurance (the tax) is around 13% of your income, for average working individual. The tax is payable directly to the insurance companies/banks and is not progressive - which means it's regressive. End result, a huge new tax on the low and middle class leading to their demise. The country will split into a large majority of very poor and a minuscule minority of very rich.
2. The structure of the fines encourages low income people to divorce - there is a penalty for being married hidden in the Federal Poverty Level numbers. So for this year, for a family of two, if you divorce and each makes $10,000 you will not pay a fine. If you a married however you will have to pay a fine of $1500 combined. The fine goes up to $3800 for higher incomes.
3. Massachusetts is used as an example of a state with mandatory insurance and it is clear that it was a trial run. The racket has been planned long ago.
4. If your employer proposes to give 13% of your wages to the insurance industry, you can't refuse.
5. Very important - the states are effectively barred from introducing their own programs similar to single-payer. If they do, they still have to pay theaverage cost for Medicare to the Fed. Such programs seem to be called "state exchanges" and this requirement makes sure they can't happen. (page 44, top)
6. Medicaid is expanded to all low income people below 133% poverty level. As I said, if you divorce, you have higher chances to be eligible. For individual, in todays dollars, the limit is $13,000.
7. Medicaid has no mandatory minimum coverage - the enrolled will have to pay from 20% to %50% of expenses out of pocket, the percentage may get even higher - there is no requirement.
8. Medicaid eligibility starts after year 2014, after Democrats return to their role of "loyal opposition".
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Why the Democratic base should keep their leaders on a short leash? Look at what their plan appears to be on health care reform:
1 - Write 5 BAD bils and confuse your base. They'll have nothing to fight for.
2 - Stretch Healthcare debates for months to distract attention from bailout and wars.
3 - Make sure the Republicans have a lot of things to blame you for.
4 - Hide Hillary in a closet somewhere, because she might remind people about how the game was played the last time around.
5 - Make sure you lose some seats in Congress in 2010, create a stalemate - just like in 1994.
6 - Keep blaming the Republicans while they keep blaming you. In the meantime keep passing corrupt legislation.
7 - Collect profits from lobbyists and negotiate your highly paid future job with them, in case the sheeple figures you out and boots you out of office.
Did I miss something? You think that's cynical? The whole truth might be even worse...
