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Per capita health care spending (2007):
United States: $7290
Switzerland: $4417
France: $3601
United Kingdom: $2992
Average of OECD developed nations: $2964
Italy: $2686
Japan: $2581
-- Bob Somerby
The text of HR676 (Medicare For All) as PDF (30 pages). The FAQ. Compare HR3200 with HR676.
Medicare for All would save $350 billion a year (study in New England Journal of Medicine).
In 2003, a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama told an AFL-CIO meeting, "I am a proponent of a single-payer universal healthcare program*." -- Bill Moyers.
* Medicare For All.
Pitchforks for sale!
Contact lambert_strether [dot] corrente [at] yahoo [dot] com (lambert strether) for all your pitchfork needs.
n. 1. An intensely desired but extremely unlikely outcome. 2. A magical but non-existent creature. 3. Of Obama: Perceived expectations for "hope" and "change." Usage example: "I'm gonna get a pony!!!!!!"
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Comments
I thought you'd be interested
...in this. Apparently there was a secret call that went out last night from the Treasury Dept. to around 800 handpicked 'interested parties.' No public or media invite. It's like WWII industrialists all over again.
From Naked Capitalism:
Various readers wrote us, and it was confirmed by a detailed report on the call at DealBreaker, that the Treasury Department held a conference call this evening for analysts on the bailout bill. A memo was evidently sent to SIFMA members; others may have been contacted by other means. But the report I got from one person who was on the call was the the questions came from financial services industry members. In other words, this was most assuredly not intended to be a call open to the public at large. If anyone from the media or other member of the great unwashed was listening in, it was by accident.
They've got notes of the call and a torrent download of the call itself here:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/09/m...
PB 2.0 - Supplement the wonk!
PB 2.0 - Supplement the wonk!
Have you (anyone?) listened to the torrent of call yet?
(Reply to tnjen @ 8:01am)
Bernhard at Moon of AL said this is essentially the initial 3 page Paulson Fix (Is In) with window dressing.
What I've gathered is this is cover to confuse the voters and save pols' behinds-- until the election at least. The MCM is using all the window dressing terms to help sell and spin this.
Amazing that Treasury told the financial types they will wait a couple weeks to use their new money, that the whole sum could be used immediately (so much for the cutting it into portions (tranches, the financial term)-- since the WH, Dems, and now even House Repubs' talking point is that this must be done, as Lambert writes, NOW, NOW, NOW! Or they'll kill the credit kittens! Our jobs! Our savings! Our credit cards! Oh, no, Mr. Bill!
One explanation was that Treasury wants to wait a bit to see which other financial businesses crater. (But...but...what about the Asian markets NOW, NOW, NOW??)
(Hey, at some point, when this is realized, SNL can revive the Mr. Bill cartoon schtick and cover this whole farce/fiasco.)
Do the Dem leaders really think it's good optics to serve as the phalanx for Paulson and BushCo in pushing this through?
Who was it who said this marks the end of the two political parties? Just in time for the Dem Repub-Lite prez to take over the mess, along with the expanded powers of the "Unitary Executive" (most likely that term will not be used, just the powers).
This is a $7B additional handicap, added to all the other mountainous debt piled up by BushBoy and the NeoCons, which will prevent progressive programs being enacted in the near future. And may undercut and lead to the dismantling of existing social programs. $7B on short notice, with no hearings (altho' Dems yesterday claimed that earlier hearings held by Dodd and Frank, not about the Paulson Fix but about parts of the Big Shit Pile, are all that is needed. Boy, they get whiffs of all that Wall Street money and they lose the ability to be honest with the voters).
Just wait for the hue and cry about any spending for Main Street in the next Congress; PayGo (pay as you go, by finding cuts in other programs in order to fund new ones) will be the Next Big Thing in the halls of Congress. Dems have whisphered it occasionally in the past few years, but not Repubs. Next Congress? Nothing but, babeeee. Main Street will have to realize that since BushCo and the Dems have saved their jobs, savings, credit card use, ATM use--that will be all they get out of this. Their mortgages will not be saved, much, by this EESA. IF they get to keep those jobs, albeit losing them may not be directly due to the Big Shit Pile, but general economic malaise.
Next up, per Naked Capitalism, the hedge funds selling off, crashing? Which will show the market how low some of this toxic waste is valued? Then? Is this "government insurance plan" supposed to cover the CDS's (credit default swaps)--or just the toxic waste paper bought by Treasury? If so, then the CDS mess is still waiting to decay, right?
Welladay, fine kettle of fish.
Just called Rangel's office
Spoke to a sleepy aide (he sounded as exhausted as I feel). I didn't get the feeling that he's gotten a whole lot of calls, but I could be wrong.
I urged a "no" vote and spoke about slowing the process down, that it didn't seem to me we need this bill crammed down our throats before we (the taxpayers who will be on the hook) have a chance to look at it and certainly congress should take a good look as well.
He seemed confused as to whether I was saying to vote "no" or "yes". Hmm. I think I'll send an email later.
I know he was in on at least one of the meetings, but there's been no statement of any kind from him that I know of (as expected, given his current situation).
Will try Clinton and Schumer later also if I can.
I have a major holiday coming up tonight. (And I wonder, also, how this timing figures into the "rush" on this bill.) It's going to be hard for me to find time to look through the text of the bill. That's just adding to my irritation. Anyone who has a chance to post some useful summaries, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll be checking back later (I hope).
Thanks to Lambert and Leah for keeping this on the front burner!
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We can't afford not to have single-payer!
me too--shana tovah!
: >
they're gonna revote on Wed, i think.
visit the field office
if you can't get to DC, visit your Rep's district office. Incidentally the House web site is operating at a crawl, which indicates that everyone and their brother is contacting their rep. Go to the district office in person if you can.
US Senate
On C-Span just watched a fatigued and sad looking Rangel say
he was disgusted that $6-odd Billion was passed easily for the wars/military and now $7B, a Trillion would be passed for a bailout. Not sure it will work, but he cannot ignore the fear mongering of Paulson, and, just in case Paulson's warning are correct, he reluctantly will vote for the EESA, aka Paulson Fix Is In.
Doing the Hanky Panky.
And, once again, a BushCo fear-driven appraoch works on a fundamentally good guy. Shit.
Oh, Charlie, I am so sorry about this, for me, for you, for the nation.
open left
Open Left has a poll on the bail out and it is running 34% in favor, which amazes me. I would have thought support would be in single digits on a site like Open Left. It just goes to show how powerful corporate propoganda is, even on a site that should be able to see thru it.
A Number of Commenters At Talk Left Support It
ones that I'm surprised by. People are scared and they think it's better than nothing. Which makes sense, I guess, but I can't get past so many of the knowledgeable people saying it won't work.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
I hate to say this...
.. but I think Krugman's column did some damage, and I think "followers" might be buying into it.
I think the "fix it later" idea also had some traction, but all you have to do on that one is ask "How'd that work out with FISA?"
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
And why should I believe
that Congressional oversight means anything?
Hunh?
According to AMNY (Newsday's freebie), what the Repubs got in this is that Treasury won't be able to buy actual mortgages, only to insure them. (Whatever that means when it's at home.) So much for that.
I'm seething. All I can think about today is the fact that Bush never did come up with the money he promised NYC after 9/11 (yeah, just the first of many times the cupboard was bare for we, the people) and now a health bill for 9/11 is stalled because of a requirement that NYC pick up 10% (and our cupboard is seriously bare) and... if I weren't such a basically nonviolent person, I'd be thinking about inflicting some pain, I'm saying.
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We can't afford not to have single-payer!
It Goes Back to How Fragile Obama Is
Anglachel called this one. Krugman has to do the "fix later" two-step because that's what the Democrats have left him with and he's so scared of the GOP, he can't risk damaging the fragile Democrats, including Obama.
That's what I thought about when I read his column, he's got to back this bill precisely because it's awful. Because the Dem leadership is for it and he's stuck. We all are.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
1150:50
At my (Republican) congressman's office the guy answering the phone said they had received about 1200 calls of which 50 supported the giveaway.
That's a good ratio. Has the vote commenced?
I love this job!
I love this job!
Bailout Plan Fails House, But The Vote Is Not Closed
and switching appears to have started.
See here
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
I thought only Republicans held votes open?
Thanks, BDBlue...
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
We're All Republicans Now
that's what post-partisanship is all about. Sure, the parties disagree on a few social issues, but on the big stuff - robbing the poor to pay the rich and empire - it's really only a difference of degree and competent management.
NOTE - this does not mean all Democrats. There are a number of very good ones. I'm talking about the party and not all of its members.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
There are a lot of motherfuckers who ought to atone for today...
... and it has absolutely nothing to do with religion, except if we pay attention to that Golden Rule thing.