Category: Health Care

This diary will attempt to bring the Cold War ideological conflict between “capitalism” and “socialism” into focus.  Here I conclude that capitalism is about profit, and socialism is a vague word which could mean a number of things.  As we define capitalism and socialism, we can see that the flaws and virtues of each can be understood for the sake of struggling to create our own system of political economy, one which actually serves us.  Finally, I will comment upon the relevance of this discussion to the matter of “health care reform” currently being contested in Congress.

(crossposted at Big Orange)

(wow! back to back Front Pages! I am honored, and getting verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves! : )

Are you frigging fed up with Senator Reid yet? If so, tell him so.

Crossposted at Daily Kos

    It is time to Yell Louder, and let Harry Reid know EXACTLY how you feel.

    It is time to Lead, Follow or Get Out Of The Way, Harry!

    At slinkerwink’s  request and with great pleasure I am asking everyone in this community to contact Sen Majority Leaner Harry “Punt on First Down” Reid and let him know how you feel about a Robust Public Option, and how you feel about his proposed privatized public option idea.

    I am also strongly urging you to keep your e-mails and calls to Harry Reid respectful, but to let him know how strongly you feel.

    Please, share your e-mails and calls with us in the comments below, and Recommend this diary so others can use the contact info here throughout the day.

    More info plus contact info for Sen. Reid can be found below the fold.

What would Jesus Do about Health Care?

Good Question.

Well it sounds, like he understood how Sick People need Doctors:

Mark 2:17 GWT

When Jesus heard that, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor; those who are sick do. I’ve come to call sinners, not people who think they have God’s approval.”

(emphasis added)

GOP Health Care Obstructionists, are you Listening???

The Pharisees, thought they were doing God’s work too.

Imagine their surprise when this upstart Carpenter, from the old neighborhood, dared to stand up to their blatant self-righteousness … and dish back to them some cold, hard truth …

This week, 8.28.09, on Bill Moyers Journal: Money-Driven Medicine

Produced by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM) and based on Maggie Mahar’s acclaimed book of the same name, MONEY-DRIVEN MEDICINE reveals how a profit-hungry “medical-industrial complex” has turned health care into a system where millions are squandered on unnecessary tests, unproven and sometimes unwanted procedures, and overpriced prescription drugs.

Much has been made by teabaggers in the healthcare debate that we need to “return to the country our founders envisioned”. With all due respect to the founders who – as Enlightenment thinkers – got a lot of things right, this would be like asking Henry VIII for relationship advice.

As brought to you by their “Dear Leader” of their Political Cult:

Today Rush Limbaugh used Ted Kennedy’s death to keep pushing the “death book” tale, that  claim being spread on the right that Obama’s veteran’s agency is distributing manuals urging veterans to hurry up and die.

Do you know of this famous quote?

The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones.
    — William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”, Act 3 scene 2
      Greatest English dramatist & poet (1564 – 1616)

With the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, would it not behoove us to lay the question of a viable healthcare to bill to rest and let him take the victory of successful passage along with him as he is laid to rest? Isn’t NOW the time for all the wafflers, the Blue Dogs, the DINOs and the weasels to stop screwing around and pay one lasting, final tribute of honor to the man by ending this faux “bipartisan” compromise, putting the meat back into the bill and sending it sailing past the recalcitrant, criminally negligent GOP?

That’s the big question. What say you?

Today there will be a lot of looking back at the life of Senator Kennedy. There is a lot to look back upon there can be no doubt. Sen. Kennedy was a human, just like all of us, he had his faults, and he had his high points. What made him special is the time he put in for public service. It was the true idea of Noblesse Oblige. He came from power and wealth. He could have chosen a path where all he did was increase that wealth and live a fat, happy life. Instead he chose public service. He not only chose to serve but put as his guiding principal the idea someone had to stand up for the little man, the working folks of this nation who did not have the same benefits of wealth and family power.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net“

Crossposted at Daily Kos

I’ll keep this relatively simple.

    In memory of Senator Kennedy, hear me roar.

    Per DKos diarist slinkerwink’s Reclisted diary from yesterday, the DLC is trying to justify losing the Public Option in healthcare reform via there bullshit third way think tank.

    And frankly, I think that sucks ass.

    Therefore, I have decided to share my thoughts with the DLC and other like-minded organizations, as well as you, my most welcome readers.

Just to clarify:

Once upon a time before I discovered teh blogs I made a few contributions to the DLC..

That is why I wrote this. I haven’t contributed anything in over a year, but I am sending this to them and to everyone I know who does contribute, or who cares about the Public Option

    More below the fold . . .  

Those “death panels” really do exist

MediaMatters — August 20, 2009

To date, the media have debunked the “kill granny” lie more than 40 times. The nonpartisan FactCheck.org says the claim of mandatory counseling on ending seniors’ lives is “a misrepresentation.” ABC’s chief medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson, said “the idea about death panels” is “not at all legitimate.” PolitiFact.com has called “death panel” claims “a ridiculous falsehood.” When the Associated Press conducted a fact check of the bogus charge, it reported, “No ‘death panel in health care bill.’ “

After former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claimed that “Obama’s ‘death panel’ ” could decide the fate of her parents or her son who has Down syndrome, conservative radio host Larry Elder aptly called her comments “over the top.” […]

It seems Sarah’s still leading that pied-piper Twitter Parade …

An interesting piece by Rebecca Wilder I saw at the Angry Bear economy blog really jumped out at me.  The nutshell is this:

The goods share of total consumption has been falling quite dramatically, while the service component surged. Therefore, it is more likely that the debt fueled consumption was going predominantly into the service component (paying service bills).

In Q2 2009, 25% of service spending went to health care – outpatient services (physician, drugs, dentist) or hospital and nursing home services – and 29% of service spending went to housing and utilities – rent, water, electricity, and trash. As such, over 50% of service consumption is more likely to remain stable, even rise faster, with the Boomers out there.

The chart is here:

Sorry about the left and right vertical axes… to get it to post, I had to shrink it.  Full blown chart is here.

Note that consumption of goods has dropped from just over 60% to just over 30% in the past 60 years, while spending on services has steadily increased from just under 40% to nearly 70%.  The two dataplots connected to the right hand axis, rent/housing and healthcare, show that health care has tripled as a fraction of spending during that period while housing costs have edged up slightly as a fraction of spending.

How does this tie in to debt?  Well, you probably already know the answer to that one, but allow me to belabor the point.

Welcome to the 20th installment of “Considered Forthwith.”

This weekly series looks at the various committees in the House and the Senate. Committees are the workshops of our democracy. This is where bills are considered, revised, and occasionally advance for consideration by the House and Senate. Most committees also have the authority to exercise oversight of related executive branch agencies.

Since we are all interested in passing the public option through reconciliation, this seems an opportune time to look at the House and Senate Budget committees that have jurisdiction over reconciliation. This process, which has existed since 1974, is not used every year, but is being actively considered this year. The major function of the budget committees, however, is to handle the budget resolution, which was done months ago. (CF regrettably missed that opportunity to discuss the Budget Committees.)