After a week off for Independence Day the radio show is back on tonight at 6pm Pacific. Click here to listen. Your call in number: (877) 653-8381. Tonight’s topics are the Presidential election, of course, the mandate, and Voter I.D. laws. Regulars Tamerlane and Lynne are back and our guest tonight is Marc Rubin. We all want to hear from you!
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BTW, you were absolutely right about health care. And I Do think Romney will deal with the mandate, Romneycare notwithstanding. He knows people hate it, and he knows that state law and federal law are two different things. He knows he’ll have to appease on the mandate or he won’t win a second election. He will deliver is he cares about a second term. And really, ACA is bad because of the mandate, but the exchanges are not a bad idea. Some health care security is better than none. Once the mandate is gone people will swallow the rest of the corporate welfare/ extreme regulatory capture. My 2 cents.
It’s impressive you feel you know what’s in Romney’s mind, Lola, but my guess is you’re wrong.
Figuring out who people are or what people think by having it conform with what you want to think they’re thinking is flawed to say the least. Like, for instance, pegging me an agent of OFA, which is absurd — how many OFAers have repeatedly and consistently made a detailed case for identifying Obama as a psychopath since 2008 when nobody else was.
What Romney will do, if elected, is difficult to read because he so easily lets his own ideology be trumped by what he thinks will please others and get him what he wants. The easiest way to describe Romney’s thought process is he’s a Good Son, typical of conservatives (different from Dubya Bush, who wanted to prove to Dad that he can succeed despite being a Rebellious Son). But aside from campaign rhetoric I’ve seen nothing indicating Romney is actually concerned about the mandate. And despite the hoopla whipped up by Republicans campaigning against Obama, the mandate will not be the public’s main complaint about Obamacare in the next few years (a substantial majority of Americans, something like 90%, already pay for health care insurance, and likely a substantial percentage of those without it now actually do want it and will buy it through the exchanges, and won’t have reason to be upset by the mandate anyway). But most importantly –to anybody with principles and who argues for better policy rather than the distraction of personality politics– the mandate is by no means the biggest thing that’s wrong with Obamacare.
Everybody is going to have to pay into health care. That’s just where we are. Whether it’s by mandated purchase of private insurance or single payer, or some hybrid of the two, young and old are going to have to pony up. So in practical terms, the mandate is a reasonable element of Obamacare — remember Hillary included it in her health care reform.
The biggest problem with Obamacare, the thing that makes it horrible that American citizens are going to be faced with in the coming years, is that it doesn’t do what we most needed health care reform to do: reign in health care costs.
Behind the scenes Mitt Romney and, generally, Republicans in power, are almost certainly not all that upset about the mandate. Romney included it in his own health care law, and apart from “state’s rights,” state and federal law aren’t all that different in terms of mandated payments from citizens whether you call it a tax or a fine or simply a law. The mandate was just red meat they could throw out to voters. Republican Presidents and Congresspeople are as willing to be bought by the insurance industry as Democratic leaders are. So the most likely scenario, if Romney is elected, is he’ll leave the mandate alone, and if he needs cover for that, stand behind the skirts of the Supreme Court decision that was written by the conservative Chief Justice. If he tried to do anything about Obamacare, which he probably wouldn’t, it’d be to overturn it completely. I think Romney doesn’t care a shit about Obamacare, after all it was modeled on Romneycare and is really a GOP styled “reform.”
RomneyCare is actually what’s left after the Massachusetts legislature passed bills, Romney signed some and vetoed others, the legislature overrode some of his vetoes and sustained others. It’s hard to know exactly what RomneyCare would have looked like if it had been all based on his ideas. What has happened in the years since it was passed is that insurance costs have soared in MA. Much of it is disguised because rather than accept the large increases in cost of insurance, many employers have kept the cost of premiums down by raising co-pays and limiting services. The state supported programs are still being heavily subsidized by taxpayers from other states.
Currently, Governor Patrick is trying to work with doctors and hospitals to move away from fee for service to a block grant model, where doctors would get a lump sum of money for each patient they accept. At the end of the day, the doctors would be penalized or rewarded for how well they stayed within the overall budget for the group of patients they cared for. In other words, they could use some of Peter’s money to care for Paul, but not more than the total money they are allotted. This hasn’t been finalized, but it’s obvious that people who have chronic conditions would find it harder to find a PCP. It will encourage more large group practices where the risk can be spread over more patients, and make having a single practice too large a risk for most doctors. It will also encourage doctors to use the least expensive hospital, labs, testing sites, etc., in the area rather than the best. A few of the larger insurance companies in the state appear to be ready to sign on to this. Whether people in MA will continue to be content with our state’s health care law under this model remains to be seen.
Romney has been out of office in MA for over seven years. He has the advantage of being able to see “RomneyCare” actually up and running. While it’s not easy for us to know which parts he supported and which he didn’t, I’m sure that he does. If he’s elected President, I don’t think he’ll leave all of ObamaCare in place. Which parts he tries to jettison and which parts he tries to keep remains to be seen. If the only way to make changes is to scrap the entire thing and start over, I think he’d have the courage to try to do that. But it’s a mistake to believe that Romney was the principal architect of the health insurance reform laws in MA. It was designed “by committee”.
Bankers, corporate employers and employees, government workers, small business folks, students, Obama, Congress, the American people — too few learned a damned thing in 2008 and ’09 to change their thought process and behavior to a better direction.
The lines, “consumers are strapped for cash … to purchase everyday necessities” tells so much about thought process. First of all, “citizens” are now “consumers,” and secondly, “strapped for cash” and “everyday necessities” isn’t about genuine essentials, as the description implies, it’s about continuing with ease and indulgence and luxury we’ve grown accustomed to as if it’s essential or even meaningful. We don’t need shampoo and conditioner and the rest of the crap Americans define as necessities, much less the myriad nonsense Americans, er consumers, just have to spend money on everyday; and yet they’re right back in the habit of going into debt for them.
” I think Romney doesn’t care a shit about Obamacare, after all it was modeled on Romneycare and is really a GOP styled “reform.”
Absolutely, just as Obama cares not one whit about unemployment or the plight of many Blacks, unless it affects his re-election. There is something other-worldly about both candidates, a deep detachment, that is often very obvious, especially when they are trying to hide it.. Sometimes their attempts to be human look so forced as to be almost absurd. I can’t help but think Benny Hill could have had a great run emulating either man.
That was the genius of Clinton, he reveled in contact with the plebes, and they loved him back.
As accomplished as Clinton was and is, it never seemed that he completely forgot where he came from, and imo, that is a big deal.
I could be way off base, but at some level, Romney reflects the era in which he grew up, where all the boys wanted to be John Wayne or Davy Crockett, the strong, silent types, and stiff upper lips were much admired. I know this because I married one. He’s definitely the ‘keep calm and carry on’ model, as were so many of his generation. Obama’s detachment is much more complicated, and seems to almost rise to a personality disorder.
Okay armchair analysis session over, please leave three hundred dollars with the receptionist..
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I thought you fired the receptionist because he wanted healthcare?
In the real world, Jay, the receptionist is probably a “she”. She’s probably the lowest paid worker in the office, and she’s just as likely to be offered health insurance as anyone else in the office. But her share of the premiums might be too much of her paycheck for her to be able to afford to take advantage of it. Her employer might also have a sliding scale where they pay a larger percentage of her premium the longer she stays with them. So while she might not be able to opt in the first year, by her 3rd or 4th year, she might be able to. In any event, Sophie wouldn’t need to fire her for asking for health insurance. Most doctor’s office’s don’t employ more than 50 people. Sophie could legally just say “no”. And will continue to be able to say “no” under ObamaCare as long as the office staff remains less than 50 people.
Romney said he would repeal Obamacare …but why since he fathered it? Didn’t he go to White House a few times to help write it ? Has he said Romney Obamacare is wrong before? Me thinks he was shopping for the boos…. I’m pretty sure he’s told the Insurance companies “just kidding ” lol.
He got applause for charter schools and “traditional ” marriage . The audience didn’t seem that hostel to him overall. It says something he showed up.
I’m fascinated by the “Obama is paying bills” hoax showing up right now. That’s gonna piss people off. Mittens might get more AA votes than believed
Massive growth of executive pay in nation’s capital
http://tinyurl.com/7zd7lzd
…..Last year it was reported that the average executive pay had reached an unbelievable level of nearly 380-times that of his employees. This was up from a difference of 42 to 1 recorded in 1980, and 25 to 1 in 1962. The growth in executive pay is only one expression of the parasitic nature of the ruling elite governing and controlling modern day society…..
….Though reporting somewhat glowingly about the decrease in salaries, in another article the Post states that in comparison, average wage growth for workers has essentially flat-lined at the same time, growing only 1.5 percent last year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This amount fails to even stay ahead of the rate of inflation.
If we the peons, have to pay to have our claims denied ( at best) by mandate . I’d like to see “health care” providers CEO’s obscene pay be limited to 2 percent pay growth a year by mandate . That’s fair isn’t it? /sark.
It seems there is a big elephant in the room that is being ignored. After all the ‘deductions’ for family size, marital status etc., most of those who really love O care do so in the mistaken belief that they will get it for ‘free.’ What is being missed here, is that many if not most of them will be thrown on a very expanded form of Medicaid, not to be confused, believe me, with Medicare.
Roberts’ opinion allowed the states to drop out without endangering their current funding, wherein Medicaid is now supposedly only for the truly needy.. A re-elected Obama, with his love of retribution, will not let that little detail get in the way, and another crisis could ensue. The other factor is, of course, in a second term he will try to appoint another toadie to the Court. Buyers should Beware..
And most people don’t understand the recapture rules of Medicaid should one’s circumstances change.
Lola and Paperdoll,
Can you post the links to the two blogs you mentioned in your calls?
Thanks
Dan
You mean Beyond Black & White? I know I mentioned that one. Don’t recall mentioning a second one off the top of my head.