The health care debate has raged on and on…lies, misinformation and all the usual political tactics are being employed and with that there has been some amazing anal statements issued…like the death of the elderly or it is socialized medicine…but the best so far has come from Dr. Arthur Laffer, the economist that produced the idea that if you give the rich a tax cut everybody will win….i.e. the Laffer Curve–a farsical idea that Reagan jumped on and made this guy some sort of genius.
Anyway, this guy holds a Ph,D. and yet he makes statements like this (as reported on MSNBC:
if you like the DMV or the Post Office and you think they are run well, just wait until the government just wait until you see how Medicare, Medicaid and health care are when run by the government…..
Okay, this guy is a Ph.D. but apparently he is not aware that Medicare and Medicaid are government programs.
Need we say more about the stupidity of the arguments?
I’m under the opinion that he does know they are government programs. He is engaging in misinformation to scare people into opposing the democrat’s plan. It is purely a FUD tactic.
Hiya Terrant….he does know what he is saying he has been a GOP tool for decades and he continues to be so.
The guy’s obviously a jerk. That said, I do believe that NO government anywhere in the world is actually capable of running a piss-up in a brewery (piss-up is a sort of drinking party on speed, if the expression doesn’t translate) let alone a people’s medicare system. So I do fear for the US medical system, if it is in danger of becoming like the UK’s NHS, which is SO much less than it potentially could be.
However, that fact does not and cannot invalidate the rightness of the principle of healthcare for all, regardless of ability to pay.
I have to confess that I don’t know a great deal about the American Healthcare system – except that it stinks for a lot of people. The thought though occurred to me that it should be a relatively simple matter to cover all non-elective medical treatment with a straightforward insurance that everyone is obliged to have (rather like car insurance) and to simply outlaw FOR EVERYONE any form of “pre-existing” and “current” healthcare questions, as well as questions about family medical history too.
Once a fixed rate for all was agreed, it seems simple for the government to pick up the tab out of taxes for the premiums. Hospitals would then be unable to differentiate between policyholders since they’d all cost the same. If the insurance companies don’t like it, they can go f*ck themselves, as I’m sure with all the handouts given recently the government must at least be a majority shareholder in several such companies.
Additionally, any people who want “all singing, all dancing – boob jobs and anal/vaginal reconstructive surgery included on the policy” type of insurance can pay for it separately as extra direct with the companies.
Is that too simplistic? I dare say it is, but I still think it could be made to work.
AF appreciate your input….you are correct that the US health care sucks for many people and your idea is good…..it is simple and understandable which is something politicians cannot do, they make everything difficult and confusing.