That is the question…whether it is easier to face reality or to blow BS out of your butt? If we listen closely to the news it is apparent that it is the later…….but I digress…..the political theater in the US now is something akin to day care and there appears to be NO adult in charge…….
But in all the lip waging and finger pointing and he said they said….there is an adult…he has always been one of the few in the Washington arena……the adult I refer to is Colin Powell…not the darling of the Right by any means…but at least he acts like an adult….
“It’s a great system but it’s in some disarray right now and the American people are looking for their leaders to fix it,” Powell said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Congressional leaders need to find ways to “get the country moving and not just scream at each other,” said Powell.
“I think he has done quite a few things well to stabilize the situation,” Powell said. “But I’m afraid he put too much on the plate for the American people to absorb at this time.”
“The American people are looking for their leaders to fix it. They’re looking for the White House to fix it. They’re looking for leaders in both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in the House and Senate to start finding ways to compromise and get the country moving and not just scream at each other,”
He also spoke on the Obama socialism thing and asked if the country was so weak as to allow a single person to change the entire system…..(a point I would like to hear them address)
I know that the Right has had its problems with Powell, calling a RINO and chastising him when he endorsed Obama over McCain in the early days of the 2008 election thing….Man speaks like an adult that has actually spent sometime on understanding issues and position…instead of doing what others in his party are doing…insulting, name calling and whining….
Maybe if the GOP spent more time working for solutions to problems than is being an obstruction then the country could quite possibly be better off….but then he, Powell, can act like an adult for he is NOT running for anything…he does not need to stay on his knees in front of contributors……
And that’s the problem – all of them have to cow-tow and consider the money that will support their NEXT election campaign – so we never even hear their own personal opinions!
Shit system – and the result is… Yup! Shit!
Powell is indeed a lone adult voice. I don’t suppose I agree with every word he utters, but that doesn’t matter because I know he’s thought it through, has a good grasp of reality and, above, is actually saying what HE thinks!
A rarity!
While I do not consider myself a Repub I do think the man has a way about him…he would be a good president, but he is smarter than that…he is NOT a whore…like the rest of the thugs
“Maybe if the GOP spent more time working for solutions to problems than is being an obstruction then the country could quite possibly be better off”
Thankfully they have obstructed an issue or we’d be overburdened with ultra-expensive low-quality health care. Not only did our leadership underestimate and disregard the will of the American people, but now they’re trying some political theater and parliamentary tricks to try another run at the plan AND defaming the other big party.
They all need to lose their jobs. They would if they were in my company.
Hi LOUDelf and welcome back….I am not positive that the country is better off……I would if there were some concrete alternatives offered…..I do not believe that tort reform and HSAs are the best way to protect Americans health….please do not get me wrong…I think the Dems are just as obstructionist as the GOP….both are worthless and not working in the best interest of the people that elected them….
Glad to be back!
I do think that increased competition, better HSAs, tort reform, as well as our reducing our illegal population can all contribute mightily to the fix. Also, we need to look back to our recent past to a time when healthcare was better, and try to dial it back to then.
Another problem today is that many people think health insurance = health care. It’s not. It IS a way of defraying some of the massive costs of emergency care and other major medical costs… if you use them. The problem is, that people see a $20 (or less) bill to go see the doctor, and think that’s all it costs, and that’s all they pay, so they go for every sniffle, and don’t try to work as diligently at just not getting sick. Unfortunately, people think insurance is a force field, but it’s only a bullet-proof vest.
Not that long ago, we had a ton of charity hospitals that were able to work out costs with people. Today, many, if not most, have gone corporate and merged. This is due to many factors, including insurance companies, heavy regulation, and an ignorant public.
If we can reduce the costs to practice, the barriers to entry, and increase competition, everyone’s price can come down. But without each of these coming into play, the costs will go up. Look at Massachusetts’ health care problem.
Always a pleasure to have your comments…..I have a serious concern that HSAs and tort reform will not bring down the cost of health….but if it will get the ball moving I say put in some form of tort reform…but the HSAs, IMO, will help NO one but stock brokers and at the next, and there will be another, economic crisis people’s money will be lost…if they can find a better way to protect HSAs then this should be in the conversation…..
Competition–I will agree there also–and if the interstate thing will help more competition then it should be in the mix….but on the same hand the exemption of the anti-trust laws need to be repelled….that would also help…as it is now the insurance companies have a monopoly going and they will fight this tooth and nail….but I feel that true competition can only come from the breaking of that monopoly…
Illegals? That should be a future post…that issue is complicated and as it is now….not something I am concerned about……but with that said, I will agree that providing health care for free to them is a bit over the top….then that brings us back to a hospital that cannot turn anyone away……a humane thing to do, so they say……
And yes go back to the days when a doctor treated the whole family and not just your sphincter……the specialized they are the more expensive they are…..for a cough you have top see an eye, ear and nose, a respiratory and internal medicine and then it comes down to…..you need cough syrup…….that whole concept is a bit silly….
Illegals – I don’t see it as difficult – if a human being needs urgent emergency treatment right now, he/she gets it and if they can’t pay that’s just too bad. If that same person can wait – they can go home!
So, I know there are always grey areas but, a guy walks into a hospital with a broken arm and it’s treated regardless of ability to pay or national status… a guy walks in with terminal cancer and if he could walk in, then he can walk out and get a plane home.
and yes I too recall a time when general doctors actually knew something about medicine, had the time to deal with their patients and knew most of them by name.
The reason EVERYONE (particularly in the US, but the UK is going the same way) ends up seeing a specialist is largely because of the litigation culture – DO AWAY WITH IT! It’s STUPID and simply amounts to yet another way for lawyers to make lots of money!
I will agree that most lawyers are bottom feeders……and the tort reform is okay if it gets the process moving….but I still am not convinced that anyone will pay less…..the drs will still pay the insurance company….customers will stay insurance company…..and insurance company still will NOT pay……not much would change, IMO……but once again I am for it if it will bring about a health reform bill….
If you also (at the same time) open the insurance industry up wide to competition, the results will be spectacular!
And there is problem for me….the insurance industry’s exemption from anti-trust laws…they have a monopoly and it is not being addressed yet…maybe with this summit thingy….but I doubt it….
So forget the rest and just keep on DEMANDING it! Offer tort reform (or whatever you call it) SOLELY as a bargaining chip!
Yep…that is what I have been saying….but somewhere these dinks need to get the industry under control or NO amount of “reform” will help….
See my comment on “Money Well Spent” 🙂
You may well be right that the obstruction saved the day in some ways, that is another argument, but that it was the will of the people? I don’t think so…
If any one issue was paramount during the presidential election of 2008, it was the desire of the majority of people for healthcare reform that would provide medical facilities for ALL Americans – as outlined by Obama. I happen to think that is not a good idea for reasons similar to you, but it ISN’T what the majority of the people thought they were voting for. Right or wrong, the people wanted it and BOTH the major parties have f*cked it up and denied them what they wanted and had a right to ask for.
Obama’s final version was eventually sooooo complicated in order to try to appease all the total shit-head idiots who wanted to place ridiculous restrictions on the proposals and used disinformation, outright lies and bullying tactics to make the issue as difficult as possible. All the nonsense about abortions and so on – just religious myth, prejudice and cant which should have nothing to do with politics in a SECULAR democracy and was in any event simply the result of manipulation by vested interests with big money at stake! THAT isn’t democracy – it’s playing juvenile goddamn power politics at everyone else’s expense!
“tort reform will not bring down the cost of health”
Here’s what we know: Liability insurance premiums are enormous for doctors. The way it is right now, because of the protraction of legal battles and costs, most insurers offer to settle upon most claims for some amount. This reduces the large payouts if agreed upon, but also increases the pooling cost as a direct result. Now, add on the fact that their are few limits to actual damages, the settlements alone can be excessive. I find that if you can reduce these costs, you directly reduce the medical professional’s cost of operation, thus reducing the cost of health.
HSAs are merely savings accounts, and have little or nothing to do with stock brokers. You may be thinking 401k on that one. But what this does is allow for people to get policies that cover less, and thus reduce premiums as they save directly for costs in a HSA. The problem is, with current HSAs, they’re so tied up with yearly barriers and limits, that they have only a small usefulness. Look at the rich… they often self-insure for health as they know how insurance works. They use umbrella policies, or just self-fund medical as they won’t pay premiums for something they aren’t constantly using. HSAs offer tax shelter for people looking to protect their health.
I know the size of the settlements…I live in lawsuit lotto country…where everyone want s to get rich quick…..like I said I am not sure that it will be that effective in bringing down costs….but if it will get these bozos talking and talking for real then by all means put it on the table……I just want to see real progress this time around….I want to see people acting like adults….I want to see the American people win for a change…..