Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obamacare. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

New York Times dubs Trump con man


August 20, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET NEWS BYTES...Where Liberals Walk

Donald Trump con artist extraordinaire


Donald Trump con artist extraordinaire
Donald Trump has given us one con job after another starting in 2016 when he duped all those supporters to vote for him. Still didn't get the public vote; Hillary Clinton beat him by 3 million. You'd think he won by a landslide; even Trump's Electoral win wasn't that impressive, just 304 to 227. Barack Obama was overwhelming over John McCain in 2008, 365 to 173. The con was on day one in the Oval Office and it has never abated.

Jennifer Rubin, a conservative writer for The Washington Post, says, "Trump’s economic record is one big con." She follows with...
"President Trump came into office promising some fabulous yet unspecified health-care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. No plan existed..." 
In fact every Republican plan reduced the rolls of Obamacare. There's more...
"Trump said he’d bring back manufacturing."
"Actually, it slowed and now has slumped. That’s one of the reasons the Federal Reserve gave for cutting interest rates this week." Rubin continued...
"Trump said he’d get tough on drug companies. He hasn’t. He said his tax cut would be aimed at the middle class, deliver $4,000 a year to the average American family and permanently boost business investment, pushing growth above 3 percent. Nope, nope and nope."
Most of the American public by now knows that the tax cut was in the beginning and continues to be for the wealthy and corporations, and there is no way the middle class or less will ever realize any benefits. Anyone in the White House embarrassed over all these failures? Not on your life. More than likely they are shouting their success to those who stood to gain. John Harwood of CNBC said...
“Benefits from what President Donald Trump called ‘the biggest reform of all time’ to the tax code have dwindled to a faint breeze just 20 months after its enactment. Half of corporate chief financial officers surveyed by Duke University expect the economy to shrink by the second quarter of 2020. Two-thirds expect a recession by the end of next year.”
MSNBC's Chris Hayes, NY Times dubs Trump a con man...


Rubin says this is Trump's biggie...
"The biggest economic lie was Trump’s declaration that trade wars are quickly and easily won, American consumers and farmers wouldn’t be hurt and we somehow would get richer by making Americans pay more at stores. Actually, they are paying a lot."
And even more...
The conservative American Action Forum’s recent study found, “Altogether, the president’s tariffs could increase nationwide consumer costs by nearly $100 billion annually.”
 So, with all of the above, economists have come to the conclusion that a recession is very likely in 2020, brought to us compliments of Donald Trump. If that doesn't dump Trump in 2020, I don't know what could.

Read more here: "Conservatives are a fraud? We knew that"

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Trump determined to take away Americans healthcare


The Oval Office lunatic is on another rampage to repeal Obamacare, just because he hates Barack Obama. You can place Mitch McConnell in that same category (hating Obama-they are both racists) with McConnell's continuing support to get rid of Obamacare. Neither does it for the good of the country or its citizenry, they do it to feed their warped egos and sick minds in the continuing parade to erase anything Barack Obama did in his administration. GOP Senators were blindsided, according to The Hill. And Republicans are screaming, "We need a plan," on another occasion where they are caught short by their own president, says Politico. It remains beyond comprehension how a maniac like Donald Trump can continue to lead the most powerful country in the world.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Trump lies again over middle-class tax savings-Ryan has fuzzy figures


Donald Trump said "the average American family would get a $4,000 raise, which is an outright lie. Speaker Paul Ryan hedged by saying it would save his group $1,182, using median household income ($59,000) when, in fact, the more realistic figure is median family income at $73,000. And there are added caveats like the savings are only good for the first year. Ryan also says thinking of repealing Obamacare's individual mandate in the tax bill, but with the curbing of the GOP's Obamacare repeal, Dems are planning the same strategy to trash the tax bill. What is so scary is that the opaque Paul Ryan believes all the shit he spews, and Trump doesn't know any better. Pathetic!

Trump lies about tax bill, Ryan uses "trumped" up figures...

Let's stick in the repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate...

Dems planning same strategy against tax bill that killed Obamacare repeal...

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

GOP now has total control...or does it?


The Rat Pack...Ryan-Trump_McConnell
Donald Trump's future couldn't be shakier after the defeat of Speaker Paul Ryan's American Health Care Act, but even more insecure is Ryan's speakership. He hasn't led this Congress anywhere but in the direction of those issues he favors. But then, this Congress seems only to have the capacity for the perpetuation of hate and opposition to anything Democrat. Trump has made that ideology a priority from the beginning of his campaigning for 2016, right through the inauguration and into the Oval Office. Senate leader Mitch McConnell is absolutely overjoyed.

But what brings McConnell back to earth is Congress' inability to repeal Obamacare. Here's a look at Donald John blowing off about what he would do, which he didn't do...
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told the Washington Post after the election. Under Trumpcare, according to Trump, people “can expect to have great health care. It will be in much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.”
And then trump tweeted after defeat: “ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!” Always the psychopathic windbag, that would never admit he was wrong or that he has been soundly defeated...by his own Party. This is basically how it has come down over the years, according to Vox...
"This was bolder and brasher than what more establishment-minded Republicans had said over the years. But it was, fundamentally, similar to promises and insinuations made by Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and dozens of other Republicans. It’s not just that the Affordable Care Act was killing jobs and sentencing people to death panels. It’s that Republicans had some much better plan in their back pocket that would give Americans what they want — cheap, comprehensive health insurance that offers them oodles of choice."
Vox is saying that Trump and Republicans are now paying for this great line of bullshit served up by both, even though it helped Republicans win Congress and eventually the White House at the time. But what happens now, when Trump is behind the eight ball and needs to get tax legislation passed? After the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and then enactment of AHCA failed miserably, he will still be dealing with the same Republicans, needing their support even more so since the savings from Obamacare replacement will not be realized. Where will the money come from for reduced taxes?

And there's much more to be done that Donald John promised the poor souls that supported him. As recent as March 15, in Nashville, he was still talking the repeal of Obamacare and chastising judges for blocking his travel bans. And in Louisville, he delivered his populist and nationalist appeal, no doubt crafted by Steve Bannon, to clamp down on illegal immigration and bar terrorists from America. These rallies are designed to garner public support for Trump's programs, but where he should be focusing his efforts is on Congress.

Leading up to the House vote on Obamacare, both Donald Trump and Paul Ryan had promised their own healthcare bill which the Speaker delivered to a very reluctant and disillusioned Congress. The GOP has been pretty well in sync on getting rid of Barack Obama's health care program with Mitch McConnell leading the venomous attack. Here's what conservatives in general thought of the ACA...
"...it taxes rich people too much, and coddles Americans with excessively generous, excessively subsidized health insurance plans. They want a world of lower taxes on millionaires while millions of Americans put “skin in the game” in the form of higher deductibles and copayments. Exactly the opposite, in other words, of what Republican politicians have been promising."
That last sentence says it all. So much promised but nothing delivered. And with 2018 mid-terms coming, Trump's inability to deliver may well weigh heavily on those Republican districts up for grabs. All of the analysis to date is now outmoded since the healthcare fiasco has shown the weakness in the GOP armor, something that will need vast improvement before any new programs are introduced by the Trump administration. And here are more items on the White House agenda...
"...a $1 trillion investment in roads and other infrastructure and proposed crackdowns on both legal and illegal immigration, will require the support of Democrats, many of whom have been alienated by the highly partisan start to Trump’s tenure."
The one high point Trump had was the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for Scalia's Supreme Court seat which looked to be pretty safe until last Friday...
"Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, may fall short of the votes needed for smooth passage in the Senate next week, potentially dashing Republican hopes for an easy victory after the stinging defeat of the American Health Care Act last week."
The above comment from the Washington Post reflects the turmoil created by Paul Ryan's damaging loss with his healthcare program. But even if Gorsuch misses the 60 votes needed, there's still the "nuclear" option available to Republicans; although a right which would get Gorsuch approved, it hasn't even been tried since 1917. That year, instead, it resulted in reform of the Senate's filibuster rules. Bernie Sanders warned against its use, advice that the GOP should consider since a day will come when Democrats will again control Congress and the White House.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Is Bernie Sanders running for Trump resignation/impeachment?


Bernie Sanders-Chris Hayes MSNBC
Bernie Sanders has been everywhere recently talking about everything from how the Republicans are screwing up to how the Democrats are twiddling their thumbs. As recently as Thursday, he said Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, "...brought the Supreme Court confirmation process to a new low during this week's confirmation hearings." And it was only mid-March that headlines were screaming, "Everyone loves Bernie Sanders. Except, it seems, the Democratic party," headline from The Guardian. It is certain that The Bern is well versed on both sides.

Here's the latest figures on Sanders who is being given the national spotlight regularly these days. 61% favorable, 32% unfavorable. When you look at Donald Trump, who sits in the Oval Office today, DT is only 44% favorable, with an unfavorable rating of 53%. When you take the comparisons even further, Barack Obama had a job approval rating of 69% during his first days in office in 2009. Considering the chaos of the Trump administration, the screw ups they have pulled to date, and the fact that Donald John is incapable of getting any of his programs approved, it can only get worse.

These are Fox News polls and although I do have reservations about anything Fox says or does, I take some comfort in the fact that these numbers are being reported by The Hill, a highly reputable publication. They even mention that Trump's unfavorable ratings have been even worse, rising above 55% at times. Here's The Hill's take...
"The huge popularity of Sanders in the Fox poll tracks virtually all other polling that shows Sanders to be, by a large margin, the most popular political leader in America, and far ahead of Trump, the most unpopular new president in the history of presidential polling."
Bernie Sanders has been rallying against the GOP healthcare bill and the repeal of Obamacare since it was introduced by Paul Ryan and endorsed by Donald Trump. The Bern has his own healthcare plan that is even more universal than The Affordable Care Act, but agrees with The Hill that, "...TrumpCare's unpopularity creates a grave danger of disaster for Republicans in 2018 and 2020." And here are some results of Bernie's efforts...
"...a shocking new poll from Quinnipiac University found American voters opposing the pending Republican healthcare bill by a three to one margin. Fifty-six percent of voters disapprove of TrumpCare (or "RyanCare," or whatever name is attached to the disastrous GOP bill), while only 17 percent support it."
With Sanders popularity today, there is no doubt that he would beat Trump in an election, a point I have made several times recently in an effort to keep Progressives active, with an eye toward the day that Donald Trump implodes and brings the Republican Party down around him. The Hill agrees...
"The consistently high ratings for Sanders, and the consistently low ratings for Trump, show that the real majority in America is the genuinely progressive and genuinely populist view of Sanders, not the phony populism or warped conservatism represented by Trump."
 "If Sanders were running against Trump for president today, he would win by a gigantic popular vote margin and a strong electoral vote margin."
Even across the pond, Bernie Sanders' popularity shines above all other American politicians. Here's the tragic analysis of The Guardian from Great Britain...
"If you look at the numbers, Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America – and it’s not even close. Yet bizarrely, the Democratic party – out of power across the country and increasingly irrelevant – still refuses to embrace him and his message. It’s increasingly clear they do so at their own peril."
Here's a Party, the Dems I'm talking about, who should have learned their lesson in the DNC fiasco with Debbie Wasserman Schultz; the fact that she unethically ramrodded Cliinton to the Democratic nomination, when Bernie Sanders was clearly the choice of the public. But that wasn't even enough. Again, there was Keith Ellison who was a natural to lead charged up Progressives on the left, but the old guard of the Party felt more complacent with a hard-liner, Tom Perez. Here's another startling fact from The Guardian; with U.S. Independents, Sanders has an astonishing +41 net favorability.

Progressives are asking for more--they want the adoption of Sanders' populist policies in retaking governor's offices with good support in the defined areas--but Democrats have their own ideas. The proof in the pudding came in a recent town hall meeting hosted by MSNC's Chris Hayes, and it applied directly to Trump voters. In "Trump country" West Virginia...
...the crowd ended up giving him [Bernie Sanders] a rousing ovation after he talked about healthcare being a right of all people and that we are the only industrialized nation in the world who doesn’t provide healthcare as a right to all its people.
The Guardian chastises the Democratic Party for its past lack of attention to houses of Congress, governorships and state houses across the country [thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz], instead concentrating on just a White House loss by Hillary Clinton, blamed on James Comey and the Russian intervention in the election. The ostrich effect, they [the Dems] either have their head in the sand or...up their ass. I go for the latter. Politico reports eventual attention to a positive economic message by the Democrats but...
“For now, aides say, the focus is on slaying the giant and proving to the voters who sent Trump into the White House why his policies will fail.”
Same old, same old, which Clinton tried at the end of her campaign and failed miserably. Bernie's comment...
“There are some people in the Democratic Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats.”
Looks like the Dems plan to stay on the bottom of the first-class heap. 

Friday, March 24, 2017

Weekend wrap-up of T-rump STUPIDS



It doesn't take much to collect a full body of stupid acts on the part of the Trump administration, but in many cases they are too little for a full-coverage post so I decided to wrap a bunch into a neat bundle and present it to you today. Here they are.

7 of 10 Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the healthcare situation. The Quinnipiac poll also found that DT, the man, is viewed poorly. He even fares worse on a Fox poll than he does on CNN re. healthcare. Donald John, in taking over the GOP's new healthcare bill, has managed to alienate the Freedom Caucus and other conservatives as well, to the extent that a vote on Thursday, March 23, had to be reschedule for today. There simply weren't enough votes on Thursday. IS OBAMACARE INVINCIBLE?

Sean Spicer doesn't like the press and so far they are returning the favor. That is the worst possible position a President's White House Press Secretary could be in, but, then, it reflects the exact position of the President he works for. In this kind of situation the President loses, but more important, the American people lose. Trump ran his 2016 campaign like a war room, and he and his administration are doing the same with the U.S. government. Following a conglomeration of muddled references to Trump's sources on the wiretaps, Spicer ends by saying Obama was helped in the wiretapping by the GCHQ, initials for the British intelligence finding agency. WHEN CONTACTED, THE BRITS SAID NO FREAKING WAY.

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos allow student loan companies to gouge students again due to a high rise of defaults. Rather than find the cause of the unpaid loans, Trump/DeVos decided to do away with Obama's Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, forbidding agencies from charging fees for up to 16 percent of the principal and accrued interest owed on the loans, if the borrower entered the government’s loan rehabilitation program within 60 days of default. But in one case in particular, a loan company had assessed an exorbitant amount for defaulting, after agreeing to work with the student on a reduced payment schedule. PROVING...YOU CAN'T TRUST BUSINESS.

Nepotism is alive and thriving in Donald Trump's White House. Okay, the latest is that Kellyanne Conway's husband will be given a job in the Justice Department. "If confirmed by the Senate, George Conway would lead an office that would handle legal challenges to major Trump administration initiatives, such as the controversial travel ban." It started out with Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband who was made a senior adviser to the President. His first diplomatic venture ended in failure as Great Britain rebuffed his efforts to push back votes on Israeli settlements until after the inauguration, supposedly as a favor to Netanyahu. Then, big daddy's daughter, Ivanka, is set to join daddy's administration as an unspecified, but reportedly influential policy role, and with that comes an office in the West Wing and top secret security clearance. Just what we need, a gang of Trumps out there running around with secrets about this country with no idea whatsoever the importance of what they hold. IN THIS CASE, NEPOTISM SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.

Even the Germans laugh at America's White House buffoon. The Daily Beast reports, "Trump Meets the German Press, and They Laugh At Him," their headline, followed by, "The American President, meeting his German counterpart, keeps taking victory laps, ripping reporters and ignoring the substance of tough questions." You would think the world's top narcissist would back off when going to visit one of the best allies the U.S. has had for years. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reserved and it would appear that she might just have been willing to let Donald John hang himself. He did, even appearing "impatient and restless as he stood at the podium." He continued by mocking a German reporter and later put down the U.S. in a statement about this county's trade failures, particularly NAFTA. BETTER KEEP DT HOME CUTTING THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN.

And finally, this huge Trump billboard that was recently erected in Phoenix of a "...menacing Donald Trump... flanked by mushroom clouds and swastikas configured like dollar signs." It is the blog picture today and, surprisingly, the Trump good-ole-boys haven't gone after it. Yet. It's owner, Karen Fiorito, a California resident, says, "I think a lot of people are feeling this way and I'm just trying to express what I think is on a lot of people's minds these days," followed by, "Something that really concerned us was this idea of a dictatorship where things were going in a certain direction." And if you look very closely at Donald John, you'll see a Russian flag on his lapel. She did the same thing for George W. Bush in 2004. By the way, she says the Donald Trump billboard will stay there as long as he is in the White House. UMMM...MAYBE ENOUGH OF THESE AROUND THE COUNTRY?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!








Friday, March 17, 2017

Republican Congress stopped dead in its tracks...by Republican?


Trump's latest political mess
I guess the first question is, is Donald Trump a Republican? We know he isn't a Democrat. Or is there some non-party designation for his highness that was put into play by the political establishment when his eminence somehow became President of the United States? The latter we may never know. The former is displayed every day in a White House that seems committed to confusion and chaos. All travel bans have been shot down by the courts, the repeal of Obamacare, engineered by Speaker Ryan, is floundering, the Mexican wall seems to be going nowhere.

And now this headline from the Washington Post re. Donald John's budget released on Thursday: "Capitol Hill Republicans not on board with Trump budget." Here's how WP described it...
“President Trump on Thursday will unveil a budget plan that calls for a sharp increase in military spending and stark cuts across much of the rest of the government including the elimination of dozens of long-standing federal programs that assist the poor, fund scientific research and aid America’s allies abroad.”
Some in Congress have complained that the budget doesn't have enough defense spending, but no one even mentions the fact that there will be drastic cuts to the welfare system. Based on the year 2015, each night 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness. And over 500,000 veterans still wait more than 30 days to see a doctor, in a system rife with incompetence and under funding. If Medicaid is turned over to states, especially those like Arizona, there's no guarantee these people will have adequate coverage, if any at all.

In addition, WP reports there are massive cuts to the arts, scientific research and aid to our allies overseas...
"A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” would increase defense spending by $54 billion and then offset that by stripping money from more than 18 other agencies. Some would be hit particularly hard, with reductions of more than 20 percent at the Agriculture, Labor and State departments and of more than 30 percent at the Environmental Protection Agency."
""It would also propose eliminating future federal support for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Within EPA alone, 50 programs and 3,200 positions would be eliminated."
I don't believe there is anyone out there, I don't care how liberal you are, that will argue with the fact that the government is top heavy and overspends. But there are many on both side of the aisle that question this amount of spending on defense. And we know there are tax cuts for the wealthy on the way, plus, remember all that "pork," those projects in congressional districts that are done for the sole purpose of getting someone reelected. No one talks about this anymore. So, what we are left with is a budget that represents Donald trump's version of Republican ideology.

During the 2016 election, Trump supporters were bellowing the fact that, if an outsider like Donald Trump, a supposedly savvy businessman, took over the White House, he would change things so it would run like a top. Well, here's what the Washington Post had to say...
"Trump was only the latest in a long line of political figures who argued that if someone from outside politics took over the government, he’d whip it into shape with his business savvy and management expertise. The result has been the most chaotic and incompetent White House anyone can remember. As Politico reported Wednesday, 'A culture of paranoia is consuming the Trump administration, with staffers increasingly preoccupied with perceived enemies — inside their own government,' creating 'an environment of fear that has hamstrung the routine functioning of the executive branch.'”
Finally, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said “You can’t drain the swamp and leave all the people in it.” As a Trump appointed member of the team and a conservative republican, I'll let you decide.

Friday, March 10, 2017

‘World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017’ stinks


While millions risk losing their health insurance, perhaps dying as a result, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, thinks he has the perfect replacement for Obamacare in his POS ‘World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017.’ Sessions thought he would slip his legislation in as a model for what Speaker Paul Ryan  and the rest of the House plan to do. "Instead, Speaker Paul Ryan and his team modeled their initial bill on legislation authored by former
Rep. Tom Price." This is what Price had to say...
"...that that bill as currently written is a “work in progress,” and that future legislative and regulatory fixes will be necessary to address all of the health-care policies that Republicans hope to implement."
But the health care industry doesn't want anything to do with any of it. Seven groups speaking for hospitals, health systems and medical colleges collectively added their “significant concerns,..."
"...to the growing opposition, focusing on the prospect of sharply lower numbers of insured Americans if the GOP plan becomes law. Separately, the American Medical Association, a powerful lobbying group for physicians, rejected the bill for the same reason."
Based on health care specialists who have analyzed the Republican House bill, millions will lose coverage with Americans in their 50s and 60s as the most likely to not be able to afford the coverage. By 2020 the premium subsidies based on income would be gone, according to the New York Times. The current system would be replaced by tax credits of $2,000 to $4,000 per year, based on age. But this would leave a significant deficit from current coverage plans under Affordable Care Act requirements. Meaning, many would have to give up their health insurance.

Here's a statement from a major health care provider...
The central issue is the tax credits are not going to be sufficient, admits Dr. J. Mario Molina, chief executive of Molina Healthcare who offers coverage through Obamacare marketplaces in California, Florida and several other states. 
One unhappy Trump voter says she thought he would make her health insurance more affordable not more expensive. Under the House Plan, she would get $5,188 less each year than she did under the Affordable Care Act. "I'm scared," she says. Although there are no official figures yet, a report from Standard & Poor's claims that somewhere from 2 million to 4 million people will leave the insurance because, in their 50s and 60s, aren't old enough for Medicare but can't afford the new Republican House Plan. Brookings Institution estimates even higher losses.

With this new round of opposition nationwide, the GOP is finding new resistance at every corner. The health care groups also challenged the proposed changes to Medicaid...
"...warning that they would mean lost coverage and funding cuts for a program charged with caring for vulnerable children, elderly and disabled Americans."
"AMA chief executive James L. Madara, a doctor, wrote a letter to congressional leaders released Wednesday expressing the same sentiment: 'We cannot support the AHCA as drafted because of the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations.'”
How many more of you get the feeling, and this dates back for years, that Republicans don't give a shit about those in need of assistance from others? I'm betting plenty. Yes, there are those who take care of the welfare system but that is limited based on expenditures by welfare recipients. And here are 7 lies about welfare that many people believe are fact. AARP has come out against the GOP bill, and even some conservative advocacy groups like Heritage Action for America, FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth have also rejected it. It's proving a bummer, hands down.

Let's talk the Republican Healthcare Plan...


The Republican Plan will have a huge effect on Alan Lipsky of Arden, N.C. Lipsky is 60, his wife in her 50s, and they would lose $13,664 annually under the new plan. He thinks that Obamacare could be improved on, as do most of the Act's supporters, but at least it's baseline. And the GOP bill is taking this away from him with what's left unaffordable, he says. Bu the healthcare wrecking crew are determined to do it their way...
"House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) expressed confidence the bill would eventually pass, even though some conservative House GOP members have railed against it, complaining it does not undo the ACA aggressively enough."
Also on the chopping block, he financial assistance available to low income people with out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-payments. There are some large deductibles under the Affordable Care Act but the cost-sharing reductions that are available are a big protection for low income people that end up with huge medical bills that would otherwise cause financial disaster. The insurance market itself could be in harm's way by the elimination of the individual mandate, hated from the beginning of the ACA, but evntually found to be practical.

In 2016, The Washington Post called Paul Ryan's health care plan, "flimsy." Here's their commentary...
"IT HAS been more than six years since the Affordable Care Act passed and nearly three years since its major provisions began phasing in. During that time, the rate of uninsured Americans has plummeted to a historic low. Also during that time, Republicans have blamed the law for practically every problem with the health-care system, the economy and more. But they have infamously not united behind a credible alternative."
Then Paul Ryan, who should just go back to Wisconsin and stick to making cheese, came out with his version which has ended up, along with Tom Price's version, as what Republicans are going with. But listen to this, two weak points that are pointed out by WP in the 2016 rendition...
The proposal does not say how valuable the credit would be, nor the rate at which it would increase.

The document also does not predict how many people it would cover, nor how much the plan would cost.
Whether these weaknesses were addressed in the latest bill that just cleared the first hurdle in the House and is now being debated in Committee, hasn't been revealed. Ryan, who is beginning to mirror Donald Trump in misinformation, stated "Because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke." NPR says, "In fact, the opposite appears to be true — Obamacare may actually have extended the life of Medicare."
This year's Medicare Trustees Report says the program would now be able to pay all its bills through 2028, a full 11 years longer than a 2009 forecast — an improvement Medicare's trustees attribute, in part, to changes in Medicare called for in the Affordable Care Act and other economic factors.
What is occurring here, from the top down, is the use of lies and deception from the Republicans to
sell their programs, with healthcare just the latest issue. It rose to popularity in the days of George W. Bush and Karl Rove when prevarication was the norm. It hasn't changed. But apparently Paul Ryan hasn't differed as much as he thought in his bill with Obamacare. Here is what the experts are saying...
"And the irony of the Ryan Medicare plan, say some health policy analysts, is that it would turn the government program into something that looks very much like the structure created for insurance plans sold under the ACA."
"'The way it works is comparable to Obamacare,' says physician and conservative policy analyst Avik Roy, founder of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity." 
There is no way to predict just where and how far the Republicans will take their drive to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, or what they will come up with as a replacement, if they are successful. What we do know is that the American public will not be the beneficiary. It will be the wealthy and big business.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Political Satire: Mitch McConnell loves Obamcare



Elaine Chou had just been approved as Donald Trump's Transportation Secretary and her husband, Mitch McConnell was elated; along with a GOP Congress and a new figurehead in the White House he was sure he could control. Yes, Donald John was elected to the office but McConnell knew he was the real savior of the Republican Party now. He had never had this kind of power, and was just glad that he had found his source of long term stamina in the last few years to keep him going. It was the only way he had had the drive to fight against Barack Obama's second term. Damn those blacks.

McConnell grabbed his bottle of Mexican vitamins and took two; the dosage was six a day. God forbid anything happen to the doctor in Mexico City who supplied him. Heading back to the Senate chamber, his cell phone rang and it was doctor Gonzales who was excited, exclaiming that he wouldn't be able to supply the Senator any longer with his precious supplement.

"What do you mean? I pay you a fortune for the capsules. Do you need more money? I can always call the Koch brothers for a loan."

"No, no, something called Obamacare. Federales just raided my shop and took everything. I am ruined and all because of you."

"What did I do," he was desperate now.

"The Mexican President is a good friend of Barack Obama and when he found out what I was doing, he had me raided."

McConnell knew he would waste away and be unable to fulfill his duties of Majority Leader without his beloved Mexican vitamins. Even his wife didn't know. "Just sit tight. I'll take of this."

As he strode onto the Senate floor, he approached the podium and called for order. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate." Only a handful were there, all Democrats. "After a long discussion with my staff, I have decided that this body will vote to continue Obamacare, and I would heartily recommend to Speaker Ryan that the House do the same." Obamacare was kept by both houses.

That night he heard the sound of a text on his phone and when he checked, former President Obama said, "Now we're even. Any more of your crap and I'll tell Elaine."

Read more...


Friday, December 16, 2016

Obamacare demand surging for 2017


Tom Priice
Donald Trump says he will repeal Obamacare and the Senate head idiot, Mitch McConnell, says that it is his priority in the new Congress. Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell warned Monday that a repeal of Obamacare without  a replacement in place first would cause chaos in the health care industry. In the face of all this rhetoric, over 4 million people signed up for the coverage, in effect, telling Trump and McConnell to put their repeal where the sun don't shine. This repeal crap is not for the good of the country, it s simply child-like retaliation against Barack Obama.

The 4 million includes 1.1 million new subscribers, with 2.9 million re-upping. Even states with their own exchanges are seeing an increase in interest. The Obama administration has created the hashtag #CoverageMatters to let enrollees share how health care reform has benefited them, to prove to the American public just how valued the program is. Although Tom Price, Trump's new HHS Sec. "hates" Obamacare, and Trump and Obama and McConnell have indicated their intentions...
"...it's expected that they will delay putting an actual end to the law for two or three years while they come up with a replacement plan."
Price is connected to the Tea Party and that always spells trouble when you are talking about social programs. He's a former chairman of the conservative Republican study committee, with his website describing him as “devoted to limited government and lower spending.” The new Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, claims that Tom Price is way out of the mainstream of what the American public wants. But, then, that describes whole Tea Party, an organization that has caused more damage to this country that all of its wars. Here's a quote from Scumer:
"Nominating Congressman Price to be the HHS secretary is akin to asking the fox to guard the hen house."
Old but very appropriate!

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Trump's first one-hundred days void of substance


Donald Trump...with a sneer
Well, there is one action that deserves attention, simply because it had so much discussion during the Primary. It's the TPP trade deal to bring jobs back to this country, which Trump actually built part of his platform on. Bernie Sanders was also against the TPP but Barack Obama thought it was good for this country, hoping it would be part of his trade legacy. It's hard to fight any proposal, though, that will bring jobs back to American workers so a plus so far.

But from here on it turns into promises, vague meanderings, and complete absences of issues that were, again, a part of the Trump platform. According to CNN, "...he focused exclusively on campaign promises that would not require congressional approval." Shades of screams Obama heard from the Republican do-nothing Congress. But, then, the shoe is on the other foot now and time will tell how this plays out with the good-ole-boys who did not support Trump.

On the major issues requiring congressional approval, he backs off significantly from his vitriolic campaign rhetoric that was obviously meant to get the votes of his group of uneducated rednecks. Among other things, he called Mexican immigrants "criminals" and "rapists," then added they were killers too. "He Insisted The Mexican Government Intentionally Sends Their Criminals To The U.S." See all nine here. Didn't even mention building the Mexican wall.

Another major issue of the campaign not included in Trump's first one-hundred days is the repeal of Obamacare. You will remember his meeting with the sitting President and Obama asking him to at least keep the no preexisting conditions of the ACA, and the President hopeful he would agree. Trump released his own plan on healthcare back in March of 2016, making several vague references to what he would do. There was one high point:
"Trump would also allow prescription drugs to be imported and for full transparency of health care pricing, although he offered few details about how that — or any of the proposals — might work."
The first 100 days starts January 21, 2017. Mark your calendars for April 24, 2017, for the first evaluation of the new president that lost the popular vote by 1.7 million votes...and still counting.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Opinion to chill out over Trump only partially right


Timothy Stanley's headline, "Liberals, chill out about Trump victory," sounds comforting but he goes way too far. He's right about the courts holding Donald Trump in line and the fact that the 2018 election will certainly take into consideration how the President-elect fares in his first two years. And also the rights of the LGBT community. But he is dead wrong about him cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare, and his choice of Supreme Court justices.

Good God man, have you forgotten the disaster of the Geo. W. Bush fiasco, a fact that 20 million people are now covered by health care plans that weren't before the ACA? And for my money, we are only headed for some disastrous years with the addition of Trump's Court nominees. Conservatives won't admit it but the Citizens United decision has made a mockery of the election process and there is no way we will repeal that under Trump.

There is some contradiction to the above, considering that all of Hillary Clinton's massive ad buys in the millions didn't help her. But in the end it only proves that the Democrats nominated the wrong candidate. Most of us knew all along that it should have been Bernie Sanders.


Monday, January 11, 2016

Obamacare survives with President's veto




Over 50 times now the dunce cap kids have tried to repeal The Affordable Care Act that has more people covered for their health care needs now than ever before. Okay, I hear the naysayers, and yes there are still problems that have to be fixed but what if they had given up on Social Security and Medicare during their trying times? In the MSNBC article, one reader posed this question:
"I know that republicans will do whatever the NRA wants because of the millions of dollars that they receive in bribes. What I'm not sure about is why they are so stuck on continually trying to abolish or not fund Obamacare? Who has bribed them on this one?"
 That's an interesting question and raises another equally absorbing query; just who has the GOP's gonads on this one. One would need only to look at the health care industry and health professionals. The GOP and conservative groups receive far more in donations than Democrats and Progressive organizations. Which would indicate to me that if you are a Republican politician, you're in it for the money. Sure, the Dems do it but the scales are weighed heavily toward the GOP when it comes to taking money for favors.

Of course there is still that factor of animosity toward Barack Obama and anything he has or is trying to accomplish in his presidency. This will perhaps go down in U.S. history as the most egregious act ever perpetrated by a Republican Congress.  

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Obamacare beats sign-up expectations but GOP Congress wants to repeal




More than 8 million people signed up for coverage via the federal HealthCare.gov health insurance exchange marketplace as of Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell on MSNBC. She added, "Today, we have more sign-ups, more new enrollees and a younger population than we did last year.” Didn't Pres. Obama caution that we must give the healthcare act time and the young people would begin to participate?

Our new esteemed House Speaker, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), was quoted at the same time on "Meet the Press," "It’s a law {ACA} that is not working.” So much for improving the new Speaker's intelligence over Boehner and working across the aisle.

If that wasn't enough, yesterday "The House voted almost entirely along party-lines, 240 to 181, to repeal the Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood." Obama has already said he was going to veto any of this Republican bullshit, which makes it perfectly clear to me what a mockery the GOP is and has been making of the Congress in pursuing their stupid ideology. It's a proven fact that the more the public knows about the ACA, the more they approve of it. 

It is also obvious that much of the original and ongoing disapproval of ACA is due to Republican negative advertising and promotion since its inception in 2010, much of which was and continues to be totally untrue. It's all a matter of whether or not we want to provide coverage for every citizen of the U.S., some who can't afford it, like many of the industrialized countries in the world. Or do we continue to let the covetous, greedy Republican population keep America in the dark ages? 

It's pretty much your decision when you go to the polls in November. 

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Obamacare and mental health


"Obamacare has been a huge help for mental health care," according to Alan B. Miller, CEO and Chairman of Universal Health Services. "This year, an estimated 3.7 million Americans with significant mental illnesses now have coverage and access to care through the insurance exchanges or extended Medicaid — they have moved from the shadows and into needed treatment." A sign that something is being done about this problem as has been demanded by the NRA and other gun rights organizations and supporters.

It's now time for these same people to come to grips with and support responsible gun legislation like background checks, banning assault weapons, closing the gun show loophole and halting gun straw purchases. Time to put your common sense to where your mouth is.

Friday, May 22, 2015

When the Cards are Stacked Against you OBAMACARE Comes Through


The GOP has been trying to repeal OBAMACARE since it was first passed into law. But the number of uninsured Americans has dropped by 16.4 million since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and the rate of uninsured Americans decreased by 35 percent, the largest drop in 40 years. The Atlantic adds, if people have good information they make good choices. And this is just what lifelong Republican Luis Lang is doing after failing to sign up for the Affordable Care Act, previously priding himself on covering his own medical bills. Lang commented that, "thanks in part to a flood of media attention that led him to learn more about health care policy, he doesn’t identify with the GOP anymore." This was all prompted by thousands of dollars in medical bills he couldn't afford to pay. He did try to navigate the AFC website with its numerous technical glitches with no success. Lang said, “I put the blame on everyone — Republican and Democrat. But I do mainly blame Republicans for their pigheadedness. They’re blocking policies that could help everyone."

Thursday, April 30, 2015

FLORIDA GOVERNOR MORE EVIDENCE OF GOP BRAINLESSNESS


These Republican fruitcakes just keep popping up. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has decided to sue Obamacare for a deleted program the Affordable Care Act made unnecessary. He wants the money the ACA can provide for Florida's low income population but refuses to accept it in the name of Obamacare. The former policy, “Low Income Pools” (LIP), designed by Bush/Cheney to help hospitals actually funneled some money to Florida and now Radical Rick wants more of it, but only in the name of LIP. Kansas GOP Gov. Sam Brownback recently cut educational budgets in that state literally putting the future learning of that state's kids in dire jeopardy. Now Florida's Scott wants to do the same thing to his state's low income constituents needing healthcare. Pathetic!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Obama gets tough in opening second term


 
 
Mitch McConnell doing Obama
It looks like the President is tired of taking the crap that the Republicans have been dishing out for the last 4 years.  It started with a comment by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in October of 2011.  He said: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”   He wasn’t, and McConnell turns out to be the idiot he looked like for the last four years.  He and House Speaker John Boehner, since the GOP took over the house in 2010, have spewed a non-stop diatribe of what a failure Barack Obama had been.  They were wrong and the American people knew it.
 
And because the Republicans were trounced last November in the elections, Boehner now is taking a new approach.  He is saying that “Obama’sfocus is to annihilate the Republican Party.”  Actually, Obama doesn’t have to do anything.  The GOP, led by the Tea Party, is doing that all on their own without any help.  The remark from Boehner made at a Ripon Society luncheon was confirmed by the Speaker’s spokesperson.  Even with a Republican majority in the House that can block the President’s legislation, it is obvious that this gang of obstructionists is running scared, as they should be.
 
David Gergen, who has advised four Presidents, said: “Years from now, historians are likely to look back upon Barack Obama's second inaugural address as a rich treasure trove for understanding his presidency and possibly the course of American politics.”  It’s the sort of thing you say about a great President.  Another interesting comment by Gergen was that not only was Obama more confident, but that he was also “liberated.”  Gergen thinks that refers to the comfort of a second term and not having to run again, as well as showing that Republicans are not willing to compromise.  Either way it is very promising.
 
Obama’s inauguration speech reminds us of Lyndon Johnson’s brand of liberalism and the Great Society.  It is a welcome return to values that espouse equality with the emphasis off the wealthy and now directed at middle America, lower income brackets and the needy.  Another famous Mitch McConnell comment following Obama’s speech was: “The era of liberalism is back.”  How fitting that it comes at a time when we must pass new laws on gun control, comprehensive immigration reform and improving the environment.  The President also plans to work on his 2010 Obamacare.
 
Gergen says, “He emerged as an unapologetic, unabashed liberal -- just what the left has long wanted him to be and exactly what the right has feared.”     
 
Pulitzer Prize winner Historian Gary Willis writes about Lincoln’s maneuvering of the Declaration of Independence into the “founding creed of the country.”  In it, Lincoln says, we are all created equal, which was mirrored by Martin Luther King 100 years later in 1963, and what President Obama was talking about when referring to the declaration as our “founding creed.”  Gergen maintains that Obama has made equal opportunity the “central goal of his presidency.”  He adds that the GOP expected a plea for partisanship but received something of an ultimatum to cooperate, or else.
 
The question is whether Americans support Barack Obama in what he wants to accomplish in his second term.  According to a CNN/ORCInternational survey released Jan. 22, the percentage of those believing global warming is a fact resulting from cars, power plants and factories has doubled to 49%.  On immigration, 53% want a path for illegal immigrants to legal residents compared to 43% who want to deport them. Today, 51% favor all or most of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) with 44% opposed to all or most of it.  Is there any doubt why the President would demand cooperation from Republicans?
 

 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Mr. President…nice guys finish last

Mitt Romney was the winner in Wednesday night’s debate hosted by Jim Lehrer because apparently Barack Obama left his debating skills back at the White House.  Obama was constantly looking down at the lectern with an expression I could not define, nor is it one I have seen from him in earlier debates.  If he was pre-occupied with his 20th anniversary, which was Oct. 3rd, romanticists might forgive him a bit, but hard core political analysts are anything but romantics.


Jim Lehrer, Debate Host
I don’t think it was that because the Commander in Chief can separate himself from his personal life when the big decisions are necessary, as he has shown before.  He was described in the media as “less than engaged” and “lethargic,” at times rambling through issues and facts like he has before.  In one report the President’s performance was described as a “far cry” from when he was on the campaign trail first running for office.  So where was Obama Wednesday?

To begin with, he let Romney come on strong in the very beginning, as he was predicted to do, and take over the debate literally from his first words.  CNN said, “The crucial and tone-setting first 30 minutes of the debate belonged to Romney.”  As an example, the President should have hammered more on Romney’s tax plan that refuses to raise taxes while making deep budget cuts in areas like education, with no specific clue to where revenue will come from.

But here’s what he said on Thursday the day after the debate: "If you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth.  So here's the truth: Governor Romney cannot pay for his $5 trillion tax plan without blowing up the deficit or sticking it to the middle class. That's the math."  Something he did mention a couple of times on Wednesday but not forcefully enough.

And I was astounded that Obama never refuted Romney’s repeated claims that the President would cut $716 billion from Medicare, inferring that it would come out of benefits to retirees.  In fact, Obamacare makes this cut from insurance companies and hospitals, not beneficiaries, and in many cases involves cost-saving measures.  Medicare Advantage recipients will be affected by reductions but that is a private plan, by choice, not through the government.

You can see a complete transcript of the debate here.

Not only did Romney start with the strength of his convictions—although many probably won’t stand a fact-check—he continued showing a confidence that just didn’t seem to be there for the President, except at certain times.  Mostly it was missed opportunities like the $716 billion remark above, but from more recent gaffes by Romney, Obama didn’t challenge the challenger with his comment about the 47% of Americans who thought they were “entitled” to benefits.


Mitt Romney-Pres, Obama
Yet another miss, not bringing up the Romney Bain Capital fiasco when outsourcing jobs was mentioned.  How about just why Romney refuses to release additional taxes from the 2 years already released?  Obama should have been more prepared to show exactly why Romney will have to raise taxes on the middle class when refusing to raise them on the wealthy.  And what about the latter.  Any one of these could have put Romney on the defensive.

At times I thought Romney looked flushed, reminiscent of the Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960 when Nixon looked very tired and sweated profusely,  Romney suffered from neither of these but the redness in his face seem to come and go, coming on while Obama was talking then lessening when he was at the helm.  Barack Obama just seemed detached from his surroundings while Romney was speaking, which could account for his lack of attacks on Romney untruths.

Who gets the Pinocchio award?
In a couple of fact-checks, Seniors will pay less under Obamacare rather than Romney’s claim they will pay more.  Obama’s administration did not create 5 million jobs as he spoke, but rather 4.4 million, but with a net gain of 125,000 jobs during his administration.  Romney said health care costs are going up, which they are, but they are rising under Obamacare at the slowest rate they have in 51 years.  If you are interested, go to FactCheck.orghttp://www.factcheck.org/.

There are two more Presidential debates and one Vice Presidential debates still to go, and the whole picture will no doubt change somewhat with each meeting of the candidates.  I did a post recently, “The debates may not make a difference but we’ll watch them anyway,” which addresses whether Presidential Debates have changed the course of the elections over the years.  In most cases, no, but with Romney’s Wednesday strengths, Obama must find himself before Oct. 16.

Missing was to question the candidates what they would do about gun violence and more firearms regulation.  Lehrer was asked by top gun control advocates to do this but not even a mention if it might be coming up in future debates.  And my final thought, Romney did not beat the President in this debate, Obama beat himself.  I am still curious why it happened.  What are your thoughts?

Friday, June 29, 2012

Supreme Court upholds majority of Obamacare…and just in time

The Affordable Health Care Act has been recognized by the Supreme Court as being constitutional.  The one factor not upheld was requirements of Medicaid expansion within the states.  The Court basically ruled that this involved too many conditions that seemed unreasonable to demand.  Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the majority but took the position that the mandate requiring all Americans to have health insurance is a tax, contrary to the President.


Demonstrators for Obamacare

And the reason this decision comes “just in time” is a new report by Families USA confirming that 26,000 Americans die prematurely each year because they don’t have health insurance.  That breaks down to 500 per week, 2,175 each month.  For those of us paying dearly for our insurance coverage, and who are tired of supporting those who elect not to have health insurance, Obamacare rectifies this by making it affordable for this group.

The law’s mandate to buy health insurance was confirmed, but because the fine against those who do not comply is administered by the IRS, Roberts deemed it a tax.  Nancy Pelosi, Obama’s staunchest supporter of the legislation said you can call it anything you want to now that the law is upheld.  Republicans say they will work vigorously to repeal Obamacare and this may pass the House but most analysts say it will never get out of the Senate.

If the Supremes had no other reason to uphold the law, the 26,000 annual premature deaths would be reason enough, although this has no legal grounds.  What the figure does establish is the depth of crisis this nation is in when it comes to providing affordable healthcare to all its citizens.  Another staunch supporter of The Affordable Healthcare Act since it passed is Ron Pollack, Executive Director Families USA.  He said:  

"The fact remains that for the millions of Americans without health coverage, only the Affordable Care offers the promise of access to affordable coverage and to a longer and healthier life."

In the 26,000, above, every state is affected, Vermont with the fewest deaths and California with the most.  The numbers for those without health insurance have a broad range from 21 million to 50 million, and the figure being thrown around most recently is 30 million.  Apparently included in this aggregation is 9.7 million who are not citizens.  In addition to these numbers, an additional study reports that another 38 million have inadequate health insurance.    

Other points in the Families USA Report are:

“…in the past 2 years, uninsured women older than 50 were half as likely as insured women to get mammograms.”

“Low-income uninsured adults were 5 times less likely to get screened for colon cancer in the past 5 years compared to insured adults.”

“Cancer patients without insurance are five times more likely to delay or even skip treatment because of the cost.”

“…uninsured adults are more often diagnosed with advanced stage disease and they are 25% more likely to die prematurely than those with private insurance.”


Stage 4 kidney cancer

As an example of the latter, Frederick and Regina Holliday had no health insurance for 16 years while working multiple jobs part time.  They had 2 small children and paid all the medical bills out of their pocket.  They did not go to the doctor until it was, as they described it, “…couldn’t get out of bed sick.”  Another obstacle for affordable coverage was Frederick’s pre-existing condition of a urinary tract stricture.  In 2008, things started to change.

Regina got a job but they could only afford health insurance for her.  Then Fred got a full time job teaching and they had family coverage.  But it was then that Frederick was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer which had metastasized to his stomach, bones and lungs.  Several months later he died at age 39.  His wife remarked:

“I believe that if my husband had consistent health care during his adult life he would still be alive today,”

Enough said?

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