A random assortment of thoughts:On my way to work today traffic crawled to a stop on the parkway when people slowed to watch two ravens pick at the carcass of a fox
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basically, people want short term solutions; reelectiondrphungusMarch 22 2010, 18:07:27 UTC
No, you are correct. It's about reforming the system. This bill isn't by any means universal health care, and certainly not the public option. It's about eliminating policies about pre-existing conditions, denial of coverage, outlandish increases in premiums, and probably a thousand other little things (I haven't read the entire bill). There are reforms to try to curb the eventual implosion of the system. It's about opening up insurance to more people (with tax breaks for small businesses in some instances) so that there are more healthy and young people in the pool, which will help drive down costs, which then reforms the system and prevents a majority of people being priced out of insurance.
I think the fuss comes from a lot of ignorance, fear mongering, and hypocrisy, at different levels. The people against it seem to think that it's a slippery slope to socialism or totalitarianism, though many of them don't seem to understand what those things are and that they aren't the same thing. Also, they think that this health care reform, which is similar to the one proposed by the Republicans in the early 90s, will bankrupt the country, nevermind that this wasn't an issue back when the US went into two wars, gave tax breaks that depleted the existing budget surplus.
And that many opponents listen to pundits and their news stations of choice and parrot what they hear, thinking somehow they will get taxed out of existence and get placed on "death panels" not thinking that to not reform health care (insurance) will benefit most of them in the long run and that to not reform it is to protect the insurance companies who have a monopoly on our health--and that what's being protected here is the profit margins of these companies, etc.
So people get stirred up, and it's also a hugely partisan political fight where the idea is for reelection. Perception comes strongly into play and elected officials want to do what looks good on a commercial more times than not. If all the Republicans vote "no" and reform turns out to be characterized as a disaster, then they can say, "I told you so."
On the opposite side of the political spectrum, people are in a fuss b/c there is no universal health care, no public option, but for me, I like to be pragmatic, and I think reform was needed and that you take one step, and then you take another....but these are my politics and my take on it.
I think the fuss comes from a lot of ignorance, fear mongering, and hypocrisy, at different levels. The people against it seem to think that it's a slippery slope to socialism or totalitarianism, though many of them don't seem to understand what those things are and that they aren't the same thing. Also, they think that this health care reform, which is similar to the one proposed by the Republicans in the early 90s, will bankrupt the country, nevermind that this wasn't an issue back when the US went into two wars, gave tax breaks that depleted the existing budget surplus.
And that many opponents listen to pundits and their news stations of choice and parrot what they hear, thinking somehow they will get taxed out of existence and get placed on "death panels" not thinking that to not reform health care (insurance) will benefit most of them in the long run
and that to not reform it is to protect the insurance companies who have a monopoly on our health--and that what's being protected here is the profit margins of these companies, etc.
So people get stirred up, and it's also a hugely partisan political fight where the idea is for reelection. Perception comes strongly into play and elected officials want to do what looks good on a commercial more times than not. If all the Republicans vote "no" and reform turns out to be characterized as a disaster, then they can say, "I told you so."
On the opposite side of the political spectrum, people are in a fuss b/c there is no universal health care, no public option, but for me, I like to be pragmatic, and I think reform was needed and that you take one step, and then you take another....but these are my politics and my take on it.
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