translating the Healthcare reform reconciliation

[wolf_nd_shadows]

I think one of the biggest reasons people are opposing the health care bill is that there is so much information and misinformation out there that confusion has infected the debate like a virus. So to figure things out, I'm developing this handy guide

Comments

[wolf_nd_shadows]

the resounding "no" on the public option comes from the misinformation spread around about it. it's been called "socialized medicine" and associated with the fictional death panels, and similar slander, but all in all, it is a self funded medicaid like program.

And we will disagree because what is overlooked is that government only really steps in when the privately owned mechanisms are exploiting the general populace, and creating an unstable system that will self destruct anyway. What is always overlooked is that without government intervention, we wouldn't have the health controls that keep toxic chemicals out of out foods, work safety regulations that keep kids out of high risk jobs, standards that protect the safety of workers, minimum wages that prevent indentured servitude, environmental regulation that prevents rivers from catching fire, rules to prevent sexual and racial harassment in schools and the workplace, student loans that attempt to equalize every person's ability to pay for higher education.

Health care is also not sustainable as a luxury. As currently practiced, the health care system will implode without the regulation. Health insurers rely on a pool of the insured to pay into the common fund in order to pay out to beneficiaries needing the medical care. However, the current practices are denying care to people for a number of reasons the refer to as "pre-existing conditions" (including genetic predispositions, being a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, etc), and driving away healthy individuals. because of this, the communal fund is shrinking, and soon will become unsustainable. the Health care reform is attacking a lot of the causes as well, such as through focusing on preventative care, and creating an exchange to increase market competition. the addition of a public option would have also enhanced the market competition because it would have acted as a natural price control mechanism that would have stood as an alternative to price controls

the whole illegals thing is a red herring. They make a great scapegoat for our nation's problems, but our current policy of kicking them out will actually cost this country over 2 trillion over the next 10 years, whereas a policy that allows for the legalization of illegal aliens is predicted to not only generate 1.5 trillion in tax revenue, but also raise the average pay for American citizens.
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Hinojosa%20-%20Raising%20the%20Floor%20for%20American%20Workers%20010710.pdf
Oh, and the health care reform act does not, nor ever did, provide coverage for illegals.

And as for blanketly claiming we just need fewer laws, lack of law is the definition of Anarchy, not democracy. and the truth is, history a shown time and time again, that without regulation, the powerful exploit and victimize the weak. In fact, studying history, you will see that most regulatory laws are not spontaneously created, but a product of a national outcry against the abuses perpetrated by the unregulated. For a functioning democracy to occur, the government need to empower the people, not leave them exposed to the whims of those who were lucky enough to be born into rich or powerful families.

[wolf_nd_shadows]

While our constitution was set up to prevent political dictatorship, in doing so we established a society where every ward boss is a dictator, every financier a dictator, every private employer a dictator. All with the livelihood of the workers at their mercy.
----George Bernard Shaw.