A very scary reality...

[emily6182005]

...I thought this was a great article (regardless of which side of the fence you're on) from the Wall Street Journal summarizing exactly what Obama is likely to implement should he be elected. It's great because it cuts through the campaign rhetoric to the core of what he would be able to push through, which I find helpful and personally

Comments

[noa_le]

I have to mention, this article is hardly unbiased! Lots to say about it, but:

"Look for the watering down of No Child Left Behind testing standards"

As a wife of a teacher, I can tell you that No Child Left Behind is SUCH a bad policy, its not even funny. I think its done way more harm than good.

Regardless of political views - I respect your opinions, and always welcome open dialogue. Just try to keep an open mind for non-republicans.... We're not all sheep following a herd thinking Obama is a "communist rock star".

Its good to see you post E. Hope everything is going well!

[emily6182005]

Noa

[wendalah]

As far as it being an unbiased article--it's in the Opinion section.

[wendalah]

Sorry, I should say "as far as being biased" not unbiased. Dang no edit button on posts.

[linnyloplop]

Thanks for posting this, Em. I just read a weekly standard article in the same vein. I really fear for Universal Healthcare. The compensation for physicians has dropped lately because of Medicare, and this kind of program would further drop it. The quality of physicians would decrease dramatically because of the cost v. profit. Also, the wait to see a specialist...well, I think a month would sound GOOD to anyone out there.

I have tried and tried to argue against the redistribution of wealth, but all I get back is "Trickle down economics doesn't work" or that I am a heartless person who doesn't care about anyone else. So, I guess we will have to wait and see about if this "redistribution of wealth" works. Nobody would even concede to me that it should not be done in a time of recession. Yikes!

[emily6182005]

Having watched my father build a practice from scratch (at the expense of his family in the early years because, like Steve, he did a fellowship and then in starting his own practice at 32 he either moonlighted or was on call every night and weekend for years), clearly I'm more keyed into the reality of what universal healthcare really means. My father is a really savvy businessman - and thank god - because in spite of finding ways to grow and expand his practice 10%+ a year, there were years where he made half of what he had the year before because of medicare cuts, etc. To think that someone can dictate what he is paid and his growth when he works that hard is beyond disturbing, but now telling him that he must care for all and that he'll be paying more taxes on the business as well as his personal income is a triple threat

[2bedsbride]

Em, it is so true, but unless there is some drastic shift in public opinion in the next couple of weeks, I fear that all of this will become a frightening reality.

People are so caught up in the grandiose speeches, Obama's demeanor, and all of the political hooplah, that the real issues are almost completely masked. I honestly believe that if people *really* knew what was in store, they may have different opinions.

[emily6182005]

I totally agree Talia - that's why I thought this opinion piece was so good. It really resonated with me because it actually cut to the core of what an Obama administration would do to our country and how it would impact us on a daily basis - NONE of which has actually been said by him at any point. To your point, he is all about grandiose speeches about a utopian society...ahem, which sound frighteningly close to Karl Marx...instead of actually telling us what he's going to do and how it's about to (like No Child Left Behind) try to raise the bottom 25% of the country (who don't work/don't pay taxes already) at the expense of the hardwork and growth of the top 25%. that's a very quick way to stymie the growth of the entire country, as NCLB has the best and brightest students. sadly, it's that simple and that disturbing, but they will see how grossly ignorant they were very quickly. It's just awful that we have to sit on the sidelines and watch it all go down.