Tag: Medicare

If Republicans got their Way … there would be no more Medicare.

If Republicans got their Way … you couldn’t Retire until 70.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d privatize Social Security.

If Republicans got their Way … there would be no more Corporate income tax.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d eliminate taxes on Capital gains.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d cut in half the taxes of the richest 1 percent.

If Republicans got their Way … the Bush Tax Cut for the Rich would never end.

Factlets from The Republican’s Roadmap for America’s Future:

The Ryan Budget’s Radical Priorities

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

By Paul N. Van de Water — July 7, 2010

If Republicans got their Way … Christine O’Donnell would be their new Class Treasurer!

Bipartisan Elephants, Endless Debt and Entitlements, Cats without Food … Oh My!

What IS all this fuss about?

Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 rants.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE – CBO

The Long-Term Budget Outlook

JUNE 2010 – (Revised August 2010)

larger

Image: Federal Debt Held by the Public as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product

Under Two Budget Scenarios

CBO — The Long-Term Budget Outlook (pdf)

OK sometimes not … What does that Picture mean to me?

2035, Haah!  that’s like a quarter century from now …  you got to be kidding me …

If Republicans got their Way … there would be no more Medicare.

If Republicans got their Way … you couldn’t Retire until 70.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d privatize Social Security.

If Republicans got their Way … there would be no more Corporate income tax.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d eliminate taxes on Capital gains.

If Republicans got their Way … they’d cut in half the taxes of the richest 1 percent.

If Republicans got their Way … the Bush Tax Cut for the Rich would never end.

Factlets from The Republican’s Roadmap for America’s Future:

The Ryan Budget’s Radical Priorities

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

By Paul N. Van de Water — July 7, 2010

The Ryan Budget’s Radical Priorities

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

By Paul N. Van de Water — July 7, 2010

I. Summary

The Roadmap for America’s Future, which Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) – the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee – released in late January, calls for radical policy changes that would result in a massive transfer of resources from the broad majority of Americans to the nation’s wealthiest individuals.[1]

The Roadmap would give the most affluent households a new round of very large, costly tax cuts by reducing income tax rates on high-income households;

eliminating income taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest;

and abolishing the corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the alternative minimum tax.

At the same time, the Ryan plan would raise taxes for most middle-income families,

privatize a substantial portion of Social Security,

eliminate the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance,

end traditional Medicare and most of Medicaid,

and terminate the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

It seems that Party who likes to apologize to Corporations  — for Our Oceans, getting in the way of, their Profits — is at it again!

Not only are they blaming the Victims of the Bush Great Recession, for not taking one of those non-existent Jobs (there is only 1 job to had for each 6 people that need one) —

The Leader of the GOBP Party is now telling American to brace for the Raising of the Retirement Age — his rationale: It’s the only way we’ll be able to pay for the Afghanistan War!

Jeesh!  Don’t they know that the Unemployed, have PAID FOR Unemployment Insurance,  just for times like these?

Don’t they know that American Workers have PAID FOR FICA Taxes, just so that we can retire with a meager shred of Dignity?  

Don’t they know that these are Social Contracts, that OUR Govt has MADE WITH US — in a effort to carry out the ideal “that all are created equal” —

that none should be cast aside, without hope, without opportunity, without a social safety net…

NO of course Not … the Party of No Way, has some very different type of Contracts in mind …

Crossposted at Daily Kos

THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS

This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.

When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?

2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?

3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?

The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.

:: ::

David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Daily Star, Buy this cartoon

I don’t get it. I expected a lot more from Senator Bernie Sanders.

But tonight Bernie Sanders just caved in to pressure from Obama, Rahm Emanual and Reid to withdraw a formal consideration of his own single-payer healthcare amendment, after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) had initiated a procedural manuever to force the measure to be read out loud on the Senate floor.

The amendment would have extended Medicare coverage to all who wanted it.

Senate aides estimated that the “bill reading” would have taken eight to 10 hours, which would have sidelined the healthcare debate on the bad “Obama-Emanual-Baucus-Lieberman” bill as Democratic leaders are attempting to pass it (a junk bill) by Christmas.

But why didn’t Sanders call their bluff and go ahead with the vote anyway? By pulling his own amendment off the table all by himself, this just further creates the unnecessary illusion that Medicare expansion is an unworthy subject to even discuss or consider.

Even though the Sanders amendment would never get close to 60 votes, the act of allowing the bill to go to formal debate and consideration would have provided a badly needed educational tool for the public, and it would have put each and every U.S. Senator formally on notice, and on the record as to the key question of whether they want to really solve the Health Care crisis, or whether they just want to keep the public held hostage to a corrupt Insurance Monopoly that steals their money.

I wanted to see that vote!

So did you!

from the ConsumerWatchdog.org

(Click for Larger Image)

What the loss of the Public Option really Means …

Good bye competitive choice …

HELLOOOO … More of the Same!

Real people … who we knew and loved … who died unnecessarily in the U.S.

Real Life Stories of Americans

THE SILENT … NOW DECEASED

“My daughter got sick with cancer after her husband lost his job. She never told anyone she was sick because she knew the financial hardship it would cause and eventually the hospital would take their house for unpaid medical bills. We lost her in the following spring … We read her diary and learned all she was feeling and thinking. Now I wonder how many others are just like her in this America? And how many before her?”

Deaths due to Preventable Diseases: Dead Last

Rankings 1st to 19th. France, Japan, Australia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Austria, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, United States

http://www.medicareforall.org/…

Back in August, barely 2 months ago, Senator Hatch (R-UT), displayed a graciousness and a spirit of bipartisanship, rarely seen among the Party of NO.

Senator Orrin Hatch on Ted Kennedy’s Life

The Situation Room — Aug 26, 2009

BLITZER: […] the issue that was the most important to him, health care for the American people, you were — you’re a member of the Finance Committee. […] And since this was so important to your good friend, Senator Kennedy, I’ll ask you directly, Senator Hatch — are you willing to get back into those negotiations with the Democrats right now in memory — in honor of Senator Kennedy?

You know how important health care reform was for your friend.

ORRIN HATCH: …

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed the Baucus health care bill.  

What a disappointment. No public health insurance plan. No universal coverage. No real price controls. Billions of taxpayer dollars for insurance companies.

Tell your members of Congress to support the best and simplest reform plan: Medicare for all.

After you take action, please help build the momentum for real health reform by telling 5 friends.

The U.S. health system has left 46 million Americans uninsured. [1]  45,000 people die every year due to lack of insurance. [2]  Insurance companies deny coverage to thousands more when they actually get sick. And insurance is simply too expensive for millions of people and businesses.

The Baucus bill solves none of those problems.  

By contrast, Medicare is so efficient that it could insure all Americans for the same amount of money that we now give to private corporations. [3]

Under such a single-payer system, you still get to choose your doctor… except without a profiteering insurance corporation standing between you and your health care.

Will you ask Congress to support real reform — in terms they can understand?

Yes! I’ll tell my members of Congress that I won’t support them unless they support Medicare for all.

Notes:

(1)  “Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008.”  Census Bureau, September 10, 2009.

(2)  “Harvard study finds nearly 45,000 excess deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage.” Physicians for a National Health Program, September 18, 2009.

(3)  “Single payer system cost?” Physicians for a National Health Program.