From a deeply depressing survey of the unemployed in today’s NY Times:
Nearly half of respondents said they did not have health insurance, with the vast majority citing job loss as a reason, a notable finding given the tug of war in Congress over a health care overhaul. The poll offered a glimpse of the potential ripple effect of having no coverage. More than half characterized the cost of basic medical care as a hardship.
Meanwhile what is Joe Lieberman concerned about? Playing politics against liberals who, correctly, think he erred terribly in his support for Bush’s war and McCain’s candidacy.
And even if we pass legislation, when does the help arrive for these unemployed? 2013.
Categories: Matthew Holt
TARP was needed and only partisan simpletons thought it wasn’t. The threat of systematic collapse was very real at that point. What was deplorable about it was the way in which Paulson initially tried to shake down Congress and demand a blank paycheck with little transparency and or Congressional oversight.
Even if Congress initially balked, TARP was short on oversight & transparency, gave too favorable terms to the banks, and picked clear winners and losers. What is more incredible though is that their hasn’t been real financial reform going ahead forward and the reform that has passed (consumer protections) is so limited and favorable to financial firms that they realized they have already won.
TARP and Stimulus I were designed to bail out Congress. They thought the roof was falling in on them, so they bought a 1.5 trillion dollar insurance policy.
Actually the “We” was not meant to include myself. I was financially prepared to let the bastards fail and wanted it that way, but the bailout was started by Republican “idiots” and continued by Democrat “idiots” and supported by ” corporate capitalists” who are always ready for their handout while telling the rest of us we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.
“We didn’t mind stepping in to bail out banks and Wall Street”
Maybe you didn’t I sure the hell did. I said from day one we would be better off letting them fail. TARP was an idiots solution and has delivered an idiots outcome.
Gary here you go again. Since your functioning level appears to be below that of someone that can read a newspaper allow me to inform you Congress is and has been controlled by Democrats. That means it was brainless liberals like you who wrote and passes the bill. Thanks for being you, Peter almost looks logical when followed by a comment of yours.
Right on,Peter! Corporate welfare and Bailouts seems to be Fine and Dandy for capitalist. Even Reckless behavior and deceptive practices are fine with Capitalists.When it comes to business; almost any product or service is given free lincense. As long as it maximizes profits.
However, when people find themselves vulnerable to Market forces and corporate exploitation.It is always the fault of the individual.While bad business products are ignored.
“help already arrived when the government offered to pay 65% of the cost of COBRA.”
Assuming they had an employer health plan and assuming the employer is still in business to pay his end of COBRA and assuming they could find work before COBRA ran out.
“If they still can’t afford coverage that means they praticed poor financial management”
I will concede that having the forsight to save enough to provide several months salary is prudent, but not all folks have the disposable income to do that, or at least be able to sock enough away to provide for this extended “downturn”. And that cushion may have already been eaten up trying to pay the deductibles and co-pays on their great HDHP and that scam adjustable rate mortgage they were sold – for which the lender won’t renegotiate.
We didn’t mind stepping in to bail out banks and Wall Street when they, “praticed poor financial management” so that their profits and bonuses would be preserved. The fact they’re making so much money now is because they’re getting almost free money from the fed. So just who should be in debtors prison?
It is survival of the fittist. If you can’t pay the prices. Then Die Quickly! Something like this had reared its ugly head 17th to 18th century. When debtors were incarcerated for NOT being able to pay the Bills! Of course, the bills still could not be paid because of incarceration and it created other problems that comes with holding people in captivity. Isn’t it interesting how some would like to return to these barbaric times.
Actuary, is right about Lieberman. He has taken a large share of Health Insurance lobbiest money. He owes his sole and his campain funding to the Health Care Industrialist.He only has to listen to his state for the Vote and back to the status quo.The lobbiest have his ear and he and others like him are doing the industries bidding.
Interesting Enough,it appears Health Care is Natural Selection and even though Markets Crash,Ones Health Is Compromised,and the Food and Water Supply is Knowingly and willfuly tainted for Profits. Its not difficult to understand that even responsible individuals fall victim to governmental
malfeasence and Market forces.
To all those who say Lieberman is “bought and paid for” by the Insurance Industry…
… and the Dems are not bought and paid for by the Trial Lawyers, right?
Also, the Dems who voted against Rx importation, are they bought and paid for by pharma?
We need 100 Ross Perots, and Jay Rockefeller should give back some of the millions his great-grandfather made on the backs of the little guy.
$54 billion (according to the CBO) left on the table due to a lack of Tort reform. Unnecessary procedures are not harmless. Besides the cost, there are side- effects.
Instead they raise taxes on insurers in 2010 , which means higher premiums, and start “reform” in 2014 so they can say its “deficit neutral”. About as “neutral” as Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly.
We need our President to be successful. He needs to get tough and determined to fight for what is right. We need the Public Option or the Medicare Buy-In.
Lieberman is very far from free. He is a bought and paid for Ind/Republican. He is a very hated person for his contemptible behavior and his stupidity. He is just a sleazy piece of evil like so many republicans who could care less about anyone but themselves and their fellow rich and well-to-do.
help already arrived when the government offered to pay 65% of the cost of COBRA. If they still can’t afford coverage that means they praticed poor financial management while they had a job and there really isnt much else you can do for them. How much is enough, 80% 100%? Why pay people at all Matt? Why don’t you just collect everything then distribute food, shelter, insurance, and disposable goods as you see fit?
Join Howard Dean…http://www.standwithdean.com
let us kill this sucker of a bill…
tell your congressmen thanks but no thanks….
Help arrives when they cut taxes and let people grow the eeconomy. Help arrives when they get out of the way and eliminate all the uncertainty created by the legislative agenda of the left. Help arrives when we vote this President into oblivion (politically) along with Reid and Pelosi. Help arrives when we have a strong dollar again. There is much pain to come before it gets better. Check out 1932 economics.
If this finally becomes the Lieberman bill all the more reason to kill it.
I am not too terribly surprised by this. Senator Lieberman is at best, an attention seeking, confused and vindictive little man who puts his own personal vendettas ahead of the public good, and at worst a hired gun for the insurance industry in the guise of public servant. He is not speaking his mind now, assuming he has one, more than he did when he advocated expansion of Medicare, or when he was instrumental in obstructing the Clinton health reform.
I never understood why Al Gore put him on his ticket. I hope people of Connecticut take careful notice of this disgrace.
If the real driver behind the supposed urgency of this legislation is to insure people and save lives, why can’t Washington just be honest and start benefits now? Because the cost model is a shell game that’s why. Let’s pay for a few years, then start benefits. That way, it’s “deficit neutral.”
What a con game. If the desire is to cover people who need it now, then do the real math and debate the plan on its real merits, not fuzzy political math.
Joe Lieberman is a free man. Once emancipated from his former party’s shackles, he can speak his mind. Of course, it is tragic that so many folks are out of work and struggling with health care costs. Why is there no serious effort to free up the tens of billions of dollars already trapped within the system. Every day on my rounds (and probably in my office) unnecessary care is being performed for various reasons. Some of this is defensive medicine, but this does not account for the majority of wasted care. Sure, there are some financial conflicts at play. But medicine today exists in a culture of excess. Ordering scans, medicines and consults is the way we do things. We pull these triggers reflexively. Attacking this problem would save money and save patients. Isn’t this better than raising taxes or reducing reimbursements? http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com