Category Archives: Health care

When Did It Become Patriotic To Avoid Paying Income Taxes?

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Mitt Romney has been smart and very lucky.  The son of a famous father, he has used his privileged childhood and education to make millions – often by bankrupting companies and offshoring American jobs.  To make himself even wealthier, he also offshored his money in Switzerland, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.

That allowed Romney to pay income taxes at a rate of less than 15 percent in 2010. Now insiders from Bain Capital claim that Romney didn’t pay any income taxes at all for at least 10 years before that!

No wonder he doesn’t want to release those tax forms.

But Teapublicans don’t see anything wrong with such behavior.  Many even claim that it’s patriotic to avoid paying taxes.  Seriously?  That’s your definition of patriotism?

You can ignore the sacrifice of soldiers who have served 5, 6 or more tours of duty in a war zone?  You can ignore those who take less than they deserve to serve soldiers in Veteran’s hospitals?  You can diminish those who work long hours for little money to teach children?  You can ignore those who risk their lives to save others as first responders?

None of that is patriotic according to Romney’s supporters.

According to them, true patriotism is squeezing every possible dime from your tax form.  It’s cutting food stamps for the poor.  It’s turning your back on homeless veterans and homeless children.  It’s allowing thousands to die each year for lack of access to healthcare so you can buy another vacation home or a bigger yacht.

If this is the Republican definition of American patriotism, it’s time for the party to crawl into the deepest recesses of history.

Let’s Help Texas Secede.

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On several occasions, Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested that the Republic of Texas might secede from the United States.  He meant it as a threat, but after first ridiculing the idea, I’ve come to embrace it.

Let’s consider the benefits.

If Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee (Yes, I know this isn’t all of the original Confederacy, but the others have better embraced their statehood.) were allowed to secede, the level of education in the US would improve overnight.  At the same time, the number of impoverished would plummet.  We would also improve the United States’ international rankings with regard to incarceration and capital punishment.

Moreover, the US would dramatically reduce the number of assault rifles and handguns within its borders.  We would rid ourselves of the evangelical crackpots on the Texas school board responsible for rewriting textbooks to whitewash history.  We would improve the percentage of our population with health insurance. And since most of the Tea Party crackpots in Congress come from the former Confederacy, the level of political discourse would likely improve.

I know this plan seems radical, but I think it best.  Many of the former Confederate states have long been openly hostile to the federal government, even threatening to “exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.”  In Arizona, there are legislative bills calling for state sovereignty of national parks and all federal lands.  And many of these states have refused to accept the legitimacy of the Affordable Care Act despite a Supreme Court ruling.

For the states that do secede, they finally could have the theocratic government they seem to so desire.  They could completely ignore science.  They would no longer have to accept the billions in federal money that have been thrust upon them to provide food and medicine for their poor.  And unless they continue their hostility to foreign visitors, they could replace Mexico and Jamaica as warm weather destinations for US tourists.

Of course, the plan is not without downsides.  We would have to move many of our military bases to Union states.  Football could suffer without Texas and Florida athletes, but since we already embrace foreign nationals for basketball and baseball, we could make accommodation for football players.  We would lose much of the domestic oil production and refineries, but all of that oil and gas is sold on world markets, anyway.  And since I live in Arizona, I’d have to sell my home at a loss in order to move back to the US.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to give my plan serious thought.  If you do, I’m confident you’ll see that the many benefits outweigh the negatives.

What Mitt Believes In.

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It’s ironic that Mitt Romney’s campaign slogan is “Believe in America,” because he obviously doesn’t.

What does he believe in?

In a word, money.  His money.  It doesn’t matter if it’s in dollars, francs, pounds, euros, rmb…whatever.  Mitt believes in possessing it.  Lots of it.  And he doesn’t like giving any of it away for taxes.  That’s why he’s used an assortment of tax havens and accounting tricks to keep his tax rate below that of most working people.

Of course, Mitt doesn’t mind that others have to make up for the taxes he dodges.  Based on his tenure with Bain Capital, he doesn’t mind that their jobs are shipped overseas, either.  Or that their companies are dissolved leaving them without jobs, benefits or pensions.

In fact, he’s already said that he’ll cut other jobs if elected president.  He wants to eliminate or combine numerous federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  He also wants to give his wealthy cronies a big tax cut; nevermind that the money to pay for it will come out of the pockets of the poor and middle class.

According to a new Joint Economic Committee study, the Romney-Ryan Budget Plan will increase taxes on those making $50,000-$100,000 by $1,300 per year.  It will cost those making $100,000-$200,000 $2,600 per year.  On the other hand, if you make $500,000-$1 million, you will get a check for $35,000.  And if you make more than $1 million, you’ll get a check for $285,000!

Moreover, it has been estimated that Romney’s proposed policies would create 800,000 jobs…overseas.  His tax cuts for corporations would reduce corporate tax revenue by more than $1 trillion over the next decade.  And, of course, he plans to repeal “Romneycare…er…Obamacare” increasing profits for insurance companies and big PhRMA.

Is it any wonder that Forbes magazine calls the Romney-Ryan Budget “A mistake of historic proportions?”

The Teapublican Plan For “Repeal And Replace.”

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When Tom Brokaw forced Rep. Eric Cantor to explain the Teapublican alternative to the Affordable Care Act, Cantor said that the GOP (Guardians Of Privilege) had already presented it.  It was the alternative they offered during the healthcare debate in 2009: H. R. 3962.  In short, what it calls for are more concessions to insurance companies, tort reform and a lot more hocus pocus.

At the time it was presented, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would increase the number of insured by roughly 3 million by 2019.  That compares to the more than 30 million previously uninsured that will be covered under “Obamacare” by 2019.

Is it any wonder why Sen. Mitch McConnell was recently quoted as saying that “the uninsured are not the issue?”

Moreover, this great replacement for the Affordable Care Act would do very little, if anything, to curb rising healthcare costs.  Indeed, its provision to allow insurance companies to sell insurance across state lines, looks a lot like the deregulation of national banks which allowed them to skirt state usury laws to raise interest rates on credit cards to more than 30 percent.

If this bill were to replace the ACA, it would likely allow a few health insurers to become monopolies with the power to set their costs and coverage.  And it would allow doctors and hospitals to avoid any repercussions from malpractice and medical errors.

Whoeeee!  Let’s all celebrate.  Who wouldn’t want this over “Obamacare?”

Playing With Fire.

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Following the Supreme Court decision that affirmed the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, Mitt Romney and other Teapublicans are furious.  Indeed, the Panderer-In-Chief has said he will repeal and replace “RomneyCare”…er…”ObamaCare” his first day in office.

That must be of great solace to those who are fighting our nation’s wildfires.

You see, most of these firefighters are part-time government employees, so they are ineligible for benefits, including healthcare insurance!  What profit-hungry insurance company would want them?  After all, they are not only susceptible to burns and falling trees, they deal with dangerous equipment such as chainsaws, axes, shovels and chemical sprayers.  In addition, these firefighters inhale lots of smoke which can lead to lung disease and other long-term effects.

The insurance costs based on actuarial tables for these people must be astronomical.  And since, the firefighters are paid between $25,000 and $35,000 per year, most would not be able to afford healthcare insurance if it was made available to them.

But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, in 2014 these people will be eligible for healthcare benefits.  Insurance companies will not be able to charge them enormous premiums or deny coverage.  And, if the firefighters are unable to afford the premiums, they will receive financial help.

ObamaCare?  Yes, it would seem that President Obama is the only one who actually does care about people such as these.

UPDATE:  President Obama really does care!  By presidential order, the firefighters now have healthcare coverage as federal employees.

The Panderer-In-Chief.

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Anyone else amused at Mitt Romney’s response to the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday?  We were treated to the Panderer-In-Chief attacking the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act as an unconstitutional over-reach.  He called it morally wrong and vowed to repeal and replace it his first day in office.

Can anyone believe anything this man says?

Does he actually think that we don’t know that the healthcare mandate was a conservative idea?  Does he think we don’t know that he proposed an almost identical healthcare plan for Massachusetts and signed it into law as governor?

Never mind his lack of compassion and understanding for ordinary citizens.  Never mind his actions as a vulture capitalist.  Never mind that he destroyed businessess and shipped jobs overseas.  Never mind that his proposals would throw our economy into a recession while bloating our deficits.

Anyone with so little respect for the intelligence of voters should never be elected to office.

The Teapublican Book of Lies.

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You know those things Teapublicans present as facts that just never quite make sense?  The ones that are repeated day after day on Fox News Channel and right wing radio?  The conservative ideas that have been tried and failed, but keep coming back?

I’ve taken 50 of those so-called “facts,” researched them, and presented my findings in a new book:  The Teapublican Book of Lies.  It’s a sort of handbook for debates with your conservative friends and family members.

Pardon the shameless self-promotion, but you can buy the book from Amazon.

As Long As We’re Telling The Truth…

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A recent editorial in The Washington Post was headlined, “Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem.”  The writers go on to say, “We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.”

This is not coming from the so-called “liberal media.”  It’s from one of the most respected and unbiased newspapers in the land; the newspaper that covers both sides of politics from our nation’s capitol. When The Washington Post makes such a statement, everyone needs to pay attention.

This amazing admonishment of the right, follows the revelation of a meeting that took place the night of President Obama’s inauguration.  With the nation having just experienced the collapse of the housing industry, the freefall of the entire global economy, the loss of 4.4 million jobs, the loss of billions or trillions in tax revenues, a bankrupt financial system, huge deficits adding to our national debt and two wars (one unnecessary), all caused by the decisions of an 8-year Republican administration, these “patriots” seemed concerned with only one thing:  How could they cause the Obama administration to fail?

Unaware of the plot against him, President Obama began his administration by trying to accomplish the goals of his campaign – to repair the fractures in our nation by working with Republicans. He asked several Republicans to join his cabinet in order to heal the nation.  Most declined.  Instead of accepting the president’s hand, Republicans claimed he was not an American citizen and, therefore, not a legitimate president. When the administration and Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and offered loans to the failing auto industry, Republicans cried “Socialist” and organized the “Tea Party” from their most right wing supporters. They appeared at Presidential speeches with guns. They carried signs calling him a Fascist, a modern-day Hitler and threatening to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.

Republican Senators filibustered almost every initiative to create jobs in the hopes that the struggling economy would benefit them politically.  They filibustered and obstructed legislation that would prevent a repeat of our economic collapse.  They refused to allow votes on a record number of presidential appointments, including federal judges and heads of government agencies.  A Republican Congressman even broke long-standing decorum by shouting “You lie” during a State of the Union address.

The stalemate caused by the Teapublican obstruction worked.  Teapublicans took control of the House in 2010.  Still, President Obama reached out to find compromise with the right.  In response, the Republican House Speaker said he didn’t believe in compromise; that he didn’t even know what the word meant.  Since then, Teapublicans have only become more obstructionist, more unyielding and more uncivil.

Now we’re approaching yet another election.  No thanks to Teapublicans, more than a million auto industry jobs have been saved, we’re digging out of the economic abyss, we’ve ended one war and placed an end date on the other, we’ve eliminated the leadership of al Qaeda, and we’ve greatly improved our reputation throughout the world.

By almost every measure, President Obama deserves to be re-elected.  Teapublicans, on the other hand, have earned a place in the very darkest corners of our history.

Still Gutless After All These Years!

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For many years, Teapublicans have cowed Democrats into compromising their ideals.  In fact, Democrats have become so accustomed to withering under partisan attacks many now give up their principles willingly.  Witness the news from just the past two days.

Yesterday, the Obama administration dropped controversial new safety standards for children who are hired to work on farms.  Apparently, the lies and misinformation circulated by Teapublicans that the new standards would negatively affect family farms was enough to make the administration’s testicles shrivel to 2009 size.

Then today it was announced that, with the help of 13 Democrats, the Republican-led House passed a student loan bill that includes cutting the Prevention and Public Health Fund; part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The end result is to reduce funding for women’s and children’s health programs.

Who needs the Supreme Court?  It would seem that some Democrats are willing to help Teapublicans kill “Obamacare” themselves.

Also today, former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi stated that she was willing to embrace cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare as part of the Simpson-Bowles Plan to reduce the national debt.  Say what?  Whatever happened to protecting safety nets from the Teapublican ax?  What happened to ending tax breaks for the wealthy?  What happened to fairness in opportunity and income distribution?

The events of these past two days capsulize one of the greatest problems with our government.  Teapublicans whine and bully and threaten to get their way without concern for the welfare of our citizens and our nation.  They can count on Democrats to drop to their knees and metaphorically pee their pants.  And Democrats seldom disappoint them.

Damn, it’s difficult to be a Democrat!

How “Starve The Beast” Became “Starve The Poor.”

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For years, Teapublicans have marched to a tune called “Starve The Beast.”  The premise is that government has gotten too big and expensive so, in order to bring it under control, they must deprive it of the revenue needed to fund it.  As band-leader-in-chief, President George W. Bush cut taxes, primarily for the wealthy.

As a result of those tax cuts, two unfunded wars and a bill designed to buy the votes of seniors in time for the 2004 election, the Bush administration squandered the Clinton-era budget surpluses and led us into massive deficits and an ever-growing national debt.

Rather than being alarmed by these Bush decisions, Teapublicans reveled in them.  And, when the economy collapsed in 2008, Teapublicans recognized two opportunities:  One, by blocking every attempt to speed up the recovery, they hope to make President Obama a one-term president.  Two, by howling about the enormous deficit and debt they created, they hope to make it easier to cut government and the things Teapublicans seem to hate most: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

They say Americans can no longer afford such programs.  They point to the long-term “instability” of Medicaid and Medicare while failing to admit that much of that instability is caused by the skyrocketing medical and pharmaceutical costs they refuse to address.  I believe their hatred for “Obamacare” is driven by the fact that it will help mitigate costs, thereby saving Medicaid and Medicare.

Likewise, Teapublicans seem to relish every new report on Social Security that shows the program running out of funds in the not-too-distant future.  They point to the large group of retiring Baby Boomers as the reason the program needs to be privatized (gotta get it out of the clutches of big government, you know).

What they fail to mention is how easily Social Security could be permanently fixed.  Either increasing individual contributions to the plan by little more than 1 percent or removing the cap on incomes above $106,000 would protect Social Security for future generations.  But that wouldn’t allow Teapublicans to meet their long-term goals of privatizing Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

As for the people whose health care would be left at the mercy of large, greedy insurance companies and the retirees who might be relegated to dumpster-diving the next time the stock markets crash, no worries.

Teapublicans are more than willing to starve the poor in order to Starve The Beast.