Michael Eric Dyson looks at some of the headlines Friday evening, including Speaker Boehner's policy chief's ties to the medical industry, and I'll Have Another will miss the Belmont Stakes.
Michael Eric Dyson looks at some of the headlines Friday evening, including Speaker Boehner's policy chief's ties to the medical industry, and I'll Have Another will miss the Belmont Stakes.
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No, one wants to talk about the bone head?
I avoid the bone head known as agent orange. That agent orange is a dirty money grubbing republican it's not surprising he employs lobbyists.
Maybe I should have said pumpkin head? I hear that he was handing out paychecks from the Cigarette manufacturers, on the floor of congress. This on the same day they were doing a bill in congress about the damage of smoking?
Yep when caught he teared up and said he was soooooooooo sorry, which to me really meant he was so sorry he got caught, because his statement to the press after I'm so sorry was I didn't think it was bad to do that because it was congress business. Paraphrasing of course.
Could somebody tell me how many of BO's Czars and cabinet members are former lobbyist?
Well, your friends below just made a case to be a lobbyist? BRENT Lopper is Bone head Czar.
Could somebody tell me how many of BO's Czars and cabinet members are former lobbyist?
Obama Speaks: Lobbyists Not Welcome in My Administration
Here are former lobbyists Obama has tapped for top jobs:
This doesn’t count Tom Daschle, who never registered as a lobbyist but got paid millions for his political connections in pursuit of preferential treatment for his clients in the health-care industry. The AP notes this in today’s look at the Lobbyist Administration:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/john-boehner-links-lobbyists-washington
Boehner makes no secret of his lobbyist links. He once organised a regular meeting of politicians and lobbyists called the Thursday Group – now disbanded – at which both sides discussed a shared agenda of reducing taxes and regulations on business. His close circle of lobbyist allies consists of some of the best known names in Washington power-broking circles. One important figure is Bruce Gates, the top individual donor during Boehner's career giving more than $70,000 to his campaigns. Gates's wife, Joyce, spent two years as Boehner's chief of staff and Gates himself has served as treasurer for one of Boehner's fund-raising vehicles, the Freedom Project. He has a long list of big business clients including steel companies and is now in charge of government relations for the huge tobacco firm Altria, the parent group of Philip Morris.
Another senior lobbyist with close ties to Boehner is Henry Gandy who has lobbied for healthcare firms and financial giants such as Goldman Sachs. Other financial firms, such as Bank of America, have been represented by Marc Lampkin, once Boehner's general counsel and now a lobbyist. Lampkin, like several other former Boehner staffers, has enjoyed the fruits of the "revolving door" between working for politicians and then working for lobbying firms. He continues to enjoy a close relationship with Boehner. The list goes on, including Sam Baptista who plays golf with Boehner and is a lobbyist representing Goldman Sachs and Discover Financial. "Many politicians have received significant money from lobbyists, but John Boehner does receive a lot of support from this industry," said Dave Levinthal, a director at the Centre for Responsive Politics, which monitors lobbyist cash flows in Washington. "There is no indication that he is going to change his mode of operation."
Of course, every politician in Washington has links to lobbyists representing anything from banks to unions. But the scale and closeness of Boehner's links has raised many eyebrows. Critics point to an infamous incident in 1995 when Boehner handed out cheques from the tobacco industry to politicians on the floor of Congress. He later apologised.
so does this really surprise anyone? all boner does is lie,and cheat
Among the lobbyists backing Boehner: The tobacco industry, which has contributed
at least $340,000 to his political campaigns. The top individual donor
throughout Boehner's political career, according to data from the Center for
Public Integrity, is Bruce Gates, a lobbyist for the cigarette maker Altria
None of the talk here is going to get a Medicare public option passed in Congress. I am sick and tired of watching the ignorance from the right wing in this country on health care. Both Democrats and Republican use lobbyists in their administrations. This revelation is nothing new nor is it even news. We are wasting time on irrelevant rubbish. 50 million Americans are uninsured while 45,000 uninsured Americans die from treatable medical conditions because they lack access to the system. We also have about approximately 15 to 20 million Americans who are under-insured which can be almost worse than having no insurance at all. Most bankruptcies are filed by the under-insured who thought they were covered then when long term illness or serious injuries occur resulting in long term hospitalization or expensive care they are suddenly "cut off" by their health insurance company. Going to the ER after the appendix bursts not only is more painful but it can be fatal by the time the doctors get to the patient. We have one million bankruptcies filed due to expensive medical bills. No other people in the industrialized world face such horrendous financial punishment.
The U.S. ranks about 30th in medical outcomes because we lack a single payer system. where patients get routine access to a family care provider in a clinic. The latest technology does not matter but what does matter for most medical ailments is prompt access to a family care provider that immediately takes care of all the routine medical problems families face: eyes, ears, pediatric care for babies and children, shots, vaccinations, and routine checkups are what really matter in a person's quality of life. Women also need routine access to medical care including family planning, birth control, and reproductive tract cancer checks and other things women need. Its not that U.S. doctors and nurses are bad people. The insurance companies are the major problems that make our health care system the worst in the industrialized world in terms of outcomes but the most expensive.
More importantly the 150 million Americans in the lower median income group of about $54,000 annually are going to face horrible problems in coming years. The annual cost of a family health insurance policy is $13,000 in 2010. By 2020 we can easily expect this cost to rise to $26,000 annually, shared jointly by employer and employee. Most of these Americans in the lower median group work for small businesses and smaller companies that will not be able to offer health insurance for its employees. This situation has already been a tough problem for small businesses and it will only get worse in coming years. So we are facing a situation where the lower median group of 150 million Americans are going to be either under-insured or uninsured this decade.
I never hear from conservatives how we are supposed to be dealing with this ticking economic time bomb primed for an explosion in the next five to ten years? U.S. competitiveness in the global economy is already being hurt because our competitors have more efficient single payer systems. From a business perspective, a single payer or Medicare for all public option is the only way to go. The burden of health insurance costs would be take off of the backs of employers and provided for by the government. Taxes would be in place and rates for Medicare premiums would be carefully regulated and stability and predictability would replace the anarchy we have today.
Most middle class people can not afford the tens of thousands of dollars per year it will cost to have our "fee for service" medical system both now and in the future as costs rise inexorably. The American health care system is a dead man walking waiting, for its final resting place in the cemetery. Its only a matter of how many Americans have to die and many millions more will have to go bankrupt until we have a Medicare for all public option for universal coverage. If you are opposed to a Medicare for all public option for all Americans, than you are an idiot. You are not answering the question of where 150 million Americans are going to get affordable health insurance over this coming decade when their employers say "We can't afford private health insurance anymore". The GOP answer to this is: "hurry up and die." None of the things written here will change once the Supreme Court rules this week on the Affordable Care Act but the Supreme Court decision will make a Medicare for all public option the only solution left to our horrible health care crisis in America if the Affordable Care Act is overturned or parts overturned like the individual mandate.
Rex- as one not likely to vote for President Obama- I do believe that single payer system is probably the best option- the challenge with that - is that single payer in and of it self will not control the increasing cost of health care delivery. If you reduce reimburse rates, then docs will not take medicare patients. Even today try and find an ob doc in NYC that will even take private insurance. I do not know what the answer is , but I agree that single payer should be the starting point. May be that the feds are not necessarily the best administrator. Feds typically have a much higher administrative overhead to handle a dollar. Perhaps premiums needs to truly risk rated, if you smoke or are over weight you pay more. Whatever, but we should start the discussion at the single payer level and go from there.
The doctors overtime would pretty much be forced to take Medicare patients once the Feds pass a Medicare for all public option. No doubt doctors will get paid less and hard readjustments for them will happen. Many people I know aren't doing very well right now and have been struggling for years. I was amazed at how poor many Americans were when I was in the service. Many people were from one industry towns where there were no jobs like in the South and Appalachian states. Many of these people had at least an associate's degree some a Bachelors or a Masters and here they were in the Army at FT Hood or some of the many military bases I served at. So I am not sure I feel sorry for doctors. Something can get worked out to help young doctors with their medical school bills that I understand can push the $250,000 threshold. Many doctors avoid family practice for more lucrative specialties.
The more you talk about health care the more complexities one can find. This is a time bomb that threatens our national security and our economic competitiveness. If I honestly thought some other sort of system might work I would advocate but we are staring a single payer system in the face. Many corporations are no longer paying retiree health care benefits. Many small businesses and small corporations won't be able to afford to provide health insurance for their employers. 10% to 15% annual premium increases simply mean that our fee for service health care system is pricing itself into extinction. Whether Obama or Romney wins, none of these dynamics will change. I believe under Romney these costs will just worsen faster.
I do not think there is anything inherent in Romney that would result in increased costs. The health care system seems to accelerate in terms of cost regardless of who holds the white house or the congress. This issue as you note really gets across all of us (regardless of political view) and needs fast attention, which it is likely not to get. In my own business, our premiums went up 12% or so this year and the insurance consultants advise they will again next year. We try and keep the cost to employees low ($85 a month for a family plan), these increases are just becoming to much to take.
Basically people need to replay all of President Obama's statements from his 2008 run. He hasnt lived up to one thing he said he was going to do except the health bill, which will be deemed unconstitutional. He was totally against lobbyist and what did he do hire over 15 to his inner circle. He said he'd be transparent . . hello no one knew this meant he'd divulge TOP SECRET OPS info; he said he'd turn around the economy . . . again, HELLO still sucks and in most areas its worse; he said he spend within the budgets . . .REALLY $5 trillion over budget huh, who cares about Boehners staff. REALLY??