Quote Of The Day

Caption: Hippocrates. He wouldn't have done well in Congress.

Image credit: Wikimedia


The quote of the day is from Jon Walker of FireDogLake, who says what I've been thinking about the health care debate for a long time:

The greatest problem with the Senate health care bill is not that it does “too little” to help people. The problem is that the bill does too many terrible things to help all the bad actors.
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I would gladly fight for a smaller health care bill that just gave Medicare to people over 50 who don’t want to keep their current insurance. That would help fewer uninsured people, but would do it the right way. It would be real help, and it would be done in a simple, cost effective, and fiscally conservative manner. It would be a small step, but, importantly, it would be a step in the right direction. That would actually be a health care reform foundation I would be proud to build on.

It‘s Not That the Health Care Bill Does Too Little Good, It’s That It Does Too Much Harm

Jon's been doing a terrific job of looking at the health care bill, as has David Dayen. They've pointed out with examples and with specifics what is wrong with the bill.

Speaking for me, I'd be glad if they'd just extended Medicaid, even though I'm not eligible for it. I'd have been glad if they actually put a plan in place to regulate insurance, or to make childhood care more accessible. Any of these things, by themselves, would have made things better.

But instead of simply allowing people who don't have insurance to get it through government sponsored care, the Democrats put in place a system of subsidies that reward the very corporations whose greed and mismanagement have created this problem. They did not put into place a regulatory environment, nor will they.

The current health care plan is a disaster. That will become clear to some people later. Many will always maintain that it would have been worse had we done nothing. Those people will be the ones who didn't bother to check what they're saying is true. I know that, because right now these people are saying that folks like me, who are criticizing this bill because it just doesn't have a hope in hell of making things better, are looking for the "perfect" solution. They don't bother to listen, much less try to understand what we say. They are useless idiots.

If you want to understand, read Jon's article, and follow the links.