Reid Hopes To Unveil Health Care Bill Details Next Week

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...ica_98883.html


Thomas Sowell

. . . . ."Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year-- each bill more than a thousand pages long-- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question-- and the biggest question for this generation."

It is sad that he accused the President of the United States of having "contempt for American values" by trying to pass laws to improve the lives of Americans.

He and members of Congress can read 1,000 pages. It is about the length of three romance or mystery novels. YET people on this BB post that it is someones fault if they didn't notice fine print on their health insurance or mortgage contract.

^.. I hope Congress includes a public option. For a moment, I thought Nancy Pelosi was the only one with the poltical courage to do the right thing, I'm pleased that Reid is pushing fo the public option.

There are many in the US who simply do not trust the private health insurance companies to be there when the time comes to ante up, for those folks, a public option is very appealing for them. It's not difficult to understand where these folks are coming from, considering the down-right criminal behavior of these companies.

The flip-side of course, is that many don't trust the government for their needs. So the Insurance Exchange (complete with public option) would allow people the choice to pick from many private options, and one public one. But, the choice would be there for people.

I've read and heard of some concern from the anti-government crowd that a public option could lead to a single-payer system, I'm willing to admit that's a possibility. But, if it does happen, it's certainly not the fault of the government. The public option will allow the private insurance market the opportunity to do the right thing, cover people for their medical needs. The insurance exchange could essentially be a "one-stop shopping" center for health insurance. People will choose what best suits them for the price, if the private insurance market acts true to form, people will leave it for the public option, if they straighten up their act and do business with a little decency, people will stay with them.

I think it's a level playing field too. The private plans won't have to advertise if they are on the exchange, and if these companies decide to make some sacrifices in the form of cutting CEO salaries, there's an awful lot of saving right there. Furthermore, I've heard time and again that this public option will not be funded by tax dollars rather, premium dollars.

So, we need this option in health care reform, I hope the Congress realizes this and does the right thing.

An excellent point, Herring.

I submit that 1000 pages of health care bill with the typical legalese inherent in such a document would be slightly heavier reading (and a heck of a lot more important) than 3 romance novels. Don't insult conservative intelligence.

i'm sorry??
herring said, "he (sowell) and members of congress can read 1,000 pages."
absolutely nothing that targets anyone!

leslie

Are you serious??

Seriously?? That is like saying Albert Einstein wasn't a very good physicist.

Wow. He is a Senior Fellow at The Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

http://www.tsowell.com/

I completely and totally disagree. Just on econ, he wrote:

• APPLIED ECONOMICS

• BASIC ECONOMICS

• ECONOMIC FACTS AND FALLACIES

• THE HOUSING BOOM AND BUST

• KNOWLEDGE AND DECISIONS

• ON CLASSICAL ECONOMICS

• THE ECONOMICS AND POLITICS OF RACE

Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930), is an American economist, social commentator, and author of dozens of books. He often writes from an economically laissez-faire perspective. He is currently a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science. In 2003, he was awarded the Bradley Prize for intellectual achievement[1].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell

You may disagree with the "laissez-faire perspective . . but that doesn't mean he isn't a good econ historian.


"Thomas Sowell is
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and magazine articles.

-- Jim Powell "With every new book,
Thomas Sowell further
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-- Roy Childs
"Thomas Sowell will be
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"...one of the few
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does not sacrifice his
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-- David Horowitz
"Thomas Sowell said it.
I believe it. That settles
it."
-- Neal Boortz

The same can be said for the Patriot Act as well....another piece of well-intended but poorly-thought-out legislation.

That said........this health care 'plan' scares the pants off me. I am against mandating the purchase of insurance, first of all, because I am experiencing the tender mercies of my own insurance company as we speak---an organization which is taking over $400 out of my paycheck each month and refusing to cover any of my costs in exchange. I don't wish that on anyone, and I can afford it---what about those who can't??

Secondly, this 'plan' is guaranteed to cost John Q. Public---also known as you and me---almost a trillion dollars while still leaving tens of millions without coverage. That is unacceptable. If we're going to pay for a huge overhaul of our health care 'system', let's do it RIGHT, for Heaven's sake!!!

Thirdly, it's about 900 pages too long, which proves once again that there is nothing so complex that the government can't make even more convoluted just by getting involved. (That's why I advocate a single-payer system that is NOT government-run, but that's an argument for a whole 'nother thread.)

Finally: I don't believe ANYONE with their fingers in this particular pie truly has our interests at heart. It's about what's most expedient politically, it's about appeasing the insurance industry and drug-manufacturer lobbies, it's about what will fly on Capitol Hill and not what plays in Peoria. And, I don't believe that "any plan is better than no plan at all"---especially in this case. They need to go back to the drawing board and start over again.