Quick review of healthcare bill in the HoR

[WaterMan]

What?!

 

People in America make minimum wage and can't afford insurance? I'm shocked. And here I am on top of my pile of oil/blood soaked money. I can't spend it fast enough on these boats. In my world I can afford car, house, boat, and personal insurance. Yet these deadbeats can't pay for a broken leg?

[Azazello1313]

What?!

 

People in America make minimum wage and can't afford insurance? I'm shocked. And here I am on top of my pile of oil/blood soaked money. I can't spend it fast enough on these boats. In my world I can afford car, house, boat, and personal insurance. Yet these deadbeats can't pay for a broken leg?

 

I hate to be the one to break this one to you waterboy, but there's no amount of government money that's going to cure your disease. there's just no treatment for stupid. the good news for you is it's not terminal.

[detlef]

So if we got rid of all the poor people and let them die in the streets a la "gangs of new york" style and built a big fence around the US, everything would be swell . . . . right Perch???

If we do build that fence, I want him in charge of it. Have you seen how he fortifies his house? Dude ain't playing.

[bpwallace49]

If we do build that fence, I want him in charge of it. Have you seen how he fortifies his house? Dude ain't playing.

 

Unless he gets charged by feral pigs . . . . evil swine!

[Perchoutofwater]

White House putting off release of budget update

Jul 20 03:29 AM US/Eastern

By TOM RAUM

Associated Press Writer

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.

 

The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in President Barack Obama's budget in February and update in May, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress.

 

The release of the update—usually scheduled for mid-July—has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation the White House is delaying the bad news at least until Congress leaves town on its August 7 summer recess.

 

The administration is pressing for votes before then on its $1 trillion health care initiative, which lawmakers are arguing over how to finance.

 

The White House budget director, Peter Orszag, said on Sunday that the administration believes the "chances are high" of getting a health care bill by then. But new analyses showing runaway costs are jeopardizing Senate passage.

 

"Instead of a dream, this routine report could be a nightmare," Tony Fratto, a former Treasury Department official and White House spokesman under President George W. Bush, said of the delayed budget update. "There are some things that can't be escaped."

 

The administration earlier this year predicted that unemployment would peak at about 9 percent without a big stimulus package and 8 percent with one. Congress did pass a $787 billion two-year stimulus measure, yet unemployment soared to 9.5 percent in June and appears headed for double digits.

 

Obama's current forecast anticipates 3.2 percent growth next year, then 4 percent or higher growth from 2011 to 2013. Private forecasts are less optimistic, especially for next year.

 

Any downward revision in growth or revenue projections would mean that budget deficits would be far higher than the administration is now suggesting.

 

Setting the stage for bleaker projections, Vice President Joe Biden recently conceded, "We misread how bad the economy was" in January. Obama modified that by suggesting the White House had "incomplete" information.

 

The new budget update comes as the public and members of Congress are becoming increasingly anxious over Obama's economic policies.

 

A Washington Post-ABC News survey released Monday shows approval of Obama's handling of health-care reform slipping below 50 percent for the first time. The poll also found support eroding on how Obama is dealing with other issues that are important to Americans right now—the economy, unemployment and the swelling budget deficit.

 

The Democratic-controlled Congress is reeling from last week's testimony by the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, that the main health care proposals Congress is considering would not reduce costs—as Obama has insisted—but "significantly expand" the federal financial responsibility for health care.

 

That gave ammunition to Republican critics of the bill.

 

Late last week, Obama vowed anew that "health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade and I mean it."

 

The nation's debt—the total of accumulated annual budget deficits—now stands at $11.6 trillion. In the scheme of things, that's more important than talking about the "deficit," which only looks at a one-year slice of bookkeeping and totally ignores previous indebtedness that is still outstanding.

 

Even so, the administration has projected that the annual deficit for the current budget year will hit $1.84 trillion, four times the size of last year's deficit of $455 billion. Private forecasters suggest that shortfall may actually top $2 trillion.

 

The administration has projected that the annual deficit for the current budget year will hit $1.84 trillion, four times the size of last year's deficit of $455 billion. Private forecasters suggest that shortfall may top $2 trillion.

 

If a higher deficit and lower growth numbers are not part of the administration's budget update, that will lead to charges that the White House is manipulating its figures to offer too rosy an outlook—the same criticism leveled at previous administrations.

 

The midsession review by the White House's Office of Management and Budget will likely reflect weaker numbers. But where is it?

 

White House officials say it is now expected in mid-August. They blame the delay on the fact that this is a transition year between presidencies and note that Obama didn't release his full budget until early May—instead of the first week in February, when he put out just an outline.

 

Still, the update mainly involves plugging in changes in economic indicators, not revising program-by-program details. And indicators such as unemployment and gross domestic product changes have been public knowledge for some time.

 

Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss said part of the problem with the administration's earlier numbers is that "they were just stale," essentially put together by budget number-crunchers at the end of last year, before the sharp drop in the economy.

 

Wyss, like many other economists, says he expects the recession to last at least until September or October. "We're looking for basically a zero second half (of 2009). And then sluggish recovery," he said.

 

Orszag, making the rounds of Sunday talk shows, insisted the economy at the end of last year, which the White House used for its optimistic budget forecasts, "was weaker at that time than anyone anticipated." He cited a "sense of free fall" not fully recognized at the time.

 

"It's going to take time to work our way out of it," the White House budget director told "Fox News Sunday."

 

Even as it prepares to put larger deficit and smaller growth figures into its official forecast, the administration is looking for signs of improvement.

 

"If we were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of the year, we have walked some substantial distance back from the abyss," said Lawrence Summers, Obama's chief economic adviser.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Perchoutofwater

[Perchoutofwater]

The nation's governors don't care for the health care plan either.

[caddyman]

The nation's governors don't care for the health care plan either.

And this was Bill Richardson and thye gubner of Washington, not exactly right wingers.

[Perchoutofwater]

Why does this guy hate America?

[WaterMan]

I hate to be the one to break this one to you waterboy, but there's no amount of government money that's going to cure your disease. there's just no treatment for stupid. the good news for you is it's not terminal.

 

Why are you supporting the poor of America? They can't even afford boat insurance.

[TimC]

Hey, look at how well the Cash For Clunkers program is being run by our Federal Government!! And that's only like 1/1000th the size.

 

You people suckling on the Federal titty and demanding even more milk disgust me.

[TimC]

Why does this guy hate America?

 

For the same reason, this guy does:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWr9rJCMlI8

 

Transcript:

 

CONCERNS FROM A VOTER WITH A DISABILITY

McCASKILL TOWN HALL MEETING

JULY 27, 2009

 

I am a young adult who is profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant, starting my second year of college in September.

 

I would not be able to hear anything without my implant, except maybe a jet engine.

 

With my cochlear implant, I can talk on the telephone, I can carry on oral conversations, and I can hear music. It has enriched my life tremendously.

 

Cochlear implant surgery is not inexpensive. Currently it costs between $50,000 and $60,000 per ear.

 

After this surgery it is important to receive the correct education afterward so the child can learn how to talk. It is expensive to educate a child who is deaf.

 

It is also expensive to provide services to a child who is deaf who is not oral. Interpreters are needed for them to talk to people who are hearing.

 

When my mother told me of the health bills being considered by the House and Senate, and how they impacted disabled people, I wanted people to know how that would impact me and how difficult it would be to succeed in life without the services I have received.

 

Ezekiel Emanuel, Rahm Emmanuel’s brother, who is involved in the wording of the House Bill said, “Medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled, not given to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens…” “.

 

Does that include me? If medical decisions are being made by the government; not by my doctors, my parents, or me, I would be determined to be too expensive to receive the services I need to be able to navigate my way in the world.

 

This is a bad plan for those with special needs. Tell Senator McCaskill to vote NO.

 

Noah Logue

St. Louis, MO

[Perchoutofwater]

2 Obama officials: No guarantee taxes won't go up

2 Obama administration officials can't guarantee middle-class Americans won't see tax hike

* By Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer

* On Sunday August 2, 2009, 9:24 pm EDT

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's treasury secretary said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit, and his chief economic adviser would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul.

 

As the White House sought to balance campaign rhetoric with governing, officials appeared willing to extend unemployment benefits. With former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan saying he is "pretty sure we've already seen the bottom" of the recession, Obama aides sought to defend the economic stimulus and calm a jittery public.

 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers both sidestepped questions on Obama's intentions about taxes. Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the federal deficit; Summers said Obama's proposed health care overhaul needs funding from somewhere.

 

"There is a lot that can happen over time," Summers said, adding that the administration believes "it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things out, no matter what."

 

During his presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime." But the simple reality remains that his ambitious overhaul of how Americans receive health care -- promised without increasing the federal deficit -- must be paid for.

 

"If we want an economy that's going to grow in the future, people have to understand we have to bring those deficits down. And it's going to be difficult, hard for us to do. And the path to that is through health care reform," Geithner said. "We're not at the point yet where we're going to make a judgment about what it's going to take."

 

Selling that proposal, however, has proved tricky.

 

On Friday, the government released a report that suggested the worst recession in the United States since World War II appears on the verge of ending. The economy dipped only slightly in the second quarter of this year -- falling at a 1 percent annual pace, better than expected.

 

The president cautioned against instant turnaround, though.

 

"Well, as I've said, I think we maybe are beginning to see the end of the recession, but it's still going to be some time before we are seeing companies hiring again. That's usually the last thing that happens," Obama said in an interview with Univision that aired on Sunday.

 

"So I think we are still going to have a tough remainder of the year -- probably until next year -- but, you know, at least what we are seeing -- we've pulled back from the possibility of a depression. That's not the danger."

 

Many analysts think the economy is starting to grow again in the current quarter, setting up a long-awaited recovery.

 

"Most private forecasters -- and let's use their judgment -- suggest you're going to see unemployment start to come down maybe beginning in the second half of next year," Geithner said, adding those same economists predict positive growth during the second half of this year.

 

At the same time, Geithner and other administration officials are contemplating how to ask Congress to extend -- again -- unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in recent months. The proposal drew measured support from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., as long as the benefits are drawn from the already approved economic stimulus package.

 

"We need to take care of those who are unemployed, but we also need to make sure they get jobs," he said.

 

Those jobs, though, are still elusive. Greenspan said the economy is slowly coming back.

 

"Collapse, I think, is now off the table. We were teetering for a while," he said.

 

Greenspan said he doesn't think the Federal Reserve should be considering raising interest rates to ward off inflation, although he added that the Fed will have to rein in credit and raise rates at some point.

 

Obama's opponent for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, questioned whether the administration's actions will prove beneficial for the country.

 

"I think it's pretty clear, if you pump trillions of dollars into the economy, you will see some recovery," the Arizona Republican said while giving Obama credit for the improvement. "But the long-term consequences, I think, are going to be, unfortunately, devastating unless we do something about it."

 

Geithner and Greenspan appeared on ABC's "This Week." Summers appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" and CBS's "Face the Nation." DeMint was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday." McCain spoke with CNN's "State of the Union."

 

 

And,

 

Obama, Frank, and other Dems admitting the "government option" will lead to single payer health care.

[westvirginia]

Read my lips...

[Ursa Majoris]

Why would any politician in their right mind rule out tax increases - or spending cuts, or anything else? Why cut off one major route that may be needed in the future when if you go back on it because you simply have to, you wind up like the first George Bush - read my lips?

[dmarc117]

Why would any politician in their right mind rule out tax increases - or spending cuts, or anything else? Why cut off one major route that may be needed in the future when if you go back on it because you simply have to, you wind up like the first George Bush - read my lips?

 

 

politicians say and do what they need to in order to get elected.

[bushwacked]

And,

 

Obama, Frank, and other Dems admitting the "government option" will lead to single payer health care.

 

The Obama stuff from 2003? So either he changed his mind or it's a vast left-wing conspiracy. So either way, let's take a look at some non partisan fact check evaluation instead of looney right-wing internet you-tube progranda, shall we?

 

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/canadian-straw-man/

 

We’ve written before about conservatives claiming that Congress, or Obama, or Washington, or Democrats in general want the U.S. to have a Canadian-style, government-run health care system. The truth of the matter is that the president has repeatedly said he doesn’t. In fact, since being sworn in as president, Obama has riled advocates of such single-payer systems by largely excluding them from the health care debate. He has answered several questions from members of the public who asked at town hall events: "why not" have such a system. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and one of the leaders in drafting legislation, has said bluntly: "single-payer is not going to get even to first base in Congress." Yet, the Canada claims continue.

Edited August 3, 2009 by bushwacked

[Pope Flick]

The Obama stuff from 2003? So either he changed his mind or it's a vast left-wing conspiracy. So either way, let's take a look at some non partisan fact check evaluation instead of looney right-wing internet you-tube progranda, shall we?

 

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/canadian-straw-man/

 

 

Bah. We need more links from Drudge.

[Perchoutofwater]

Why would any politician in their right mind rule out tax increases - or spending cuts, or anything else? Why cut off one major route that may be needed in the future when if you go back on it because you simply have to, you wind up like the first George Bush - read my lips?

 

I agree with you, I'm just pointing out it is looking more an more likely that those making under $250,000 are going to see a tax increase which is contrary to one of Obama's main campaign promises.

[westvirginia]

The Obama stuff from 2003? So either he changed his mind or it's a vast left-wing conspiracy. So either way, let's take a look at some non partisan fact check evaluation instead of looney right-wing internet you-tube progranda, shall we?

 

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/canadian-straw-man/

 

 

Bah. We need more links from Drudge.

 

Pay no attention to the tax increase looming behind the curtain...

 

ETA: And this dumbarse, POS tax-cheating sumbeetch is telling us our taxes must rise. That's just great...

Edited August 3, 2009 by westvirginia