Health Care Reform

John Boehner, Social Security, And The Long Term Future: A Proposal Of A Solution!

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House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio has stirred up a controversy with his statements about the future of Social Security!

There is no question that the problem of the future of Social Security is a crucial one, that desperately needs to be dealt with in a serious manner, as it was in 1983!

That year, President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill negotiated an agreement which governs Social Security ever since then. Despite their political and ideological differences, the two men and their party members recognized the need for Social Security reform.

Sadly, the reforms of 1983 were not enough to solve the problem for the long term, meaning to the end of the 21st century, but it did solve the problem to the mid point of this century. As a result, people born in 1943 and after had to wait to age 66 to receive full benefits, and those born in 1960 and after had to wait until age 67. But these people were given plenty of notice in order to plan their futures, and age 62 remained the minimum age to receive lower Social Security benefits!

Now, John Boehner has proposed that the Social Security age be raised to 70 for those twenty or more years from retirement, meaning those born after 1970. He also suggested that although everyone pays in, that those who are wealthy give up the benefit as they do not need it! He also stated that this sacrifice would help finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

The uproar is massive, but Boehner is not totally wrong in what he advocates!

There has long been a reality to recognize the need to raise the retirement age long term. What makes more sense, however, is the following proposal: Raise the retirement age to age 68 for those born in 1970 and after; to age 69 for those born in 1980 and after; and to age 70 for those born in 1990 and after!

This means that people now 40 and under would understand that the age is 68; that people now 30 and under would know that the age is 69; and that people now 20 and under would accept that the age is 70 for full retirement benefits! This gives all these groups plenty of years to plan ahead!

Also, we need to face the facts that age longevity is growing, and now with national health care, it should improve further, so there is no reason that people cannot work to the older ages if they wish! But always, they can retire as early as age 62 at lower benefits!

But beyond this reform, should wealthier people give up their benefit? The answer is NO, as they have contributed to Social Security and should be entitled to the proceeds of their efforts! There should NOT be a means test for Social Security!

But to help finance the long run future of Social Security, the limit of Social Security contributions should be lifted to cover ALL wages, just as is with Medicare! That will supply a much larger amount of funding from the growing percentage of people earning much more than $106,800, the present limit!

Finally, should Social Security be linked to support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Absolutely NO, as the plan should be to withdraw from both wars as soon as possible, as neither has contributed one iota to our security and safety after September 11!

So John Boehner has contributed to the debate over Social Security, but what has been suggested by the author is a much better solution to the long term future of Social Security and its recipients!

We must not have young people thinking that they will see the demise of Social Security, therefore lowering their desire to want to see it continue!

When Social Security was started 75 years ago, it was seen as a contract with the American people to give an element of peace of mind to senior citizens and widows and orphans. It is a social contract that cannot be allowed to be broken!

So the only way to protect and preserve it is do what is suggested above, and also NOT to invest it in the unstable stock market! That is a person’s private choice with other funds, but not with their Social Security contributions!

Tom Coburn Surprise: Tone Of Civility Toward Nancy Pelosi And Strong Criticism Of Fox News Channel! :)

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It is always nice when you can praise a politician for his civility and open mindedness! 🙂

So although I consider Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn one of the worst members of the Senate, there is always hope for improvement!

Coburn has proved to be both good and bad in the past few days. It is because of him that this week, with Congress out of session for the Easter break, unemployment compensation is being cut off because he put a “hold” on voting on the bill, due to concerns about the national debt. This is the same tactic used earlier this year by Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning. There is no way to look at this tactic of putting a “hold” on a vote by a single Senator as anything more than disgraceful behavior, and a sign of lack of care for those less fortunate! 🙁

However, it turns out that Senator Coburn, at a Town Hall meeting in his home state, defended Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as a “nice” lady, who should not be personally attacked and should be treated with civility, whether by individual citizens or by Fox News Channel!

He accused Fox News Channel of distorting the news about the Health Care reform legislation, which he himself opposed, but says we should not be promoting mistruths, such as a person will be thrown in jail if he does not buy health insurance.

Imagine, a conservative Republican actually attacking Fox News Channel! This is a well deserved criticism of a station that sets out to distort reality, and has willing accomplices from journalists who work for the channel and sell their soul for their employment! This is not good journalism, and should be condemned! Plaudits for once for Senator Tom Coburn for his civility and his frankness! 🙂

Dr. Jack Cassell, Congressman Alan Grayson, And Health Care Reform

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A major controversy has erupted in central Florida, in the town of Mount Dora, where an urologist, Dr. Jack Cassell, has posted a sign on the door of his office telling Obama supporters to go elsewhere for medical care.

A strong critic of the Health Care reform, Dr. Cassell claims that he is not denying anyone medical care from him, who wants it. He sees it as his right to make his position clear on the health care reform, and believes that very few people who have come to his office have turned away from walking in.

Congressman Alan Grayson, who is the Representative from Cassell’s district, is bringing a case to the Florida Medical Board and the American Medical Association against Dr. Cassell, as acting in a discriminatory manner against some of his patients, and others who might seek medical care from him.

He points out that the Hippocratic Oath and the American Medical Association Code of Ethics makes clear that a medical professional is not to use political viewpoints as a reason to refuse medical care to any of his patients.

Many would argue that this is a freedom of speech case, and certainly, in his role as a private citizen, Dr. Cassell has every right to express his views in any forum outside of his work place. But in his role as a medical professional at work, it is totally inappropriate and against medical ethics to do what he is doing.

Grayson is pursuing the idea of consequences for what Dr. Cassell is doing, and it seems appropriate that Dr. Cassell needs to agree to cease and desist in what he is doing at his workplace, and pursue it instead in other venues or even in running for public office to promote his views, if he sees fit.

Freedom of speech does not include the right to intimidate patients and imply denial of medical care, as much as it does not include the right to “shout fire in a crowded theater”. There is a time and place for such assertions of the First Amendment!

Senator Jim DeMint And The Big Lie Technique: The “Individual Mandate”

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South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint has become a master of the Big Lie Technique, which was masterfully used by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany!

Of course, the Big Lie Technique is that if you repeat and perpetuate a lie enough times, most people will believe it!

DeMint, infamous for saying his goal was to make the Health Care reform President Obama’s “Waterloo”, has stated that the “Individual Mandate”, which requires everyone to purchase health insurance by 2014, will require the Internal Revenue Service to hire 16,000 agents to hunt down and arrest citizens who refuse to buy health insurance, and also refuse to pay a fine.

If one actually looks at the wording of the Health Care reform legislation, one discovers that while it is expected that everyone purchase health insurance, and that there is a fine if one does not do so, there is no enforcement mechanism that actually will penalize anyone who does not do so!

And right now, there are about 16,000 IRS agents, and there is no plan to double the number of agents because of the so called “Individual Mandate”.

What it comes down to is that every citizen in this country has a responsibility to purchase health insurance, so as not to become a burden on the rest of us if he or she gets sick or is injured. Is it really too much to say that just as all of us are required to pay taxes, obey traffic laws, and in theory be available to serve on juries and to exercise our right to vote, as well as fill out census forms once in ten years, that we also have a basic responsibility to do what we can to protect our health, just as we are expected to insure our homes and automobiles against danger?

It is time for everyone to realize their basic responsibilities to their country, as John F. Kennedy enunciated in his Inaugural Address in 1961. It is time for us to realize that protecting our health, and caring about the health of our fellow citizens, is more important than having those extra drinks, tobacco, and illegal drugs that undermine our health and safety, and that a responsibility of adulthood is to insure our health, as much as we somehow find the ability to support our need for food, clothing and shelter.

It is also time for the GOP to stop spreading lies and propaganda about Health Care reform, and to accept the responsibility to stop dividing us and in the process of doing so, encouraging confrontation and lawlessness that could at anytime lead to bloodshed and violence!

The “Europeanization” Of America: What Is The Problem?

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Throughout the Health Care reform debate, we kept on hearing the opposition stating that the United States did not wish to copy “Europeans”, as if everything they have done and everything they represent is, somehow, inherently evil!

This is evidence of the total ignorance of those who profess this,of those Americans who argue that America is superior in every way to the “old world” from which the majority of Americans have their ancestry, and that we cannot learn anything positive from those nations that are the heritage of a majority of our citizens!

This narrow mindedness demonstrates the need for our education system to teach about the European roots of America, as this has been downgraded in the curriculum of our public schools, and even in our universities!

Waving the American flag and claiming somehow that we are “better” than European nations is the root of much of our shortcomings as a society. Should we not honor the effect of the Greeks and the Romans; of the French Revolution; of the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution in Great Britain; of the contributions of people from all over Europe who have had an impact on our growth and success; of the philosophers who helped to bring about the rationale for our American Revolution; of the many ideas and concepts that have advanced our nation because of their setting an example for us?

Cannot we learn from “our parents”? Of course we can, and that includes the struggle over considering the effects of European law on our Supreme Court, where the battle rages over whether or not our highest court should consider foreign law in making decisions that affect our future as a nation!

Instead of condemning “foreign influences”, we should embrace them as a way to improve and promote “a more perfect Union”! The Founding Fathers certainly appreciated that concept!

The Impact Of Momentum: Success Breeds Success!

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For much of the time in the first year of the Obama Presidency, there was a lot of impatience and skepticism that his could be a transformational Presidency, as Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan had.

The impact of the Health Care reform legislation, finally being enacted into law after a long, hard fought struggle for a year, can already be seen.

There is much greater optimism that President Obama will be able, even without a bipartisan spirit, to accomplish reforms in the financial industry, in immigration policy, in climate change, and in mortgage foreclosure and job creation.

Psychologically, the momentum of a great victory promotes a sense of success, and it can be said that success can breed success. The impact of momentum can be seen already!

The odds of Obama being a transformational President has grown exponentially with the aura and halo that has been created around him by the good fortune that many never expected to happen. And with the Health Care reform success, it helps the Democrats to minimize the losses in the midterm election!

Mitt Romney’s Political Problem: “Obamacare” Is Much Like “Romneycare”!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is seen as one of the leading GOP candidates for the 2012 Presidential nomination, is having difficulties on his book tour because of Tea Party people who denounce the Massachusetts health care reform enacted in 2006 as too much like the Health Care reform just passed in Congress and signed by President Obama.

Romney has been attacking the process of enactment of the federal legislation more than the substance, as people in Massachusetts are also required to buy health care or face penalties. Also, small businesses are required to provide coverage or face penalties, and taxes have gone up to implement the plan.

This has put Romney on the defensive, and makes his future candidacy much more vulnerable in a time of Tea Party activism. This complicates any potential candidacy, although Romney makes clear he has not decided whether to run for President in 2012.

With the reality of this ugly mood spreading in the Republican party, which is being greatly influenced by the Tea Party movement, and with the fact that, as a Mormon, Romney faces the prejudice of many Christians, particularly evangelicals, who think of Mormonism as a cult, Romney’s path to the nomination has been greatly compromised!

Fiery Rhetoric After Health Care Passage “A Clear And Present Danger”!

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Mike Vanderboegh, an Alabama survivalist and former militia leader, has advocated that Americans break the windows of Democratic leaders’ homes. After calling for this last week, we have had attacks of violence against property, and death threats against Democratic politicians. He is now calling for supporters to be well armed and ready to defend the Constitution.

This event, on top of demonstrations planned at the home of an Ohio Congressman in his district; and Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King slapping a picture of Nancy Pelosi in front of a Tea Party crowd in Washington, DC; and the continued fiery rhetoric of Republican leaders, including John Boehner and John McCain, makes it clear that conservatives and Republicans, either by plan or by their dangerous rhetoric not being understood to be inciting, is provoking a possible insurrection that will lead to bloodshed and death!

All of these events are a “clear and present danger” that will soon force the government to utilize the Schenck case of 1919 and intervene to keep law and order in the midst of what is rapidly becoming a threat to public security! People must be held responsible for their speech, when it incites violence!

We cannot allow chaos and anarchy to rule this country! The evoking of the Constitution does not allow violent action to be considered legitimate! It is time for violent rhetoric and advocacy of lawlessness to end! Cease and desist!

Threats Against Bart Stupak And Other Health Care Supporters: Republicans Must Be Held Accountable For Ugly Atmosphere They Have Created! :(

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It is indeed a sad time when Democratic members of Congress, at least ten at last count, have to face threats and intimidation because of their support of the Health Care reform legislation.

Bricks have been thrown through windows, a gas line to a house was broken, and threatening emails and phone calls have been delivered, with the biggest victim of these attacks by fanatic right wingers being Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan, an anti abortion Democrat who came to an agreement with President Obama that led him and others who were anti abortion to support the Health Care reform legislation. When one listens to the obscene, threatening, despicable phone calls that went to his home in Michigan, terrifying his wife and family, one can only denounce the whole mood encouraged by the extremist right wing radio talk show hosts and Fox News Channel, and even by the rhetoric of Republican leadership in both houses of Congress!

And when Glenn Beck talks about picking up guns, and Sarah Palin makes a list of Democrats in Congress to target for defeat with the image of cross hairs of a gun surrounding their states, one has to say again that freedom of speech is being abused to the extreme!

There has to be real fear that violence is going to escalate, and it will be blamed on GOP tactics that have so divided this country in the past year, that there is no civil discourse anymore!

The Republicans have a responsibility to stop provoking continued anger among their supporters, and act in a civil manner in defeat! Otherwise, they will bear the responsibility for any tragic events that might occur because of their rhetoric!

Senate Republican Obstructionism: Not A Winning Strategy!

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The House Republicans disgraced themselves by their behavior this weekend as that chamber passed the Health Care reform legislation.

Now the Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and with the full backing of John McCain, have decided to be totally obstructionist, and to pledge to do everything to delay or prevent the “reconciliation” bill designed to make the newly minted Health Care reform better than it presently is.

So, as a result, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans all night sessions to prevent delay in the enactment of “reconciliation” beyond this pre Easter week.

If the Senate Republicans think this is a good image they are presenting the nation, they will soon discover how wrong they are!

Already, the first polls out after the enactment of Health Care reform indicate that 49 percent favor the legislation, compared to 40 percent opposed.

The GOP is about to have a rude awakening! Health Care reform is here to stay, even with 14 states trying to promote its repeal in the courts!