12 replies to this topic

[ogm]

There are many ways to cut spending. A better healthcare reform would be one of them. Deregulating Health insurance industry for example, removing their monopoly protections and opening the marketplace. Creating state run alternative The medicare costs are high because there is a giant monopolistic middle man in the form of health insurance companies. Allowing for a better marketplace would bring costs down without cutting expenses. How many billions in profits did the insurance middleman make last year ? was it really necessary ? What function exactly do they serve ? But I can already see the answer to that one...."OMG, s state run alternative, death panels, can't allow that !" Paranoia galore. Yeah, health insurance corporate death panels that decide who gets treatment and who doesn't are much better. So bringing healthcare costs down is a way to cut spending without cutting the benefits. Same with drug costs.. why the $#@%^&$& the same drugs cost 50% less in Canada then in the US ? Thats what medicare is paying for, isn't it ? So let medicare buy drugs in Canada ? or make smarter laws here to bring the costs down. But no, no one will touch that one, lobby is too strong. So there are smarter ways to do things without taking the country into recession to make some idiotic political point. Yes, military budget is too high. I don't mind cutting that one, but of course republicans will never do that. Paranoia reigns. "Enemies are all around us" ... you know the drill. There are plenty of loopholes to be closed too. Google, GE, etc are paying 15% tax rate and complaining that corporate taxes are too high at the same time. Its a fargin joke. Too many tax breaks can be eliminated. No one is biting anyone in the {bleeeep} here to repay the national debt tomorrow. No reason to go to extremes. This isn't Greece that doesn't have its own printing press and is at the mercy of Germany. Yes some tough decisions need to be made, most of them have to do with fighting one powerful lobby or another. Of course its hard to fight a lobby that gets you re-elected, much easier to go after helpless seniors and their benefits. All hail Paul Ryan, the national hero. .... Cooler head will prevail and the Senate bill will pass tonite.

Edited by ogm, 01 January 2013 - 09:03 PM.

[MikeyG]

There are many ways to cut spending. A better healthcare reform would be one of them. Deregulating Health insurance industry for example, removing their monopoly protections and opening the marketplace. Creating state run alternative
The medicare costs are high because there is a giant monopolistic middle man in the form of health insurance companies. Allowing for a better marketplace would bring costs down without cutting expenses.
How many billions in profits did the insurance middleman make last year ? was it really necessary ? What function exactly do they serve ? But I can already see the answer to that one...."OMG, s state run alternative, death panels, can't allow that !" Paranoia galore. Yeah, health insurance corporate death panels that decide who gets treatment and who doesn't are much better.

So bringing healthcare costs down is a way to cut spending without cutting the benefits.

Same with drug costs.. why the $#@%^&$& the same drugs cost 50% less in Canada then in the US ? Thats what medicare is paying for, isn't it ? So let medicare buy drugs in Canada ? or make smarter laws here to bring the costs down. But no, no one will touch that one, lobby is too strong.

So there are smarter ways to do things without taking the country into recession to make some idiotic political point.

Yes, military budget is too high. I don't mind cutting that one, but of course republicans will never do that. Paranoia reigns. "Enemies are all around us" ... you know the drill.

There are plenty of loopholes to be closed too. Google, GE, etc are paying 15% tax rate and complaining that corporate taxes are too high at the same time. Its a fargin joke. Too many tax breaks can be eliminated.

No one is biting anyone in the {bleeeep} here to repay the national debt tomorrow. No reason to go to extremes. This isn't Greece that doesn't have its own printing press and is at the mercy of Germany.

Yes some tough decisions need to be made, most of them have to do with fighting one powerful lobby or another. Of course its hard to fight a lobby that gets you re-elected, much easier to go after helpless seniors and their benefits. All hail Paul Ryan, the national hero.

....

Cooler head will prevail and the Senate bill will pass tonite.

Defense and entitlements both need to be cut...

That is where all the money is at...

[DrSP]

There are many ways to cut spending. A better healthcare reform would be one of them. Deregulating Health insurance industry for example, removing their monopoly protections and opening the marketplace. Creating state run alternative
The medicare costs are high because there is a giant monopolistic middle man in the form of health insurance companies. Allowing for a better marketplace would bring costs down without cutting expenses.
How many billions in profits did the insurance middleman make last year ? was it really necessary ? What function exactly do they serve ? But I can already see the answer to that one...."OMG, s state run alternative, death panels, can't allow that !" Paranoia galore. Yeah, health insurance corporate death panels that decide who gets treatment and who doesn't are much better.

So bringing healthcare costs down is a way to cut spending without cutting the benefits.

Same with drug costs.. why the $#@%^&$& the same drugs cost 50% less in Canada then in the US ? Thats what medicare is paying for, isn't it ? So let medicare buy drugs in Canada ? or make smarter laws here to bring the costs down. But no, no one will touch that one, lobby is too strong.

There were medicare cuts by 27% on clinic costs in the original bill and other things But, in the end, those cuts were taken off for 2013. Our law makers put everything on the table but in the end, nothing comes to fruition.

The most laughable part is I heard one of our lawmakers say that those earning upto 400k$ per year are part of the middle class.