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  • FRIDAY DECEMBER 15 2006 8:00 AM

Lunatic, Socialist, Hippie Senator Wants Universal Health Care

Submitted by FearTheReaper

Edited by FearTheReaper

Tags: Universal Healthcare, Clinton, Senator Ron Wyden

Twelve years ago America said no to a Clinton plan to create a massive bureaucracy and lower the standard of medical care by giving every American health care. The plan was slapped down by a prudent and economically sound Republican congress. But now the ugly monster of universal health care has reared it's ugly head again.

Oregon Birkenstock wearing Senator Ron Wyden is offering a plan to provide health care for everyone, whether they are stockbrokers or employed hobos living under the docks. The only people who would not be covered by his “private coverage” plan are people who get Medicare or are in the military.


"Employer-based coverage is melting away like a Popsicle on the sidewalk in August," Wyden said.


Okay. Now back to reality. Wyden is a member of the Senate Finance health care subcommittee, so he thinks he has the power to introduce bills that will ruin America. He has called the plan the “Healthy Americans Act” and believes it will not cost more money than what the country currently spends.

The plan has drawn support from different sides of the business community. The Service Employees International Union and Safeway, Inc. both believe the health care plan is a smart move. When everyone agrees on something it is communism. We are in deep shit here.

Currently 46 million Americans are happily uninsured. They go about their lives, some working full time jobs, joyfully understanding they are not living under the oppression of socialism.

Wyden’s plan allows workers to transfer their health insurance from job to job. Employers would terminate their existing plans and pay the amount saved directly to workers. Workers would then have to buy health insurance from a pool of private plans. After two years, employers would no longer pay their employees the insurance money and would instead pay it directly into the insurance pool. Then America would collapse.

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fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

DEC 15, 2006 01:16 PM

Margot_Dent said:

Raggamuffin said:
Every time I read a news article from SG, it's some conservative, narrow-minded view, always flinging mud in the opposite direction. I think we have a mini-O'Riely on our hands.

This guy is going to go nowhere in journalism.



whoooooosh



it's pretty amusing to see the points go so far over their heads.

on the other hand, it's a sad state of affairs that people will actually BELIEVE such drastic exaggerations.

fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

DEC 15, 2006 01:18 PM

Mr_muddle1 said:
I'm a Brit, our National Heath Service is a giant lumbering beast of a bureaucratic mess. It has issues. Plenty of issues. It costs a fortune (we're talking £96 billion ($187 billion) a year here people). But I'm damn happy and proud that my taxes pay for it. Because I know it's there if and when I should need it, and in the mean time that money is helping other people. From my point of view, I'd rather my money is being used to help other people or even being wasted completely due to incompetence / bureaucracy in the massive NHS system, than paying out monthly to an insurance company. By it's nature a company's primary goal is to earn profit for it's shareholders. Not help people. Who knows what your money is being invested in whilst your paying up, waiting to get ill? Now I know, some of that money is paying other peoples medical bills, but that is not it's primary function now, is it? Or perhaps I've misunderstood how these companies work?

On another British note: Brits love sarcasm. More news should be reported this way.



so, about 3 months of Iraq then? good. i think we can afford that.

quagmirething

quagmirething

I'm lost
June 2005

DEC 15, 2006 02:28 PM

horatios_dreams said:
so, about 3 months of Iraq then? good. i think we can afford that.


The bizarre thing is that the US government already spends a similar proportion of GDP on healthcare as many countries with universal provision.

Vestril

Vestril

Coronado, CA
February 2003

DEC 15, 2006 02:52 PM

quagmirething said:

horatios_dreams said:
so, about 3 months of Iraq then? good. i think we can afford that.


The bizarre thing is that the US government already spends a similar proportion of GDP on healthcare as many countries with universal provision.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't R&D on new drugs usually accounted for in those figures? I can't find it right now (I'm not trying hard, a little distracted) but I thought I remembered reading somewhere that if you factor out development costs we're usually not in the top spot, and since that kind of research often has benefits across different countries it would make more sense if it was pooled. I could be way off on this one though.

That said, I think those kinds of statistics offer compelling evidence that offering universal healthcare reduces some of the overall cost.

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

DEC 15, 2006 02:56 PM

I love all the people that don't get the sarcasm. If they removed the laugh track from The Colbert Report, would they not get that extreme sense of sarcasm either?

Margot_Dent

Margot_Dent

Los Angeles, CA
February 2004

DEC 15, 2006 03:05 PM

FYZY said:

thrash242 said:

Raggamuffin said:
Every time I read a news article from SG, it's some conservative, narrow-minded view, always flinging mud in the opposite direction. I think we have a mini-O'Riely on our hands.

This guy is going to go nowhere in journalism.



What's the weather like in Bizarro World?



BIZARROOO!!!



give this little guy a peanut!

malkav11

malkav11

Saint Paul, MN
July 2003

DEC 15, 2006 06:18 PM

ASSH0LE said:
Oh, "employed hobos living under the docks" seems to be any oxymoron.

Unless of course you meant to say "employed homos living under docks." Is this a gay rights issue?



FTR's exaggerating a bit, of course, but plenty of people are employed but homeless because they're not paid enough to afford it. Or because they could perhaps afford rent but they can't afford advance rent and a safety deposit.

RandomNerd

RandomNerd

I'm lost
January 2005

DEC 15, 2006 09:52 PM

I find this idea more appealing than I care to admit... but I'm terribly confused. It's to my understanding that people in the Western Provinces of Canada don't get much out of it. Folks from Alberta and Manitoba are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong... but if there are drawbacks, they must be outweighed by the benefit of a "Safety Net", yes?

Funding, on the other hand, is easy... Get rid of the DHS, it's completely redundant. And stop designing new fighter jets. If the US expects to fight Iran or North Korea, the planes we already have work fine.

Necia

Necia

San Francisco, CA
August 2005

DEC 15, 2006 10:17 PM

Funny how the sound of a first post in most FTR news articles seems to be "whoosh."

emotedcreations

emotedcreations

Germany
July 2006

DEC 15, 2006 10:35 PM

And DC was designed by the Free Masons... shocked

ASSH0LE

ASSH0LE

Las Vegas, NV
June 2003

DEC 16, 2006 07:30 PM

malkav11 said:

ASSH0LE said:
Oh, "employed hobos living under the docks" seems to be any oxymoron.

Unless of course you meant to say "employed homos living under docks." Is this a gay rights issue?



FTR's exaggerating a bit, of course, but plenty of people are employed but homeless because they're not paid enough to afford it. Or because they could perhaps afford rent but they can't afford advance rent and a safety deposit.



Nah, he made a mental typo. He meant unemployed hobos, I'm sure.

kaosmaker666

kaosmaker666

Batesville, AR
April 2006

DEC 16, 2006 09:52 PM

46 million out of 300 million that don't have health care.......12 million are illegal aliens from Mexico.....who knows how many "other than Mexican" illegals that counts. Oh let us not forget the legal aliens that work in lower wage jobs. If you are a full time student.....you should be able to get or stay on your parents insurance (unless of course they are on medicare). The rest need to either demand insurance from their employer or find a job that offers it. The job you find.....well you may not enjoy it......you may even hate it......but it has benefits. I had a talk with this guy at a "mom and pop" record store (now out of business) and he was complaining about having no health coverage. He just sit behind the counter and doesn't do anything to help with sales......ask him a question and he would just point and go back to reading or listening to music. Now since that shop closed, and he has a habit of eating and sleeping indoors.......he found a better job (had to cut his hair)......but he now has benefits (ins, 401k, & vac).......and isn't being a slacker!!! Says he hates it........but he sure is proud of that brand new car he bought!!! Ambition can work wonders........


If you give a man a fish; he eats today. If you teach a man to fish; he eats for a lifetime. If he has any ambition.......he might own a fishing fleet in a few years! wink

BatAttaK

BatAttaK

Tacoma, WA
OLD SKOOL

DEC 17, 2006 08:47 AM

"employed hobos"???? surreal

Stiles

Stiles

Oakland, CA
November 2002

DEC 17, 2006 08:59 AM

kaosmaker666 said:
. The rest need to either demand insurance from their employer or find a job that offers it.



What fantasy world are you living in?


skeptik

skeptik

New Orleans, LA
February 2004

DEC 17, 2006 09:08 AM

Stiles said:

kaosmaker666 said:
. The rest need to either demand insurance from their employer or find a job that offers it.



What fantasy world are you living in?




I think the one in which "my apartment burned down and I had to sleep in my car for a week or so until I got another one" equals "I'm tellin' ya man, I was homeless!"

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