betterthantv

Hey BtTV, you know, you and I have some common ground here. We probably won't ever come fully into agreement, but that's OK. Different folks, different opinions, different concerns. I think this legislation has bitten off more than it can chew. It's too much, and too dependent on itself. For example:

- The bill aims to restrict the insurance companies from picking and choosing who they will cover, denying folks for pre-existing conditions is the biggie, and kicking people out when they become sick. Now I think there's good arguments on both sides to whether this is good or bad. If this is a provision though, the insurance industry WANTS the individual mandate. Without the mandate folks can get insurance when they are sick and drop it when they are healthy. I'd say there are some other ways around this too, but that's the meat of the requirement. Car owners and home owners are mandated to have insurance, is that different enough to say that it is constitutional? (I'll just throw in here that I do know there are some options for NOT having insurance, but for the most part, it's required). Now that makes sense to me from the insurance and consumer standpoint. Consumers get a guarantee of sorts that they can get insurance, and the insurance companies get a guaranteed revenue stream where cheaper patients offset more expensive ones. It may not be the only solution, it may not be the best solution. But it's not the worst solution and it IS a solution.

The more dependent things you tack into a bill, the harder it gets to manage though. As we've seen this one is gigantic. And trying to tackle so many areas at once if any one point works poorly, it could bring the whole thing down. Then everyone will say what a piece of crap the whole thing is, when perhaps one tiny little part was the culprit, like a big Jenga tower. I have to agree it needs to be smaller and it needs to be more focused. Tackle one smaller set of problems at a time and see how they do. If poorly, it's small enough to be flexible, if well, then you can phase in a second part and see how that goes.

Tort reform? Sure why not. It aims to address skyrocketing costs due to litigation and 'defensive medicine'. The biggest negative hurdle it has to overcome though, in my opinion, is time. How long after reform goes through will costs start to drop? if I need affordable insurance now, what is tort reform going to do for me? Nothing at all. And you know I can't help but think, what happens when companies reduce their costs? They maintain prices and put the extra in the pockets of their executives. So maybe after the CFO gets to upgrade his 50' yacht to 65' he'll consider dropping the cost of the plans. But for sure tort reform needs to be addressed. A small fix, that in the long run could have positive benefit. Could it be combined with a shorter term fix to help the immediate problems?

I'm not saying the the GOP isn't pushing tort reform, but if they are they're being awfully quiet about it. News outlets aren't showing any kind of back and forth. Truthfully I see 99% of their statements being 'no way to this bill', and next to zip, 'here's what we bring to the table'. Clinton tried for healthcare reform and failed. Bush came on and all of a sudden no congressional interest in pursuing reform. Where was the GOP with their Tort Reform? It's almost like the counter argument they use only when it's in their face, but when they're free to do it on their own, they find something better to do. My opinion, shit or get off the pot. If Tort reform is their idea, then bring it out throw it on the table, show that every GOP member will vote for it, and let's hear it talked about on CNN and Fox News. Give the other side a chance to say why it's a piece of shit, just like you're doing to theirs. (not you BtTV, GOP and their backers). I think they're scared because any bill can be torn apart for one reason or another, and when you're struggling to get 'back in power', you don't want to show that your farts stink just as bad.

Sorry, I'm being bitter. The bill itself doesn't directly bother me, it's everything around it that is pissing me off. The symptom, not the disease. It's the double talk, the venom and the attitude, the hypocrisy. Healthcare Reform isn't going to bring this country, we've been on a spiral for years, and this bill is just another tool to further damage our crumbling building. It could be a bill about what color of white to repaint the White House, and if it was made a public issue we'd be just as evil about it. We've turned into a nation of drama queens. No ketchup for my fries?! What the fuck?! You are going down you bastards!

Well you are absolutely right on that. If you don't believe in having a bill at all, it's tough to argue merits and failures.

You know, honestly, I struggle with that. How much should a government 'intervene' on the population?

This buddy of mine that I usually get into these things with, we often talk about varying aspects of it. He's conservative (but not republican, though he votes that way more because those two tend to coincide, or did at one time. I'm much more middle ground, with leanings each way depending on the issue.

Let me tell you where I currently stand on government control, 'cause I know you're dying to know

I think every Social, Political or Economic structure has something that's it's good at and something it's bad at. And if any society is going to thrive and sustain, there has to be a good balance between the 3 no matter what they may be. I think like anything, any one side getting to much power throws too much into chaos. So where does that leave us? It seems to me that as corporations get more powerful (and damn are they!), you've got to have other areas step up as well to offset it. When left alone, any one group getting too powerful usually ends up in some kind of uprising or rebellion. So a constant back and forth regulated relationship keeps that kind of anarchy at bay. You know, let's talk about our differences before they get to be problems and we end up saying or doing something extreme that we can't take back.

Currently I don't think we're doing such a great job at this balance. It seems more and more like Government and Corporate are teaming up behind closed doors, leaving the people fighting two battles. So we complain to the Govt about the Corps and Corps about the Govt, and they're both winking at each other. Not good. So perhaps healthcare reform is the Govt way of making us think they're doing something for us so we don't suspect that they and Corp are meeting in a motel every night playing flippy flop. Corps do the same thing with public relations and do-gooder facades. So I think the balance is out-of-whack and the uprising isn't going to be pretty.

I do not blame the Obama administration because this has been progressing for a many many decades, long before I was born. No one can get into politics with an agenda and then just do it. You find once you get into the cogs that things don't work how you thought or hoped and you're forced to change direction. While I think many politicians lie lie lie, I think some of the campaign promises are broken just because they get in and find that it's not going to work that way.