Showing posts with label Health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health care. Show all posts

Friday, August 02, 2019

The US Health Care Mess

And when I say mess, don't get me wrong, I am not saying there is an ebola epidemic in the US. I mean that in an organizational chart sense. When it comes to health care in the US as a whole, I think it is a scenario of the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

Describe to me how the system works right now. You can't. It is not like the curry on the plate was made with this one recipe, and now you are going to use a different recipe tomorrow.

You can't just throw more money at the problem. You can't just 100% privatize. You can't just 100% nationalize.

It is the biggest chunk of the economy. If you think about it, social security and medicare are such big parts of the US economy, as is defense, and you have health care, and is America not already a socialist country? The government in the US is bigger than it is acknowledged.

Good luck figuring it out.



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Thursday, July 11, 2019

Bernie Is The John McCain Of The Left

Bernie Sanders is a maverick. More so than John McCain. Today anybody can be a Socialist. But Bernie was a Socialist during the Cold War! Imagine that. That's a maverick.

John McCain ran for president. Twice. He did not win. But he did build stature. He was in the Senate, but he was not just another Senator. I see the same thing happening to Bernie. He will not become Majority Leader. But his megaphone will be big. He will have a loud voice.

I don't see him winning the nomination. He lacks nuance. He stays blind to orchestrated targets. The moneyed interests send the media guys after him. He stays uninformed. He does not respond.

If the entire gamut of Democratic candidates is today talking about Medicare For All, it is because Bernie hammered the point in 2016. That's to his credit. That Bernie did so well in 2016 gave a lot of people confidence that perhaps Obamacare was just a stepping stone to Medicare For All. And there is broad public support. The idea is popular among Republicans.


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Saturday, April 27, 2019

US Health Care: A Perspective





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Thursday, January 19, 2017

Donald Trump: Health Care For Everyone

Donald Trump said something about health care for everyone a few days back.

He took on the Republican establishment during the primary season and came on top. Democracy is like capitalism. There is creative destruction involved. In Manhattan, where Trump is from, since every square inch of space is already taken, when you have to erect a new building, you demolish an old one. When you want to preserve the exterior of an old building, you gut it from inside. This is all real estate language, familiar to Trump.

If Trump sticks by his pledge of health care for everyone, he ends up ideologically gutting the Republican Party. The brand name stays, but the party is fundamentally changed from inside.

I was, of course, rooting for Hillary 2016. You can dig into this blog's archives and see. But it did not escape my attention that Trump absolutely ate 16 otherwise stellar Republican candidates for lunch without spending much money at all. More noteworthy than lack of funds was the fact he did not have much in the name of a political operation. He was his own political consultant, for the most part. His approach to the whole endeavor was entrepreneurial. Never underestimate a man with a Twitter account, I guess.

If he can end the Cold War with Russia once and for all, that would be a good thing.

Sticking by the mantra of health care for everyone is the only way he can honor many of the people who voted for him.

I think it is possible. The US government is the largest customer of the biggest pharmaceutical companies. There is room to bargain and bring down the prices on drugs.

If Trump will stick to the health care for everyone pledge, I will take a second look at him.

Trump's Stealth Health Plan Could Be 'Medicare For All'

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Wednesday, November 09, 2016

The Trump Recession Can't Be More Than Two Years Away

Trump's trade and immigration policies lead straight to recession. That can't be more than two years away.

A whole bunch of people would be crying hoarse next year when they lose their health care. But most of them did not even bother to vote. And many of them voted for Trump. They are white and poor.

Ah, democracy. 
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Friday, October 21, 2016

Improve Obamacare

Barack Obama Offers Blistering Takedown Of GOP Obstructionism In Pitch For Health Care Law 

First is for the 19 states that have refused to take up Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion to do so, in the process covering millions more poor adults. Second is to beef up the subsidies provided to people who get their coverage from the law’s health insurance exchanges. And third is to set up a government-run public option program ― which Obama called a “public plan fallback” ― in geographic areas with the highest prices and least competition.

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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Bernie And Blacks


  • Bernie should talk more about his Jewish experience. And, like I suspect, if he does not have too much of it, he should talk about his father's Jewish experience. Black folks think they have some kind of a patent on victimhood. They got nothing on Jews. 
  • Blacks wrongly think they were/are victimized because they had nothing. The opposite is true, just like for Jews. Jews have a tradition of knowledge. The rest of the world has had to wait for a 21st century knowledge economy to get the message. 
  • Black folks need the Bernie message more than any other group. Bernie is not trying to dismantle Obamacare, that would be Donald Trump. He is trying to expand upon it. College is the new high school. Bernie is right. Taking money out of politics only makes sense. It makes everything else possible. 



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Wednesday, June 03, 2015

100 Smart Cities, 100 World Class Universities



Modi talked of "100 Smart Cities" on the campaign trail in 2014. In 2019 he should perhaps talk of 100 World Class Universities. A world class university is one where people from all over the world come to study. He should also talk of 100 World Class Hospitals doing cutting edge work that caters not only to domestic needs but also to medical tourism.

India is a big, diverse, rich-poor country where you have to come from the low end, but also from the high end. It has to build toilets, but also missions to Mars. It has to wipe out poverty but also think of creating the industries of tomorrow at the same time. And you can not create the industries of tomorrow without having a stable of world class universities.

A world class university of today will be built around all that is available and possible online. MOOCs will be at the core of it. All journals will be available. Guest lectures will be the norm.

You get NRIs to contribute to the endowment.

India's Goal: $50 Trillion

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Pelosi Should Pass Election Reform To Keep Job

The Huffington Post: Election Reform As A Way To Put Republicans On The Spot: pass the Fair Elections Now Act, which likely to be voted out of committee next Thursday .... 165 co-sponsors and at least 40 more supporters, would give matching money to candidates who agreed to raise only small donations. It even has three Republican co-sponsors. ...... So far in this election cycle, House and Senate candidates have raised $1.2 billion dollars, and the money arms-race only grows. ..... Under the proposed Act, a candidate who raised small donations from at least 1,500 small donors contributing no more than $100 each for a total of at least $50,000 could get matching money, at a 4-to-1 ratio ..... As much as $3 million in public financing would be available -- enough to be competitive on most House races. The money wouldn't come from tax dollars, but from a special levy on the auctioning of broadcast spectrum
Of all things Pelosi could do between now and the November date, this would top the list. This is smaller than immigration reform and bigger than doing nothing. This is just the right size thing to do.

And with Charlie Rangel sleep walking to jail time after Bill Clinton sent out a robocall on his behalf right before the September 14 primary, the Dems badly need something that shows they stand on the side of politically clean. This bill would be it.

Pelosi can't do the stump speech thing that Obama does. That we should leave to Obama. But this House thing is Pelosi territory. She can get this done just like she got health care reform done and she got finance reform done.

The Dems need this bad.

The fear is not that the Tea Party might out think Obama. They have no plans to out think. Their plan is to numb the American people to not think anything. Their plan is to use racially coded language and imagery to get the American people to think that perhaps the guy in the Oval Office is not one of us.

If the Dems can turn this into an election about ideas and the future, that will lead to victory.

Obama does not need a victory in November. The Dems losing in November puts him in a better situation to win reelection in 2012. It is the American people who need Obama to win, who need Pelosi to be able to keep her job. And this election bill will help.
The Huffington Post: Obama Challenges Tea Party: 'Specifically, What Would You Do?': Obama, in no uncertain terms, accused the movement's members of refusing to talk in specifics. ..... We had two tax cuts that weren't paid for, two wars that weren't paid for. We've got a population that's getting older. We're all demanding services, but our taxes have actually substantially gone down." ..... What you can't do, which is what I've been hearing a lot from the other side, is we're going to control government spending, we're going to propose $4 trillion of additional tax cuts .... Obama does seem to operate at his best when facing inherently adversarial questions (recall the positive coverage he received for going to a Republican conference in Baltimore during the height of the health care debate).

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Tuesday, September 07, 2010

JFK, Primaries, Social Media, DirectConnect


JFK invented the primary system we know of today. Before him it was the party bosses in smoke-filled rooms who decided on the party nominee. It was party bosses who decided on FDR. It was party bosses who decided on Lincoln.

Barack Obama's massive use of social media took JFK's invention to a whole new level. Take away all that technology and Obama was toast. All prominent blacks in the country were lined up in the opposite camp. Pretty much all elected officials were lined up in the opposite camp. All the labor unions were lined up behind Hillary pretty much. There was no doubting her credentials. And there was something historic about the idea of the first woman president too.

At some level I was torn having had to choose between the idea of the first black president and the first woman president, and I am on record at this blog rooting for an eventual Barack-Hillary ticket. But at the end of the day it was not about the first black president. It really was about Barack Obama the person, it was about this particular individual. It was about moving on past the Clinton generation. It was about Obama's emphasis on getting people to meet in person, it was about his use of the newest in technology.

JFK took a big step in the direction of what I call DirectConnect, the idea that there ought to be nothing and nobody between the candidate and the voter. Barack took another big step in the direction of DirectConnect.

Endorsements and political clubs and the status quo will matter less and less going into the future. 2010 is the year of the insurgency. But it is not an insurgency of throwing one party out for another. The insurgency has been about throwing the bums out in both parties. Suddenly primaries matter like they always needed to. A lot of incumbents across the country are facing real contests. Many have faced them and lost them. More will.

The good news is primaries matter, and DirectConnect is more possible than ever before.
You want people to get engaged and stay engaged. But that is not to say polls have substituted the need for leadership. The need for leadership is acute as ever. If we did not need leaders, we would not need elections. But we do.

We have a president who has been wading FDR waters since the passage of health care reform. The recession is not over yet. It will be over finally when the unemployment is down to five per cent. And there leadership matters big time. The guy at the top has many decisions to make, and I believe he will.


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Friday, August 06, 2010

Who Is The Congressperson For Ground Zero? Not Maloney

World Trade Center from QueensImage via Wikipedia
Wall Street Journal: 9/11 Bill at Issue in Manhattan Election
Saujani received the maximum primary donation earlier this year from lawyer Marc Bern. Mr. Bern is one of the lead attorneys for thousands of people suing for compensation for illnesses and injuries suffered in the wake of working on the World Trade Center site or being exposed to its toxic dust. ...... He has given tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates over the years, including donations to Ms. Maloney in her past two elections. He declined to comment Thursday when asked why he now supports Ms. Saujani...... Last week, the legislation championed by Ms. Maloney to provide long-term health care for Ground Zero workers failed a vote in the House. ..... "It breaks my heart that the New York delegation, led by Carolyn Maloney, hasn't been able to deliver for our city's 9/11 heroes. A real leader would have passed this bill years ago,'' said Ms. Saujani. ...... Alix Anfang, a spokeswoman for the congresswoman, said ..... unions and liberal activists.
Maloney's heart might be in the right place, but she is plain incompetent.

The labor bosses were all with Hillary in the fall of 2007. De ja vu.

And who is this Alix Anfang person? I keep reading her name in news articles. I did a search on her and found out she is a Reshma 2010 volunteer. It is good to have our people deeply embedded in the opposition camp.

alix anfang at Reshma for Congress


Mar 23, 2010 ... alix anfang rsvped for March Volunteer Organizational Meeting. 2010-03-18 15:40:17 -0400 · Comment · Like ...
www.reshma2010.com/profiles/8247-alix-anfang - Cached

The Daily Beast: Reshma Saujani: Palin's Ground Zero Insult
The debate around the Cordoba House—or “the Ground Zero Mosque,” as it is sensationally being referred to in the media ...... That religious freedom and interfaith dialogue can endure at such a symbolic site, I believe, is a testament to the strength of American democracy. ...... Sarah Palin urged her supporters to reject the “Ground Zero Mosque” and implored “Peace-seeking Muslims” to scrap plans for the Cordoba House because it represents “unnecessary provocation” and a “stab in the heart.” ...... Michael Berry, a Republican talk-radio host in Houston, told listeners, “I hope the mosque isn’t built, and if it is, I hope it’s blown up, and I mean that.” ..... they have forgotten what makes this country great. The Cordoba Initiative was actually named for the city of Cordoba, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in peace for nearly 800 years during the Middle Ages...... In many ways, New York City today strikes me as a modern day Cordoba ..... We must both relentlessly pursue terrorist networks and staunchly defend our pluralistic democracy. The raw human component of this challenge calls on us to make an equal effort to combat extremism with education, intolerance with interfaith exchanges.
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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Domestic Violence Can Be Ended Like Polio Could Be Cured

LONDON - MAY 20: Abortion Rights group promot...Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Pro choice progressive women in this town drive me nuts. They talk like their pro choice stand is the ceiling I have to bang my head against. The pro choice stand has to be a floor they stand on, they have to walk, jump and fly.

More women than men are graduating from colleges today. But the leadership structures in all sectors of society, in all the major institutions are still male and archaic.

Little expressions of attitude are relevant. Sexist jokes are weapons of attrition thrown at the self esteem of women.

Life experiences have to be shared experiences.

"Bill Clinton is a good husband to keep for 30 years because he does the dishes."
- Hillary Clinton

Obama Has No Business Kissing Maloney

The information age and the post-industrial society should make it more possible for people to strike better life-work balances.

"I can't think in front of a computer."
- Hillary Clinton

A new generation has to step in to kick the ball further down the road.

When the mass rapes were happening in Liberia I figured the women in this town, the pro choice women, might rise up in arms, but no, not a whisper.

The Anti Maloney Brigade

Barack Obama achieved JFK status as a candidate. He achieved FDR status after he passed health care reform. All other items like Wall Street reform and immigration reform keep him at the FDR level. If he wants to achieve Lincoln status, he is going to have to end the global trafficking of women the way Lincoln ended slavery.

Gender Talk: Coming At It From The Future
The Need For A Race Gender Coalition
Race, Gender
Elephant In The Room: Gender
Muscular Gender Agenda
The Spectrum On Gender
Gender: Progressive, Conservative Divides
Hillary Is Right About Sexism, Gender Bias
Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Immigration Now?

The corner of Wall Street and Broadway, showin...Image via Wikipedia
I blogged a while back suggesting immigration overhaul has to be saved for 2011, (Save Immigration For 2011) but that was when I was thinking Wall Street reform is going to take much of this year. It has taken much less time than I thought it would.

Now it has become wise to tackle immigration with the same swiftness. Get it done and over with. Immigration is an issue that can only be tackled at the federal level. If you let the states take a crack at it one after the other, you end up with the monkey business like in Arizona.

Obama's spectacular success with health care reform is what made swift work on Wall Street reform possible.

Now he gets to work the same magic on immigration. This has been the president's intent from the outset. He has wanted to do immigration overhaul this year. I stand with him now. His leadership on health care reform and Wall Street reform has convinced me he has the right schedule in mind for immigration.

Tackling immigration right away is also the right thing to do politically for the elections due in November. It will prevent some of the president's opponents from trying to cash on the irrational fears of some of his constituents.

New York Times: Financial Oversight Bill Signals Shift on Deregulation
.... a renewed mistrust of financial markets after decades .... cleared the Senate by a vote of 60 to 39, largely along party lines, after weeks of wrangling that allowed Democrats to pick up the three Republican votes to ensure passage ..... the culmination of nearly two years of fierce lobbying and intense debate ...... a catalog of repairs and additions to the rusted infrastructure of a regulatory system that has failed to keep pace with the expanding scope and complexity of modern finance. ...... a bill that reasserts the importance of federal supervision of financial transactions. ...... “The financial industry is central to our nation’s ability to grow, to prosper, to compete and to innovate. This reform will foster that innovation, not hamper it,” Mr. Obama said Thursday. “Unless your business model depends on cutting corners or bilking your customers, you have nothing to fear.” ..... Despite public anger at Wall Street, the vast majority of Republicans opposed the bill with loud confidence, betting ahead of hotly contested midterm elections that the public dislikes government even more. .......subjecting a wider range of financial companies to government oversight, and imposing regulation for the first time on “black markets” like the enormous trade in credit derivatives. ....... new powers to constrain and even dismantle troubled companies. ...... a simplified disclosure form for mortgage loans. ...... “You have to have rules that allow you to continue to get the benefit of the innovation but curtail abuses.” ...... The administration’s approach, which prevailed, instead is focused on giving existing regulators additional powers in the hope that they will produce better results. ........ “We can’t legislate wisdom or passion. We can’t legislate competency. All we can do is create the structures and hope that good people will be appointed who will attract other good people,” Mr. Dodd said.
(Via Reshma Saujani)
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