Republicans dispute course of financial overhaul

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Taxpayers should no longer be used as a lifeline for large financial institutions, Republicans said Saturday as a Democratic-led Congress inches toward a regulatory overhaul of the financial industry.

The GOP is trying to beat back many of the changes that President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers seek for the financial industry. The legislation would give the government authority to split up big financial firms and force the industry to pay for its most spectacular failures.

Republicans have offered alternative legislation that calls for new bankruptcy proceedings to dismantle failing institutions. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said that creating more federal agencies and putting taxpayers on the hook for more bailouts will not help revive the economy.

"It will only compound the pain for struggling small businesses and for families who played by the rules, lived within their means and acted responsibly," McCarthy said in the Republicans' weekly radio and Internet address.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20100403/D9ERHL800.html

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In this March 13, 2006 file photo, Californian Rep. Kevin McCarthy., center, accompanied by Republican Assembly members Rick Keene, of Chico, Calif., right, and George Plescia, of La Jolla, Calif., walks to the Governor's office at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Taxpayers should no longer be used as a lifeline for large financial institutions, Republicans said Saturday as a Democratic-led Congress inches toward a regulatory overhaul of the financial industry. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

by Bernake et. al.

Hank Paulsen was the beggar in chief.

‘Economically better than we would have hoped’

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine has remained a steadfast supporter of the health care bill and argued that negative impacts for Maine companies are being overstated by reform opponents. Pingree and fellow Maine Democrat Michael Michaud voted in favor of health care reform in the House and were in attendance Thursday.

“The only businesses that will be required to carry health insurance under the ‘employer responsibility’ section of the health care reform are those with 50 or more employees,” said Pingree in a statement. “In Maine, 1,778 businesses have more than 50 employees. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 99.6 percent of those businesses currently offer health insurance. That means only a handful — maybe five or 10 — of the 46,000 businesses in Maine have more than 50 employees and do not currently offer health insurance.

“If a company is currently offering insurance to its employees, that coverage is grandfathered and will satisfy the requirements of the ‘employer responsibility’ section for companies with more than 50 employees — as long as (the coverage) doesn’t exclude pre-existing conditions and (have) annual lifetime limits,” she continued.

David Howes, a doctor, Brunswick resident and the chief executive officer of Martin’s Point Health Care, told The Times Record this week that he believes the health care bill is “economically going to be better than we would have hoped.”

Howes pointed out that “insurance can’t cost less than medical costs” and said the law “begins that work” toward reducing the underlying price of medical care nationwide.

“Nobody really knows how to deal with the issue of medical costs simply and directly, but I can tell you what we know is that in countries where we see strong primary care systems, the cost of care tends to be lower,” he said.

To that end, Howes applauded provisions in the bill that provide funding to build 133 community health centers in Maine alone and require insurance companies to cover preventative care. By making regular check-ups accessible and affordable, he said, fewer medical problems will escalate and there will be fewer high-cost trips to emergency rooms.

The Martin’s Point chief executive also lauded the portion of the bill that calls for $15 billion to be set aside as incentives for health care providers to find ways to become more efficient and patient-friendly.

“If you sit in a room with a group of doctors right now and you ask them, ‘Do you see ways we could reduce (hospital visits) and reduce the cost of care,’ they would look at each other and say, ‘Of course,’” Howes said. “We have a lot of ideas. But we don’t have the time or resources or support for them. Physicians are very smart and very close to the action. But there hasn’t been a mandate to this point, and this is not only a mandate to do that, but it also says they’ll be rewarded for that.”
THIS IS A SET BACK TO THE RIGHT-THEY HAVE PUSHED TAKING WORKERS BENEFITS FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS! THEIR BREAD BASKET IS THE COMPANIES THAT OFFER THE LEAST TO THEIR EMPLOYEES WHILE RAKING IN HUGE PROFITS!
HOW MANY ARE WORKING 2 JOBS TO GET 40 HOURS,WITH NO BENNIES! HOW MANY BIG BOX ENITIES HAVE MADE HUGE PROFITS ON THE BACKS OF LOW PAID LABOR WITH LITTLE OR NO BENEFITS? ONE OF THEM HAS BECOME THE LARGEST RETAILER IN THE WORLD!

care to clarify, beings that I'm not a fan of any of them?

It happened in 1929, the fix was well-researched and enacted, the banks were kept in check for the next 40 years, and then Raygun started the march towards armageddon, and history repeated itself. They know how to fix it and it's past time to do so. Remove Satan Graham's 300 page poison crap and put the Glass-Steagall provisions back into law.

That's all I need to know...

them. The Dems do a bad enough job kowtowing to them, but the Republicans are owned by them.

DRILL BABY DRILL!!!............. NO! IT'S A TRICK!!!!

If they are split up and forced to pay for their failures it doesn't appear to be a lifeline.

trying to sound like they want actual reform when they really don't. They want more deregulation, even after the last few years.

The worst kept secret is that hardly anyone in the media will point it out. Even when the reform they "claim" to want goes against their very principles.

Yeah!

Bush and his cronies and secret Fed deals did enough before Obama was elected. It's time to stop all of that!

That's what they mean....right?

Deregulate everything and let it blow out. Bail them out at the end of Bush's term. Then blame the new Democratic president for all of the problems. Brilliant.