Toon: The stupidest idea of the decade...

:applause:

k&r

Specifically the elderly.

The GOP seems to have the Stupid Idea Market cornered.

kick

have seen coming for some time now, since it's mostly their funders who are the source of Wall Street Gambling.

I'm also with Thom Hartman on this topic: Privatizing Social Security WAS one of the objectives of the political capital that Bush was supposed to have earned from invading and occupying Iraq.

...MANDATING that every American BUY an invisible, faulty product every year from a For Profit Corporation that manufactures NOTHING, and produces NO wealth.

So I'll just ask: if it's a for-profit corporation, how does it produce no wealth? It produces enormous wealth -- just not for you and me.

As for the "mandate" -- my state "mandates" that I purchase auto insurance. I can choose to pay for greater coverage and I can choose my insurer, but there is a minimum coverage that is required BY LAW.

We can argue about the details of HCR and HIR, but there's nothing inherently immoral, illegal, or unconstitutional about a "mandate" as such.

Under the heading of "details" regarding health insurance reform that should be discussed are such things as how much each of us should put in the pot and what we expect to get out of it. But unless we all put something in the pot to begin with, this won't fly. Personally I think some new taxes on rich people are in order, as well as diversion of funds from the war machine, and I also believe that the monthly amount individuals put into the program needs to be scaled to their income.

As for the "invisibility" of the product--we don't have the final bill yet, but copies of every iteration to date have been posted online for your reading pleasure. There's nothing invisible about it.

Hekate

"Producing Wealth" MEANS "adding value".
The Health Insurance Industry adds NO VALUE, but does suck in BILLIONS of wasted dollars.

The rest of your post is simply a restating of the Industry Talking Points.
The comparison to Auto Insurance has already been debunked on DU many times.

:dem:

-Laelth

They just misappropriate it. They add nothing of value, perform no service that the government doesn't already do better and more efficiently.

a) They oughtta do it through taxes

b) They oughtta supervise its disbursement to providers rather than letting the insurance leeches into the channel to do their bloodsucking.

... but I will settle for regulating the hell out of them. When the bill is finalized (and it is far from finalized) I hope it will have a good beginning toward regulating the hell out of them.

Hekate

necessary regulations enacted since the election. We continue merrily along under the same financial regulations that caused the economic collapse.

I do not for see any significant regulation of the insurance industry that isn't paid back in some fashion. Certainly it will not constitute 'regulating the hell out of them'.

... in the same breath (or I should say "implied illegal") that I finally lost my temper. I apologize for that. Really I should just walk away rather than losing my temper. Maybe I'm misunderstanding how "mandates" is intended in the bills, but the way it is used here at DU is very clear.

We have the laws that we have, and they allow certain things that I DON'T LIKE AT ALL. (For instance, pot is still federally illegal, and in some states possession is still treated severely. I'm among those who have voted to change that, but I recognize we are stuck with the laws for now, even though I can see the tide turning.)

The way health insurance corporations are run is imo abusive to those of us who have to pay into them, but apparently it is legal -- and manifestly they "own" the system. I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL. I think it's disgusting for them to take our premiums and buy corporate jets and give their CEOs obscene bonuses. A huge part of the problem is that they have been allowed to do this -- legally! But apparently we are stuck with the damn corporations for the foreseeable future. I want to see them severely regulated, so as to change the game. No more bonuses. No more jets. They want to be in this business? Fine, here's the new rules, the new laws. I hope to gods we get there sometime in my lifetime.

>sigh<

Btw, in the time since you posted and I finished this, the New Year has rung in my time zone. Happy New Year, Greyhound.

Hekate

I hope that you, yours, and all of us do far better in this second decade of the 21st century.

(It still feels weird that we're here. And where the hell is my flying car, dammit?)

(Just to clarify, I believe this will be the final nail in our collective collective.)

They can't have all that money out there benefiting senior citizens without the corporatocracy getting their cut.

That caveat always gets me. :rofl:

Yep, these amazing "neckline slimmers" will soon be seen at thrift stores near you for the ridiculously low price of 99 cents (after their original buyers discover that they're worthless pieces of crap). Get your a few months from now an save BIG!

They say "there's a sucker born every minute", and here's your proof. :rofl:

my vote would be WAR.