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I was kind of surprised he picked Bristol VA myself. He's really getting frantic. The stimulus has largely failed, the results of the staggering amount spent have yielded poor results and more importantly...only temporary results that will sadly wear off [a trillion dollar band aid on a patient with multiple shotgun wounds]. You can't force people who have lost their jobs or may lose their jobs to buy stocks, homes and cars from Detroit and until those things start occurring recovery is not real. His approval rating is quickly dropping, people who elected him are starting to have 'voter's remorse' as more of them or their family members continue to lose their jobs and homes, and are starting to scrutinize his agenda [too little scrutiny, too late...after the fact]. The economy is not truly recovering just showing some upturns by opportunistic stock buyers who will make a fast buck, sell their stocks in the next few weeks or months and bury the cash in coffee cans in their yards until after things truly start to get better along about Spring 2011 [maybe]. Only then will people start to invest in stocks again and finally start buying up all the vacant foreclosed real estate and Chevys [if GM still exists by 2011].
I suspect, as my Mother said right after he was elected, "Don't worry about his socialist agenda. This approaching depression will be his 9/11 and he and Congress will be forced to drop everything they wanted to do and focus fully on one task which will be keeping the United States from sliding into full blown depression." I learned 20 years ago not to argue with my Mother. In hindsight she's correct almost 98% of the time. Barack will be a failed President after this next horrible Christmas shopping season, more companies will go out of business, foreclosures will skyrocket. He will be remembered as the next Herbert Hoover.
Last edited by NorthernLights; 07-30-2009 at 09:40 AM..
Just a friendly reminder that the topic is Obama visiting Bristol. The threads here pertain to the local area. Discussions on politics can and should be in the P & OC forum. Thanks.
And I agree with everything you've said ~here~!
The simple fact is the purpose of President Obama's visit to our part of the world was to answer questions from average, concerned Americans about the proposed healthcare bill and also try to dispell all the crazy rumors, half-truths and lies flying about (courtesy of the health insurance industry who've make record profits on the backs of these same average Americans).. Whether one wants to believe it or not, this bill is being proposed to benefit our fellow Americans, reduce administrative costs dramatically and provide what the rest of the industrialized world already has. BUT, as he emphacised, if you want to keep your current health insurance, that's fine, too. Medicare,Medicaid and the VA are all Govt run programs - not failed experiments in the dreaded socialism.
Based on the questions and answers, most of the participants at the Bristol meeting seemed interested and involved in what our president was proposing for them. They were also very respectful.
"The simple fact is the purpose of President Obama's visit to our part of the world was to answer questions from average, concerned (unionized) Americans about the proposed healthcare bill"
I wasn't thrilled that Obama used this meeting to repay a favor to a union that made contributions to his campaign. Why not a local chain like Food City or Food Country?
and also try to dispell all the crazy rumors, half-truths and lies flying about (courtesy of the health insurance industry who've make record profits on the backs of these same average Americans)..
"BUT, as he emphacised, if you want to keep your current health insurance, that's fine, too."
CNN's Dr Gupta has said that this is only true until 2015 when certain government mandates kick in.
"Medicare,Medicaid and the VA are all Govt run programs - not failed experiments in the dreaded socialism."
Again from Dr Gupta, health coverage from medicare is significantly below that of private insurance. For example private insurers provide annual cholesterol checks; medicare only covers once every 5 years. And do you really want health care on par with that of the VA.
I hope a compromise happens because what we have now stinks. What Obama is peddling is worse, but we need to do something. To me a government sponsored but independently run co-op combined with generous refundable tax credits based on income level sounds like an equitable solution.
I remain skeptical. I see what my friend in Germany lives with, 40% income tax and 19% sales tax to pay for a government health care program that has many many flaws and keeps covering less and less so that every citizen has to buy private insurance that pays for procedures and things the government health care does not pay for so if you end up having to buy your own individual health insurance from the money left over after being taxed almost half of your wages then what's the benefit?
I myself looked in to TennCare because I am uninsured and unemployed. I don't qualify. I have to be self employed at least 20 hours a week and prove it with my tax returns or have not been unemployed for over six months, etc. so on. And I'm not destitute enough for Medicaid. From what I read TennCare is considered a failure because employers decided it was cheaper to do away with providing health care and pay the tax penalty so the system was overloaded almost overnight. I think I read somewhere they haven't enrolled any adults in TennCare since 1995[?] Don't know if that is correct. What ever happens I hope they look at all the flaws in other country's systems and TennCare and do not repeat same.
Here's just one of many articles I've read on TennCare: TennCare: What Happened
[LEFT] Steve Verdon (http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/author/verdon/ - broken link) | Tuesday, October 23, 2007 [/LEFT]
Part of the story those who favor some sort of government run health care repeat is that private health care is very costly. They point to the costs incurred by the U.S. compared to other countries such as Canada, the U.K., etc. They note that the U.S. pays much more per person but supposedly gets lower health care outcomes (measured rather dubiously via things like life expectancy).
The problem I have with this narrative, aside from the rather dubious reliance simply on published cost figures from these governments and the reliance on statistics like life expectancy, is the idea that government is suddenly going to be more efficient than the private sector. Government’s primary job is the creation of “red tape”. The idea that we can actually switch to the government and get less costs strains credulity past the breaking point.
Case in point: TennCare. TennCare is Tennessee’s attempt to expand health care to people who did not have health care. According to Wikipedia, TennCare moved 1.3 million people into its system including 500,000 people with pre-existing conditions. TennCare was to utilize managed care organizations to keep costs low while at the same time providing quality care. And for a few years it seemed to work. Costs declined, and more people were covered. Then costs started rising…and rising quickly (http://www.tennessean.com/government/archives/03/12/43973707.shtml - broken link). Governor Bredesen brought in an outside consulting firm to look at TennCare and its ballooning budget. They pronounced TennCare unsustainable and pointed out that unless something was done the program would consume up to 90% of the State’s budget. (Hmmmm, gee sounds like I’ve heard something like this before…) And keep in mind that a big part of the costs would be picked up by the Federal government.
The solution to this was to…limit access. Gee, where ever have Iheard thisbefore? Limits were put on the number of doctor’s visits, the number of prescriptions, and 160,000 people were moved out of TennCare (what happened to them, beats me).
So what happened? Government stepped in and costs spiraled out of control so much that it threatened to consume nearly the entire budget for the State. Benefits had to be rationed and/or reduced and no new enrollment. Where are the cost savings that were supposed to have materialized and made everything, if not wonderful, at least better? TennCare: What Happened
Last edited by NorthernLights; 07-31-2009 at 10:25 AM..
"The simple fact is the purpose of President Obama's visit to our part of the world was to answer questions from average, concerned (unionized) Americans about the proposed healthcare bill"
I wasn't thrilled that Obama used this meeting to repay a favor to a union that made contributions to his campaign. Why not a local chain like Food City or Food Country?
and also try to dispell all the crazy rumors, half-truths and lies flying about (courtesy of the health insurance industry who've make record profits on the backs of these same average Americans)..
"BUT, as he emphacised, if you want to keep your current health insurance, that's fine, too."
CNN's Dr Gupta has said that this is only true until 2015 when certain government mandates kick in.
"Medicare,Medicaid and the VA are all Govt run programs - not failed experiments in the dreaded socialism."
Again from Dr Gupta, health coverage from medicare is significantly below that of private insurance. For example private insurers provide annual cholesterol checks; medicare only covers once every 5 years. And do you really want health care on par with that of the VA.
But one could also obtain extended benefits as is done with Medicare.
I hope a compromise happens because what we have now stinks. What Obama is peddling is worse, but we need to do something. To me a government sponsored but independently run co-op combined with generous refundable tax credits based on income level sounds like an equitable solution.
Well, have to say I agree with you on that last - and that we obviously need to do something! The main thing is that he *IS* doing something - propelling this major, debilitating situation (for many Americans) to the forefront (when it's been neglected by Congress for decades). He has turned over the legislative reins to Congress as direct representatives of 'the people'. And, thus you can be heard.
Clearly this is all still being fine-tuned with compromises in the works. I just hope and pray the insurance lobbyists aren't allowed to derail it (with their $$$ access to our elected representatives). The insurance giants are obviously running scared, based on all the negative ads out there. But the president was smart enough to realize that a single payer option would not work (as some wanted) because that could have destroyed an entire industry and millions of jobs. I don't know how many stories you've all heard about people's direct losses (in some cases homelessness) and bankruptcies due to health care/insurance issues but I give Obama so much credit for making this the touchstone of his administration. And, as he's often noted, saving money on healthcare costs will have a direct effect on the economy. They are inextricably linked.
It's too much, too soon. Something's fishy when Congress has such a short deadline to decide on something which will so drastically affect the rest of the country. This is way too serious a matter to push through at lightning pace, before those voting on it even have a chance to read the 1,000 + page reform bill. The old saying , "Always read the fine print" holds ESPECIALLY true in this case!
I'm sorry, but I see Obama as a smooth-talking con artist (or witch doctor!)...I don't trust him one bit.
I just hope that the good people of Bristol (who attended his "town hall/grocery store meeting) weren't duped by him because he chose to visit a Kroger's there.
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