Tuesday, February 17

It's a Done Deal

On Wednesday in Arizona, President Obama will unveil another part of his economic recovery effort -- a plan to help millions of homeowners fend off foreclosure.

photo via FoxNews.com

Please make it stop!

10 comments:

Jane of Seagull Fountain said...

No, it's all good.

I just have to figure out how to "almost" lose my house. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

;)

Melissa said...

Listening to his speech during the "historic Signing" I was unsure whether to laugh, cry or throw up my lunch.

Maybe it won't be so bad to be a socialist...I don't know.......I guess we'll get used to it.....I mean, look how great it is working out for Europe.

Happy Campers said...

Our unicorns will arrive in the driveway by February 22nd, I hear.

happyathome said...

Has anyone taken a look at how much money is being given to illegal immigrants in this bill? I have not checked but was told there is a considerable amount of money being doled out.

Natalie said...

Happy at Home,

I had heard that there was a provision in the bill to prohibit illegal immigrants from taking any of the construction jobs that will be created by the bill so only Americans would benefit. But, at the last minute that provision was taken out. So up to 300,000 construction jobs could be filled by illegal immigrants (IIs). That number is based on the percentage of construction jobs currently held by IIs.

happyathome said...

Thanks Natalie, does not surprise me.

Anonymous said...

Melissa,
Can you name me one country that has a pure free market system and doesn't have any socialist policies? You seem to think we live in a black/white world where you're either a socialist or a capitalist. That's not the way it works. Economic systems exist on a spectrum, with most systems (including the US) in the grey areas. You act like anything that isn't pure capitalism (which doesn't exist) is communism.

Also, Europe has done quite well, thank you. Like every society, they have major issues, but in many ways, they have a higher quality of life than we do. They're happier with their health care, live healthier lives and have lower poverty and crime rates. Why are you under the impression Europe is such a failure?

Natalie said...

Jeff,

I'd love to know why you think "Europeans have healthier lives and lower poverty and crime rates?" Plus, she didn't say Europe is a failure, but I sure don't see people rushing their shores to become part of their societies or downtrodden countries asking for their help in improving their quality of life.

Here's my proof their health care isn't greener on the other side:

"Americans will probably be surprised to learn from the remarks that follow that Switzerland's health care system relies almost entirely on a system of private insurance. They might be surprised to learn that there is a growing reliance on the private sector in the financing and delivery of health care in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden. Even the Labor government in Britain has entered into an agreement with representatives of the private health care industry to improve health care delivery in certain vital areas.

Reforms in Europe, where they are diligently pursued, have taken on a certain urgency. A major factor affecting recent health care policy making in Europe, including privatization efforts, is the rapid aging of the European population. Continental Europe is comprised largely of countries that have rapidly aging populations. Although life expectancy has increased, fertility rates have decreased, and much of Europe faces demographic stagnation. This unfavorable ratio of old to young persons is far worse in major European nations than in either Canada or the United States.

The unfavorable shift in the demographic balance is particularly rapid in France and Germany, and will impose tremendous financial pressures on their existing health care-social security arrangements. America's Medicare and Social Security reformers should take note.

For Members of Congress and state legislators, there are some valuable lessons from the European experience that should be less surprising.

If you insist on government management of the health care system, do not expect freedom from waste, inefficiency, or inequity in the delivery of care (look at France).

If you want to promise citizens a national or state program of universal insurance coverage, don't expect that you will be able to deliver universal access to high-quality health care. You won't and you can't (look at Britain).

If you want to fix prices for medical services, prescription drugs, or other medical devices, don't expect demand for these goods and services to be met or investment in research and development to continue apace. It won't (look anywhere).

If you insist, with a straight face, that in a government-run health care system, all of your fellow citizens will be treated equally--regardless of their class, station in life, or disease condition--you are not merely enthusiastic or well intentioned. You are lying."

Yep, sounds like they definitely have the superior health care system.

And b/c I know you'll ask...you can read the entire text here:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/HL711.cfm

Anonymous said...

Someone should do a study about whether right-wingers have fewer neurological connection between the left and right sides of the brain. Perhaps that explains why they live in a world where everything is either good/bad, right/wrong, us/them, capitalism/socialism, America Good/Europe Bad....

Thank you for providing the right-wing perspective on health care. I'm sure I could not have predicted what the Heritage Foundation might say on the subject. Even still, your article helps illustrate the point--that there are numuous models for providing health care (even within Europe) that include the private and public sectors. The issue is NOT whether the current American system works. I think most people (except maybe right-wingers) agree that the American system is crashing and taking our economy with it. The issue is how to create a private/public partnership to provide health care coverage for ALL while minimizing some of the potential trade-offs. I'm sorry to burst your right-wing bubble, but this probably means moving toward somthing that has elements of one or more of the European models.

If you can spare a few minutes to read a non-partisan perspective, I suggest you checkout the Institute of Medicine website www.iom.edu.

Regarding the other stuff: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
http://www.management-issues.com/2007/8/31/research/us-child-care-seriously-lags-behind-europe.asp
http://www.mercer.com/qualityofliving

Anonymous said...

This is excellent. Here's a conservative who gets it: http://www.thenextright.com/rick-moran/cpac-agenda-shows-conservatives-still-in-denial

 

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