Maybe it was my imagination, but the traffic in Kaaawa seemed heavier early this morning. Meda’s guess is that a lot of people took a long weekend, and this is really the first real working day of the new year.
From the AFL-CIO Now blog, a summary of how the GOP’s announced attack on health care looks from our side of the world:
Republicans want to repeal the new law’s guarantee that children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. Republicans want to repeal new rules limiting insurance company premium hikes and requirements that they spend money on health care, not CEO perks.
According Kaiser Health News, several new provisions of the Affordable Care Act kicked in Jan. 1 that could benefit tens of millions of us.
If your insurance company doesn’t spend at least 80 percent of its premium dollars on health care, it may be forced to give rebates to you and other consumers. Republicans want to repeal that.
Prescription drug costs could shrink $700 for a typical Medicare beneficiary in 2011, as the law begins to close the donut hole. The National Council on Aging estimates the savings could reach $1,800 for some. Republicans want to repeal that.
Medicare enrollees will be able to get many preventive health services—such as vaccinations and cancer screenings—for free starting this month. Republicans want to repeal that.
Medicare beneficiaries also can get a free annual “wellness exam” from their doctors who will set up a “personalized prevention plan” for them. Republicans want to repeal that.
Companies with fewer than 100 workers who start wellness programs focused on nutrition, smoking cessation, physical fitness and stress management will be eligible for grants from a $200 million federal program. Republicans want to repeal that.
More than 4,000 employer health plans have been approved for aid to offset health care costs of early retirees. Republicans want to repeal that.
Cost savings, anti-fraud provisions and other requirements will keep Medicare financially solvent. Republicans want to repeal that.
Earlier the AFL-CIO linked to a Washington Monthly story by Steve Benen tackling the Republican claim that a majority of Americans oppose the new health care law.
When Republicans try to gut the Affordable Care Act next year, insisting that the country is with them, it’s worth remembering a pesky detail: they’re wrong.
Benen refers to a recent CNN poll, which he argues has been mischaracterized by Republicans.
The poll asked respondents a fairly straightforward question: “As you may know, a bill that makes major changes to the country’s health care system became law earlier this year. Based on what you have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor or generally oppose it?”
Though support has gone up a bit over the course of the year, while opposition has declined, we’re still left with 43% favoring the new law, as compared to 54% who disapprove. Steady improvements in the numbers don’t change the fact that opponents still outnumber supporters.
But to its credit, CNN asked the much-needed follow-up question:
“Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?”
Favor: 43%
Oppose, too liberal: 37%
Oppose, not liberal enough 13%
That leaves 56% who either support the law as it is or believe it needs to go further. That’s a solid majority who don’t buy into the GOP narrative.
Will it slow them down? Facts don’t seem to matter much to these boys, it seems.
While on that topic, I love the “SCOTUS Caveman alert” over at Pam’s House Blend featuring the latest from Justice Antonin Scalia, reportedly believes that the constitution does not protect women from discrimination based on gender. I guess he’s been drinking that Taliban Tea.
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Ian, public schools are back in session today
Exactly how will health care reform financially collapse America? And exactly how much will future generations pay? How has it proven to be destructive in the healthcare industry, and how is it the largest power grab of federal government. Anyone can spew out words, but what are the facts and how do you back up that fact. Fact is: Repeal of the current healthcare bill would add $230 Billion to the deficit per studies made by the CBO vs the est $130 billion savings over the next 10 yrs. (fm Senate Fin Comm mbr Max Baucus). Furthermore the donut hole on RX closes for Seniors, ins companies can once again impose pre-existing condition clauses keeping infants born with a condition uninsurable (ie: autism), 35 million would become uninsured, once again, ER’s would fill up with the uninsured costing the insured higher premiums, and… well we’re back to the old status quo. If you’re going to make statements Kimo, be prepared to show the facts.
Obamacare’s unprecedented costs will play a major role in the financial collapse of America.
Republicans want to repeal that.
Obamacare adds trillions to our deficit, burdening our children with unfathomable obligations because of our current generation’s inability to reduce spending.
Republicans want to repeal that.
Obamacare has already proven to be a destructive force in the healthcare industry, shutting down hospitals, increasing healthcare premiums, eliminating coverage to thousands.
Republicans want to repeal that.
Obamacare is the largest power grab of the federal government in history and threatens the life of each and every American with inferior government-run healthcare.
Republicans want to repeal that.
Our countries middle class has been the driving force of the economy for the past 50 or so years. The repugthugs want to repeal that.
Actually the bank bailout was the largest transfer of treasury money in history allowing the rich to get frickin’ (as in how many private jets and yachts do you need anyway.) richer.
the repugthugs will never repeal that.
Could you give us a list of the hospitals? Could you list some of the people, some of the thousands who have had coverage eliminated?
Reminds me of another list and that reminds me of another Republican:
“Surely it is clear that this nation will continue to suffer as long as it is governed by the present ineffective Democratic administration.
“Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this Nation. The Nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny—fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear.
“I doubt if the Republican Party could—simply because I don’t believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. Surely we Republicans aren’t that desperate for victory.
“I don’t want to see the Republican Party win that way. While it might be a fleeting victory for the Republican Party, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people. Surely it would ultimately be suicide for the Republican Party and the two-party system that has protected our American liberties from the dictatorship of a one-party system.
“As members of the minority party, we do not have the primary authority to formulate the policy of our Government. But we do have the responsibility of rendering constructive criticism, of clarifying issues, of allaying fears by acting as responsible citizens.”
Senator Margaret Chase Smith 1950
Unadulterate nonsense!!
Traffic was heavy this morning on H-1 in town, too. I agree with Meda’s guess.
Kimo,
I would think people of your sort would think the “largest power grab of the federal government in history” was the demand that all states stop segregating the public schools and that private businesses had to provide services equally to all people, regardless of race?
Did you support those federal actions or oppose them? Just so I can understand what “federal tyranny” looks like to you. Forcing insurance companies to limit their profits and provide insurance to kids. Sounds almost “Nazi-like” in its oppressiveness.
Maybe you should visit a real fascist country and witness the brutality. I travelled to several in my youth. And those dictatorships were all backed up by congressional Republicans. Go figure.
Nationwide elections carried the theme of either rolling back or outright repealing Obamacare, and that was a winning campaign message for the most part. Virtually nowhere did you see winning campaign messages that focused on Obamacare as reason for re-election (or election for a newcomer). Recent news stories carrying this narrative about the political risk for following through on that voter mandate seem to me to be an attempt to convince the big dog to cater to the small dog’s barking.
The Iraq/Afghanistan wars unprecedented (and unbudgeted) costs will play a major role in the financial collapse of America.
Why don’t Republicans want to repeal that?
The Iraq/Afghanistan wars add trillions to our deficit, burdening our children with unfathomable obligations because of our current generation’s inability to reduce spending.
Why don’t Republicans want to repeal that?
Your comments are light on facts (and by “light” I mean non-existent) when it comes to saying that the health care reform has “shut down hospitals” and “eliminated coverage to thousands,” etc. and has led to “government-run health care”.
Kindly support your assertions with facts instead of doom-and-gloom propaganda.
Sorry … my comment was directed to Kimo Hana, but popped up out of sequence.
Question on Staradvertiser Website: Do you think the new Federal Health Care Law should be repealed? Yes 57.36% No 42.64% time 8:43 AM HST. An unscientific poll, for sure, but still interesting!
But at 1223 PM HST
the response is
# A. Yes – 47.16%
# B. No – 52.84%
the earlier response at 849 AM would have reflected the mainland folks who hang out on the web page and bulletin boards. In any event, we don’t know N and I can think of one easy way to blow the poll out, so hard to get excited either way.
I’m truly amazed by the head-in-the-sand responses and in Kolea’s case, the reach for racism. Kolea, do you and your Dem buddies still have their KKK uniforms on? Or, when exactly did your other FDR Dems decide to put Japanese Americans in concentration camps during WW2? Is this the kind of dialog you want to have?
You want me to back up my facts? Take any of the claims and google search it yourself. for example: “hospitals closed because of obamacare”, “doctors quitting because of obamacare”, “healthcare premiums rising because of obamacare”.
Obamacare is a trainwreck, just like it is with any other socialized, government-run system. Take your heads out of the sand and grow up.
The multiple calls for “support your assertions” are quite laughable unless of course you can show how you asked for the same evidence that backs your apparent support of the AFL-CIO’s blog post. How is it that you blindly accept propaganda on one side yet cry out for evidence on the other? Oh yeah…it’s called hypocritical.
I grew up in a liberal household but some of my most interesting friends were conservatives. Conservatives were rare back then and the ones who were ‘out’ spoken about it tended to be smart and able to hold their own with incredulous teachers and their peers’ half baked arguments, forcing me to think deeper.
The high point of my college career was an evening class drinking cheap wine with William F. Buckley Jr. and getting slaughtered in a one sided duel of wits. His logic was brilliant, if only his starting assumptions had always been so admirable. I left asking why conservatives were so damned smart.
Lucky that Buckley is not still with us. Now it seems any idiot can be a conservative and too many of them are. Skewering repartee has fallen to sniggering personal attacks. Summoning the obscure, devastating fact, preferably from Renaissance Florence? Now we have “Google search it yourself”. Le bon mot? We are left with the neoconservative l’esprit de l’escalier.
I can only leave Kimo Hana with a quote from Buckley:
“I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.”
I’ll see your Buckley quote and raise you a Thatcher quote:
“The problem with socialism is sooner or later you run out of people’s money”
and while I’m at it I’ll raise you a quote from Henry Morgenthau, FDR’s Secty of Treasury (google it)
“We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong … somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. … I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. … And an enormous debt to boot.”
The Morgenthau quote of dubious origin is allegedly from a 1939 appearance before Congress. Try think: it says “After eight years we have just as much unemployment as when we started, and an enormous debt to boot.”
Trouble is FDR became President in 33, so Morgenthau would have been doing this since 31, 2 years before he was appointed?
But let me leave you with some advice from Sir Winston:
“It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.”
Since one of my uncles, himself a good conservative, wrote a book collecting Sir Winston’s sayings, you will do us both a favor if you follow his advice.
Hey Ulu, I’m not the one that started quoting ghosts to support my position. Morgenthau’s quote is on the public record (11/10/37 to the Academy of Political Science at New York’s Hotel Astor). Sorry it doesn’t fit your view of reality. Liberals have a way of believing in a world they would like to have. Conservatives believe in the world that actually exists. Liberals are typically atheists and Conservatives are generally religious, yet Liberals believe in fantasy. Go figure.
So Morgenthau started his policies in 29? I believe he was raising Christmas trees then.
I find generalizing about people at best tedious and at worst rather dangerous. It tends to start wars and lead to genocide.
For those of you that want “evidence” read this op-ed piece in the NYT which pretty much goes into detail on my original post.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/opinion/07brooks.html?_r=2