Be INFORMED

Sunday, April 10, 2011

So let me get this straight

by firenze       Sun Apr 10, 2011             Original Article

We can't afford universal health care for our people. We can't afford to provide the basic level health care for our poor and our elderly that we've been doing until now. We can't afford to guarantee decent retirement benefits for our elderly. But it's imperative to continue cutting taxes for our wealthiest citizens. Because it would ruin economic incentives if we returned to the top marginal tax rates in place during most of the Clinton administration -- even though during that time we turned a budget deficit into a surplus.

We weren't worried about the deficit through 8 years of the Bush administration turning that small budget surplus into a mountain of debt, thanks to launching a needless war of choice in Iraq. But now we all really really need to worry about the deficit -- at a time when stimulus spending has been critical to maintain the fragile signs of a possible economic recovery.

It is too expensive for either governments or corporations to provide full retirement benefits to their workers -- despite the  immense resources available to governments and companies, as well as their ability to spread risk over a large population size. However, individuals would be able to do so with their own resources as long as they get tax incentives, despite the enormous actuarial risks of doing so for a population size of one or two (married couple).

It is too expensive for the US government to provide basic health care for all -- or even continue providing basic health care for the elderly, despite the government's immense resources and ability to spread risk over a huge population. However, it would work out just fine for us to figure out how to do so ourselves, despite the enormous actuarial risks of doing so for a population size of nucelar family. Even though the new plan adds in corporate profits by shifting insurance to the for-profit sector.

Union workers' pensions have apparently gotten "too expensive" now that the financial meltdown has reduced the value of pension funds. But we don't want to blame those who oversaw the pension funds, those who caused the financial meltdowns, or executives making multi-million-dollar salaries at for-profit healthcare and insurance firms. No, we'll blame workers earning 50 grand a year for needing health services and hoping to retire when they're old. Because even though governments and corporations haven't been able to figure out how to afford their retirement and health insurance, middle-class and blue-collar workers clearly should be able to do so on their own.

How exactly does this make sense to anyone?

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Tea Party Gone Banana’s Over “ Boehner Cave”

   The following post echoes my sentiments exactly, that is why I posted it. If you have ever been to RedState or HotAir, they are a riot.

Posted at DKos

Tea Party in Full Meltdown over "Boehner's Cave"

by joelgp             Sat Apr 09, 2011

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.  There is a crisis in the Tea Party!  I took a late night scroll around Foxnation, Redstate and Hotair and people, these conservatives are going nuts over what is now affectionately called "Boehner's Cave." 

These people were seriously expecting 100 billion in cuts, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, Obamacare and the EPA or a complete shutdown. Now in full disclosure, I contributed just a little to their meltdown with several "well timely" posts like these:

1. "breaking news: the gop caved on planned parenthood, caved on destroying the EPA, and fully funded obamacare. okay? what's next?"

2. "i cannot believe the tea party is rolling over and fully funding obamacare and planned parenthood. dang, we should have thrown in the dream act and cap-n-trade if we knew they would wimp out so easily. oh well...governing is hard."

Okay, okay, I'm sorry--people, it was fun.

Needless to say, the screaming was loud, sustained and furious. Check out the whaling and gnashing of teeth over on Hotair:

1. "The Republicans LOST a warmup game – and lost it big. There is NO reason to believe they’ll show any better in the upcoming fights on the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget. Sorry – if they couldn’t cut $100B as they promised – which is only two weeks worth of deficit out of this budget – they don’t have the nuts to win any bigger fight."

2. "If anyone thinks that the Ryan plan has any chance of seeing the light of day, I want some of what you’re smoking. If you can’t win in this small battle how are you going to win in the bigger war. Major, epic, fail."

3. "$39 B in cuts? If that buys more than 4 days of “business as usual,” it is an incredibly bad deal: so bad, that Boehner MUST GO!!!"

4. "Well, first I heard defunding NPR was a minor battle, the BIG battle was the cuts in the CR! Then I heard the CR was a minor battle, the BIG battle was the budget for the year! Now it’s the Ryan budget? Give me a break…when you practice over and over how to cave, the only thing you are good at is caving." http://hotair.com/...

And then there's the "special people" at Foxnation:

1. "As Speaker of the House, John Boehner is acting like a junior member of congress. Speaker Boehner, haven't you heard the latest news? Obama and George Soros want to push the new Tea Party members out of congress and replace them with radical leftwing members. The tax dollars you just surrendered to Obama's campaign chest last night will help he do just that. Why are you helping Obama elect liberals to replace conservatives???"

2. "Bohner quite the negotiator for the dems He was asked to cut 100 billion and agreed to that, then it became 61 billion. final product 38.5 billion the dems # with funding for planned parenthood still in place, We need change folks." http://nation.foxnews.com/...

And then there's the "friends of CNN" at Redstate:

1. "So they hold a vote about PP funding and Obamacare on the Senate floor and it goes down to defeat, and the GOP claims that it has kept its agreement with the voters. I guess they really do think we’re idiots."

2. "Now they can’t hide from their votes and will have to defend their votes for supporting a baby-killing machine and the fiscal nightmare known as Obamacare." http://www.redstate.com/...

And, check out what election guru Charlie Cook wrote about their plan to end Medicare:

The Cook Report: Death Wish?

"Republicans pushing to revamp Medicare could find themselves voted out of office in the next election." http://nationaljournal.com/...

Simply put, I'm glad 800,000 federally workers didn't receive a work interruption.  I'm disappointed that our side gave up 38.5 billion. I'm thrilled that Planned Parenthood, the EPA and Obamacare is intact.

But most of all, I'm absolutely giddy, with totally irrational exuberance and chest-thumping duggies because the teacons have gone completely nuts!!