What if the Clinton's had succeeded in providing universal healthcare...

[luvspeas]

That was 15 years ago. An entire generation would be nearly grown up now without knowing what it's like to be suffering and not be able to get help. I just heard this on the radio and it choked me up. We can't wait any longer.

[valerief]

1. Just imagine what life could be like if Reagan wasn't selected, er, elected

or even if the Contract On America congress wasn't selected, er, elected.

[damntexdem]

6. Let's face it -- the big 'what if' is the 2000 selection.

But healthcare reform over Harry & Louise's cold, dead bodies would have been a boon.

[DavidDvorkin]

15. Reagan actually was elected

not selected, unlike Little Georgie.

The 1980 and 1984 elections are permanent stains on the American soul.

[EFerrari]

2. I'd probably still be married. Our family fell apart from bad health care

and exhaustion as much as anything else.

:shrug:

:kick:

[Vinca]

3. I'm sure our economy wouldn't be in the dumper.

Businesses wouldn't have to outsource jobs to avoid providing health insurance. The automakers wouldn't be on the hook for benefits they can't provide. And the workforce would be healthier overall.

[Warpy]

4. It still would have been managed care, insurance companies

would still be spending money on little worker bees all figuring out how to deny care rather than deliver it, and our health insurance would still be growing exponentially more expensive while providing only the illusion of coverage for many of us.

Until we change the focus in this country from cost containment to actual delivery of care, we won't get any real change in the system no matter who we write our checks to.

The profit motive should never, ever have been put into health care delivery.

[SoCalDem]

5. If not for the Korean War, we'd have had it since THEN..

Truman planned a very comprehensive health care initiative, but never got it in place..Eisenhower dumped it..Kennedy never lived long enough, and the Viet Nam war & civil rights legislation/Great Society damaged Johnson's power enough that he never got to it, and the rest is history:(

[Captain Hilts]

8. True. JFK was in for 3 years...nt

[SoCalDem]

9. If not for the Cuba stuff, he might have gotten to it.. we'll never know..

It's been the Holy Grail for DECADES, and every president has punted it away..:grr:

[Captain Hilts]

11. True. nt

[taterguy]

13. Truman's plan failed because of racist Southern Dems

They were worried that it would lead to integration of hospitals.

I read it in a book somewhere, probably one of Krugman's. Or some other smart dude.

[Thothmes]

14. Johnson never got to it because he decided to launch

a major land war in Vietnam. The war did not happen to Johnson. He blew it up into a major confligration. It was his damned fault.

[Captain Hilts]

7. An Annenberg Center survey showed if you took the name 'Clinton' off the healthcare plan...

people strongly approved of it.

The insurance companies really sold the US a bill of goods.

[Juche]

10. We would take it for granted

Clinton saved medicare. Right now with social security you are not taxed on income above 100k. With medicare you are taxed on all your income, but before Clinton it was similar to social security, you only paid on the first 100k or so of income. Clinton, in his budget of 1993 repealed the cap on medicare taxes and doubled revenue for that program. Had he not done that medicare would be totally bankrupt by now.

He and the dem congress of 1993 almost never get credit for it either. The GOP doesn't get credit for trying to block it either, because 2/3 of people over 65 voted GOP in this last election.

Point is, it would be great but we would probably take it for granted and not even notice.

[steelmania75]

12. Yeah, we'd have healthcare, AND the debt wouldn't be there if it wasn't for Reagan and Bush 1&2