Health Bill Will Cut Deficit by $100 Billion Over 10 Years, House Majority Leader Says

[Mira]

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thu, March 18, 2010 -- 9:49 AM ET
-----

Health Bill Will Cut Deficit by $100 Billion Over 10 Years, House Majority Leader Says, Citing Report

The proposed final health care legislation would cut the
federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the first 10
years, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said on Thursday,
citing a finding by the Congressional Budget Office that is
expected to be released on Thursday.

The office found that
the overhaul would cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion
over the subsequent decade, Mr. Hoyer said.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/18/health/international-usa-healthcare-hoyer.html?_r=1

[daleanime]

1. Oh my...

wonder what single payer would have done.

[MineralMan]

4. It would not have become law. That's what it would have done.

There was never a prayer of a single payer bill going anywhere in the current Congress. And that's an absolute fact. We're at least ten years away from single payer. At least.

[daleanime]

6. You know what.....

I agree with you, now tell me why it wouldn't get 'anywhere in the current Congress' when poll after poll shows 60-65% of Americans wants it? If you make it a Medicare buy in the numbers go higher!

So why can't we get it? And why shouldn't we be upset about that?

[MineralMan]

7. I didn't say we shouldn't be upset about it. I'm just saying

what the actual situation is. What do we do about it? Probably the only answer to that is to spend a lot of time in those Congressional Districts where Democrats can be elected, but are elected only if they take fairly conservative positions. And we need to change the opinions of those districts enough that they will elected representatives who support single payer.

I can think of no other solution. Poll figures are not enough, since they are distributed unevenly around the country. Laws are not made based on national polling. They are based on the polling and attitudes in the congressional districts of all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

National polls have nothing to do with the attitudes in, say, Stupak's district. Nothing whatsoever. That's where the decisions are made, not in national polls, which definitely skew toward the attitudes in urban populations.

You see, Blue Dog Democrats come from districts where the alternative is not a progressive Democrat. In those districts, the alternative is a Republican. Until the voters in those districts change their positions, progressives cannot be elected in them. It is that simple. Education and long-term education at that is the only solution.

While 60-65% of Americans, overall want a different health care solution, the voters in, say, Blanche Lincoln's district aren't among those, at least not in numbers high enough to elect a representative who will support anything like single-payer. If such a Democrat ran, there would be a Republican in that seat. The same thing applies in many districts where a Democrat currently holds the seat.

That's how it works in the USA. We are not a nation that runs according to national polling. Never have been. Never will be.

[daleanime]

8. We are agreeing some what...

No we are not a nation ran by polls, we are a nation doing it's best to disguise that fact that our voters are being marginalized. Yes we need to work on electing better officials, but most of the officials we have do not represent their districts honestly. This nation is far more left then our congress and president make us look to be.

The MSM does it's best to spin and distract, our elected officials take stances in opposition to their running platforms, all for the main problem with our system-the amounts of money waved under their noses.



It's the Golden Rule, yea?

[Mira]

5. Single payer is what we need and what it should be.

For that reason and more.

I post this because I want us to know what the word is to the public in general.
In other words, we're watching the lipstick go on.......

[ixion]

2. They can make ridiculous claims like these, because the public can't remember

beyond the last episode of American Idle. (yes, it's a pun)

[Cal33]

3. The deficit would be cut by 10 times that, if we had single payer

system.