Chris Hedges: The Health Care Hindenburg Has Landed

[Echo In Light]

Rep. Dennis Kucinich's decision to vote "yes" in Sunday's House action on the health care bill, although he had sworn to oppose the legislation unless there was a public option, is a perfect example of why I would never be a politician. I respect Kucinich. As politicians go, he is about as good as they get, but he is still a politician. He has to run for office. He has to raise money. He has to placate the Democratic machine or risk retaliation and defeat. And so he signed on to a bill that will do nothing to ameliorate the suffering of many Americans, will force tens of millions of people to fork over a lot of money for a defective product and, in the end, will add to the ranks of our uninsured.

The claims made by the proponents of the bill are the usual deceptive corporate advertising. The bill will not expand coverage to 30 million uninsured, especially since government subsidies will not take effect until 2014. Families who cannot pay the high premiums, deductibles and co-payments, estimated to be between 15 and 18 percent of most family incomes, will have to default, increasing the number of uninsured. Insurance companies can unilaterally raise prices without ceilings or caps and monopolize local markets to shut out competitors. The $1.055 trillion spent over the next decade will add new layers of bureaucratic red tape to what is an unmanageable and ultimately unsustainable system.

The mendacity of the Democratic leadership in the face of this reality is staggering. Howard Dean, who is a doctor, said recently: "This is a vote about one thing: Are you for the insurance companies or are you for the American people?" Here is a man who once championed the public option and now has sold his soul. What is the point in supporting him or any of the other Democrats? How much more craven can they get?

Take a look at the health care debacle in Massachusetts, a model for what we will get nationwide. One in six people there who have the mandated insurance say they cannot afford care, and tens of thousands of people have been evicted from the state program because of budget cuts. The 45,000 Americans who die each year because they cannot afford coverage will not be saved under the federal legislation. Half of all personal bankruptcies will still be caused by an inability to pay astronomical medical bills. The only good news is that health care stocks and bonuses for the heads of these corporations are shooting upward. Chalk this up as yet another victory for our feudal overlords and a defeat for the serfs.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/22-1

(decent comments section so far)

[ProSense]

1. Hmmm? Who to believe, the idiot Hedges or

Michael Moore?

[Umbral]

2. I know who NOT to believe. nt

[inna]

4. No kidding.

[freddie mertz]

34. And Freddie makes three.

AUWFFFFF!!!!!

[eridani]

3. Hedges, of course. Not that I give a flying fuck who actually wrote the OP

I don't base my opinions of policy on who else is for or against them.

[ixion]

6. Ever notice how the true believers always attack the messenger?

Every single time.

[freddie mertz]

35. Especially certain ones.

[ProSense]

9. Drivel:

The claims made by the proponents of the bill are the usual deceptive corporate advertising. The bill will not expand coverage to 30 million uninsured, especially since government subsidies will not take effect until 2014. Families who cannot pay the high premiums, deductibles and co-payments, estimated to be between 15 and 18 percent of most family incomes, will have to default, increasing the number of uninsured. Insurance companies can unilaterally raise prices without ceilings or caps and monopolize local markets to shut out competitors. The $1.055 trillion spent over the next decade will add new layers of bureaucratic red tape to what is an unmanageable and ultimately unsustainable system.

The mendacity of the Democratic leadership in the face of this reality is staggering. Howard Dean, who is a doctor, said recently: "This is a vote about one thing: Are you for the insurance companies or are you for the American people?" Here is a man who once championed the public option and now has sold his soul. What is the point in supporting him or any of the other Democrats? How much more craven can they get?

Take a look at the health care debacle in Massachusetts, a model for what we will get nationwide. One in six people there who have the mandated insurance say they cannot afford care, and tens of thousands of people have been evicted from the state program because of budget cuts. The 45,000 Americans who die each year because they cannot afford coverage will not be saved under the federal legislation. Half of all personal bankruptcies will still be caused by an inability to pay astronomical medical bills. The only good news is that health care stocks and bonuses for the heads of these corporations are shooting upward. Chalk this up as yet another victory for our feudal overlords and a defeat for the serfs.

People who are among the uninsured who have preexisting conditions will be afforded coverage this year. People who have coverage can no longer be dropped if they become sick this year. Thousands of people who would otherwise lose their lives will be helped this year.

[eridani]

12. HIgh risk pool = absolutiely useless unaffordable crap

State have these pools, and they suck. Why would a federal pool be better?

[freddie mertz]

36. Blah blah blah. You still act like you lost or something.

[Raineyb]

13. Who to believe? It damn sure isn't you.

To ignore what mandated insurance purchase has done in Massachusetts in order to support this bill is to ignore history. So who to believe? A mindless cheerleader who hasn't exhibited any evidence of independent thinking who deliberately spreads misleading propaganda? Or history?

[MattSh]

15. Hmmm? Whom to respect, a person who explains the problems he sees with this bill,

or somebody who calls people idiots?

.

[Echo In Light]

19. + note that the ones really big on 'reform' usually don't have very 'caring' sounding posts

... when it comes to a variety of other issues; snide, snark, name-calling, etc...but want to see this 'reform' cause they care so much about people in general. Funny how that works, eh?

[Marr]

25. Yeah, that is interesting.

I think for some people, it's about party politics and rooting for the team, and nothing more.

[freddie mertz]

37. I know I know!!!

Believe Hedges, and believe Moore,

But not the blue link thingie.

[freddie mertz]

33. Selective quotation.

Mikes goes on to write:


"If it's any consolation, the thieves who run the health insurance companies will still get to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions for the next four years. They'll also get to cap an individual's annual health care reimbursements for the next four years. And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day! And, the best part? The law will require all citizens who aren't poor or old to write a check to a private insurance company. It's truly a banner day for these corporations.

So don't feel too bad. We're a long way from universal health care. Over 15 million Americans will still be uncovered -- and that means about 15,000 will still lose their lives each year because they won't be able to afford to see a doctor or get an operation. But another 30,000 will live. I hope that's ok with you."

That is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Learn to read the whole thing before you mischaracterize a link.

[ixion]

5. kicked and recommended

I said very nearly the same thing on another thread the other day.

[galileoreloaded]

7. Like someone posted here about a week ago, the social contract has been broken..

and our society is adjusting to the fact that there IS such a thing as peak criminalization.

I will define it as the inflection point where the more society forces behavior, the more creative people get in resisting the criminalization of their daily lives.

When you can't wake up and move through your day without breaking a law, laws cease to be effective in promoting/discouraging behavior.

[Karmadillo]

8. The last Hedges post resulted in lots of ad hominen attacks. Attack away, but it would be nice if

those who disagree would actually refute the assertions Hedges is making.

[Echo In Light]

11. They can't...& if he'd left an opening those same ones would dishonestly rally him to attack...

... any of the other quasi-high profile lefties that get sourced who hadn't gone on record 'supporting' the bill i.e. Moore, Dean or Kooch ...none of which actually throw much 'support' as they do acknowledge they're going along to get along

[cali]

10. gad, more histrionics from poor Chris

drama king supreme

[earthside]

14. Sadly, Hedges is correct.

We've been conned.

Without single-payer or a robust public option, I'm afraid we have just created a "too big to fail" corporate health insurance behemoth that will redistributed even more of working America's wages to the super wealthy elite.

Politics trumped policy in the end ... it was more about beating the Repuglicans than about real health care reform.

[Echo In Light]

16. .

[Warren DeMontague]

17. That windbag has been awfully busy, lately.

I'm wondering if he's gearing up to be point man for Ralph Nader's 2012 run. :shrug:

[girl gone mad]

32. "windbag".. "idiot"... "drama king"...

You guys sure brought the weak sauce today.

[Echo In Light]

39. Odd how specific personality types dwell inordinately on the name-calling bit

[freddie mertz]

40. Odd how others constantly resort to such name-calling when they have no argument. nt.

[Echo In Light]

18. .

[LWolf]

20. K & R nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

21. The truth hurts.

Even if you put your hands over your ears and go "lalalalalalalalal" as loud as you can, the truth is gonna come get you.

[cali]

30. sigh. "truth", my dear, is largely a subjective entity.

facts are not, but the drama king is short on facts and long on hysterical opinion. Critical thinking is a good thing. Lesson number 1: don't confuse opinion with fact. basic stuff.

[bridgit]

22. Oh Lord - "The Health Care Hindenburg"? Aside from being *so* yesterday proving...

Some people need desperately to update their lexicon of knees & jerks; they need to oil their jib-jab word processors

[Echo In Light]

23. .

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Keep kickin' your own thread, there.

It just further illustrates how tired DU is of that particular dude's 'brand' of self-important puffery.

[Echo In Light]

26. I always bump mine on the day they're posted. Lots of data here @DU

[cali]

29. lots of hysteria and bullshit

not to mention outright lies.

[Odin2005]

27. K&R

[Echo In Light]

28. .

[leftstreet]

31. K&R

The comments section is a great read as always!

[jgraz]

38. K&R. Hedges is almost always right in his analysis

And those who disagree with him... oh well.