Reply #8: That blather passes for insight inside the Beltway? Everybody undersrtands that

[struggle4progress]

the various interest groups will jockey for position, and that meaningful healthcare reform will represent a mix of different ideological positions

It's time to face some realities and make some choices. We can't afford endless pointless wars: beyond being morally wrong, they do nothing helpful in the long-term for our economy; keeping people healthy, on the other hand, lets them stay productive. Similarly, we can't afford the stupidity of the drug wars against single users: it's just idiotic to lock people up at high cost for years, simply because they aren't smart in their recreational habits. War and drug war savings would make a huge difference in the budget, freeing dollars for better uses, like health care

And let's stop pretending that the medical insurance cost crisis is a matter of "tort reform" -- because it's not: it's a matter of the stupid investment choices of insurance companies in the under-regulated market that brought us the economic collapse we've been suffering since last fall. Better regulation of financial markets and the insurance industry would go a long way towards solving our problems

Since most people are currently dependent on their work-place for health care insurance, we ought to really be strengthening the hand of labor, too: that's currently where the rubber meets the road, and people in the workplace know their needs and are perfectly capable of expressing them clearly if given a fair opportunity to organize to do that

Let's craft some smart taxes to pay for healthcare and some smart tax credits to reward employers who acxt responsibly

And let's stop pretending that this is a short-term fight: it's not -- it's an ongoing multiyear fight that will require an motivated, educated, and organized citizenry to win. We're just shooting ourselves in the knee if we act like this whole thing will be won or lost in the next few months