Healthcare - 1 - 2 - 3

CBS’s The Early Show presented 3 examples of how 3 different people would be affected by the new, it should be passed in my lifetime, healthcare plan.

The FIRST example was Debbie. Unemployed for the past 6 months, suffering with a serious pre-existing condition, and no longer able to afford the $700 a month she was paying for health insurance since she lost her job.
Under the new plan Debbie and anyone making under 43K a year would receive vouchers for healthcare.
I relate to Debbie the most – I have a pre-existing condition that has caused red tape problems in the past. I was BORN with the freaking condition. I guess I was supposed to have it corrected in the womb. Or be born rich.
I paid 1200/a month for health insurance until I just couldn’t pay anymore. My premiums went up 700% when I no longer qualified as a group and then went up again another 200% as part of “renewal adjustments”

The SECOND example was a woman in Chicago who owns a small transportation company. Her payroll is $900,000. She does not offer health benefits to her employees. She claims she can’t find an affordable group plan. She’s probably right. Under the new plan she would be charged 8% of her payroll for her staff to be covered. Of course under the new plan she also might be able to find more affordable group coverage since the insurance companies will need to react to this.
When my firm was larger I covered all 6 of my employees. It was a burden. I also thought it was my responsibility. The cost increases, along with higher payroll taxes, higher small business taxes and rent increases eventually made it impossible to keep the business going. This was all during the Bush years. Don’t tell me he gave a crap about small business. That idiot cared only about large corporations and bombing things.

The THIRD example was a physician with a private practice. He has 5 employees and covers them. He earns more that $350,000 a year. Under the new plan nothing will change for him other than paying an additional 1% tax. Anyone who can really, truly bitch about 1% on 350K is a moron or someone who just doesn’t want change and could care less about people like me. Pelosi says the 350 may actually be raised to 500 or even 1 million.
WHY!? We are so fucking afraid of rich people in this country. And if you’re telling me 350+ isn’t rich then I’d like you to adopt me.

I recently learned from Elizabeth Edwards’ website that $1 of every $7 I paid in premiums went to pay the salary of ONE insurance company executive. ONE.

Health should not be a profit driven business. Personally I think Obama’s plan doesn’t go far enough. He is, once again, compromising far too much to shut up the asshats who have fucked up this country for years and now want to blame the very people they swear they’re protecting.

Imagine if the Fire Department was profit driven. Burn poor people. Burn.

Why is healthcare not as life and death.

Why is there no chest thumping and wailing over the cost of the invasion of Iraq.

My son came home last night bitching about “that bastard you voted for” and whining like an asshat over needing to choose a different lab for his blood work because his employer is attempting to consolidate. He couldn’t explain what this had to do with Obama. He was simply venting what has become a popular cry among people who think they’re suffering. I’ll show him suffering.
His firm is making record profits from the explosion of digital communication and some kind of new something that I can’t remember at the moment. His health coverage is excellent. He is being inconvenienced to, I hope, save costs and become more efficient.
Maybe he’s being set up to have benefits cut.

Why will that be Obama’s fault.

Why will that be because of poor people or better health coverage.

Why won’t he rail at the executives of his firm. At his union leaders. At the greed and corruption of those few at the very top of every American corporation.

Because it’s so much easier to blame people at the bottom. You don’t even have to get up off your fat, overly entitled ass to kick them.

They’re right there – beneath you.

In another place and time what is going on in this country right now would call for a Revolution. Not a Revolution by gun toting right wing racists who just finished banging their cousin in a trailer in Virginia.

No – a Revolution by decent hard working people. All making less than 50K. Fuck the 350K ceiling. People who never believed in piss down economics. People who are sick of the politics of fear. People who think Reagan was nothing but a really bad actor – certainly not a great President. People who think the Bush family should be investigated from top to bottom.

I don’t curse in front of Hope so I won’t close with a photo of her.

I have searched the Early Show site for video of the segment but I can’t find it. Perhaps it will be there later. If so I’ll add the link then.