Following are two videos Tito dug up from the archives that demonstrate with absolute clarity the ultimate goal of President Obama’s healthcare reform plans: a single-payer government-controlled system and the end of the private insurance industry. Fi…

You can have it Cheap!
You can have High Quality!
You can have easily Available!

Choose two out of three.

I’ve talked with doctors about health insurance.

I’ve talked with people who have health insurance.

I have three letters for those who believe that the government will be a better gatekeeper for health insurance:

H M O

Would you stop whining, please? You have no problem assigning the whiny, entitlement mentality to the next generations after you.

JAM – I wasn’t, in fact assigning blame to the next generations but parodying you by changing the ‘target’ age-group. Trying to point out that you can pick any point in history and blame the then dominant generation for whatever you don’t like about that era, while completely ignoring the antecedents that gave rise to it. Too bad you didn’t pick up on that.

My point is that you are engaging in divisiveness of the worst sort in your unrelenting boomer-bashing. Your idea that the generation who the younger folks blame for everything that is wrong with the world and like to write off as hopelessly out of date are the only people who SHOULD take any responsibility or leadership on the issue of entitlements is ludicrous.

Boomers are responsible for a big portion of this mess and your excuse-laden response about FDR laying the groundwork for socialism doesn’t excuse boomers for expanding it.

Excuse-laden? FDR started it 30 years before boomers were eligible to vote.

I expect everyone who believes in America they way it was founded to fight against these socialist policies. Is it too much to ask the largest segment of the population to lead the charge?

Boomers are only the largest segment of the population if your segments are generations. They are not a majority of the population, which I would think is a little more relevant.

I guess it is, according to you.

I love the way you keep moving the goal posts. First, it’s boomers are solely to blame. Next its boomers have a greater responsibility to fix this than anyone else. Now its boomers need to do their part.

And now you imply disingenuously that I have been suggesting that boomers have no responsibility to fix it.

I’m just afraid that if your generation doesn’t take the lead and change it while you have the power to do so, there will be an Atlas Shrugged moment in the very near future in my generation and those after, where a tax revolt will ensue and the boomers will be left w/nothing as a result.

JAM on April 28, 2009 at 1:43 PM

Sure you are.

If you want an endless litany of what nationalized healthcare looks like, I’ll be happy to spend a chunk of my day informing you. I lived in Canada for 35 years and can regale you with much eye-opening information.

caygeon on April 28, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Could I have some stories? I’m trying to compile a list of evidence to show my family that the upcoming health care change IS a Big Thing and it is NOT GOOD.

Dark-Star on April 28, 2009 at 12:38 PM

My 4 year old is at my knee, I’ll have to be quick…
It’s this four year old who was born in the US, my other three were born at three different hospitals in Ontario. Having a baby here is like a 4 star hotel stay in comparison.

In Ontario, when you go in to have a baby you must purchase and pack all the supplies you are going to need post partum. Every diaper, wipe, feminine products are your own responsibility and God help you if you have to ask for a diaper because you ran out. Your stool softener tablets and tylenol are issued to you in a Ziplock bag and thats it, if you require more than the doled out 4 tablets of each, than call your husband to bring them in. (You don’t get the “free sample” stuff in Canada, as the hospitals are not purchasing any of the stuff themselves. Pampers and Huggies aren’t making any money from the hospitals, so they usually aren’t so generous to the patients.

Here is a run down of 2008 from my family in Ontario:
In May we buried my aunt. Her aggressive melanoma was diagnosed in 2007 as a spider bite by her over-worked small town doctor. Her next visit was regarding her lymph nodes, which, of course, was now the additional location of the cancer. She waited 4-5 weeks to see a specialist. When she finally got to the doctor she was informed that he was not actually in this field and so they “fast tracked” her to another specialist 2 weeks later. By now it was all about slowing down the inevitable. In the end, the hospice was so old and out dated, the toilets were black from rust on the inside.

Later in 2008 my 5 months pregnant sister showed up at emerg and waited 3 hours for someone to look at a skin problem on her legs. (It was diagnosed as cellulitis…look that condition up if you want to understand the severity of it). Her legs were weeping onto the floor at emerg and nary a piece of gauze to aid her and ths situation did not warrent her moving up the triage line. (This is in one of the newest hospitals in the largest city in Canada). When they finally made the diagnosis what was her treatment? Well, as she sat in one of the public waiting room chairs she had an IV port put in, was given a dose of antibiotics and released, with the IV port still in, being told to return the next day for another dose. She still had to go through the readmission process and another 3 hour wait to get said dose. Many beds were there within easy eyeshot, but without the nursing staff (not enough funding), they could not be used. Thankfully her condition cleared up.
When it was time to deliver her baby, she showed up at the hospital, only to be turned away and sent to a strange hospital miles away as they had no available beds.

My SIL waited 5 hours to have what she thought was a broken arm on her 5 year old daughter. They actually left without being seen as her daughter seemed to be tolerating her arm more that the 5 hours of waiting in a creepy emergency room!

That is one year in my family only. My girlfriend lost her father after he was admitted for a routine bypass and had subsequent complications from infection. Infections are probably one of the worst problems in facilities that are understaffed by overworked nurses who do not spend enough time sterilizing between patients. (My aunt, the one who passed away, was a surgical nurse before her retirement. She actually wrote to the Minister of Health and the hospital administration about the lapses in hand washing and medical supply cleaning procedure she witnessed during her stays.)
That is a one-year glimpse at one famiy’s experience with socialized medicine. I could go back further for many more stories, but you can get the idea from this.

People in Canada think this is all normal and have no idea what the health care potential is.

I have no idea what liberal proponants are picturing as nationalized healthcare, but if they truly love their families (as every family inevitably must come face to face with the medical community at some point), they will make every effort to fully understand what it is they are asking for. I suspect many of them think that those who are not covered with insurance will just suddenly get the coverage everyone enjoys. That is a mistake that will cost them greatly, and it is a mistake that will end up with a “I wish I had known” in the end.

I’m sure there are muliple typos in there, but I’m out of time and cannot proof read…sorry.

ThackerAgency on April 28, 2009 at 10:04 AM

Disclaimer: I work for a P&C insurance company (not medical)

I agree with this because the insurance companies basically write every piece of legislation that congress passes on health care. Insurance companies are brilliant, and they have a ton of cash.

Insurance companies do not write legislation. They sponsor political PACs (like many companies), but they do not write legislation. That being said, they may or may not have a lot of power. I would say they have less power with this Administration / Congress.

Insurance companies no longer have “a ton of cash”. Insurance companies rarely make any money on premiums. Premiums are used to make investments. Insurance companies make nearly all their money on the investments. They experienced the 8,000 DOW drop just like the rest of us. My company (name withheld) lost more than $200 million from a nearly 800 million reserve… with extremely conservative investments. That ton of cash isn’t so large now.

The medicare bill was a boon for insurance companies. I was excited about it until I saw the result was an increase in COST to the system when the RX companies raised their prices overnight due to the new insurance for seniors.

Increased administrative paperwork and requirements WILL increase the cost of the system. Typical government intrusion results…

The only problem is that people who are sick can’t get insurance. States have been addressing that with risk pool programs and the one in NC is fantastic. [snip]

So what you’re saying is that insurance companies shouldn’t have a right to refuse risky coverage… similar to mortgages… and your little liberal heart doesn’t like that.

If administrative and legal requirements weren’t so extensive, there would be many more options on how to cover everybody. But why would our power-grabbing government want that? There would be no crisis to exploit…

Insurance companies are going to write a bill that will benefit them.

Focus… insurance companies do not write bills, legislators interacting with PACs do that.

If insurance companies are going to lose money, there won’t be a bill.

Well, to state the obvious… INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE BUSINESSES! Businesses who don’t make money (and aren’t seized by government power-struggles) go under… harming their customers.

It is 20% of the economy. That much money isn’t going to be given up without a fight. . . and it’ll be bloody.

I do think there is a chance of things turning bloody, but it won’t be with insurance companies, but with the government.

They’ll eventually force people to buy an insurance plan like auto insurance. . . but insurance companies will benefit. . . or nothing will happen.

Insurance companies, long-term, will not benefit. You can see this with the medical profession right now. Medicare/Medicaid determine what procedures are covered and how much they will pay for the procedures (usually way low!). Once socialization takes over, everything is about limiting costs… not what is best for the patient. Insurance companies will be forced to cover all people, with all risks, and everyone else will be forced to cover it… raising premiums… which will cause the government to enact legislation restricting the increase of premiums… which will cause a drop is service.

But of course, its not because insurance companies are large inefficient bureaucracies, made even worse by government administrative and overreaching requirements… its because they’re EVIL!… /sarc

Would you stop whining, please? You have no problem assigning the whiny, entitlement mentality to the next generations after you. Boomers are responsible for a big portion of this mess and your excuse-laden response about FDR laying the groundwork for socialism doesn’t excuse boomers for expanding it.

I expect everyone who believes in America they way it was founded to fight against these socialist policies. Is it too much to ask the largest segment of the population to lead the charge? I guess it is, according to you. I’m just afraid that if your generation doesn’t take the lead and change it while you have the power to do so, there will be an Atlas Shrugged moment in the very near future in my generation and those after, where a tax revolt will ensue and the boomers will be left w/nothing as a result.

Putting the onus on boomers to undue generations’ worth of socialization strikes me as ageist finger-pointing.

I don’t believe it is ageist to ask for the generation in power, polictically and in the private sector to stand up and do what is right. There are many boomers who are not part of the liberal elite. They have been silent too long. I want them to lead the charge against this. I am willing to fight and do everyday against the entitlement mentality that permeates my generation. The elderly will die soon enough under this “experiment”, the next generation will see their parents best efforts turn to this? That generation can and should lead the charge against Natl. Healthcare and for SS reform. They have the clout to do it. But do they have the will?

JAM on April 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM

I really don’t like the generational blame game you’re playing, Jam. Somehow I don’t think “Boomers Against Obama” would grab the public imagination, and certainly not that of younger generations who seem to have little more than contempt for boomers as a ‘group’, blaming us for everything from global warming to deficits.

MSNBC is reporting that Arlen Specter has swithed parties to Democrats..giving them the 60 votes needed for veto proof majority in the Senate once Franken is seated in MN.

Now we are screwed royally.

Somebody tell me how a seal on a page could fail to bend when the page bends.

That seal was never on that piece of paper. It was added to the photo by somebody at Factcheck.org. Why would they forge a seal on a document if it already had a seal – which every non-forged COLB would have?

There’s been a lot of smoke and mirrors on this issue, but this is something even my untrained, stupid eyes can see right in front of my face. It has been reported to law enforcement all over the country. To my knowledge, there is one sheriff in Arizona (?) who has said he will investigate. Any bets as to whether he gets to see the original documents?

The unkindest cut of all is that our whole system of accountability is gone, gone, gone.

We don’t have one law enforcement body in this whole nation which even cares that Obama committed document fraud regarding his birth certificate and draft registration. Nobody even cares enough to find out why he committed the crime of posting fakes – the most obvious potential motive being that there are no originals, or the original doesn’t say what he wants it to say. Which could constitute an even bigger crime. But he has already committed document fraud. And nobody is willing to investigate or charge him with it.

That scares the hell out of me. When the control is that permeating we’ve lost everything. Without the rule of law there are no laws. What’s the point in even arguing about laws, since nobody will enforce them?

People poo-pooh the eligibility issue but what is at stake here is the whole rule of law, which is a prerequisite for all three branches of government to mean anything. Without the rule of law we don’t have a government. Period. We have mafia rule. I’d say that’s a whopping big issue. If this is considered a trivial thing by even conservatives, then America is already gone. At the hands of the conservatives.

If you want an endless litany of what nationalized healthcare looks like, I’ll be happy to spend a chunk of my day informing you. I lived in Canada for 35 years and can regale you with much eye-opening information.

caygeon on April 28, 2009 at 11:52 AM

Could I have some stories? I’m trying to compile a list of evidence to show my family that the upcoming health care change IS a Big Thing and it is NOT GOOD.

Putting the onus on boomers to undue generations’ worth of socialization strikes me as ageist finger-pointing.

I don’t believe it is ageist to ask for the generation in power, polictically and in the private sector to stand up and do what is right. There are many boomers who are not part of the liberal elite. They have been silent too long. I want them to lead the charge against this. I am willing to fight and do everyday against the entitlement mentality that permeates my generation. The elderly will die soon enough under this “experiment”, the next generation will see their parents best efforts turn to this? That generation can and should lead the charge against Natl. Healthcare and for SS reform. They have the clout to do it. But do they have the will?