@edgarblythe,
Republicans are brain dead. Their push to cut social security and medicare will end up costing many lives - including their own family members and friends (if they have any). There's a reason why most developed economies have universal health care and social security; it provides seniors and the handicapped the necessary support they need to survive.
Quote: Despite these programs (Medicaid) designed to aid those who do not have group enrollment through employment, there are currently 40.3 million Americans who are currently uninsured.
There must be a solution to this problem when our country spends more on healthcare than any other country with universal health care.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-provide-universal-health-care-americas-still-not-on-it/259153/
Robert Reich
5 mins ·
House Speaker Paul Ryan has announced that he will not run for re-election this fall. In many ways, his tenure in Washington epitomizes the decline of the Republican party -- unprincipled, obstructionist, and beholden to corporate donors. For nearly two decades in Congress, Ryan forced his brand of supply-side economics on the country, working relentlessly to undermine Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the process.
His greatest accomplishments will be fighting to deny health care to millions of Americans and exploding the deficit to reward the wealthy and corporations. In the face of Trump's rise to power, he showed no leadership as his party embraced xenophobia, racism, and conspiracy theories. And, now, with pressure mounting on the White House, he is stepping aside
Robert Reich
1 min ·
America is the only industrialized nation in the world where a hor story like this is even possible. When Jessica Pell went to the emergency room after fainting, she was charged $5,751 for an ice pack and a bandage.
By contrast, a single-payer, Medicare-for-All system would provide universal access and cost less. Right now, the United States spends more than twice on health care per person than the 35 advanced countries making up the OECD. Yet Americans don’t live as long and are subject to more chronic illness.
Why is healthcare so much cheaper in other nations? Partly because their governments negotiate lower rates with health providers. They can get lower rates because they cover everyone – which gives them lots of bargaining power. We can, and must, do better in this country.
@edgarblythe,
I've always advocated for universal health care ever since I can remember. It's not only from the fact that we spend more for health care than any other country, but we are behind providing health care for all citizens that's necessary to remain competitive in the world marketplace. Prevention is worth more than the cure.
Robert Reich
21 mins ·
The monopolization of America continues. Earlier this week, Sprint and T-Mobile announced a $26 billion merger, consolidating their power to compete with Verizon and AT&T. If the deal goes through, only 3 companies will dominate the wireless industry.
Such mergers are giving a handful of corporations increasing market power across the economy. This concentration of power not only results in less choice and higher prices for consumers, but it also increases the clout of corporate executives over our political system.
Our latest video, which will be available this Sunday, takes an in-depth look at the rise of monopolies in America and what we can do about it. Stay tuned.
Robert Reich
·
According to conservative doctrine, Kansas and Oklahoma ought to be booming, and California ought to be in the pits. Actually, it’s just the opposite. The Golden State just became the world's fifth largest economy, surpassing the United Kingdom. Its success has depended on bottom-up economics -- putting tax revenues into public investments, and regulations that protect the environment and public health, not trickle-down economics that benefits the few.
@edgarblythe,
I always thought that California was the 6th largest economy, but it seems we grew a bit more! The big problem of being a large economy is the simple fact that the cost of living is also out in the stratosphere. One benefit for the majority of us is the fact that Sunnyvale is also one of the safest cities in the country. If we didn't buy here long ago, we couldn't afford to live here.
@edgarblythe,
Youre point has been what Ive been saying to George ob all these years. A bottom up economy is best. part of the success of Californias economy is the natural environment. Its an urbanizing area which has infrastructure updates THRUST on them because of **** like earthquakes, fires and mudslides.
Sometimes nature steps in. Its amazing how noone on the DC side ever recognizes the important stuff.
It all bgan with the gold ush. People quickly recognized that one can get rich mining gold but one gets richest mining the gold miners.
California is a disaster for most people who try to live there.
It is unsustainable for most people.
Regular people continue to leave in droves because the cost of living is ridiculous.
There are encampments clustered on city streets where people **** on the sidewalk. Some of these areas are quite dangerous due to hepatitis and aggressive panhandling.
The disparity between the haves and have-nots is startling. Although there are some obviously positive things that continue to attract people to try CA, other things drive them away.
The news about ‘the sixth biggest economy’ doesn’t begin to tell the truth about California.
@farmerman,
What ever happened to George OB?
Robert Reich
·
My weekly essay: Trump’s Curious Coalition
Trump's strategy for keeping power is to build his coalition of America’s white working class and its ownership class.
It’s a curious coalition, to say the least. But if Democrats don’t respond to it, it could protect Trump from impeachment and even re-elect him. It just might create a permanent Republican majority based on an axis of white resentment and great wealth.
Two decades ago, Democrats and Republicans competed over the middle class. They battled over soccer moms and suburban “swing” voters.
Since then the middle class has shrunk, while the working class has grown, and vast wealth has been accumulated by a comparative few who own a large portion of America. Some of their wealth has taken over American politics.
Enter Trump.
He’s counting on the unwavering support of mostly white working class voters. And he’s counting on the ownership class to bankroll Republican politicians who are loyal to him.
Since becoming president, Trump has rewarded both parts of this coalition -- tossing boatloads of money to the ownership class, and red meat to the white working class.
Every time he sends more money to the wealthy he sends more red meat to his base.
Weeks ago, after announcing he’d seek another big tax cut before the midterm elections -- “phase two,” as he termed it – he threatened China with a trade war; arranged another crackdown on unauthorized immigrants, including a carefully-choreographed plan to break up families at the border and attack sanctuary cities; and vowed to go after pharmaceutical companies.
Trump doesn’t want his base to know that the only way they can permanently become better off is to rein in the ownership class.
He doesn’t want them to realize that the ownership class is largely responsible for their plight. For decades the captains of American industry, backed by the nation’s biggest investors, have squeezed payrolls by outsourcing abroad, cutting or eliminating job benefits, busting unions, and shifting to part-time and contract work.
He’d rather they didn’t see that corporate profits, flowing into higher executive pay and higher share prices, have constituted a steadily larger portion of economy, and that wages have been a steadily lower portion. Most economic gains have gone to the top. We have had socialism for the rich and harsher capitalism for everyone else.
If Democrats were smart they’d expose all this -- and commit themselves to reversing these trends by creating a multi-racial coalition of the poor, working class, and what’s left of the middle.
Trump’s curious coalition endures only because he’s a clever salesman and conman. The only way it can possibly succeed entrenching Trump is if Democrats say and do little or nothing.
@edgarblythe,
Why older white men supports Trump is a mystery. Trump's 2019 budget has plans to cut $54 billion from Medicare. That will affect many older white men with higher cost for their medical care. I guess there's no cure for stupid. From VOX:
Quote:A 7.1 percent cut to Medicare by 2028, due to reforms meant to cut payments to providers and reduce wasteful treatment without limiting access to health care. The Affordable Care Act in 2010 included many similar provisions with related goals.
A 22.5 percent cut to Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies by 2028, through repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Guess how those cuts are going to be used? Tax cuts for the rich.
@cicerone imposter,
Quote:Why older white men supports Trump is a mystery. Trump's 2019 budget has plans to cut $54 billion from Medicare. That will affect many older white men with higher cost for their medical care. I guess there's no cure for stupid. From VOX:
Thank you for continuing to prove my point about old people and the DNC. They want them to shut up and only vote for their govt freebie's. Just like every other group the DNC and leftist pander to, they want them to only vote for their free thing, forget what's good for the country, they use identity politics to isolate everyone.
Quote:Guess how those cuts are going to be used? Tax cuts for the rich.
Class warfare is another favorite tactic of the left, Marx would be proud.
