(the best things in life are free? hah! think again.)
Here are some things you can get without spending a penny:
~ used chewing gum from the sidewalk
~ bricks, gravel, dirt, broken appliances and a lovely floral sofa with a missing cushion from the "Free" section of craigslist
~ the swine flu
Oh. Wait. If you got the swine flu, you might need Mucinex, Tylenol, or that excellent NyQuil stuff, which was originally called Cheese-Heroin Extra-Addictive Night-Time Formula. That stuff is expensive.
Plus, if you get the swine flu you might have to visit the doctor. He might write a prescription for Tamiflu. Or send you for x-rays. Or check you into the hospital.
All of this will cost you LOTS of pennies.
Let's face it. Health care is expensive. So why should health care reform be free?
Why is it such a big deal that the current reform proposals will cost around a trillion dollars?
-Haven't we spent that much on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
-Didn't we lose much more than that through the Bush tax cuts?
-Isn't the net effect of reform a reduction in the federal deficit?
-What the heck?
Where were all these "fiscal conservatives" when the Bush administration was running up record deficits?
Maybe they were working on the fiscally conservative version of health care reform, which to date includes 4 ideas, none of which will help me get affordable health insurance.
Seriously. Four ideas.
I think John Boehner should try selling these ideas on craigslist. Put them in the "free" section, John. Maybe somebody will take them off your hands.
~~~
I am woefully ill-informed on this particular topic; what exactly will the reform do? I have always heard it talked about in only the context of general reform, and I haven't heard any specifics of what will be changed. Do you know? Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteLooks like all the lies and deceit of the GOP is paying off. We are all going to lose -pennies and much much more.
ReplyDeleteStephen: There are still a lot of details to be worked out, but the basic idea is to introduce more competition for the insurance companies, and more choices for consumers. Here's a good website for more information (from a liberal perspective):
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.healthcareforamericanow.org
Rae: Yes, we're going to lose lots of pennies. Congress will pass a watered-down good-for-nothing "reform" bill, costs will continue to go up, and the Dems will get blamed for not solving the problem. Argh.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I think we're get close, something takes us back a step. I'm hoping you will have affordable health care soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
ReplyDeleteWe had full-coverage insurance last year, and I still was able to deduct medical expenses because my share was such a big chunk of our income! This year, we lost a ton of coverage. Even being able to claim a deduction doesn't soften the blow...
You are correct Lesley, the GOP health care care reform "plan" is a piece of garbage.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is there are too many people still misinformed on the matter and too many influences ($$$$$) on the members of Congress by the health insurance lobbyists.
It really gets old and when we bloggers post about it, people who are totally misinformed come out of the woodwork.
Keep up the good work.