Year Of Obama And Health Care

Comments

[change]

I think the most on target statement he made was “driving over a cliff”.
Obambi, Pelosi and Reid are taking the entire democrat party on a bus ride over a cliff (he is driving and they are giving directions).

With a vast majority in both houses the only thing that was accomplished in his first year was that he got a nobel and our children have gotten screwed.

I’d be impressed if he fulfilled the simple promise of transparency by putting all the negotiations on cspan and that would cost nothing.

[Steve Vaughan]

I'm not to happy about how health care reform is turning out either "change," but let's not be ridiculous. Second great Depression avoided.
Economy began moving forward again..I know jobs, jobs...those will come. The economy is growing instead of shrinking.
Iraq-moving in the right direction, we're starting to get out.
Afghanistan ... well, at least we laid out some principles. I'm not completely happy about this either.
Rule of law ...U.S. is in favor of this again. That's a good thing.

[Wellescent Health]

If Obama wants to at least get credit from supporters of the Democratic party, he really needs to get something passed to advance health reform. If the GOP are interested in advancing reform of some sort through negotiation, work with them. If not, use the means of the remaining majority to pass what can be passed. Losing all momentum on reform will be highly destructive to the party and the American public.

[change]

Steven,
“depression avoided”? doing nothing would have been as successful and much less expensive.

I suppose you believe that WW III was “avoided” or maybe “Armageddon” was avoided. Or maybe stimulus one saved our country from a take over by alien beings (no offence to spock).
You really should stop believing everything that MSNBC or the KOS spouts.

You so easily discount “jobs” but those without them probably feel they are quite important.

This great expense of our tax dollars (rather our kids) has been nothing but a rip off of the taxpayer to go to the pockets of Obambi friends (who are above paying taxes themselves).

I suppose you are a big supporter of “stimulus two”?.. three.. four…

[Steve Vaughan]

Change:
You have absoutley no clue what you're talking about about the economy. It's got nothing to do with MSNBC or Daily Kos.
You've never made a reasonable comment, rather than reciting partisan talking points here yet. So, to quote Barbara Bush "I'm done with you."

[Gretchen Laskas]

Like Steve, I also believe that a true great depression was avoided, not only by the work Obama has done this year, but by the Bush administration's bank bailout. These aren't popular in the populist notion, but that doesn't mean they didn't need to be done and haven't been successful at creating a much more stable economy from which to recover from a recession than what might have happened.

Sorry, change! But there is no way I'm ever changing my mind about this. And I never, EVER dismiss unemployment and underemployment and those who have quit looking altogether because they are so convinced they won't find something. As long as I have a breath in my body, I won't forget this. But do I think it could have been much worse? Absolutely.

[Erich]

I have to give a special thanks to President Obama! Barry, without you, this never would have happened. Of course, I also want to thank the Beacon Hill Democrats for ramming through a law that allowed for a temporary appointment and pushed off the special election. Which, in turn, gave Senator-Elect Brown enough time to win. To the Democrats in Washington and Beacon Hill - From the bottom of my heart, Thank you.

[Tatum]

Operations is difficult.

Obama has never run so much as a Dairy Queen but he thinks he can run the health care sector of the U.S. economy.

The good news for us is he's as good at delivering legislation as he is at developing operational systems.

[Erich]

Here, Here Tatum!

[Sleep Apnea Cures]

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[change]

Oh yes and they “saved or created millions of jobs”.
We, even now, see banks failing and being taken over by the FDIC. We did not need to spend trillions unnecessarily to make a correction last longer than it otherwise would if the government had stayed out of it. It was too expensive (and only partially spent) and unnecessary. We hear from banks that were “made” to take the money by government, and are now being bullied to pay back not only what they were forced to take (plus interest), but also to pay for GM and other bad government decisions. These are the types of things that people are sick and tired of as we have seen in MA.

Gretchen, I thought you were more independent minded than to fall into the trap of believing these type of gratuitous assertions.
(Stevie, I am not surprised at you).

btw.. I singlehandedly saved or created over one hundred jobs yesterday.

[Gretchen Laskas]

(laughing) It's funny how every time I disagree with a conservative they tell me "I thought you were smarter/independent/better than that". I have always said that I believe in government as one way to fix problems. I believe in Keynsian economics. I think both Obama (and Bush) should have do and need to do more, not less, given how badly our economy almost cratered.

Maybe my new slogan should be: Gretchen Laskas- disappointing conservatives since 1969.

[Spock]

Gretchen- I always believe we need to strive to "Barry Lynn" status when it comes to conservatives.

[change]

Gretch,
My point is that you seem to accept everything said by the administration (ie job “creation/saved, things would have been worse..etc…) when just as many economists believe we would have been better off without the “stimulus”.

Thru January, only 30% has been spent, if it was such a great idea and has been so successful why would we need to spend the other 70% or better yet why is their discussion to have another stimulus bill?

My disappointment comes mainly from your comment “ there is no way I'm ever changing my mind about this….But do I think it could have been much worse? Absolutely”
You say that you will not never change your mind and believe only that things could have been worse, I propose that they could have been better. Since we do not “know” openmindedness would dictate that a “no way” comment on change leaves little space for understanding.

[dr_cathy]

Steve - what planet are you living on? Are you so naive to believe we are heading out of this recession while every economist is predicting 2010 is going to be even worse than 2009? Even Krugman has been yelling from atop the mountain trying to get 0bama's economic team to get it. This country hasn't seen the worst of this recession yet.

I find it fascinating that Volcker stood by 0bama's side at last weeks news conference while Summers was missing and Geithner was at the end of the line staring down at his shoes.

These two financial wizards along w/Bernanke haven't done diddly to change course of our continued financial meltdown.

And given the dramatic decline in our wealth, why on earth would any thinking leader dare to fight for nine months over a $2k tax increase on the middle class. This doesn't even count crap and trade.

If you want to give your money away I'll be happy to take it b/c neither one of these two policies will do shit for you, your family, our environment, our country or our world.

All they do is line pockets w/our hard earned dough all so Ds can build a new donor base and new voters.

Take the blinders off. It will do all of us a world of good.

[Gretchen Laskas]

Change -- I wrote an entire novel about a New Deal program was that hated in Washington. It was called socialist, communist, inefficent, an economic sink hole, a destructive force in the American fabric, the first of future tyrannical decisions, a reward for people who wouldn't work, an incentive for people to stop trying, a failure, a catastrophe,etc. etc. It was mostly a Republican outcry, but Democrats (blue dogs?) joined in plenty.

Take any program, even health care, and ratchet up the rhetoric 1000 times. And that MIGHT be what this program was put through. That it was Mrs. Roosevelt's pet project (not unlike Health care back in the 1990's under HRC) only made the vitriol all the worse.

But I wrote the novel because what happened in the lives of the people under this program couldn't have been further from the perceptions of Washington. I know what this awful, horrible, terribly, expensive, failure of a program did for families. I know what it did for families like mine -- it brought them out of poverty and into the middle class.

So you're right -- I certainly should never give them impression that I believe what I do because that Obama says that they are true. I hope I never reach a point where I accept something just because Washington (left or right) tells me that it's "true."

But given my reading of economics, of history, learning everything I can about why this collapse happened and what we might do to get out of it, of my personal experiences, both past and present, I cannot honestly say to you that I think we should have done less, not more.

One thing I can tell you, if Obama starts telling us that we should have done or need to do less, then I'll disagree with him too!

[Elder Care in California]

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[change]

Gretch,
In your study for your book on the “New Deal” did you find any mention of political rhetoric like “saved jobs” or did you find that the jobs created were real?
Although I do not profess to be an expert, and I may disagree with some of the actions taken back then. I do believe that many jobs were created which helped to build things like dams, roads, parks, etc… I don’t think the money was completely frittered away to political “cronies”. One need only look at the current outlay of funds to see the errors. (Obambi would have my vote if he were putting people to work building roads etc.. in VA at minimum wage to help our infrastructure) but alas, such is not the case.

Also, if I am correct, the government jobs took a “hit” as they were trying to keep costs within bounds (as best they could in that time); I believe federal employees even took pay “decreases”.

The words that Bentson said come to mind when speaking to Quayle “ I knew John Kennedy and you are no John Kennedy..”

Considering that you are the expert on the “New Deal” I would suggest that you might see this as “No New Deal”

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[Gretchen Laskas]

Change-- I'll write more about the New Deal later, but today, as I promised in my last comment, I want to say that I'm so annoyed by the pandering in the "spending freeze" Obama is offering. Blech.

So maybe someone like you will give him credit for making the "the tough choices" because I think it's wrongheaded.

[change]

Gretch,
I would love to give him credit, all he would have to do is remove the 12% increases he made then freeze or reduce federal spending. Also, it would help if he cut or froze some of the 65% of government that he left out of this “freeze”.

This is just politics and not leadership. It’s like going into a store that has just doubled their prices and run a 1/3rd off sale. Some may think it’s a good deal, I don’t.

But hey, at least it’s a move in the “right” direction.