Inside Obama's Whitehouse - Obamacare

[JohnnyDee]

Fancy someone wanting to help those poorer people in society struggling to keep themselves healthy and alive.

What was Obama thinking about? What sort of modern society would want to do something mad like helping the disadvantaged?

Sarcasm aside, The Republicans are a vile self-centred bunch of...of...of...

I wracked my brain for a description that won't get me banned and best I have come up with is...

Sickening Gits.

They are so selfish and cold that it beggars belief, making Cameron's mob look caring and soft.

 

[SocketRocket]

Fancy someone wanting to help those poorer people in society struggling to keep themselves healthy and alive.

What was Obama thinking about? What sort of modern society would want to do something mad like helping the disadvantaged?

Sarcasm aside, The Republicans are a vile self-centred bunch of...of...of...

I wracked my brain for a description that won't get me banned and best I have come up with is...

Sickening Gits.

They are so selfish and cold that it beggars belief, making Cameron's mob look caring and soft.

And what exactly do you think made this great hoard of Republicans the Devil's breed with nasty little uncaring minds. Maybe it's some type of virus spread by Twinky Bars or Buffalo Wings. Who knows. Do you?

 

[Cherry13]

A fascinating insight into US politics. Say what you like about politicians in America, and their system, but general Americans seem much more engaged in the political system and issues that effect them.

Not often you see thousands of protestors outside of Downing street protesting a bill. (new/old disability allowance could have been one).

From my limited understanding their system does seem to be fixated on and therefore crippled by certain issues as well. (Abortion/healthcare/immigration/gun control) amazing how these core issues have huge bases which politicians can align themselves to and then rife the coat tails of.

I to this day, don't know if I admire or I'm terrified by how they operate.

 

[Cherry13]

And what exactly do you think made this great hoard of Republicans the Devil's breed with nasty little uncaring minds. Maybe it's some type of virus spread by Twinky Bars or Buffalo Wings. Who knows. Do you?

I think from the outside looking in its quite easy to paint the Republican Party as the bad guys. They are typically the pro gun, pro life, small government party. For us Europeans that's usually not views we align ourselves too. (Maybe we agree on the small govt bit). They are quite often also the more extreme of the parties, Palin, Cruz, tea party (I haven't included Trump, as I don't think he really is republican, he just knew it was a party his rhetoric would get a shot at).

But i think you have to admire that when you move to the centre of both parties, they both stand for typically long held beliefs, and a strong set of core values.

if I was American, I can hand on heart say I don't know which party I would vote for.

 

[Ethan]

The Republicans were perhaps once those that stood for stability and traditional values, but nowadays they are the evangelical xenophobic party, bought and paid for by-big business and the gun lobby. They care only about the mega-donors such as the Koch brothers and similar, and don't believe in climate change. They have chosen not to work with Obama, in doing so repudiating their own policies. When the last Supreme Court justice died, they bemoaned the type of candidate Obama would select, and one leading Republican bemoaned that he wouldn't choose a suitable candidate like Merrick Garland. Then Obama chose his candidate and they denounced it - Merrick Garland.

The Republicans are anti-democratic and on one hand it is great to see Trump tear them apart. On the other hand ...

 

[Ethan]

A fascinating insight into US politics. Say what you like about politicians in America, and their system, but general Americans seem much more engaged in the political system and issues that effect them.

Not often you see thousands of protestors outside of Downing street protesting a bill. (new/old disability allowance could have been one).

From my limited understanding their system does seem to be fixated on and therefore crippled by certain issues as well. (Abortion/healthcare/immigration/gun control) amazing how these core issues have huge bases which politicians can align themselves to and then rife the coat tails of.

I to this day, don't know if I admire or I'm terrified by how they operate.

There have been surveys and polls which show that Americans generally like the idea of the Affordable Care Act but hate Obamacare. They are, however, one and the same. Much of the hate mongering and nasty politics is driven by demagogues, mostly on the right, like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and most of Fox News. Then big money donors fund unofficial hate campaigns against candidates they do not favour. The Obama birther thing, John Kerry swiftboat, and Joe the Plumber were all creations of these political action committees and the right wing media circus.

There were thousands of junior doctors outside Whitehall earlier this week, but it got no coverage on the BBC.

 

[JohnnyDee]

And what exactly do you think made this great hoard of Republicans the Devil's breed with nasty little uncaring minds. Maybe it's some type of virus spread by Twinky Bars or Buffalo Wings. Who knows. Do you?

I don't really know - except that I believe the self-centred and greedy of the world normally seem hitch their cart to whatever rightwing cause is going.

Not in any idealistic way, but more to save themselves a penny in the pound or a cent in the dollar on their income tax bills.

The thought of it being given to the poor and disadvantaged in their socities seems not to chime with their core values. Their mantra can be summed up by paraphrasing Fr. Ted's housekeeper, Mrs Doyle, thus:

Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me


ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SocketRocket]

I don't really know - except that I believe the self-centred and greedy of the world normally seem hitch their cart to whatever rightwing cause is going.

Not in any idealistic way, but more to save themselves a penny in the pound or a cent in the dollar on their income tax bills.

The thought of it being given to the poor and disadvantaged in their socities seems not to chime with their core values. Their mantra can be summed up by paraphrasing Fr. Ted's housekeeper, Mrs Doyle, thus:

Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me


ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought you didn't like labels being put on people. My experience of people in the USA is that the vast majority are good caring people, they tend to support charities and especially international causes more than most countries. They are generally very polite, especially to older people and easy to strike up a conversation with.

Have you lived there?

 

[JohnnyDee]

I thought you didn't like labels being put on people. My experience of people in the USA is that the vast majority are good caring people, they tend to support charities and especially international causes more than most countries. They are generally very polite, especially to older people and easy to strike up a conversation with.

Have you lived there?

No I never have done. My comment isn't really about Americans but is more related to what seems to motivate those who embrace Republican and similar political parties and their values everywhere.

The driver for such people behind most issues apears to be "What's in it for ME?" with very little evidence of altruism or compassion for others on show.

 

[Ethan]

I thought you didn't like labels being put on people. My experience of people in the USA is that the vast majority are good caring people, they tend to support charities and especially international causes more than most countries. They are generally very polite, especially to older people and easy to strike up a conversation with.

Have you lived there?

Amazingly simplistic generalisation of a large diverse and heterogeneous country. I work for an American company and have spent a lot of time there over the last 16 years, probably an average of 10 trips a year. There are enormous differences by geography, race and social class. In addition, the structure of their political system is different and the influence of big money and mega-donors is very powerful. Lobby groups drive political decision making at Congress and the media has a strong influence on average voters. The north east, Chicago and the west coast are not all the same, but are generally more aware of the wider world and are more liberal on social issues. The south and middle are generally less liberal and more influenced by religion. The south is also still quite divided racially. That they are polite is irrelevant. It is also a rather superficial politeness.

Most average Americans are strongly influenced by health insurance when changing jobs. Insurance is generally attached to employment, so they are disincentivised to move jobs if the insurance coverage is good. The healthcare market is also very fragmented, with referral patterns driven by insurance deals, and different incentives applying along the way. The system is incentivised to do more stuff, investigations, procedures etc because they get paid per item. It is a also more of a demand based system. Costs have spiralled out of control in healthcare, because the hospitals are very good at billing every elastoplast and aspirin, and they charge over the odds for every one. Go into an ER with a twisted ankle, see a doctor for 10 minutes, get an X Ray, be advised to rest and take some paracetamol and that'll be $1400, please. Have a serious accident with a few days in ICU and some rehab and that will be £250,000. I got a medical colleague to write me a prescription for 5 days of amoxycillin once, and it cost $99. The drug cost was essentially zero.

Everyone knows the system is about to collapse, but there are too many staked interests. These include the HMO, hospitals, doctors and their lobby groups. One option was single payer, effectively a broadening of Medicare to all, providing a basic level of provision, but the Republicans went ape at that idea. But with healthcare spending now over 17% of GDP, and outcomes not that great, and many uncovered, something has to give.

 

[JohnnyDee]

Anyone watching it at the moment?

The gun-toting proponents of the 2nd amendment are total and utter eejits. Only a shame that Obama's best intentions have been thwarted by a bunch of cretinous John Wayne wannabes.

"The only thing that's gonna stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Really? Doesn't seem to be working in the light of each sickening massacre after mindless massacre.

What an absolute shower!