https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/26/17587090/2018-elections-house-preexisting-conditions-trump
"As much as any other issue, women’s health will be on the ballot in the 2018 midterm elections. It’s almost hard to remember now, but in the days before the Affordable Care Act was in place, health insurance companies routinely charged women in America more than men. Some women were deemed uninsurable because they had preexisting conditions like pregnancy or a breast cancer diagnosis. Now Obamacare makes that illegal — but Donald Trump’s election endangered those protections."
7/29/18
How the Hospitals Serving Trump Voters Are Closing—And He’s Letting It Happen
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/rural-hospital-closures-trump-republicans/
"What’s more, rural communities tend to be both poorer and sicker than their urban counterparts. According to US census data from 2016, 46 percent of the country’s rural population uses a form of government insurance, compared with 36 percent of the urban population. CDC data shows that rural areas have higher death rates from cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than urban areas do. Infant mortality rates are roughly 20 percent higher in rural counties than they are in large urban counties. But there’s another crisis linked to hospital closings: job losses. In many rural communities, the hospital is the largest employer. Brad Gibbens, a researcher at the University of North Dakota, estimates that when one shuts its doors, up to 25 percent of the surrounding region’s economy disappears. A cascading shortage of physicians and other health care professionals soon follows. So why are so many hospitals closing? Carole Myers, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville who studies health care policy, says medical facilities in rural areas have long struggled thanks to sparse populations and high poverty rates. But the situation is significantly worse in the 17 states that have not joined Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, most of them heavily rural. Those states have a higher rate of uninsured people, which means hospitals—which can’t turn anyone away from the emergency room—have to provide more uncompensated care. According to a recent study from the Colorado School of Public Health, hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid are six times more likely to close than hospitals in states that did, because they see more uninsured patients and provide more free care."
"What’s more, rural communities tend to be both poorer and sicker than their urban counterparts. According to US census data from 2016, 46 percent of the country’s rural population uses a form of government insurance, compared with 36 percent of the urban population. CDC data shows that rural areas have higher death rates from cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than urban areas do. Infant mortality rates are roughly 20 percent higher in rural counties than they are in large urban counties. But there’s another crisis linked to hospital closings: job losses. In many rural communities, the hospital is the largest employer. Brad Gibbens, a researcher at the University of North Dakota, estimates that when one shuts its doors, up to 25 percent of the surrounding region’s economy disappears. A cascading shortage of physicians and other health care professionals soon follows. So why are so many hospitals closing? Carole Myers, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville who studies health care policy, says medical facilities in rural areas have long struggled thanks to sparse populations and high poverty rates. But the situation is significantly worse in the 17 states that have not joined Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, most of them heavily rural. Those states have a higher rate of uninsured people, which means hospitals—which can’t turn anyone away from the emergency room—have to provide more uncompensated care. According to a recent study from the Colorado School of Public Health, hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid are six times more likely to close than hospitals in states that did, because they see more uninsured patients and provide more free care."
7/22/18
HHS Plans to Delete 20 Years of Critical Medical Guidelines Next Week
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hhs-plans-to-delete-20-years-of-critical-medical-guidelines-next-week?ref=home?ref=home
"The Trump Administration is planning to eliminate a vast trove of medical guidelines that for nearly 20 years has been a critical resource for doctors, researchers and others in the medical community. Maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the database is known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse [NGC], and it’s scheduled to “go dark,” in the words of an official there, on July 16. Medical guidelines like those compiled by AHRQ aren’t something laypeople spend much time thinking about, but experts like Valerie King, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Research at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University, said the NGC is perhaps the most important repository of evidence-based research available. “Guideline.gov was our go-to source, and there is nothing else like it in the world,” King said, referring to the URL at which the database is hosted, which the agency says receives about 200,000 visitors per month. “It is a singular resource,” King added."
"The Trump Administration is planning to eliminate a vast trove of medical guidelines that for nearly 20 years has been a critical resource for doctors, researchers and others in the medical community. Maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the database is known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse [NGC], and it’s scheduled to “go dark,” in the words of an official there, on July 16. Medical guidelines like those compiled by AHRQ aren’t something laypeople spend much time thinking about, but experts like Valerie King, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Research at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University, said the NGC is perhaps the most important repository of evidence-based research available. “Guideline.gov was our go-to source, and there is nothing else like it in the world,” King said, referring to the URL at which the database is hosted, which the agency says receives about 200,000 visitors per month. “It is a singular resource,” King added."
6/17/18
Trump Wants to Ditch Preexisting Condition Protections. Here Are the Times He Promised Not To.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/donald-trump-preexisting-condition-obamacare-jeff-sessions/
"The Trump administration declared Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional on Thursday"
"The Trump administration declared Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional on Thursday"
Trump’s legal attack on the ACA isn’t about health care. It’s a war on the rule of law.
https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/6/8/17442238/trump-aca-obamacare-texas-department-of-justice-rule-of-law
"The laws that Congress passes and that presidents sign are the laws of the land. They aren’t negotiable; they’re not up for further debate. If the Justice Department can just throw in the towel whenever a law is challenged in court, it can effectively pick and choose which laws should remain on the books. That’s a flagrant violation of the president’s constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."
"The laws that Congress passes and that presidents sign are the laws of the land. They aren’t negotiable; they’re not up for further debate. If the Justice Department can just throw in the towel whenever a law is challenged in court, it can effectively pick and choose which laws should remain on the books. That’s a flagrant violation of the president’s constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."
Medicare, Social Security trustees: Trump and Republicans are jeopardizing the programs
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/7/1770085/-Medicare-Social-Security-trustees-Trump-and-Republicans-are-jeopardizing-the-programs
"Undermining Medicare and Social Security was exactly what Republicans had in mind with these policies. And as for Trump's promises to protect the programs? top Trump economist Hassett refers to Trump pledge not to touch Social Security and Medicare as a "short-term" commitment to "prioritize" cutting taxes Go ahead, Republicans. Keep talking about how cutting Social Security and Medicare is one of your priorities. Make Trump break his promise. That’ll work out really well for you in November."
"Undermining Medicare and Social Security was exactly what Republicans had in mind with these policies. And as for Trump's promises to protect the programs? top Trump economist Hassett refers to Trump pledge not to touch Social Security and Medicare as a "short-term" commitment to "prioritize" cutting taxes Go ahead, Republicans. Keep talking about how cutting Social Security and Medicare is one of your priorities. Make Trump break his promise. That’ll work out really well for you in November."
No, having insurance at your job won't save you and your pre-existing condition from Trump
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/14/1771956/-No-having-insurance-at-your-job-won-t-save-you-and-your-pre-existing-condition-from-Trump
"The latest Affordable Care Act sabotage attempt from the occupier of the Oval Office takes direct aim at the protections we currently have against being prevented from getting health insurance because of our health status. Specifically, anyone with a pre-existing condition—ranging from asthma to pregnancy to acne to dodgy knees to cancer—cannot be refused coverage or have coverage priced so high it's not obtainable. That's the law, and has been since Obamacare was enacted. That's the law for everyone, not just people getting their insurance in the individual market or specifically through the Obamacare exchanges. Everyone. “Anyone who just thinks this is just impacting the 12 to 15 million individuals with individual coverage is wrong,” said Timothy Jost, an emeritus law professor at Washington and Lee University. […] “The implications aren’t nearly as big as for the individual market, but they’re real,” said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Some of these additional protections offered under the ACA were meaningful.” In supporting the specious challenge from Texas and 19 other conservative states, the Trump administration is telling the 27 percent of Americans who have some sort of pre-existing condition that we should go back to the bad old days when they could be denied coverage."
"The latest Affordable Care Act sabotage attempt from the occupier of the Oval Office takes direct aim at the protections we currently have against being prevented from getting health insurance because of our health status. Specifically, anyone with a pre-existing condition—ranging from asthma to pregnancy to acne to dodgy knees to cancer—cannot be refused coverage or have coverage priced so high it's not obtainable. That's the law, and has been since Obamacare was enacted. That's the law for everyone, not just people getting their insurance in the individual market or specifically through the Obamacare exchanges. Everyone. “Anyone who just thinks this is just impacting the 12 to 15 million individuals with individual coverage is wrong,” said Timothy Jost, an emeritus law professor at Washington and Lee University. […] “The implications aren’t nearly as big as for the individual market, but they’re real,” said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Some of these additional protections offered under the ACA were meaningful.” In supporting the specious challenge from Texas and 19 other conservative states, the Trump administration is telling the 27 percent of Americans who have some sort of pre-existing condition that we should go back to the bad old days when they could be denied coverage."
5/4/18
Health Policy Expert Says Republicans Have 'Secret' Plan to Repeal Obamacare @alternet
Health Policy Expert Says Republicans Have 'Secret' Plan to Repeal Obamacare @alternet:
"former Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum is leading a group of lawmakers and donors to push for repeal."
"former Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum is leading a group of lawmakers and donors to push for repeal."
5/2/18
A Couple Republican Elites Just Admitted Their Agenda Is Built on Lies
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/tom-price-admits-his-case-against-obamacare-was-full-of-lies.html
"In an interview with The Economist last week, Rubio confessed that the official rationale for his party’s corporate tax cut was bogus."
"In an interview with The Economist last week, Rubio confessed that the official rationale for his party’s corporate tax cut was bogus."
5/1/18
With Tax Scam Complete, GOP Caucus Unveils Insane Budget Blueprint to Attack Safety Net
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/04/26/tax-scam-complete-gop-caucus-unveils-insane-budget-blueprint-attack-safety-net
"An ultraconservative Republican House caucus on Wednesday put forth its spending plan that represents a draconian wishlist of attacks on the social safety net and consumer and environmental protections while including a plan to further enrich the wealthy by making making permanent parts of the GOP tax plan."
"An ultraconservative Republican House caucus on Wednesday put forth its spending plan that represents a draconian wishlist of attacks on the social safety net and consumer and environmental protections while including a plan to further enrich the wealthy by making making permanent parts of the GOP tax plan."
4/29/18
At a private luncheon, Senator Heller says low turnout is key to re-election, promised ACA repeal
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/5/1754685/-At-a-private-luncheon-Senator-Heller-says-low-turnout-is-key-to-re-election-promised-ACA-repeal
"Senator Dean Heller has been avoiding constituents and his staff tossed out a woman battling Stage 4 cancer when she dared to ask about his stance on the Affordable Care Act, but he sure had a lot to say on the subject at a mysteriously closed-to-the-press luncheon where he was collecting checks and making promises. The Las Vegas Review-Journal was able to get audio of Heller’s speech to the Nevada Republican Men’s Club and his comments were surprising, especially his strategy for winning in November: “We now have less than 60,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. Let me be more clear. If we can get that number below 50,000, I can’t lose,” Heller said Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to audio obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I can’t lose. Because the ratio of voter turnout in a non-presidential year — we’re in a non-presidential year — the tendency of Republicans to vote is higher than the other party.” A sitting U.S. senator is hoping people don’t participate in democracy. How can you represent a state where you are trying to discourage the majority from turning out for an election? Based on current trends in special elections, Heller’s strategy is going to be a loser. Bigly. And what about the Affordable Care Act? Senator Heller hemmed and hawed over the last year, pretending he was giving it serious consideration, but when asked about it by his fellow Republicans, he said they absolutely will repeal it if Republicans hold the majority."
"Senator Dean Heller has been avoiding constituents and his staff tossed out a woman battling Stage 4 cancer when she dared to ask about his stance on the Affordable Care Act, but he sure had a lot to say on the subject at a mysteriously closed-to-the-press luncheon where he was collecting checks and making promises. The Las Vegas Review-Journal was able to get audio of Heller’s speech to the Nevada Republican Men’s Club and his comments were surprising, especially his strategy for winning in November: “We now have less than 60,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. Let me be more clear. If we can get that number below 50,000, I can’t lose,” Heller said Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to audio obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I can’t lose. Because the ratio of voter turnout in a non-presidential year — we’re in a non-presidential year — the tendency of Republicans to vote is higher than the other party.” A sitting U.S. senator is hoping people don’t participate in democracy. How can you represent a state where you are trying to discourage the majority from turning out for an election? Based on current trends in special elections, Heller’s strategy is going to be a loser. Bigly. And what about the Affordable Care Act? Senator Heller hemmed and hawed over the last year, pretending he was giving it serious consideration, but when asked about it by his fellow Republicans, he said they absolutely will repeal it if Republicans hold the majority."
FDR warned us about charlatans like Paul Ryan, and told us exactly how they'd attack Social Security
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/3/1754064/-FDR-warned-us-about-charlatans-like-Paul-Ryan-and-told-us-exactly-how-they-d-attack-Social-Security
"Republicans passed a tax-scam bill last year which creates a $1.3 Trillion deficit in order to give their mega-donors and favored special interests special benefits. As a reward for their most loyal employee, the Koch brothers deposited $500,000 into Paul Ryan’s JFC right after the bill passed. Weeks after taking $1.3 Trillion from ordinary Americans and handing it to his billionaire paymasters, Ryan was “concerned” about the national debt and deficit again. Naturally, he believes this will require “reforms” to Social Security and Medicare, programs that benefit ordinary Americans. And by ordinary, I mean those of us who cannot deposit $500k in his campaign account."
"Republicans passed a tax-scam bill last year which creates a $1.3 Trillion deficit in order to give their mega-donors and favored special interests special benefits. As a reward for their most loyal employee, the Koch brothers deposited $500,000 into Paul Ryan’s JFC right after the bill passed. Weeks after taking $1.3 Trillion from ordinary Americans and handing it to his billionaire paymasters, Ryan was “concerned” about the national debt and deficit again. Naturally, he believes this will require “reforms” to Social Security and Medicare, programs that benefit ordinary Americans. And by ordinary, I mean those of us who cannot deposit $500k in his campaign account."
3/24/18
Pennsylvania voters say the GOP’s health care antics cost Saccone their vote
https://thinkprogress.org/pennsylvania-voters-say-health-care-is-top-priority-704c7fcf0783/
"Election night exit polling by Public Policy Polling found that among PA-18 voters who said health care was the most important issue, Democrat Conor Lamb beat Republican Rick Saccone by a margin of 64 to 36. Saccone’s support of the Republican health care agenda — namely, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — made 41 percent of voters less likely to vote for him. Fifty-three percent of voters disapproved of GOP efforts to repeal the health care law and 48 percent believed Republicans are trying to sabotage the law since they failed to repeal it. These numbers are all the more surprising given the fact that PA-18 is a Republican district that gave Donald Trump a 20-point victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. But as Forbes’ Bruce Japsen previously reported, health care is especially important in Western Pennsylvania. Although health care premiums have risen (a rise which officials in Pennsylvania attribute to Trump’s “refusal to make cost-sharing reduction payments for 2018”), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) — the region’s largest non-governmental employer — has grown substantially under the ACA. Pennsylvanians — namely, those living in rural areas — have also benefited from the state’s Medicaid expansion under the ACA, which went into effect in 2015 and has been touted by health experts as means of addressing the state’s opioid crisis. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) declared the epidemic a statewide disaster emergency earlier this year. While Lamb has acknowledged that Obamacare has its flaws, he ran his campaign on fixing and building upon the law, rather than repealing it. If Medicaid expansion were repealed, approximately 585,000 Pennsylvanians would lose health coverage."
"Election night exit polling by Public Policy Polling found that among PA-18 voters who said health care was the most important issue, Democrat Conor Lamb beat Republican Rick Saccone by a margin of 64 to 36. Saccone’s support of the Republican health care agenda — namely, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — made 41 percent of voters less likely to vote for him. Fifty-three percent of voters disapproved of GOP efforts to repeal the health care law and 48 percent believed Republicans are trying to sabotage the law since they failed to repeal it. These numbers are all the more surprising given the fact that PA-18 is a Republican district that gave Donald Trump a 20-point victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. But as Forbes’ Bruce Japsen previously reported, health care is especially important in Western Pennsylvania. Although health care premiums have risen (a rise which officials in Pennsylvania attribute to Trump’s “refusal to make cost-sharing reduction payments for 2018”), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) — the region’s largest non-governmental employer — has grown substantially under the ACA. Pennsylvanians — namely, those living in rural areas — have also benefited from the state’s Medicaid expansion under the ACA, which went into effect in 2015 and has been touted by health experts as means of addressing the state’s opioid crisis. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) declared the epidemic a statewide disaster emergency earlier this year. While Lamb has acknowledged that Obamacare has its flaws, he ran his campaign on fixing and building upon the law, rather than repealing it. If Medicaid expansion were repealed, approximately 585,000 Pennsylvanians would lose health coverage."
More than one-half of births in rural America are covered by Medicaid
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/12/1748454/-More-than-half-of-births-in-rural-America-are-covered-by-Medicaid
"If Republicans succeed in slashing Medicaid, they'll succeed in doing away with maternity care in much of rural America. Even now, about 45 percent of rural hospitals don’t have maternity care, with almost 1 in 10 rural counties losing hospital-based obstetrics programs between 2004 and 2014. "When rural hospitals are squeezed, they have to look at what fixed costs they can shed," Katy Kozhimannil, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health told KHN. She continued, "The fixed costs of providing obstetrics services are very clear, and very distinct." Obstetrics is expensive. And supposedly “pro-life” Republicans want to make childbirth not just more common, but more dangerous and more expensive by cutting Medicaid even further."
"If Republicans succeed in slashing Medicaid, they'll succeed in doing away with maternity care in much of rural America. Even now, about 45 percent of rural hospitals don’t have maternity care, with almost 1 in 10 rural counties losing hospital-based obstetrics programs between 2004 and 2014. "When rural hospitals are squeezed, they have to look at what fixed costs they can shed," Katy Kozhimannil, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health told KHN. She continued, "The fixed costs of providing obstetrics services are very clear, and very distinct." Obstetrics is expensive. And supposedly “pro-life” Republicans want to make childbirth not just more common, but more dangerous and more expensive by cutting Medicaid even further."
2/10/18
Bypassing Major Networks, 1.6 Million Tune In for Sanders 'Medicare for All' Town Hall
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/01/24/bypassing-major-networks-16-million-tune-sanders-medicare-all-town-hall
"Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) town hall on Medicare for All drew more than one million online viewers in addition to the hundreds of attendees who packed an auditorium at the U.S. Capitol to capacity. Speaking with multiple panels featuring single-payer healthcare advocates and experts—including Dr. Don Berwick, who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid under President Barack Obama—Sanders moderated a nearly two-hour discussion about the failures of the current U.S. healthcare system and how its costs and outcomes compare to those in countries with universal healthcare."
"Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) town hall on Medicare for All drew more than one million online viewers in addition to the hundreds of attendees who packed an auditorium at the U.S. Capitol to capacity. Speaking with multiple panels featuring single-payer healthcare advocates and experts—including Dr. Don Berwick, who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid under President Barack Obama—Sanders moderated a nearly two-hour discussion about the failures of the current U.S. healthcare system and how its costs and outcomes compare to those in countries with universal healthcare."
1/7/18
Trumpian Philosophy: Any Regulation Is Bad, Even If It Protects Sick Old People
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a14504814/trump-nursing-home-regulations/
"Wednesday’s example comes to us from The New York Times, and isn’t this decision going to be a lovely one when they come for Medicare because of the “unexpected” explosion of the deficit due to the abomination of a tax bill they just passed. The Trump administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury, part of a broader relaxation of regulations under the president. The shift in the Medicare program’s penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry. The American Health Care Association, the industry’s main trade group, has complained that under President Barack Obama, federal inspectors focused excessively on catching wrongdoing rather than helping nursing homes improve. That last sentence is a real keeper, isn’t it? If you keep punishing us for our substandard practices, we won’t be able to improve our substandard practices. Punishment for breaking laws is a hindrance to our abiding by them. Thousands of criminal defense lawyers are wondering why they didn’t think of that one first."
"Wednesday’s example comes to us from The New York Times, and isn’t this decision going to be a lovely one when they come for Medicare because of the “unexpected” explosion of the deficit due to the abomination of a tax bill they just passed. The Trump administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury, part of a broader relaxation of regulations under the president. The shift in the Medicare program’s penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry. The American Health Care Association, the industry’s main trade group, has complained that under President Barack Obama, federal inspectors focused excessively on catching wrongdoing rather than helping nursing homes improve. That last sentence is a real keeper, isn’t it? If you keep punishing us for our substandard practices, we won’t be able to improve our substandard practices. Punishment for breaking laws is a hindrance to our abiding by them. Thousands of criminal defense lawyers are wondering why they didn’t think of that one first."
Intolerable cruelty: Kansas Medicaid leaves elderly to die without care
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/22/1726888/-Intolerable-cruelty-Kansas-Medicaid-leaves-elderly-to-die-without-care
"Governor Brownback, a man who considers himself someone of significant faith, working to transition to the position of Ambassador to Religious Freedom, may need to learn a few things from the book he professes. The Kansas City Star revealed that the policy in Kansas has left many families struggling to figure out care for their loved ones."
"Governor Brownback, a man who considers himself someone of significant faith, working to transition to the position of Ambassador to Religious Freedom, may need to learn a few things from the book he professes. The Kansas City Star revealed that the policy in Kansas has left many families struggling to figure out care for their loved ones."
8.8 million people signed up for Obamacare coverage despite Trump’s sabotage
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/21/16807348/obamacare-enrollment-2018
"About 8.8 million Americans enrolled in health coverage through Healthcare.gov, the Trump administration announced Thursday, a slight dip from last year after the Trump administration cut spending and outreach but far from a dramatic drop. Last year, about 9.2 million people signed up through Healthcare.gov, which serves more than 30 states. A dozen states run their own marketplaces and several of those states have not yet closed their open enrollment."
"About 8.8 million Americans enrolled in health coverage through Healthcare.gov, the Trump administration announced Thursday, a slight dip from last year after the Trump administration cut spending and outreach but far from a dramatic drop. Last year, about 9.2 million people signed up through Healthcare.gov, which serves more than 30 states. A dozen states run their own marketplaces and several of those states have not yet closed their open enrollment."
12/21/17
The 10 Step Scheme for One-Sided Class War
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/12/20/10-step-scheme-one-sided-class-war
"1. Scream about the debt and deficit. 2. Shrink revenue by slashing taxes for the already palatial elite. Summarily dismiss all concerns about the debt and deficit, because, well, the debt and deficit don't really matter. Plus, tax cuts for the rich grow the economy anyway. Or maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters is that one render unto the power elite the things that are the power elite's; everybody else can go to hell. 3. Scream about the debt and deficit. 4. Savagely gut Social Security and Medicare, because obviously the debt and deficit. Turns out the debt and deficit do matter. And to get the debt and deficit under control after slashing taxes on the rich will require nothing less than shared sacrifice from all Americans. But not really all Americans. The persecuted John Galts of the world have shouldered the burden of sacrifice long enough. Time, then, for all those particularly shiftless souls lacking the creativity and work ethic of the ruling class to sacrifice. Time for these ungrateful hordes to genuflect at the altar of capital and empty their pockets in tribute."
"1. Scream about the debt and deficit. 2. Shrink revenue by slashing taxes for the already palatial elite. Summarily dismiss all concerns about the debt and deficit, because, well, the debt and deficit don't really matter. Plus, tax cuts for the rich grow the economy anyway. Or maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters is that one render unto the power elite the things that are the power elite's; everybody else can go to hell. 3. Scream about the debt and deficit. 4. Savagely gut Social Security and Medicare, because obviously the debt and deficit. Turns out the debt and deficit do matter. And to get the debt and deficit under control after slashing taxes on the rich will require nothing less than shared sacrifice from all Americans. But not really all Americans. The persecuted John Galts of the world have shouldered the burden of sacrifice long enough. Time, then, for all those particularly shiftless souls lacking the creativity and work ethic of the ruling class to sacrifice. Time for these ungrateful hordes to genuflect at the altar of capital and empty their pockets in tribute."
12/17/17
The Republican Long Game
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/12/09/republican-long-game
"with Donald Trump in charge, Republicans feel no need to conceal. They have been emboldened, I think, to show their true selves because they feel Trump has their back with his supporters—and as long as they have that army behind them, they are willing to take the risk of promoting a “reform” nearly everyone else hates. Those aggrieved white men who form the bulk of rank-and-file Republicanism don’t care if they have to pay more taxes. They don’t care if their health insurance premiums soar. They don’t care if their children can’t afford to go to college. Surveys show that they are more devoted to Trump than to their own welfare, and they will follow Trump wherever he leads, even if he leads them to financial disaster. He voices their hatreds, and hatred trumps policy. Such is modern Republicanism."
"with Donald Trump in charge, Republicans feel no need to conceal. They have been emboldened, I think, to show their true selves because they feel Trump has their back with his supporters—and as long as they have that army behind them, they are willing to take the risk of promoting a “reform” nearly everyone else hates. Those aggrieved white men who form the bulk of rank-and-file Republicanism don’t care if they have to pay more taxes. They don’t care if their health insurance premiums soar. They don’t care if their children can’t afford to go to college. Surveys show that they are more devoted to Trump than to their own welfare, and they will follow Trump wherever he leads, even if he leads them to financial disaster. He voices their hatreds, and hatred trumps policy. Such is modern Republicanism."
People with rare diseases join cancer patients on the list of those screwed by Republican tax plan
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/8/1722529/-People-with-rare-diseases-join-cancer-patients-on-the-list-of-those-screwed-by-Republican-tax-plan
"It’s starting to look like it would be a very bad idea to get sick, in any serious way, if the Republican tax plan becomes law. Ending cancer treatments for Medicare patients and partial Obamacare repeal aren’t the only ways the bill takes serious aim at health care. The tax bill could also cause problems for people with rare diseases"
"It’s starting to look like it would be a very bad idea to get sick, in any serious way, if the Republican tax plan becomes law. Ending cancer treatments for Medicare patients and partial Obamacare repeal aren’t the only ways the bill takes serious aim at health care. The tax bill could also cause problems for people with rare diseases"
12/16/17
'You Can Save My Life': Traveling on Same Plane, Man With ALS Confronts Sen. Flake Over GOP Tax Bill
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/08/you-can-save-my-life-traveling-same-plane-man-als-confronts-sen-flake-over-gop-tax
"Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) boarded a plane leaving Washington, D.C. on Thursday, less than a week after voting for a tax bill that could result in devastating cuts to disability programs."
"Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) boarded a plane leaving Washington, D.C. on Thursday, less than a week after voting for a tax bill that could result in devastating cuts to disability programs."
GOP Budgets, Statements Make Plans Clear: Costly Tax Cuts for Wealthy Now, Program Cuts Later
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/12/05/gop-budgets-statements-make-plans-clear-costly-tax-cuts-wealthy-now-program-cuts
"The Senate bill raises taxes on millions of low- and middle-income households and raises the number of Americans without health insurance by an estimated 13 million."
"The Senate bill raises taxes on millions of low- and middle-income households and raises the number of Americans without health insurance by an estimated 13 million."
Paul Ryan's winning 2018 idea: Cut Medicare and Medicaid after giving $1.5 trillion away to the rich
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/6/1721831/-Paul-Ryan-s-winning-2018-idea-Cut-Medicare-and-Medicaid-after-giving-1-5-trillion-away-to-the-rich
"Noted sociopath and House Speaker Paul Ryan hasn't even gotten the odious tax bill—a massive redistribution of wealth from the bottom-up—in final form and passed. But he's already making good on the Republican promise to use the gaping hole it blows in the nation's deficit to start in with the granny-starving again. "We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit," Ryan said during an appearance on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show. "... Frankly, it's the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements -- because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking." Ryan said that he believes he has begun convincing President Donald Trump in their private conversations about the need to rein in Medicare, the federal health program that primarily insures the elderly. As a candidate, Trump vowed not to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. (Ryan also suggested congressional Republicans were unlikely to try changing Social Security, because the rules of the Senate forbid changes to the program through reconciliation—the procedure the Senate can use to pass legislation with only 50 votes.)"
"Noted sociopath and House Speaker Paul Ryan hasn't even gotten the odious tax bill—a massive redistribution of wealth from the bottom-up—in final form and passed. But he's already making good on the Republican promise to use the gaping hole it blows in the nation's deficit to start in with the granny-starving again. "We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit," Ryan said during an appearance on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show. "... Frankly, it's the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements -- because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking." Ryan said that he believes he has begun convincing President Donald Trump in their private conversations about the need to rein in Medicare, the federal health program that primarily insures the elderly. As a candidate, Trump vowed not to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. (Ryan also suggested congressional Republicans were unlikely to try changing Social Security, because the rules of the Senate forbid changes to the program through reconciliation—the procedure the Senate can use to pass legislation with only 50 votes.)"
Paul Ryan admits the GOP will gut Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts
https://thinkprogress.org/paul-ryan-tax-cuts-medicare-medicaid-f87d810ad5b9/
"Republicans in Congress are openly admitting they plan to use their tax reform bill to justify slashing funding for essential social programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps. The bill — which is expected to balloon the national deficit by at least $1 trillion, and which only benefits the country’s wealthiest in the long-term — has not yet been reconciled or signed. But Republicans aren’t wasting any time laying out what they see as the next step."
"Republicans in Congress are openly admitting they plan to use their tax reform bill to justify slashing funding for essential social programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps. The bill — which is expected to balloon the national deficit by at least $1 trillion, and which only benefits the country’s wealthiest in the long-term — has not yet been reconciled or signed. But Republicans aren’t wasting any time laying out what they see as the next step."
12/14/17
The Right Is Attempting to Roll Back the 20th Century @alternet
The Right Is Attempting to Roll Back the 20th Century @alternet:
"This legislation is more than a grotesque effort to take money from the poor and working class and give it to the very richest Americans and corporations. In reality, it is an effort to wholly remake American society by undoing the social progress of the New Deal, the Great Society and the civil rights movement."
"This legislation is more than a grotesque effort to take money from the poor and working class and give it to the very richest Americans and corporations. In reality, it is an effort to wholly remake American society by undoing the social progress of the New Deal, the Great Society and the civil rights movement."
12/6/17
Disastrous Republican Tax Plan Is Only the First Step in Long-Term Effort to Cut Social Security and Medicare, Exacerbating Inequality @alternet
Disastrous Republican Tax Plan Is Only the First Step in Long-Term Effort to Cut Social Security and Medicare, Exacerbating Inequality @alternet:
"If all the Republicans were doing was lining the pockets of the already rich, that would be bad enough—pick your adjective. But that’s not the endgame. Before the Senate voted, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a past presidential candidate, said the Republicans must make additional cuts to Social Security and Medicare, both federal programs for those over age 65 as well as people with disabilities and parentless children (such as Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan as a youth)."
"If all the Republicans were doing was lining the pockets of the already rich, that would be bad enough—pick your adjective. But that’s not the endgame. Before the Senate voted, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a past presidential candidate, said the Republicans must make additional cuts to Social Security and Medicare, both federal programs for those over age 65 as well as people with disabilities and parentless children (such as Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan as a youth)."
On taxes, what in the world was Susan Collins thinking?
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/taxes-what-the-world-was-susan-collins-thinking
"Collins recognizes the fact that her party’s tax plan is slated to end health care coverage for 13 million Americans and cut Medicare by tens of billions of dollars, but she voted for the legislation anyway because Republican leaders said they’ll soon take up other bills that should help prevent too much damage. And so, Susan Collins was comfortable making the gamble. What’s wrong with that? A few things, actually."
"Collins recognizes the fact that her party’s tax plan is slated to end health care coverage for 13 million Americans and cut Medicare by tens of billions of dollars, but she voted for the legislation anyway because Republican leaders said they’ll soon take up other bills that should help prevent too much damage. And so, Susan Collins was comfortable making the gamble. What’s wrong with that? A few things, actually."
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