The GOP and Health Care
Everyone that reads Delaware Liberal can probably agree that health insurance is a huge strain on Americans, businesses (big and small) and the government. For instance, according to the New York Times, small businesses are looking forward to a sharp increase in health insurance costs.
Insurance brokers and benefits consultants say their small business clients are seeing premiums go up an average of about 15 percent for the coming year — double the rate of last year’s increases. That would mean an annual premium that was $4,500 per employee in 2008 and $4,800 this year would rise to $5,500 in 2010.
The 1950s to 1970s Republican Party was the party of small business, but yet, in this health care debate, I see the Republican Party of today has consistently sided with the health care industry and consequently saying no to their base of small businesses. The GOP has shown their hand several times in health care reform — 1992, the years they were in control of the government and today — that they are fine with the system the way it is. Will these small business owners ever realize that the GOP is not concerned with them anymore?
(Note, you can’t say that the Republican Party is the party of small government when under Reagan and Bush II, the government grew and grew).
Since Ronald Reagan, only one president has cut the size of government when they were in office. BILL CLINTON.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlyvxSYTn1Q
For all his talk, Reagan grew the government.
A simplew way to take some of the complexity out of the health care debate is this undisputable fact, our health care system only worked when the majority of employeers were WILLING to pay for it, that,s no longer the case, and a survey of businesses shows 40% are planning to either cut back or cancel entirely there employee coverage, absolutly no one said they were looking to ad or increase coverage. I have spent an enormous amount of time researchin or health care system, if this seems too simplistic I would be more that happy to pursue any avenue of information you would be interested in. To know this system is too know it must be changed.
Link? Not that I doubt the figure 15% to 20% increases every year for the past 10 years really add up. Putting my businessman hat on for a second I can tell you that those relentless increases have forced us to experiment with a high deductible/low premium system this year.
Heath care reform can’t come soon enough for our small business.
I don’t know who the economy can sustain the huge increases in health care premiums every year. It just keeps growing and growing way faster than the rate of inflation. How much longer do the status quo defenders think we should wait? Until less than half of the country can’t get employer-based insurance?
It is odd that as upset as wingnuts get about taxes, they don’t view the annual 15-20% increase in health insurance premiums as a kind of tax. I guess because the money goes to enriching insurance company executives and certain Delaware Senators instead of public services, it is a tax that they don’t mind paying.
Good point Jason. I just wonder at all these rank and file teabaggers who fight against health care reform. Do they not see premium increases and coverage decreases or are they just too brainwashed to care about that?
Good point Jason. I just wonder at all these rank and file teabaggers who fight against health care reform. Do they not see premium increases and coverage decreases or are they just too brainwashed to care about that?
If I told my wife I was going to a rally to try to stop the government from helping with our health care costs, she would probably hit me with a frying pan.
Teabaggers semm to disproportionately include people for whom health care costs are not a big factor in their lives:
Young single people
Retirees (the current crop of retirees is enjoying Medicare, Social Security, plus private pensions)
Stay-at-home spouses of well paid partners
Spouses of public employees
The sad reality is none of the Dem plans control costs in any way other than massively cutting Medicare. Each plan requires new fees and taxes which is unfriendly to small businesses. The GOP can’t go along with the Dem plans.
Wages are suppressed in order to pay for health care and Tea Party folks do not support tax increases as the TEA acronym stands for Tax Enough Already. So, the economy can indeed sustain health care premium increases, wages will suffer.
Bill Clinton cut the DOD by a huge amount, he did not cut government.
http://www.govexec.com/features/0199/0199s1.htm
Mike Protack
Bill Clinton cut the DOD by a huge amount, he did not cut government.
Delusional Protack thinks DOD is not government.