Governor Perry and the Miracle Jobs

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"Sure, Perry has created thousands of jobs....I'm working three of them."
— joke currently circulating in Texas


Which, my gentle snowflakes, leads to a thought--always a dangerous thing.

While it is true, that since the beginning of 2008 Texas has added about 75,000 jobs, it does NOT follow that 75,000 more Texans are employed now than in 2008.

There may be, as the joke suggests, simply many more minimum-wage, part-time jobs being held by not that many more people. Each worker having 2 or 3 or more "jobs." No one of which would allow that worker to provide shelter and food and a modicum of comfort for her (or him) self and family.

That's what makes it a good joke: a tight, hard kernel of bitter truth.

So, when Governor Perry suggests he can do the same thing for the whole country, are we sure that is what we want? A country of sub-par, minimum-wage (or less), part-time jobs with little or no benefits, little or no worker protections, perhaps even "off the books" so that these jobs do not even accrue Social Security earnings for the employee? A country of economic serfs?

Just saying.
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HR 3962 As Passed

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I was going to get on my soap box and rant about HR 3962 as it passed the House on Saturday night. But I was having a great deal of trouble being even marginally coherent. Then I read this by Rep. Dennis Kucinich. 'Bout it in a nutshell. (All emphasis is mine.) So, just in case you missed it, for your reading pleasure, Rep Kucinich will explain--succinctly.

We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem. When health insurance companies deny care or raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles they are simply trying to make a profit. That is our system.

Clearly, the insurance companies are the problem, not the solution. They are driving up the cost of health care. Because their massive bureaucracy avoids paying bills so effectively, they force hospitals and doctors to hire their own bureaucracy to fight the insurance companies to avoid getting stuck with an unfair share of the bills. The result is that since 1970, the number of physicians has increased by less than 200% while the number of administrators has increased by 3000%. It is no wonder that 31 cents of every health care dollar goes to administrative costs, not toward providing care. Even those with insurance are at risk. The single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the U.S. is health insurance policies that do not cover you when you get sick.

But instead of working toward the elimination of for-profit insurance, H.R. 3962 would put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care. In H.R. 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very industry that causes costs to be so high, which will result in at least $70 billion in new annual revenue, much of which is coming from taxpayers. This inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies—a bailout under a blue cross.

By incurring only a new requirement to cover pre-existing conditions, a weakened public option, and a few other important but limited concessions, the health insurance companies are getting quite a deal. The Center for American Progress’ blog, Think Progress, states, “since the President signaled that he is backing away from the public option, health insurance stocks have been on the rise.” Similarly, healthcare stocks rallied when Senator Max Baucus introduced a bill without a public option. Bloomberg reports that Curtis Lane, a prominent health industry investor, predicted a few weeks ago that “money will start flowing in again” to health insurance stocks after passage of the legislation. Investors.com last month reported that pharmacy benefit managers share prices are hitting all-time highs, with the only industry worry that the Administration would reverse its decision not to negotiate Medicare Part D drug prices, leaving in place a Bush Administration policy.

During the debate, when the interests of insurance companies would have been effectively challenged, that challenge was turned back. The “robust public option” which would have offered a modicum of competition to a monopolistic industry was whittled down from an initial potential enrollment of 129 million Americans to 6 million. An amendment which would have protected the rights of states to pursue single-payer health care was stripped from the bill at the request of the Administration. Looking ahead, we cringe at the prospect of even greater favors for insurance companies.

Recent rises in unemployment indicate a widening separation between the finance economy and the real economy. The finance economy considers the health of Wall Street, rising corporate profits, and banks’ hoarding of cash, much of it from taxpayers, as sign of an economic recovery. However in the real economy—in which most Americans live—the recession is not over. Rising unemployment, business failures, bankruptcies and foreclosures are still hammering Main Street.

This health care bill continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America’s manufacturing and service economies which suffer from costs other countries do not have to bear, especially the cost of health care. America continues to stand out among all industrialized nations for its privatized health care system. As a result, we are less competitive in steel, automotive, aerospace and shipping while other countries subsidize their exports in these areas through socializing the cost of health care.

Notwithstanding the fate of H.R. 3962, America will someday come to recognize the broad social and economic benefits of a not-for-profit, single-payer health care system, which is good for the American people and good for America’s businesses, with of course the notable exceptions being insurance and pharmaceuticals.

Medicare for All

Single payer is really the only way to go. Let's all hope that after the Senate works their "magic" and the reconciliation committee weaves the 2 bills together, we get a better bill than this gift to the health insurance lobby. I am really beginning to think ugly words.

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What is going on?

I have been told I must stop assaulting my friends with my vague and wondering thoughts on various things I read. I must put them in this thing called a "link blog." Then those who wish to go with me on my ramblings can do so at their will & not mine. And, if they really want to know what I am thinking, they can subscribe and get "me" in their email inboxes. (This feature is under construction, but look for it later.)

Actually, Becky just wants me to blog .........


> I can try to forgive John McCain for some of his most dispicable campaign rhetoric. But, I don't think I'll ever forgive him for inflicting Palin on us. And now, she is schedulted for a $7 million book deal? For what? So next time she runs for National office, she will be rich enough to buy her own clothes?!? Well, actually that would be a blessing--the buying her own clothes, not the running for National office.


> Phyllis Schafly offers an article (?) describing her take of why the Repugs lost the election. I guess it is nice to know they don't abandon their cherished beliefs just because they are wrong. If you read it, keep your extinguisher handy for when your hair sets afire! Oh, and be sure to read the comments; they are very inspiring.

Schafly says (& they still let her out and about?):

• The women who cast off husbands look to Big Brother Government to support them. They vote for the party that promises more benefits from the Welfare State.
• The feminists have carried on a 40-year campaign to destroy marriage. ... In the 1970s, the feminists achieved unilateral divorce on demand from state legislatures, unilateral abortion on demand from the courts, and unilateral control over children in the welfare class by taxpayer handouts to women that made husbands and fathers unnecessary.
• The feminists have continued their campaign against marriage through ... the Violence Against Women Act which provides a billion dollars a year to feminist centers to promote divorce and oppose reconciliation. The act is based on [the] feminist ideology that women are naturally victims entitled to tax-paid legal and financial assistance, while men are naturally batterers who are not entitled even to due process protection.
  

Poor Phyllis; it must be very confusing to be a woman and a misogynist.


> NO, NO, NO. This is the wrong job for Hillary. She should be Obama's 1st appointment to the Supreme Court! This gives her as long as she wants to make a BIG difference in the things she holds most important. We can only hope if she takes Sec of State, she will resign when the next opening comes up on the Court.