Obama's core principle has been to carry further and protect the erosion of public services that was begun by Reagan, Clinton, & Bush. It would have been in sharp contradiction to his principles to have offered a public option. It might even have undercut his whole program, the heart of which is the attack on public schools -- as the prime public service that has been basic u.s. policy for well over a century.
He is a man of principle and great political courage. He will not flinch in his attack on the working class. Carrol -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:47 AM To: Pen-l Subject: Re: [Pen-l] the SCOTUS health care decision By Ditching the Public Option, Obama Gave His Enemies a Path to the Supreme Court By Matthew Rothschild, March 27, 2012 [the PROGRESSIVE: http://www.progressive.org/ditching_public_option_obama_gave_enemies_path_to _supreme_court.html .] The sad thing about the rightwing Supreme Court challenge to President Obama's health care policy is that it was totally avoidable. It would have been impossible if Obama had offered a robust public option, like "Medicare for All Who Want It." Rather than forcing people to buy private insurance largely from the companies who've been ripping us off every step of the way, Obama could have and should have given people a choice. If you want to keep your private health insurance provider, fine. But if you want the government, in essence, to be your insurer, then join the Medicare program. This option the Supreme Court couldn't invalidate unless it threw out the entire Medicare system, which has stood for 47 years. My bet is that everyone but the most drunken devotee of Ayn Rand would have leapt at the Medicare for All option. Why? Because most people on Medicare are very happy about the coverage and grateful for the program. Just ask someone who's on it. It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than the private insurance market offers you. And the administrative costs aren't bloated because huge amounts of money aren't wasted on CEO salaries and glossy ad budgets. Unfortunately, Obama failed to present the option of Medicare for All Who Want It. Instead, he bought in-and told everyone else under 65 who is not disabled to buy in-to the private insurance model. And that's the core of his problem today at the Supreme Court. [of course, if Obama had proposed "Medicare for all who want it," not only would the insurance companies have gone ape-shit, but his inner technocrat/compromiser would have revolted.] -- Jim Devine / "In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." -- Paul Dirac _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
