I'm sick of hearing about how we're going to pay for healthcare.

[Joe Fields]

These sanctimonius professional liars, who call themselves politicians, you know, the Liebermans, Grassleys, Landreaux, et al, get on television and radio, acting so goddamned concerned about how the government can afford to pay for any healthcare legislation. They are so transparent it's truly pathetic. They have taken so much money from the lobbyists, the only grounds that they can offer any resistance is through "fiscal responsibility." It's a laugh. How can we afford such sweeping changes to the healthcare (insurance) industry. We must not be cavalier with the taxpayers money.

Well, Mr. Lieberman, I didn't see you being too concerned about spending taxpayer money, when your state received 134 million dollars in pork last year.

Same goes for you, Mr. Grassley, when your state received 184.6 million dollars in taxpayer funded pork for your state.

And Ms. Landreax, I mean, really, 291 million dollars of U.S. taxpayer funded pork for your state?

Over 10.1 billion dollars of our money fed the pigpens of every state. That's nothing to sneeze at.


Maybe you people should worry more about where our money goes the next time a spending bill, any bill is laden with earmarks.


Oh, and one more thing, you may want to start cutting costs at the Pentagon, to help pay for Universal healthcare.

Seeing as how the "official" DOD budget is roughly 600 billion dollars, which is 21% of our total budget. But let's not stop there. Our REAL budget for DOD this year is 1.1 trillion dollars, taking into consideration non DOD expenditures, what with all the war stuff and outsourcing, and all. Don't you think that budget might be just a little bit bloated, seeing as how it makes up between 35 and 42% of estimated tax revenues?

Especially when you consider that the Pentagon just loves to purchase weapons systems from cozy defense contractors, who haven't even invented the technology, in some cases, for the weapons systems that they sold the DOD. And then there are the infamous "cost overruns" which are a way of life to defense contractors. It's nothing for contractors to win a bid for a project or some type of system, only to routinely increase the cost by 200%, and then naturally, the pentagon pays it. We (the DOD) are still purchasing weapons systems for Cold War enemies that no longer exist.

Let's face it, leaders, 42% of estimated tax revenue for defense alone takes a whole lot of air out of the room. Repeat after me, "
there is no sin in slashing a bloated pentagon budget..."

So, guys and gals, you want to know where the money is? It's there. Oh, yeah, it's there.

[eleny]

1. Recommended

Too bad the trolls are already awake and busy unrec'ing.

[AndyA]

2. Paying for two wars wasn't that big a deal.

Scraping together funds for Wall Street happened pretty fast.

Buying $400/gallon gas in Afghanistan doesn't seem to be a biggie.

Yet doing something that will stop the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans? Well, slow down there, we gotta find a way to pay for that...and we gotta think of the insurance companies...and...

There's always an excuse to not do something that's good for the people who pay the bills in this country. And for that reason alone, we need new people in Congress. It's pathetic. THEY ARE PATHETIC.

[Zoeisright]

3. No kidding.

These 'arguments' miss the point that we're ALREADY paying far too much for health 'care' and change is needed just to stop the costs from astronomically escalating.

Plus, it pisses me off that spending money to kill people is A-OK with too many nimrods, but spending money to save people is bad.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Can you IMAGINE what great healthcare everyone could get if the DOD budget was used to cover it??

[Kansas Wyatt]

10. We would all have hospitals that looked like luxury resorts.

Hell, we would probably even get a cash allowance for having a health problem.

[Not Me]

5. I am too...

After Iraq and Afghanistan, I don't want to hear, "We don't have the money."
You find the money for those things you want to fund.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. money should be there for people's health

I'm sure that the rich CEOs can club together and fund healthcare

[flyarm]

12. Four Major bailed out US banks finance cluster bombs with taxpayers money

b]Four Major bailed out US banks finance cluster bombs with taxpayers money


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

***A Big Thank you to DU member Ichingcarpenter for bringing this to my attention!


The top five loan providers were Bank of America , Citigroup , JP Morgan , Barclays and Goldman Sachs !!

Top banks fund cluster bombs as ban nears -
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Leading banks have funded cluster bomb-makers to the tune of $5 billion in the past two years despite an international accord to ban the weapons, a study said on Thursday.

The top five loan providers were Bank of America , Citigroup , JP Morgan , Barclays and Goldman Sachs , the study said on Thursday.
The researchers used publicly available information, such as that supplied by stock exchanges and financial databases, to produce their study.

Bank of America and JP Morgan declined to comment while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also had no immediate comment.

Nations agreed to outlaw cluster bombs in May 2008. The resulting convention will come into force when 30 countries have ratified it -- 23 have already done so. Neither the United States nor Britain, where the top five loan providers are based, have yet ratified the treaty.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions includes a ban on assisting anyone to make the bombs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

now why does this not surprise me?? and what group here has many in this current administration??

oh yeah Goldman Sach's..

but the banks can't laon money for Americans to re-mortgage, or small businesses to get loans to keep their business going therefore 6 million sit in this country out of work..and there is no money for real health care reform..

but there is lots of money for more fucking bombs!

how many nukes do we have? How many cluster bombs do we have and need more????????/

I guess it is just aok to kill..but fuck those who want to live with good health care!

[damntexdem]

7. The only thing worse than hearing about how we're going to pay for healthcare is ...

actually HAVING to pay for healthcare. That's why we need strong reform with a robust PO.

[timeforpeace]

8. No shit. Print the money and let's get this done.

[Greyhound]

9. And who is pointing out that we are already paying for what should be

the greatest health care system in the world but receiving care on a par with many "third-world" nations.

We spend more in actual dollars, more per person, and a greater portion of GDP. Any way you look at it, the parasites are bleeding us to death, but we have to pay even more to get a crumb.

[Joe Fields]

11. well said...

[eridani]

13. We are ALREADY PAYING for universal health care

We just aren't GETTING it.

[bikingaz]

14. I'm with you but let's can all of Congress and we save billions

first we save on their salaries and their non-stop perks
second we save on the salaries for the aides, chauffeurs, secretaries, etc.
third we save on lobbists fees - should translate to cheaper products
fourth we save on the bad laws and pork that these bozos pass

we win all around

[TexasObserver]

15. Recommend

[Kablooie]

16. You'd better NOT be sick of it or you will have to pay more doctor bills to cure yourself.

[tomp]

17. the real problem with how paying for health care is portrayed...

...is that we, as a nation, ALREADY pay more than is needed to provide decent health care... and we don't even get it.

obama has publicly stated this fact. it ought not be in dispute.

other countries do better with less money.

we need to take the money we're already spending and redistribute it so that decent health care is available for all.

it should cost less than we're already paying.

the "cost" of health care in this debate is a canard.

the cost to insurance companies of an equitable system is the real issue.

[Ganja Ninja]

18. I've probably been spending an average of $2000 a year since 2005

over and above my premiums. Every time I get an x-ray or cat scan I get a bill for about 2/3rds of the total cost. And if the radiologist isn't in network (and he usually isn't) I pay the whole bill (around $500 + ) for his services out of my pocket.

[NanceGreggs]

19. Excellent!!!

& REC'D!!!

[Deep13]

20. Estates and trusts are untaxed...

...and capital gains are still taxed at an artificially low rate. And the Bush tax cuts are still in effect.

In addition to the OP's suggestions, raise taxes. Two wars and an economic crisis will justify it in most people's minds.

Also, it's pretty expensive to have the highest incarceration rate on Earth. Just sayin'.

[Joe Fields]

23. I wholeheartedly agree! A suggestion that you bring to mind, is

the benefit of legalizing marijuana. A good percentage of the tax levied on the sale of government controlled grass could offset the cost of universal healthcare. A major side benefit would be the waning influence of the Mexican cartels. A win/win situation that would help ease the burden of our overcrowded prisons and put some money into the federal coffers. The only drawback would be all of those poor probation and parole officers who would need to find another profession.

[dwilso40641]

21. If we required

the House and Senate to take 15 days of unpaid furlough, as is happening in cities and counties, it would go a long way toward financing Health Care. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[Wapsie B]

22. You take some of the beans in column A amd put 'em in column B.

The money is already there.

[Taitertots]

24. Make people in congress last in line for treatment

and watch how fast health care reform gets passed.

As of right now the health care decisions are being made by millionaires who are already on a government health care program that rivals what almost anyone else gets. Make their health depend on this as much as all of ours does and see if we can't get results.

Then we could get health care reform, not health insurance reform (read handout to insurance corporations).


How is it that when corporations give millions to politicians for favorable treatment it is lobbying, but when individuals do it they call it bribery?

[GreenTea]

25. I'm with you dude!

[valerief]

26. Well said!

[John Q. Citizen]

27. If they are concerned with the cost, why do they oppose single payer? It costs much less.