Public Healthcare

Obama a “Socialist”? I Wish!

The Voice of the Future: President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Economic Bill of Rights

>>>>>>> What Ties This All Together <<<<<<< >>>>>>>> Monday, July 19, 2010 <<<<<<<

Why all of these items have been brought together in today’s issue of the Los Angeles Free Press

by Steven M. Finger

In my best effort to be brief – so that you’ve more time to read and ponder what’s presented in today’s issue – here, without, the usual prose is the gist of the several articles:

The Voice of the Future [1] let’s you hear what was said in the past, easily you can see it applies to the situation of today.

The next article [2], as usual, seems not to be connected at all… but says much about how almost an entire lifetime of 65 years can go by, and so few things have come about.  We recognize, of course, that it is further compounded by an interest of one over another.  And, as an unfortunate note, neither for the greater good or with the self-preserving benefit of one’s own interest strongly determined and constantly acted upon.

The first and second articles urge you look back so that you can do better. [3], on the other hand, is a straight on look at what is coming.  Not a maybe, not a perhaps, but what is already in gear.  If what was said in the first article, and what was advised in the second resonates with you at all, determine now what you could do to make a future more like the one in which you would want to spend your time.

Finally, we are at [4].  It is an explanation of what happens to us when we just let things happen to us (prose again, sorry).  This is a key article on how societal change comes about.  It is, in a way, a telling of the essence of what we try to present each day.  It is another note of the warning we are sounding… change is coming, don’t let it arrive like tsunami, consider what is that would be best – for us all – and then bring it on.  (Or as you can see in [3] it will be at the shore before you even know it!)

I’ve always let it go unsaid that you should read the remainder of the article – not simply be satisfied with the portion we post.  Today, not only do I urge you to read the article but, further, to the lively discourse that follows in the comments to it posted at the original site.

I hope this, once again, brings you full circle with thoughts about what is happening to our society, how our culture is undergoing an insidious and massive change, and providing enough to make for interesting conversation.  Surely, today, just as on all other days, we’ve only addressed a facet or a few.  And as they say, talk is cheap (we’re free), and action is what counts.  I’ve not taken your time with a list of things not done that could have made a difference; I know you know the truth and consequence of doing nothing, and am hoping that I am leaving you something that makes you think of doing something.  Join the counter-culture; make sure it is not counter to the culture you, yourself, want to be part of.

Here are today’s keywords (hope they provided a clue):  Economic Bill of Rights, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Obama, political humor, false wisdom, hindsight, Oliver Burkeman, Cindy Jacobs, Exorcisms, Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, New Apostolic Reformation, Andrew Joseph Stack III, Anger, Sasha Abramsky

Links to the above articles:

[1] http://losangelesfreepress.com/the-voice-of-the-future-president-franklin-d-roosevelts-economic-bill-of-rights/

[2] http://losangelesfreepress.com/this-column-will-change-your-life-what-i-wish-id-known/

[3] http://losangelesfreepress.com/they-do-exorcisms-burn-idols-are-taking-whole-us-states/

[4] http://losangelesfreepress.com/look-ahead-in-anger/

[5]

That which ties our articles together today, June 30th

by Steven M. Finger

Per yesterday’s announced policy change… I pulled back on the ‘news’ (short-term updates on possible(?) cultural changes), and filled our space with what evolution has occurred, or may be social change may be coming.  Across a variety of fields: banking, housing, defense, pharmaceuticals, cyber communications, publishing and, even, performance arts (in both subject and style).

And, as a starter, there’s a summary of what Obama has done in this regard, as well.

U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study

by Maggie Fox

A patient waits in the hallway for a room to open up in the emergency room at a hospital in Houston, Texas, July 27, 2009.

Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries — Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found.

“As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it,” Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Previous reports by the nonprofit fund, which conducts research into healthcare performance and promotes changes in the U.S. system, have been heavily used by policymakers and politicians pressing for healthcare reform.

Davis said she hoped health reform legislation passed in March would lead to improvements.

The current report uses data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in seven countries in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It is available here

In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0SU20100623

Health law could ban low-cost plans

By JENNIFER HABERKORN

Over one million people could be stripped of their insurance coverage come September. AP

Part of the health care overhaul due to kick in this September could strip more than 1 million people of their insurance coverage, violating a key goal of President Barack Obama’s reforms.

Under the provision, insurance companies will no longer be able to apply broad annual caps on the amount of money they pay out on health policies. Employer groups say the ban could essentially wipe out a niche insurance market that many part-time workers and retail and restaurant employees have come to rely on.

This market’s limited-benefit plans, also called mini-med plans, are priced low because they can, among other things, restrict the number of covered doctor visits or impose a maximum on insurance payouts in a year. The plans are commonly offered by retail or restaurant companies to low-wage workers who cannot afford more expensive, comprehensive coverage.

Depending on how strictly the administration implements the provision, the ban could in effect outlaw the plans or make them so restrictive that insurance companies would raise rates to the point they become unaffordable.

A cadre of employers and trade associations, including 7-Eleven, Lowe’s, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have asked the administration to allow the plans — at least through 2014, when the insurance exchanges are set up and tax credits become available for low-wage workers.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38219.html#ixzz0qNg83mG8