By Hootsbuddy
Via Moneyed Politicians here are links to Open Secrets that are relevant to the insurance and health care debate.
- Health Care Cheat Sheet (Money-in-Politics Style) An overview of the shape of the discussion grouped by various special interests...Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Health Professionals, Hospitals/Nursing Homes, Advocacy Groups, Business and Labor. Political agenda for each is listed in the column on the right. Notice how many just love the idea of universal health care as a "mandate" but oppose any public option.
- Blue Dog Bark Backed by Insurers A link at the bottom provides a downloadable spreadsheet which makes interesting reading for later reference. It should be noted that money is not always the driver. Fewer than a third are from Southern states where viral emails and other sources of wrong information has succeeded in planting irrational fear of reform in the electoral constituency.
- Insurance:Long-Term Contribution Trends Looking back at the last decade we see that the insurance people have been sweetening everyone's tea for a long time. There's lots more on their platter than health care reform (don't forget life insurance, workers comp, auto, liability, property loss, the menu is endless) so keeping elected representatives in line is an expensive proposition. These contributions buy lots more than just burps, smiles and thanks after lunch.
Moneyed Politicians has a slightly different approach to the debate that strikes me as interesting, valid and better, but politically over-ambitious at the moment. But this scenario might be more real than fantasy.
Actually, every industry owns our politicians. Banking, road building, defense, automobile, unions, you name it. It is clear that we voters and taxpayers don�t; we just pay their salaries.
It�s a sad day when Americans must rely on the corruption in politics to save their side of the issue.
The HR3200 health care bill is terrible, because it is bought and paid for by the insurance industry. We don�t know what it is, yet, but you can count on it coming out bad. Probably with no public option but with mandates to expand the insurance market to 100% of the people, Massachusetts style, with taxpayer subsidies for those who can�t pay. Nice. The industry expands and the politicians get a piece of the action.
"Actually, every industry owns our politicians"
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can see this represents the biggest disconnect in American polity. People have become blinded to the difference between the government's ability to tax money from them (for services then rendered to their benefit) and corporate America's ability to extract the same from the through deregulation of the marketplace. Like the price of health care (compared to other countries), people end up paying the highest amount that corporations can charge to maximize their profit margin. When we replace the functions of government with the corporate control we not only lose oversight and transparency, we allow them to manipulate the marketplace to their own advantage and our expense. We may end up paying less in taxes, but we end up paying a lot more in higher prices to subsidize bigger profits.
Yep.
ReplyDeleteYou got it.
Yeah, but it even goes deeper than just money. Because when the government defers its power to the economic interests we also fall under the control of corporate morality and ethics - and we all know what thats about. Which is precisely what this death panel issue should be about, because death panel decisions are already happening everywhere and everyday all across America in corporate boardrooms where people are forced into life and death moral decisions based on the health/insurance industries bottom line. The fear mongering fantasy that the government might end up involved in the same thing thats already going on with impunity is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteRight again, although "corporate morality and ethics" is an oxymoron in the case of insurance and pharmaceuticals. Health care may be the polite subject, but the conversation is really about money.
ReplyDeleteUniversal care drops millions of people into the market in serious need of medicine and medical attention from years of skimping on both. The legislation provides those who cannot afford insurance with an appropriate policy anyway by using tax money. That is the "cost" we have been hearing about.
The insurance and pharmaceutical people are ecstatic about all this new business. What's not to like? Why should they care if it's tax money?
That's what all the flap is about over any "public option." It's not enough that tax-favored new people might select a more economical public safety net. The insurance and drug companies want the whole hog and will not settle for the hams.
As I said, this is a conversation about money.
I'd like to peel back the onion yet another layer. It's not even about money. It's about winning. When you have more money, you can achieve higher social status. We as Americans, want to win and want to demonstrate that we are successful. Money is just a means to that end. Money, in and of itself, doesn't mean a whole lot. If we could achieve status with wampum, we would do that.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of how it's about winning: Probably 75% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans don't really have a good grasp of why they have chosen their party. The fact is, at some point they chose a side and now they want that side to win at all costs. If their side wins, they feel better about themselves even if they themselves achieved nothing.