The GOP’s most successful scam is about to reboot itself

[ZiprHead]

https://www.alternet.org/2019/01/the-gops-most-successful-scam-is-about-to-reboot-itself/

At its core, the strategy is simple and elegant: When Republicans are in power, run up as much debt as possible, mostly by borrowing and giving that cash to the Republican donor class through tax cuts and corporate subsidies; when Democrats have political power, Republicans suddenly become hysterical about the debt and demand that Dems keep taxes low while cutting social spending.

If successful, not only will Republicans (and corporate-funded Dems) block any genuinely progressive spending legislation in 2019 or 2020, but they’ll prevent any possibility of debt-free college, Medicare for All, or a Green New Deal in the entire next presidential term, clear through 2024 or beyond.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Alternet, as usual, is crap.

Medicare for all assumes current Medicare payment rates--which ignores the fact that the current system subsidizes Medicare patients with money from other patients.

The Green New Deal is crackpot, totally infesible with current tech.

 

[untermensche]

The Green New Deal is about making honest efforts to find alternative energy sources. Putting real money behind it. Massive Manhattan Project-like money.

The situation is dire.

It is really way too late to get serious.

 

[Elixir]

Alternet, as usual, is crap.

Medicare for all assumes current Medicare payment rates--which ignores the fact that the current system subsidizes Medicare patients with money from other patients.

The Green New Deal is crackpot, totally infesible with current tech.

What a simple, elegant and WRONG analysis. It ignores the costs and profit margins of for-profit insurance Companies, which dwarf the cost of leveling out those subsidies. Add that back in to the simple, elegant and WRONG calculation put forth by naysayers and UHC via some Medicare for all-type solution becomes a net winner. Bigly.
This is not subject to argument, unless one is willing and able to ignore these real-life examples of proof (which Republicans, in the true spirit of "alternative facts" are willing to do):

1 Africa

1.1 Algeria
1.2 Botswana
1.3 Burkina Faso
1.4 Egypt
1.5 Ghana
1.6 Mauritius
1.7 Morocco
1.8 Rwanda
1.9 Seychelles
1.10 South Africa
1.11 Tunisia

2 Asia

2.1 Bhutan
2.2 Georgia
2.3 Hong Kong
2.4 India
2.5 Israel
2.6 Macau
2.7 Maldives
2.8 People's Republic of China
2.9 Singapore
2.10 Sri Lanka
2.11 Taiwan
2.12 Thailand

3 Europe

3.1 Austria
3.2 Belgium
3.3 Croatia
3.4 Czech Republic
3.5 Denmark
3.6 Finland
3.7 France
3.8 Germany
3.9 Greece
3.10 Guernsey / Jersey
3.11 Iceland
3.12 Ireland
3.13 Isle of Man
3.14 Italy
3.15 Luxembourg
3.16 Netherlands
3.17 Norway
3.18 Portugal
3.19 Romania
3.20 Russia and Soviet Union
3.21 Serbia
3.22 Spain
3.23 Sweden
3.24 Switzerland
3.25 United Kingdom
3.25.1 England
3.25.2 Northern Ireland
3.25.3 Scotland
3.25.4 Wales

4 North America

4.1 The Bahamas
4.2 Canada
4.3 Costa Rica
4.4 Cuba
4.5 Mexico
4.6 Trinidad and Tobago
4.7 United States

5 South America

5.1 Argentina
5.2 Brazil
5.3 Chile
5.4 Colombia
5.5 Peru

6 Oceania

6.1 Australia
6.2 New Zealand

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The Green New Deal is about making honest efforts to find alternative energy sources. Putting real money behind it. Massive Manhattan Project-like money.

The situation is dire.

It is really way too late to get serious.

The problem is that it's shooting for the moon, setting an impossible goal. It's basically "Fire!, ready, aim"--while the objectives are laudable, the implementation is not.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Alternet, as usual, is crap.

Medicare for all assumes current Medicare payment rates--which ignores the fact that the current system subsidizes Medicare patients with money from other patients.

The Green New Deal is crackpot, totally infesible with current tech.

What a simple, elegant and WRONG analysis. It ignores the costs and profit margins of for-profit insurance Companies, which dwarf the cost of leveling out those subsidies. Add that back in to the simple, elegant and WRONG calculation put forth by naysayers and UHC via some Medicare for all-type solution becomes a net winner. Bigly.

The Medicare-for-all crowd assumes Medicare prices can be applied across the board. In reality, Medicare is considerably subsidized from regular private insurance and so the numbers are bogus. This isn't a matter of the insurance system. Some money no doubt can be obtained that way but we don't even know the size of the hole that needs to be filled, saying what we will get from the insurance system will fill it is pure wishful thinking.

This is not subject to argument, unless one is willing and able to ignore these real-life examples of proof (which Republicans, in the true spirit of "alternative facts" are willing to do):

Lets take an example of what you say works:

2.8 People's Republic of China

I've got relatives over there, I've seen what that UHC amounts to--and it's crap. All it gets you is the cheapest options and if you are going in for surgery you had better make sure you gave your surgeon a nice fat red envelope before surgery. It's better than having nothing at all, ok for things like lab tests, but if you want decent care you had better pay on your own. In my MIL's last couple of years they used it for her oxygen and labwork, but the doctors were always private pay. My FIL spent a couple of months under such "care" basically in a vegetative state after a stroke--and all basic nursing care was provided by family.

 

[untermensche]

The Green New Deal is about making honest efforts to find alternative energy sources. Putting real money behind it. Massive Manhattan Project-like money.

The situation is dire.

It is really way too late to get serious.

The problem is that it's shooting for the moon, setting an impossible goal. It's basically "Fire!, ready, aim"--while the objectives are laudable, the implementation is not.

No.

The way to go as far as possible is to make your goals out of reach.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The Green New Deal is about making honest efforts to find alternative energy sources. Putting real money behind it. Massive Manhattan Project-like money.

The situation is dire.

It is really way too late to get serious.

The problem is that it's shooting for the moon, setting an impossible goal. It's basically "Fire!, ready, aim"--while the objectives are laudable, the implementation is not.

No.

The way to go as far as possible is to make your goals out of reach.

It doesn't work because you have no measure of whether something actually works.