After a fairly long absence, I have returned back to this endeavor. What an interesting turn of events the United States, Wisconsin, and the Milwaukee area has witnessed…
1) The beast of “Obamacare” was shot, bruised, maimed, and yet slogged on to passage without ANY Republican support. At least it is on the heads of the Democrats. They could not even get Olympia Snowe...
2) The TEA Parties have gone from small smatterings to a nationwide movement of more than just disgruntled conservatives. A concise way of stating the motivating factor behind these (pay attention, columnists who refuse to acknowledge the obvious) is to reinforce the concept of representatives truly representing the will of their constituents.
3) The Stimulus apparently was not enough, so there is a perceived necessity for a second one. Was the first one not guaranteed to keep the unemployment level under 9%...we have since gone over 10%.
4) The Wisconsin governor’s race has gained a bit of clarity. Scott Walker is the most likely to win at this point, but Mayor Tom Barrett has yet to get his people in line after which the campaign will truly get going. Mark Neumann apparently is bringing private sector experience into his campaign (as is his mantra), but has resorted to throwing an ill-reasoned attacks at Walker and appealing toward national issues.
5) Russ Feingold has appeared at listening sessions to discuss the concerns he has with the financial liabilities his constituency will have given the recent trouble with the last several budgets…then has gone back to Washington to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling, for Obamacare, and for Cap & Trade. Some Maverick…
6) A staggering number of infants and toddlers that have died as a result of incidents related to co-sleeping. When will it dawn on parents in the Milwaukee area that collapsing their drunken, elephantine bodies into bed along with their child could lead to a disastrous conclusion?
7) Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. Not only did a Republican win that seat, but a true fiscal conservative won that seat. His signatures leading up the election included the number “41” to indicate that he would be the 41st vote to kill Obamacare in the Senate.
8) Wisconsin needs an actual candidate besides Dave “I-am-going-to-stop-raising-money-and-sell-orange-shirts-instead” Westlake, Terrence “I-could-not-get-elected-to-the-Maple-Bluff-village-board-and-have-not-paid-income-taxes-in-9-of-the-last-10-years-despite-being-a-millionaire” Wall, or Dick "I-worked-for-Jim-Doyle" Leinenkugel to run against Russ “I’m-not-listening-to-you” Feingold.
9) Herb Kohl has roused from his naps occasionally to update his digital newsletter. Remember that line from Office Space: “What would you say…you do here?”
10) It is now illegal for Wisconsin’s public schools to teach abstinence-only education if they opt to teach sex education. This ought to really help the increasing levels of teenage pregnancies…as kids are not told “no” in public schools.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Best Offense is a Great...Opposition?
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate needs to keep talking to help further advance the prospects of Scott Walker’s gubernatorial campaign. Here are bits of Tate’s brilliance over the past several days since the recent TEA party at Milwaukee’s Lakefront, presented in three movements:
I. Attack Attendees
"These are extremist elements pulling together, distinct vocal minorities
that frankly don't believe in this country," Tate said. "They don't want to see
more people have access to quality affordable health care; they don't want clean
air and water. They fundamentally don't understand how the American government,
economy and capitalism work." (Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
II. Attack Scott Walker (emphasis mine)
Scott Walker joined right-wing extremists in
Milwaukee on Saturday to participate in a hateful, fear-based
rally aimed at preventing progress for Wisconsin families. Walker was
joined by right-wing commentator Michelle Malkin and known tax cheat Joe
“The Plumber” Wurzelbacher at the rally, which was sponsored by corporate-backed Americans for Prosperity.“Scott Walker’s open association with radical,
right-wing extremists further demonstrates the divisiveness of his
politics,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate. “While Democrats
in Wisconsin and across the country have debated important issues in a civil
manner, Walker and others on the right have attempted to turn the debate into a
shouting match.”Although organizers claimed the protest was peaceful, one man
was injured and taken to the hospital [Editor's note: the man was injured
and taken into custody after attempting to assault an officer]. Other
protestors used scare tactics, name-calling and false claims of socialism to get
their point across. “Wisconsin has a history of open and honest debate,” said
Tate. “The fact that Scott Walker would endorse this behavior should be a clear
sign to voters across Wisconsin that Walker is too extreme to represent
them.”
III. Beg For Money
Over the weekend I was asked to comment on the self described
“tea baggers” who held an angry mob gathering in Milwaukee.Here is what I said: "These are extremist elements
pulling together, distinct vocal minorities that frankly don't believe in this
country. They don't want to see more people have access to quality affordable
health care; they don't want clean air and water. They fundamentally don't
understand how the American government, economy and capitalism work."I meant what I said, and I'm not afraid to say it
again.Just because you throw the biggest temper tantrum doesn't mean
you can silence the majority of Americans who want fundamental change in this
country.History is riddled with examples of vocal fringe groups that
have risen to oppose progress and success. From the red-baiting McCartyhyites to
the Know-Nothings and the KKK, we have seen this story unfold many times in the
past. Fueled by ignorance, racism and intolerance, these groups have done
everything in their power to obstruct progress – often resorting to intimidation
and violence.We will not be intimidated, and we won't back
down.This moment is too important. The American people voted for
change in November, and our President is fighting to implement that change. We
will not sit idly by while these extremists pretend to be mainstream Americans.
Their views couldn't be any more out of touch with average, working
people.One sign at the protest in Milwaukee over the weekend
read “Obama, Osama: Both bombed the American people,” while
right-wing, anti-worker pundit Michelle Malkin told those gathered “I've never
been so proud in my lifetime to be part of this angry mob.”What do Wisconsin Republicans think of this extremist
rhetoric? As Republican candidate for Governor Scott Walker said over the
weekend, “I'm with them.”I have a message for Scott Walker and his extremist
allies: You will find out soon enough that Wisconsin is not with
you.You and I know that hate speech and misinformation isn't what
Wisconsin families need, and it's not what America needs.We need fundamental change in this country. And with your help
the Democratic Party of Wisconsin will continue to fight back against this
right-wing extremism.Together, we can rise above the scare tactics, temper
tantrums, name-calling, and false claims to bring about the change we
need.Sincerely,
Mike Tate
Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin
……….
Please keep talking, Mike. Please? The best part is the sophomoric use of “tea baggers” as if he is not giggling like a middle-school aged boy. Then again, he is 30, and in Democrat years, that’s about the equivalent.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Paying for our own Healthcare?
John Stossel (who works for ABC, of all places) put together one of the best segments on the current debate over healthcare and insurance coverage:
Stossel raises a few interesting points:
1) If an insurance carrier covers more things, then people will not really care what those services cost (why would anyone care if one place charged $50 more for a flu shot if he or she is not paying for it anyway?). This then reduces the competitive market and the buying power of the individual.
2) It is impossible to cover more people for more services for less money.
3) Insurance is a safety umbrella to protect against the staggering costs of medical emergencies.
The first two points are the two absolute daggers in idea of a public option that covers everyone will be less expensive to Americans. The phantom number of uninsured people thrown around by the powers that be used to be 46 or 47 million people (now it is 30 or 31 million, depending on the source). How can all of these people be added to insurance coverage that has reduced co-pays, reduced deductibles, and additional services that would be covered?
The average person can likely estimate with pretty good accuracy what college tuition would cost. This is true also for a car or smaller things like a TV or a kitchen appliance. Who outside of an insurance agent or actuary would be able to accurately predict what a physical would cost (both on the low end and on the high end)?
Insurance companies already cover too much which artificially raises insurance premiums. As an aside, I previously had a prescription for taking medication for my persistent heartburn. The medication I was taking, omeprazole, is available over-the-counter, but my insurance was covering all but $5 of the cost. My prescription gave me a course of 30 tablets of 20 mg of the treatment. The final time I was going to pick up my prescription, I found that since my insurance had changed, I would have to cover it out-of-pocket. The pharmacist calculated the cost minus the insurance coverage I previously had and it came to about $75 for the one month course.
My jaw just about dropped. I excused myself from the counter and picked up a box of the same omeprazole (also known as Prilosec), which also has 20 mg of the active drug per tablet. It, at the time, ran for about $35 for 42 days of treatment. I asked the pharmacist if there was any difference between the omeprazole in the bottle that she had on the counter and the omeprazole I had in the box of Prilosec tablets. She told me there was no difference. I asked her why my previous insurer was paying for such a high markup. She shrugged and said that she honestly had no idea. I thanked her for her information and said I would be using the over-the-counter option. I can now get 42 tablets of the same treatment for just over $20.
I remember walking out of the pharmacy that day wondering why the insurance I had covered something that was that unnecessarily expensive. I viewed and still view it as a microcosm for the problems relating to healthcare.
Changes in healthcare and insurance coverage do need to occur, but the current plan is only going to make things worse and more expensive because it is only expanding the existing flaws in healthcare and insurance.
Stossel raises a few interesting points:
1) If an insurance carrier covers more things, then people will not really care what those services cost (why would anyone care if one place charged $50 more for a flu shot if he or she is not paying for it anyway?). This then reduces the competitive market and the buying power of the individual.
2) It is impossible to cover more people for more services for less money.
3) Insurance is a safety umbrella to protect against the staggering costs of medical emergencies.
The first two points are the two absolute daggers in idea of a public option that covers everyone will be less expensive to Americans. The phantom number of uninsured people thrown around by the powers that be used to be 46 or 47 million people (now it is 30 or 31 million, depending on the source). How can all of these people be added to insurance coverage that has reduced co-pays, reduced deductibles, and additional services that would be covered?
The average person can likely estimate with pretty good accuracy what college tuition would cost. This is true also for a car or smaller things like a TV or a kitchen appliance. Who outside of an insurance agent or actuary would be able to accurately predict what a physical would cost (both on the low end and on the high end)?
Insurance companies already cover too much which artificially raises insurance premiums. As an aside, I previously had a prescription for taking medication for my persistent heartburn. The medication I was taking, omeprazole, is available over-the-counter, but my insurance was covering all but $5 of the cost. My prescription gave me a course of 30 tablets of 20 mg of the treatment. The final time I was going to pick up my prescription, I found that since my insurance had changed, I would have to cover it out-of-pocket. The pharmacist calculated the cost minus the insurance coverage I previously had and it came to about $75 for the one month course.
My jaw just about dropped. I excused myself from the counter and picked up a box of the same omeprazole (also known as Prilosec), which also has 20 mg of the active drug per tablet. It, at the time, ran for about $35 for 42 days of treatment. I asked the pharmacist if there was any difference between the omeprazole in the bottle that she had on the counter and the omeprazole I had in the box of Prilosec tablets. She told me there was no difference. I asked her why my previous insurer was paying for such a high markup. She shrugged and said that she honestly had no idea. I thanked her for her information and said I would be using the over-the-counter option. I can now get 42 tablets of the same treatment for just over $20.
I remember walking out of the pharmacy that day wondering why the insurance I had covered something that was that unnecessarily expensive. I viewed and still view it as a microcosm for the problems relating to healthcare.
Changes in healthcare and insurance coverage do need to occur, but the current plan is only going to make things worse and more expensive because it is only expanding the existing flaws in healthcare and insurance.
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