THE SHUTDOWN OF FED GOVERNMENT FACTS & HIDDEN ISSUES

THE SHUTDOWN OF FED GOVERNMENT FACTS & HIDDEN ISSUES

Itntroduction by  Hugo Adan,   Octubre 2-2013 

 ON HEALTH REFORM AS A PRETEXT TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN: 

The fact is that the Obama-care was a betrayal to  his promised SINGLE PAYER OPCION when he run  to the Presidency. People were betrayed by Obama, that is why they did not paid  insurances. Now the betrayal continues since some people (influenced by Fox & CNN)  are accepting the blackmail of both parties, and paying insurers. 

However, we have to recognize that the plan to expand the Obama's Affordable Care Act is a start. It prevents insurance companies from denying patients coverage for pre-existing conditions, allows people up to age 26 to stay on their parents' insurance, sets minimum standards for what insurance must cover and helps lower-income Americans afford health insurance. 

Even though, this Obama-care has nothing to do with his promised “single-payer option”.  Obama in fact adopted the GOP plan run by Mit Romney in Massachusetts. Who benefit?: the insurers. People knew those crooks and didn’t buy insurance. Obama  raised the Medicare age to 67 (just the GOP proposal)  but Medicare's costs didn’t  fall, as it was expected. Obama-care was a total failure. Now he want to expand "its positive benefits" for the poor, can we give credit to his words?. Let's do it, but  without abandoning our strategic objective: single-payer system.

The fact is that he wants to force common people to give away money (an average of $350 a month) to insurers. Even more in my case: I'm almost 70 years old and my cataracts has to be removed, but  my insurance Gateway does not cover the right surgery, and I have to have more than $5,600 to get whole coverage, money that I don't have. The same thing is happening to many people, we are condemning to have the poorest coverage. 

With this shutdown-theater the FED,  Obama is enticing people to bend-over to the pharma insurers with the help of corporate media (see GLITCHES below) . 

We should reject both party-system (dem & GOPs) and their shutdown of government and their effects below. Follow the example of the elder in Washington. On Tuesday, a group of elderly veterans defied the newly erected barricades to enter the National World War II Memorial on their own. 

Teachers should join to keep alive the Head Start program, the preschool for low-income families, that is jeopardized by the shut-down. Univ students should help this cause

What we need is to create a people's FRONT against fascism in America (fascism is the alliance between big corporations and policy-makers in a State; in this case, the alliance between corrupted leaders of the current bipartisan system and the pharma and Monsanto).  If we don’t get the Front against fascism  the Health system in America  will continue be a for-profit- business. Meaning: people will be forced to pay at least $350  a month to get a minimum coverage. 

Paying insurers won’t solve the problem, the pharma will continue risen the price of coverage. Once people accept to give  up money for almost nothing, the insurers will continue making more expensive the coverage. Insurers will swallow the money from the Obama-care and give only aspirins for them. It is that I am receiving now. 

The real solution is to  fight for a single payer system better than the current medicare. A system based on two premises as Senator Sanders said: "First, healthcare must be recognized as a right, not a privilege. Every man, woman and child in our country should be able to access the healthcare they need regardless of their income. Second, we must create a national healthcare system that provides quality healthcare for all in the most cost-effective way possible". Otherwise the health system in America will be worse and worse and American people will continue be sick and sicker. 

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CNN and other official reports in the corporate media:

1.Since 2011, at the end of fiscal year the FED gets “insolvency” and demand more funds from the Congress & House. If defunded, the Gov won’t work, if won’t work it is shutdown. Usually the GOP approves those funds under several conditions. This time the conditions are tougher since they got majority in the House. “Newly empowered libertarian-oriented Republicans and some Democrats led to a government shutdown”, they joined in blackmailing OB. He shut down the FED & left them without pay. 

Why OB refused to accept new demands & shutdown the FED starting on Oct 1th. What the hidden issues behind this theatrical quarrel between these two dirty lovers: democrats and  republicans? What the GOP really wants & why is not accepted?  Who are the sharks behind the echelons?  What the immediate effects above and below?  Who profits  & who gets beat so far? CNN said the issues at stake “haven't changed: the size & cost of government, the debt limit and health care”. MEANING: those are not the real issues.

2. Players: The tea party “We are committed to changing the status quo in Washington and restoring our fiscal stability,"  http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/politics/shutdown-groundhog-day/index.html Is that the truth? They fostered dirty wars abroad that drains the fiscal stability & now this tale? 

 “House Republicans are threatening to prevent mandatory, annual government spending bills from moving forward if the health care law, also known as Obamacare, isn't defunded”. It's a tactic that Democrats have flatly rejected and even many in the Republican Party, including House Speaker John Boehner, advise against

3. Counter players: Julian Zelizer [ http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/opinion/zelizer-gop-government-shutdown/?hpt=hp_bn7 ] said “Republican Party's strategy to address the budget through "risky" showdowns "hurts its ability to persuade the public that the Republicans are interested in seriously pursuing fiscal restraint, as opposed to using this issue for purely partisan purposes."

4. Issue debt ceiling: In the mid or late October, “the United States would have reached its borrowing limit and would be unable to pay bills already incurred -- or default on its loans.”  Obama said he "will not negotiate" on the debt ceiling. “"Congress is triggering another crisis, by preventing  our government to pay this country's bill[s]," the president said in an economic speech Monday.

5. Possible effects:  “potential turmoil at the least and crisis at the worst," said CNN Ron Brownstein.  

 “The Price of a Gov't Shutdown: $12.5 Million Per Hour” said NBC Chicago.   

The government shutdown doesn't come cheap, about $12.5 million for every hour it drags, according to economic consulting firm IHS Global Insight. That means $300 million a day or a whopping $1.6 billion per week. The figure covers just the cost in work and services the government can't perform as it furloughs its 800,000 federal workers, as taxpayers pour millions per hour into a government that can get very little done. But the cost of the shutdown pales in comparison to the nation's annual economic output of $16 trillion, the consulting firm's director notes. Still, whether it affects the economy in the long term is unclear. "The government is basically shooting the economy in the foot, hobbling millions of other consumers," one expert said. "And the timing couldn’t be worse, as we are just weeks away from the all-important holiday season." The last time the government shut down from 1995 into 1996, the 26-day shutdown cost over $1.4 billion, or $2.1 billion of today's dollars, according to one estimate.” Source:   http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/  

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EFFECTS BELOW by democracy now.org 

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREATENS SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME CHILDREN, CANCER PATIENTS

The shutdown is forcing the closure or reduction of a range of government services, including key programs for children in need. Head Start, the preschool program for low-income families, says it has lost grant money for 23 programs in 11 different states, impacting some 19,000 children. This comes on top of the 57,000 children removed from Head Start this fall because of budget cuts under the sequester. In a statement, the head of the National Head Start Association, Yasmina Vinci, said: "This abdication of responsibility by Congress and leaders in Washington has further displaced the at-risk children already reeling from sequester. Government shutdown is one cut atop an already deep wound." If the shutdown continues for another week, the Department of Agriculture will stop funding a nutrition program aiding nine million women and children. The Women, Infants and Children program helps pregnant women and new mothers with the purchase of healthy food. And for every week the shutdown continues, around 10 child cancer patients will be denied clinical trials due to cutbacks at the National Institutes of Health. http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/2/headlines#1021

 

SHUTDOWN LEADS TO CLOSURE OF FEDERAL LANDMARKS

The shutdown has also led to the closure of federal sites nationwide. National landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and Lincoln Memorial have been shuttered. On Tuesday, a group of elderly veterans defied the newly erected barricades to enter the National World War II Memorial on their own. In what critics called a publicity stunt by Republicans responsible for the shutdown, the veterans were accompanied by a group of House lawmakers. http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/2/headlines#1021

 

OBAMACARE HEALTH EXCHANGES OPEN TO HEAVY TRAFFIC, GLITCHES

As the U.S. government shutdown began, a key facet of President Obama’s healthcare law went live nationwide. For the first time, Americans were able to begin purchasing health insurance from federal and state exchanges. Nearly three million people visited the federal website HealthCare.gov, while New York’s state site claimed it had more than 10 million hits. The heavy traffic fueled major glitches, with users facing long wait times and error messages preventing access. Appearing with uninsured Americans at the White House, President Obama said that despite initial road bumps, "Obamacare" is here to stay. “Today Americans who have been forced to go without insurance can now visit healthcare.gov and enroll in affordable new plans that offer quality coverage. That starts today." .  http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/2/headlines#1021

 

6. Issue Obama-care: The GOP in the house try to get a ban on money for the new health care law. “They're obsessed with a bill that passed four years ago, a bill that was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States. They can't get over that," said Dem senator Reid. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/politics/congress-shutdown/index.html

 

The GOP said “Obamacare offers large benefits to many Americans, and benefits once extended are very difficult to remove. That should have been the lesson of 2012, and unless Republicans get wiser, it'll be the repeat lesson of 2016”, said David Frum http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/opinion/frum-obamacare-flaws/index.html .   

To me this is just dirty politics: they knew that in 2012 OB won because the appealing of this issue “obamacare” (if Americans vote for issues)  & they try to avoid the same in 2016. 

Let’s check these arguments THE CONTROL OF OBAMA-CARE COST:  first, America used to have two health care cost problems: the cost of the health care system to the total economy, and the cost of health care programs to government budgets. Those two costs were related, but distinct. One example: Before Obamacare, a proposal to raise the Medicare qualification age to 67 would have saved the government money, without changing any real economic costs. 

Problem 1: when OBcare came into effect those two costs merge into one. Obama  raised the Medicare age to 67 (just the GOP proposal)  but Medicare's costs didn’t  fall – Why?  because the other program costs was rised too. An increase in health care costs anywhere will flow directly into an increase in government health care spending. Republicans want now to control the cost of government, by "cutting  government budgets" to "reform health care delivery."  To Frum “U.S. health care markets have done a poor job of controlling health care costs. If markets continue to fail, the alternatives will be ever more voracious health care costs or direct government control.”  

Problem No. 2: burden-sharing. Obamacare purports to finance itself with taxes only on upper-income Americans. The revenues from these taxes will be inadequate just as a matter of arithmetic. Worse, this mode of finance corrodes all political incentive for cost control. Not many voters will deprive themselves of a benefit to save somebody else money.  If Obamacare is to be part of America's future this program that claims to benefit all should be paid for by all, as Social Security and Medicare are paid for by all. Since OBcare is now more expensive,  voters will go out of Obamacare; the costs are borne by those Americans most likely to vote Republican. This is one of the hidden issues.

7. How to stop the shutdown of Government by NBC http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/    

Option 1: Republicans in the House could stop their efforts to attach a delay of the Affordable Care Act and pass the "clean" Senate-approved spending bill that would allow discretionary spending through Nov. 15.  

Option2. Another option is a short-term deal to fund some agencies, but similar attempts Tuesday faltered in the House.

Option 3. spending bill negotiations could be combined with talks over raising the nation's debt limit – solving both issues in one package deal.  

Option 4. the shutdown continues until mid-October when the government defaults on some of its debt and reaches the end of its legal authority to borrow, forcing Congress to act.  

Option 5. In a final scenario, a "grand bargain" long-term spending bill could be reached . http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/

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FINAL COMMENT from Hugo Adan. Oct 2-13

Some of the option above could happen, at the end ther will be a "grand bargain" as usual between democrats and republicans and that won't solve the health problem in America.  The current system is the most corrupted by-partisan -under the table agreement- between Dem & GOPs. A pact based on exclusion and violence against single payer proponents. Check the sites below: 

July 23, 2009: Promoting Healthcare Reform, Obama Admits US Can’t Insure All Americans Without Single Payer
Obama devoted most of his White House news conference to defend his push for healthcare reform. He acknowledged the US won’t be able to provide healthcare insurance to every American without adopting single payer, which his administration has opposed.   http://www.democracynow.org/features/healthcare

July 22, 2009: President Obama’s Longtime Physician Opposes White House Health Plan, Advocates Single-Payer
Dr. David Scheiner was President Obama’s doctor from 1987 until he entered the White House. Today Dr. Scheiner is publicly opposing Obama’s health plan and is calling for a single-payer system. July 22, 2009: President Obama’s Longtime Physician Opposes White House Health Plan, Advocates Single-Payer

July 21, 2009: As Obama Continues Push For Healthcare Reform, House Committee Approves Kucinich-Sponsored Measure to Keep Single-Payer Option Alive

July 16, 2009: 'They Dump the Sick to Satisfy Investors”: Insurance Exec Turned Whistleblower Wendell Potter Speaks Out Against Healthcare Industry'
The healthcare industry’s extensive PR and lobbying machine,  has set a campaign to discredit Michael Moore’s film Sicko, and fight against a public option, let alone a single-payer system.

June 12, 2009": AMA Opposition to Obama Public Health Plan Echoes Group’s Decades-Long Resistance to Health Care Reform
On Monday, President Obama is scheduled to address the American Medical Association AMA, the nation’s largest doctors’ group with 250,000 members. They have expressed strong opposition to a government-run plan. We take a look at how the AMA has fought almost every major effort at health care reform over the past 70 years.

June 09, 2009: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Nurses Union Leader Rose Ann DeMoro Urge Obama To Embrace Single-Payer Health Care System
President Obama is expected to host a group of Democratic Congressmembers at the White House later today. The meeting comes one week after Obama said he would consider supporting a mandate-based approach to health care and the creation of a public insurance option.

April 01, 2009: Rep. McDermott: 'The Medical-Industrial Complex in this Country is Bigger than the Military-Industrial Complex'
We speak with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), a leading advocate for a single-payer healthcare system, about healthcare reform on Capitol Hill.

March 11, 2009: Dr. Quentin Young, Longtime Obama Confidante and Physician to MLK, Criticizes Admin’s Rejection of Single-Payer Healthcare
While the Obama administration claims 'all options are on the table' for healthcare reform, it’s already rejected the solution favored by most Americans, including doctors: single-payer universal healthcare

March 06, 2009: As Obama Hosts Summit on Healthcare, Marginalized Advocates Ask Why Single Payer Is Ignored
President Obama hosted a White House summit Thursday on reforming healthcare. While President Obama said every idea must be considered, the idea of creating a single-payer national health insurance program appears to have already been rejected.

February 27, 2009: Can US Achieve Meaningful Healthcare Reform Within For-Profit System?
The Obama administration says its repeal of Bush-era tax cuts for wealthier Americans will help pay for a $634 billion reserve fund for what it calls its top fiscal priority: healthcare reform.

February 04, 2009: What is the Future of Healthcare Reform Following Daschle Withdrawing Health Sec. Nomination?
In what is being described as the first major setback of Barack Obama’s presidency, Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services. We speak to Richard Kirsch of Healthcare for America Now.

April 21, 2008: An Evangelical from a Conservative Background, Dr. Rocky White is Not Your Typical Advocate for Single-Payer Healthcare
While there are differences between the healthcare plans offered by Democratic presidential opponents Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, neither of them is proposing a single-payer system of national healthcare.

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CHECK ALSO:

·  Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader: A Discussion on Healthcare ... http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/18/dennis_kucinich_and_ralph_nader_a  Mar 18-10

·  Healthcare Roundtable: With Exclusion of Single Payer, What Opportunities Remain for Meaningful Reform?  October 29-2009    http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/29/roundtable

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