I’m up at Spot-on trying to make sense of Giuliani on health care.
George W. Bush decided that the way to save his presidency from irrelevancy was to threaten a veto of a bipartisan extension of the Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). SCHIP was a program developed in bipartisan fashion between a Republican Congress and a Democratic President back in the halcyon 1990s. It’s been a relatively ineffective program in that there are still 8 million American kids uninsured at any one time. But, as Spot-on Christopher Brauchli said, it’s clearly better for those kids than nothing. And nothing has been the alternative offered since 2000.
The threatened veto must be driving any Republican running for election in 2008 berserk. "Republicans hate children" is shaping up to be the 2008 equivalent of 1988 "Democrats love criminals." You’d think that on health care, as with the rest of his disastrous policies, the Republican Presidential candidates would be running away from Bush as fast as they can. Instead we’re seeing the Republican front-runner, Rudy Giuliani, announce that the Democrats want to join Michael Moore in offering Cuban health care to Americans. Read it all
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As a self employed consultant, I buy my own insurance. I was shocked to learn how inexpensive health insurance is for kids. I would love to ses some *data* on income for uninsured kids. Certainly any lower middle class family could afford to insure their kids – if they wanted to.
Every time I read about reasons for universal coverage and single payor health care I get cognitive dissonance. We allegedly spend too much on health care now. With the coming age wave there is no way we can afford universal coverage without some serious rationing. Rationing health care may work in the UK, but I doubt it will fly here.
Because they already can afford to eat, but they do/should pay a higher tax rate to help pay for the food stamps. Actually food is subsidized now for everyone – even the rich. Ever look at Ag subsidies? Why is corn so heavily subsidized? We actually should remove corn subsidies and subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables. Then maybe the poor could use those food stamps on healthy food and not the crap they have to buy now.
No, it could be that the program is being used to grant health care to people at four times the poverty rate. At what point do we as a society think that we are responsible for our own well being? How about food – you need food to live – why don’t we expand the food stamp program to families making 80 grand a year!
A recent poll showed only 19% of Republicans happy with the Republican candidates offered to them for President. Could that be the 19% with the necessary money to fund a campaign and the 19% Giuliani is trying to reach? Republicans don’t hate children, they just like their money better.