Obama's latest kickbacks to special interests...

Steve Levin

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Another day, and more change...meaning more pandering to special interests.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/obamacare_latest_bribe_yAliYQ9aPnUJDQH2zlxr9N

It took two days of wrangling behind closed White House doors under the demanding gaze of big-labor bosses, but President Obama won a major health-care victory yesterday.

The same can't be said of America.

The deal in a nutshell: a big, fat wet kiss for labor unions, which won exemption from a proposed 40 percent tax on on expansive private health-insurance plans until 2018.

Meanwhile, those with generous plans that are not the product of collective-bargaining agreements get to pay beginning immediately.

First with the automakers and the UAW's sweetheart deals to make sure their unsecured debt was paid while secured debt was not, and now this...

...the only "change" is...more beholden to the special interests that put him in office.

All those people talking about how "this will be different" during the election.... did they know 'gullible' isn't in the dictionary? :)

Steve
 
Yeah, because the New York Post is a legitimate and unbiased news organization with strong journalistic standards...
 
What I find fascinating is that I actually cared about what this editorial had to say, and was all set to have a spirited discussion about the topic, but I was so put off by the lame "IS THIS THE CHANGE YOU VOTED FOR LOL" soapboxing schtick that I just stopped giving a fuck.
 
Does it mention the $20 million that the healthcare companies funnelled through a third party to present adverts against health care reform? Does it does it does it?
 
Does it mention the $20 million that the healthcare companies funnelled through a third party to present adverts against health care reform? Does it does it does it?

Why would it? If the companies were against the reform then I would expect them to fund ads supporting such views.
 
Welcome to the new reality of special interest in American politics, to 'scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'.

Wait.. hasn't it been that way since Ike?
 
Well, Adams complained about "faul play" in the first election because some electorats hade been told not to vote for him, and if that was his idea of dirty politics, it would seem it really wasn't that bad. It was partisan, and it was special interest, but it was based on idealism, not money.

Oh, and I guess the religious right yeilded less power in the secular America in 1776 than they do today.

Then again, Adams really was a bloody arrogant, autoriative president, as was his son, neither able to work with Congress, but that doesn't mean Adam's description of their system was incorrect..

As much as I don't like Taft, I'm sure he had idealism of some sort. I'm not so sure that's guaranteed today.
 
Vested Interest: Well that is how we all thought that American Politics since about the late 50s worked anyway. Republicans had theirs - Big Business and Democrats had theirs - Organised Labour. No point arguing about it - as it ever was and no one will ever change it.

Why anyone votes against things that are clearly in their own interests in the US is baffling to us foreigners - what in Gods name was Prohibition all about FGS for instance - that worked?

Anyhow the only thing I am surprised at is a tax on current plans - that must be made up surely?

We are allowed certain tax exemptions if you are in plans that relieve the NHS from the burden of having to treat you - which is obviously fair.
 
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We are allowed certain tax exemptions if you are in plans that relieve the NHS from the burden of having to treat you - which is obviously fair.

Well this is America, where 'it's like that in Europe" is not a valid point, even if it's the logic route to take on a subject because "just because it's like that somewhere else doesn't mean it's right for us!"
 
Prohibition, one of the many fine things Norwegian-Americans has been behind. The Holstead act, named after senator Holstead (=Hollstad) meant the mafia usually sent flowers to the Norwegian embassy May 17th, every year.

However, I think the old ideals are giving way to new, teo-ideological priorities. There was a time when republicans just didn't like big government, while the democrats sort of did. Nowadays, that's been quite watered out, the GOP's too focused on their "base", on not alienating the base of voters that are most intolerant and prejudiced, too use a quote from the West Wing, "you people want the federal government smaller, just so small it will fit into the bed room".

At the same time, there's the interesting shift in the democratic party, which seems to be moving further to the left (even though from European standards, the dems are still quite right wing).

I dunno. I just don't get why "liberal" has become such a dirty word in America. Who would Jesus elect for president? He'd elect a liberal, he wouldn't have liked the intolerance of the religious right.

But what do I know? I'm just a Norwegian socialist.

/Rant
 
Actually I don't think Jesus would have been much of a secularist.
 
Jesus was tolerant, that's what I seem to remember about him.
 
I think I know where this may be going.....lets agree to disagree :p
 
I think I know where this may be going.....
20.19%20AdolfHitler.jpg
 
A US politician accused of pandering to special interests? Is this really news?

Why anyone votes against things that are clearly in their own interests in the US is baffling to us foreigners ...
It's baffling to me too. There is absolutely no real reason why we shouldn't have universal coverage. Everyone is covered, it's much cheaper in the aggregate and people can still purchase additional coverage, go to private hospitals/doctors etc etc. But all that people need to hear is that it's an evil liberal European socialist idea and forget about it. No one is willing to listen to reason anymore. Everything has to be black and white. I, for one, am getting pretty goddamned sick of it.

Even more so because now we've got an even more fucked up and confusing healthcare bureaucracy.

I dunno. I just don't get why "liberal" has become such a dirty word in America.
Ronald Reagan.
 
Which is quite ironical, as we're talking about the most liberal presidency regarding ecconomy since, what, Taft?
 
Well this is America, where 'it's like that in Europe" is not a valid point, even if it's the logic route to take on a subject because "just because it's like that somewhere else doesn't mean it's right for us!"

And you are different in this case how?

In the future if you want to keep you health care plan - tax exemptions caching.

You are actually sick and can not get cover - use a Government option. The US 'prefer' 50million people unable to afford any form of cover, that is absurd?

In the US most of its personal bankruptancies caused by health bills - that is not good for anyone now is it? You are perfectly capable of running a brilliant military, and NASA - what makes you think you can not run a few Hospitals?

The price of your drugs is astronomical - you guys want to keep paying over the market price?

You end up with a healthcare system for healthy people, hugely expensive drugs (why do you prevent imports - just a restraint of trade is it not - though you guys were Free Traders - or is it Free Trade when it suits our big business?) but a brilliant system for the rich - the American way perhaps.

Obama is a Socialist - that is ridiculous in this instance, name another (any) Western country without universal healthcare? What do you think Socialists are? When he takes a car firm into state ownership then he will be a socialist - oh wait!
 
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And you are different in this case how?

In the future if you want to keep you health care plan - tax exemptions caching.

You are actually sick and can not get cover - use a Government option. The US 'prefer' 50million people unable to afford any form of cover, that is absurd?

In the US most of its personal bankruptancies caused by health bills - that is not good for anyone now is it? You are perfectly capable of running a brilliant military, and NASA - what makes you think you can not run a few Hospitals?

The price of your drugs is astronomical - you guys want to keep paying over the market price?

You end up with a healthcare system for healthy people, hugely expensive drugs (why do you prevent imports - just a restraint of trade is it not - though you guys were Free Traders - or is it Free Trade when it suits our big business?) but a brilliant system for the rich - the American way perhaps.

Obama is a Socialist - that is ridiculous in this instance, name another (any) Western country without universal healthcare? What do you think Socialists are? When he takes a car firm into state ownership then he will be a socialist - oh wait!

I've made all these points before with people, it don't fucking work. I was being sarastic and quoting someone (I just don't recall who) on this forum.

On this subject, I never saw this until last night looking for a separate clip:
[YOUTUBE]Sa69puS7J0Q[/YOUTUBE]
 
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