House Dems forsake voters, pass reform bill

[ISASO]

The House of Representatives just passed their version of the heatlhcare reform bill with 220 votes.

Problem is, American voters didn't want this bill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the House version of health care reform legislation last week, but most voters are still opposed to the effort.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down from 45% a week ago but unchanged from two weeks ago.

Fifty-four percent (54%) now oppose the legislative effort, up three points since last week.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of liberals support the plan, but just 18% of conservatives agree.

Only 23% of all voters Strongly Support the plan while nearly twice as man (44%) are Strongly Opposed.

For her heroic efforts, will Nancy Pelosi be remembered in the same way as Betsy Ross?

[SubGod22]

The best thing for this country would be for Pelosi to go away and leave us alone. She can take most of the Congress with her. I pray there are enough in the Senate to keep this crap from passing. Otherwise we're all screwed.

[kcshocker11]

I love her!

[WuDrWu]

I love her!

Of course you do! Your brain ceased rational functioning many moons ago.


I have a serious question. I was unable to read the bill. Can someone answer this question for me?

If I own a small business, let's say I own Bella Luna (I don't by the way). Most of my staff are part time and I don't offer health insurance. What happens to me?

Do I now have to decide either to offer insurance (and if I do, how much of it do I have to pay, and what level of benefits do I have to offer) and if I decide that I do not, what is the penalty and how is it determined (tax on profits, payroll tax etc)?

Kc, you seemed well versed on the merits of this program. Perhaps you can lend your skills and help me out here.


Thank you

[ISASO]

I love her!

You love her because she ignored the desires of American voters?

[pogo]

Vote out the ones you don't like and go for mandatory term limits. Why would mandatory term limits be left up to those in charge? Couldn't a national referendum be utilized to effect change? I have no idea how things like this work and would be interested in others views/ideas.

[WstateU]

I love her!

You would... :roll:

[SubGod22]

You know the bill sucks when the Dems can barely get enough of their own to vote for it while the American people are continually saying they don't want anything to do with this. Disgusting.

We are no longer a nation of the people, by the people, for the people...

[WuDrWu]

Vote out the ones you don't like and go for mandatory term limits. Why would mandatory term limits be left up to those in charge? Couldn't a national referendum be utilized to effect change? I have no idea how things like this work and would be interested in others views/ideas.

As long as re-election is all but assured by the polices set forth by the people in power, then we must have term limits. It should be obvious to the most idiotic liberal (I know, oxymoron) that the system does not work.

And I feel as strongly about that as it applies to Todd Tiahrt or Bob Dole every bit as much as it would apply to Henry Waxman or Barney Frank (who both should be executed for treason).

[ISASO]

The trump card remains the fact that the diehard proponents of this miracle-working mandate from the Heavens exempted themselves from it.

How ironic and telling of its true nature as a power-grab, pure and simple.

[1979Shocker]

From Pollster.com

Health Care Plan: Favor / Oppose

The trend started out strongly in favor of health care reform, but now the trend is currently:
Oppose 50.8%
Favor    43.9%

[SubGod22]

Obamacare Endorsements: What the Bribe Was. Dick Morris obviously isn't a fan.

AP: Pelosi Bill D.O.A. in Senate I certainly hope so. The Pelosi bill will do more long term damage then any potential short term good.

McCaughey: Pelosi Bill Has Radical Agenda Really? Does this surprise anyone?

Pawlenty in Iowa Slams Obamacare I'd be shocked if he doesn't run in 2012.

Pelosi Bill: Put People in Jail for No Insurance This makes no sense at all but it's coming from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation so I guess there's something to it.

[DCShockerFan05]

It's worth keeping in mind that the only bill that matters is the one that eventually comes out of conference. The Senate is the limiting factor here, so screaming about what's in the House bill is a bit like beating up a strawman--I work as a healthcare consultant and I can assure you that we're all watching the Senate developments much more closely than the House bill.

To answer WuDrWu's question about the employer mandate: My understanding (and I make no legal representations here; this is just my own cursory reading of the relevant sections of Subtitle B (Employer Responsibility)) is that there would be a mandate for employers to pay a certain percentage of the cost of coverage but this amount is less for part-time workers and also less for small businesses. The discount for small businesses is larger the smaller your total payroll gets; at $500,000 the mandate disappears entirely. So if you pay less than $500,000 in wages, there's no obligation.

The fee for non-compliance seems to depend on whether the employer elects to participate (I'm not sure of the details here, sorry.) If you do not elect to participate, you get taxed an amount equal to what your responsibility would have been (so you might as well just offer the insurance). If you elect to particpate and then don't meet the requirements, there's a fine for every employee and day you're out of compliance, with all sorts of exemptions, caps, limits, etc.

Once again though, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about anything in the House bill until we see what comes out of the Senate. I would imagine a lot of the maneuvering on the House side is to get a more extreme bill out the door in order to give some of it back in conference negotiations.

[DCShockerFan05]

Also, I don't live in Wichita anymore so I'm not familiar with the restaurant (Bella Luna) you mention, but if the estimates here http://www.manta.com/company/mtryqkd
are accurate, it has revenue less than $500,000, so unless they're just hemorrhaging cash, the wage bill is less than that and there'd be no mandate.

I could be wrong in my reading of the bill, but that's my initial interpretation.

[SFL]

I guess it really doesn't matter if this is true or not... regardless, it hits the nail squarely on the head.

Crisis of Culture....short and sweet!



This should be on the front page of every newspaper in America-in large bold letters. This was a "letter to the editor" in August 29th Jackson , MS newspaper.

"Dear Sirs:

During my last night's shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos, a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ringtone. Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer status: Medicaid. She smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has money to buy beer.

And our Congress expects me to pay for this woman's health care? Our nation's health care crisis is not a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. It is a crisis of culture - a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on vices whilerefusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. A culture that thinks "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Life is really not that hard. Most of us reap what we sow.

Don't you agree?"


STARNER JONES, MD
Jackson , MS