Category: Health Care

6 Lies About Single-Payer Health Care

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SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE LIES

By D. S. Mitchell

Drop The Labels

Honest health care policy experts know that the solution to fix the American health care system is staring us in the face, and it is single-payer. Whether dubbed “Medicare-for-All” or an “expansion of Medicaid” through ObamaCare. The solution is easy when labels like “socialism” “liberalism” “progressivism” are ignored. Trump and his DOJ is in court at this very moment trying to invalidate the ACA (ObamaCare). It seems that the more resistance Republicans arouse over destroying ObamaCare the voices for Medicare-for-All grows louder.

Health Care As A Right

The evidence is clear, Americans believe that every person has a right to health care, irrespective of their ability to pay. We as a people, believe that we have an obligation to take care of each other. In fact, there is more momentum for the adoption of a single-payer health care system than at any time in our history.

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SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES TO OPIOIDS

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Alternatives To Opioids

By D. S. Mitchell & Trevor K. McNeil

Definitions: *Opiate and opioid are often used interchangeably although that interchange of usage is not precisely accurate. The following would be more correct:

Opiate: A drug (such as morphine, codeine or heroin) containing or derived from opium or the opium poppy, used to alleviate pain, or induce sleep or euphoria.

Opioid: A synthetic or semi-synthetic drug producing an opium-like effect, often prescribed for the alleviation of moderate to severe pain; a prescription painkiller in the opiate class.

Balancing Act

With drugs, even those considered alternatives to opioids, there is always a risk. Even a “safe” drug such as caffeine.  Caffeine is regularly consumed by children, and has had documented negative effects. The same goes for nicotine, deemed for the most part “safe” except when smoked by children. Some of those effects include paranoia, muscle spasms and heart arrhythmia’s. The question becomes how much of a risk is there; and are the positive effects worth the negative risks?

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Mental Illness “I.M. PRISM” by Jack Babcock

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Jack Babcock “I.M. Prism” 

By D. S. Mitchell

Hospitalized

A friend of www.calamitypolitics.com is in the hospital. Jack Babcock has schizophrenia, but right now he is fighting another battle. He has been diagnosed with kidney failure. Hopefully, his doctors will get him back on his feet soon. Dialysis has offered many years of life to people who are unable to have a kidney transplant. At this point we are not sure what the way forward will bring, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to share several of Jack’s poems from his book, I.M. Prism. Jack graduated from U of O with a degree in English and he went on to Lewis and Clark law school. Although passing his courses, he became too sick to practice law. Please enjoy Jack’s quirky take on life, and the deep pain of his mental illness.

Sometimes being smart and doing all the right things doesn't make your life easy

Being smart and doing all the right things doesn’t protect you from mental illness.

Brown Door

the brown door is shut……

I’m mentally ill. I smash the door, howl and scream.

Let me out of this madhouse quoth I.

and behind the brown door are lunatics.

drooling, sneezing, coughing, playing

with themselves.

what do they need?

just not to be put behind the brown door.

they need sunshine and music, laughter.

but, the brown door is shut.

********

Sweet Julia

i compared you

to a movie star

you balked

said you weren’t that attractive

is it possible

you don’t know how pretty you are

Julia

i told someone

i write you letters, poems

they thought that was sweet and kind

nothing of the sort

i do what i have to do

i feel i must write to you

looking at things

my aunt left me

an utrillo print

a few rings

a spode china set

all so pretty

so real, i love them, i loved my aunt

and there is you

my dear

i think i love you too.

*******

Well

yotta yotta yata

so it goes

pornography or poetry

yadda yadda ya

whats the diff

it seems important to smile

death has no

yadda yatta

freedom and obscurity

yotta yotta ya

what now my love?

yotta ya.

The Value of Vaccinations

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The Value of Vaccinations

By Michael Leonard Douglas & D. S. Mitchell

History

Have you ever heard of the Black Death? Only in text books I’m sure. This was a time before vaccinations. In 1347 The Black Death arrived in Europe. Over the next five years the devastating epidemic would kill 20 million people in Europe alone. Prior to reaching Europe The Plague is believed to have taken the lives of over 200 million people worldwide.  The first recorded “pan epidemic”. It was one of the most devastating periods in human history.

A Scratch Or A Cut

I have wondered what it would have been like to live in a world without vaccines.  I’m sure I would have died at an early age as did most people before the modern era. The first efforts to inoculate a human being against disease was in China as early as 900 BCE. At that time smallpox was rampant in China. It was observed that if a person survived smallpox they would be immune to further outbreaks of the disease.

Chinese Physicians

To protect people from infection, ancient Chinese physicians would cut or scratch the skin of healthy people and then rub powdered smallpox scabs or fluid from pustules into the cut in the skin. Another method was to blow powdered smallpox material up the nose of a healthy person. This exposure to live bacteria and viruses was called inoculation or variolation. This was a precursor to modern vaccination. In 1700 the wife of England’s ambassador to Turkey, Lady Montagu, brought news of this Eastern practice to England.

Smallpox an Ancient Problem

Smallpox was a disfiguring and often fatal infectious disease that plagued humanity for at least 5,000 years.  In 18th century Europe smallpox was widespread and was believed to kill 3 out of every 10 people who contracted it. Of the 30% that died most were young children, making smallpox a death sentence for the most vulnerable. Many survivors were left terribly disfigured from scars from the rupturing skin pustules.

Enter Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner was an English country physician.  Dr. Jenner observed that dairy workers who had been infected with cowpox, were immune to later smallpox outbreaks. This observation led him to inoculate a boy with cowpox. Later, Jenner would infect the same boy with fresh smallpox and when no disease developed Jenner concluded that the boy was protected against smallpox. His work would lead to what would become **”attenuated vaccines”. In 1801 Jenner published his findings in his treatise, “On the Origin of the Vaccine Inoculation” Jenner summarized with the hope that “annihilation of  smallpox, the most dreadful scourge of the human species, must be the result of this practice (vaccination).”

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Myths About Single-Payer Health Care

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Myths About Single-Payer Health Care

D. S. Mitchell

Honest health care policy experts know that the solution to fix the American health care system is staring us in the face, and it is single-payer, Medicare-for-All. The defeat of the Republican health care legislation put a nail in the coffin of the idea that Americans can’t be sold on Medicare-for-All.

The evidence is clear, Americans believe that every person has a right to health care, irrespective of ability to pay. We as a people, believe that we have an obligation to take care of each other. In fact, there is more momentum for single payer than at any time in our history.

Despite its enormous popularity and unparalleled record of success Republicans are deep in their war on Medicare. New proposals have emerged since the 2016 election that would slash benefits for the elderly and leave older Americans at the mercy of the “for profit” insurance industry.

Paul Ryan Republican Speaker of the House has been vocal in his attacks against both Medicaid and Medicare. He is calling for a voucher program that would transfer more costs on to seniors and leave them at the mercy of the private insurance industry. This action must be stopped.  It is not just about protecting our existing Medicare system, it is about ensuring that everyone receives health care as a right. It is a case of “everybody in, nobody out.”

One hundred Americans die everyday from the lack of health insurance. That is over 30,000 unnecessary deaths each year and that number is scheduled to grow steadily over the next decade. This is an American tragedy. With the Republican tax scam now signed into law we will see millions remain uncovered and millions more lose coverage due to increased cost for insurance coverage brought on by the elimination of the insurance mandate. The insurance mandate was a device used by the ACA plan to expand the pool to keep prices down.

Former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Marcia Angell believes Medicare-for-All is the best health care reform, and it is the only health care reform that will cover everyone and control costs. That is why the majority of doctors, nurses and hospitals support a Medicare-for-All system.

What about CIGNA, Wellpoint, United and Humana? Their place in American health care would disappear.  They would be replaced with one insurance pool. The Medicare system that serves the elderly so well would be expanded to cover all Americans. “Everybody in. Nobody out.”

How would such changes save money? Upfront we as a country would save at least half a trillion dollars in administrative costs, waste and profits. That sizeable savings would be used to cover everyone.

At birth, everyone would get a health insurance card. This card would give you access to any doctor or hospital in the United States. Free, unfettered choice of doctor and hospital. This is unlike our current practice of allowing health insurance companies to tell us which doctors and hospitals we can see.

As it stands, if you don’t have health insurance–or if you have insurance with sizeable co-pays and deductibles–you’re likely to stay away from a doctor or hospital until the condition becomes  critical, and then most likely you will end up in your local ER.

Obvious positives: A Medicare-for-All system would cut drug prices by more than 40%. A Medicare-for-All system would  emphasize prevention. “An ounce of single-payer prevention is worth a pound of high-tech cure.” A Medicare-for-All system would be a powerful voice against alcohol, tobacco, junk food and sugary beverages. Furthermore, a single-payer system would store treatment results in a single database, doctors would have access to more complete research data, thereby making it easier to detect the dangers of certain drugs and environmental and workplace exposures.

Our inadequate health care system leaves millions out in the cold. Until every American is covered the body count will continue to rise. Remember at least 100 Americans die daily directly related to their inability to pay for health care. Tens of millions of people face crushing medical bills, even people with insurance are forced to choose between medicine and basic necessities like food and shelter. This is WRONG.  Medical bills are the number one cause of personal bankruptcies in the United States.

Health insurance costs are going to continue to spin wildly out of control. Insurance premiums are doubling every six years, and insurers are continually pushing for patient increases in the share of cost, most definitely through higher deductibles and co-payments they demand from their customers.

Bernie has it right. There can be no compromise with the health insurance industry.  Putting the sharks in charge of the goldfish makes no sense. If Paul Ryan has his way that will be the result, seniors will be at the mercy of insurance companies.  The ACA tried to keep the insurance companies in the game, however it has become clear to most of us who are following this issue closely that the insurance industry will give less at more cost. Ryan’s voucher program in place of Medicare-for-All would be a disaster.

Remember every day 100 Americans die from lack of health insurance. Every day hundreds go bankrupt from medical bills. Both a national tragedy and a national disgrace. We must support sensible policy and sensible policy is Medicare-for-All. There is an army of lobbyists representing health care and drug industry visiting legislators everyday their central mission is to block Medicare-for-All.

Public Citizen is a citizen action group working on many public policy issues, one of them being Medicare-for-All. In a recent mailer Public Citizen responded to 6 “Myths and Lies” about a single-payer system. I would like to share their responses to the most frequent arguments.

1.) Argument: Single-payer is government-run health care.

WRONG.

Government run health care is the Veterans Administration. Or the British system where the government pays for the doctors and hospitals.

Under Single-payer you get a health care card and you can go to any doctor or hospital in the U.S.

Doctors are not employees of the government. Hospitals stay in private hands. You get free choice of doctor and hospital.

2.) Argument: Single-payer will lead to rationing, like in Canada.

WRONG.

Right now in the United States, the private health insurance companies ration care.

If you don’t have health insurance, you don’t get health care. More than 30 million Americans now lack health insurance.

That’s why 100 Americans die every day from lack of health care.

There are some problems in the Canadian system, but most of what you hear about long lines is health insurance industry propaganda.

Zero, let me repeat that, zero people die every day in Canada due to lack of health insurance.

3.) Argument: Costs will skyrocket under single-payer.

WRONG.

Single-payer is the only health care reform that will save enough money to ensure everyone.

By eliminating the health insurance industry, the country will save $500 billion a year or more in administrative costs and profits.

That money is then used to insure those who lack insurance and fully cover those who are under-insured.

Yes, more people will be seeking health care because they will now have insurance. But they will be taking care of medical problems early, thus preventing more costly treatment later.

4.) Argument: Drugs will be more difficult to get under single-payer.

WRONG.

The drug industry would have you believe that there will be less research and development under a single-payer system.

In fact, much medical research is now funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Under single-payer, this would grow.

Also, drugs will be cheaper under single-payer.

When all patients are under one system, the payer wields a lot of clout.

For example, the VA gets a 40% discount on drugs because of its buying power.

This single-payer buying power is the main reason other countries’ drug prices are lower than those in this country. (*Now you know why the drug industry is so opposed to a potential single-payer system.)

5.) Argument: Single-payer will cover less than the insurance I have now.

WRONG.

For the majority of Americans, single-payer will be a vast improvement.

All medically necessary care would be funded through the single-payer, including doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, mental health services, nursing home care, rehab, home are, eye care and dental care.

An enlightened single-payer will also result in a sharp increase in public health funding to prevent disease.

No more bills. No more deductibles. No more co-pays.

6.) Argument: Single-payer will cost me more than I’m paying now for private health insurance.

WRONG.

The majority of Americans will pay about the same or less than they are paying now.

Instead of paying premiums to a private insurance company, most of us will pay a similar or smaller amount in taxes.

So, now, if you are paying $8,000 in premiums for a family of four with a $4,ooo deductible, your yearly liability is at least $12,000.

It is most likely that you will pay less than that in taxes to fund a universal single-payer.

There will be no deductibles or co-pays.

And, you can go to see any doctor or check into any hospital in the United States.

Thanks again Public Citizen for answering a lot of the common questions people have about single-payer. Public Citizen is fighting for single-payer every day.  Put them on your donation list.

Calamity Politics is an online news magazine presenting a progressive view of politics and policy. Join me for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

(**In my perfect world the health care insurance card would also a national voter ID. A guarantee to get access to voting nationwide. Just my idea to stop the calls of fraudulent voters and the ongoing suppression of the vote.**)

3 Million Children Die

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3 Million Children Die

D. S. Mitchell

Doctor’s Without Borders is a world recognized international medical humanitarian organization. The international medical relief organization was awarded the Nobel Peace in 1999. DWB delivers medical care to patients with NO political or religious agenda. The organization goal is to treat people where the need is the greatest. Helping people threatened by violence and social upheaval, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics or other health emergencies.

Worldwide, malnutrition accounts for 50% of deaths in children under 5 years old. Malnutrition claims 3 million children, making malnutrition the single greatest threat to child survival. Doctor’s Without Borders sends mobile clinics out into the most rural areas, where often conditions are untenable. Malnutrition in these regions is a huge problem. The DWB mobile teams have saved thousands of lives.

In the middle of emergency situations DWB medical teams work to break malnutrition’s cycle. Children under 2 years of age have small stomachs and very specific nutritional needs. If their diets are deficient in just one of the 40 essential nutrients they need, it weakens their young immune systems, and their chances of dying from even a minor infection or disease increases dramatically.

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A Growing Wave Favors Single Payer Health Care

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A Growing Wave Favors Single Payer Health Care

D. S. Mitchell

Across the nation our cities and towns are full of working families, seniors and students who are uninsured or struggling with unmanageable health care costs. Americans spend more money per person on health care than any other industrialized country with worse results.

For many, the lack of access to affordable health care leads to decreased quality of life. It often is choices. The choice of being able to work, or attend school. A choice between food, or medication. For others it boils down to waiting until the health care situation becomes emergent. Sadly, for many it leads to death.

Health care affects all Americans. Whether it affects you, or your neighbor, your sister, your grandmother. Affordable health care crosses traditional boundaries and is one public policy issue that touches us all. It is a unifying thread of need, not of agreement.

The New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt offered new ideas and new solutions for a country without health care and created the first American social safety net. More than eighty years have passed since the first struggles to provide basic health care was initiated in the United States. A lot has happened since the 1930’s but America still is struggling with a realistic view of health care. Public health care policy that serves the most people the most effectively should be the agreed goal.

As I have mentioned in the past it is time we join the countries of the modern world and provide health care for all. Once you decide health care is a human right, not the privilege of a few that are wealthy enough to afford insurance, great movement can take place. Once that thought has been internalized we must take those beliefs to the ballot box. Vote your values and make sure that your elected officials vote our values. We must hold them accountable.

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How To Monitor Your Blood-Pressure And Save Your Life

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How To Monitor Your Blood Pressure And Save Your Life

D. S. Mitchell

I am an RN. As a result, I will often blog about health care, and health care news. Today I thought I would draw attention to the ‘silent killer,’ high blood pressure. It is known as the silent killer because it has no warning signs or symptoms. Approximately 75 million adult Americans have high blood pressure. In 2016 the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported high blood pressure as the primary cause for the death of 410,000 Americans.

High blood pressure occurs when our arteries become clogged with a waxy substance called plaque. Plaque forms due to a variety of reasons, most particularly these causes are defined as life style causes. There are of course hereditary factors at work, but for most modern adult Americans, high blood pressure is about life style choices.

The American Heart Association indicates that “while the incidence of high Blood pressure is way up from 10 years ago, and 46% of Americans know they have it, most refuse to do anything about it,” says Brion Oaks an AHA spokesman.

The literature is clear, if left uncontrolled, elevated blood pressure can lead to stroke, eye and kidney damage.  High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of heart disease, the #1 killer of Americans. Think about that. High blood pressure can be directly correlated to the nation’s number one killer.

What do those numbers on the sphygmometer mean? Blood pressure measures are identified as systolic and diastolic. Systolic is the top number, and measures the pressure when the heart contracts and pumps blood into the body. Diastolic is the bottom number, and measures the pressure when the heart is resting and refilling with blood.

The big change in today’s recommendations from doctor’s is that American’s should track their blood pressure at home. You can buy a sphygmometer at Walgreens, Walmart or most any pharmacy. I think that for the average person the wrist monitor is the most practical and easiest to use. Self monitoring is important for initial diagnosis and proper management once diagnosed.

It has been long recognized that just a trip to the doctor’s office can send a person’s blood pressure to stratospheric heights. Commonly known as “white coat syndrome” because many people are nervous and under stress when they are at the doctor’s office.

Both numbers are important but that top number, the systolic pressure is particularly significant when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Multiple factors affect blood pressure readings, including, gender, age, stress, smoking, obesity and other factors. 120/80 is considered ideal. 139/89 is early warning range. And 140-170/90-110 are numbers that should send you running to the doctor’s office.

Home monitoring is a reliable way for people to identify their own range of measurements and work with their physician to diagnose and develop a treatment model with the goal to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke.

A truck load of studies have shown that patient engagement in their own health care is vital. Monitoring our own blood pressure is a major part in staying healthy. According to American Heart Association statistics show that only about 52% of the people suffering from high blood pressure have it under control. That’s why it is essential to know your numbers. Home monitoring detects warning signs.

If you lower the systolic pressure by as little as 10 points it can mean a 30-50% reduction in your risk of death. Pretty cool, huh?

TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE:
1.) Lose weight. BP increases as weight goes up.
2.) Think before you shake. Be salt smart, stop adding salt to your food and read labels to eliminate those packaged foods with high sodium content.
3.) Eat fruits, whole grains, veggies and low-fat dairy. Eating healthy has its rewards.
4.) Quit smoking. Blood pressure spikes every time you smoke a cigarette.
5.) Cut back on coffee. Caffeine spikes your blood pressure.
6.) Meditate, or find a way to limit stress.
7.) Limit alcohol. Practice moderation. One or two drinks a couple of times a week can be beneficial to lower pressure. Excessive alcohol consumption is vigorously discouraged.
8.) Exercise and be physically active.  If you are a couch potato, start easy. Hopefully working up to an hour per day. Getting active will help your attitude, your weight and your overall well-being, and that pesky elevated  BP will noticeably improve.

Home blood pressure monitoring is important. Patterns and trends should be discussed with your doctor. Be proactive, not reactive. A blood pressure monitor can be picked up for about $40, and is well worth the investment and the commitment you will be making to your health and well-being.

Calamity Politics is an online political news magazine with a progressive agenda. Join Calamity Politics as we comment and opinionate on the news from Washington.

Join the Resistance

Dar

Class Warfare, GOP Style

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Class Warfare, GOP Style

D. S. Mitchell

The NY Times on 11/16/17 published a great opinion piece written by Paul Krugman. If you didn’t see it, I will try to summarize the article as best I can, because the core of the message is worth repeating.

Mitch McConnell & Paul Ryan have been lying when they said the GOP tax plan would not raise taxes on any middle class families.The Congressional score keeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, reported that approximately 38 million middle-class families would see higher taxes under the Senate Republican proposal.

Both Senate and House bill will offer huge tax giveaways to international corporations and the billionaire class. The Republicans have tried to limit the impacts of these tax cuts on the budget deficit by eliminating tax credits and exemptions that mainly benefit the middle class. As such many in the lower and middle class will see their taxes go up.

“But focusing on how many would face tax increases gets at only a small part of what’s going on here,” Krugman said. Continuing, he pointed out, “It is top-down class warfare, coupled with the false claims that they are  cutting taxes on the middle class, which has been standard GOP operating procedure for a long time.”

Krugman points out that the tactics of the current GOP leaders is not just a replay of the Bush playbook from 2001 and 2003, although there are similarities. Similarities between then and now are: 1.) Tax breaks that phase in and out. 2.) Misleading examples and calculations to give the false impression of a tax cut for the middle class 3.) Asserting that the tax cuts come free, blurring the fact that the cuts will be offset by cuts to popular programs such as Medicaid and Medicare 4.) Continuing to pretend eliminating the “death” tax is about helping the small family farm, or business.

Krugman asserts that there is an ugly twist to the latest GOP robbery scam. In the 2017 money grab, the goal seems to be to favor wealth, especially inherited wealth, over labor. In the new tax bill he notes multiple measures that make it harder for the children of the middle class to work up the golden ladder.

The prime example is the GOP plan to eliminate, or sharply reduce taxes on inherited wealth, which currently apply to only a tiny number of huge estates. The inheritance tax has been morphed by the GOP into a multitude of family farms being sold off to pay estate taxes. Definitely not true. Best estimates indicate only about 80–eighty, businesses or farms pay any estate tax each year. “The GOP tax bill is about making wealthy heirs even wealthier,” Krugman asserts.

A new proposed tax loophole would benefit large business owners–but only as long as they don’t have hands control. So that definitely lets out the little guy. The House bill, according to Krugman, “doesn’t just raise taxes on many middle-class families: It selectively raises taxes on families with children. In fact, half–half!–of families with children will see a tax hike once the bill is fully phased in.”

Krugman offered several examples in his piece, including this one: Suppose a child from a working class family decides, despite financial hardship to attend college. To attend university the student will need a loan to help pay tuition, books and housing. Under the proposed tax House bill, the interest on that student loan would no longer be deductible.  In effect, such action would raise the cost of college. It would obviously narrow future opportunity for young people of limited financial means. In some instances an employer will contribute toward an employee’s educational expenses. The House plan would consider that employer contribution taxable income.

Additionally, when a parent works for a university their children are given reduced tuition. That tuition break will become taxable income. Also, tuition breaks for grad students who work as teaching or research assistants will become taxable.

The pattern becomes obvious, this is a means to “close off opportunities for children who weren’t clever enough to choose wealthy parents,” Krugman snaps.

Funding for CHIPS (Children’s Health Insurance Program) which covers more than 8 million children, expired nearly sixty days ago and the Republicans have made no attempt to restore it. Krugman sees it as “the shape of things to come;”  if tax cuts pass, and the deficit explodes which it is expected to do, the GOP will suddenly decide that deficits must be slashed and at that time the GOP will attack the social safety net and will demand cuts in social programs, many of which benefit lower-income children, disabled vets, and nursing home residents.

This attack isn’t just ordinary class warfare. This legislation appears to be aimed at perpetuating inequality into multiple future generations. Taken together, the House and the Senate bills amount to a more or less systematic attempt to provide benefits to the children of extreme wealth, while making it more difficult for less fortunate young people to achieve upward social/economic mobility.

The tax legislation the GOP is forcing through Congress with unimaginable speed, without hearings or time for any kind of serious study, is not just an attempt to reinforce plutocracy, “but to entrench a hereditary plutocracy.”

Trump and the Trump family, and nearly every one in his cabinet members will see big benefits from this fast moving legislation. Please call, email or tweet Republican senators. We must stop this bill. In addition to Krugman’s comments I suggest the near $2 trillion up front cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will devastate programs for disabled vets, critically ill children and vulnerable seniors. This is wrong.

Giving trillions of dollars to international companies is unconscionable. Make these creeps accountable. They are not invulnerable. The 2018 elections are fast approaching. We must create a Blue Tsunami to take back the halls of government for the 99%, #NotOnePenny for the 1%. Vote Democratic. Stop the GOP tax bill.

Calamity Politics is an on-line political news magazine. Calamity Politics supports a Progressive agenda and offers comment and opinion on the events of the Washington political scene. Join the Resistance.

Dar

**Thanks again to the Paul Krugman for his insight**

That Stench You Smell Is The GOP Tax Plan

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That Stench You Smell Is The GOP Tax Plan

D. S. Mitchell

The GOP plan is to raise taxes on at least 38 million middle class families, destroy health insurance  coverage for millions so as to give massive breaks to international companies and the wealthiest among us. A last-minute add-on in the Senate bill is a provision that would repeal the ACA (Obama health care law) that mandates all Americans get insurance coverage.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that dismantling the requirement would mean 4 million more uninsured people by 2019 and 13 million uninsured by 2027. Worries about an increasing population of uninsured was one of the causes of the GOP failure last summer to repeal ObamaCare. The repeal action failed amidst protests in the streets and the halls of congress.

In another last-minute move the Senate bill was altered to end personal tax reductions in 2025. Corporate tax cuts however, will be permanent. This includes dropping the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%. The corporate handouts are permanent, the family breaks are not,” said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. Wyden is my senator, and he is great. Here’s what else he had to say, “To pay for these handouts to multinational corporations, millions of Americans are going to lose their health care, millions will see their premiums skyrocket, and millions will get hit with a tax hike.”

The Republicans have been promising jobs through “trickle down” economics.  Trickle down is a proven failure. Don’t be taken in. It’s all a shell game. A bunch of nonsense.

The GOP tax bill will 1.) Repeal pro middle class personal exemptions 2.) Will eliminate medical expense deduction for approximately 10 million people 3.) Will gut the state and local tax deduction 4.) Companies that outsource US jobs will get tax breaks 5.) Gutting 1.5 trillion dollars from Medicaid & Medicare will devastate services for disabled veterans, seniors and critically ill children 6.) Eliminate the ACA mandate.

The GOP tax cuts will add 1.5 trillion dollars to the deficit. This is disgusting. The 1% do not need any tax cuts. Secondly, the elimination of the estate tax only effects people who are worth more than 5 million dollars, and if you have a good CPA he is smart enough to adjust those numbers for the beneficiaries of an estate worth over 5 million. The estate tax, or the “death tax” effects the most wealthy, and by eliminating the estate tax the GOP will be perpetuating the wealth of the 1% into perpetuity.

Now is the time. Call and tweet Republican Senators and tell them No to their tax fraud. The idea that Republicans are so desperate to pass anything is a sad state of their governing. A bad bill is a bill that helps the few, and harms the many. That’s what we have here. Bad legislation based on donor needs, not the needs of the 99%.

Calamity Politics is a political on-line news magazine that offers a lot of opinion & comment with a progressive agenda well identified. Join the Resistance.

Darlene