I saw an estimate in the trillions for “Medicare for All,” and it got me thinking about the humbug that passes for political discourse these days. I don’t care whether you’re a diehard conservative or a doctrinaire Socialist, you’ll probably agree there’s no free lunch. The government has to find money from somewhere to […]
Continue reading…
Posts tagged with 'health care debate'
Oh, Those Scary Labels!
Democratic Party bigwigs are reportedly cowering in fear because the base is turning to “Democratic Socialism.” I wish those old fossils would (as one of my readers might put it) get a grip. Yes, the Socialist label has been demonized in America. And. yes, some brands of Socialism have failed spectacularly all over the […]
Continue reading…
The Killing of Obamacare
As the Republicans in Congress launch yet another attack on Obamacare, I wonder what they think they would achieve. Why deliberately deprive millions of their health care? Why sabotage Medicaid? What do they think they would gain from inflicting such widespread suffering? The latest proposal would let the states control health insurance, and this would be […]
Continue reading…
The Health Care Puzzle
I don’t suppose Bernie’s bill to make Medicare available to Americans of all ages will become law. Not as long as Republicans control Congress, anyway. But it would be a great boon to this society. The main stumbling block is opposition from health insurance companies. Understandably, they don’t want to lose their multibillion-dollar market. If I […]
Continue reading…
Kamala Harris for President
We Jamaicans are not easily intimidated. Ask Kamala Harris. Or, better yet, ask John McCain. Ask Richard Burr. They were among the Republican senators who tried – and failed – to shut her up during recent committee hearings. She kept talking back. Yes, a woman, a black woman, had the temerity to stand up to her […]
Continue reading…
A Time for Outrage
Is health care a “basic human right,” as some politicians contend? Or is it a privilege, as others insist? And why does it matter? To me, the real question is not about rights. It’s about basic human decency. What kind of person would see a neighbor hurt in a car crash or stricken by […]
Continue reading…
When People are Pawns
America is losing its most precious asset – its humanity. I used to think of Americans as generous, compassionate people. And I still see signs of these admirable traits. In the success of so many crowd funding projects, for example… In the open-handed response to the needs of children’s hospitals… In random tales of individual […]
Continue reading…
A Modest Proposal
Clearly, the most logical alternative to Obamacare is a program similar to Canada’s. But that’s “socialism,” and no Republican Congress would agree to anything like that. So I’m offering them a way to give the voters some health care help without antagonizing their benefactors or their base. Nobody has ever accused George W. Bush of being a socialist. Yet when […]
Continue reading…
Boll Weevils Need to Go
The Democratic Party will be doomed to failure if it tries to be a “big tent.” Big tents have no soul, no star to steer by. If you want my vote, stand for something and make it clear what you stand for. Here’s a little poem they taught me at school in Jamaica: Live for something, have […]
Continue reading…
The Quality of Mercy
Who would take a trillion dollars from the poor and sick to provide billions in tax cuts for the richest Americans? And do it openly for all the world to see? The answer is 217 Republican members of the House of Representatives. And Trump. These people are prepared to let the poor sicken and die so that the […]
Continue reading…