Universal Health Care: Put Everything Else on Hold

\ 1 Comment \ by

Momentum for universal health care is slowing dramatically on Capitol Hill. Moderates are worried, Republicans are digging in, and the medical-industrial complex is firing up its lobbying and propaganda machine.

But, as you know, the worst news came days ago when the Congressional Budget Office weighed in with awful projections about how much the leading healthcare plans would cost and how many Americans would still be left out in the cold. Yet these projections didn’t include the savings that a public option would generate by negotiating lower drug prices, doctor fees, and hospital costs, and forcing private insurers to be more competitive. Projecting the future costs of universal health care without including the public option is like predicting the number of people who will get sunburns this summer if nobody is allowed to buy sun lotion. Of course the costs of universal health care will be huge if the most important way of controlling them is left out of the calculation.

Robert Reich’s Blog, June 19, 2009

I think common sense and plain speaking has taken a serious hit in the last several weeks, especially when it comes to health care. First was the growing realization that we’ll be talking about a “public option” rather than universal health care. It sounds like a too-clever-by-half Clinton strategy. I don’t think the voices of big Capital will be fooled by this sort of semantic game.

I’ll admit that there is something pleasing about the idea of setting up a alternative system so well run it puts most of the private system out of business. If done well, even a “public option” would have enourmous advantages, as Reich suggests, from the economies of scale to the built in administrative savings. Something tells me that big Capital won’t be fooled by this, either.

Reich is correct: Obama needs to become a champion of common sense and of good old American progressive pragmatism, making a very public case for universal health care and against the big Capital interests who seem hell-bent on driving the car right off the cliff, taking us with them. If we can get this and the Employee Free Choice Act we have a running chance at real change.

Posted in: Economics, Online Places

Resolution: “Recognizing and Supporting the National Day on Writing”

\ Leave a Comment \ by

RESOLUTION

Recognizing and supporting the National Day on Writing.

Whereas people in the 21st century write more than ever before for personal, professional, and civic purposes;

Whereas the social nature of writing invites people in every walk of life, in every kind of work, and at every age to generate and share ideas with other people through the written word;

Whereas more and more people in all occupations consider writing to be essential and influential in their work;

Whereas newly developing digital technologies expand the possibilities for composing in multiple media at a faster pace than ever before;

Whereas young people using forms of digital media are leading the way in new forms of composing;

Whereas even proficient writers continue to learn how to write for different purposes, audiences, and occasions throughout their lifetimes;

Whereas effective communication contributes to building a global economy and a global community;

Whereas the National Council of Teachers of English, in conjunction with its many national and local partners, celebrates the importance of writing through the designation of a National Day on Writing, which will occur this year on October 20, 2009;

Whereas the National Day on Writing celebrates the foundational place of writing in Americans’ personal, professional, and civic lives and emphasizes the importance of writing instruction and practice at every grade level and in every subject area from preschool through post-graduate education;

Whereas the National Council of Teachers of English maintains a National Gallery of Writing, which contains examples of writing by individuals from throughout the United States; and

Whereas the National Day on Writing encourages all Americans to write and to enjoy and learn from the writing of others: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) supports the National Day on Writing;

(2) strongly affirms the purposes of the National Day on Writing and encourages participation in the National Gallery of Writing as an exemplary living archive of the centrality of writing in the lives of Americans; and

(3) encourages educational institutions–

(A) to publicize and promote the National Day on Writing;

(B) to celebrate the writing of their students and employees through the submission of compositions to the National Gallery of Writing; and

(C) to support the efforts of community members, including businesses and civic associations, to submit compositions to the National Gallery of Writing.

Library of Congress, 111th CONGRESS, 1st Session, H. RES. 524

“NCTE is eager for the Resolution to get to the floor for a vote. You can have a part in that move by writing to your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives to ask her or him to become a cosponsor for the bill. ”

Posted in: Writing

Banking and the U.S. Moral Economy

\ 1 Comment \ by

At this time of widespread economic crisis when many families are experiencing financial hardship, consumer advocates are calling on regulators to prevent banks and tax preparers from making usurious refund anticipation loans which take a big bite out of low-income people’s tax refunds.

The California Reinvestment Coalition joins 30 consumer groups nationwide at a hearing on Thursday testifying before the Office of Thrift Supervision to oppose Republic Bank’s application for a charter in order to merge with Republic Bank & Trust Company.

Republic is one of the nation’s top providers of refund anticipation loans (RAL). The Kentucky-based bank charges the most expensive RAL fees of any lender, ranging from $34 to $125 and amounting to an APR of at least 161%. For a typical refund of $2,600, a RAL borrower at Republic pays a $110 loan fee. That doesn’t include a $30.95 fee to set up an account, another $30.95 for electronic deposit, and any tax preparation and filing fees.

California Progressive Report, Banks Target the Working Poor During Fiscal Crisis, Kevin Stein, Associate Director, California Reinvestment Coalition

Here’s another example of the stark depletion of the U.S. moral economy, much of it rooted in unquestioned conservative economic principles. Certain ideas just don’t come up in debate very often, almost as if they were taboo. Criticism of usury is a good example, despite the recent attempts to reform credit card laws. What’s shocking is what is so un-shocking.

In fact, the reforms just seem to have prompted the credit card companies to find other ways to rip us off. And, of course, the new rules and regulations don’t cap or in any fashion limit how much interest can be charged. That’s why these workplace loan sharks are so astonishing; they’ve pushed usury almost to its logical limit, often charging effective annual rates of several hundred percent.

You would think that this would simply be a crime that no one would question anymore than anyone questions any other sort of theft or confidence game. After years of propaganda against government regulation and a religious market idolatry, though, we seem incapable of seeing these sorts of crimes as problems, much less as crimes. Let the buyer beware has become a license to steal.

Posted in: Economics, Language, Online Places