While we continue to pray for Ted Kennedy and his loved ones, his prognosis is apparently not a hopeful one. Nevertheless, the last liberal lion is working on a legacy he can pass on to the next great liberal hope: socialized medicine.
From his sickbed, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has secretly been orchestrating meetings with lobbyists and lawmakers from both parties to craft legislation that would greet the new president with a plan to provide affordable medical coverage to all Americans, a measure he has called "the cause of my life."
Mr. Kennedy has been sidelined for months with a dangerous form of brain cancer. But despite his disheartening medical prognosis - or maybe because of it - aides and activists say, the Massachusetts Democrat's decades-long quest for health care reform may now be closer to success than ever.
"There is a serious process moving forward and that augurs well," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a nonprofit health care advocacy group. "There really is a sea change that should not be underestimated in terms of attitude..."
Mr. Kennedy's goal, his aides say, is to introduce a universal health care bill as soon as the new Congress convenes next year and to push quickly for its passage - a much-accelerated timetable compared with the last time that a health care overhaul was on the agenda, at the start of the Clinton administration.
"Senator Kennedy has spent the last several weeks laying the groundwork for reform so that we can be ready to go in 2009," said his spokesman Anthony Coley. "This is and has been the cause of Senator Kennedy's life."
One of the major challenges facing the next president -- whether it's John McCain or Barack Obama -- will be dealing with expanded liberal majorities in both House and Senate. Further, many Democrats kept their powder dry in the last two years to improve their chances of winning this election. Regardless of who wins, the liberal leaders and committee chairmen are chafing to move the agenda their supporters have been waiting for.
Given his influence on health care legislation and nearly 60 Democratic votes in the Senate, Kennedy can probably dictate what bill will pass the Senate. And knowing Ted Kennedy, his plan is likely to either directly provide for socialized medicine, or put us on the path to it. If Barack Obama is president, how likely is he to stand in the way of Ted Kennedy's dream?
Really Irritates Me
DavidSage October 24th, 2008 at 5:58 p.m. CDT (link)
It really has irritated me how John McCain has emphasized Ted Kennedy so much in his campaign, and about what a great relationship he has, and his outpouring of support for him.
Are we not aloud to dislike someone?
Not only are the man's politics contemptible, but the man murdered a woman as far as I'm concerned, and got away with it through his family's money and influence. Are we to rally in support of OJ Simpson when he gets on in years and becomes ill later in life?
Not only that, Kennedy's disgusting character assassinations of honorable judges like Bork and Clarence Thomas (and conservatives in general) were below the belt.
There are of course decent and good human beings on the other side of the political spectrum, but Ted Kennedy is not one of them.
Thank you for your character assassination of Ted Kennedy
BlueLandRed October 24th, 2008 at 6:27 p.m. CDT (link)
But now back to the topic at hand... socialized medicine.
This attack is coming and the Dems are getting ready to unleash a shock and awe campaign, I mean, assuming Obama wins and they pickup 7 or 8 seats in the Senate. (Gawd I hope it's not that bad, but it certainly in the realm of possibilities) They don't need 60 Dems to hold off a filibuster as they can likely flip or RINO or two. Specter is the biggest concern because he's up for election in 2010.
What worries me is that right now the Dems are scheming their evil schemes, but the GOP leadership occupied with other issues. Not that those issues aren't important, but as was pointed out the last when we fought HillaryCare, there's really no undoing socialize medicine once it gets enacted. Well, maybe, but it would be a rough fight... kinda like undoing Social Security... and you all know how successful the Republicans have been at replacing Social Security.
What worries me the most is that if McCain doesn't win, instead of immediately focusing on fighting this (and other) issues, there will be a lot of fingering pointing and blame casting throughout the rest of the year... which will be a luxury we really really can't afford.
Ted Kennedy + Character? ROFLMAO
Tbone October 24th, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. CDT (link)
nt
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
You're not excited?
SteveLA October 24th, 2008 at 6:50 p.m. CDT (link)
You're not excited by the conservative response to the health care question?
A 5000 tax credit, a tax on your employee supplied heath care, and some "magic" that's going to make it all work.
I'm not excited about Teddies plan, but to be honest John McCain's response to the question of health care is not exactly floating my boat ether. There's a real conversation to be held on the topic of what to do about access to and cost of heath care, but I'm not feeling it coming from ether the D or the R position.
______________________________________
NObama...no way!.....McCain '08 !
Back of envelope
cwilson October 24th, 2008 at 9 p.m. CDT (link)
Let's take some worst-case hypotheticals. Suppose my income is in the next-to-highest tax bracket (it isn't; geez I wish) -- and I pick that one because we're not supposed to care about the top tax bracket. The rich can suck it up, or so the zeitgeist says.
So, next-to-top: 33% (single-filer: $164,551 to $357,700). Let's assume that after all assorted deductions and whatnot, EXCEPT for those related to McCain's new proposals, are such that my AGI is $164,550. That is, every additional dollar of income will be taxed at 33%.
Now, realize that every dollar my employer pays as a consequence of keeping me on the payroll is part of MY income. It's not listed on my tax return, but that 6.2% "employer share" of SS? Mine. That 1.45% "employer share" of Medicare? Mine. It's part of the overall cost of paying my salary. I pay all of that -- even if it doesn't exactly show up on my paystub; my employer is out that much money for the privilege of my services, and he doesn't really care where it goes. Also, the amount my employer pays in premiums for my employer-provided health plan? Ditto: those dollars are mine, even though I never see them.
The way McCain's plan would work, is
1) Hey, Employer: no more tax break for paying the insurance premiums for your employees. You might as well just give those dollars (less the corporate tax you'll now have to pay on those gross earnings) -- which are part of the current existing cost of keeping cwilson employed -- directly to cwilson, and let him worry about paying those premiums. Of course, you could just stop paying those premiums, and cancel his insurance, but you could do that today. Why aren't you? Because market pressure for employees with his skills dictate that fulltime positions provide health benefits. Under the McCain plan, market pressure in that employee market will dictate a higher salary, since all such employees now (usually) need to purchase their own health coverage.
Suppose my current employer provides an average health policy. Suppose the single-person premiums are, say, $5,000 a year.
YAY! I just got a $5000 raise! Except I didn't: my employer only gave me $3,250. They kept $1750 to pay their 35% corporate tax on the $5000 of net income that is no longer tax deductible.
So, smaller yay! I just got a $3,250 raise.
2) Hey, cwilson: you get a $2500 (single; it's $5000 per family) refundable tax credit IF you buy health insurance. You might think about putting that $3,250 toward that purpose.
Boo! I just lost my $3,250 raise! And worse, I can't afford the same $5000 policy my employer used to provide.
Or can I? We'll come back to that.
Now, I have to pay taxes -- 33% in this example -- on every extra dollar I got in my "raise". That's 33% * $3250 = $1075 -- straight to Uncle Sam that I didn't have to pay before. It comes out of my pre-raise $164,550 net income! Boo!!!
But, then I get a $2500 refundable tax credit.
So: $3250 - $1075 + $2500 = $4675
net change in my income, with no tax consequences (so long as I purchase some kind of health coverage).
I can buy an average $4675 plan with no effective change in my income or taxes. Or I can kick in $325 of my own dollars to buy the original slightly-above-average plan. Not too bad...and see B, below.
Caveats:
A. I'm now purchasing on the open market. Presumably this is good, as there are now a lot of shoppers applying direct market pressure and competition to an industry that currently is locked up in backroom negotiations with employers. Also, EVERY dollar I save on premiums I get to keep, because that $2500 tax credit is refundable; I have $4675 to spend on health insurance (or keep) with effectively no tax consequences, so long as I purchase SOME sort of health coverage. Therefore, I have a strong incentive to be a savvy shopper (rather than the current system which encourages spending Other People's Money)
B. More choice is good. Lots of competition should drive down costs (or at least keep 'em from raising as fast as they would in the absence of competition).
C. But maybe I'm not able to be considered for "group" rate insurance. Maybe I was okay in a guaranteed coverage pool as "one of the N thousand employees of X" but now I'm a bad individual health risk. Honestly, I don't know how McCain's plan -- or existing law -- would play into this issue.
D. Multiple insurees, family plans: yes, the premiums will be higher -- using the number above, call it $13000 -- then because the refundable tax credit ALSO doubles to $5000, the math works out like:
$8,450 "raise" ($13000 - 35% corporate tax)
minus $2,370 28% personal tax I pay on my "raise" -- the brackets are higher for filing-jointly and HoH, so at $164550 I'm at the 28% tax bracket
plus $5,000 tax credit
That's $11,080.
Oooh. That's ugly. I need to kick in an extra 2 grand to buy my original family plan (in the absence of any cost savings due to competition).
But wait! McCain ALSO wants to double the per child tax credit from $3500 to $7000 (refundable). If I've got a kid (and I guess I do, if I'm using a "family" health plan as opposed to a "two-adult" plan), then I get an extra $3500 PER CHILD. Let's assume one:
11080 + 3500 additional child tax credit for cwilson jr == 14580.
I'm $1,580 ahead even buying my slightly-above-average family plan, and if markets work like they should, I'm way ahead of that!
Believe it or not, but the math actually seems to work, for the currently-insured, assuming average coverage. If your current employer-provided plan is a gold-plated one, then the math doesn't work out quite as good for you, but if your current plan sux, that $2500 (or $5000) boost will help you buy a better one.
If you're currently uninsured, $2500 (or $5000) won't solve the problem overnight; you can't buy even an average plan without kicking in some of your current income. However, it is hoped that (a) increased competition, (b) coupled with loosened regulations for interstate health insurance, will bring premiums down a certain amount. Maybe not all the way from avg $4700 to $2500 ($12700 to $5000), but somewhat.
AND, consider this, for the currently uninsured: surely a simple major-medical coverage plan (e.g. 80-90% coverage for the "big stuff") -- as opposed to HMO/PPO-style routine-care-is-"free" or $25 copay, plus 80-90% "big stuff" coverage -- is an improvement over being completely uninsured? And surely a major-medical coverage plan could be had for about half the cost of a standard HMO/PPO-style plan, and thus would be available to the currently-uninsured for zero net out-of-pocket cost, given the $2500 ($5000) tax credit?
Tack on the extra $3500 in ADDITIONAL per-child refundable tax credits, and families with kids will do very well indeed.
Ted Kennedy is an unrepentant murderer,
Tbone October 24th, 2008 at 6:12 p.m. CDT (link)
bound for a meeting with his maker. I hope it works out for him.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
Murder is a bit strong, voluntary manslaughter
SeriousLaff October 25th, 2008 at 3:21 a.m. CDT (link)
But then again, drunk drivers are charged with homocide all the time.
Sorry about the health problem but suffocating in a car has got to be a miserable way to go. During the autopsy, no water was in the lungs. So she suffered for a few hours while sloppy drunk Teddy went to his hotel and got some sleep. The next morning he pretended not tho know anything about his car or the accident. He must have remembered something. Enough to send his senate staff to confiscate the evidence and "lose" it.
If you can find it, get the book "Senatorial Privilege" before you shed too many tears for this guy.
If there is a hell, there is a reservation there for this guy.
he hasn't gotten enough credit for screwing the country yet? <nt>
JLenardDetroit October 24th, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. CDT (link)
RS:JLenardDetroit / Can we afford Obama SURRENDER doctrine? / Vote Psychology, Bandwagon effect, don't give up yet
+Obama Lies, and your Bank account will Die! (4/15 Truthers)
+Ignorance isn't Bliss, it is Expensive (costs us dearly every election)
+ NO to BI-partisanship, it is what keeps us "compromising" and giving in more and more to Socialistic tendencies
+ Yes to Presidential VETO, where has it been?
+ No to the "Obama Bin Biden" ticket
FAST TRACK OIL - NOW, NOW, NOW - Drill Here, Drill Now...
9/11 Day of Tragedy/Miracles / Web-Articles / Terror Strikes
This guy is unbelievable!
tstort10 October 24th, 2008 at 7 p.m. CDT (link)
If Ted wasn't a Kennedy, he probably would of passed away by now under the universal healthcare system. I have been working in Oncology now for 7 years and many canadians have to come here because there are chemo drugs that are 4 to 5 years old that are not even approved there yet. So, many cancer patients are receiving sub standard of care!! Also, if you have a serious chronic illness or something like cancer, most canadians buy a secondary insurance so they get treated faster. The clinics will take those patients over the government insurance system. Think about that, you are paying enormous taxes already for the universal healthcare system, then you have to go out and buy a secondary insurance to get treated faster!! Great system. Plus, if you are healthy, you have to pay for the obese and all of their comorbid conditions, smokers, etc. Total BS!! The main problem is (which Ted was in the lead of spearheading this initiative over the years)that foreigners come to this country and are allowed medicaid right away. Illegal immigrants get free healthcare, free cancer therapy, but a construction worker, salon person, etc would have huge medical bills if they acquired cancer. Not mentioning how long it would take to get treated. The ER abuse, welfare abuse all costs billions on the healthcare system. Remember Ted was the one that said all foreigners and their families deserve free healthcare. All this in the name of votes. Until these Dems start abiding to what us Americans have to deal with, it will never change. He fights the Pharma companies continously and I guarantee he is getting a chemo agent "off label/patent" But, he prohibits that for everyone else! I wish Senator Edwards wife and Ted Kennedy would back their words up and go get treated in Canada. But of course not, never!! Universal healthcare would kill the system and kill thousands of more jobs. The Dems are already hurting the healthcare system now. It doesn't pay to be in the medical field anymore. But, most residency programs, fellowship programs are all foreigners, mostly from India. Why? Because they get massive breaks and many don't have to pay for their schooling!! Again, TEd Kennedy spearheaded that program too. Many Americans born in America are getting screwed for doing the right thing and the Dems just condone, promote and support bad behavior and give Illegal's and foreigners everything they want. This makes me sick!! Beware if we have universal healthcare!!! We will have a 3rd world medical system. Trust me!! It is already taking a hit because of these stupid politicians that don't know anything about healthcare. God help us all!!
I remember - a quarter of a century ago ....
Lwyrett October 25th, 2008 at 3:10 a.m. CDT (link)
Some 25 years ago, while preparing to take the California bar exam, I was working as a law clerk, and one of the firm's secretaries, one of the kindest women I have ever met, had relocated with her husband to California from Canada. One of the primary reasons she and her husband relocated was the "socialized health care system of Canada" - those were her words, not mine - and when I left to take the bar, she was helping her sister relocate to the US from Canada, and was concerned - her sister had a heart condition that required surgery, and was placed on a waiting list for the surgery, which the Canadian government had "deemed elective" - again, her words - but what a doctor in the US had informed the sister was necessary to safe her life. [The sister was examined by a doctor in New York.] She was worried that her sister would lose her life before her sister could relocate, and both she and her family here and in Canada were trying to save and secure funds for her sister to have the operation here in the US.
This was the first time I had heard anything at all about the Canadian health care system, and it both appalled and scared me. This lady was so grateful to be an American citizen, and she told me that natural-born Americans took for granted so many of our country's blessings, one being our quality health care, and that our government "stayed out" - again, her words - of our health care system.
I thought of her often while "Hillary Care" was presented, and I think of her now.
I left to take the bar exam, and when I returned, she had left the firm, so to this day, I do not know what happened to her or her sister; I pray only the very best.
~ ^-^ ~
Canadian Health Care
jcheney October 25th, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. CDT (link)
Go to:
BigGovHealth.gov
You are right lwyrett.
Teds a good guy, like all drunks
Gekster October 24th, 2008 at 7:19 p.m. CDT (link)
His health care will cost billions in taxes, wich his family wont have to pay. The Kennedy fortune is safely in banks in the Fiji Islands, and probably elseware abroad.
Let's call it
kchand October 24th, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. CDT (link)
Kopeckne-care.
What irony.
Vista really sucks!
God bless Ted Kennedy
TheShovelJockey October 25th, 2008 at 3:20 a.m. CDT (link)
...as well as the next president of these United States. We can only do so much in the brief time that we are blessed to be on earth. Afterward, we can only answer to our maker.
I don't wish brain cancer on my worst adversary. I can only wish long life and good health on all of my fellow Americans.