New Study Undercuts Core GOP Claim About Health Care
Business Week reports on a new study that links exploding health care costs to the underperformance of the broader economy:
In a first-of-its-kind study, the non-profit Rand Corp linked the rapid growth in U.S. health care costs to job losses and lower output. The study, published online by the journal Health Services Research, gives weight to President Barack Obama’s dire warnings about the impact of rising costs if Congress does not enact health care reform.
It’s true, as Business Week says, that the finding that health care costs hurt the economy finding gives weight to Obama’s arguments. More to the point, though, it undercuts a core GOP claim: That Obama’s health care reform plan will prove devastating to the economy. This study, by contrast, finds that doing nothing is the real danger.
This seems like a useful talking point for the pro-reform forces, given that Business Week seems to approve of the findings and isn’t exactly a bastion of diehard commies.
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As a wise commenter once said: Ooh booga booga, do something. And it just so happens we have these musty old five-year plans that have all the answers. And it just so happens that the plan is a huge giveaway for government employee unions. Talk about serendipity.
Yet another core belief of the GOP has been demonstrated wrong?
Who would have guessed?
(Giggles uncontrollably…………)
kind of OT but Obama is on fire just now in Ohio, really worth watching.
@Greg: Foul!
It’s possible that both things are true: (1) Obama’s health care reform plan will prove devastating to the economy. (2) Doing nothing is a real danger.
How about trying (3) Doing something that doesn’t cost as much as Obama’s plans?
Recall that so far the CBO scoring shows that these plans increase fed spending for healthcare.
yes, sbj, the CBO scores do. Which is why the Dems are working hard to make it deficit-neutral.
Well they’re probably not going to make it revenue neural by rushing it through without a complete and detailed analysis.
@holy: They are trying hard to make it deficit neutral over ten years. The CBO was talking about the longer term impact on federal spending. Who cares if it is deficit neutral for 10 years if it busts our budget in 20?
The problem with Greg’s post is that he is saying this Rand study undercuts a GOP claim that, apparently, doing nothing is better than Obama’s plan. I don’t really hear that “GOP claim” being made too much. That’s an Obama strawman.
@ sbj, Greg doesn’t say that at all. He says the GOP claim is Obama’s plan will prove devastating to the economy. Not that they want to do nothing. Greg says the report claims doing nothing is worse.
But what is your party proposing? If they aren’t “doing nothing” then what is they are doing? Maybe they aren’t saying “let’s do nothing,” but y’all sure aren’t doing something.
This is not the time for reason sbj, it is the time for “terra” as the cool kids used to say. We have to do exactly what the SEIU, AFSCME, Dodd, Rangel, Pelosi, the whole CBC. We have to do this today. Doing anything else would be foolish because those entities truly are our best and brightest.
Also, it is terrible to have a doctor get paid to give you tests; it is better that he should be paid to not give you the test. Peace is War, Eastasia, etc.
Obama also gives out the telemarketer-like script he wants his followers to use when calling Congresspeople. Maybe I’m not Baby Hugo after all. First Nico Pitney and now this?
Nothing will make any difference as long as Harry Reid is the leader of the Senate. He’s the worst excuse for a Democratic Senate leader I’ve ever seen. I want Chuck Schumer – what’s it going to take? Reid is not helping our president and it’s ridiculous for a Democratic leader to buck our Democratic president.
And gee, Greg – what a cute new troll you have here in BabyHugo. Dumber than dirt, but cute.
Tena
I have to give it to sbj, at least he gives commentary thats close enough to logic to be a good troll. That other guy doesn’t even say anything worthy of reading.
sgwhite – Right again. Babyhugo is classic troll.
sbj is sumpin else – he/she reminds me of the old school trolls from back in the day – WalterCronkite, Tomaig – those guys were ******** who actually had reasoned arguments. Some of the time anyway.
I am thinking of changing my name to Voice of America, because apparently the first time many of you enslaved people have heard the message. Our signal only comes through in waves though, since we are broadcasting from Planet Taxpayer. The distances between us and the Hungry Maw Galaxy are huge.
And how do you know it is me, and not you? Maybe you have allergies.
Who said this president was a genius? Oh yeah, you losers.
@sg and tena: Thanks for the kind words. I encourage all the readers to participate in a useful way.
“Our signal only comes through in waves though, since we are broadcasting from Planet Taxpayer. The distances between us and the Hungry Maw Galaxy are huge.”
I hear ya loud and clear – you are not complicated. You don’t like paying taxes. Too damn bad.
You know, I’d be willing to bet you have never been above the 25% bracket, if you’ve ever been close to it. The amount Mr. Tena and I pay would cause you to have a stroke and I worked myself almost to death to get those taxes raised because I care about this country and the people in it and when tax cuts are ruining everything, then I don’t appreciate the extra bucks, frankly. I’d rather have a country that works right.
You’re just immature, frankly, and aptly named yourself BabyHugo.
OT, but Damn right, Obama’s not backing down.
Obama: “I Am Surprised By The Controversy” Over My Comments On Gates Arresthttp://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/obama-i-am-surprise-by-the-controversy-over-my-comments-on-gates-arrest.php
Glad Obama is taking a stand on this.
The Republicans are going to step into another race-baiting pool before too long.
They should just let it go, becasue like Joe the Plumber, how soon before this Crowley guy (if he is truly a racist, which I don’t think he is, I just think as Obama said he acted stupidly) or some of his hero worshippers like “Whites under siege” Limbaugh says something more stupid
This has all gone far beyond a party issue! Its no longer a political game! We are talking real life issues that will effect all people!
This is the only healthcare Bill breakdown I know of to show and its a Conservative site. I wish it were just a site without party affiliation! This link should go viral so everyone is understanding what this healthcare means to all people! http://www.freesignartwork.com/health.html and here is the pdf of the actual bill for comparison http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
Are you coming onto me Tena? But seriously, I used to be the kind of lawyer who worked at a bog law firm like Michelle. You know the one that bent over backwards to keep their primma dona happy before shuttling her off to the University of Chicago Hospital to be their VP for Community Affairs at $300,000 per year.
But in her defense, at least she worked at a real law firm, not the kind of extortion and Chicago Machine lobbying firm that the President used to work for. Before being made a professor despite never having published a single scholarly article on the law.
I couldn’t believe Kristol went after Michelle over her job. I mean, where does he get off suggesting that rather than unnecessary tonsil surgeries by the physician/sadists, a big part of our “exploding health care costs” might be due to hospitals being pressured into giving a sinecure to the mobbed-up wife of a rising political star. The nerve.
Ok…um…sbj and i go at it all the time he’ll tell you that as well…but I so want to make a CLEAR distinction between sbj and this Baby Hugo nums….and um Baby Hugo, if you don’t like paying any taxes…I think you may want to check out Afghanistan, they don’t have any taxes at all, you can keep every single red cent…have fun!!
Um Jenn, how about I continue getting the better of the argument and maybe my taxes will go down? Um, yeah, I think I’ll do that. What are you using Dragon Naturally Speaking to post these comments from your hospital bed?
Jenn: With sbj you can have a disagreement and a conversaion. Don’t feed the Babe. He is an unconcerned troll; and dim to boot.
vic: good one; just learning about the semi-colon are we?
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I worry about the Healthcare Plan. Can it create costly effects to my ? How do the benefits counterbalance the bad changes?
I am worried about the Proposed Healthcare Plan. Can it cause bad changes to my loved ones ? Do the positives counterbalance the bad changes?