A universal single-payer, not-for-profit healthcare system could help lift tens of mi

The margin of "victory" for the Part D legislaton was driven by GOP congressman:

Why did those lawmakers not demand accountability before handing out hundreds of billions of dollars of our hard-earned money? The current hue and cry over the misappropriation of the bailout money is a bit hypocritical, don't you think, given that it's coming from he same idiots that had the ability to place controls on how the money was spent?

Yes, poor financial practices of the past are coming home to roost. The answer to that is not to hand over more money to those who have already proven an inability to manage it responsibly.

While the Congress debated the terms and conditions for the Wall Street bailout, Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson included a $140 billion tax break for banks in the package without oversight. The legality of the move is now questioned as Senator Bernie Sanders, (I), Vermont and Representative Lloyd Doggett, (D), Texas propose overturning the loophole.

Medicare for All (Single Payer) Reform Would Be Major Stimulus for Economy with 2.6 Million New Jobs, $317 Billion in Business Revenue, $100 Billion in Wages. The number of jobs created by a single payer system, expanding and upgrading Medicare to cover everyone, parallels almost exactly the total job loss in 2008, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study.

I couldn't agree more and the fact that the US Treasury Dept. was unprepared to monitor and track the bailout funds is now, in hindsight, the subject of an intense investigation by Obama's transition team....

Instead of sweeping the damages under the rug, I believe the Obama team is proceeding with due diligence and trying to institute public interest safety controls to limit the damage.

President Clinton left President Bush with a balanced budget. Ths was promptly squandered....

And the actions of the Obama team to protect the financial interests of the citizen of the U.S. include the appointment of a Treasury Secretary (who will take over doling out the bailout money) who couldn't get his own tax return straight. But then, neither could Tom Daschle, nominee for Sec. of HHS. Are you seeing a pattern here? Do you wonder why I fail to trust these people? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Luke Mitchell of Harper’s Magazine Mentions H.R. 676 in February Issue
This month, Rep. Conyers’ universal healthcare bill, H.R. 676, was mentioned in the Harper’s Magazine. H.R. 676 is a bill that would cover all Americans with guaranteed, high quality healthcare. For almost a year now, Rep. Conyers has been meeting with doctors from many specialties, public health experts, labor advocates, consumer advocates, and universal healthcare organizers, to discuss methods of increasing support for single-payer in the upcoming discussion on healthcare reform.

These meetings are designed to let members of Congress know that single-payer organizers are unified behind H.R. 676and would like for the bill to be part of the upcoming discussion on healthcare reform. The meetings have been open to the public; all members of Congress and their staffs have been invited.

At one meeting, Luke Mitchell of Harper’s Magazine was in attendance. In an article in this month’s issue, Mitchell describes what he saw. Mitchell mentions the open nature of the meetings and the skillful presentation of the single-payer advocates. The meeting Mitchell attended focused on the elimination of racial and economic disparities in health outcomes that exist under the current system. Such an elimination reduces the financial burden on consumers that current system exacerbates.
The following can be attributed to Rep. Conyers:
“It is very pleasing to see that single-payer healthcare was mentioned favorably in such a widely circulated publication. For years, many people have worked extremely hard to show the merits of this type of system. Now that we know that the discussion on healthcare reform is taking place in the very near future, this article furthers the case for single-payer will be taken seriously as a comprehensive method for financing healthcare. Because of its inherent cost-containing mechanisms, it is time others seriously consider bringing single-payer into the discussion on reform.”

Well, what I'm seeing is that they've owned up and paid up. I can respect that.

I think Obama's election will make it a lot harder for corporate cronyism to continue to fool us twice.

They didn't own up and pay up because they had sudden attacks of conscience. They owned up and paid up because they were under public pressure and scrutiny to do so in order to get plum jobs.

I appreciate that you respect their actions.

I don't, because I don't believe there is any sincerity or remorse behind them. Hence, I don't trust these people in public positions.

It's not corporate cronyism that has fooled us twice. It is our elected officials who have failed to represent the interests of the American people and Obama seems to be furthering this travesty with his poor choices in appointments.