Shady Backflash (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} merlinswheel) wrote,@ 2007-07-11 13:58:00 |
|
dubya invents new word to help him better tackle health care crisis
i was reading a link off crooksandliars.com talking about how dubya is still implying that he is not a politician in washington. (we know he spent a record amount of time in crawford, texas on vacation, but that still does not, technically, mean that his job description does not include, by its very definition, being a politician in washington.)
well, in the course of reading this tedious road accident -- which is to say typical bush speechifying -- i noticed the self-proclaimed commander guy made the following statements in regards to health care in america:
"In other words, the whole plan has got to be to bring more accountability into health care, to make the consumer more responsible for making proper and rational decisions. That's what accountability does. And I applaud you for that, Doc. That's what transparency in pricing means, that you should be able to shop for price.
"But the system, by the way, the tax system does not enable the individual to be incented to buy insurance in the private sector. If you work for a company and you get insurance, you get a good -- you get a good tax benefit. If you're an individual and buy insurance, you don't get the same tax benefit. That doesn't make any sense. The tax code needs to be reformed. The tax code ought to treat everybody equally when it comes to health care. And therefore, one proposal, one way to deal with that is something I talked to the Congress about, and said, if you're a married person and you're working, you ought to get a $15,000 deduction, just like a mortgage deduction, from your income, whether you're working for corporate America, or you're working on your own; whether you're working for a small-business owner, or you're looking for a job.
"And that way, you begin to make sure the tax code is a level playing field. And that way, an individual market begins to grow, because you have got an incentive at that point in time to go out and purchase health care. As a matter of fact, you won't get your deduction unless you purchase health care if you're in the individual market.
"The whole point I'm trying to make is there's an alternative to federalization of health care. It doesn't make a nice, neat sound bite. It's not something that's easy to sell -- what do you care about making sure you expand S-CHIP? That sounds nice and cozy, but nevertheless, it is an alternative that will work, and it is working, right here in America today."
enable the individual to be incented?!?
this guy's command of the english language is a complete fucking road accident.
it's a small point when put against the backdrop of the iraq invasion, katrina, vote caging, the attorney general firings, the outing of a CIA agent, the presumably nefarious but extraordinarily well-concealed energy task force commission plans, the largest attack on US soil in the nation's history, wiretapping of the citizens by the NSA, international CIA torture camps, repeal of habeus corpus via the military commissions act, etc. etc. etc. but, uh, it is still rather pathetic that we have a national figurehead who critiques immigrants for not using the national language and can't articulate the language himself.
i know at this late stage in the national shame that is the bush administration i'm not going to reach anyone who hasn't already decided if they are "with him or against him" (that is to say, with the enemy -- however nebulously defined it may be) but you'd hope that by year seven as the never elected but craftily appointed two term president of the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world, his handlers would have learned how to keep this guy from opening his mouth and removing all doubt that he is a complete and utter tool.
i was reading a link off crooksandliars.com talking about how dubya is still implying that he is not a politician in washington. (we know he spent a record amount of time in crawford, texas on vacation, but that still does not, technically, mean that his job description does not include, by its very definition, being a politician in washington.)
well, in the course of reading this tedious road accident -- which is to say typical bush speechifying -- i noticed the self-proclaimed commander guy made the following statements in regards to health care in america:
"In other words, the whole plan has got to be to bring more accountability into health care, to make the consumer more responsible for making proper and rational decisions. That's what accountability does. And I applaud you for that, Doc. That's what transparency in pricing means, that you should be able to shop for price.
"But the system, by the way, the tax system does not enable the individual to be incented to buy insurance in the private sector. If you work for a company and you get insurance, you get a good -- you get a good tax benefit. If you're an individual and buy insurance, you don't get the same tax benefit. That doesn't make any sense. The tax code needs to be reformed. The tax code ought to treat everybody equally when it comes to health care. And therefore, one proposal, one way to deal with that is something I talked to the Congress about, and said, if you're a married person and you're working, you ought to get a $15,000 deduction, just like a mortgage deduction, from your income, whether you're working for corporate America, or you're working on your own; whether you're working for a small-business owner, or you're looking for a job.
"And that way, you begin to make sure the tax code is a level playing field. And that way, an individual market begins to grow, because you have got an incentive at that point in time to go out and purchase health care. As a matter of fact, you won't get your deduction unless you purchase health care if you're in the individual market.
"The whole point I'm trying to make is there's an alternative to federalization of health care. It doesn't make a nice, neat sound bite. It's not something that's easy to sell -- what do you care about making sure you expand S-CHIP? That sounds nice and cozy, but nevertheless, it is an alternative that will work, and it is working, right here in America today."
enable the individual to be incented?!?
this guy's command of the english language is a complete fucking road accident.
it's a small point when put against the backdrop of the iraq invasion, katrina, vote caging, the attorney general firings, the outing of a CIA agent, the presumably nefarious but extraordinarily well-concealed energy task force commission plans, the largest attack on US soil in the nation's history, wiretapping of the citizens by the NSA, international CIA torture camps, repeal of habeus corpus via the military commissions act, etc. etc. etc. but, uh, it is still rather pathetic that we have a national figurehead who critiques immigrants for not using the national language and can't articulate the language himself.
i know at this late stage in the national shame that is the bush administration i'm not going to reach anyone who hasn't already decided if they are "with him or against him" (that is to say, with the enemy -- however nebulously defined it may be) but you'd hope that by year seven as the never elected but craftily appointed two term president of the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world, his handlers would have learned how to keep this guy from opening his mouth and removing all doubt that he is a complete and utter tool.
