Tuesday October 27, 2009, 1:00 pm
Fix the broken system Michael it's been broken for 100 years ~ but if you have something we have not already tried and got arrested for it so be it

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 1:05 pm
Michael Moore he's a joke. I'm waiting to see when he stops jetting around in his personal Jet lol

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 1:11 pm
Yeah I agree with you two, especially you Glenda but its about time for another cleaning out the house...in a positive way for the benefit of all. Simple stuff like supporting your local bank/credit union is a start. Cutting your credit cards (lowering credit debt) is also a refreshing novelty.

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 1:18 pm
FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people's homes are now truly worth -- and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is H.R. 3200 -- but this bill is worthless without the amendment from Rep. Anthony Weiner that will bring us closer to the real bill that should be passed: H.R. 676. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand that they support this amendment, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies -- and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies -- you name it. If a company's primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by -- and the first rule is "Do no harm." The second rule: The question must always be asked -- "Is this for the common good?" (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin's socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don't contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here's a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors' de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete's sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent -- or even a candidate from another party -- if they don't do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It's time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party -- and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama's agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action -- and he won't feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it's to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I'll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year -- or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don't have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don't believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on -- and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there's more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place "Capitalism Did This" signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth -- so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here's an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don't fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one -- the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here's how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn't be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she's right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, "Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants"). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I've turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny -- she's fit, she's rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don't put our own "oxygen mask" on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I'm sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video -- and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.

C'mon people -- we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!

Yours, Michael Moore MMFlint@aol.com MichaelMoore.com

UPDATE: My position that a single-payer system is the only solution to the health care crisis remains the same. I do not support H.R. 3200 unless it includes Rep. Anthony Weiner's amendment, which would essentially gut H.R. 3200 and replace it with Rep. John Conyers Jr.'s H.R. 676. In July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised Rep. Weiner an up or down vote on his amendment before the end of the year. At that moment this became our best chance for a single-payer, universal health care plan for all. In the heat of the health care debate, strategies change from day to day, but as it stands right now, Rep. Weiner's amendment to H.R. 3200 is the best chance we have at achieving a single-payer system in the U.S. This is the same position held by the foremost activist groups for a single-payer health care plan: Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and Healthcare-NOW! Let's ride his Trojan horse out of this mess. Write your congressmembers to demand that they support Rep. Weiner’s amendment. One thing remains clear: No health care system will be safe until every for-profit insurance company has been removed from it.

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 1:49 pm
Most of the actions he advocates are good - The problem with you Americans is that you are stesdfast in your belief in the (uncontrolled) capitalized system. "Money makes the world go around"????? You have to act now, because this opportunity may not come arond again.

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 2:19 pm
No, no, no, just look at the 1st Amendment to the Constitution: Separation of Church and State, to mean Church=Corporation and then you get Corrupt Corporate America out of the U.S. government.

Then the people can regulate and undo STUPIDITY, such as Ronny's deregulation of the banks and corporations. That is why we are in the economic mess we are today, more than any other reason, not to mention corporations are why we went to Iraq. Our blood is BLACK and we are a Nation of Vampires who when to Iraq to such the country and the Middle East Dry of the black blood. This was our fate in the minds of the plutocracy = Corporate American Government we have today when bush was their puppet president with the chief Vampire Chaney working bush's strings...

Michale Moore is great to tackle this sacrosanct subject. It is like talking about god is dead in a church to priests... Nobody will take you seriously, until you know chaney, Haliburton, to corporate run elections = all U.S. States' Secretary of States' hire corporations to count the votes in our elections and .... you know. The corruption is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 2:20 pm
Well I happen to think the man has some good ideas. Do we keep wanting to go down this same road that has done what? Make a few rich at the expense of most all.
No Arild I don't think all Americans believe in uncontrolled capitalism...there are many who do not, but few have the power to do much about it. I also think a lot were blinded to what was going on, hard to see when your in the center of the storm and all the daily propaganda is being shoved upon you.
Other Countries may see the obvious looking from the outside, looking in. But I feel the blinders or rose colored glasses has been lifted to enough people now,. Those of us with native backgrounds have always had this capitalistic crap thrown down our throats...it wasn't our way. So let us hope as you say, that many act now.

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 2:21 pm
I respectfully disagree with the those who call Michael a joke! It's not Michaels place to fix what's been broke for what ever time one deems it has. It's up to the People of this nation, those who dropped the ball all these years waiting for someone else to fix that which we have all been guilty of. Complacency! Excuses! It's the other guys problem! What's in it for me? Don't have time and all the other excuses one makes to put off what should be addressed, yesterday..

Michael Moore is one American citizen among millions that had the courage to "Dare" put his talent to use for the nation and the state he comes from, FLINT Michigan..He has stuck his neck out many times to get vital messages out.. Michael cannot fix what "We" do not lend a helping hand in accomplishing.

He could be another shallow individual making movies that go nowhere..Those who Dare make fun of Michael I "Dare" ask. What have you done to enlighten those who have slept through the downfall of this nations checks and balances? What did you do to prevent an illegal, killer of children, war in Iraq? What are your offerings which shows you care about the least of these?

I do not begrudge anyone from making money. Michaels earned his way! What gets under my skin are the hypocrites who care not for anyone but themselves and would dare use their wealth in a destructive manner. I resent Politicians on the take, receiving a great salary and all the perks that corporate America can get away with providing them. Thanks to US! While on the other hand these very same leaders would "Dare" deny the rest of the US of A a desperately needed health care system that works! But the reality is they lack, the you know what, to hold the gr$$d soaked insurers accountable for their dastardly actions which have been allowed to run rampant for years now..!

Thank you Kekuhouma for presenting this issue here in this forum..As the founder of Dare To Dream, while I share what I am able here at Care2 I have little time to do this part of Care2.. In closing I find that way too many of US are fighting the wrong enemy, each other. And that alone has allowed the real culprits to beat US at every turn. You know, that divided we fall thingy!

Michaels offerings have opened the eyes of many who were ignorant and or complacent! The writer writes! Directors direct! Actors act! And Legislators are law makers and protectors of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights! Many have dropped the ball! It's time for the People Of This Nation to do their part. If an American has no clue as to what that is then they had better do some homework because Michael is not the reason our nation in running on empty! "We" are!

Tuesday October 27, 2009, 3:17 pm
Thank you Barbara for your comment, yes I do support what Michael has presented through his documentaries and yes I also support what you mean when we need to do our part with evaluating our sick systems with intelligence and research. Like Dandelion I know that not all Americans support uncontrolled capitalism that is why for my graphic I included American economist, Alan Greenspan on the American dollar. Greenspan who on his watch during the Regan administration vehemently opposed any regulation of derivatives and silenced Brooksley Born, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission- actions which resulted in our second coming of our current Great Depression.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 12:40 am
I really like Michael Moore, and how stupid of people to make fun of him, while he is acting in THEIR interest.

I give up.... people want to hang on to that illusion that once was... The Capitalist American Dream...
It came true for 2% of the population, while 98% suffer on the behalf of the 2%.

Maybe it is wise to listen to him, I think his ideas are right on the spot.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 1:04 am
According to a Rasmussen poll, in spite of unrelenting pro-Capitalist propaganda, still some 20% of the American people, think that Socialism is a better system than Capitalism. {This means Socialism for the People; NOT the dictatorial systems of the USSR and China.}

When it comes to Young People, according to the same Rasmussen poll, the figure of those who prefer Socialism over Capitalism, rises to 30%. This is in AMERICA!

Nobody wants a violent revolution here; or believes that one could succeed, or do any good if it did. Violence only begets MORE violence.
And it is very difficult to figure out how a NON-VIOLENT revolution, based on Civil Disobedience, could succeed.
Still, we gotta TRY.

The Capitalist Corporations are completely RAPING the Environment; and there will be NOTHING LEFT in a few years. The Capitalists grab off the dwindling Natural Resources remaining on the Planet; Corporations can have no heart, no soul, no Conscience; they aren't Human. All a Corporation is, is a machine for taking more & more PROFITS unto itself.

The fact that in Law, a Corporation has the same "rights" as a Human Being -- and a Corporation is potentially IMMORTAL -- is a TRAVESTY of the Law.
A way MUST BE FOUND to REVERSE that ridiculous, destructive law that gave Corporations such "Rights".

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 1:06 am
If you like Michael Moore, you might want to check out the "About Michael Moore" group on Care2.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 3:35 am
I was surprised, since I don't care for Moore's philosophy, that some of the items are not bad. One, however, will substantially widen the gap between the rich and poor. I would advise any citizen of any country to ignore:

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

Stock market investments are for the long-term. Refusing to invest in an asset class that grows consistently over the long term is a recipe for poverty. That said, if you love Marx then why would you invest in anything anyway?

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 5:22 am
Agreed Paul.. stash the bucks away in an account and save like mad.... if they are not going to listen to us.. then it is time to make our own decisions... seek wisdom and knowledge.. there is power in knowledge and power in having ones own financial independence

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 5:49 am
Thanks Chaz, I liked his recommendation to get rid of credit cards and take care of yourself and your family. Avoiding buying stocks, generally in mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and retirement plans sounds like good advice in today's market. Based on everything that I see, no predictions that we won't see more dips. But investing in the stock market is only appropriate for the long-term. Avoiding the market when it is down, doesn't make sense. We all know to buy low and sell high, but actually buying low is not easy. Funny how it's easy to understand when our favorite store has a 50% off sale!

Wealthy investors are not real comfortable with the market right now, but most are buying, not selling. There is a lot of money on the sidelines waiting to see regulatory changes, tax changes, and what the new administrations plans will be. It may very well continue to be a poor market over the next few years, but the only investment anyone should make in the stock market should be for at least a ten year period. This is critically important in retirement plans. Workers in below age 50 should have a substantial around in the market. The younger, the greater percentage.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 5:50 am
Wow, need coffee, last sentence should have been, "workers below age 50 should have a substantial amount in the market". Espresso time!

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 8:02 am
Love the advice...but does MIchael follow it? Something tells me....probably not. Me thinks that he probably invests money, has credit cards, um. does he use union workers? Are his businss or ones that he does business with worker-owned cooperatives? Didnt Goldman Sachs invest in in his film? How much time and effort has he put into his home town?

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 12:37 pm
I agree with Paul and Chaz, and I want to add one more thing. I'm not a financial whiz, but I would say when you do open that savings account, make sure you do so at a bank that didn't take bailout money. I left Bank of America six years ago and opened an account in Bank of the West, but now it seems as if BOTW has sold out just like the big banks. My son recommended a credit union. And does anyone out there know anything about the practices of ING Direct? They pay a higher rate of interest.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 1:18 pm
Mary D., as I am in a very regulated industry and believe strongly that no recommendation should ever be made by any professional who doesn't know who he is talking to or what their situation is, I'm always careful to make sure that I announce that before I say anything about a particular company.

I used to recommend ING Direct to my clients for their extra cash and I'm not aware of any issues with their account. If you don't know, ING is a very large international financial services firm based in Europe. They have received two substantial bailouts from the Netherlands and are in the process of possibly spinning off a few divisions to help cure their financial condition. I don't recall if the ING Orange or Direct account is FDIC insured (assuming you're in the US). Generally speaking, I would recommend that in the current environment, lean more towards FDIC than a higher paying non-FDIC insured account.

For all, don't forget that non-bank brokerage money markets are no longer covered by the treasury department. That program was temporary and ended last month. SIPC still applies if the brokerage firm goes under.

As to Moore's bank recommendations, 106 banks have failed this year and none of them were really big banks. Careful would be my advice to all, although I tend to like local (whether it's banking or organic produce)

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 1:41 pm
Thank you, Paul, for the valuable information. I will take it for what it is: information, not gospel. Nonetheless, you have given me some insights that I might not have received otherwise. I like local too - at least with local, you'll be a bit more familiar with the people involved. Though when shopping at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I bought the WORST loaf of homemade bread I ever ate. In fact, it tasted worse than Wonder Bread! I guess we should all remember the traditional warning: CAVEAT EMPTOR - at least when it comes to homemade bread! Thanks again.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 2:50 pm
"1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people's homes are now truly worth -- and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home."

This needs to apply to renters too!

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 3:29 pm
I agree in principle with eliminating credit cards, but there is a down side. I've heard many financial experts warn that cancelling, cutting or just not using credit cards you already have will take a serious toll on your credit rating in the event you want to buy a house, car or other expensive item. They recommend using just one card as the primary and to use the others twice a year for a small purchase and pay them off immediately.

I see the stock market as heavily corrupt and a serious danger. Companies are obligated to stockholders. Companies are expected to always surpass last quarter's numbers.Toward that end, tt is not long before all legal, moral and ethical methods are exhausted. Then we end up with derivatives and credit default swaps, Day trading is not investment. If we continue with these practices, we may as well take the entire economy to Las Vegas and bet it on red.

The movie industry is heavily unionized so Moore definitely does use union labor. Moore has been a tireless advocate for his home town and home state. Moore donates a substantial portion of the profits from his films to charity. I'm not sure how the comment about a jet pertains to this thread.

Then there's this:

We may be just a week away from a Supreme Court decision that could shake the foundation of our democracy, and pave the way for corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on the direct election or defeat of federal candidates.

That's because the Supreme Court could rule as soon as November 3 on the Citizens United case – which began as a narrow fight over funding for a political documentary, but has morphed into a case calling into question a century of campaign finance law.

If the long-standing ban on corporate political spending is thrown out, it could unleash a flood of money into the political system. Precisely how much is hard to say, but according to new analysis:

* If corporations and unions spend on political ads what they spend now on lobbying, they would be spending four times as much -- $6 billion -- as the $1.5 billion that all congressional candidates spent in the last election.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently launched a $150 million advertising campaign to support a specific version of the health care reform legislation. That is one trade association on one bill -- imagine the implications for federal elections.

* In the 2008 elections, the winning candidates for the House of Representatives spent an average of $1.4 million on his or her campaign, roughly equivalent to what the health care industry spent daily on lobbying during the first six months of 2009.

If the Court rules to abolish limits on corporate contributions, it will complete the corporate take-over of the United States government, with all the ominous implications of that. But, last year, the conservative Court surprised in a ruling that human beings do have rights. Let's hope that happens again.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 3:37 pm
My bet is the Supreme Court will rule in favor of corporations ability to spend on political ads based on a simple and accurate premise. Because corporations pay taxes, to disallow them the ability to spend money on campaigns is taxation without representation. So, if you are against corporations funding campaign ads, then support ending all forms of corporate taxation. Fair trade in my opinion.

What jet?

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 3:40 pm
Moore makes valid points and of course as one suggested, he is not a joke but rather a voice for Average Joe.

We all need banks, but personally I've never employed a large bank, only locals, they're still around and far more curteous and obliging. Big banks just go against my brand of thought in that the more money is held in fewer hands the more trouble the economy is going to have and I do believe last year's financial collapse was a prime example...

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 4:12 pm
Jail the Banksters and then jail their Republicrat servants that have usurped and denigrated the political system.

http://www.lp.org/ for the Libertarian Right.

http://www.gp.org/index.php for the Libertarian Left

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 6:35 pm
Wayne W., you have made some very interesting comments here already, but I noticed that there is no profile for you. I'm sure it's just an over sight, but I like to know a little about the people who post here on Care2. Just a thought.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 6:41 pm
Wayne W. You've made some very interesting comments and post, but I wondered if perhaps it was an over sight that you have no profile. I don't know about anyone else, but I like to know a little bit about those I talk to. Hope I'm not out of line with this, but I was curious.

Wednesday October 28, 2009, 9:42 pm
Ralph I believe that if "We' put your idea for a vote +++> Jail the Banksters and then jail their Republicrat servants that have usurped and denigrated the political system. It would win hands down.. Even American's who do not agree on certain ideas about what Governments responsibility are, if they are of sound mind know something's really gone awry.

Thursday October 29, 2009, 3:19 am
Barbara W and Ralph F, I agree if we include both parties. Democrats in congress are not without blame, and some, particularly Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, have contributed heavily to the problem in the financial and housing crisis. Interesting quotes by both are available at the US Gov't website thomas dot gov that they made in 2005. They now head the financial services committees as if they were not part of legislation that led to all of this. I'm independent and not impressed with either group, particularly at the congressional level...

Thursday October 29, 2009, 10:01 am
I have never understood the small group of dense people who support a system that pays it's CEO's 11 MILLION as starting pay and also pays commissions to it's employyees to deny and delay medical claims. Big Insurance ONLY thinks of making money, it's NOT providing people ANYTHING AT ALL! Think about that, they are middlemen. CIGNA ripped off Medicare 300MILLION, so if Medicare for all isn't OK for these people either maybe it's because these people blindly buy into the media fed ignorance supported by Big Insurance who ONLY wants to get as much $$ out of us as [possible while providing very little to nothing in return to the people who pay them. Docotrs don't get paid well, we don't get great care, and we aren't even told when the insurance companies decided.."No, let's not tell that woman she has breast cancer because we may have to pay the medical bills. While the fololish young people may not comprehend this fact, the sick and the elderly do. Why support these companies while they came out and told us they plan to INCREASE health care again? They already made a deal to sell RX to those on MEDICARE with NO DISCOUNT, not ONE PENNY, this is greed! Pure greed. They don't give a damn about us, so I fail to understand why any sane person would support a system that is PURE GREED and actually gives us NOTHING in return, many times literaly nothing but death, and that's to those who pay them! THINK!! Think Public Option and think, "WHY" do those who fight Public Option want to 'save a system that is killing us.

Thursday October 29, 2009, 11:34 am
Lynda L, I don't disagree as much as you might think. I have no love, at all, for the health insurance companies or their lobby. I've been declined for health insurance twice due to low HDL's. No current illness, symptoms, issues, etc., but a low good cholesterol level got me declined and I'm under 50 years of age.

I'm against the public option because the deal you mention, which the pharmaceutical companies made to sell RX to Medicare recipients with no discount, was a deal made with the government's current administration and congress. I don't trust either side of that deal and the government is the entity that will run the public option. I can't figure why so many trust the government to handle health care, particularly since their regulations of the insurance companies have allowed those companies to do everything that they have done. There's no mention of any law breaking when they deny to pay for care.

I personally don't think the public option will pass, given Sen. Lieberman's announcement that he is against it, but I'll make a prediction. If the public option passes, this forum will be full of articles and comments wondering why care was denied to somebody under the government plan. Government plans do not cover everything and they may end up covering less, given the mounting Federal debt. I could be wrong, happens all the time, but to answer your question, that's why I'm against it. Can't speak for anyone else but I'm just as angry about the situation as you are. No question the current systemt is broken..

In my state it's illegal for a group to form for the purpose of purchasing insurance. Biggest fix that congress could pass to fix the current problem is to revoke that law. Then my city, county, or state could offer any resident group coverage by offering coverage to any resident that wants it through the private companies. The private companies would love a group plan with 500,000 people (my city) or however many millions that live in my state. Premiums would be lower due to the groups size. Median age in most states is lower than small groups. That idea has no costs for the government. There are probably better ideas, just don't know why none of them are being discussed in the hallowed halls of congress.

Thursday October 29, 2009, 11:41 am
Paul you will not get argument from me on the issues and names you brought up here. Both Party's have failed miserably! The democrats have become so weak it's an embarrassment. When you have legislators from both parties on the take, it muddies up the water! I do not vote straight party line.

Thursday October 29, 2009, 11:52 am
Barbars W. Me either, in next weeks election for Governor in my state I am voting straight line for the Democrats. The Republicans are running an extremely conservative ticket that is way to the right of me. We need a third party, one that refuses lobbying money and isn't diehard one way or the other. Probably never happen, but I love mentioning it.