Thursday, February 5, 2009

In Washington, Public Policy and Private Wealth are Hopelessly Tangled

In Washington, Public Policy and Private Wealth are Hopelessly Tangled by William Pfaff on Truthdig.com

Good article on health care ....

To get back to Washington, while ex-Sen. Daschle is a reputed expert on health systems, he has also, since leaving the Senate, made a quarter of a million dollars as speaker, consultant and adviser to private health insurance and health-care companies.

Does anyone think that, as secretary of health and human services, he would have recommended a new system that cuts out the private health insurance industry? The insurance companies are the ones that killed Hillary Clinton’s health proposals eight years ago. Where do you think the money goes that makes American health care the most expensive in the world? It’s not going into nurses’ salaries.


My one problem with the article is that he perpetuates the myth that Obama is some sort of saint trying to work around all of this corruption. To check that, let's go to Maplight.org. There we can find who the health insurance industry gives money to in Congress. Hey, look, there's Obama as the number 1 recipient of health insurance money in Congress at $232,000.

Note carefully that this is only money given to Congressional campaigns. I don't believe it includes any health insurance money that's a part of the $700,000,000.00 that just got Obama elected President. This is only money given to Senate campaigns from 2001 to 2008. Interestingly, Obama's first campaign was in 2004. So, he either became the largest recipient of health insurance money in that one race, or they were giving a lot of money to his 2010 accounts on top of other money that probably went to his Presidential campaign.

Now, is it any big surprise that Obama's first choice for HHS was someone else who gets hundreds of thousands of dollars from the health insurance industry? And he sure as heck ain't gonna pick a proponent of 'single-payer', or maybe someone like the head of the CA Nurses union to replace Daschle.

7 comments:

KDelphi said...

Do you think that there is any chance that he will appoint Howard Dean? Daschle was such a sell-out--I was glad he is gone, but, who the hell will he appoint now? Maybe it doesnt matter...

Is anyone else getting spammed by a few guys who claim to have "worked on the Nader campaign", who are cursing and yelling about the 60 Min. story on Gaza last week? (Lying Arabs and CBS, blah, blah)I signed a petiton, supporting CBS...he said to "post his email and opinions anywhere" I liked, when I asked him where he got my email address...anyone care to email him as to Nader's opinions on the Gaza situation?

Here are a couple: dectiri@earthlink.net, cighe@earthlink.net

I do not think that Nader would approve of his using the "Nader campaign" to voice opinions on "Arabs"---I would post the email here, but, it is 8000 words long!!

Lyle said...

Nader has a recent post on taxing speculators on that bastion of free speech site on the net. Where are the originals of his up to date letters?

Nannie said...

nader.org is where all his articles and writings are...FYI

Have you seen the Nader articles on Commondreams? one or TWO per week. Makes me upset they wouldn't post his articles during the campaign. Sure would have helped...

Nannie said...

I am stilled blocked from posting at CD but now I can go there and read the posts without having to go through anonymouse.org

CRUMBS I tell you.....

KDelphi said...

I sent the entire LONG (sorry) letter to nader.org. I thought that they should know. Thanks!

I blocked the emails for the future...does anyone know where/to whom/when P. Obama said that he supported the Employee Free Choice Act, but, he would try to "find something that would anger business less"?? I read it somewhere, and, I cant find it. It posted that it was said, and, I shouldnt have!! But, I KNOW I read it!

LOL! Did I dream it???

Lyle said...

That is what you dreamt after he voted for bailing out the bankers. It's alright you are not going mad..yet.

KDelphi said...

Lyle--True, most people think I am already crazy. Crazy ass socialist. lol



What?? He voted to bailout the bankers?? I thought that THAT was a dream (nightmare)! OH no!

; 0 !!!