Bill will socialize care
To the Editor:
In the last week, there have been numerous letters about Rep. Tim Walz voting with his party rather than voting the will of the people he represents. We need to remember there are two other people who represent the people of Minnesota in Washington. They are Senators Klobuchar and Franken.
I watched the news recently as the Senate brought the health care bill to a vote to debate it. They needed to have the 58 Democrats and two independents vote yes to be able to accomplish it - and they did.
The last senator to vote yes was Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. As I listened to the various interviews, it came out that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had negotiated a $300 million Medicaid supplement to the state of Louisiana for Katrina victims. Since when does the Senate Majority Leader have the power to write out checks to certain states for their vote, on the backs of taxpayers across the nation? If this is the case, where is the deal for Minnesota? Why aren't our senators dealing for us?
As the afternoon went on, there were various references to backroom deals and horse-trading to ensure that when the final bill comes up - later this year - the votes to pass it will be there. This is what is wrong with our government today and has been for a long long time.
The bill will be paid for by increased premiums, fees on businesses that produce medical devices, taxes, and a $400 billion reduction in Medicare. When Chris Wallace interviewed Sen. Spector and asked "Has there ever been a Congress that has cut Medicare since its inception?" Sen. Spector admitted that no Congress has ever voted for that. If this is the case, then the $400 billion savings will have to come from some place else. This is the old "bait and switch" tactic - tell the voters one thing and then do something else. If there will be no Medicare savings, then the real cost will be well over $1.2 trillion.
Another aspect of this bill is that most of the Medicaid will fall back onto the states. Our state, like many others, is on the brink of bankruptcy. This would push us closer to the edge, but it would help the federal cost of this massive atrocity become more deficit neutral. It is just robbing Peter to pay Paul. In the end, the people who can still pay taxes are the losers. Within this current health care bill are many "pork" additions that have little or nothing to do with health care.
If this becomes law, the taxes, fees and deductions will start in 2010, but will not pay out until 2013 - right after the 2012 elections.
We have an opportunity to contact the two senators who represent us and let them know our true feelings about this bill that will socialize our health care.
Our country was founded on government "Of the people, for the people, by the people." I fear, at the end of the debate, a health care entitlement bill will pass. It will be a bill "Of the liberal party, for the liberal party, by the liberal party." Choices are ours - the voter.
Dorothy Behne
Sherburn
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mistertwister
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01-09-10 10:30 AM
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So there!
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mistertwister
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01-09-10 10:29 AM
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"Sorry to say, the voters of Minnesota contributed heavily to this humongous problem by electing Al Franken last year. He and Klobuchar are excellent examples of what is wrong with our country. People elect these con-artists and then wonder why things are out of control. The will of the people is not a priority to the majority party." Con-Artist? You voted Bush twice and McCain once. Let's call the kettle black, shall we? The right wing doesn't have a monopoly on the Bully Pulpit. So here it is....YOUR elected officials toileted this country in more ways than I care to remember. You lost the last election, crybaby, so cope with it and stop with the character asassinations! What a bunch of sore losers and teet suckers the repugnicans are. Grow up!
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mistertwister
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01-07-10 8:33 PM
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We have socialized health care. It's called Medicare and Medicade. And LibertyCandidates2010ForRealChange, go cling to your guns and your religeon. (Yes, it was kooks like you the President was talking about).
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Danus2bfromnorthrop
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12-21-09 10:08 AM
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Sorry to say, the voters of Minnesota contributed heavily to this humongous problem by electing Al Franken last year. He and Klobuchar are excellent examples of what is wrong with our country. People elect these con-artists and then wonder why things are out of control. The will of the people is not a priority to the majority party.
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SueGalluga
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12-09-09 9:29 AM
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We can solve the problem next November.
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LibertyCandidates2010ForRealChange
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12-08-09 11:13 AM
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Dorothy, the answer to your excellent question is he has no authority to do this, but the bigger issue is that the federal government itself has no authority to intervene into the healthcare and insurance industries. Some will say, "they're already involved with Medicare". Exactly, and Medicare may work wonderfully for those that depend on it, but unfortunately it is not sustainable. It is bankrupt, besides the fact that it is unconstitutional. Just because the government is already doing something doesn't mean they ever had the authority to do it in the first place. This healthcare bill is just another example of our government operating with a complete disregard for the constitutional restraints We The People have placed on it. It doesn't matter how much or how little the people want it, without a constitutional amendment, they do not have the authority. And like anything else where someone other than the end user is paying the bill, the bill will always be too high
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blue5011
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12-08-09 10:52 AM
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This horse trading has always happened. Why, because we let them get away with it. Do you really expect Senators Klobuchar and Franken to do something for Minnesota?
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