Did anything go right this year?
Not really. I don’t want to be all doom and gloom, but even the good stuff like the Snowden revelations about the awesome powers of the National Security Agency (NSA) did little but give solace to those of us who’ve been talking about Big Brother for years by allowing us to say “I told you so” to our detractors.
That said, I don’t see politicians or the Courts doing anything much to try and save the rights ensconced in the 4th Amendment. The Drug War has pretty much obliterated our rights against unreasonable search and seizure anyway.
Now on to my Year-End Awards…
Republican of the Year: Ted Cruz– the US Senator from the Great State of Texas.
While Establishment Republicans are content to let the American People suffer under the yoke of Obama Care for political gain in the future, Senator Cruz tried to save us now! His lead to defund the President’s socialist takeover of a seventh of the American Economy was roundly criticized by everyone – principally other Republicans – for trying to prevent the hardships that are now upon us; insurance cancellations, higher deductibles, patients losing their doctors. All are now beginning to cause mass discomfort. Cruz did what he could and will hopefully keep fighting the good fight in 2014.
Runner Up: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Paul’s end of the year festivals “Airing Grievances” on Twitter was priceless. Specifically his challenge to Cory Booker, the newly elected Senator from New Jersey, to do something about federal mandatory minimum prison sentences and the War on Drugs. I wish him all the luck in the world to stop this madness.
Democrat of the Year: Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
I love this woman! She’s the only one trying to stop the criminal banksters on Wall Street from looting what’s left of the treasury. She’s also trying to preserve the social safety net in this country, as the Republicans think it’s a good idea to slash the deficit by cutting food stamps and Social Security while at the same time never seeing a Department of Defense outlay they didn’t like. Senator Warren is sticking up for the poor and downtrodden and other Americans who don’t have an army of lobbyists working for them. I hope she challenges Hillary for the Democrat nomination in 2016. She’s got my vote in the primary.
Runner Up: Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio of New York City.
Delusion’s populist brand of progressive politics may just save the Democratic Party in the 2014 elections and beyond. His declaration of war against the 1 percent and his policies advocating raising the minimum wage and outright redistribution of wealth are going to resonate well amongst huge swaths of Americans who are being left behind as the rich get richer, the middle classes get squeezed and the poor in this country are forgotten.
World Politician of the Year: Vladimir Putin.
If for no other reason than stopping the West from becoming “officially” involved in the civil war in Syria, the President of Russia deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Without Putin’s stalwart support of the Bashir Assad regime in Syria, the United States would be involved in yet another quagmire in what is already the most volatile and destabilized region on the Planet. The United States needs a check on its imperialist tendencies and Vladimir Putin is just the man for the job. He saved us from Syria, and anti-war, peace loving Americans should be glad there’s someone out there stopping us from being the “World’s Policeman.” Look at the messes in Iraq, Lybia, Afghanistan etc. It’s beyond clear that we don’t make very good cops.
Runner Up: Jose Mujica– The President of Uruguay.
Imagine the leader of a country who refuses to live in the Presidential Palace, donates 90% of his salary to the poor and is chauffered around in a VW Beetle and you’ve got Mujica, a true “Man of the People.” He recently signed into law an act which legalizes, taxes and distributes marijuana for medical, industrial and recreational uses. Uruguay was just named “Country of the Year” by Economist Magazine. And Mujica’s enlightened leadership and championing of the poor without alienating the business community are some of the reasons Uruguay deserves that esteemed honor.
That’s it for my year end awards for politicians.
I’ll be back to writing regularly again- I know the Stomper has missed me – and hey, it’s an election year so count on me enjoy venting and prognosticating here on KCC.
I’ll be back shortly with my predictions for 2014.
Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!
There ya go, Elizabeth Warren for President. There isn’t a conservative in the country who wouldn’t pony up some serious wampum to see her on the ticket. Her status as a Native American, here, noted by Harvard Law School, should help.
“There are few women of color who hold important positions in the academy, Fortune 500 companies, or other prominent fields or industries,” the piece says. “This is not inconsequential. Diversifying these arenas, in part by adding qualified women of color to their ranks, remains important for many reaons. For one, there are scant women of color as role models. In my three years at Stanford Law School, there were no professors who were women of color. Harvard Law School hired its first woman of color, Elizabeth Warren, in 1995.””
Jack will review the movie of her life some day, called, “Bullsh*ts with Wolves.”
Eh…, not so much.
last breathing days for repubs in 2014. They are dead party walking.
Hope youlove your heros cruz and rand because they are part of the
funeral.
why? because the populace is changing…the demographics of the nation
are changing and little by little americans realize that the repubs have nothing
to offer. Nothing!
Obamacare will get righted and we’ll seesome huge incredible advances
with it. Terrible start but as it gets settled people will love it.
I do…saving $400 a month with smaller deductibles.
Whiney…there aren’t enough old salty white male dogs left to keep this
charade going. the repubscould get a repirieve in 2014 possibly retaking
the senate butthis is their last hurrah.
You and your republican friends will never see a republican president
againin your lifetime. Georgia…a southern state is about to go BLUE!!!!!!
Warren…a good choice for some position…she gets it and talks the talk.
wall street and the phony bankers brought the nation to its knees and we may
never fully recover. She says put them in jail and throw away the key…
I seriously doubt any American who knows her positions would disagree
with her on that….just you angry white guys hate women!
Glad you’re back. I’m looking forward to laughing on the floor when you
make your predictions like you did the past years (mitt wins in landslide-remember
your prediction) or any other of dozens predictions you made over the last
several years that provided us with laughter almost equal to what we get from
glaze.
happy new year….looks like your favorite girl is running aagain….and I look
forward to reading the “comic” section of kcc to get all your terrible predictions
for 2014…
don’t forget my man…Harley knows all.
thanks.
your friend
Harley
Yep that’s what happens when working people’s money goes to feed, house, care for, and otherwise give other people a way of life. Welcome to the nanny state of entitlement without limits. Next stop socialism.
sorry davy “monkees” jones…but I will be back with facts
that show just the opposite.
size of government hasshrunk…and Harley will give
you the facts and figures to prove it.
Why do I always have to correct you when you make
incorrect statements.
have a great day.
gotta go..
harley
First off if your going to “try” and insult me using Monkee’s is so unoriginal and really speaks to just how old you are and out of touch. I’m sure you can do better.
Second I didn’t say government has gotten bigger I said entitlements. Read a little closer next time before you make a lame attempt at an insult and an even worse attempt to prove a point you missed in the first place
de Blasio’s administration is off to a great start. The keynote speakers at his inauguration referenced New York as a plantation where the shackles of slavery need to be broken.
http://politicker.com/2014/01/de-blasio-inauguration-starts-with-plantation-rhetoric/
Thank god we are finally going to free the slaves. Who will pick all that cotton growing in Manhatten? We will need a Great Leap Forward and I think de Blasio is just the man to show us the way.
Don’t blame me, I voted for Dick Gregory. *
* now playing at the world famous Sanford’s comedy hut
Cruz is on Planet Weird, with most of the GOP. I hope they nominate him. The Democrats could then nominate Donald Duck – and win handily. Ted Cruz is good for comedy, and that’s good for America.
And oh yes, the horrible yoke of the Affordable Care Act. “Mass discomfort” ( right! ha!) as opposed to death due to a lack of insurance.
You might want to start heading towards Canada; you’ll be away from the tragic socialism of the Affor…..oh, wait they have universal health care there. Well, turn around and head to Mexico. Surely you’ll be free of the oppression of being at the mercy of insurers who….oh, hold on. They have it too.
Well, surely there must be some other place that….no, wait. NO CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD OTHER THAN THE U.S. DOESN’T OFFER UNIVERSAL CARE IN SOME FORM.
Since it’s already having a huge effect in red (translation: poor) states like Kentucky, you sound kind of silly still squirming about over it.
“Get over it … and get out of the way so I can help my people. Here in Kentucky, we cannot afford to waste another day or another life.” – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear
It’s hard to get your arms around the dumpster fire that is the “Affordable” Health Care Act. Even NBC ran a piece on the news last night, where they interviewed several folks from a car dealership, compared what they had before to what they have now. What a beat down. It was brutal, really.
No one gets their same doctors, the deductable was doubled and in some cases, tripled, the cost went up dramatically. Seriously, it is prima facie why the government should regulate, NOT run business. The bread and circus demographic overlords, that now vote in the Democrat de jour will no doubt elevate more “Hope and Change’ candidates, they will win and continue to Roll Out” an ever increasing socialist agenda until the goose is dead.
By the way, at least for now, if you like your comment, you can keep your comment. Up next, CRIMETHINK!
The Affordable Care Act should carry the more reflective title of Perpetual Employment for the Insurance Trade, Big Pharma and Hospitals.
Much of the adversary is based on half-truths or outright lies. No less by the proponents in their truthiness.
People bought the lie of government death squads being part of the act. Though not outraged by insurance companies already controlling who-gets-what-health care.
It is far from perfect but the opposition has not produced a single answer to the short comings except kill it.
Cruz and Rand are just another couple of grifters out to pad their resumes and bank accounts. Only difference between them and the “leaders” of KCMO is who they are indebted to for their survival in politics.
Hint: It ain’t the taxpayers.
Opposition did offer a replacement. Didn’t hear about it due to mainstream media.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/republican-answer-obamacare-healthcare-101177.html#.UsYzNmznbs0
davy “monkee” jones….obamacare was
originally a republican plan put forth by
the top republican newt gingrich…the main
pointswere given to us by him and they
were laid out by the heritage foundation
years ago.
Please…check your facts before putting them
up here.
I am getting tired of correcting you !
HEY HEY WE’RE THE MONKEES…
KEEP SAY WE’RE MONKEYING AROUND…
WE’RE TOO BUSY SINGING…
TO PUT ANYBODY DOWN!!!!
I think that’s how it goes…
have a great day….Harley.
do some research about it…you’ll be
surprised that this was not actually
obamas plan…was romneys plan from
massachussettes (another republican) and
newt and many other republicans who loved
the idea til Obama brought it forward.
so as a traitor…I suppose you want it to fail…
how bad can you be??????? wanting
failure in the nation?????? you should be
ashamed of yourself.
so…TAKE THE LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE!
Your not correcting me Harley your trying to act just as the media by deflecting the issue. Personally I don’t care who’s idea it was it is a bad one. It isn’t even well thought out how do you service 7 million people in a system that hasn’t got the capacity to service those already in the system? The government can’t run a package delivery service and break even yet somehow the expectation is they will run a healthcare exchange? This is the same institution that can’t even come to terms on a school lunch program but the individual healthcare of 7 million people will go off without a hitch? They spent 300% more then necessary to build a website that can’t handle the traffic and lied to the public about keeping your plan and your doctor. By their OWN admission they had no idea what was in the law and are winging it with only a few months under it’s belt the red flags are clear.
Makes me doubt if your a business man at all. I speculate your mooching off the taxpayer trying to protect the entitlements your receiving and to your credit 51% (and increasing in deadbeats) are right there with you.
So stop trying to be cute and use “monkee’s” as a lame attempt at an insult and get off your phone and onto a keyboard and write like someone with some intelligence.
Your not even realizing I don’t disagree with your predictions. Your probably right but that doesn’t make it a good idea, good for the country, good for the economy, or good for generations to come. Now who’s the anonymous hater?
Thanks for the shout-out Counselor, I did miss you and am elated to learn you will be back on a regular basis. With the uncertainty of Professor Wilson’s return to KCC, you and Dwight are my only hope for “elevated discourse” and the lure for me to jump in with my slanted rhetoric. I guess I should include HC there as well since he also has the ability to provoke me.
No real need for me to get political here since Bom and Orphan said it so well. I am still trying to figure you out, David, as humor and sarcasm are difficult to grasp with the written word. You appear to be conflicted and inconsistent on what the role of government should be. Maybe 2014 will bring some clarity to you on that question. I’ll do what I can to help there but I see that Chuck continues to be my foil.
TO DAVEY “monkee” jones….
actually own 2 wsuccessful businesses…never on government dole and
pay more in taxes than you make in a year.
I’ll say it again…you’re wrong…and you’ve been proven wrong again
and again…so please stop trying to insult me with your lack of
intelligence.
now that the website is working…the insurance companies are about
3 weeks behind…they neverexpected this type of response to this
program….and now 10 million americans are insured who were not
insured before…which means (if you didn’t know) that fewer taxpayer
dollars will go to the uninsured in the nation.
once this program (which is huge) is in place and the kinks taken out
it will bea huge plus for the nation and its citizens.
What is most disgusting is losers such as yourself are hoping it fails.
Losers likie you (even though its now in effect) are hoping that it
crumbles…..you are a loser and un-American. The other side of the
aisle after losing the battle on medicare under bush still worked hard
to make sure it ws implemeneted correctly and working for the American
public.
Losers and disgraceful un American free loaders like yourself who probably
don’t even carry insurance have been living off the government dole
for too long.
losers like you are the reason we needed this law….the keep theamerican
public resonposnble for their own health insurance.
I have talked with many manypeople and their rates went down!!!!!
fox news (your heros) put on liars and snakes to give the other
impression. disgusting and horrid.
So get usedto it monkee man….no its not an attempt to insult you..
you do that yourselfwith your outlandish and incorrect posts on kccc.
You don’t need me to make a jacka$$ out of you…you do quite well
yourself…
now….get back to work and try to understand the rreal world…or
as davy said “take the last train to Clarksville”..
happy new year…you’ll need it.!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley, you take a lot of heat here for your acerbic tongue, among other things, but you always support your thoughts with mainstream facts and I appreciate that. Too many people will throw out terms like “socialism” , “entitlements” , or “redistribution of wealth” without, apparently, even knowing the definition. Quoting Grover Norquist or the John Birch Society website just doesn’t cut it. As former Senator Moynihan said, “You are entitled to your own opinion, just not your own facts”. I have great respect for conservatives that will back up what they say with credible information. If the comments section here at KCC was a gun fight, there are far too many people wandering around with only a dull pocket knife. Thanks for keeping an eye on the door.
He makes his claim with facts? He said the opposition offered no solution but they do. Said it was Newt, Romney and the Heritage Foundation. Partly true the individual mandate is part of that discussion not the pages upon pages of other laws wrapped up into the program. He’s a great politician for sure using the same dodge and weave to suck in the followers.
Davey, on three different posts now you have used the word “entitlements” and presented them as a bad thing. You’ve used the word “deadbeats” to describe people that receive them. I don’t want to put words into your mouth that you didn’t mean but I do want to understand what you have an issue with. Entitlements is a broad term in my mind that generally means payments made by the government (fed/state) to individuals, groups, and private industry. Eligibility, durations, etc., are set by legislative action and generally reflect society’s mindset. Social Security and Medicare are probably the first things that come to mind for most people but they also include Veteran’s benefits, food stamps, unemployment benefits and payments to private industry (ie farm subsidies, agriculture) among others. Some are the result of beneficiaries paying in over time (S.S., Medicare) some as the result of service (Veterans) and some because legislatures feel they are good public policy. I can appreciate the fact that you don’t want the government handing out money but are all these things bad in your opinion? From a purely economics point of view, much of this money is spent on goods and services almost immediately and serves to generate demand within our GDP. I don’t think you are intending to paint with a broad brush here implying that everyone receiving Social Security, Medicare, Veteran’s benefits, etc is a deadbeat. I’m guessing that if you have retirement money in mutual funds you probably have an ownership interest in companies that receive entitlements. Again, I’m just looking for some clarification. As I mentioned above, when broad assumptions are made about all entitlements being bad for the country, all democrats are socialists, and that the government is always the enemy, I feel the urge to offer an alternative perspective.
stomper….monkee man doesn’t get it.
another right wing nut case.
him and chuck live together…and it shows!!!!!!!!!!
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/census-bureau-means-tested-govt-benefit-recipients-outnumber-full
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43934
The government cannot manage a program – any program. The growth cannot be sustained mathematically it is doomed
Thanks Davey; I think you are a bit too negative on the government when you say that it can’t manage any program. And, I think that misses the point of what government’s responsibility is. I think if you ask seniors about Medicare, they are pretty happy with what they have. You said above that the government can’t even run a package delivery program and break even and I assume you are talking about the US Postal Service. To get specific here, the Post Office was set up before the country even got started and is in the Constitution itself. The point was that citizens required and deserved mail service and the cost/delivery should be equal for all, whether the letter goes to an outpost in Alaska or the center of NYC. Making a profit or just breaking even is not a goal. Ask your congressman or senator what happens to his incoming phone or email volume is when it is suggested that local post offices are closed or Saturday delivery goes away in an effort to control costs. Yes, private businesses won’t continue without making a notable profit but that’s not the role of how government operates. Sure, we’d all like fiscal efficiency and should expect it as much as possible but private industry and public entities have different goals and responbsibilities. Pretty sure the Marines have not turned a profit in a while. Neither has the interstate highway system, NASA, school systems, FDA, SEC, OSHA, etc. Pretty long list. Profit or breaking even is not the primary goal.
Yep, the cost of the “entitlement” programs appear steep to some but the focus and recipients of government money is decided by the electorate through their chosen representative. On the federal level, should the money go to S.N.A.P. to feed kids or to finance the military in Afghanistan? On a state level should the legislature use income from taxes to finance schools or should they cut taxes in the hopes it will attract industry from other states? We need to decide our priorities and direct resources to them on how we see fit. An individual on the far left may think the government should be more proactive and operate in a way that always takes into account social responsibility for all. The individual on the far right may think there should be no sacrifice the individual must make for the benefit of others. Hopefully we can all reach some middle ground we can live with.
No doubt there is inefficiency in government but that doesn’t mean that government should step away from doing what needs to be done and that only they can do. Should Wall Street police itself? Should chicken, beef, and produce farms decide what is safe to eat? How about trusting drug companies to offer safe prescriptions? It ought to be pretty clear by now that the private sector has screwed up the delivery and cost of health care when we spend twice as much as the rest of the world in terms of % of GDP and then barely crack the top 40 list as determined by the W.H.O. That’s more than $1 trillion wasted every year. Yep, nobody likes cops but we’d be in a bad way without them. Not always crazy about the referees but there is no game without them. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that while the government is far from perfect, they are the only player with a stick big enough to enforce the will of the people. Government should be regarded as the partner to the private sector, not the enemy.
Back to the question for all of us. What is the role of government? To quote Hamlet, “Ay, there’s the rub”.
Davey, I did not mean to put words in your mouth here or necessarily imply something that you did not intend. Obviously, I just like to be a liberal foil to balance out those that speak from the dark side. 🙂
And how does Obamacare change that screwed up privatized system? It doesn’t if anything it has empowered it to charge more because in the end it will spend more to cover increases to maintain it’s profitability. Competition in that marketplace has and is proven to reduce such costs. It has increased the healthcare costs through mandates of coverage, mandates of technology and coverage terms. The “expenses” of government despite what they are or where the cash flows economically is not sustainable. The government cannot be all thing to all people it cannot solve every social economic situation and should not attempt to solve all of those conditions . In doing so it will melt down the republic on under its own fiscal burden. Putting every program be it justified or unjustified at risk.
Davey, obviously you don’t give any credibility to anything I have written.
I can’t understand your 2nd sentence above because you have used the word “it” five times and I lost track of who “it” is. If what you are saying is that the hospitals will now charge more because they need to maintain their profitability, I wish them luck with that. As they do now with Medicare, the hospitals will bill and accept what the schedule allows.
You say that competition in the marketplace has proven to reduce costs. Unfortunately with this system, that is not true. There is limited competition at best. Unless you live in a big city, you probably have only one hospital and all the doctors in the region work for that hospital. Clearly costs are not being reduced. I really think my math referred to above in my third paragraph is solid. We pay around $2.5 trillion now for our healthcare. If we could match the percentage outlay of every other developed nation in the world, we would be paying about $1.25 trillion. Anyone who thinks our current system and marketplace has a competitive atmosphere that has served to reduced costs needs to look a little closer.
One way the ACA looks to reduce costs is by moving the uninsured’s to state Medicaid plans and reimburse their expenses on the approved schedule. Now the uninsured costs are passed on by hospitals to us and our insurance companies. Costs are hidden and priced by the hospitals now. That’s one way it changes the “screwed up privatized system” per your opening sentence above. The ACA is also getting into the insurance company pockets by requiring a minimum of 80% of premiums to go towards claims. Yes, there are coverage mandates but it seems a little disingenuous for the party of individual responsibility to have a problem asking young people to pay for their own coverage. Now that’s an entitlement that should piss you off and I know you don’t like entitlements.
I’m not saying that government should be all things to all people. Saying the government has a role to play in the administration of healthcare is not socialism. Actually, I’m not willing to give up just yet on the privare sector playing a role in the solution here. Every other developed nation has a single payer system for healthcare. That may be what we have to go to next if the ACA doesn’t work. The system that existed prior to the ACA is what’s unsustainable. Do you honestly think the government should stand aside and let this train go off the rails?
Answer this Davey. Is healthcare a right or a privilege? Right now any person appearing in a hospital ER with a health situation is treated. To me that says healthcare is a right. If you think it is a privilege then do you think that person showing up in the ER should be denied treatment until the billing office can verify either insurance or financial ability to pay?
ItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItItIDid that help?
Thanks.
That’s pretty much what I thought.
What you are asking is about is called patient dumping and was taken care of in COBRA. But at least you kept the reply to once sentence. My opinion on patient dumping has no bearing and Obamacare is not needed to address the topic.
Well let’s return to my question then.
Do you think healthcare is a right or a privilege?
Sorry that I feel the need to include information in my responses to your allegations and that requires more than a few sentences. It would be meaningful if you could provide specific facts to support your general rhetoric of “competition in that marketplace has proven to reduce costs”, “government cannot be all things to all people” , and whatever you were trying to say in your second sentence.
I’m trying to support my positions with widely agreed upon information ( ie % of GDP expenditures , provisions of the ACA law relating to medicaid funding and % of claims paid to premiums paid, etc.) It would be great if you could do the same. Otherwise you appear to be one of those guys that came to a gunfight with only a dull pocketknife.