Captain's Quarters -

As said by SCOTUS justice Thomas, the progressives (democrats) of today are as/or more dangerous as/than the Southern Racist (democrats) of the past.

First of all a 12yr old BOY delivered the radio address and it was a moving one.

Second of all, Bush has repeatedly surrounded himself with children during events surrounding No Child Left Behind or the "Snowflake babies" when he vetoed embryonic stem cell research. So, sure pols use kids to push programs. The difference is that children might actually benefit from Democratic plans.

Third of all, the amount needed to cover SCHIP is being spent every 41 days in Iraq.

Fourth, how exactly do Republicans plan on paying for this war in Iraq? Shouldn't you be honest about that for once? After all, a conservative estimate of direct spending in Iraq so far is $700 BILLION dollars. OK, let's not raise taxes. Tell me how you do plan to pay for the war.

It seems clear to me that the Republican plan is to drive up deficits so high that when the next President is forced to raise taxes to pay for it & then you can blame them for it. It is the only reason I hope that a Republican might win. You might actually have to take responsibility for your actions.

The country can't afford SCHIP or any other expanded social program. The war is being financed with borrowed money. Sooner or later there will be a tax increase to pay for either the current cost of the war, or to repay the debt that has been incurred to finance the war.

It is irresponsible to exclude most costs of the war from annual budgets, instead relying on supplementals. It is irresponsible to keep the domestic spending tap wide open (including earmarks) while the national debt is at a record level and the war is the #1 priority.

Treasury cannot keep printing money and borrowing from foreign governments.

Teresa:

Since you are a defender of the superiority of government provided health care I am surprised that you didn't comment on the comparative cancer survival rates that I posted yesterday on the SCHIP thread. Is that because you always ignore data that undermines your worldview?

As for the President surrounding himself with Children to publicize an education program what would you have him do surround himself with education bureaucrats instead.

We all know that Hillary is using children to advance socialized medicine in the United States. President Bush was is using children to advance the cause of children’s education. This is another piece of information that you choose to ignore.

Given this hamfisted proposal and Obey's corridor run-in (see it on YouTube) with an anti-war nutter, perhaps he's an agent provocateur secretly working for the Republicans. I also can't imagine Charlie Rangel is too thrilled about this apparent end-run attempt, around him and the Ways and Means Cmte.

I haven't yet been able to figure how the Democrats plan to hide 'from each according to their ability, TO each (which is to say, very little to each) according to their needs (as determined by the rapidly-expanding beaurocracy under the Democrats that people like teresa cheer for).

As outlined back in 1993, SCHIP expansion is all part of "The Plan." It's the thin end of the wedge in pursuit of an inevitable, so-called Single Payer health plan. "Single Payer" meaning about 300 million or so payers.

The Congressional Majority (of which David Obey is a member)has one option open to them they refuse to use. If the Congressional majority is so sure that "Bush's War" is such a major issue, and the "American people" are so opposed to "Bush's War," and stopping "Bush's War" according to way too many members of Congress and the MSM is what got them elected in 2006, why haven't they used the ONE advantage they do have?

If the Congressional Majority would simply introduce and pass legislation that cuts all funding for the US Military in Iraq, in Africa, in Southeast Asia, anywhere else where the US Military is deployed that is not Afghanistan or Kosovo, they would be able to end "Bush's War" overnight.

So, the question is...why hasn't the Congressional Majority exercised this simple power vested in them?

The Congressional Majority (of which David Obey is a member)has one option open to them they refuse to use.

That's mainly because the Surrender Caucus is only about half the Dem majority that holds safe seats in true-blue coastal enclaves. The rest of them are scared crap-less that they might actually have to take the blame for defeat. So, this endless string of "strategic re-deployment" resolutions allows the Surrender Caucus and a few of the other squishes to parade their anti-war credentials in front of the cameras, secure in the knowledge they'll never have the votes, and hence, responsibility for outcomes. If 2008 goes their way, they'll own "Bush's War" 100%. Interesting times.

The Captain says that he thinks a 12 year old could not have written this speech so I am posting a copy of it. If a 12 yr old could not have written this, I fear "No Child Left Behind" really is a huge failure since it is not exactly a treatise on astro-physics. It just describes what happened to him:

"Hi, my name is Graeme Frost. I'm 12 years old and I live in Baltimore, Maryland. Most kids my age probably havent heard of CHIP, the Childrens Health Insurance Program. But I know all about it, because if it weren't for CHIP, I might not be here today.

CHIP is a law the government made to help families like mine afford healthcare for their kids. Three years ago, my family was in a really bad car accident. My younger sister Gemma and I were both hurt. I was in a coma for a week and couldn't eat or stand up or even talk at first. My sister was even worse.

I was in the hospital for five-and-a-half months and I needed a big surgery. For a long time after that, I had to go to physical therapy after school to get stronger. But even though I was hurt badly, I was really lucky. My sister and I both were.

My parents work really hard and always make sure my sister and I have everything we need, but the hospital bills were huge. We got the help we needed because we had health insurance for us through the CHIP program. But there are millions of kids out there who don't have CHIP, and they wouldn't get the care that my sister and I did if they got hurt. Their parents might have to sell their cars or their houses, or they might not be able to pay for hospital bills at all.

Now I'm back to school. One of my vocal chords is paralyzed so I don't talk the same way I used to. And I can't walk or run as fast as I did. The doctors say I can't play football any more, but I might still be able to be a coach. I'm just happy to be back with my friends.

I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP. All I know is I have some really good doctors. They took great care of me when I was sick, and I'm glad I could see them because of the Childrens Health Program.

I just hope the President will listen to my story and help other kids to be as lucky as me. This Graeme Frost, and this has been the Weekly Democratic Radio address.

Thanks for listening."

You hit on 12-year-olds twice in this post. I don't know any 12 or 6-year old who would endorse this except if he was brain washed, was paid or just wanted to get on radio/television. I suspect the 12-year-old in question had both the last two reasons and maybe all three.

Nice try for sidetracking to a totally different topic.

Maybe you want to open up your own blog to vent your opinions on educations?

Posted by coldwarrior415:

So, the question is...why hasn't the Congressional Majority exercised this simple power vested in them?

General Soro's has not given the order yet. He's still confering with MM, Kos, and Hillary

Of course the "war" should be paid for...but why is it that the Dhimmis always need to raise taxes?

How about cutting some programs instead?

You can start with the un-Constitutional boondoggles you Dhimmis love so much...I guess you've figured out that "war" making is one of the few expenditures made by the Fed that is Constitutional?

Believe me -- I'd much rather talk about the Republican plan to pay for the war than SCHIP, but unfortunately that plan doesn't seem to exist.

I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP. All I know is I have some really good doctors. They took great care of me when I was sick, and I'm glad I could see them because of the Childrens Health Program.

Teresa, This program would run just fine without your liberal friends systematically attempting to transfer it into another GIANT SOCIAL WELFARE program. If you can't/don't care to see the agenda (that will be a fiscal catastrophy), why ask the question most already know the answer to?

For those who have not been paying attention, with the tax cuts government income went up. Just like it always does when you cut taxes.

The concept of earmarking a tax to pay for something is just shear stupidity.

Raise taxes and total government income goes down , in most examples further than the total revenue brought in by the new tax itself.

As far as SCHIP goes, it is already proven from the released memo to be the first step toward socialized medicine. The fate of that program is the bird in the coal mine about Hillary's plan she is running on.

Again it is one of those preaching to the bluest of blue states things that doesn't have a chance of survival in the real world but plays well with the easily convinced.

Notice how the (slower than normal) trolls want to "talk about the Repub plan"...funny, last time I checked, the Dhimmis were in charge.

I wonder if Graeme Frost questioned why his parents have 4 kids, but didn't bother to get health insurance. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.md.children27sep27,0,494605.story?coll=bal_home_util

"The Frost family has a combined annual income of about $45,000, said Bonnie Frost. She and her husband have priced private health insurance, but they say it would cost them more per month than their mortgage - about $1,200 a month. Neither parent has health insurance through work.

"There should never be a moment when you have to ask, 'Do you have health insurance?'" said Halsey Frost, who along with his wife is an advocate for a national health care plan that would cover everyone, no matter the age or income bracket."

Did the Frosts have automobile insurance?

Rovin -- Teresa, This program would run just fine without your liberal friends systematically attempting to transfer it into another GIANT SOCIAL WELFARE program. If you can't/don't care to see the agenda (that will be a fiscal catastrophy), why ask the question most already know the answer to?
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You know what Rovin, calling Dems "tax and spenders" after eight years of Republican "borrowers and spenders" is just not all that effective. You say SCHIP will turn into another GIANT SOCIAL WELFARE program. Who was it that just passed the drug program for seniors? Who is it that told us this war would cost $50 billion some $750 billion dollars ago.

Spare me the lectures on Republican fiscal responsibility. They just don't wash anymore.

If they make 45K a year and have a 1200 a month mortgage, they simply have bought a house well beyond their means.

I know many people where I live who make that annual income and their house payments run less than 300 a month because they had the sense to shop for a place they could afford.

They want to have the skills to only make 45K a year but live like they make 100k.

So they want SCHIP to subsidize their bad choices.

The nutbag was whining about not "funding the war"...Your Dhimmis are in charge. Where's their plan to fund the war? Why not pull the troops out...then you don't need to fund it.

Oops, I forgot, not only are the Dhimmis cowards, but they're liars to boot.

I'd pay if it would prevent the deaths of any of our servicemen, aid in their rehabilitation when hurt, and even improve their on-base housing. As many here have opined, freedom ain't cheap.

A ton of cheap shots by Steve Lopez on just this topic. Notice how both the dentist and his patient make Steve back off when he starts spouting his anti-war viewpoint to them.

The sniveling Dhimmicrats are so loathsome and cowardly...it's almost as if they're TRYING to make the spineless Repubs look like brave and principled souls... God help us.

daytrader..that is how I see it. Mr. Frost is an advocate for national healthcare...I would have taken him more seriously had he actually been struggling to make the insurance payments..as we can he, he isn't/wasn't.

Where does Maryland auto insurance play into this btw?

Teresa,

Not a child. The "five-and-a-half" gives it away -- no child is that precise with time. Boys in particular are not particularly time-conscious.

And the closer is an even bigger hint:

This is Graeme Frost, and this has been the Weekly Democratic Radio address. Thanks for listening.

Of course, Mr. Frost doesn't seem to understand that the current bill on the President's desk expands CHIP to cover middle-class people (who, by all rights, should be able to afford health coverage; I'm middle class, and the second money in every month [after my tax payments] goes to my health insurance payment). I'm going to be honest -- I don't want to pay another family's health bill when they can pay it themselves -- I already pay the health bills via my taxes for those who can't.

If they make 45K a year and have a 1200 a month mortgage, they simply have bought a house well beyond their means.

I know many people where I live who make that annual income and their house payments run less than 300 a month because they had the sense to shop for a place they could afford.
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Home prices vary accoriding to location. Baltimore is an expensive place to live. One of my aunts and uncles bought a house there in the 1950's for $30,000. Today they could get $750,000 for about 2,000 square feet & tiny yard in a not great neighborhood. $750,000 in South Carolina -- where I live -- would buy you a mansion with a bunch of acreage.

I'd love to know where you can get a house for less than $300 a month.

Time to be a heartless, mean-spirited, conservative Scrooge:

Why should I pay for somebody else's health care? Or, more to the point, why should I enable the government to take (steal?) my money to do so?

What other "rights" do people have that some politician will send me the bill for?

DocJim says:

Why should I pay for somebody else's health care? Or, more to the point, why should I enable the government to take (steal?) my money to do so?

What other "rights" do people have that some politician will send me the bill for?
_________________________

You are paying for it now. When people without health insurance use the emergency room for their primary care, who do you think picks up the bill when they can't? Those costs are prorated over everybody elses health care costs.

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UncleSmergol -- Not a child. The "five-and-a-half" gives it away -- no child is that precise with time. Boys in particular are not particularly time-conscious.

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As the mother of a 12 year old boy, I can tell you that they can be very precise with time. As in, "It's not time for me to go to bed yet. I still have 3 1/2 minutes to play Halo 3."

Teresa

There is a simple solution.

My family did it years ago (back in the early 50's)

If you cant afford where you live then MOVE.

Sure you can go out an find 250k houses a dime a dozen any where you want to look.

I live in Florida where those numbers are easy to find.

But in the town I live in the average price for a house here runs in the mid 50's.

No state income tax either.

We have people living here who have a family income in the mid 20's and still are doing fine.

They have food on the table and clothes on their back and cars to get around in. They may be used cars, but they understand their budget limitations.

To many people seem to want to be stuck in an area where they never can make ends meet on the money they make and want to still live like keeping up with the rat race and wonder why it all goes wrong.

I know a lot of people here who still buy houses for under 20K and then work them up to much better shape by their own sweat equity and parts from Home Depot.

Teresa:

Since CHIP was there for Graeme, merely reauthorizing the same program would mean it was there for the next 12 year old boy who needed it, no? How does refusing to extend CHIP to adults "stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP"?

And do the Frost's not have at least SOME responsiblity to bring their children into the world when they can afford it? After all, what is Planned Parenthood for?

Anybody from this town who wants to make 40K a year and above is not going to do it here.

We all know that.

So about 80% of the workforce commutes 80-100 miles each way to where the money is.

Sure we run a big gas and car wear and tear bill, but we don't have house payments on a 200k plus cracker box of a house that has half the square footage we do.

I lived that nightmare for too long.

I finally sold my high dollar gated community MacMansion and moved to where I am now and have a great house on a chunk of land on riverfront property and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Good people all around who would give you the shirt off their back if they thought you needed it.

Much better than strangers moving in and out next door all the time as they flip houses and jobs like changing underwear.

JackOkie --Since CHIP was there for Graeme, merely reauthorizing the same program would mean it was there for the next 12 year old boy who needed it, no? How does refusing to extend CHIP to adults "stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP"?

And do the Frost's not have at least SOME responsiblity to bring their children into the world when they can afford it? After all, what is Planned Parenthood for?
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The SCHIP bill worked on in the senate phases out coverage of childless adults after one year. The government would provide temporary Medicaid funding to cover those adults enrolled in SCHIP, and states would be able to ask the government for a waiver to cover the adults through Medicaid. But don't let facts stand in the way of a good story.

Interesting to hear that Republicans are in favor of abortion as a method of birth control now. That will really make the news!

Wisconsin Rep. David Obey did not blindside Democratic leaders with his call for a sur-tax to pay for the war - he was talking typical Democratic stradagy to raise taxes. And this is just the start!

If the Republicans do not win back the congress in 08 and in fact lose seats, we are going to see the largest public works program created in the history of this country aimed at rebuilding public infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and how do you think that will be paid for? Tax increases.

Teresa

BS

Nobody said abortion for birth control except you.

Birth control for birth control no abortion needed.

Sorry Daytrader -- usually when people here talk about Planned Parenthood they are bashing them for being abortion providers and ignore the role they play in providing low cost birth control.

Teresa,

I certainly don't deny what you say, but it doesn't answer my question:

Why should I enable politicians to take (steal?) my money to pay for somebody else's health care?

Dito Teresa - many people do not know the function Planned Parenthood is playing to help keep young girls from becoming pregnant unless they have a teenage daughter, and their eyes are open to what is going on around them.

DocJim -- Teresa,

I certainly don't deny what you say, but it doesn't answer my question:

Why should I enable politicians to take (steal?) my money to pay for somebody else's health care?
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Which is better? Having to pay the high bills for emergency care which are then prorated over everybody else's bills or having sensible, preventative care available which will keep costs down? You are paying the bill either way. Why pay more than we need to?

To paraphrase Steve Benen, George Bush's way is "the most inefficient socialized medicine around."

Teresa,

Your kids are exception, as I'm also sure 12-year old Democrats who are on broadcast radio are generally. Mr. Frost just can't balance the budget as well as my kids could at his age.

Mine at least learned that the allowance only goes so far, and, after that, you are on your own. The game is indeed zero sum. Mr. Frost wants to take money from my pocket to pay for other middle class families to not have to buy the healthcare coverage I have to buy. And, while my family stopped at replacing ourselves (two kids, zero abortions), Mr. Frost wants to cover his three siblings as well, indicating he doesn't understand the strain his parent's choices with regard to family size have put on others. I'm sure all the Frosts are lovable people, but why should I pay for them? They made the choice to have children, and their choices involve sacrifices; I'm a bit peeved that they want me to make those sacrifices and have sent their 12-year old kid out to teddy-bear us.

Of course, the Government can print all the money it wants, and tax us all it wants, and this just looks like another one of those.

Thats ok Teresa

For most it's just a matter of getting your head on straight.

Where I live the are at least 30 other multi-millionaires I know and we all live in modest houses and drive new but modest cars.

We are all here because we got tired of the false image crap we had to seem to keep up with in other places we lived.

I have a house I bought 12 years ago for 17K. The first four months my wife and I lived in the RV while we gutted the house down to the bone and rewired and re plumbed the whole place.

We refinished the floors and removed a totally trashed fire place that was beyond repair to allow expanding the kitchen.

So now we have a 3500 sq ft beautiful house on an acre of land sitting right on the St. Johns River.

A much better life than the country club circuit where we used to live.

"Of course, the Government can print all the money it wants and tax us all it wants, and this just looks like another one of these."

This is beside the point here. Our youth are the future leaders of this country - the government looks at them as assets - and we should too.

Good health care at a young age insures that our youth will have a chance to grow up healthy and live productive lives contributing to the total welfare of our country.

Since we are an aging population our youth become an important factor in keeping this country running while we are growing old.

Our pursuit for our material life is putting our population on the road to extinction. Many have decided to not have children to pursue their dreams. If I were young again I would be creating many children.

We talk about being over run by illegal immigrants - why is this - perhaps our workforce is too small because we chose to have fewer children? Cause and effect plays a roll in everything we do or don't do.

I think the investment for health insurance for our young children will have a good return.

It is a better return than a 72 year old on their deathbed getting open heart surgury so they can last another 3 to 6 months - and this operation funded by the government.

We have a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse in the presnt entitlement programs that need to be cleaned up, but there are some entitlements that can actually produce returns that far exceed the initial cost for the program. I think this is one of them.

Unclesmrgol -- Your kids are exception, as I'm also sure 12-year old Democrats who are on broadcast radio are generally. Mr. Frost just can't balance the budget as well as my kids could at his age.

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Well, my kids are awfully smart and cute! Can't deny that!

This is a sort of unending debate and I know we will never agree on it anyway, but I am curious as to how you justify in your mind that you are not already paying Mr. Frost (the 12 yr old)'s bills and others like him.

When someone goes into the hospital for a catostrophic illness or accident and can't pay the bill, those costs are prorated over everybody else's bills. Including yours.

Teresa,

You still don't answer my question. Why should I enable politicians to take (steal?) my money to pay for somebody else's healthcare? Setting up a strawman about how bad the current system does nothing to answer this question.

Speaking of strawmen, I fail to see why the cost of the war in Iraq has anything to do with this subject. At the very least, it's a game at which two can play: you think the government is wasting money on Iraq that could be better spent on healthcare, while I think that the government is wasting money on healthcare (among many other things) that could be better spent on killing terrorists in Iraq and on national defense in general. I would like to note parenthetically that national defense is a constitutional power / requirement of the government, while providing healthcare, even to children, is not.

Teresa:

I had to leave to run some errands, but I see others have already responded to your Planned Parenthood = abortion comment. But let me ask again - My wife and I discussed contraception early in our relationship, and she felt that the pill was the best choice. So after we were married we both worked for five years so when we had our first child she could quit work and be a stay-at-home mom. This is not rocket science. Why should I subsidize another couple who do not have the discipline to postpone child-bearing until they are financially able?

And a $1200 house payment? The Frosts should come to Tulsa, where jobs are plentiful, housing is relatively cheap, and the folks are friendly.

DocJim -- You still don't answer my question. Why should I enable politicians to take (steal?) my money to pay for somebody else's healthcare? Setting up a strawman about how bad the current system does nothing to answer this question.
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It is not a "strawman" to point out that we are already paying for health care for those who can not pay. It is what it is. The same way that say Sears tacks on money to the price of their items to cover loss/theft by other people. Should Sears not "steal" your money to cover the cost of other people stealing from them? Good luck with that. It is the nature of capitalism. And hospitals today are big business looking to turn a profit. They are going to make you pay for any losses they incurr from others.

Jack -- This goes to your point to about supporting the Frosts. Sure, people should wait and not have kids until they can afford them and all that, but they don't. And they never will. So what do we do with all those kids? Let them grow up with zero societal support? That will be a huge drain on our economy one way or the other.

We have to all take a big girl/big boy pill and live in the real world. If you have a practical answer to help with rising health care costs, then give it to us.

(And, Jack, as a graduate of the University of Texas I could never condemn anyone to living in Oklahoma. Hook 'em horns!)

daytrader:

Your 17K house reminds me of the hoo-haa from several years ago when the rent-to-own industry was pilloried. One media type exclamed indignantly that the rent-to-own places were victimizing people who had "no other options". Having furnished my home (I bought my house before I met my future wife) with cast-offs, garage sale items, brick and plank bookshelves and orange crates (as I thought all but the rich did when starting out), I could only roll my eyes and resist the urge to puke.

Teresa:

I thought I detected a certain swagger in your walk. But the hammer will drop this Saturday - better get ready.

JackOkie -- Teresa: I thought I detected a certain swagger in your walk. But the hammer will drop this Saturday - better get ready.
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The Golden Hat is comin' back to Austin Saturday. Count on it!

Teresa,

Yes, it IS a strawman. I asked a question about government confiscation of my money. You fail to address the root problem, which is that the government is stealing from me. You reply, essentially, that SOMEBODY is going to take it, so why not the gov? I would like to know why I should accept this. It's akin to being told by the police, after being robbed, that SOMEBODY was going to get my money, so why am I complaining?

You then go on to talk about hospitals, as "for profit" organizations, taking my money much as Sears (and other stores) mark up their prices a bit to cover their losses to theft and other causes. You're beginning to see a little light, so let's walk a bit further down this road.

What is the difference between (for example) Sears and the government?

Sears is a private business, and the government is not. Sears has to compete for my money; the government can compel me to hand over any amount they choose. If Sears asks for too much of my money, I have the option to shop elsewhere. If the government asks for too much of my money, there's nothing I can do about it other than break the law and risk prison by becoming a tax evader. If the management of Sears runs their business in an inefficient manner or fails to deliver goods and services that enough people want at a price they are willing to pay, they go out of business. If the government runs in an inefficient manner, they simply demand more of our money in the form of taxes. Therefore, they have no particular impetus to provide the best goods and services. If you disagree, I ask you to compare the service and wait at the average retail store to the service and wait at the average DMV!

In short, I am a CUSTOMER of Sears; I have the power in the relationship. I am a SUBJECT of the government; IT has the power in the relationship.

But I've wandered from the original point, so let me return and answer my own question:

There is absolutely no good reason that I should enable politicians to steal my money to pay for somebody else's healthcare. If I feel sufficiently sorry for the indigent, then I will give to charity (as many people do). But the government has no right to take from me. The children in question are not mine; I had nothing to do with their procreation; I am not responsible for them in any legal sense. I can't (for example) tell them to wear a helmet when they ride their bikes, or eat healthy meals, or keep them home from school when they are sick, or do ANYTHING to try to keep them healthy. Therefore, why should I pay for their healthcare... or anything else?

A selfish attitude? No, not really. At the very least, it's no more selfish than people who feel downright virtuous when they steal from me to pay "for the children". In effect, I am being robbed so they can feel good about themselves.

I would also like to point out, as I did above, that providing health care is NOT one of the enumerated powers of the federal government. If the government of my state (No. Carolina) or county or city want to tax me to fund such health care, I have less of a problem with that (note: LESS of a problem, NOT "no problem").

Finally, do we REALLY want to turn over responsibility for providing health care to the same organization that buys $400 hammers?

DocJim -- If you read closely, I was actually comparing Sears to your local hospital -- not the government. And, when you have a heart attack one day from arguing with liberals, you won't get to pick which hospital you go to. And when you get the bill, it will be padded some to cover people who did not have insurance and could not pay their bill. Now it could be padded a lot or a little. But it will be padded. BY THE HOSPITAL.

So it doesn't really matter if you like little kids or if you want to see them roasted on a spit, you are going to end up paying their hospital bills.

The question is, can you save more or less money if they get insurance via the government and are able to get preventative care. I haven't seen you give one argument that proves going to the ER for everything ends up being cheaper than getting regular check-ups.

I would agree with you on those $400 hammers. And feel better if I saw Republicans going after all the waste in goverment instead of blocking investigations into it for the last eight years.

DocJim

Income tax is voluntary. The Government is a business. The UNITED STATES is a corporation and they are billing you for their services.

What is your point about theft of your money - I say what money? FRNs are debt that is given us to use.

The trust that is behind our FRNs is the productivity of this country.

We cannot do anything about this tax situation until enough people get involved to do anything about it. All you can do is keep complaining until our political leaders decide to do something about it. And I say political leaders with an s because it will take much more than one president and a few senators to do it.

It will take the american public to get involved, stand up and say enough is enough. Good luck with that because the average person in the work force is too busy making ends meet, while the leaders who do know how to do it are too comfortable to rock the boat.

So live with it.

Teresa:

You're right - I'm not going to let a kid go without proper medical treatment, even though it's really the parents' responsiblilty to provide for the kid. When I was in the Army in the '60s I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston (ummm, Texas Hill Country - New Braunfels, Comfort, etc) and found that the auto insurance companies had to provide insurance to me under something called 'Assigned Risk'. Does Texas still mandate that from the insurance companies? Do you think something like that would work better than CHIP (yes, I realize the gummint would still be the payor of last resort).

BTW, would you be willing to trade expanding CHIP in exchange for supporting school vouchers?

Hey Jack -- sorry for not answering sooner. Had to supervise baths for the kids, read them some books and then got caught up watching Top Chef.

When I got married I moved back to SC where I grew up, so I am not sure about Texas insurance laws. (Oddly my husband grew up in San Antonio and still has family out there so I'll have to check with them on that issue.)

I'm not sure what the answer is to health care completely. Offering tax breaks for health care makes some sense to me. I think if people could deduct it like they do their mortgage it would solve a lot of problems. (Granted, the very poorest would still have to use Medicaid/Medicare.)

I also think opening up government insurance for small businesses and the self-employed that people could BUY into isn't a bad idea. If you could get large enough numbers of small business employees together, it would make it more affordable for everyone to have insurance by increasing the size of the risk pool. The small college my husband works for has looked into joining up with other small colleges in the state to buy in together to get better rates and coverage, but there are a lot of legal barriers currently to doing this.

The voucher issue is a hard one for me. In some ways I'd love to move my own kids out of the public schools that they are in and into better ones.

What I worry about living in a really rural state is that vast areas of this state would not benefit from vouchers. The only schools reasonably available driving wise are public schools and many towns only have one elementary, one middle and one high school. If a parent is working and has to be there by 8am, they can not drive a child two hours away and drop them off in the dark to wait until the other school opens.

I know some on this board will say, "Then they should move," but I think it is hard for people with limited resources who may own a home that has been passed down to them and who have extended family in the area and all that to just pull up roots. My years working at DSS showed me that poor people really depend on their extended family for basic things like child care, transportation, care of the elderly, etc... Having them move someplace without those supports in place is dooming them to failure.

Teresa.

You are right -- the bills are either pro-rated or the hospital goes out of business, like all the ones here in Southern California treating the illegals.

No matter how it is currently removed from my pocketbook, the expense is not mine -- it's Mr. Frost's. Mr. Frost has many years to pay back what was spent on his well being, but he won't have to, because he's a Democrat, a robber from others to improve his own lifestyle.

I pay my own way. As I previously pointed out, Mr. Frost needs to learn that lesson too, just as my kids have.

I have another concern about the types of procedures which eventually will be covered -- such as abortions or non-orthotic plastic surgery.

I do not want to pay for an abortion or any other elective procedure. No way, no how.

Hillary has already designed the battle plan, and having seen her battle plan, I don't even want to allow the tip of the camel's nose in the tent; it will only lead to the rest of the camel being there too.

(sarc on) Tomorrow Mr. Rangel will offer an ammendment to Mr. Obeys bill to restart the draft. If that doesn't fly, perhaps you can avoid the sur-charge by "sending your children" to Iraq.

Unclesmergol -- No matter how it is currently removed from my pocketbook, the expense is not mine -- it's Mr. Frost's. Mr. Frost has many years to pay back what was spent on his well being, but he won't have to, because he's a Democrat, a robber from others to improve his own lifestyle.
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What if "Mr. Frost" -- who is 12 and was in a car accident that wasn't his fault just so sane people remember what we are talking about -- was permanently disabled in the car accident. How would he pay the bill back then?

At least the mystery of where Ron Paul's $5 million came from is solved. Unclesmergol has been digging under the couch cushions for change.

How is increasing the S-CHIP program by $30-50 billion dollars cheaper to the taxpayer? Are you assuming that: people will actually take the time to get preventitive healthcare, and that they will stop visiting an emergency room rather than make an appt at the doctors office?

I watched Chris Cuomo interview the mother that lost her 12 year old son to an abcessed(sp?) tooth. She admitted she had gov't coverage to visit dentists, she admitted that she had never taken him to the dentist in his entire life, and yet Cuomo said that he couldn't find anybody but the gov't to blame for this...