TREASONOUS SABOTAGE: THE FISCAL CLIFF: TO HOLD ENTITLEMENTS HOSTAGE
Treason is a violation of allegiance towards one’s sovereign or country. Sabotage is any underhanded activity to obstruct normal functioning; an underhanded effort to defeat or do harm to an endeavor. (Refer to the American Heritage Dictionary.)
So it is logical to conclude, in my less than humble opinion, that the public good of the United States of America and the ability of its government to properly function has been and is being obstructed, in an underhanded way, by a large band of Saboteurs who call themselves Tea Party Republicans, who pledged allegiance (along with the rest of the Republicans) to their leader – Saboteur Norquist. And this underhanded activity has not only created a phony cliff, but worse, the 2nd worst economy since 1776 and financial inequality of historic proportions which has resulted in tragedy for so many of their fellow Americans.
Thomas Jefferson said the role of government is to protect the public. But for too many years, a radicalized group of Republicans, funded and motivated by sociopathically greedy narcissists, like the koch Bros, has done everything possible to obstruct anything for the public good.
And most of the media has neglected to focus on objectively reporting the truth, because it has been giving both sides equal time which has confused the public and provided a non-partisan platform to parse the partisan nature of Washington Politics. When an objective and accurate analysis of the truth clearly reveals the treasonous substance of what has been termed – partisan politics. It is self-evident that both sides are not equally responsible for obstructionism. It is crystal clear that one side is clearly for protecting the public, and the partisan blockade is the radicalized Republican Party, voting in lockstep against the public good, and refusing to raise taxes on the top 2%. Therefore, it is obvious the Republican Party is only concerned about protecting the rich, and has little concern for the other 98%, especially the Americans who desperately need help.
Yesterday, MoveOn.Org sponsored Move On Fiscal Showdown in cities around America. The purpose was to: “let our representatives in Congress know we [those of us who understand the need for government to protect the public good] won’t tolerate any cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.” And this mythological Fiscal cliff has been created by the Saboteurs who would let America go into default to honor their pledge to their leader to never increase taxes, even for individuals who make more the $500,000 or $1,000,000 plus annually. However, now they might agree to go up from 35% to 37% if “entitlements” (things we pay for like Medicare and Social Security) are cut to reduce the debt.
So it is apparent that the Saboteurs have held America hostage by obstructing Congress to create a Fiscal Cliff. And the cliff is all about not raising taxes with a disregard for what their obstructionism has done or will do. Certainly there is no real discussion about cutting totally superfluous military bases in Europe, Japan and Korea established more than ½ a century ago in the shadows of WWII and the Korean “police action,” when only the U.S. had the wherewithal to protect these geographical areas.
Where is the concern for protecting the lives of American citizens, and properly spending government funds (when the private sector is hoarding profits offshore) to grow our economy in lieu of maintaining an over sized military industrial complex? What about stopping all the wasteful spending primarily concerned with the financial welfare of the military industrial complex at the expense of our growing deficit and continuing financial tragedy for so many.
I agreed to host one of the Cleveland events; however it made more sense to join another group, only blocks away, supported by the Cleveland offices of the AFL-CIO. People who had been ravaged by this depression and the lack of health insurance got up in public to speak, in a small park across from the Federal Building; to tell tragic stories, stories about being disenfranchised from being able to participate in the middle class – stories about how The 30-Year War Against the American Dream (refer to, How We Got Swindled by Wall Street Godfathers, Greed & Financial Darwinism ~ The 30-Year War Against the American Dream) had displaced them from lives they had worked hard to achieve. And Right to Work Laws are spreading, like the Social Darwinism of men like Andrew Carnegie, who called in the National Guard, in 1892, to quash a strike by workers at his steel plant in Pittsburgh, workers who wanted to form a union because they needed a higher wage level to subsist on as well as better working conditions to live longer.
One Cleveland TV station covered the Fiscal Showdown, and ran a few of the very personal stories on the evening news. But there were no throngs of outraged people, and no one from the Federal Building ventured outside in the lousy weather to hear or witness their outcry of anguish for help and consideration. And around our country yesterday there were similar stories from a multitude of Americans who have been abused by the obstructionists – stories about how they have flirted with death or had friends who died because of the inability get or afford health care, stories of financial inequality and despair in the shadows of a society that some believe has 47% of their fellow Americans hoping for stuff.
It is vital to realize the Saboteurs have government paid health insurance, while they relentlessly fight to never increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, (still talk about getting rid of Obama care), and simultaneously fight to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
So-called entitlements are held hostage just in case the zealots have a change of heart – which is their new strategy to maybe agree to a 1% tax increase if they can cut “entitlements.” Especially, Medicare, because the Saboteurs hate anyone having health insurance from the government except for their fellow Saboteurs.
From 4 decades of experience arranging group health insurance and negotiating renewal bids, I know (along with numerous others who have been similarly engaged in the group health business) how to fix Medicare. Why has no one said anything? Because the fix is certainly not to raise the age of entry, which is worse than dumb. To raise the eligibility age would only make it more costly to provide coverage for older insureds; everyone experiences more health problems as bodies wear out over time. This is merely common sense.
How to simply fix Medicare: GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE 101:
- LOWER ENTRY AGE TO 55
- ADD YOUNGER, HEALTHIER INSUREDS TO GROUP (POOL)
- LOWERS AVERAGE POOL AGE
- IMPROVES POOLED CLAIMS EXPERIENCE: SPREADS RISK
- LOWERS ADMINISTRATION COSTS, FEWER CLAIMS PER CAPITA
- LESS ADVERSE SELECTION (TO INSURE HIGHER RISKS)
- RETAIN SAME PREMIUM LEVEL FOR OLDER GROUP, ADJUST FOR 55 TO 65 IN ACCORDANCE WITH AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
- NO CHANGE IN BENEFITS
- IMPROVED BOTTOM LINE – FOR GOVERNMENT
- IMPROVED LONG-TERM FINANCIAL STABILITY = FIXED!
Private health carriers are against making Medicare solvent along with their mercenary armies of lobbyists. Congress, assisted by the media and the American people who vote for Saboteurs, has enabled Saboteurs to obstruct something as realistic as Group Health 101; which simply would establish long-term stability for Medicare. Therefore, it is self-evident the Saboteurs have no interest in the protecting the Public Good.
Is it possible to indict the Saboteurs for treason, I wonder…?