Yes we do but reforming the government will take a lot of work, I'm talking within the current structure.

reflating bubbles is such fun. The major assets will continue to deflate, but the necessities will inflate. Congrats government, you have "saved" us.

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The most profound slavery must be that in which the slaves can conceive of no other possible or better world than their bondage.

This thread isn't about the cost of war, so I won't engage your amazing leap of consciousness on the "Bush War". As the was said above, Congress votes , and without it the President doesn't get to act.

The issue at hand is the cost of the Health Care Bill as proposed by the Senate and House Democrats doesn't lower the cost of healthcare and doesn't insure everyone. Those were the two stated goals at the beginning, so i think the real question is what purpose does it serve if not to satisfy those goals?

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

Once again, we have to realize that Health Care of is less than 120 years old, and I'll argue that Healthcare really didn't start in current form until after WWII. Before that time most people died of natural causes and infection. There were no chemical or surgical cures. I struggle as people try to commoditize a set of skills and technologies that are so much in their infancy.

How do you come to the conclusion that healthcare s a merit good? Do you consider insulin for a diabetic a merit good? How about antibiotics? What about Chiropractic care? What about Viagra? What about Botox injections?

This is the problem, people are under the impression that Health Care is a gift that should be bestowed on everyone, as if it is a right under the Constitution. The art of Medicine is just finding its legs, so it will have its fluxes as new technology allows us to help and save more lives. The cost of healthcare has always been an expensive part of our lives. That is why many people had their children at home until the 1940's.

The damage to a model for the open technological growth of modern medicine was when the employer took on the responsibility of providing health insurance. This reduced the workers ability to choose and select the medical model that best fit their needs and in turn slowed the demand pressures for ineffective and overly costly medicines and procedures. Release this model and watch the cost of healthcare level off and eventually lower as we see technology improvements improve efficiency.

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

Do you want to reform the Healthcare or the Health Insurance Industry??

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

I'll ask the same question here...Is it Health Insurance that needs to be reformed or Healthcare?

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

All it takes is people voting their mind instead of their party.

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

That would work in a democratic system but we live in a system in which votes are manipulated by the media, defuse the media and you allow a much more free, democratic vote.

Yes, the media has far too much influence, and now especially with the latest Supreme Court decision. The thing we have to keep reminding ourselves is that at the end of the day we make the decision. We get to step behind the curtain and place our vote and no one has to know who or what we cast our ballot for. It is our responsibility and we have to own the consequences of our decisions.

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The Franklin Party
Political Common Sense for America
"We believe in Common Sense Leadership!"

There are too many mindless drones who allow themselves to be manipulated by the media. How do we convince them that most of what is in TV ads is pure bunk?

Maybe if everyone had a DVR and used it, commercial television would be a thing of the past.

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"I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U. S. Congress."
Ronald Reagan