Recent comments
ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Join Thom for his new twice-weekly email newsletters on ADHD, whether it affects you or a member of your family.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
I'm over 65 and do not have medicare because I'm covered under a health care plan. There is not penalty, I checked. All Retired Federal elected officials are covered by the Federal employees health plan a non government health care plan. Federal elected much purchase there health insurance under the Federal employees health plan.
https://perry.house.gov/constituent-services/myths-about-congress.htm
In post 32 why do you say that Bernie and Al Gore do not have medicare? If you are 65 or older any insurance company is going to tell you to sign up or drop you. They will cover supplemental for you. There is also a penalty for not signing up.
I have my questions about Medicare and how great it is. I pay $121 per month for a plan that covers 80% of a procedure. But the procedure costs 5 times more than it would in another country. So I would be paying 100%. Supplemental plans cost $200 to $300 per month. Will increase as I age. Anyone from another industrialized country would consider this to be very expensive and they have better quality healthcare.
A good argument could be made that Democrats during the FDR Administrations of the 1930s and 40s passed legislation that created the American middle class.
Strong labor union protections, a federal minimum wage, social security, banking regulations and other consumer protections and government jobs programs like the CCC and the WPA (the latter proving that the government can and DOES create jobs), set up an economic recovery and growth that was unprecedented in our history and remains the greatest example of the soundness and success of Keynesian economic theory.
(But why hold on to something that works, right?) Generally, those principles were accepted and applied by our government until the Reagan era, when a former actor and McCarthyite convinced learned men and the American people that Keynesian economics was a failure (the process which had been working for almost 50 years), and that government welfare should be directed to those at the top of the economic ladder than to those at the bottom.
Since the Reagan era, Republicans have fought successful to funnel American wealth and income away from the middle-class and toward the very wealthy. The sad and frankly, infuriating thing about that is that for the past 20-odd years, Democrats have joined them!
"A Better Deal" smacks of Obama era deference to Wall Street and the billionaire class. "30 million Americans still remain without health insurance, but Medicare for all (single-payer) is too hard, Pie-In-The-Sky; so we'll try to cut that number down to about 20 million uninsured. How's that?"
The truth is, the reason it's "too hard" for our Democrats to stand up for Democratic ideals is that they fear the wrath of their corporate masters and wealthy donors. "Nope! Trickle-down works, it just needs tweaking. Trust us."
The only way for the Democratic Party and the American middle-class to survive and thrive is to return to Keynesian values. Protecting individuals against corporate economic pillaging and understanding that when to bottom is self-sufficient, and the middle thrives, Demand skyrockets and the entire nation fares better overall.
If only there was a modern politician who championed the values of Democrats of the 1930s and 40s... Wait a minute.. That is exactly what Bernie Sanders has been doing for 40 years. And as it turns out, he is now, by a wide margin, the most popular politican and Senator in the USA.
So he was here, he was ready to lead, what happened? What happened is that establishment, corporate owned Democrats sought to crush him and indeed, today, 9 months after the general election, their money and machinery is on an all-out blitz to crush, not only Sanders, but his followers, those who hold to actual Democratic values (now called leftists, progressives, bros, etc).
"A Better Deal?" We need to say, "Thanks, but no thanks," and ramp up the fight to restore true Democratic values and Democracy to our governement and our people.
A better question is: Can we trust the Demorats to serve two masters, or is this more talk the talk? Just look at all the lobbyists and GoldmanSachs people whom they keep filling their ranks with. Do we really believe the leopard can change his spots? Hosw many more times must the true liberal Democrats be sucker punched before they wake up and refuse to play this game any more? The Democratic Party is DOA it's so corrupt. We need a Third Party with candidates who will sign contracts to not accept corporate donations, not become lobbyists, or do any of the things Democrats have been doing to sell out this country. The time is now to take off the velvet gloves and get down to business.
In the 1980s I heard, to make money invest in health care products and services. I asked myself how can a moral person make money on the unfortunate health experiences of others? Since then I have learned there are many immoral people and CEOs.
Ou812 finally comes out and says Medicare for All is great, even though she couldn't answer my question in #13.
If Medicare for all is so great, why do Bernie Sanders, Al Gore, and others promoting it NOT have it?
2950-10K: Good point. Medicare Part D is what happens when there is monopolistic health care insurance. What's wrong with having a choice?
Berie's platform needs to be adopted...loud and clear...or
they're headed for another loss...more of the same Clinton corportate "light."
(This is a reply to Far East LA comment. Aparently it will not show as such.)
This is happening because there is very little diference between Democrats and Republicans. The politicians in both parties require the money from big industry to run their campaigns, so, both sides are owned by the same people.
You want to see some positive change? The only way to achieve that is to end Citizens United and to make changes to the Constitution to make it clear that where politics are concerned private companies are not people and can't intervene. Something is needed to separate private enterprises from politics like it was done with the religious movements.
I don't know, maybe I'm being fooloish but, as I remember it, labor movements did not develop and grow because politicians favored it. They grew because people cared about their future and the unions gave them hope. Today, people don't see labor unions in the same light. Those labor unions don't defend the rights of the people they are supposed to defend and are le by high payed professionals that get their money from the salaries of those they represent.
Joinning a labor union is like joinning a political party. You join then because there is no alternative and there's no guarantee that you are going to get anything from them.
By the way, Thom, MSN closed their site to comments. It's been like that for close to two weeks. A site like that doesn't close that area of their site because they want to improve it, as they claim. They do so because they don't like the comments they are getting and because those comments are being accepted and repeated by other people. If people start agreing with each othe, that is dangerous to the powers that be. Yet, I don't hear anything about this. I would think that for someone who is working to improve life in the USA, that is fighting for the right's of the people, it would be important for the people to be able to communicate their ideas and to reach agreements that might influence political life and bring positive change.
So, I'm mentioning this again here. Of course, I realize that what I see in the Inernet might be caused by a computer virus designed to block my comments but the same is happenning with my wife's tablet when she enters to her account. So, i'm not the only person afected by this.
I sure Hope Chuck and Nancy didn't spend much Time on this - it certainly doesn't look like they did.
No wonder the Dems have lost Bigly (oh, how it pains me to use that, but ...) 63 seats in the Census year of 2010 gaining only 8 back in Obama's Big Win year of 2012, then losing 16 (net 13) in 2014, and gaining only 6 back in 2016 with the Hillary/Bernie surge. PITIFUL!
Much of this 'bad Fortune' pivoted on the National Dems forgetting there was an Election in Nov 2010 until late September of that year ... and, then only after Daily Kos, Alan Grayson and a few others started shouting from the nation's belfries.
At a time in our Society that sees the Younger generations (and the still Hippie Boomers) flocking to Progressive ideas and away from the "repugliecons", how is it possible for the Dems to be so out of step??
The one good thing to come out of the Communists boosting Trump is DWS is gone from DNC. Now, may be for good.
2018 or 2020 may see an En Marche! blow both the Dems, and the equally out of touch Rs out of DC and the States? One can only Hope for Change ....
Every thing that comes from politicians is little more than "marketing collateral" to sell themselves. As I life long Democrat I am only partially sympathetic to the Democrat who touts a "new" agenda that is supposed to enrich the lives of the many.. which is we, the disrespected majority clinging to a flase beleif that we all matter.. Unless and until America "repeals and replaces" our "civil religion" that is imbedded with self-emolument programs for our elected officials which are dedicated to serving only their needs, then we are helpless to assert that the needs of the many supercede the needs of the few that actually run America... and thus ruin what we call a "democracy." Perhaps Trump's election is indeed an omen signalling this is indeed how the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper... from the Whitehouse laments to the whines of an ineffective elected Democratic official... all elected officials are dedicated to staying in office, American society has to change from a collection of "tribal loyalties" to a unified people... which will not happen as long as we continue to assert that the "self" is the key to prosperity. All organizations are run for the benefit of those that run them.. from the US Government to the local PTA. America sucks as culture. I am native born and a US Army veteran... I wish I had emigrated to a more civilized nation when I was still young enough to take the journey... to be part of a society that says we all matter.
The "Better Deal" Platform?
Some of the other runner up Platform titles may have been:
New and Improved
Try It! You’ll Like It!
Best value
Free trial (oh my)
Results overnight
Offer ends soon
First time offered
Act now
Not sold in stores
Award-winning
Buy one, get one free
No questions asked
Once in a lifetime
Final days to save
Hassle-free
Everything included
Cancel anytime
Ancient Chinese Secret
Where’s The Beef?
It should be called "The Throw Hillary Under The Bus Plan." If they spent more time on taking money out of politics, accountability and transparency, then most of this other stuff would take care of itself.
But no matter how bad we might think Democrats are? When it comes to mastering the finer points of deceit and all out corruption, they are mere babes in the woods compared to their Republican counterparts. Let Emperor Trump be exhibit A.
But I guess the Republicans are being transparent. They don't seem to care how obvious or outlandish or insane, corrupt or cruel their lies might seem to rational people, as long as their rabid base is willing to stand behind them and they have the reins of power. In fact, as long they have the reins of power, they don't even care if their base believes them or not! Where else are they gonna go and how could they ever admit to being such saps? Plus, its not in their DNA anyway.
In a nutshell: A Clinton Dem plan to finish off the New Deal. Keep in mind that the Clinton wing already took the first steps to "reform" Social Security, targeting the disabled.
Related, a lot of people don't know that the elderly poor and the disabled rely on dual benefits, Medicare/Medicaid. Medicaid covers the Medicare copay, prescriptions, etc. It also helps with rent subsidies for assisted living apartments for the elderly and the disabled. Democrats appear to be fine with ending Medicaid.
The "Better Deal" is like "Trumpcare." It is intended to replace the New Deal with a solidly neoliberal/Clinton plan. Yes, Democrats are fine with "the working class." The day you lose your job, however, Democrats spit in your face, and strip you of your most basic human rights.
Bit of relevant history: What came to be called "AFDC" was actually first included in FDR's Social Security Act, later separated to focus on the needs of families in poverty. The Clinton Dems wiped that out, and had enough time to begin similarly "reform" Social Security, targeting the disabled. By 2000, the disabled became the fastest-growing group of homeless people. So, the solution was to utilize police to grow more brutal to the homeless. Since the 1990s, the overall life expectancy of the US poor has already fallen below that of every developed nation.
OU812: I am certainly not intending to attack you personally. Rather, your way of thinking, and that of the legions of befuddled like minded "conservatives" that continue to stumble down the trenches created for you by those with everything to gain. To address your specific comment about the "Advantage" programs; the supplemental riders on Social Security created (recently) to entice Medicare recipients to "get a little bit more" out of Medicare. This vampire program is bleeding Medicare dry. Insurance companies were permitted to sink their fangs into Medicare and are being subsidized by Medicare in the process. Another example of this is the Bush era Part D drug plan. If you were paying attention, a Medicare recipient was given the option of signing up or paying a heavy penalty down stream for not having done so. Kind of like, "gee, it would be a shame if you didn't take on the premium now, and then a brick came through that nice plate glass window of your butcher shop". So these "supplemental programs" you tout as examples of free market superiority are just graft, wrapped in twisted logic.
the spigot that created income inequality when it was turned on by ronald reagan is the same spigot that must be turned off to reverse the process. it is the tax code, which now reflects nearly forty years of effort by the republicans to cut taxes for the rich.
The "Better Deal" Platform
Did Scaramucci give this to the Dems as a gift and they took it? Is it a waffle house sales campaign? This is like three week old icing on the "Stronger Together" cake.
This implies the GOP has some kind of "deal" offered to the Dear Reader. If there was some kind of deal I would like to know what it is. Most would immediately reject the usage of the word "deal" and replace it with "shaft" resembling a middle finger. So now we can all imagine what a "better deal" might consist of.
Regarding healthcare and a lot of other things people do not want a DEAL, they want better quality and better performance, usually coming with a cost. Right now we are paying more than any other country - for less healthcare. Health care insurers would be forced to provide a better health insurance product with the added competition of Medicare for all who wants it.
A new deal would be more appropriate for those who put their wealth offshore to avoid paying taxes! Pay your taxes or don't let the door hit you on your way out.
Supplemental Medicare Programs? You mean like big pharma's, Medicare Part D donut hole Bachmann? You really crack me up!
Healthcare, education, and energy, are all sectors that need to be not for profit and under the control of "We the People". Unchecked extreme concentration of wealth has made this necessary.
Thom, my hat is off to you and your radio show. I hesitate to comment because I don't pretend to be knowledgeable enough to be relevent.
I think the democratic party is still not up to taking on the challenge. Hillary, although better than Trump, was still part of the establishment. Way too embedded. Bernie was a better answer, and the Democratic party crippled him. Personally I think he could have beaten Trump if the Democratic party wouldn't have acted for Hillary. Makes me wonder exactly what the Democratic party is trying to achieve. Their brand of the same-old-same-old. I think it's time for a third party. The Democrats have had a great opportunity to take some control, and due to their own ineptitude and issues of their own, they are wasting a golden opportunity. The populace can see the idiocy of the current regime, but where is the voice of rebellion? I don't hear it? The rebublicans have made total idiots of themselves, where are the progressives pointing out the con job and offering an alternative? I'm not hearing it. We need to be louder and clearer than Trumps idiot tweets. It should be easy, given that his spoutings are factual garbage.
The progressives need a figurehead, loud and in front, pointing out the stupidity of the Trump Regime. I'm all for Bernie, but lets face it, although a gifted leader, he's a little old for taking on the task for the next election.
Re: #14
For the life of all, those who trifle over words and miss the point. What you call something is less important than what it does. Under private insurance monopolies, tens of millions won't have insurance, and tens of thousands will die as a consequence of this profit-taking. Under a publicly owned, oriented, accountable, and much cheaper, single-payer system -- a public insurance program only, not a private healthcare service -- those same millions would live and prosper a helluva lot longer! Libertarian free-market dogma doesn't work for common folks and never has, especially for their healthcare. We pay the most and suffer the most of any modern country from curable diseases and preventable deaths. Not all words are equal.
Good point about the missing labor union support. Bernie's Workplace Democracy Act would be a great place for the Dems to start. Raise the cap and Medicare for all need to be trumpeted as well.
The Dems can't win without union support which is why the Fascists since Reagan's reign of terror on labor have done everything possible to destroy them.
Does any worker deserve complete control by an avaristic out of control rich person with no option other than quitting ones job? Unions exist because humans tend to be inhumane.
Absolutely wrong. Single payer does NOT monopolize anything. There will still be doctors and hospitals. People who want more xould opt for a private supplement if they want more. But at least our healthcare would not be hostage to an horrible employer plan. Others could choose to start a small business because you wouldnt need to work for the man to get healthcare that sucks. Its the same plan millions use in military VA medicare right now but just expanded to all citizens. Also no grotesque CEO pay. And the government administrators will be accountable to the people.