Watership Down

Why Republicans deserve to lose

It's their philosophy that government doesn't work: and they govern to prove it.  I don't see how working for the government means you're more corruptible or incompetent than someone who works in the "private" industry.

So capitalists want our economy to be governed by those who actually want 8 houses, a dozen cars, $150,000 of clothing, corporate bailouts, and million dollar severance packages (while scapegoating unemployment insurance).  Is greed really an admirable motivation?  I can't believe we spend more on health care than any other country and a third of the money goes to the private profiteering insurance industry instead of doctors, hospitals, and the sick...it's time for a change.

Proposition 101: Freedom to Choose Act

"Government Regulations" have been the scapegoat of Republican politics for the last 30 years, and when you govern like Republicans, you can understand why the public has such low regard for our  Republic government.  Proposition 101, like Hank Paulson and his millionaire bank-CEO cronies, prevents more regulations on another powerful and protected industry, medical insurance:

Known by its supporters as Medical Choice for Arizona or the Freedom to Choose Act will be on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Arizona as a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment.

The supporters say their goal is to "prevent socialized medicine or further heavy regulation of medical care and health insurance" in the state. Titled "Arizona - Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act" and advanced by Medical Choice for Arizona, the measure aims to prevent "many of the abuses associated with socialized medicine and restricting its form to either residual welfare or a voucher system."^[1]

And the opposition?

• An Amendment limiting future legislation is dangerous. No one can predict what laws may be needed to improve the health of Arizonans.

• The Amendment will not assure one's freedom to choose a personal physician, but will prevent the state from creating a system assuring everyone access to the care they require.

• Arizonans who now rely on Medicare or Medicaid could lose coverage.
• Passage of a Constitutional Amendment in Arizona would limit legislative options. It will increase the abuses that private practitioners, hospitals, and patients now suffer from private insurance carriers. The industry dictates reimbursement, determines the services patients receive, and dictates who shall be granted or denied access to care.^[2]

• The language of the amendment is ambiguous or "murky" which could lead to the courts having to do the final interpretation on what it means.^[4]

Facts about healthcare

Being one of those 47 million is not fun:

Although nearly 47 million Americans are uninsured, the United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations, and those countries provide health insurance to all their citizens.

National surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is the high cost of health insurance coverage.