The Conservative Lie: "Young People Do Not Want Health Insurance"

There's a story going around right now, being circulated by conservative opponents of health care reform, that young people don't have health insurance because they don't want to have health insurance.

This story is naturally only being told by people in their middle or old age. Specifically Rudy Giuliani, Judd Gregg, and Rush Limbaugh all used it over the past week.

The last time any of these folks could be considered "young" South Africa had yet to free Nelson Mandela.

According to a June 2009 Gallup Poll about 1 in 6 Americans are without insurance. Of that group (16% of the overall population) more than a quarter are between the ages of 18 and 29 and another fifth are between the ages of 30-44.

Young people are more likely to support health care reform, too.

Evidently no one in the GOP ever talks to anyone under the age of 30. Senator Gregg thinks that young people just want to spend their money on other things. He also think most of us make over $75 K a year.

With such a misunderstanding of the economic realities of average Americans, thank goodness he didn't take the Commerce Secretary post.

Limbaugh used the old hasty generalization logical fallacy: one guy at a town hall meeting would prefer not to buy health insurance so he can use the money on other things, therefor 47 million people do not want to buy health insurance so they can buy other things.

And Rudy Giuliani thinks that young people are choosing not to buy health insurance because they are "too young" and would rather have things like televisions.

Hey Rudy, unlike a TV, you can't find health insurance on craigslist for fifty bucks.

Listen up, old conservatives who already have health insurance: young people who don't have health insurance aren't making a choice not to have it, they can't afford it!

Young people can't afford the outrageous cost of individual health insurance premiums, don't see the advantage of having it because of the huge deductibles (who's got 5 large just sitting around?), and many of the jobs that young people are able to get in this economy don't have employer-provided health coverage, especially if they don't have a union in their workplace.

1 in 3 twentysomethings (oh, and Gregg, "twentysomething" is another word for young people, "thirtysomething" was a soap that was popular in the '80's) doesn't have health insurance.

In other words, your "young people don't want health insurance" talking point is bunk.

Boost in Minimum Wage = Boost in the American Economy

Workers at the lowest end of the pay scale got a major and much-needed boost today as the federal minimum raise was increased from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. The ¢70 increase per hour will have a positive impact on over 10 million workers in 31 states. The new minimum wage is now set at $7.25 an hour, which is a $2,000.00 annual pay increase for full-time minimum wage workers. This is the final step in the three step minimum wage raise passed by Congress in 2007.

The Economic Policy Institute states that the increase in minimum wage will generate $5.5 billons dollars in consumer spending which in turn will boost the economy. The last raise in minimum wage was over a decade ago.

In the Time It Takes to Get Health Care Reform...

The GOP strategy seems to be slow down on health care reform. On today's Morning Joe I watched House Republican Leader John Boehner saying that we should wait until next year, to start over with a bipartisan bill. What if everyone approached things the way the GOP is approaching health care?

Universal health care coverage in America has been put off and put off and put off since at least the Truman administration. In his stirring contribution to Newsweek last week, Senator Ted Kennedy said that he first began fighting, in the Senate, for universal coverage in 1973.

In the time the GOP has taken fighting health reform since 1973:

Hank Aaron broke the Babe's career home run record.

John Travolta went from Vinnie Barbarino to Vincent Vega.

Remember the Brontosaurus?

Stephen Kings entire career as a novelist.

We got friggin' lasers to scan the price of our food.

A brilliant man started using a record player as an instrument, creating a whole new genre of music.

Platform shoes have come into style and gone out of style.

We've eliminated a planet from our solar system.

Platform shoes have come into style (again).

The Sears Tower, the Trump Tower, the Stratosphere Tower, The New York Times Building, Bank of America Plaza, Wells Fargo Plaza, and the Comcast Center have been completed.

The Godfather become a Trilogy (okay, in the case of Part III that might be a bad thing, but I will take anyone who says an ill word about Part II to the mat).

Barry Bond's broke Aaron's career home run record.

Back then, only one guy had a cell phone.

46 percent of the population of the United States has been born.

The Immaculate Reception has not been replaced as the greatest play of all time.

Taking "the fear" out of health care

Well folks, the fight is on. Health Care for America Now reports:

Both the Ways and Means Committee and the Education and Labor Committee in the House have passed the America's Affordable Health Choices Act, the House's health reform bill.

We have now officially made it farther than Bill Clinton did in the 1990s. It's historic.

What does that really mean for us?

I’ve gotten no excited phone calls from family. No emails from friends. Nor would I expect to. For most Americans, the goings on of Congress appears to be part of a distant and removed world that has little to do with us.

But with Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chair of the Finance Committee, still advocating a tax on employer-provided health benefits (which for most people would be many additional thousands of dollars per year you’d be taxed on), it’s time we all start paying attention to what our representatives are advocating for on our behalf and how it will impact the way we live our lives.

On the eve of the 4^th of July, I sat in the emergency room with one of those this-probably-isn’t-going-to-kill-me-but-I-really-can’t-wait-until-Monday illnesses. My regular doctor was unreachable because of the holiday weekend, so there I sat with the rest of the dog-bite and garbage-disposal victims of DC waiting to see whatever doctor I could because there are no walk-in clinics in the entire city if all you need is a prescription on a Friday night.

Sitting in the waiting area, I got that familiar creeping, nervous feeling I always get these days around hospitals and doctors offices.

Now, I’ve never minded getting check-ups. My mom is a nurse and I got used to being poked and prodded as part of diagnostic routines early in life. There was a time when doctors’ offices were pleasant places associated with lollipops and colorful plastic models of things like the ear canal that I could play with while she chatted up old colleagues.

The creeping feeling comes from a time when I didn’t have good health insurance and going to the doctor was terrifying not only because I never knew how much it was going to set me back, but I didn’t really want to know what they were going to find. After all, if you’re pretty sure you can’t pay for future treatments, what is the point in knowing you have something horribly wrong with you?

That’s past now. I’ve got good benefits now and because of my union contract, I know those can’t just be taken away at any moment.

Still the fear is there. And despite whatever logic I’ve tried to convince myself otherwise, so is the “I just don’t want to know.” It’s become ingrained.

I know I’m not the only one that struggles with those thoughts. Not only is it bad for our economy for sick people to go without care, but it undermines the vision of self-empowerment and achievement that is at the heart of the real American dream.

As groups on all sides gear up and the TV pundits take to the ring to duke it out and discuss ways to water down the strong provisions of the House bill for the entertainment of the primetime audience, let’s not forget what these reforms actually will actually mean. You know, to real people.

To me, it means my future kids aren’t going to have “the fear.” For my sake, I’m beginning to think it might be too late. Even with the best possible reforms, I think much like my grandmother who never really got over the Great Depression anxieties that drove her to hoard Tupperware and foodstuffs, the folks of our generation who have been burned by the current health care system are going to have a lot of healing ahead to get beyond a sense that our bodies are imperfect timebombs waiting to bring us to financial ruin.

Beyond all the rhetoric and political agendas, there is something real in this. With a strong public health insurance option and guidelines for employer responsibilities, we can make change that will bring justice to our health system and just a little bit more freedom back in our personal lives. Now we’ve just got to make sure our leaders in Washington don’t lose sight of that as the summer grinds on.

Give your representatives a call. Remind them you exist and that they are supposed to represent you, not the interests of big insurance companies.

Contact information for Max Baucus:

Max Baucus Phone 202-224-2651

Max Baucus Fax 202-224-9412

Norquist's New Game: More Corporate than the Kool-Aid Man?

Those of you as old as I am might remember, in the eighties, when a particularly lame product placement for Kool-Aid was released in a deal with General Foods for the Intellivision and Atari. This "game" involved guiding pairs of children around a haunted house trying to gather the ingredients to make Kool-Aid and avoid the "Thirsties." Eventually, the Kool-Aid Man appears and kicks the crap out of the Thirsties, which is the only (kind of) cool part of the game. Pretty lame, huh?

But surpassing even that lame-fest is the new "game" that Grover Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform, has released online. It's an anti-majority-sign up game that features, according to Politico:

a tattoo artist who faces several attempts by union organizers to get you to sign the card, including visiting you at home, vandalizing your car, threatening your cat, and even offering you marijuana.

AFL-CIO's Eddie Vale says of the "game":

As anyone who actually grew up playing Atari or Nintendo will know, calling this a video game is as accurate as their lies about the Employee Free Choice Act, which would help grow the middle class and make the economy work for everyone again.

Even Reason, normally a Norquist-friendly zone, has a post on their blog mocking the game:

But so what if it's not Grand Theft Auto IV? It's still fun, kind of, at least if you like cheesy Flash-animated stereotypes spouting absurdisms, Z-movie dialog, and out-of-date slang. Over the course of the game, you'll meet union thugs who promise voice-over gigs on the Simpsons, a tie-die wearing longhair who specializes in tattoos depicting "peace signs, rainbows, and other unoriginal and conformist hippie symbols," and a Fonzie-like neogreaser in a black leather jacket who actually uses the phrase "pretty sketch" to describe some union thugs lingering in a parking lot. The best part, however, is that if you play long enough, you can get high! But then those tricky union bullies will take advantage of you.

I think maybe you'd have more fun fighting off Thirsties.

Not Just Another Cog in the Machine w/VIDEO

Friday afternoon treat to perk you up. This. Video. Is. Awesome.

Just watch it.

Franken Co-Sponsors Employee Free Choice Act

After a long, hard fight, Al Franken has finally been sworn in as Senator of Minnesota, and his first act shows his support for working people.

Franken has always been a strong supporter of workers’ freedom to form unions—after all, he has membership in 5 of them--and has signed on to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act. His vote should help to boost Democratic efforts on health care and judicial nominations as well--but his voice is strongest when it comes to labor.

Congratulations to Sen. Franken in his new role on Capitol Hill, as the second senator from Minnesota. It’s a role that’s been waiting for him a very long time.

"Let me get all up in your health care plan"

Turns out, more than brains or brawn, women just want a man with health care benefits. H/t to Ezra Klein.

Workers Deserve the Freedom to Choose a Union at PriceRite

Former PriceRite workers, community members, UFCW members and union supporters gathered at PriceRite stores in Mass., Conn., R.I., and New York to ask the company to allow workers the freedom to choose a union.

This Fourth of July, as communities and families celebrate America's independence, the former PriceRite workers said they hoped the company would live up to its claim to be "an American company" and respect workers' freedom.

As the Connecticut Post reported, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayor Bill Finch spoke in support of workers and good jobs at the PriceRite rally. Also there to support workers : state Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, State Rep. Ezequiel Santiago, D-Bridgeport, and City Councilman Carlos Silva, D-136.

Finch, Silva and Caruso spoke about good jobs in the community, and said that worker should be able to make a living wage at PriceRite. Finch:

I'm not here to tell Price Rite how to run their business, but I support the right to vote a union in.

And Silva on PriceRite stores in his community:

"I love them being here," said Silva of the more than 100 jobs Price Rite has created and the taxes it pays. "But people who are working here are giving a lot for a little . . . I'm just looking to have them pay a living wage."

Health Care Industry Spends $1.4 Million a Day on Lobbying

$9,236.11. That's the amount of money that the health care industry spent on lobbying in the time it took me to listen to a Bruce Springsteen song this morning.*

In the time it took for me to write this blog post, the for-profit health care industry spent $43,750. That's about 15 minutes, and the amount is more than the average person, the kind of person that health care reform might really benefit, makes in a year.

Reading the Washington Post on the bus on the way to work this morning, I was shocked to see how much money the health care industry is spending on lobbyists: $1.4 million a day.**

For those of you keeping track: 12 minute bus ride = $35,000 spent by the health care industry on lobbying.

Most of this money is going to Capitol Hill insiders: persons with legislative or administrative experience working for members of Congress or former members of Congress themselves. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) spent $7 million in the first quarter of 2009. Pfizer spent $6 million in the same time period.

In Washington, people are used to industries throwing money around. It is a fact of daily life. But this amount is beyond anything that anyone has ever seen before. The oil industry, for example, spent record amounts in the first quarter of this year: an average of $49,444 a day.

That's right. The health care industry is spending almost a million dollars a day more than the oil industry.

These folks gave money during the campaign cycle too. And when the health care industry gave a lot of money to a Senator, they became less likely to be supportive of a public option. This isn't an accusation, either. This is statistically verified.

The people who are throwing massive amounts of cash around Washington are not the same people who would benefit from there being a public option for health insurance. According to the Post article:

"The aim of the lobbying blitz is simple: to minimize the damage to insurers, hospitals and other major sectors while maximizing the potential of up to 46 million uninsured Americans as new customers."

The aim is not in keeping with the desires of the American people. 72 percent of Americans want a public option for health care. And the desire of the people and the desires of the big pockets are not in line.

So what's more important, people's health or insurance company profits? If the money going to lobbyists has anything to do with it, profits are going to take priority.


*Used Cars off of 1982's Nebraska, which clocks at three minutes and ten seconds. The opinion that this is the best of Springsteen's albums is my own.

**Calculations in this blog post are based on an 8 hour day.

UFCW Members Speak Out On Health Care Reform

UFCW members were on Capitol Hill last week to lobby their elected officials and speak out about the importance of health care reform.

Workers at world's largest pork plant ratify first-ever union contract!

Great news from down south! Workers at the Smithfield plant in Tar Heel, NC have just ratified their first contract:

Five Thousand workers at the world’s largest pork processing plant have their first-ever union contract, after a majority of workers ratified the agreement over a two-day vote. Members of UFCW Local 1208 will join more than 10,000 other Smithfield workers, and more than 240,000 others who work in the meat packing and food processing industry who have a UFCW union contract.

The new contract includes:

* Wage increases of $1.50/hour over the next four years.

* Continued company-provided affordable family health care coverage.

* Improved paid sick leave and vacation benefits.

* Retirement security through protection of the existing pension plan.

* Continued joint worker/management safety committee, including company funded safety training for workers.

* Guaranteed weekly hours that protect full-time, family supporting jobs in the community

* A system to resolve workplace issues.

* Three working days of paid funeral leave following the death of immediate family members.

Congratulations to all the Smithfield workers in Tar Heel and welcome to the family!