So, I didn't want to overburden you with a long, drawn out letter last time about McCain's Robot Dance at the RNC. But I think I failed. That was one long message! I wanted it to be quick and succinct, but there's just sooo much gold, man! McCain was like Yukon Cornelius, licking that pickaxe and coming up with the mother lode. Oh, uh, is the word "mother" considered sexist?
Anyway, here are some more things I noticed about McCain's speech, with more facts than last time. Sorry, I got stuck in Hannity mode on the first post.
-- McCain brings up the dreaded (and fictional, at least, for us regular folk) Obama tax hike. Yeah, those tax and spend liberals, they don't know what it's like to be working people, trying to make a living while the Man steals your hard-earned cash away!
Of course, maybe Johnny Dancepants was talking to his base...er...I mean the rich voters and lobbyists when he said that Obama would be raising taxes. Who knows? If we could ONLY calculate how much our taxes would go down under each candidate's plan...
-- Did you hear his arguments against Obama's healthcare program? Is his name Johnny McCain or Johnny McCarson?
Let's see, McCain doesn't agree with Obama's plan because he (McCain) doesn't want to put "a bureaucrat between you and your doctor"? Uhh...has he ever dealt with an insurance company? Maybe his plan doesn't call for him to do that. Mine does and it can be a dizzying problem, especially when they don't want to pay for something that's necessary.
And, what's more, he rails against that cold-hearted Bah-Rock because his healthcare plan would eliminate thousands of jobs. Really? How? Well, according to Repubs, the mandate that Obama's plan makes for employers to either help employees pay for benefits now or throw into the national pot would cause many small businesses to either go under or not be founded in the first place. There goes that darn GOP, again, looking out for the little guy. Too bad they're either wrong (to be kind) or misrepresenting (more likely).
The non-partisan FactCheck. org has a little different view on the matter:
The claim that “small businesses” would have to “cut jobs, reduce wages,” runs counter to Obama’s actual proposal. Obama’s plan would require businesses to contribute to the cost of insurance for employees or pay some unspecified amount into a new public plan. But his proposal specifically says, “Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement.” And it offers additional help to small businesses that want to provide health care in the form of a refundable tax credit of up to half the cost of premiums. We’ll note that neither man has defined what exactly a “small business” is.
Furthermore, Obama’s plan wouldn’t “force” families into a “government-run health care system.” His plan mandates that children have coverage; there’s no mandate for adults. People can keep the health insurance they have now or chose from private plans, or opt for a new public plan that will offer coverage similar to what members of Congress have. Obama would also expand Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. His plan certainly expands government-offered insurance – and McCain’s doesn’t – but it’s not a solely government-run plan, as McCain implied. And if Obama's public plan turns out to be similar to what federal employees have, as he says it would be, we're not sure how "a bureaucrat" would stand "between you and your doctor." The possible exception would be persons covered by Medicaid or SCHIP.
McCain also made this boast:
McCain: My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance.
Fair enough. But McCain's plan wouldn't do nearly as well as Obama's. One comparison, by the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, finds Obama’s would reduce the uninsured by 18 million people in its first year, compared with a 1 million reduction under McCain’s plan. TPC made various assumptions about the plans to fill in details each proposal lacks, so those numbers aren’t definitive. We await more comparisons from other experts.
Yeah, I'd like to see some more comparisons, too. Or, maybe something about Obama's commitment to providing healthcare for as many people as possible. But, gosh, where can we look?
Man, this one is long, too! And we have so much more to talk about! Well, I guess we'll have a part three, after all.
Charles
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