Wednesday, September 02, 2009

It took 20 years to get Medicare passed

Just sayin'. And it took 50% of our elders being uninsured -- and only 25% of them having insurance that would really pay for any illnesses they got -- before Congress finally acted.

It's been 15 years since the Clinton healthcare debacle, and we have "only" 50M uninsured today. Time? We'll see. All I'll point out is that Obama ain't no LBJ, and he has no populist/socialist bones in his body, unlike LBJ, who was a fervent New Dealer...

- Badtux the History Penguin

8 comments:

  1. How I sorely miss a man , or woman , especially a President who could POLITICK . And , I don't mean make pronouncements . I mean Sway both public and political opinion so that his plan is enacted . LBJ did it , maybe Nixon , Clinton tried , shrub ; well er uh , I thought Obama could produce some real change but that would take a real Politician , a man that can debate on his feet as it were , and had enough built up power (Ok dirt to threaten wth) to get the agenda done . A person who would fight to enact his agenda . A person with Fire and Steel .
    And behind door #2 Is ....
    Sad , we had a chance for change and seem to have elected a corperate exec instead . It would be so nice to see a person with Fire In Their Heart , in charge . Some serious stuff needs to get done , at this point in time we need a leader not a ceo . Unfortunately , reality intrudes .
    Where is a Teddy Rosevelt or an Isenhowser or a Franklin Rosevelt when we need them .
    Sadly missing I see . Oh so sadly .
    w3ski

    ReplyDelete
  2. To put a positive point on my drivel , there is Barney Frank , Al Frankin (hopefully) , Howard Dean , and a few other junior leaders or news people that care enough to get something done in our best interest . But , We the People , need a Peoples president , and it doesn't seem to be going that way .
    Would Hillary have been any better ???
    Raaawwk as my Parrot says .
    w3ski
    w3ski

    ReplyDelete
  3. it took 20 years to get medicare passed, and johnson meant for it to cover everyone. it's been 44 years since it was passed, it's proved itself both workable and popular. what's 20 + 44? 64 you say? time to finish the intended expansion.

    need another timeline for comparison? saskatchewan was founded / incorporated / whatevertheycallit in 1905 and soon after, the local medical society was started. by 1970 [71? 72?] the medicare that had started in saskatchewan in the 60s [and really, its predecessor started in the 40s] had spread to the entire country.

    65 years from start to finish, give or take.

    no more excuses.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think that my solutions would be any more accepted than anyone else's, it's just a big mess and I mentioned it on my blog this morning.

    But I admire the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gaseous Gray3/9/09 4:04 AM

    Right you are, Tux. I'm not sure BO has the sac to get healthcare done. LBJ had balls, so did Nixon for that matter.

    Why have Democrats become geldings? Oh yeah, corporate money.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I keep saying, it's not lack of either cojones or political ability - though those thingd might be players.

    The problem is that neither BHO, nor much 6f any6ne e3se 5n the Damoratic Party believes very strongly in universal healthcare, or any other left of center principle.

    Big Business owns them all.

    JzB the pinker-by-the-moment trombonist.

    WV: foryerds (and a cloud of dust)

    ReplyDelete
  7. OK. Let's try this with num-lock off.

    The problem is that neither BHO, nor much of anyone else in the Damoratic Party believes very strongly in universal healthcare, or any other left of center principle.

    JzB the inept trombonist

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dude, if our health care system doesn't get some kind of reform I figure well over half of the population (citizens I mean, not the imported slave labor) won't be covered.

    ReplyDelete

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