ObamaCare - exchanges ,report your states options!

[stahrgazer]

So that means more tax dollars used to subsidize the training of doctors.

It's still loans; just loans that take into account that someone will not immediately be able to pay back just because college ended yesterday.

It also acknowledges the fact that in today's global situation, a mere diploma is insufficient.

Finally, it's our government stepping in to do something to combat our highest institutions going global to find the best international students to give grants to.

[jbrettlip]

Wow, now we are talking about student loans....College tuition is another bubble that is being fueled by easy government money. With the new rules, that actually will waive student loan debt, depending on your after college income, there is NO incentive for higher education to control their costs. So tuition will skyrocket, students will have loan balances waived, and the tax payer foots the bill. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[stahrgazer]

Nine Myths About Socialism in the US

Monday 12 April 2010

by: Bill Quigley, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
http://www.truthout.org/nine-myths-abou ... 8513?print

Glenn Beck and other far right multi-millionaires are claiming that the US is hot on the path toward socialism. Part of their claim is that the US is much more generous and supportive of our working and poor people than other countries. People may wish it was so, but it is not.

As Sen. Patrick Moynihan used to say "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But everyone is not entitled to their own facts."

The fact is that the US is not really all that generous to our working and poor people compared to other countries.

Consider the US in comparison to the rest of the 30 countries that join the US in making up the OECD - the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development[1]. These 30 countries include Canada and most comparable European countries, but also include some struggling countries like Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovak Republic and Turkey.

When you look at how the US compares to these 30 countries, the hot air myths about the US government going all out toward socialism sort of disappear into thin air. Here are some examples of myths that do not hold up.

Myth No. 1: The US Government Is Involved in Class Warfare, Attacking the Rich to Lift Up the Poor.

There is a class war going on all right. But it is the rich against the rest of us and the rich are winning. The gap between the rich and everyone else is wider in the US than any of the 30 other countries surveyed. In fact, the top 10 percent in the US have a higher annual income than any other country. And the poorest 10 percent in the US are below the average of the other OECD countries. The rich in the US have been rapidly leaving the middle class and poor behind since the 1980s. [2]

Myth No. 2: The US Already Has the Greatest Health Care System in the World.

Infant mortality in the US is fourth worst among OECD countries - better only than Mexico, Turkey and the Slovak Republic. [3]

Myth No. 3: There Is Less Poverty in the US Than Anywhere.

Child poverty in the US, at over 20 percent or one out of every five kids, is double the average of the 30 OECD countries. [4]

Myth No. 4: The US Is Generous in Its Treatment of Families With Children.

The US ranks in the bottom half of countries in terms of financial benefits for families with children. Over half of the 30 OECD countries pay families with children cash benefits regardless of the income of the family. Some among those countries (e.g. Austria, France and Germany) pay additional benefits if the family is low income or one of the parents is unemployed. [5]

Myth No. 5: The US Is Very Supportive of Its Workers.

The US gives no paid leave for working mothers having children. Every single one of the other 30 OECD countries has some form of paid leave. The US ranks dead last in this. Over two-thirds of the countries give some form of paid paternity leave. The US also gives no paid leave for fathers. [6]

In fact, it is only workers in the US who have no guaranteed days of paid leave at all. Korea is the next lowest to the US and it has a minimum of eight paid annual days of leave. Most of the other 30 countries require a minimum of 20 days of annual paid leave for their workers. [7]

Myth No. 6: Poor People Have More Chance of Becoming Rich in the US Than Anywhere Else.

Social mobility (how children move up or down the economic ladder in comparison with their parents) in earnings, wages and education tends to be easier in Australia, Canada and Nordic countries like Denmark, Norway and Finland, than in the US. That means more of the rich stay rich and more of the poor stay poor here in the US. [8]

Myth No. 7: The US Spends Generously on Public Education.

In terms of spending for public education, the US is just about average among the 30 countries of the OECD. [9] Educational achievement of US children, however, is seventh worst in the OECD. [10] On public spending for childcare and early education, the US is in the bottom third. [11]

Myth No. 8: The US Government Is Redistributing Income From the Rich to the Poor.

There is little redistribution of income by government in the US in part because spending on social benefits like unemployment and family benefits is so low. Of the 30 countries in the OECD, only in Korea is the impact of governmental spending lower. [12]

Myth No. 9: The US Generously Gives Foreign Aid to Countries Across the World.

The US gives the smallest percentage of aid of any of the developed countries in the OECD. In 2007, the US was tied for last with Greece. In 2008, we were tied for last with Japan. [13]

Despite the opinions of right-wing folks, the facts say the US is not on the path toward socialism.

But if socialism means the US would go down the path of being more generous with our babies, our children, our working families, our pregnant mothers and our sisters and brothers across the world, I think we could all appreciate it.

Footnotes

[1]. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an organization of 30 countries which works together for economic growth and to raise standards of living. The 30 countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the US.

[2]. OECD (2008), Growing Unequal: Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries, Country Note: United States. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/2/41528678.pdf

[3]. US Country Highlights – OECD (2009) Doing Better for Children. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/9/43590390.pdf

[4]. US Country Highlights – OECD (2009) Doing Better for Children. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/9/43590390.pdf

[5]. OECD Family Database. PF3: Family Cash Benefits. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/5/41917645.pdf

[6]. OECD Family Database, PF7: Key characteristics of parental leave systems.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/26/37864482.pdf

[7]. Babies and Bosses (Vol.5): A selection of tables and charts. - Table 7.1 European workers often have seven weeks of paid holidays per annum.
http://www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,e ... _1_1,00....

[8]. Economic Policy Reforms, Going for Growth (2010) Part II, Chapter 5.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/42/44566315.pdf

[9]. OECD Family Database, PF2: Public Spending on Education. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/48/37864432.pdf

[10]. US Country Highlights – OECD (2009) Doing Better for Children. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/9/43590390.pdf

[11]. OECD Family Database, PF10: Public spending on childcare and early education. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/45/27/37864512.pdf

[12]. OECD (2008), Growing Unequal: Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries, Country Note: United States. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/2/41528678.pdf

[13]. OECD. Table 1 of the Statistical Annex of the 2010 Development Cooperation Report.

http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3343,e ... 1_1,00.h...

[Phatscotty]

No, this is America. We know history, and we do not approve of socialism. If you like socialism, move to a socialist country. Just make sure your skill set is in demand, or else they will reject you.

Ta!

[MeDeFe]

No, this is America. We know history, and we do not approve of socialism. If you like socialism, move to a socialist country. Just make sure your skill set is in demand, or else they will reject you.

Ta!

And exactly how is this relevant? Ah, yes, of course...

[jaimito101]

well, i think Colonder has something to add to the healthcare debate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgB2eeHZEw

[PopeBenXVI]

well, i think Colonder has something to add to the healthcare debate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgB2eeHZEw

Wow, I am so glad to be helping her.

[Phatscotty]

No, this is America. We know history, and we do not approve of socialism. If you like socialism, move to a socialist country. Just make sure your skill set is in demand, or else they will reject you.

Ta!

And exactly how is this relevant? Ah, yes, of course...

well, seriously, if you love socialism, there are plenty of places to go. You are free to go. Why stick around here and try to ruin it for everyone else?

[notyou2]

Scotty, you lost the vote.

This thread died before healthcare was instituted.

[Phatscotty]

Scotty, you lost the vote.

This thread died before healthcare was instituted.

and yet the fight continues....

All the people up top on the side and the middle
Come together lets all bomb and swamp just a little
Just let it gradually build from the front to the back
All you can see is a sea of people some white and some black
Don't matter what color, all that matters we gathered together
To demonstrate for the same cause don't matter the weather
If it rains let it rain, yea the wetter the better
They ain't gonna stop us they can't, we stronger now more than ever
They tell us no we say yea, they tell us stop we say go
Rebel with a rebel yell, raise hell we gonna let em know
until they bring our troops home and get our budget in line

Come along follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me and I won't steer you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel
We gonna fight, we gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march
Through the swamp, we gonna mosh through the marsh
Take us right through the doors

Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone's tryina tell us something,
Maybe this is God just sayin' we're responsible
For this monster, this coward,
That we have empowered
This is Bin Laden, look at his head noddin'
How could we allow something like this without pumping our fists
Now this is our final hour
Let me be the voice in your strength and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify the times it, and multiply by six...
Teen million people, Are equal at this high pitch
Maybe we can reach alqueda through my speech
Let the president answer a higher anarchy
Strap him with an Ak-47, let him go, fight his own war
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil
No more psychological warfare, to trick us to thinking that we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country, we're patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes its all lies
The stars and stripes, they've been swiped, washed out and wiped
And replaced with his own face, Mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight you know why,
Cause I told you to fight.

[PopeBenXVI]

Amen

[Snorri1234]

i like how you quoted eminem

[Phatscotty]

i like how you quoted eminem

it's a bad ass song, and an even better video

[spurgistan]

i like how you quoted eminem

it's a bad ass song, and an even better video

And it's all about how much universal health insurance sucks.

[Snorri1234]

i like how you quoted eminem

it's a bad ass song, and an even better video

And it's all about how much universal health insurance sucks.

totally.

[Phatscotty]

i like how you quoted eminem

it's a bad ass song, and an even better video

And it's all about how much universal health insurance sucks.

totally.

I was not aware the act of protesting was restricted to only one issue.....

[john9blue]

They're just changing the topic to something that they disagree with you on, so they can be assholes to you. That's how they roll.

[Snorri1234]

They're just changing the topic to something that they disagree with you on, so they can be assholes to you. That's how they roll.

whut?

[Phatscotty]

They're just changing the topic to something that they disagree with you on, so they can be assholes to you. That's how they roll.

I know, but I am head over heels in love with the process of pointing these things out in such a simplistic manner

[notyou2]

Are you guys speaking some form of illegal alien or something?

[Phatscotty]

Are you guys speaking some form of illegal alien or something?

Do you have your papers? because if you do not have your papers, the black helicopter will come down and a sniper will put one between your eyes. oh, you do have your papers? oh then, its cool, its cool.....

[notyou2]

I don't live in a police state, reactionary, bigoted, knee jerk, country. And I am, sure many americans don't live in that country, but you seem to.

I feel sorry for you.

[PopeBenXVI]

He Probably also thinks all the terrorists trying to domestically bomb our country are muslims. Thats so simple minded and racist.

They are clearly right wingers upset about healthcare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdbUwlM4bK4

[notyou2]

See, like I said....bigoted knee jerk.

[john9blue]

Hey notyou, have you ever lived in the US? Just curious.