Your testimony was top notch. Thank you so much for keeping the spot light in the right place. I'm 62 and worked many years at a job I didn't like for exactly the reason of health insurance coverage for me and my daughter.
Another reason why MFA would be a boon to the country. How much more freedom of choice people would have in their lives if they didn't have to make health care a priority?
Thank you, Robert, for sharing your testimony. It was illuminating, articulate, and my letters for Medicare for All (handwritten) are going out to the 'powers that be.' As you were testifying, I needed a medication that fell into Tier 3, which required I pay $500 deductible for a $48 bottle (50 ml) of a solution. I don't have $500 BECAUSE my food has tripled in cost, my electric went from $95/month to $250/month-- all of this in one week's time. I live on social security, receive heating assistance, which by March will be gone with these rate hikes, and our additional SNAP (food stamps) benefits will drop for me from $250/month to $20/month. That's right. $20/month. I pay nearly $9000 annually for ALL the medical costs you outlined in your testimony. My gross social security benefit is $21k BEFORE Medicare is deducted. And it is not considered poverty level in New York State. Really?
Does anyone see a way out? Can I go without food, heat, medicine? No. The electric company offered a payment plan, but one doesn't have to know math beyond the 4th or 5th grade to see that I would never pay this debt off in my lifetime for there is a bill every month. So, I passed on the medication and am trying home remedies to alleviate the need for medication. I live in the Northeast and it's 5 degrees presently as I write this comment. I must use my heat. And, I need to eat. We who are impoverished and in our seventh and eighth decades are ignored, treated with disrespect, or forced to let go of something truly needed. Yes, we need to fix this country but my concern is that nothing will happen in the remainder of my lifetime. As I watch the tragedy unfold abroad, I am grateful to live here. That said, shame on us for our ageism. Shame on those who ignore our very real plights. Thank you for standing up and telling truth to power.
Lee Anne. You are living like many Americans. Washington DC and the elitist live in their own bubble. America is never going to move forward until we start working together. Instead of fighting each other we need to come together. Russia and China are eating our lunch. We are buying oil from Russia now daily! We must become energy independent again like we were a few years ago. God Bless you. Sending you virtual hugs from Arizona.
If the "elites" (Are you serious?) find Lee Ann Morgan's situation entirely satisfactory, then I submit that while America's "elites" may be many things, elite isn't one of them. Where is the eliteness behind the openly greedy, tacky, vulgar and classless attitudes so aptly exhibited amongst the so-called elites?
I submit that eliteness is derived from character and the morals, honor and integrity that accompany it, not from the size of an investment portfolio or a willingness to "win" (whatever that means) by any and all means necessary.
Thank you, Cecelia! I know I am not alone and after reading my comment I realized I sounded like a victim. That is not the case and I believe that things change every moment. This was one week where several things hit at once. Thank you for your prayers. I am praying for Ukraine and Europe and our beloved United States. Hopefully, Robert's words, and those of others, will inspire for RR's uses the tools of powerful facts with heart. Amen!
Lee Anne. Have you tried to purchase your medication with cash and a pharmacy coupon (such as GoodRx)? You might be able to get your medication at less cost than $48, depending on the medication. Here is a link that may help you decide if this would work for you: https://www.goodrx.com/insurance/medicare/use-goodrx-to-lower-medicare-drug-costs. Good Luck and God Bless You!
Tim, thank you. Yes, I am applying now for GoodRx. However, one must have a Medicare "approved" Rx plan or you incur a monthly penalty from Medicare. (Sorry RR, but that is another reality and seems like strong-arming in my view on the part of Medicare. This needs to be fixed, too.) I take only one other medication and this latest issue was an aberration. However, what I wanted to do was pay for this single monthly medication out-of-pocket and not have any Rx plan. No premium. No high deductible. It would be the cheapest way for me, though for most it would not. Since Medicare does not permit this without assessing a monthly penalty, their fee would be deducted from my social security. Thank you for the reminder and link for GoodRx!
If you talk to your doctor, there is a tier reduction form that he can fill out that can bring your medication cost down to a tier 2 or perhaps 1. I was able to accomplish this. Perseverance is needed!
BBC has been all about Ukraine all night. (All morning, there.) Few here seem to have considered Europe's stake in all this - at least, few have mentioned it in earlier discussion. Perhaps counterintuitively, that's why I agree with Mr Reich's comment this morning. We shouldn't make the mistake of believing we are the only country with a stake in this calamity, and we shouldn't lose sight of the pressing issues we face domestically concerning our very democracy - although it's clearly related to Ukraine's invasion, particularly with regard to the cyber-attacks and social media disinformation that have plagued us for the better part of a decade. We should continue being strong advocates for our allies, but Europe & Britain are perfectly capable of taking lead on what ol' Vlad's rubbing their collective noses in. We should reassure our European and British partners we stand firmly behind any action they see fit to take on ol' Vlad & his oligarchs attempt to re-establish some asinine notion of some mythic, ancient Russian Empire. However, I do think the NSA should become more muscular with regard to social media disinformation. I think it has quickly become a threat to our national security, because its purpose is clearly to exacerbate the very pressing issues I earlier mention here, that threaten our very democracy. That's not to mention the "dark web," which nobody speaks of much lately and which is still out there, a shadowy breeding ground for desperados of all stripe - including "Ivan" himself.
Upon reflection on that last point concerning NSA involvement, I think we should consider establishing a new "DARPANET," that's >physically isolated< from internet connectivity, whose sole purpose is to accomplish the original mission of all that, as a reliable, "self healing" communications channel in the event of a nuclear attack. It should share no non-domestic connectivity and serve nothing but US critical infrastructure. Removing critical infrastructure - and other, critical government services - from the internet will >harden< that infrastructure from attack by foreign actors.
I'm not versed in what you are talking about, however, I read the FCC has taken an interest in this subject and is investigating the disinformation campaign and their ties to Russia.
Good for them! It's a cryin' shame they didn't start getting suspicious around '12, though. What >I'd< like to see is some regulation that >requires< fact checking politicians' statements and issuing fact warnings on any transmission of politicians who are being less than truthful in their statements - sort of like how the FDA is supposed to regulate product ingredients, or the FTC busts false advertising. Indeed, most of ol' Tweety's campaign - along with his Q-publican sycophants - was false advertising!
DZK ; It used to be called the Fairness Doctrine that sort of 'policed the airwaves' before the internet. It needs to be updated and put back in place to keep the public from being misinformed. Fox 'news' gets away with their outright lies by testifying that their show is 'entertainment' and nor really news, (even thought their very name is 'Fox News'. The Federal Communications Commission needs to be repaired and returned to functioning. Like other important things like the FEC, or Federal Election Commission.
Nope. But good for him, though. On the other hand, it may be less a humanitarian move than antipathy for government, in general. For the moment, ol' Vlad the Invader has his attention. Besides, it's good advertising!
Sure. The internet we have >began< as DARPANET. In terms of physical hardware, it's just the same thing we already have. You just run wire and connections for another one that isn't connected to what's already there. Think of it like a private intranet that doesn't provide public access and is not connected to the Internet.
At work I had two computers on my desk. One was Unclassified and connected to the Internet. The other was Classified and connected to a classified network. Locking devices were installed on the Classified computer to make it impossible to upload or download information without being detected. Special software kept unauthorized users from access to the Classified computer. The Classified computer was kept separated from other computers, phone lines, etc. to prevent tapping into the system. Our office was in a special Classified area to keep out bad actors. Numerous audits were conducted to look for problems or unauthorized access. Violate the rules, and you were fired. The Navy has been doing this for years (I retired in 2011).
And what I'm suggesting is locking down all critical systems - such as I've mentioned here - just that way. Many clearly haven't been, considering some of the breaches that have come to pass. Many may have been locked-down since. I know nothing of that. I'm just thinking we should see that >all< critical infrastructure is locked down, just that way.
First thing, this is a mitigation of the threat posed by >external< hackers and other foreign actors. It closes the environment to external access. Reverting to "diskless" workstations for internal network users that have a business need to use the computers, and an IT staff subject to NSA oversight - and stringent security clearance - would be a basic strategy in maintaining network integrity and security.
Face it. It's an obvious solution. The question bothering you may be: "If it's that simple, why hasn't someone thought to do it?" In the first place, I don't know whether anyone has or hasn't. Waaaaay above my pay grade and clearance! I was just sayin'! ];-)>
Another point on post. We do fine reconfirming these progressive aspirations, especially amongst ourselves. One problem, how can we get MSM to present this as not only as possible but the very thing that’s needed to actually make our country better and more equitable?
JAB ; When it becomes apparent that progressive aspirations are the way to go, (climate healing. Healthcare for all, ending destructive war, childcare, survival itself), it will be en Vogue, or the 'new Shiny object' and be Everywhere on MSM.
If MSM were concerned would they not put Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Reich and Stacey Abrams front and center on the Sunday news shows, NYT and Wapo every day. The disconnect is maddening as losing will leave no room for doing better next election.
NOW, our 4 freedoms are in jeopardy from our own republican party, especially the one about living free from fear... attacks from within. Fear...and all built on lies and white supremecy, and spread by non-news channels has brought so many weak-minded UNAMERICANS out of the woodwork... Real Americans...Real Republican VOTERS must take up the sword at the voting booth, and identify as independents if necessary, and not vote for these Nazi fear mongers who would destroy books and some of our sad, but TRUE history. The mass killing and land grabbing from native Americans, and the pattern of racism againist African Americans happened, and is still happening. Real Americans enbrace the truth, and learned from childhood that America is a melting pot, where all are welcome, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free.
WE sure don't need a wall... we need an Ellis Island type intake center at our sourthern border.
There's a rainhow of colors, in the old USA. No one's gonna whitewash those colors away...Neil Young
America cannot hold our moral heads high until we tend to the atrocious treatment of asylum seekers on our border with Mexico! These people have fled countries ruined by dictators and drug lords all fueled by greed. I am appalled that Alejandro Mayorkas allows his gestapo like officers to brutalize these people seeking our aid!
Right on, Robert. The rest of the world are not oblivious to the self-inflicted problems we have in America. And, that has weakened us more than we would like to admit. Our best "friends" are in Europe, but they don't understand why we don't take care of our own people. We can't buy their "love". It's hard to trust someone who doesn't take care of their own family. We also, shot ourselves in the foot with our constant bashing of China, trade restrictions that help no one, and flexing our military muscle in the South China Sea (in order to deflect blame for problems at home that our politicians have caused). That drove China into the unholy alliance with Russia. You can bet China is watching Ukraine closely as far as implications concerning Taiwan are concerned. As you said, Robert, we need to get our own house in order, before we can influence other countries to follow our lead.
"so the richest nation in the history of the world improves the lives of most Americans instead of only a super-wealthy elite — is straightforward."
While we ponder about what to do against Putin (and the Pentagon prepares its new gimme list to make sure Ukraine never happens again), I think we should use our riches to prevent mass starvation in Afghanistan. No matter who we want to blame, we own that tragedy. Google "hunger afghanistan" for an abundance of detailed information on the subject.
Brilliant. We must keep our focus on cleaning up our uber restrictive voting systems and restructuring our ridiculous health care system. The vast majority of Americans support both.
To get around Sinema and Manchin, would it not be possible for Biden to issue an executive order to make federal Medicare available to all who want it, and mandate that employers offer it along with commercial plans?
As logical as Medicare-for-All is, there are two main hurdles: Congress and the average American citizen. We all know Congress has been bought, but what about Joe Public? If you ask Americans if they want Medicare-for-All, 72% answer yes. But if you ask the follow-up question "And you do realize this means you too?" support drops in half, to 36%.
So when Americans hear Medicare-for-All, what many are hearing is "universal healthcare." Only a minority want it for themselves. So it's a vote loser.
Make it an executive order, and one which doe not mandate Medicare. Then commercial insurance will have real competition
How about Gavin Newson? He's about the right age, smart, likeable, and he handled his outrageous recall assault with aplomb.
Really though, I think that rational, affordable universal, healthcare of high quality, could be the key issue to restoring the ascendancy of the Democratic party. And I just don't think this can be done the conventional way with the current Senate (by the way, whoever came up with the slogan "greatest debating chamber in the world?" It's perhaps the worst debating chamber in the world, full of pompous windbags).
We therefore need an unconventional device that is foolproof, hence the executive order.
Whatever positive things people say about the ACA, it is a pale shadow of Medicare. Basically, 20 million people got access to threadbare health insurance (Medicaid) that they didn't have before, and young adults could stay on their parent's insurance until age 26. Good. What they don't tell you is that 30 million people actually lost their insurance, copays went up, deductibles went through the roof, and drug costs went through the roof. These were the concessions Obama made to get the ACA across the line.
The ACA is unsatisfactory, Reich is correct, the current mess is unsustainable, and the future of healthcare will be the future of the Democratic party. Three years of ready access to Medicare, and there will be a political revolution, with Mitch McConnell and his grisly gang left stranded on mud of the Potomac.
Who says it can't be done? It could happen next week.
Don't know. I like Bernie, but think he is recalcitrant and stubborn. A vote loser. Any protege might be the same.
The problem with Bernie is that most Americans think he is "socialist" and have been brainwashed to believe this is an inherently bad thing.
I grew up in England in the sixties, and, believe me, socialism is bad. When the government runs key industries the result is disaster. Bernie also rejects this, because he is not a socialist, however certain very poorly worded statements by him have led to this branding of his politics.
What we have now is, actually, socialism - not for the common man obviously - but for the plutocrats. For what else is reduction in your plutocrat taxes, but government welfare for the rich?
It's all about balance. Adam Smith, of all people said "Tax the Rich!" just like AOC. Smith was concerned that all who benefited from his system of capitalism would grow too powerful, and the way to redress that was through taxation.
Marx badly misunderstood Smith.
For the last four decades, starting with that wretch Milton Friedman, and that horse's ass, Ronald Reagan, Americans have been taught that capitalism requires that we be nice to rich people.
Not at all!
If Bezos et al pay their damn taxes, we could have a congenial Smithian economy, such as the USA enjoyed between 1948 and 1980, where children could be taught that the earth is much older than 6,000 years, and where the middle class could prosper!
Let's start with healthcare reform, an executive action just a presidential signature away, and one that could eliminate the Republican party, as it is currently constituted, for ever.
I wish you would investigate the privatization of Medicare with the Direct Contracting Entities program that has just been re-named. This together with Medicare Advantage, another rip-off, needs wide coverage.
Thank you for your testimony. Glad you emphasized that the taxpayers fund the basic research that is essential for drug development. In fact the government, through the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, allows universities that receive federal funding for their research to patent inventions arising from that research and license them to private companies for product development and manufacture.
Corporatist politicians claim that government-run heath insurance is bureaucratic and inefficient, and also that a government-run public option would out-compete private insurance. That is, they are implying, simultaneously, that private insurance is more efficient and higher quality and that government-run insurance is more efficient and higher quality. Both cannot be true.
Robert, you have touched on the greatness of the United States of America. In times when all looks dismal the people of America step up to defend what we all know the rest of the world envy. We can see how contagious this thinking is , when we watch Putin’s savage ego exposed in Ukraine and how Ukrainians are responding to secure their hold on democracy.
If you wonder why the world longs to gain entrance into our great nation, go back in history and see how many times it has been defended by its dedicated citizens and then step and defend it again against rulers like Putin
Having experienced the other-worldly horror of realizing that my two closest friends have developed into right-wingers, I don't see Putin's war in Europe as separate from his cyber-war in North America. It's all war against freedom and social progress.
On the plus side, I've had far too much opportunity to see how "they" think. I see, for example, it does no good for Democrats to preach that the ultra-wealthy are the problem. We "little guys" all know that.
The problem is our differing views about solutions. The right side believes MAGA will save us. Elizabeth Warren et al can post ad infinitum about the problem and solutions aimed at specific groups. That just does more harm. Right-wingers believe the Left means to take even more of little-guy tax dollars, and give them to OTHER little guys -- to "welfare" folks, for example. The Left means to rob them even more. The Right will save them through trickle-down economics. Putin may be on the ground in Ukraine, but he's been here in cyberspace, sponsoring MAGA, for even longer.
To be honest, it's hard not to see some of my friends' points. For example, I'm retired. Raise worker wages? They'll be able to afford higher prices while I won't. I'll fall behind and go broke. Medicare for all? I already have it, yet there's still corruption, I still pay thousands for supplemental insurance, uncovered drugs, dental, eye glasses, etc. Medicare for all will just cost me even more.
What else can I learn from my right-wing friends? I admire Elon Musk's advocating for clear, first-principle thinking. So how can he support those truckers? I think, while it's possible to wipe out preconception and bias regarding physics problems, with social issues, "not so much." One's personal interests may always influence thought, so ignore any of them at one's peril.
Also, I notice a genetic component to thought. I'm disappointed to see that, while higher education seems to help, it doesn't prevent radical-right opinion. Maybe quality or subject matter help, or maybe genetics, nurture, and geography win. If the latter, we may be doomed.
Still, what (if anything) can Democrats do better to fight the MAGA/Putin domestic war? First, obviously, don't preach mostly in the choir room. It's agonizing to try to talk to the brainwashed, and nearly impossible not to be hung up on, but it's the only hope.
Then, since we little guys all despise the ultra-wealthy, no need to keep defining that problem. Great need, it seems, to be clear and all-encompassing in stating proposed solutions. Explain how every little guy will benefit -- workers, retirees, young, old -- not just "the other little guy" -- and how helping one "little guy" group won't mean downfall to another.
Explain clearly how MAGAs' promises are fake, not helping the little guy; bigger helpings for the rich. Learn more about how the majority of more-mainstream right-wingers think. They tend to like reality shows, soft propaganda sites, guns, flags, TV preachers, NASCAR, (white) history, and closets full of supplements. What can Dems do with that? Call the PR guys.
Those are my observations based on being surrounded by Putin's brainwashed. No doubt there are better weapons and armor. But Putin's N. American propaganda, aided by the uber-wealthy, is same war as Ukraine, different battlefield. Everywhere, the "bad guy" leaders are fighting to keep gaining all the money and power.
Great testimony . Spot on . Hammering home the fact that no argument against MFA holds water was great . And your premise of being an example to the rest of the free world, as in FDR's speech is also great . Do as I say, not as I do holds no water when under global scrutiny . To be a beacon of freedom and democracy, a nation needs to be an example of high ideals . As you yourself are Prof Reich !
If the American people can't see where an authoritarian government, such as that which Trump was trying to establish, can lead to events like are taking place in Ukraine, then our Democracy is very thin indeed.
Your testimony was top notch. Thank you so much for keeping the spot light in the right place. I'm 62 and worked many years at a job I didn't like for exactly the reason of health insurance coverage for me and my daughter.
Another reason why MFA would be a boon to the country. How much more freedom of choice people would have in their lives if they didn't have to make health care a priority?
Thanks, Debra.
Thank you, Robert, for sharing your testimony. It was illuminating, articulate, and my letters for Medicare for All (handwritten) are going out to the 'powers that be.' As you were testifying, I needed a medication that fell into Tier 3, which required I pay $500 deductible for a $48 bottle (50 ml) of a solution. I don't have $500 BECAUSE my food has tripled in cost, my electric went from $95/month to $250/month-- all of this in one week's time. I live on social security, receive heating assistance, which by March will be gone with these rate hikes, and our additional SNAP (food stamps) benefits will drop for me from $250/month to $20/month. That's right. $20/month. I pay nearly $9000 annually for ALL the medical costs you outlined in your testimony. My gross social security benefit is $21k BEFORE Medicare is deducted. And it is not considered poverty level in New York State. Really?
Does anyone see a way out? Can I go without food, heat, medicine? No. The electric company offered a payment plan, but one doesn't have to know math beyond the 4th or 5th grade to see that I would never pay this debt off in my lifetime for there is a bill every month. So, I passed on the medication and am trying home remedies to alleviate the need for medication. I live in the Northeast and it's 5 degrees presently as I write this comment. I must use my heat. And, I need to eat. We who are impoverished and in our seventh and eighth decades are ignored, treated with disrespect, or forced to let go of something truly needed. Yes, we need to fix this country but my concern is that nothing will happen in the remainder of my lifetime. As I watch the tragedy unfold abroad, I am grateful to live here. That said, shame on us for our ageism. Shame on those who ignore our very real plights. Thank you for standing up and telling truth to power.
Lee Anne. You are living like many Americans. Washington DC and the elitist live in their own bubble. America is never going to move forward until we start working together. Instead of fighting each other we need to come together. Russia and China are eating our lunch. We are buying oil from Russia now daily! We must become energy independent again like we were a few years ago. God Bless you. Sending you virtual hugs from Arizona.
If the "elites" (Are you serious?) find Lee Ann Morgan's situation entirely satisfactory, then I submit that while America's "elites" may be many things, elite isn't one of them. Where is the eliteness behind the openly greedy, tacky, vulgar and classless attitudes so aptly exhibited amongst the so-called elites?
I submit that eliteness is derived from character and the morals, honor and integrity that accompany it, not from the size of an investment portfolio or a willingness to "win" (whatever that means) by any and all means necessary.
Thank you, Cecelia! I know I am not alone and after reading my comment I realized I sounded like a victim. That is not the case and I believe that things change every moment. This was one week where several things hit at once. Thank you for your prayers. I am praying for Ukraine and Europe and our beloved United States. Hopefully, Robert's words, and those of others, will inspire for RR's uses the tools of powerful facts with heart. Amen!
Hugs.
Lee Anne. Have you tried to purchase your medication with cash and a pharmacy coupon (such as GoodRx)? You might be able to get your medication at less cost than $48, depending on the medication. Here is a link that may help you decide if this would work for you: https://www.goodrx.com/insurance/medicare/use-goodrx-to-lower-medicare-drug-costs. Good Luck and God Bless You!
Tim, thank you. Yes, I am applying now for GoodRx. However, one must have a Medicare "approved" Rx plan or you incur a monthly penalty from Medicare. (Sorry RR, but that is another reality and seems like strong-arming in my view on the part of Medicare. This needs to be fixed, too.) I take only one other medication and this latest issue was an aberration. However, what I wanted to do was pay for this single monthly medication out-of-pocket and not have any Rx plan. No premium. No high deductible. It would be the cheapest way for me, though for most it would not. Since Medicare does not permit this without assessing a monthly penalty, their fee would be deducted from my social security. Thank you for the reminder and link for GoodRx!
In North Carolina I have met many people from the Northeast who moved here due to cost of living. They seem very satisfied with their decision.
If you talk to your doctor, there is a tier reduction form that he can fill out that can bring your medication cost down to a tier 2 or perhaps 1. I was able to accomplish this. Perseverance is needed!
Lee Anne, I don’t know if this will help but please take a look: https://benefitscheckup.org/.
BBC has been all about Ukraine all night. (All morning, there.) Few here seem to have considered Europe's stake in all this - at least, few have mentioned it in earlier discussion. Perhaps counterintuitively, that's why I agree with Mr Reich's comment this morning. We shouldn't make the mistake of believing we are the only country with a stake in this calamity, and we shouldn't lose sight of the pressing issues we face domestically concerning our very democracy - although it's clearly related to Ukraine's invasion, particularly with regard to the cyber-attacks and social media disinformation that have plagued us for the better part of a decade. We should continue being strong advocates for our allies, but Europe & Britain are perfectly capable of taking lead on what ol' Vlad's rubbing their collective noses in. We should reassure our European and British partners we stand firmly behind any action they see fit to take on ol' Vlad & his oligarchs attempt to re-establish some asinine notion of some mythic, ancient Russian Empire. However, I do think the NSA should become more muscular with regard to social media disinformation. I think it has quickly become a threat to our national security, because its purpose is clearly to exacerbate the very pressing issues I earlier mention here, that threaten our very democracy. That's not to mention the "dark web," which nobody speaks of much lately and which is still out there, a shadowy breeding ground for desperados of all stripe - including "Ivan" himself.
Upon reflection on that last point concerning NSA involvement, I think we should consider establishing a new "DARPANET," that's >physically isolated< from internet connectivity, whose sole purpose is to accomplish the original mission of all that, as a reliable, "self healing" communications channel in the event of a nuclear attack. It should share no non-domestic connectivity and serve nothing but US critical infrastructure. Removing critical infrastructure - and other, critical government services - from the internet will >harden< that infrastructure from attack by foreign actors.
I'm not versed in what you are talking about, however, I read the FCC has taken an interest in this subject and is investigating the disinformation campaign and their ties to Russia.
Good for them! It's a cryin' shame they didn't start getting suspicious around '12, though. What >I'd< like to see is some regulation that >requires< fact checking politicians' statements and issuing fact warnings on any transmission of politicians who are being less than truthful in their statements - sort of like how the FDA is supposed to regulate product ingredients, or the FTC busts false advertising. Indeed, most of ol' Tweety's campaign - along with his Q-publican sycophants - was false advertising!
DZK ; It used to be called the Fairness Doctrine that sort of 'policed the airwaves' before the internet. It needs to be updated and put back in place to keep the public from being misinformed. Fox 'news' gets away with their outright lies by testifying that their show is 'entertainment' and nor really news, (even thought their very name is 'Fox News'. The Federal Communications Commission needs to be repaired and returned to functioning. Like other important things like the FEC, or Federal Election Commission.
Good ideas
DZK. Did you notice over the weekend Ukraine called on help from Elon Musk. In 10 hours he delivered. That is American ingenuity at its best.
Nope. But good for him, though. On the other hand, it may be less a humanitarian move than antipathy for government, in general. For the moment, ol' Vlad the Invader has his attention. Besides, it's good advertising!
You are right!
When help arrives from a billionaire, don't be too cynical!
Like DZK said, "That is American ingenuity at its best!".
You said it yourself!
But is that even possible, DZK? a DARPANET?
Sure. The internet we have >began< as DARPANET. In terms of physical hardware, it's just the same thing we already have. You just run wire and connections for another one that isn't connected to what's already there. Think of it like a private intranet that doesn't provide public access and is not connected to the Internet.
At work I had two computers on my desk. One was Unclassified and connected to the Internet. The other was Classified and connected to a classified network. Locking devices were installed on the Classified computer to make it impossible to upload or download information without being detected. Special software kept unauthorized users from access to the Classified computer. The Classified computer was kept separated from other computers, phone lines, etc. to prevent tapping into the system. Our office was in a special Classified area to keep out bad actors. Numerous audits were conducted to look for problems or unauthorized access. Violate the rules, and you were fired. The Navy has been doing this for years (I retired in 2011).
And what I'm suggesting is locking down all critical systems - such as I've mentioned here - just that way. Many clearly haven't been, considering some of the breaches that have come to pass. Many may have been locked-down since. I know nothing of that. I'm just thinking we should see that >all< critical infrastructure is locked down, just that way.
Amen!
Sounds secure!
We don’t know that the military isn’t already working on this.
They are. See my comment.
True!
I have thought it would be cool to have an internet that could not be hacked by the Russians, or anyone else. But how to keep out bad actors?
First thing, this is a mitigation of the threat posed by >external< hackers and other foreign actors. It closes the environment to external access. Reverting to "diskless" workstations for internal network users that have a business need to use the computers, and an IT staff subject to NSA oversight - and stringent security clearance - would be a basic strategy in maintaining network integrity and security.
Why do I suspect that this would be impossible to do?
Face it. It's an obvious solution. The question bothering you may be: "If it's that simple, why hasn't someone thought to do it?" In the first place, I don't know whether anyone has or hasn't. Waaaaay above my pay grade and clearance! I was just sayin'! ];-)>
Perhaps it's simplicity?
At least on a low budget. I would not be able to afford access, most likely.
Who will be able to access it besides the public, like you and I?
Those at such connected facilities having a business need to use them.
DZK ; site specific
Uh, .. speaking of access, guess the day's unlikely hero, which just pulled the plug on Russian users! (Shh, it's Pornhub ..)
LOL!
Another point on post. We do fine reconfirming these progressive aspirations, especially amongst ourselves. One problem, how can we get MSM to present this as not only as possible but the very thing that’s needed to actually make our country better and more equitable?
JAB ; When it becomes apparent that progressive aspirations are the way to go, (climate healing. Healthcare for all, ending destructive war, childcare, survival itself), it will be en Vogue, or the 'new Shiny object' and be Everywhere on MSM.
If MSM were concerned would they not put Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Reich and Stacey Abrams front and center on the Sunday news shows, NYT and Wapo every day. The disconnect is maddening as losing will leave no room for doing better next election.
NOW, our 4 freedoms are in jeopardy from our own republican party, especially the one about living free from fear... attacks from within. Fear...and all built on lies and white supremecy, and spread by non-news channels has brought so many weak-minded UNAMERICANS out of the woodwork... Real Americans...Real Republican VOTERS must take up the sword at the voting booth, and identify as independents if necessary, and not vote for these Nazi fear mongers who would destroy books and some of our sad, but TRUE history. The mass killing and land grabbing from native Americans, and the pattern of racism againist African Americans happened, and is still happening. Real Americans enbrace the truth, and learned from childhood that America is a melting pot, where all are welcome, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free.
WE sure don't need a wall... we need an Ellis Island type intake center at our sourthern border.
There's a rainhow of colors, in the old USA. No one's gonna whitewash those colors away...Neil Young
👏👏👏
America cannot hold our moral heads high until we tend to the atrocious treatment of asylum seekers on our border with Mexico! These people have fled countries ruined by dictators and drug lords all fueled by greed. I am appalled that Alejandro Mayorkas allows his gestapo like officers to brutalize these people seeking our aid!
Right on, Robert. The rest of the world are not oblivious to the self-inflicted problems we have in America. And, that has weakened us more than we would like to admit. Our best "friends" are in Europe, but they don't understand why we don't take care of our own people. We can't buy their "love". It's hard to trust someone who doesn't take care of their own family. We also, shot ourselves in the foot with our constant bashing of China, trade restrictions that help no one, and flexing our military muscle in the South China Sea (in order to deflect blame for problems at home that our politicians have caused). That drove China into the unholy alliance with Russia. You can bet China is watching Ukraine closely as far as implications concerning Taiwan are concerned. As you said, Robert, we need to get our own house in order, before we can influence other countries to follow our lead.
You really hit the nail, Phillip: it’s hard to trust someone who doesn’t take care of their own family. That should be emblazoned across the country.
"so the richest nation in the history of the world improves the lives of most Americans instead of only a super-wealthy elite — is straightforward."
While we ponder about what to do against Putin (and the Pentagon prepares its new gimme list to make sure Ukraine never happens again), I think we should use our riches to prevent mass starvation in Afghanistan. No matter who we want to blame, we own that tragedy. Google "hunger afghanistan" for an abundance of detailed information on the subject.
Not to guild the lily, but this American Prospect article provides a good look at making riches in America off Afghanistan paltry wealth. https://prospect.org/world/attorneys-try-to-gobble-up-billions-from-starving-afghans/
If we have a soul, we'll do everything we can to keep those Afghans from dying.
Brilliant. We must keep our focus on cleaning up our uber restrictive voting systems and restructuring our ridiculous health care system. The vast majority of Americans support both.
To get around Sinema and Manchin, would it not be possible for Biden to issue an executive order to make federal Medicare available to all who want it, and mandate that employers offer it along with commercial plans?
As logical as Medicare-for-All is, there are two main hurdles: Congress and the average American citizen. We all know Congress has been bought, but what about Joe Public? If you ask Americans if they want Medicare-for-All, 72% answer yes. But if you ask the follow-up question "And you do realize this means you too?" support drops in half, to 36%.
So when Americans hear Medicare-for-All, what many are hearing is "universal healthcare." Only a minority want it for themselves. So it's a vote loser.
Make it an executive order, and one which doe not mandate Medicare. Then commercial insurance will have real competition
Only one problem with that. An executive order can be overturned by the next president.
Yes, but first we would get 3 years of good health coverage for all Americans, and second, the next President would be Biden...in a landslide.
We can only hope. Of course we might be better off with someone a bit younger.
How about Gavin Newson? He's about the right age, smart, likeable, and he handled his outrageous recall assault with aplomb.
Really though, I think that rational, affordable universal, healthcare of high quality, could be the key issue to restoring the ascendancy of the Democratic party. And I just don't think this can be done the conventional way with the current Senate (by the way, whoever came up with the slogan "greatest debating chamber in the world?" It's perhaps the worst debating chamber in the world, full of pompous windbags).
We therefore need an unconventional device that is foolproof, hence the executive order.
Whatever positive things people say about the ACA, it is a pale shadow of Medicare. Basically, 20 million people got access to threadbare health insurance (Medicaid) that they didn't have before, and young adults could stay on their parent's insurance until age 26. Good. What they don't tell you is that 30 million people actually lost their insurance, copays went up, deductibles went through the roof, and drug costs went through the roof. These were the concessions Obama made to get the ACA across the line.
The ACA is unsatisfactory, Reich is correct, the current mess is unsustainable, and the future of healthcare will be the future of the Democratic party. Three years of ready access to Medicare, and there will be a political revolution, with Mitch McConnell and his grisly gang left stranded on mud of the Potomac.
Who says it can't be done? It could happen next week.
Not a bad choice. Does Bernie Sanders have a protege?
Don't know. I like Bernie, but think he is recalcitrant and stubborn. A vote loser. Any protege might be the same.
The problem with Bernie is that most Americans think he is "socialist" and have been brainwashed to believe this is an inherently bad thing.
I grew up in England in the sixties, and, believe me, socialism is bad. When the government runs key industries the result is disaster. Bernie also rejects this, because he is not a socialist, however certain very poorly worded statements by him have led to this branding of his politics.
What we have now is, actually, socialism - not for the common man obviously - but for the plutocrats. For what else is reduction in your plutocrat taxes, but government welfare for the rich?
It's all about balance. Adam Smith, of all people said "Tax the Rich!" just like AOC. Smith was concerned that all who benefited from his system of capitalism would grow too powerful, and the way to redress that was through taxation.
Marx badly misunderstood Smith.
For the last four decades, starting with that wretch Milton Friedman, and that horse's ass, Ronald Reagan, Americans have been taught that capitalism requires that we be nice to rich people.
Not at all!
If Bezos et al pay their damn taxes, we could have a congenial Smithian economy, such as the USA enjoyed between 1948 and 1980, where children could be taught that the earth is much older than 6,000 years, and where the middle class could prosper!
Let's start with healthcare reform, an executive action just a presidential signature away, and one that could eliminate the Republican party, as it is currently constituted, for ever.
I wish you would investigate the privatization of Medicare with the Direct Contracting Entities program that has just been re-named. This together with Medicare Advantage, another rip-off, needs wide coverage.
Thank you for your testimony. Glad you emphasized that the taxpayers fund the basic research that is essential for drug development. In fact the government, through the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, allows universities that receive federal funding for their research to patent inventions arising from that research and license them to private companies for product development and manufacture.
Corporatist politicians claim that government-run heath insurance is bureaucratic and inefficient, and also that a government-run public option would out-compete private insurance. That is, they are implying, simultaneously, that private insurance is more efficient and higher quality and that government-run insurance is more efficient and higher quality. Both cannot be true.
Robert, you have touched on the greatness of the United States of America. In times when all looks dismal the people of America step up to defend what we all know the rest of the world envy. We can see how contagious this thinking is , when we watch Putin’s savage ego exposed in Ukraine and how Ukrainians are responding to secure their hold on democracy.
If you wonder why the world longs to gain entrance into our great nation, go back in history and see how many times it has been defended by its dedicated citizens and then step and defend it again against rulers like Putin
Having experienced the other-worldly horror of realizing that my two closest friends have developed into right-wingers, I don't see Putin's war in Europe as separate from his cyber-war in North America. It's all war against freedom and social progress.
On the plus side, I've had far too much opportunity to see how "they" think. I see, for example, it does no good for Democrats to preach that the ultra-wealthy are the problem. We "little guys" all know that.
The problem is our differing views about solutions. The right side believes MAGA will save us. Elizabeth Warren et al can post ad infinitum about the problem and solutions aimed at specific groups. That just does more harm. Right-wingers believe the Left means to take even more of little-guy tax dollars, and give them to OTHER little guys -- to "welfare" folks, for example. The Left means to rob them even more. The Right will save them through trickle-down economics. Putin may be on the ground in Ukraine, but he's been here in cyberspace, sponsoring MAGA, for even longer.
To be honest, it's hard not to see some of my friends' points. For example, I'm retired. Raise worker wages? They'll be able to afford higher prices while I won't. I'll fall behind and go broke. Medicare for all? I already have it, yet there's still corruption, I still pay thousands for supplemental insurance, uncovered drugs, dental, eye glasses, etc. Medicare for all will just cost me even more.
What else can I learn from my right-wing friends? I admire Elon Musk's advocating for clear, first-principle thinking. So how can he support those truckers? I think, while it's possible to wipe out preconception and bias regarding physics problems, with social issues, "not so much." One's personal interests may always influence thought, so ignore any of them at one's peril.
Also, I notice a genetic component to thought. I'm disappointed to see that, while higher education seems to help, it doesn't prevent radical-right opinion. Maybe quality or subject matter help, or maybe genetics, nurture, and geography win. If the latter, we may be doomed.
Still, what (if anything) can Democrats do better to fight the MAGA/Putin domestic war? First, obviously, don't preach mostly in the choir room. It's agonizing to try to talk to the brainwashed, and nearly impossible not to be hung up on, but it's the only hope.
Then, since we little guys all despise the ultra-wealthy, no need to keep defining that problem. Great need, it seems, to be clear and all-encompassing in stating proposed solutions. Explain how every little guy will benefit -- workers, retirees, young, old -- not just "the other little guy" -- and how helping one "little guy" group won't mean downfall to another.
Explain clearly how MAGAs' promises are fake, not helping the little guy; bigger helpings for the rich. Learn more about how the majority of more-mainstream right-wingers think. They tend to like reality shows, soft propaganda sites, guns, flags, TV preachers, NASCAR, (white) history, and closets full of supplements. What can Dems do with that? Call the PR guys.
Those are my observations based on being surrounded by Putin's brainwashed. No doubt there are better weapons and armor. But Putin's N. American propaganda, aided by the uber-wealthy, is same war as Ukraine, different battlefield. Everywhere, the "bad guy" leaders are fighting to keep gaining all the money and power.
Great testimony . Spot on . Hammering home the fact that no argument against MFA holds water was great . And your premise of being an example to the rest of the free world, as in FDR's speech is also great . Do as I say, not as I do holds no water when under global scrutiny . To be a beacon of freedom and democracy, a nation needs to be an example of high ideals . As you yourself are Prof Reich !
If the American people can't see where an authoritarian government, such as that which Trump was trying to establish, can lead to events like are taking place in Ukraine, then our Democracy is very thin indeed.