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.
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.
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.
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?
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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.