Watch JFK argue for universal health care

The talking points against it are the same today as they were when he said that. The number of people who are now against it is just mind boggling. Remember people like NYCEVE writing about how hard people were working on getting us single payer during the ACA debates and how disappointed most people were when it wasn't passed? How can people do a complete 180 from their position that they once held? "But I like my insurance and don't think we should pass MFA" yeah to hell with the millions of people who can't afford to buy insurance. Or have medical debt into the hundreds of thousands even if they do. The number of hospitals now suing people over their medical debts are rising every year. One hospital is garnishing one of its employees who works full time and after they take their cut she is left with an $.54 paycheck. This was reported on Twitter this week.

People are paying as much for health insurance as they do for their cars now. And then they are still left owing money for bills that were once covered by their insurance. I'm old enough to remember the days of no copays or huge deductibles and every other item that is no longer covered under health insurance. If anyone is interested in reading the article I posted about the ICD-9 codes and how the system is rigged against us let me know and I'll dig it up. There really is a war against the 99 percent by those in power. Jacking up prescription prices that many people have to rely on should be criminal. Should be..but it's not.

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about this clip of JFK giving a speech 60 years ago! The crowd loved it.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Just prior to seeing your essay, I was sent an email from Dore's YouTube site where he features the video in a comedy club and just tears a section off centrist Democrats asses.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cassiodorus's picture

but what they don't want to give up is multiple medical bankruptcy. They reserve the right to charge obscene amounts of money for their services.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Bollox Ref's picture

Who 'likes' insurance.

I worked for a couple of insurance (Assurance) firms in my early twenties. They just want to sell you stuff that makes a profit over loss.

The whole "I like my health insurance plan", is a trope put forward by nutjob 'think tanks'.

You don't need 'insurance' for health care.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

@Bollox Ref
Or have government paid health care.

But I get your point. I've seen Humana(?) commercials saying "if you have Medicare and Medicaid..."
If you have Medicare and Medicaid, why in God's name do you need anything else?

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@Bollox Ref
Get with the times!

The latest meme seems to be 'what about all the unemployed insurance workers'.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@sny "Medical bankruptcies are totally kewl and bitchen because... (fill in the blank)"

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

won't hold a rational discussion about M4All when they can quote Clinton and Pelosi being against it, which make me and my crowd look like a bunch of commie Russian assets.
There was a time when bankruptcy wiped the slate clean for medical bills.
I think it was Joe Biden who led the charge to exempt medical expenses from bankruptcy protection.
It now drives people to bankruptcy, but does not give them any relief from those debts. They are screwed forever, for all their lives.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp
Favorite of the brain dead or totally ignorant.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness Let me say that another way: I do NOT believe his poll numbers.
I DO believe he is being propped up for reasons unknown to me by people also unknown to me.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp which may end up being a Hobbsean "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short."

But that's a feature not a bug when it boosts profits! ka-ching!!!!!

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@on the cusp
A closet Communist.

/snark

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness much, much worse! lol!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

@on the cusp

major influence in the change to legislation of the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill ...

Biden was one of the bill's major Democratic champions, and he fought for its passage from his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He had pushed for two earlier bankruptcy reform bills in 2000 and 2001, both of which failed. But in 2005, BAPCPA made it through, successfully erecting all kinds of roadblocks for Americans struggling with debt, and doing so just before the financial crisis of 2008.

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@janis b @janis b today! I did goof on flight hours. I thought it was 5 hours to Guatemala from Houston, but that is to Trinidad.
I am in the process of booking a Thanksgiving trip to Guatemala City.
I intend to purchase a lot of Che Guevara t-shirts for my friends!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@janis b
that was to make it harder to get out from under credit card debt.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

janis b's picture

@UntimelyRippd

make it more difficult to file for medical bankruptcy alone, or is that covered by different legislation altogether?

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@janis b @janis b I am strictly state court.
My understanding is once upon a time you could file bankruptcy and wipe the slate clean.
Later, I was told there are 2 debts you will always have to pay, post-bankruptcy: medical bills and student loans.
Any federal practitioner is more than welcome to correct my interpretation.
I am sure of the medical, not 100% positive of student loan, but I am 99% sure.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

@on the cusp @on the cusp

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janis b's picture

For so many years now the American government has acted contrary to advancing the wellbeing of the public.

“We are behind nearly every European country in this matter of medical care for our citizens. “ - The words of JFK in the video clip.

If things don’t shift in every way, dramatically and quickly, how can we survive the next years. The people with power have spent more years than we probably have left, defeating progress for humanity (of which they are a part). How stupid and blind can man be.

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Pricknick's picture

@janis b

How stupid and blind can man be.

It's humans my friend.
Equality and all that.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

janis b's picture

@Pricknick

; )

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snoopydawg's picture

@janis b

I hadn't seen or heard of it before and thought it was worth watching. That we have been denied it for so many decades should be criminal. How many people have died in the time between the video and now just for greed?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg @snoopydawg @snoopydawg
time but didn't get it checked out because she couldn't afford to do that until she married her last husband and was covered by his policy. Then it was too late because she had lung cancer and that growth on her lung was too far gone at that point and she was told she had probably a year to live, I'll never forget the look on her face, so pale.

They were spot on about it as about one year later when my stepfather woke me in the middle of the night telling me "I think Cassie just had a stroke" and I ended up carrying her out to the car because I knew I would get her to the emergency ward before an ambulance would by the time it would arrive at the house. Even tho I was well aware of her loss of weight after all the chemotherapy treatments, I was still shocked at how easy it was to scoop her up and carry her to the car and then into the emergency ward.

I was told she had maybe 24 hours left and they were spot on with that call as well.
She was dead at age 53.

Of course I don't know if seeing a doctor years earlier would've made a difference but as one doctor told me that it certainly might have mattered if she had it looked at a lot earlier.

I know this kind of story has happened with tens of thousands of other people's lives and we will never know how many died just because they didn't check out a certain health problem all because of a lack of money.

Last note, I lived many years in Canada, my children and grandchildren all born and living in Canada and for that I am very thankful, especially with the special needs of one of my grandsons that are met with health care not a bill, and my daughter doesn't hesitate to use it to be safe.

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snoopydawg's picture

@aliasalias

I'm sorry that your family had to experience that. Doctors know that early detection is the most important thing for treating cancer, but millions of Americans can't afford to go get checked. And we also know that by waiting so long just makes the cost of treatment go up substantially.

I know this kind of story has happened with tens of thousands of other people's lives and we will never know how many died just because they didn't check out a certain health problem all because of a lack of money.

I'd say hundreds of millions if not more since we know that there are millions each year not being able to get insurance. As Bollox says above, we don't need insurance to get health care. And yet even many Americans are now poo pooing MFA or single payer because we can't pay for it. Insurance people will lose their jobs. And lots of other new excuses that weren't around when Obama was telling us we could have it. I'd seriously love to know how people can change so much since then. Oh yeah. This one. "Nancy worked so hard just to get the ACA passed and it barely did."
BS. She and the republicans spent 18 months taking out every damn thing that would have made it good. Obama worked with the insurance companies and then Max Baucus and the insurance lady wrote it up.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

ever having seen it, or, even having heard that he was supportive of a universal health care system. Good on him.

Will try to start posting directly from Kaiser (Health News) and their reporters--especially, VP Tricia Neuman, their Medicare specialist--regarding some of the policy differences and similarities between the various MFA/UMFA proposals, and Medicare (both MA and Traditional/Original). Also, they have quite a few informative and interesting bar and pie charts on program funding, which sorta surprised me.

Unfortunately, ran across an article earlier today which boasted about the increase, or, perhaps I should say 'expected' sizable increase, in Medicare Advantage enrollees for the coming year.

Mollie

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~~Cicero

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

a working progressive majority in Congress in 1962, unlike what would be the case in 1965. He had fierce, powerful opponents like Sen Rbt Kerr (D-OK) who was a corporatist to the core. Also the powerful chair of the Ways & Means Comm'ee, Wilbur Mills, was very reluctant on the bill and made things difficult.

Kennedy actually thought he had just barely enough votes, and ordered an aide to make sure Lyndon was dusted off and sober in case he was needed to cast a tie-breaking vote. But the vote came back 2 votes short -- very unexpectedly. One Dem voting Nay had already promised JFK he would get his vote only if his vote was essential to passage. So, but for that one other senator taking a wrong turn, the bill would have passed.

Funny thing: the secretary to the senate majority leader, one Bobby Baker, very close to LBJ and soon to be embroiled in scandal, who was well known for his keen ability to accurately count votes prior to the actual vote, was suddenly off the mark on this count. Make of it what you will.

JFK's top aide, Ted Sorensen, thought an opportunity was missed to address the national television audience as opposed to Kennedy directing his remarks at the MSG crowd of mostly elderly folks. Dunno about that take. Perhaps TS was a little sore that Kennedy seemed to be speaking off the cuff as opposed to reading from one of Sorensen's highly polished speeches.

A galant effort by Kennedy that came up just short. But worth the effort.

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@wokkamile
And never knew of this. Sorenson was right.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Dawn's Meta's picture

and paid off almost all of it. Many years later, we received a $2.38 collector's bill, from where and for what we never knew. They threatened our house over that bill.

We should have declared bankruptcy, which would have protected our retirement nest egg, house and cars. Stupid.

What an incredible mess.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

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@Dawn's Meta
that an electrician filed a $20,000 lien on my house, four years after I bought it from the builder (a housing development, not a custom house). The builder had gone bankrupt and not paid him. This is legal in Illinois!

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness
in that house.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

@UntimelyRippd @
It probably was the total amount the builder owed on several houses.
I bought the house (pre-built but new) in 1990. The Lien is dated 1994.
I found it while researching my late sister-in-law's house for liens. I told the estate lawyer. She said I need a real estate attorney but first to get a copy of my title insurance policy.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.