Replies to post #96322 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[wbmw]

1) US presidents don't "fire" CEO's of general motors...or, any private sector corp

Do you think we should have let GM fail? If so, then are you aware of the magnitude of harm it would have caused for the mid-west states where GM was their largest employer? And if not, what would you have done differently to save the company? Obama took a majority share in the company because no one else stepped up to buy the company, even though the White House worked for a month trying to find a buyer.

Note that they did succeed in finding Fiat to buy Chysler. If the govt were in the business of buying auto-makers as you claim, why go through so much work to negotiate the deal with Fiat?

2) Government does not cap/control salaries of individuals working in the private sector...tell that to "wall street"

They sure as hell ought to when those bonuses were coming directly from taxpayer funding! We bailed them out to stop a catastrophic meltdown of their own doing, and they gave themselves bonuses... and you support that and advocate for no govt interference?!

3) government does not impose a fine on employers for not giving an employee HC benefits (refer to HR 4872)

Govt has the right to impose tax, and that tax can be on anything. If you look for historical references, you can find many examples. By the way, we also give tax credits to encourage changes in behavior - like when businesses buy energy efficient equipment. It's the same idea to impose a tax to discourage the wrong behavior.

Whether or not you disagree with that in principle, it's still the right thing to do to expect companies to cover their employee's health as a general practice. It's almost universally agreed among experts in the fields of business, health care, economics, ethics, etc.

5) the US government does not mandate what goods or services a citizen must buy...(in this case: HC)

Govt mandates all kinds of things. Most states mandate auto insurance prior to driving a vehicle. The Federal govt also mandates that people pay taxes, that people obey traffic laws, that people don't assault or kill other people, etc. It's the very essence of law.

Geo, I'm not trying to fire down everything you say, but the common theme that I'm trying to point out is that you frequently succumb to the same kinds of double-standards that other critics employ, where the current legislation has a fundamental conflict, but no one ever mentions all the hundreds of examples of precedents that would allow the government to enforce the changes in the health care system.

Everything has been carefully vetted by legal professionals as being completely constitutional. We'll see the challenges from some states, but most if not all are unlikely to succeed. The reason why is that the health care legislation was pretty air-tight, and believed to be well within the means of govt.

Again, there is an issue you have with the principles behind enforcing these things, but the end result is going to be much more affordable health care for many more people. That in itself is a huge relief for so many families in this country that it's going to benefit everyone economically.

I urge you to give it a chance and attempt to learn the positive sides of it. You may still have a legitimate argument - in principle - but I hope you can set aside some of the other criticisms that seem like they've been born of frustration and distrust, rather than the real legitimacy of the criticism.

[StephanieVanbryce]

1) US presidents don't "fire" CEO's of general motors...or, any private sector corp

AND no US president fired any CEO of general motors ..or, any private sector corp.. General Motors CEO Steps Down
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/01/business/main5853737.shtml

[StephanieVanbryce]

2) Government does not cap/control salaries of individuals working in the private sector...tell that to "wall street"

Why they sure do ...ALL LENDERS make the terms .

[StephanieVanbryce]

3) government does not impose a fine on employers for not giving an employee HC benefits (refer to HR 4872)

.......oh really ? they all ready impose fines . .REFERENCE - the mining company that is responsible for the last
deaths of 31 miners has been FINED and PAID FINES for his negligence ..

[StephanieVanbryce]

4) Government does not GIVE a percentage of a PRIVATE SECTOR company to a union....(how much did the UAW pay for its share in the auto companies?)

LOLOL.. AGAIN .. the government did NOT GIVE anything from the private sector to any unions .. The company and the union members work that out ..