Letters and Comments

Debating Tea Party Protests Against Obamacare Health Reform

By U.S. News Staff

March 10, 2010 RSS Feed Print
  • Comment (4)

After seeing a member of the tea party on TV this morning, I wonder where the grassroots of the tea party come in ["Tea Party Plans March Obamacare Protest," usnews.com]. Sounds to me like the tea party is sponsored by the insurance industry. High-cost entry fees to your conventions in Tennessee and in Vegas is not the grassroots of America. I, like most Americans from the right or from the left, feel the country is dysfunctional, but for the tea party to say they are grassroots is a joke.

Comment by John Ostrowski of CO

I am 70 years old and have sufficient resources to handle my own healthcare requirements. I'm on Medicare but do not use it (and don't want it) but acknowledge that most people do, having failed to manage their personal finances efficiently. The tea party folks are making a larger point than healthcare; the government nationalization of critical aspects of our lives. The "poor and stupid" people referred to have more going for them than the highly educated (assumption) Obamacare supporter—they object to becoming wards of the state. For that, they deserve credit. When someone is able to determine whether people are "poor and stupid" from watching TV, I can only suggest he should watch less TV and make an effort to earn enough to take care of himself rather than look to the rest of us taxpayers to support him.

Comment by T. Simokat of CA 

I'm really not sure anything is grassroots in today's political climate. Every message and slogan is masterminded by somebody's selfish interest. The tea partiers want to believe this is some special movement they are participating in, but unfortunately it's just another platform for partisan talking points. I mean seriously, they talk about government waste and unneeded taxes, yet the "party" is willing to pay a reported $100,000 to Sarah Palin for speaking at one of its rallies? I mean, if that isn't the biggest waste of money, I'm not sure what is. The whole "movement" is a joke.

Comment by Jane of OR 

I'm too busy working to attend one of these. That said, do they solicit the unemployed to attend these? If so, then how can these people protest against the very thing that could save their lives during unemployment? Big, unregulated healthcare is in itself a death panel. In states with no regulation, it forces out the truly needy when they need it the most. Most of these tea partiers have no idea just how little a voice they have with their insurance companies. Unless you have access to considerable financial resources (i.e. lawyers), your chances at maintaining coverage when you need it decrease considerably. For those healthy enough for the system, premium rates skyrocket. Either way, the insurance companies make money, corporate officers get bonuses, and stockholders get rich. Just who wins here, again?

Comment by Robert G. of NY 

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No to the recruiting by the Tea Party of the unemployed.

They did not recruit me. I just found a party and joined. Did not fill out any papers, just attended my first meeting. These are people that are fed up with the present people in Washington and we are planning on as Madame Pelosi said "Do every thing we can possibly do to get them all out." There will be thousands of people coming forward to get involved in this now, regretfully late in the game. I know I will be involved more than attending meetings. I plan to do everything I can to elect people that will do the will of the people. They are suppose to work for us. Just hide and watch.

pookie of TN 11:25AM March 19, 2010

We the People Still Have the Power

Americans can be pandered to with debates on C-SPAN or by watchdogs in the press. Political strategists can assure us the next election will secure our future. Meanwhile, the political class has learned to manipulate the average voter and bureaucrats have deeply imbedded control over our government.

Yet our founders envisioned even this occurrence and created a mechanism for the people and the States to reassert control over an overpowering federal government.

Article V of the Constitution states: “Congress … on the application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, …” But what should our State legislatures seek to amend?

The only way to stop the wasteful spending, and its eventual debilitating taxation, is to starve the government machine. To do this, we need a Constitutional Amendment to insure that:

1. Except in time of declared war against a foreign enemy, the federal government shall balance its budget. This budget shall include all cash expenditures and cash revenues for the federal government and all of its dependent agencies. Further, the total cash expenditures of the federal government shall not exceed eighteen percent (18%) of the prior year’s gross domestic product.

2. Included in the budget’s cash expenditures will be an annual payment to retire the national debt. This payment will be not less than 3% of the principal amount of the prior year’s national debt.

3. Any increase in taxes, fees, or other sources of revenue shall require a 2/3 vote of each chamber of Congress. All tax rates and fees as of January 1, 2010 will be re-established and be considered the baseline for any future changes.

4. No unfunded mandates or requirements shall be placed on state or local governments. The costs of all federal laws must be paid by the federal government and be included in the annual balanced budget.

Should the people decide they wish to spend more on certain items, they can petition their State or Local governments. Clearly, we cannot trust politicians. Unless specifically controlled, they will continue to use our money to buy votes for their own re-election. Encourage your state legislature to reassert its authority: call for a constitutional convention and pass these controls.

Please share with others.

www.IAIresearch.wordpress.com

IAI Research of FL 2:54PM March 11, 2010

The most unbelievable aspect of this debate, over the course of the past year, has been the almost-total focus on making *insurance* more universal & affordable, and hoping that doing so will make *healthcare* more affordable. Even with a high-quality private PPO plan, a week in a hospital can leave a family with a five-figure debt to pay off; universal coverage is not the panacea that is going to resolve the issues this country faces with healthcare. Every time a family is driven into bankruptcy over medical expenses, the cost of future services rises for the patients that come after; costs are going to continue to spiral, even under the plan being ram-rodded through the legislature. Though the GOP may rail against the current plan, saying that it's a step too far, a single-payer system in this country is simply inevitable. When the sheer cost of a hospitalization exceeds the means of middle-class families with insurance, and becomes not just a problem impacting the working poor, no amount of demonizing 'socialized medicine' is going to stave off the demand for reform. What the Administration is attempting to accomplish is laudable, but represents only a finger in a rapidly-crumbling dike. The GOP has completely lost touch with reality, and has lapsed into 'let them eat cake' rhetoric.

Kenneth of GA 8:34AM March 11, 2010

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