2016 Postmortem

MADem

(135,425 posts)

61. And you expect Lockheed Martin (creator of the F-35, cough) to stand by and say nothing?

Fri Aug 21, 2015, 08:40 PM

Aug 2015

To say nothing of the rest of the defense infrastructure?

The "problem" is that there's no one holding those "cut the budget" scissors who is inclined to do as you flippantly demand.

It's the Military - Industrial - CONGRESSIONAL complex, as Ike tried to warn us.

The President has no power in that regard.
He's not a king.

All appropriations begin where?

Answer--Ways and Means...in the HOUSE. They control the purse strings of our nation. Not the POTUS. And who controls the House, these days? Even if we were able to take it back, we'd need more than half to see things your way. Our military, right now, is tracking on a glide path to become smaller than it was before WW2.

Back to the drawing board.....problem NOT solved.

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How will Bernie pay for his plans for example, for single payer insurance and free college for [View all] JDPriestly Aug 2015 OP

"We should transfer the money we as a nation now spend on health care and education into one big pot SonderWoman Aug 2015 #1

Not just the money paid by the federal government, but the money paid by the private sector. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #3

It's why I moved to Cali when I was eighteen passiveporcupine Aug 2015 #52

Yes. Back when I went to school, it was possible to work, live in a co-op dorm (don't know JDPriestly Aug 2015 #54

Did you hear Bernie's answer to that tonight... YvonneCa Aug 2015 #65

That was how he was supposed to pay for infrastructure. SonderWoman Aug 2015 #83

My husband thinks that a penny or two on the speed-trading or fast trading that is done JDPriestly Aug 2015 #86

He always said this is how he would pay for college education. Where did he say he would use sabrina 1 Aug 2015 #105

Who gets to go to Berkeley, and who gets to go to San Jose City College? LuvLoogie Aug 2015 #77

Same process as now. Who gets to go to Yale, Harvard, MIT, CalTech, etc. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #87

Slight Error NWProf Aug 2015 #43

Thanks for explaining this. Great post. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #88

A big chunk of the Department of Justice is the Drug War. Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2015 #49

By getting the Mexicans to pay for it instead of Trump's wall! jberryhill Aug 2015 #2

I can't speak to the accuracy of the numbers here, Maedhros Aug 2015 #4

won't they have to pay hill2016 Aug 2015 #5

Yes, but you can "back-load" taxes. jeff47 Aug 2015 #9

so why not hill2016 Aug 2015 #13

Because just loading all student tuition costs into the tax burden is simpler. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #21

Sign me up...... daleanime Aug 2015 #33

A Progressive Income Tax like we had in the 60s would fix that. bvar22 Aug 2015 #10

That's how I went to college and it worked. My baby born in 1988 is working Autumn Aug 2015 #23

OH GASP! NOT HIGHER TAXES!!! Maedhros Aug 2015 #17

Amen..... daleanime Aug 2015 #35

Thanks. We foot the bill in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan so that multi-national JDPriestly Aug 2015 #7

We went into debt to pay for the useless wars, we did not pay for the wars. Thinkingabout Aug 2015 #15

Yes. That is my point pretty much. We are already paying most of the health costs. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #24

Well...we did it when the Boomers were kids. jeff47 Aug 2015 #12

I paid tuition, but it was not comparable to the tuition charged today. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #25

"We already PAY for Single Payer. bvar22 Aug 2015 #6

Precisely! JDPriestly Aug 2015 #8

Not just that, but Medicare/Medicaid pay less per patient than private insurance. jeff47 Aug 2015 #11

There it is folks, JEB Aug 2015 #16

And think of all the savings from having one insurance for all. Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #22

Wih the mergers in the health insurance industry we'll have single payer Armstead Aug 2015 #34

We could pay for everything with the$ 23 trillion that is unaccounted for at the Pentagon emsimon33 Aug 2015 #14

Yes salimbag Aug 2015 #19

We save with Medicare for All this way MrMickeysMom Aug 2015 #18

Thanks. You explain it so well. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #40

I've been sort of an insider for years... MrMickeysMom Aug 2015 #85

Yes and I love your cats! Rosa Luxemburg Aug 2015 #78

Thanks� and unlike Medicare for all... MrMickeysMom Aug 2015 #84

Thank you for this post! kenfrequed Aug 2015 #20

Yes. The disparity of wealth makes all of these measures appropriate. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #28

K&R turbinetree Aug 2015 #26

People act like higher taxes would be a bad thing Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #27

Thanks. Plus you would not have people who really don't know what they are doing buying JDPriestly Aug 2015 #30

That penny per fast trade is incredible. Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #41

I came up with a quick plan. It can be improved and tuned, but it is a decent start. 4lbs Aug 2015 #29

There's a lot more not being collected in taxes to use Rosa Luxemburg Aug 2015 #80

Correct. Also, by increasing taxes on the wealthy, eliminating the cap on SS taxes, and closing 4lbs Aug 2015 #100

The simplest answer when people wonder, "How will you pay for it?" Stevepol Aug 2015 #31

Thanks. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #42

Sounds almost like Cheney when he said the Iraq war would pay for itself, or.... George II Aug 2015 #32

All other developed countries and some that are not so developed have single payer insurance. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #50

Excellent post and discussion! ms liberty Aug 2015 #36

I have run into people who have bought the lie that the rich are not "that" rich. Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2015 #37

The biggest problem is being stuck on stupid and greed. TheKentuckian Aug 2015 #38

Vermont failed--and you want the rest of the nation to fail, too? It has been tried and they can't MADem Aug 2015 #39

They tried to do too much too fast, and in a small state Armstead Aug 2015 #45

Excellent points. Thank you. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #51

Step One--control costs. Step Two--REDUCE costs. Step Three-Reduce expensive interactions; MADem Aug 2015 #59

Agreed. Nurse practitioners can do so much. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #90

A single small state faces many obstacles, the prime one being that the Federal Government PoliticAverse Aug 2015 #76

I guess I need to do more research on the VT plan, Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #46

This article details some of the stumbling blocks--it was a plan with a four year roll-out. MADem Aug 2015 #58

Does anyone expect to have universal health care without higher taxes? Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #66

I don't think anyone--especially poor and middle class people--expect their taxes to be nearly MADem Aug 2015 #72

We have had a trial run since 1966. Curmudgeoness Aug 2015 #75

Don't read the links, then. It doesn't matter to me. I rather doubt that the Democratic governor MADem Aug 2015 #82

Obamacare is much better than what we had before. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #92

Well, we know who to blame for that--and it's not Democrats. nt MADem Aug 2015 #99

For sure. I was happy to see that Bernie drew a couple of good crowds in South Carolina. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #101

So now we're going to Steve Forbes' little magazine for insight and wisdom Armstead Aug 2015 #68

Here, try this if you don't like that source. MADem Aug 2015 #70

In Europe, we paid relatively high taxes, but we did not mind because we got so much of our tax JDPriestly Aug 2015 #91

It's not a hive mind mentality over there, either. Some feel that NHS is letting down the side. MADem Aug 2015 #93

Actually, hospitals that serve a lot of indigent people want to cut costs. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #110

Medicare does it well. I don't think an individual state can do it well. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #47

VT was supposed to be the test platform, just as MA was the test platform for RomneyCare. MADem Aug 2015 #56

I also lived in the UK pre-Thatcher. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #94

We're seeing shitty values over there, too, along with gaps in funding. The rich get richer, the MADem Aug 2015 #97

3 ideas about cutting costs. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #111

No, VT gave in to cowardice after the 2014 election. jeff47 Aug 2015 #62

No. They knew that nearly tripling taxes was suicide. If you call that "cowardice" you've got MADem Aug 2015 #63

It was entirely coincidental that they suddenly did the math after the 2014 election. jeff47 Aug 2015 #64

That's just uninformed excuse-making. They started trying to make it work five years ago. MADem Aug 2015 #69

Oregon has seriously decreased the number of its residents who are not insured. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #109

cut the military budget and tax the rich - next problem? lame54 Aug 2015 #44

And you expect Lockheed Martin (creator of the F-35, cough) to stand by and say nothing? MADem Aug 2015 #61

The idea is to remove the grip they have. How do you do that? Armstead Aug 2015 #67

You'd do better to work to take back the House, then. MADem Aug 2015 #73

You agree with Sanders Armstead Aug 2015 #106

All industries in the US are on a glide path to become smaller than they were before WWII. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #95

Colleges should stop forcing freshmen who live 28 miles from the school to live on campus MADem Aug 2015 #98

I agree about students being required to live on campus during the first year. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #103

They did through sequestration and everyone had a fit yeoman6987 Aug 2015 #81

Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Aug 2015 #48

K&R! n/t Catherina Aug 2015 #53

We could move the extra cost of medical coverage insurance Delmette Aug 2015 #55

Precisely. With universal single payer insurance, the injuries that cause long-term health-care JDPriestly Aug 2015 #112

K&R abelenkpe Aug 2015 #57

Great post! nt Zorra Aug 2015 #60

Not my problem to figure it out--I just want them jcboon Aug 2015 #71

Its not the money madokie Aug 2015 #74

How do we pay for endless wars and nation building in other countries? Rosa Luxemburg Aug 2015 #79

I share your concern and hopes for this nation postatomic Aug 2015 #89

Good question. I looked on his website and did not find one but if I do, I will post it. JDPriestly Aug 2015 #96

heres a summary Armstead Aug 2015 #102

Thank you postatomic Aug 2015 #108

Exactly. Kucinich had a great oneliner about paying for universal health care eridani Aug 2015 #104

We already pay three times as much for healthcare as any other country, per capita Doctor_J Aug 2015 #107