Ryan Punts on Trumpcare

What facts would that be?

Am I just naïve and a bleeding heart in that I feel sorry for Ryan?

I'll just post what I posted elsewhere...

I'm a pretty unabashed capitalist - what I do for a living would probably make some people cringe - but I'm also a huge supporter of universal health care because when you get down to it a healthy country is a productive country and you need your economy to be as competitive and viable as possible.

Why "conservatives" don't get that is a mystery to me. They just want to fuck over people on arguably the most important thing you can have in order to further your existence and profitability - health. It's completely counterproductive in my view.

Well now we're curious. Are you an investment banker, a repo man, or a tax lawyer?

Worse.

IIRC he sells shrimp.

Man, I was hoping it was baby seal pelts

Well one facet of it is I overfish the oceans in an unsustainable manner and exploit cheap labor to produce it before I import it into western markets so my margins are as healthy as possible. Let's just say Greenpeace is on my ass.

At the same time though cheap protein helps a lot of people stay fed and healthy so that's a bit of a justification.

I'm working towards baby seal pelts, as a Canadian that's really the dream.

Its mostly farmed and on the level now. The only real issue there is slave labor (Thai Union Manufacturing -a massive company - got busted for this a year or so ago). The factories I get my product from - mostly tuna - are sometimes subject to social audits from major retailers like wal mart who ensure no one is getting fucked like that but the wages are still very low.

very true! The US is the best country (immigrants love us - we must be doing something better than their own country!) so there's no excuse for not having free health care. Yes all the smokers, druggies, boozers and fat fucks rack up trillions in unnecessary care (because these things are preventable) but eventually, hopefully, smarter & healthier future generations will be much less of a drain on our health care system that would be (if free) tax-payer funded.

And far be it from me to be a dick, but if we have free health care there might have to be stipulations - that to me is fair. "My house, my rules" and all that.
If you practice an unhealthy lifestyle that is almost 100 percent certain to need costly medical care in your future, you get shifted to the bottom of the totem pole - fuck you, sorry. That said there should be in place free counseling, education, rehab, etc. so you will have no excuse for continuing to engage in your unhealthy dangerous habits.

People will bitch and whine and file lawsuits because this is a US tradition - it's what we do. Too bad, it's a country not a charity. You want to drag our great nation down and and be a liability rather than an asset, you will be sucking hind tit unless you get your shit together and make better choices.

I agree.

They'll never find consensus among their own rank and file on this issue because the smart ones who want to simply amend and fix the ACA are outnumbered by idiots who just want to rip it up and throw it away.

Far better for the party to have egg on its face than to face a midterm election trying to explain why you threw 24 million people off health care. Next time don't set a date for a vote until you know it will pass.

A lot of them have forgotten the difference between wealth and money. At it's core, money is just an efficient method of transferring discrete units of effort with no easily relateable equivalents in value (how many lines of code is worth a peach? How many hours in a field is worth a visit to the GP?), wealth is your nett value which actually includes things like social care. The NHS, shonky as it is, has a value to me than can be calculated, and so forms part of my overall assets.

Said before that universal healthcare isn't a panacea, but it certainly forms part of the solution.

Trump is treating the White House like a boardroom, so it'll be interesting to see if he's learned this lesson.

His bellyaching that the opponents of his bright idea, errr, opposed it doesn't seem to indicate that though.

Okay, riddle me this: Wouldn't a sensible replacement for the ACA (that fits in with Republican values) be simply to say that for every dollar an employer spends on healthcare coverage for their employees (and retirees), they get to deduct $2 off their taxes. Make things like the salary for the benefits manager(s), and drug costs, included in this as well. Wouldn't the spur more companies to offer insurance to their employees, and better insurance? Is there something I'm missing here?

Do you mean that for every dollar they spend, they get to deduct $2 from the total amount they owe? If so, that would definitely be an incentive, but whether it fits with Republican ideology is questionable.

On the one hand, it would involve the government trying to provide for the needs of its citizens, which most of them are firmly against. On the other hand, it would be a massive giveaway to businesses, which they love ...

However, despite Republicans' love of shoveling as much cash as possible at businesses, I think "from now on, all employer health care plans will be 100% publicly funded, and then some" would be a non-starter.

Lol, some GOP twat was wheeled out to try the "shouldn't the Dems bear some responsibility on this?" BS on AM Joy:

Even ignoring that the Dems naturally won't vote to repeal legislation they put in place and would rather work to repair (largely from provisions and hobblings put in place by the GOP), I don't think more needs to be said than that.

I do wonder though if this wasn't Bannon's plan all along - Ryan (who he wants gone) is taking the heat, and Trump never wanted to actually repeal Obamacare, just let it die the death of a thousand cuts and then force through his deal. Like offering a drink of piss to someone whose taps you sealed off.

That's some serious House of Cards shit if that's the case

Yeah, I don't think Bannon could actually organise a shit in a restroom, but this is the GOP he's dealing with here. Hardly difficult to work out which way they'll jump.

Why does Bannon want Ryan out?

It could be because Ryan wasn't an early supporter of Trump, or it could be because he wants someone he can control because they owe him.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/why-steve-bannon-hates-paul-ryan.html

Jeez, you'd think with all that money and power the man could buy some clothes that actually fit.

Nouveau riche. French for "tacky pillock".

Which is English for "NASCAR".

Jesus, he could hardly look worse if he had chipotle sauce all over his face, hands, and belly, and had a green stink cloud coming out of his mouth with "beeellch!!", written on it in comic sans.

I've noticed something else about Bannon. Like Donnie, he's fat and has tiny hands.



Confirms my belief that they're both actually Slitheen.

They should be infiltrating 10 Downing Street, not 1600 Pennsylvania Ave then

Remember when the reason Obama couldn't get anything done with a Republican held Senate and House, it was because of a lack of leadership?

Same problem now.

I wonder if Bannon's going to run again in 2020?

Now it's because those mean old Democrats aren't jumping in to save the Republicans, when the Republicans control the White House and both chambers but still can't get it done ... it is pretty hilarious to watch Trump try to make this case with a straight face.