Congress.You can include me in this one. The dithering, posturing and getting nothing done is the problem.That includes both parties.

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Part of the problem is that the country has seldom been so divided. You have 30% or so of the people crying socialism, about 50% lukewarmly supporting the healthcare "reform", and about 20% like me calling it a giveaway to the insurance companies and fascistic. What I see as fascism, JackDallas, TB, and Jiminy see as socialism. So even when we might both dislike a program, we characterize it differently.

People are no doubt shooting first and asking questions later, and tempers are flaring mainly because little is getting done and the need is so great. The people are suffering while the pols dither or take their marching orders from the banks and insurance companies (if you believe me) or the Kremlin (if you believe Jiminy).

I am in the middle of those who want something done about the gouging of Insurance companies, but am beginning to wonder about a Congress that has little guts except when they take money to stay in office.

They allow special interests to write the laws and that is the problem as I see it. As everyone knows I did not vote for Obama,but once he was elected I wanted him to succeed. He seems to be everywhere but where he should be. He really needs a touch of LBJ or FDR and I do not see that.

I am reading a letter right now concerning one company's attempts to grapple with Health Care costs. That is one of the major costs that is killing companies here.Many will say,"Oh,my company plan is great."Sure it is until you get laid off and then what do you do? I am one of the lucky ones, but see many who are not. That bothers me.

But I think Congress and the White house have given so much to those special interests the bill will not really fix anything.You can correct me if you think I am wrong. I would love to hear what those who want the status quo think.

I had not seen your post when I posted this.

not realistic. Take the following:

Pass healthcare reform, for example. That would be (no pun intended) a huge shot in the arm for Dems of all stripes, demonstrating to skeptical voters that they can indeed govern effectively. Ditto for financial regulation, which is a golden opportunity to harness some populist anger against the financial industry. All Congress has to do is stand up to the finance lobby1 and put some serious constaints on Wall Street's ability to screw people. Think that won't be popular?

When was this written? It is too late to reform the financial sector: the time to do it was back in January when Obama took office. But he timidly punted and also appointed foxes to guard the henhouse. The current healthcare "reform" mandates that individuals buy their own insurance from privaye companies. Up to 50 million new customers will be handed over to the same insurance companies which already take 30% of every private healthcare dollar we spend. That's hundreds of billions annually to middlemen. If we truly wanted to save money, we would have cut them out of the action, not give them 50 million new customers...and penalize those who refuse to buy insurance. That's fascism.

No, I'm not willing to support this so-called reform just because it might temporarily make Democrats look good.

Where did I say,"Just to make Democrats look good?" I could care less about that group in Congress.I find them one of the most useless bodies in Government I have seen in a long lifetime.

With the Presidency and both bodies of Congress they should have put together a bill that was straight,not watered down,or written by lobbyists they still are unable to do anything that really helps. Congress is paralyzed by money and lobbyists.

You didn't say it; your article said it:

That would be (no pun intended) a huge shot in the arm for Dems of all stripes, demonstrating to skeptical voters that they can indeed govern effectively.

Dems are in the uncomfortable position of having to defend the indefensible. All they have accomplished in nine months is to get more bogged down in endless wars, hand over trillions in bailouts to banks, re-appoint the money-printer, Bernanke to a second term so that we can have a fake "recovery", and hand over up to 50 million new customers to the insurance companies.

Friends like these I don't need.

Dems are in the uncomfortable position of having to defend the indefensible. All they have accomplished in nine months is to get more bogged down in endless wars, hand over trillions in bailouts to banks, re-appoint the money-printer, Bernanke to a second term so that we can have a fake "recovery", and hand over up to 50 million new customers to the insurance companies.

Friends like these I don't need.

That was the point of Norman's article.

Excellent observations.

For my own part, the healthcare "reform" looks to me like a handout to the health industry, which will result in higher healthcare coverage rates but also higher overall costs, at a time when we already spend about twice as much, per capita, on healthcare as the other wealthy nations. Yet, I still support it. I don't have all the details yet, but it sounds like the shape of the program is such that it's a reasonable stepping stone to something better. Put the structures in place first, and then start controlling costs later.

Most liberals would probably say I don't give Obama enough of a benefit of the doubt, but on this, it's exactly what I'm giving him. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he's playing this like chess -- thinking a couple moves in advance. It's a positional move, which recognizes that the obstacles to taking a more direct path towards quality, affordable healthcare have proven insurmountable for generations, so maybe it makes sense to try a less direct approach. Once we have something close to universal health coverage, it's unlikely that'll ever get reversed, so the fight moves to cost controls, and in that fight the tax-cutters and deficit hawks may turn into allies in cracking down on health industry profiteers. If the fiscal conservatives and libertarians realize that unversal coverage won't be reversed, they may come around to realizing that the only choice is to rein in the industry.

You are quite right, Arkady.Obama may be playing a waiting game and we do not know what is going on behind closed doors. I am not giving up on a decent bill and have tried to listen to those who write the bills,rather than the screamers.I like ed Schultz but he has a tendency to go off like Beck. Several Congressmen have corrected him.

Many things in the plan will take effect immediately.Such as rescission, if they do not remove that to please one of the whiners. If the Leaders do not crack down on those who just say,"No" I will be very disappointed in them..

We also need more oversight. And Insurance companies should be controlled with Anti trust laws.That should have never been taken away.This last fiasco may be causing Congress to wake up and do their jobs as oversears. That has not been done in a long while.Sorry,I am repeating what you posted.

I recall reading a book long ago, or the book being read to me by my great and loving grandmother. She read, "In the end brother will turn against brother." I truly believe as we inch through time we are leaning, not toward improving ourselves, but toward this scenario she read to me.

Seasoldier/ Do not expect this to turn around. Unemployment numbers, now over 10% do not include those long ago put off unemployment! This new health care bill will certainly sink this country, not help it. Talking does no good.

MaryAnne, LBJ and FDR are two of the people that have guided us down this road of destruction. Roosevelt tried this same spending to get recognized but even his own secretary of state Henry Morganthau complained that all the spending they did, did not create any jobs, or make the people one bit better--just added debt!

Each president has followed suit and instead of fixing a fixable problem have used the White House as a launching pay for mass corruption through legislation, the legalization used to rob our society. It is way out of hand as you can tell.

Seasoldier/This country will never confront its problems until first it fixes the taxing system which should tax all equally and never redundantly. We are trying to BALANCE a pyramid called CORRUPTION on one of its three points either on a JACKASS or an ELEPHANT'S running back. Never happen--only bad will come of it!

Besides, where in the Constitution does it authorize the federal government to make laws concerning health care?