Support HR 1207 – the bill to audit the Federal Reserve – find out what they did with $2 trillion of the public’s money.

P.S. BTW, this show is a testament to NPR not having an incredible liberal bias like all the Republicans constantly accuse it off. Holtz-Eakin got a whole hour to express his views. No one shouted at him, called him names or threatened to cut his mic a la Fox News or conservative radio. It’s ironic that those sources accuse NPR of bias as they have a lot to learn about having a civilized debate.

Holtz Eakin doesn’t seem to realize that medical care is a prime example of a market failure, and that private insurance companies are going to act in such a way as to prevent sick people from getting insurance, no matter what the regulations are. We need a public option. The idea of leaving it to the states is silly.
The results will be spotty and many will be without adequate insurance especially in the southern states, the bastion of the Republican party.

As far as the budget is concerned, Obama recognizes the coming deficits, and most of it will be due to Medicare. Obama has taken the initiative to determine best practices, publicize them, and proposes to cut out payments for volume of services, which drive overtreatment and costs. Holtz Eakin talked as if the Obama administration didn’t recognize the problem and wasn’t taking action.

It is the Republicans that oppose having the evil government get involved with medical care, and would prevent this problem from getting solved.

I didn’t really hear any impressive ideas from Holtz Eakin, despite his resume as advisor to presidents and presidential candidates.

My apologies to Mike.

I looked back at the past year’s archive and I could not find an long passages of quoted material from Mike. All of Mike’s comments appear original and thoughtful.

I should have taken the time to verify who I’m thinking about before writing. I am sorry. I will presume that was offensive and unfair. I will also look back to see why I may have developed a negative bias towards Mike.

btw who was cutting and pasting massive blocks of text?

Posted by frederic C., on June 22nd, 2009 at 3:03 pm EDT

is there no moderate republicans that u can speak too like the ones from maine?

i see the few moderates who are left to be the ones that can work together with obama, the dems to fix and help the country as a whole.

if like some say both sides need each other than vote out these obstructionist, who only can say no with no other option’s to bring to the table.

i looked at the proposal mccain and company had about the stim bill over 600 billion in taxes cuts.of course it was rejected. or the corp tax cut to 12.5 percent they trouted as well, lowering or cutting the dividends rates.

its illogical and frankly naive for some to think boths sides will work together when the republican party is only focus and looking out for there far-right base. Then others in the think tanks think only of fear, culture war, and figuring out the best way to spin issues to win just enough votes to destroy our economy again.

i much prefer 3 party system so i gleefully wish the republican to contiue and fail at what there doing to give rise to a 3 more moderate party. But i doubt they will, once the econ is back there find a way to start the culture wars and play on that

Can we tie success in public education to growth of the G.D.P.? Can public service and commercial output be integrated with public education?

—

Mr. Holtz-Eakin must be aware that a party that changes itself to follow the votes cannot by definition be called conservative.

Change in the conservative party must be overtly moderated by a principled debate within the Party.

Granted, there may be an intellectual argument for cynically chasing the, ‘core,’ of the Republican Party, but for those conservatives who embrace progress relying on one demographically diminishing group is unsustainable.

Furthermore, the core must not be used as pawns by the right or condescended by the left. They are our brothers and sister one and all.

The two political parties need each other for the country to remain healthy.

DO THESE CONSERVATIVE SPOKESMEN KNOW HOW TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THEIR OWN THEORIES, as in the Theory of Conservatism??? NO! NO! NO! You can use big words, but if you can’t think comprehensively – which you CANNOT DO when you think inside a box, which is what a THEORY is – you are NOT thinking in any intelligent, useful way!!! Theories are useful in science because they limit the data looked at, etc., etc. In politics, theories help people & parties to grand-stand. BUT, IN GOVERNANCE, theory MUST be thrown out of the window!!! COMPREHENSIVE THINKING — about how laws impact ALL citizens, not just party contributors – is required by those serving the PUBLIC in the multitudinous acts of GOVERNANCE!!! BAD education is fundamentally what got us INTO this absurd situation wherein too many powerful people CANNOT THINK, they can only SPOUT falsehoods!!!

TRUE conservatism WOULD provide for: universal health coverage (in the form of medical access, NOT monies for that wasteful middleman, the insurance industry); environmental protection; terrific education for all students, especially for the poor & disadvantaged; keeping good jobs within the area governed, not sending them overseas to benefit only those who collect dividends; diplomacy, not war; a food supply that is safe; water supply that is safe & that has NOT been sold to a foreign nation; transparent & firm regulation of the financial industry; decent & safe housing & neighborhoods for all; absolute insistence on full civil rights for all. These areas are the very ones that the Republican Party does NOT provide!!

Another point. WHY do so many people look at the health insurance systems of England, Canada, Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy and say, “OH, look at the FLAWS in their system”. Why don’t we look at both the SUCCESSES of those systems which the citizens of those countries ENJOY, and then decide how to TWEAK their systems to AVOID THE FLAWS??!! WHY does America have to REJECT the universal care idea entirely, instead of BUILDING A BETTER MOUSETRAP??!!! The dialog is always framed as YES/NO, rather than YES/BUT EVEN BETTER!!!

We’re so afraid of Socialism?? Well, we’re losing our JOBS BECAUSE OF CAPITALISM. It will almost ALWAYS seek the lowest wages, unless certain OTHER considerations and/or regulations are put into place. Those “considerations” might NOT be government driven, by the way. But, unregulated, unfettered Capitalism is as much OUR ENEMY as Socialism is, UNLESS (and this is MAJOR) you are in the dividend-collecting class. THAT is WHY we are still a NATION DIVIDED!!!! AND, THIS IS WHY we NEED politicians who are NOT from that class!!!

I live five minutes from the next state. IF I lost my job here and got a NEW JOB across state lines, I would have to completely CHANGE DOCTORS AND HOSPITALS, because the insurance carriers and regulations are completely different. I am NOT saying this theoretically; this IS what happens to people!!! I could see a situation where husband and wife qualified for two completely different and incompatible insurance systems because they lived in one state, but worked in different states. EVERY state, except Alaska & Hawaii, have this situation as a geographical given. This is NOT about those couples who live bi-coastal lives.

People are losing their jobs & HAVING to move to different parts of the country, IF they are LUCKY: there should be ONE, UNIFORM SYSTEM for health care, ESPECIALLY when people have PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS, and it should apply whether or NOT you have a job!!! People are losing their jobs & therefore losing their health insurance. This does NOT happen in most of the intelligent countries of Europe.

THERE SHOULD BE ONE, UNIFORM SYSTEM FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. If it has a private insurance component WITHIN that system, it should STILL be uniformly experienced by residents of the various states.

What is a well-kept secret in all the discussion about the single-payer system is that we already have it in place–Medicare, and also the health benefits that government employees get, from the military on down.

Come on, who is the GOP trying to kid???

It is disturbing that Republican policy is based on the thinking of people who have arrived at the top and now live in comfort and financial security, all the while congratulating themselves that they lifted themselves up by their own bootstraps. We can now see clearly that capitalists won’t invest in anything that does not turn a profit. And there are many, many things that need doing, that do not assure a profit.

COME ON TOM! GIVE US SOME REAL PEOPLE WHO GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY. THE WORKING PEOPLE (WHO USED TO VOTE REPUBLICAN TILL THEY WERE SOLD OUT) JUST MIGHT HAVE THE REAL SOLUTION FOR BRINGING AMERICA BACK FROM THE BRINK.

A GOOD START WOULD BE TO SEND THE GREEDY FINANCIERS AND CORPORATE LOBBYISTS AND THINK TANK EGG- HEADS OUT TO PICK THE FARM CROPS – MAYBE THEY COULD LEARN TO DO THAT RIGHT…

1) Palin and the rest just don’t seem very smart

2) The defense dept is a mess, the economy is a mess

due to
1) poor decision making (on the war)

2)No regulation. Big business and big banks had no oversight and took us down the tubes on GOP watch (CHristopher Cox et al at SEC, Paulson and the rest)

3. Conservatives? Biggest deficits ever under GOP rule

Why should I ever trust GOP to do the right thing? You seem out of ideas and vision.