Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons?

• By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: August 19, 2009
At a time when we Americans may abandon health care reform because it supposedly is “too expensive,” how is it that we can afford to imprison people like Curtis Wilkerson?
Mr. Wilkerson is serving a life sentence in California for stealing a $2.50 pair of socks. As The Economist noted recently, he already had two offenses on his record (both for abetting robbery at age 19), and so the “three strikes” law resulted in a life sentence.
This is unjust, of course. But considering that California spends almost $49,000 annually per prison inmate, it’s also an extraordinary waste of money.

Astonishingly, many politicians seem to think that we should lead the world in prisons, not in health care or education. The United States is anomalous among industrialized countries in the high proportion of people we incarcerate; likewise, we stand out in the high proportion of people who have no medical care and partly as a result, our health care outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality are unusually poor.

It’s time for a fundamental re-evaluation of the criminal justice system, as legislation sponsored by Senator Jim Webb has called for, so that we’re no longer squandering money that would be far better spent on education or health. Consider a few facts:

The United States incarcerates people at nearly five times the world average. Of those sentenced to state prisons, 82 percent were convicted of nonviolent crimes, according to one study.

California spends $216,000 annually on each inmate in the juvenile justice system. In contrast, it spends only $8,000 on each child attending the troubled Oakland public school system, according to the Urban Strategies Council.

For most of American history, we had incarceration rates similar to those in other countries. Then with the “war on drugs” and the focus on law and order in the 1970s, incarceration rates soared.

One in 10 black men ages 25 to 29 were imprisoned last year, partly because possession of crack cocaine (disproportionately used in black communities) draws sentences equivalent to having 100 times as much powder cocaine.

Black men in the United States have a 32 percent chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives, according to the Sentencing Project.

Look, there’s no doubt that many people in prison are cold-blooded monsters who deserve to be there. But overall, in a time of limited resources, we’re overinvesting in prisons and under investing in schools.

Indeed, education spending may reduce the need for incarceration. The evidence on this isn’t conclusive, but it’s noteworthy that graduates of the Perry Preschool program in Michigan, an intensive effort for disadvantaged children in the 1960s, were some 40 percent less likely to be arrested than those in a control group.
Above all, it’s time for a rethink of our drug policy. The point is not to surrender to narcotics, but to learn from our approach to both tobacco and alcohol. Over time, we have developed public health strategies that have been quite successful in reducing the harm from smoking and drinking.

If we want to try a public health approach to drugs, we could learn from Portugal. In 2001, it decriminalized the possession of all drugs for personal use. Ordinary drug users can still be required to participate in a treatment program, but they are no longer dispatched to jail.

Decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates in Portugal, as notes a report this year from the Cato Institute. It notes that drug use appears to be lower in Portugal than in most other European countries, and that Portuguese public opinion is strongly behind this approach.
A new United Nations study, World Drug Report 2009, commends the Portuguese experiment and urges countries to continue to pursue traffickers while largely avoiding imprisoning users. Instead, it suggests that users, particularly addicts, should get treatment.
Senator Webb has introduced legislation that would create a national commission to investigate criminal justice issues for such a commission may be the best way to depoliticize the issue and give feckless politicians the cover they need to institute changes.
There are only two possibilities here, Mr. Webb said in introducing his bill, noting that America imprisons so many more people than other countries. Either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States, or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.

Opponents of universal health care and early childhood education say we can’t afford them. Granted, deficits are a real constraint and we can’t do everything, and prison reform won’t come near to fully financing health care reform. Still, would we rather use scarce resources to educate children and heal the sick, or to imprison people because they used drugs or stole a pair of socks?

I invite you to visit my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.

Brother Ajabu,
Greetings to you and yours. Hope things are improving regarding the situation with your son and the 'injustice system'.

I am glad to see that the churches have finally broken their strange silence regarding healthcare reform in this country. An organization that is supposed to be based on love, brotherhood and compassion has a long history of missing the boat on critical issues - healthcare among them.

I do hope that this initiative marks a beginning of putting our money where our mouth is. After all the Black church deposits in excess of ! Billion dollars every Monday morning in this country. You would think with such enormous resources, the Black community would be in much better shape.

Anyway, congratulations to you and other Black ministers who have finally decided to support this healthcare reform legislation that would truly benefit all poor communities - Black and White.

Wes Barnard

Nicholas,
I happen to agree with a lot of what you say...until you get to the decriminalization of drug use. Nobody can dispute that legal substance abuse is a bigger problem in this country than illegal substance abuse. Alcohol use and cigarette smoking are huge problems in this country. Bigger problems than crack cocaine. Why? Because they are legal. Making terrible things "decriminalized" increases their use. There is just no denying this.

Nonetheless, people who are not violent do not need to be in prison. And this country has far too many people in prison at great cost with little benefit. And as we struggle with this budget and as we struggle with providing quality education and healthcare for all legal citizens, it definitely needs to be on the table.

One thing for sure, people convicted on three strikes for nonviolent offenses should not be serving life sentences.

Conservative Christian

You like to quote statistics and studies but it seems you don't like the Portuguese study. Your position is so arrogant. You have not done the research that they did in Portugal which was a scientific study that shows no increase in drug usage because of decriminalization.
Your physician husband realizes, I hope, that the users need treatment not incarceration. Your disregard and disrespect for scientific research says a lot about how selective you are when it comes to politics even when there is scientific evidence before you.

We are struggling in America just trying to punish users of Crack Cocaine the same as users of Powder Cocaine. Since more Blacks use the cheaper Crack, they are given much harsher sentences.
I agree with the study in Portugal, we need to decriminalize the drug users and go after the traffickers.The United Nations World Drug Study, 2009 commends the Portuguese study.

Don't quote anymore studies and those voo doo statistics that you depend on so heavily to make your points. We don't want to hear it.

john

Don't leave home without it this weekend!

Well, actually, it's a plea not to leave your faith home -- your church, mosque, synagogue, or temple -- without it this weekend. The "it"? A commitment and a plan to do something next weekend (Aug. 28-30) to raise very visible support for health care reform.

Our Members of Congress soon will be wrapping up their August recess. And during the last ten days of the recess, people of faith all over the country will raise their voices in support of REAL health care reform THIS YEAR -- reform that is grounded in the shared values of our sacred texts.

Faith leaders in Utah will gather in a memorial service outside their representative's office to remember the Utahns who died during the recess; Kentuckians will hold an Interfaith Candlelight Prayer Service in the heart of Lexington; Candlelight Vigils are scheduled all over Ohio; clergy everywhere will be preaching; and people in the pews will be praying, writing letters, making Congressional visits and more.

We will be crafting a national narrative about the thousands (millions?) of people of faith who won't give up on health care reform until we get it right! That means we need YOU, your community of faith, family and friends to do something. If you are receiving this email, it's because you are already committed to a faith-inspired vision for our health care future. If you were among the thousands on Wednesday's massive conference call, it's your opportunity to take the next step.

Can you imagine the impact of Candlelight Vigils spontaneously popping up on the steps of our houses of worship as the sun goes down from east to west? YOU can help make that happen with a simple prayer litany and a box of candles! If Candlelight Vigils aren't your thing, then do what is comfortable for you. Your event doesn't have to be big and boisterous, or elaborate and eloquent. Spontaneous and sincere is just fine. It just has to BE! Every event, prayer litany, sermon, letter-writing effort, adult study, congressional visit and more will contribute to a faithful witness of our concern for those who cannot get the health care they need.

So... when you gather with your faith community this weekend, find a handful of others who will help you make something happen. Don't just leave a note for your clergy leadership, or the social justice committee. Just take the lead and do it! If your national faith community is in a campaign, tap into that. If you need some ideas, peruse all the new resources collected from our partners and posted on the Faithful Reform in Health Care website.

Then... early next week, tell us what you've planned. Register your event here. You will be listed with similar events across the country, and others who are looking for an event will be able to find you.

Let Our Light Shine, Let Our Voices Be Heard August 28 - 30... and beyond!

I quit here, Reverend. You WILL not stop John Marshall from his constant belittling treatment of someone of good will who disagrees with him on some issues. I have already said that I think that we should not incarcerate people who are nonviolent. I do think that in ADDITION to treatment addicts should have consequences other than incarceration for drug use....which is a CHOICE....a very reckless and DANGEROUS choice for society. If you CHOOSE to use drugs and get addicted, you should have a penalty to pay. My daughter's successful treatment for her addiction has included lots of consequences. It is a critical part of treatment.

I'm sick of John Marshall's superior and racist attitudes and opinions and I will have nothing more to do with your page as a result of his inability to hold a polite dialogue....because everyone here can see he is an incivil, closed-minded jerk....and you will NOT hold him accountable as a moderator. There are similar white people who come to this board who are also too angry to hold a reasonable discussion, but I have never been one of them. I have been the only person who disagrees with you on anything you discuss (not everything, but enough thing to keep it interesting).

So now you all can sit here and rile yourselves up on things that in many instances you obviously could use a different perspective on....because you are ridiculously one-sided.

I thought that what you wanted to do, Reverend, was decrease the hate. What you really want to do, apparently, is bloviate and marinate. And you can see what happens to people who marinate for 60 years in hatred. It's a recipe for becoming Dr. John Marshall.
No thanks.

And Linda, if your idea of health care reform requires a nationalization of the industry, or coverage which we obviously cannot afford for illegals....no thanks. And the country has already said "no" to both of those things.
There is room for lots of reform to the system. But both of those things are non-starters for a conversation....which President Obama has discovered with a free-fall of his poll numbers this past month.

Dawn,

How are you doing? It seems that you and John are at it again. This blog is for any and everyone to express their opinion. If John, or anyone else, even you were calling someone out of their name, or using foul language, such as cussing, I would definitely pull their comments from this page. I don't see where John is doing so.

He ask you about the Portugese study. I don't see where you addressed his question. You say that he acts as if he is superior and therefore racist. There might be a modicum of truth in your statement if you are saying that John thinks his knowledge is superior to yours, but I do not see that as him being racist. He is speaking about what he knows as being superior to what you know. A racist says that he/she is superior because of birth. I don't see John saying he is superior to you because he is of African descent and you are white. If he were to do that then that position would clearly be the position of a racist. I don't see John doing that. If you do then you need to explain how he is doing so. And John, if you are doing that and it is getting by me then stop.

Obviously y'all disagree. But just because John disagrees with you does not make him a racist. And the passion in his disagreement does make him to be uncivil. You yourself have shown passion for your position as John is showing the same for his. Passion is good but compassion is better. In fact that was Bishop's message today. What does that mean?

Passion is to exert one's position on an issue. Some times the exertion has high emotional content. You and he have high passion on this issue. The question again is do you have compassion. Compassion is saying that I will help. Isn't it suspect that the people who don't want all people to have healthcare are the people with healthcare? Is not to have healthcare and not want all to have healthcare a bit arrogant at best and callousness in your feelings for your neighbor? Aren't we as Christian supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves?

This next Sunday we will be having a candlelight service to show compassion for those who do not have healthcare as Linda has asked. John I would ask that you ask your church in Georgia to do the same. Dawn I would ask you to do the same at your church or join us at Light Of The World. A solution to people dying premature death because of poor or no healthcare is medicare for all. To support adequate healthcare for all is the compassionate thing to do, and a very good example of the teachings of Jesus. Are you both open to have compassion with your passion? Please advise. God bless you both, and even me.

Pastor

I have to commend you on such an eloquent statement to Dawn and me. I do not have much more to add to what you said because it was so complete and exact in its analysis.

I know I have compassion and the passion to see that Americans who cannot get healthcare get it and get it right away as people are dying.

Dawn knows that the illegal immigrants are not a part of the Obama plan. Why keep repeating that lie. We are paying for many of them anyway in our emergency rooms. Many of them pay cash in order not to give away their illegal status. But Dawn knows the Democrats and Obama do not have a plan to take care of the illegals. We will take care of the legal immigrants and others in need of healthcare.

Poor Dawn is not used to someone disputing her ideas and that is so unfortunate because if she had been challenged, she would not make all of those illogical and insensitive statements. She has to be a big girl and debate. Somebody might believe those cold and inhumane points that she keeps making and still calls herself a Christian.

She wants the Insurance Industry to give some of the poor people help. What about the others that are not chosen, should we just let them die. When anyone calls those weak and callous points into question, you are a mean racist, according to Dawn. The majority of the people dying are Black people. We will benefit greatly as we are disproportionately without health insurance in America.

The Black physicians of the National Medical Association [NMA] supported universal healthcare when Hillary Clinton tried to get it passed in 1993 but the insurance industry crushed the plan as they are doing now.

The NMA is in support of the Obama plan because we Black physicians know that we can save many more lives if we can get people to the doctor in order to prevent serious illnesses.

Dawm wants to fight the Democratic and Obama plan like the rest of the callous and insensitive conservative Christians. How can you call yourselves Christian and fight any plan to heal the sick. The conservatives didn't bat an eye when Bush did the $Trillion dollar bailout for the Wall Street rich, they did not open their mouths when Bush started two wars [Iraq and Afghanistan] and cut taxes on the richest 1% of Americans. They didn't say a word when he [Bush] did the Medicare Prescription Plan last year and didn't find one penny to pay for it.

Now conservative Christians are worried about deficits all of a sudden. Barack inherited a collossal mess from the Republicans and Bush; now they are screaming and lying in a desperate attempt to see the health plan fail and Barack fail. They are cutting their own throats just to bleed on Obama.

I really don't care how angry Dawn gets because she cannot handle the truth. Her sick reasoning somehow ends up depriving those who need help the most and that is not just Black people.

I have a White patient who is in severe pain fron an on the job injury. She wants to quit working but is so afraid that she will be fired if she stays out with her injuries. It is not a Black thing. We have more White people on Welfare and foodstamps than Blacks. All of the people who are poor in America need help. I champion the Black thing because we are disproportionately represented in the area of poverty and diseases.

I could care less if we never hear anything else from that phony anti Chist who has the gall to call herself a conservative Christian.

john

There are other studies,Reverend. I really shouldn't have to mention them, because there are so many of them right here in the U.S. If "Dr." Marshall were a better student, he might be aware of them. Instead, he would rather only look at the studies supported by the marijuana legalization groups. In every state of the union that has liberalized marijuana possession laws, marijuana use has risen, and with marijuana use, crime has risen. Alaska is just one example.

John, President Obama inherited a 1 trillion dollar deficit handed to him by a Democrat-controlled congress. He doubled it in a year and in 7 years, it will be 10 trillion dollars...a fact he now admits.
Nobody will have healthcare soon. Nobody will have much of anything soon. Lucky for you, 2010 will be a big year for conservatives.

Oh, and John.....illegals are not specifically written into the plan. But you should know....when people tried to write a mechanism to control abuse by illegals into the legislation, leftist Democrats refused it. Hence there is no mechanism by which they will be kept out....so they will be left in. Stop lying to yourself and to others.

Only racists are welcome here. I'm not one of them, so I'm not welcome. I speak the truth, and since it isn't your truth, it's not welcome. This is a contentious Board. I don't want to be a part of it. White people are hated here.

Reverend, until you get your head right, you will continue to reap suffering. As will your son. I'll keep praying for you.

Obama's plan for healthcare is dead because Americans do not want it.

Prepare for the second dip of the recession. Stay out of debt. The government has created the second dip of the recession. In all likelihood, it will not be as deep as the first dip, but the propping up of the economy, creating false demand has not gotten the deleveraging yet under control. With unemployment continuing to rise, there will soon be even lower demand. People and countries are carrying too much debt...falsely propped up by a government that is giving us a false sense of security because it is printing money at a record pace. The Chinese are shedding our debt. A second dip is coming and our country can borrow no more. Check out the Roubini reports. It's coming. Do NOT borrow.

My thoughts and prayers will be with the people of God on this board.

Oh, and I suggest that you get any 401k money you might have into an inflation protected position. Quickly. The false uptick in the markets is not going to last.

John,

Thanks. Trying to increase love and decrease hate is not the easiest thing to do in America. I wouldn't go as far as to call Dawn the anti-Christ but one has to question a Christian who doesn't want healthcare for all of God's children. When I say all, I mean all. How can a child of God be illegal anywhere that they exist on the face of the earth? Illegal people is a construct of people, not a measure of God.

Dawn,

My sister, my sister. To question John about the study he cites is fair game. But to neutralize it by citing so many studies that you cite no study is what makes John's argument superior to yours. If there are so many studies that refute the study cited by John then you should at least cite one. Otherwise, by academic standards, your argument has no basis on which to stand. The best argument that you can make against John is to attack the credibility of the very study he cited. If you can't affectively attack his study cited then anything else you do is weak. I am sure you know the academic critirea for making a valid point. Use it. It will make your points more valid.

One more thing. You keep throwing around that word "racist." Define that for the hundreds of readers on this board. You have called John a racist. Tell us by your definition how is John a racist? Your definition will help everyone to better understand your communication and what you are really saying.

Now to mention my son in your communications is what we call in the Black community as playing the dozens. You should be very careful opening up this line of communication because in essence you invite people to talk about your family. That can get very ugly. A word to the wise should be sufficient. God bless.

Reverend

Thank you for your continued calmness and fairminded approach to the battling between me and that conservative Christian. Jesus was not conservative. Conservative and Christian is an oxymoron. Jesus turned over tables in the temples because the money exchanges there were inappropriate. Jesus made a progressive move.

He healed the sick and made the blind see on the Sabbath. The conservative Pharisees were outraged when Jesus reported that you can do good on the Sabbath.

That Man Jesus told the people of his day, "A greater than Solomon is here." Christians know who Solomon was and for Jesus to declare himself greater than Solomon was by no means conservative. I submit he was a flaming Liberal.

I have mentioned several times that when I hear conservative, I think KKK, Skin Heads, Republicans, John Birch Society, Fox News and so many more haters of minorities in the United States.

You keep declaring that White people don't come on this blog. How would you know? You need to take Reverend's advice and debate. Stop using illogical points to debate with. You leave yourself open.
Just think, who in his or her right mind would take your advice on financial planning. You keep talking about what is going to happen with the Obama administration; all that gloom and doom forecasting. Why not do a historical analysis of the Bush Republicans who started this American slide into the sewer and concentrate on ways to overcome the conservative screw up.
Basically, you and Rush Limbaugh want to see this president fail. I don't think you will get this one.

Historically, we are in this mess because the dumbest president [Bush] was led by the dumbest vice president [Dick Cheney who barely graduated from college]. When a dummy is trying to run the strongest country in the Western world, what else can you expect.

I wish you conservatives had scrutinized and nit picked your own Republicans like you are doing the Democrats and Obama. I guarantee Barack Obama and the Democrats will show you sorry Republican conservatives how to run a country. We could have advanced much faster if President Obama didn't have to debate all of those lies and scare tactics that you Christian conservatives have fed to the huge ignorant masses who want to see Obama fail too. Just watch Fox News to see the central headquarters of the block Obama effort.

You are trying so hard to equate Reverend's personal problems with God's wrath. How disgustingly foolish are you and your false faith in God. So, if something bad comes into your family, I guess God is punishing you or a family member for some bad behavior. You are still a sick cookie and you truly need the psychiatric help we advised you to get months ago.

Does your radiology husband know you are writing this garbage on the blog? You need help.

john

Death of a mother: Just 1 story

There were a lot of people shouting about health care the past couple of weeks, but Donna Miller was not one of them.

A 35-year-old mother who supported her four children by waitressing at a Central Indiana chain restaurant, Miller could not afford health insurance. When her bad cold got increasingly worse in 2007, she ignored her mother's and friends' insistence that she go to the emergency room. Miller couldn't afford doctors or prescriptions, and she didn't want to incur bills she couldn't pay.

On April 18, 2007, Miller lay down for a nap before her shift and never woke up. An autopsy showed she died of acute pneumonia, which could have been treated with antibiotics.

Miller isn't able to join in the raging debate on American health care, much less be heard at the high-decibel town hall shout-fests egged on by talk-radio hosts, Republican operatives and health insurance lobbyists.

But thanks to Cindy Calley, stories like Miller's are being told.

Calley lives in Carmel, works for Indiana University, and has an 18-year-old daughter with spina bifada. Having benefitted from Medicaid coverage of her daughter's substantial medical needs and witnessed affordable and accessible health care while spending part of her youth in Canada, Calley felt the need to become a citizen advocate.

After receiving advocacy training from the Governor's Council for People with Disabilities, Calley took on the task of collecting stories of some of the thousands of Indiana residents who have struggled to obtain health care. Miller's grieving mother, Vernell, spoke with Calley, as did many more suffering Hoosiers.

The stories Calley collects are familiar to emergency room physicians, social workers and bankruptcy judges: care delayed too long because of a lack of coverage, searing pain endured because prescriptions are unaffordable, families ruined financially by hospital bills.

Some of Calley's reporting can be found at the Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Care Plan web site, www.hchp.info.

Cally, who is helping organize a Sept. 13 service for health care reform at Indianapolis First Friends, says her Christian faith inspires her to give voice to some of the millions of Americans who are hurting because of a lack of health care.

On the other end of the spectrum from people twisting John Lennon's anthem of peace into a paean to selfishness (some town hall protesters are singing "All we are saying/ Is pay your own bills") is Calley's understanding of the Sermon on the Mount.

"People are dying for lack of health care, and the cost of health care is killing businesses and breaking down families," she says "Even if reform does cost more, can you really look God in the face and say I won't pay more taxes so we can care for each other?"

When those who are screaming about comprehensive health reform have something useful to say to the family Donna Miller left behind, then they deserve attention. Until then, they should turn off talk radio, put aside the health insurance industry's talking points, and read what people are telling Calley.

Dawn,

Did you hear Fran? That is a very moving story. Did it move you? I have been invited by Ms. Calley to preach at their church. How can a Christian be a Christian and not want healthcare for your neighbor. Bishop made it so plan on this past Sunday. He said the only ones who don't want health care for everyone are people who have health care. Wow!! How selfish can you be?

Dear Friends, Please note the following email I received today. If you agree, support the effort. If not, delete this email.

The energy this week has been incredible. The media tried to convince you that the public option was dead and that progressives were powerless. They're wrong and we've been proving it all week.

It's all because of you and the work we've done together.

It started with 400,000 thousand signatures of Americans drawing a line in the sand, demanding that the inclusion of a public option in healthcare reform is non-negotiable. Then over 10,000 people delivered these petition signatures to every single member of Congress, sometimes to multiple offices. Governor Howard Dean capped it off with a public delivery event in Washington D.C. that drew over 10,000 supporters.

Congress got the message. At least 64 House Democrats have pledged to vote against any bill without a public option. We need to thank our House Healthcare Heroes. Tell them to stand strong against pressure from insurance industry lobbyists.

ADD YOUR NAME NOW AND THANK OUR HOUSE HEALTHCARE HEROES

We're winning today because you've been driving the debate and delivering results.

For the last two months, DFA members teamed up with OpenLeft-com and Healthcare for America Now to get every Senator on the record in support. The campaign is working. We are only four Senators away from the 50 we'll need to guarantee passage. We've been raising money all week to put extra staff and resources on the ground starting September 1st in as many as 10 states to pressure the remaining Senators. We will not stop until we win.

DFA members also teamed up with FireDogLake-com to mobilize House Democrats. We made calls together. We went to Town Halls and spoke up. And we offered House Democrats the chance of increased exposure if they shot a video to drive their position home. At least 64 House Democrats have stood up publicly, taken our challenge, and several of them backed it up with a video. Thanks to your work and these 64 Democrats, a Healthcare bill without a public option is D.O.A. in the House.

Together with leaders like Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake and Chris Bowers at OpenLeft, we're delivering the results to get the job done. Let's make sure our House Healthcare Heroes know we have their back as long as they stand strong against insurance industry pressure.

THANK THE HEALTHCARE HEROES AND DEMAND THEY STAND STRONG

We're not holding anything back.

We're continuing to pressure Roadblock Democrats like Senators Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and Max Baucus with hard-hitting ads and personal healthcare stories of real Americans calling for change. And, with our friends at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, we're preparing to amp the pressure up for Republican Senators in Iowa and Maine just in time to send them back to Washington with a clear message to not block reform.

More than 1,000 DFA members have offered to become a spokesperson in rapid-response ad campaigns pressuring their member of Congress. We're ready to hit back against any Republican or Democrat - in any state - at any time if they plan to stand against the choice of a public health insurance option.

We're organizing everywhere to make sure we pass reform with a real public option. And just as it is important for us to be able to fight back against our opponents, it's important for us to be able to thank our heroes.

ADD YOUR NAME NOW

We're winning, but we can't sit back and hope it happens. We need to make it happen.

Thank you for everything you do to make sure we win.

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America

Reverend

Calley's story was so moving. I am glad to see some movement for the public option. I know Barack Obama will pull this health plan off.

I think the answer to those screaming idiots at the town hall meetings is to have people without insurance to tell their horror stories like Calley's. And we have to overwhelm our elected officials who need to see numbers in order to support a plan.

john

http://www.idpc.net/php-bin/documents/BFDPP_BP_14_EffectsOfDecriminalisation_EN.pdf.pdf

Ok. First off. Let's deal with the truth about drug decriminalization. So many things to discuss, but let's just deal with the basics. Decriminalization of marijuana in Portugal increased the use of marijuana. If you think that's a good thing, that's your choice. You also need to open your eyes to the fact that George Soros is behind a lot of the spreading of falsehood about the "success" of decriminalization of drugs. Follow the money.

In the US, we have done studies in both Arizona and in Alaska that also report that use of marijuana among adolescents increases with decriminalization. In addition, with the increased use of marijuana, there was also an increase in the prevalence of violent crime.

Second of all, why do you think I do not want health care for my neighbor? That's really a very simplistic assumption. I do not want public financing. The United States has the best healthcare in the world. We have the best outcomes in almost every disease category. We do not have the best affordability. Private healthcare is very expensive, in part, because of existing government intervention. Medicaid does not pay for itself so the costs shift to private payors. The government decided to shift payments from specialists to primary care doctors in the 90's. So specialists became short in supply, the hospitals had to be competitive in their methods to keep them, the doctors were given a share of the hospital profits, built free standing facilities and drove up the cost.

The government needs to get OUT of the business of healthcare. The payment systems in both the UK and Canada are a disaster. If you need the statistics on planned reductions in payments in both countries, do a quick search. Both systems are facing ruin. The only thing good about the UK and Canada is that everyone has care. Everyone has bad care, but they have care. If you are healthy, you think that the UK and Canada are wonderful. If you are sick, it takes far too long to get what you need....if you are recommended to receive it at all.

What needs to happen is that we need to find a way to provide basic care to the 5% of US citizens who have no means of coverage....perhaps private insurers need to divide them up. We need to stop dropping people or denying people. Insurers need to divide that population up. Insurance companies need to continue to hold significant reserves so that they continue to be able to pay their claims on time, but insurance companies waste too much and pay their executives too much relative to their value to the system. Hospitals need to cooperatively decide who will buy what equipment. We are overbuilt with expensive facilities and equipment, much of which is underutilized.
We need tort reform. We need more positions for doctors in medical schools and residency programs to ease the undersupply of physicians. We need to train more Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Practitioners and ancillary care professionals. There is a lot that needs to be done. Unfortunately, not much of what would be helpful is in HB3200.

We do NOT need a government option. Our government is not efficiently providing any services in any sector of the economy. We also cannot afford to add this to our deficit spending. And we won't.

I think that after the vacation, our President will come back to the table, I hope he will bring in a broader section of voices and I HOPE that we will come up with a plan for reform that will ensure healthcare for all citizens that will also help bring costs dow for everyone It can be done. Just not through the current House Bill.

The President has not proposed a plan yet. I'm waiting patiently to see how he crafts his own plan after hearing what many people think about a government option. His poll numbers are terrible. Only a very small segment of the population supports it. If he works with the free market he can make significant change and we will all benefit and his poll numbers will go back up. Positive change does not come about by reducing quality for 80% and raising it for 20%. Positive change means raising the quality and reducing the cost for everyone.

I did see something interesting on TV this morning with Dr. Oz. The truth about how to REALLY reduce our healthcare costs is that we hold the power for big change in our OWN lives and our own families. We are too fat. We are too sedentary. We smoke too much. We drink too much. Looking to the government to fix any of these personal choices is really pretty silly. It's time for us all to grow up and be more responsible.

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/health/nhs/nhs-personnel/cash-strapped-nhs-sheds-17000-employees-$472264.htm

http://www.muchmormagazine.com/2009/07/alberta-not-going-to-make-deep-cuts-to-health-care/

You seriously have to stop thinking that the only way to improve what we have is to adopt their mess.

John,
If you would like to see the projections for our upcoming financial collapse, I'd be happy to help you out with that.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90227fdc-900d-11de-bc59-00144feabdc0.html

It pains me to see how grossly misinformed you are about the economy.

George Soros and other wealthy investors have done a really good job at clogging the media with the point of view they want you to believe.

You probably aren't even aware that Google is paid by people to put search results where they want them when you search the web. So any web research you try to do is hopelessly biased. The Portugal drug study is a good example. Are you aware that George Soros is one of the leading proponents of drug liberalization laws and that he has made a ton of money working with Columbian drug lords. NORML is his organization. Another good example is trying to do fair minded research about carbon based fuels and their effect on climate change. Why is that? GE has bet the farm on "climate change legislation" which will be used to create markets for their green products. Al Gore is also heavily invested in green technology. It is projected that if climate change legislation passes, Gore will personally net about 300 million dollars. You have to dig very deep to find a balanced perspectice because of paid search results. You have GOT to learn to follow the money. You are being used.

Don't believe me that you are being intentionally misled? Of course you don't.

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/technology/1017778969.php

So you want to have people believe that we're in good shape financially? Pay google to put articles that make people believe that the markets are in good shape....even though the best, most reliable economist in the country is telling you that we are not in good shape and face a double recession BECAUSE of administration intervention. Worse still, our government cannot borrow any more, they can only print new money, which is inflationary. Gas prices are rising. Financial reserves for most cities and states are overstretched. We were in poor shape when George Bush left office. The draining of federal reserves that is occurring under this administration is making us even more vulnerable.

I believe that the President is being used. George Soros wants the United States dollar to collapse. He is heavily invested against the dollar. It is the reason he has said that the recession has been very good for him. George Soros has made his billions two ways. Drugs and currency markets. Destroying the dollar is a big financial game to him.

I pray that the President understands how important it is that he quickly reign in the spending spree, but that doesn't appear to be his intent. Just understand that the leading economists are predicting high inflation, a devaluation of our currency, a drop in the markets and high taxes. The cash for clunkers deal has reportedly eaten up the pent up demand for automobiles for the next two years. So be prepared to see a near shutdown of the auto market. The home market began to chug and has again stalled because it requires that people feel secure about their employment. The President has assured us that our unemployment will remain near 10% for the forseeable future. People will not buy homes if they are unsure about job stability. The rich will take advantage of rock bottom prices. People will complain that the rich will again get richer. But we are fueling the collapse of the markets by not letting them equalize. Roubini refers to the process as "deleveraging". Whatever you call it, when markets are too high or too low, they will return to a more realistic value. The bubble must burst and restabilize.

When the government intervenes, it delays the natural process that must happen for financial health to return. Hence, most of the efforts that the government has taken has prolonged the agony.

John, I remain patient with your ugly attacks. You are clearly not a gentleman or a scholar. You're a bully. But you're not a very knowledgeable bully. I suspect that there are people here who don't know much about economics who might like to understand it better. I will continue to help educate them regardless of your attacks because the failing of both our personal and national financial health is a direct result of people refusing to deal with economic reality....and really just not understanding it.

Before you discount the Roubini forecast, understand that to date, Roubini has been the only forecaster to accurately predict the collapse.

Don't believe me that you are being intentionally misled? Of course you don't.

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/technology/1017778969.php

Join us for our regular conference call!

Date: Wednesday, August 26

Time: 2:00 pm eastern (please call in between 1:55 & 2:00 eastern)

Topic: The Public Option in Health Care Reform

Faithful Reform in Health Care and the Health Care Working Group of the Washington Interreligious Staff Community are hosting their weekly conference call for faith-inspired advocates.

This week's call will focus on developing a better understanding of the facts about the public option. Join the call and be among the first to receive new resources to help people of faith understand the public option through the lens of justice as defined by our faith values.

Submit a question! Help us shape the conversation. We want to hear your questions -- and the questions you are hearing from others. However, because of the anticipated size of the call, we request that you submit your questions in advance to action@faithfulreform.org. Deadline for questions: 10:00 am on Wednesday morning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conference call details:

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Reserve your place on the call at:
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After registering you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the call. You may use either your telephone, your computer, or both. (If you do not have sound on your computer you may use your telephone to listen and you computer to view the information.)

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Conservative Christian

For those of you who wonder why I respond to this so called Conservative Christian is because some innocent and uninformed reader might believe what she keeps writing.

In our debate on decriminalizing drugs [not just marijuana but cocaine and other substances] she ignores the United Nations support of the Portugal study on decriminalization. Criminalization has not worked and the cost to keep a prisoner for using a drug is breaking our economy. Any reasonable oberver knows that these users need medical intervention.Go and lock up the traffickers.

Conservative Christian declares that we have the BEST health care in the world. This is not borne out by the other industrialized nations who are functioning quite well and their citizens love their health care. Read the artice on page 7A of the USA Today, August 25, 2009 and see what a Canadian doctor said about the Canadian care . He has a quote in bold lettering, " I've been treated in the American system and have lived with universal health care in Canada. Guess which one is freer and more humane?" He says Canada.
The Canadian doctor went on to say that he attended a family picnic and eleven members were in their 80's while dining. How can this be, we live in a country with universal health care. The rhetoric in U.S. Town Halls about the elderly should mean that his aunts and uncles should be dead. Why haven't they died from cancer, heart disease, untreated ear infections, gangrenous limbs, or even euthanized by "death panels.?" Read it everybody.

This sick woman [Conservative Christian]goes on to say that only 5% need care. Is she implying that the 5% can just drop dead and not get the care through the public option.

Finally, the Tort reform that she supports is just an advantage for the insurance companies. The lawsuits by trial lawyers have not run up health care. As I have reported in the past, that in many states, the malpractice premiums did not go down because of tort reform. Tort Reform means that if a family member dies because of negligence by a doctor or hospital, the injured person will be paid $250,000 cap. What attorney will be able to fight the doctor or the hospital's malpractice insurer with only a $250,000 limit. The injured or dead patient is the loser. But the insurance companies still didn't lower the doctor's malpractice premiums. The trial lawyers are not the problem, it is the insurance industry.

Conservative Christian came up with the family doctors are paid more money and the specialists were cut. That is the most ignorant and untrue statement by this woman. The reason why most medical students are not going into primary care [family practice and internal medicine] because the pay is so much less than what specialists receive. Where does she get this nonsense? I guess it is because her husband is a radiologist and not a family physician.

Just today at a town hall meeting, Republican Sen Tom Coburn [a physician himself] heard a crying woman begging for help with her husband who has traumatic brain injury; she can't get the private insurance to help with his care at home after being put out of a nursing home, she said they were told that they are own their own. Sen Coburn said that his office would help her. Then he went on to say that neigbors and not government should help this lady and her husband. What does he expect the neighbors to do, hold a bake sale to raise the money. No, our government has to take care of its citizens. Even Sen Coburn, a representative of the government, promised to help this one family. He could get 71 million more emails asking for help. It is so foolish to blast the government while knowing full well that Medicare is a government run program. It is doing better than the private insurance companies on cost.

The Obama plan is what we need and the public option will save millions of lives and give Americans a choice to either keep their private insurance or take the public option. It is the most humane thing to do but what else can you expect from a phony so called Conservative Christian who should be ashame of herself to oppose such a Christ like effort as the public option.

john

Dear John,
At the risk of repeating myself, I have already stated that incarcerating non-violent criminals is a waste of money. I don't think that is the issue. But decriminalization increases abuse. Treatment and penalties outside of incarceration are the answer. Decriminalization is not. The only reason that you are being bombarded with the lies that are urging you to think that decriminalization is the answer is because there is a drug industry that wants you to believe it.

HEALTHY Europeans and Canadians love their system. They offer quality routine care. But their outcomes for all significant disease is worse than in the United States. Their system does a better job encouraging health. Our system does a better job treating disease. And that is where America is breaking down.

The answer is not to destroy our superior disease fighting privatized profit-driven system. The answer is to improve primary medicine. We need to increase the numbers of providers. Unfortunately, many of the best and the brightest are turning away from medicine because medicine is becoming a terrible career. Overworked, underpaid and harassed by bureaucrats, lawyers and uninformed activists. No thanks.

I have already said that I think that the 5% of the public that is really out of the net of the current system needs to be addressed. I think that the stakeholders need to share the cost. Right now, a few public hospitals are bearing all the cost. In our city, Methodist Hospital and Wishard carry a disproportionate share of the cost. All of the hospitals within the metro area should be sharing the cost.

You are kidding yourself if you think that Medicare is working well.

http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/medicare_low_grades.htm

The experts inside don't agree.

You are kidding yourself if you think that national healthcare is working in europe or canada. Cost overruns are the routine, resulting in situations like this.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209034/The-babies-born-hospital-corridors-Bed-shortage-forces-4-000-mothers-birth-lifts-offices-hospital-toilets.html

In America, we aren't going to tolerate this level of care.

So we need to fix what we have. We need to curb the overbuilding of ridiculous buildings and the excessive purchase of redundant equipment. We need to set up hospitals for efficiency using lean manufacturing as a model.
We need to embarass the hell out of an insurance executive who "earns" as much as 70 neurosurgeons. We need to increase the numbers of doctors in all areas. We need to use more nurse practitioners, midwives, LPNs instead of RNs where appropriate....and we can drive a lot of cost down without sacrificing care or quality.Unfortunately, too often, the government takes action and it creates a new problem....i.e. physician reimbursement cuts, reducing the supply of docs or encouraging docs to find new revenue streams.

John, you remember full well that specialist rates were cut in the 90s. Hillary Clinton led the charge. So now you see orthopedic hospitals, free-standing radiology centers, cancer centers, cardiovascular hospitals....all with cuts going to the docs. The docs don't want to run these ridiculous hospitals. But they were allowed to build them because they were in short supply and the hospitals would give them whatever they wanted to keep them. My husband's group chose not to build a free standing facility because it would have drained a million dollars in revenue from a hospital that was already struggling. But that's why it happened.

I have never said that family practice docs make more than specialists. Family docs make far too little...because they don't do procedures, they do one on one care. Let's face it. A $70 office visit isn't going to make you a rich man. I know staff level engineers who make more than family docs. Many college profs make more than family docs. It's shameful. You should absolutely make more. But you won't make more in the long run with a public option.

My husband and I laugh that we should favor a public option. Because he personally would make more money. Anderson has a lot of unemployed and uninsured and illegal patients as part of his population. But we're smart enough to look past what is best for us today at the long term and the big picture. National healthcare will be a detriment to quality to most Americans. We need to preserve a free-market system and we need to have that free-market system acting more responsibly....delivering care, not bricks and mortar.

John, there are definitely people all over the health care system all over the world who are being mistreated, just like the woman in Senator Coburn's meeting. In my role as a benefits manager, I am often acting as a patient advocate to get people appropriate care. Often when you are exhausted and have a sick family member, things can just get too overwhelmiing to fight. It even happens in medicare. Don't kid yourself. The public systems are really no better. Nursing home care is very expensive. A long term disability is far more devastating to a family than death. Long term care is definitely an area in need of reform. The cost is too high. But scrapping the system to fix that single issue is counterproductive. There are lots of options and in fact, a market is growing to serve it. Companies like Home Instead are creating cost effective options for delivery of care to people who do not need to be in a hospital or a nursing home.

If a public option is put in place, it will put private insurance out of business because it has an unfair advantage. It does not have to make a profit. President Obama knows that and he welcomes that. It is disengenuous to suggest otherwise.

Only mediocre doctors will prefer the 8-5 government salary job to the demands that our best private physicians face today.

And I can't believe the whopper you just told about medicare and cost. Medicare unfairly shifts costs to private healthcare. That is a big part of the problem today and you know it. Unfortunately, a lot of docs are taking fewer and fewer medicare patients as a result.
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cost-shifting-costs-average-privately-insured-family-1788-annually/2008-12-10

You know full well that medicare and medicaid are underfunded and it is only cost shifting that has kept them afloat.

The difference between you and me, John, is that I have a business background and I have seen a much broader health market perspective than you have had.

The Republicans have done a very bad job on domestic policy over the past 8 years, without a doubt. This overreach by liberals is an equivalently bad policy. We need to craft a system that uses the existing outstanding and profitable market based system and makes it more efficient. We need those providers to share in filling the gaps. And we need to keep strong patient advocates in the system alert to keep people, like the woman in the senator's meeting, from falling through the cracks.

Christian Conservative

What a civil tone. The National Medical Association is made up of mostly Black physicians in America. We realize that universal healthcare will result in all of us getting less pay but for the sake of millions of Americans who are dying in droves, we will take the cuts for them.

The insurance industry is gutting the American people by doubling the cost of insurance every 7 years. They are not worth saving because at the rate they are going, nobody but the rich will be able to afford medical insurance. The business owners will not be able to insure workers as the insurance industry is destroying our economy.

Medicare cost is still not rising as fast as the private insurance. Medicare is running out because of waste, fraud and abuse. Barack Obama and the Democrats will remove so much waste that has been ignored by the Republicans who deregulated everything and certainly did not clean up problems in Medicare.
Obama has already identified about 600 Billion in savings by removing waste and duplication. You touched on some of the ways it can be done. What is so great is that we finally have an intelligent President who can make it happen as opposed to a babbling idiot [George Bush] who had to rely on an equally dumb Cheney to lead him.

Obama has a very able and cracker jack team that we believe will make healthcare work for the providers and the patients. All you have to do is think back on how Clinton was able to do more while fighting impeachment than Bush did in 8 years untouched by anybody. Obama has already calmed Wall Street, the housing looks better, the banks are improving and the weaker banks are being absorbed, and most of all, unemployment went down in July. What more do the Republicans want?

If Barack can calm the raging seas in 8 months, we believe he will make healthcare work with the public option. The private insurance industry needs to be corrected or destroyed given the blood sucking of Americans that has been going on for the past 50 years.

My sources say that America does not have better outcomes with certain diseases. We have competing sourcesd on that point. How can you ignore the fact that every advanced industrial nation on the planet has universal heath care but the United States. Are you saying all of those countries are dumb and the U.S. is so smart. We do not have the best outcomes, our people are dying in massive numbers.

If the other nations were suffering as you portray them, don't you think they would go with private insurance instead of public? You have to stop buying the lies and distortions that are all over the place put out by a rich insurance industry.

I happen to be on the front line and in the trenches and I would rather take a cut than to see more Americans without access to medical care. I know the public option will truly bring down cost and save millions of lives.

john

John,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Fortunately, fewer people agree with you than with me. We will retain a private medical system in America and we will reduce it's cost and cover all legal citizens. We will open up insurance markets across state lines to improve competition and reduce the burden of state mandated coverages which are absurdly increasing the cost.

And I will pray that the 9 trillion dollar deficit will not be our undoing, although every honest financial person I know feels that the stars are aligning for a second market dive and high inflation....not from Bush policies, but rather, Obama policies. The truth is, we lost 80 banks in 2009 and 200 banks are expected to nosedive in 2010...because foreclosures continue to rise because we have a real unemployment rate of 16%, and Obama has business terrified and nobody is hiring.

My own bank, a HUGE midwestern bank is precariously on the edge. The experts predict that Cash for Clunkers dried up months of future sales and that the car dealerships are about to look like ghost towns. The housing market improved for first time buyers, but sales of homes over 200,000 is nonexistant.We have a 7 year supply of homes over 200k in Indianapolis. You need to start reading financial papers and not listening to GE media because your perspective is not only narrow, but in many cases, dangerous to your financial health because it is just wrong. I don't blame you. You're being intentionally misled. Maybe you're too busy to read much because of your practice. Maybe you don't read financial papers because you don't understand them.

I pray for our country every day. Because I think that our President is in way over his head, just as was Bush, and I think we are in a far more precarious place than we have been for a very long time.

Mitch Daniels for President 2012.