Pushing Obamacare through the shredder is aimed at a Senate vote as early as next Thursday, just as the bitter and enraging Mars opposition Pluto is at its most toxic. Though it isn’t clear if there are enough votes to get it passed. A few Senators are resisting since they think it does not go far enough.
Background for non-Americans: There are two driving forces: 1. Republican majorities in both chambers want to erase the central concept that health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege depending on one’s income. Medicaid at the moment serves almost 70 million people, providing health care for the indigent, disabled and working poor. Additionally, about 20 percent of spending goes to provide nursing home care, including for middle-class seniors whose savings have been exhausted. 2. Slashing Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade ‘creates fiscal headroom for what is euphemistically being called “tax reform” — a soon-to-come package of huge tax cuts favouring the wealthy.’
It is what the Guardian describes as ‘a blood-sucking endeavour’ to bleed Medicaid and transfuse the cash into the pockets of the rich.
The Obamacare chart, 23 March 2010 11.56 am Washington, DC, always indicated a troubled future with a crisis-ridden Cardinal Grand Cross of Sun opposition Saturn square Pluto opposition Moon and Ascendant in Cancer. At the moment tr Saturn is square the reforming Uranus, pitting the cold reactionary energy of Saturn against innovative, humanitarian Uranus. There’s an undermining tr Neptune conjunct MC sending Obamacare into a swamp; and the emotional shock of tr Uranus conjunct the Solar Arc Venus. Tr Saturn will prune back forcefully in 2018 as it hard aspects the Cardinal Grand Cross; with a fairly cataclysmic upheaval in late 2018 from Solar Arc Uranus square the Moon and Pluto. What might be the only glimmer of hope lies four years ahead when the Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct the 10th house Uranus, which could – maybe – produce a turnaround.
The spirit of the 60s seems utterly dead at the moment and will likely have to come back. If people jammed D.C., making it impossible for anyone to even go to lunch or buy a cup of coffee, I think the message will be received. If we stay on this track, that is exactly what will happen. The people will have to march—entirely peacefully, is my hope—and then we’ll see movement.
hipsters and entitlists? pass the cinnamon for my espresso…
I’m with you, SteveV. People are fiddling while their health care burns. If there are no mass actions, all is lost.
so what are you doing – certainly not fiddling. What meaningful activities are you engaged with to turn the boat around?
As I said to you in another post, larryc, my husband very recently died, hasn’t even been a month, and days ago I found out I’m going blind. My most meaningful activity is fighting to get through each day with a shattered heart. What is it about that do you not understand? Or, do you think everyone on internet chat is a role-playing liar? Which would include yourself, if that is what you believe.
Quit trying to bait me with your nonsense.
@ J-bird,
I am sorry to hear about your situation. Don’t listen to “larryc,” he’s a total jerk and he tries antagonize everyone on this site. larryc has trolled many of my posts as well – he never offers anything constructive to say; he just likes to make a bunch of senseless, sarcastic comments just to get on peoples’ nerves. I used to respond, but now I just ignore him. All in all, larryc is probably a very bored and lonely individual – I doubt he has many friends and I doubt he has many (if any) family members that can even stand to be around him.
Anyway, I agree with you. People are fiddling. They’re getting a few extra dollars in their paychecks due to that awful tax scam bill…and they think everything is “ok” now. They were worried about losing Obamacare (and we came extremely close) and that didn’t happen, they became complacent again. Now, Trump and the Republican’s approval ratings are suddenly on the rise. I honestly can’t believe how foolish people are being right now.
I guess when things hit rock bottom (like they did in the late 2000s under George W. Bush Jr.), maybe then people will start waking up.
Chris Romero
Jacksonville, Florida
The success of the Republican party baffles me, because it’s single-mindedly dedicated to making life miserable, or in some cases virtually impossible. They work to outlaw abortion, then eliminate programs that help single mothers stay afloat…resulting in enforced child-bearing and child-rearing in poverty. Any American who’s ever earned a pay check has the stubs to demonstrate hefty deductions to be applied to his/her Social Security benefit, yet it’s brayed over as an “entitlement,” simply because Congress stole from the Trust Fund, never paid the money back, and now hope to repurpose it as a means-tested welfare program. Now we’re crucifying the poor, the sick, and the elderly with Trump “Care,” to give billionaires a huge tax cut…including, incredibly, RETROACTIVELY. In other words, just a massive gift of public money to the U.S. richest. Yet the masses keep voting for these people. They say Hillary’s running a third time, which should just about kill off any residual Democratic support. A Trump campaign manager in Vermont has the FBI investigating Jane Sanders, Bernie’s wife, because they say she overstated her university’s ability to repay a land loan. Are there any indications that favor the rudderless, leaderless Democrats in 2018…after 4 special election losses? Or do we just submit to Russian hacks, Koch Brother hate commercials, and admit we’re now a corrupt oligarchy? Pardon the rant and thank you for the posts on our wretched situation.
Yeah, it’s utterly depressing. I’ve been taking breaks lately to tune everything out and try to enjoy the summer weather. But I have to applaud those Democrats in Congress who try to fight back despite Republican colleagues who are shameless hacks who put party above country, ultra-wealthy above the rest of the people. I also applaud all the constituents who show up at their Republican congressional reps’ offices to protest (my reps are all Democrats). But to me it feels like being the child of alcoholic or mentally ill parents. You watch the insanity in helpless horror and hope you’ll just get through it.
If the ACA does have a cataclysm, I would like to see it replaced by universal healthcare.
Deb,
The four Democratic special election losses are worrying the Republicans because the Dem candidates made massive vote gains. 10 to 20 points or more in conservative districts where 65 to 70 percent of the votes are Republican. The Trump Effect only gives Dems an extra 5 to 7 points, so those were extraordinary gains.
For example, Ossoff got 48% of the vote in Newt Gingrich’s district. That’s a huge gain of Republican votes for a Democrat candidate, and the other three elections were similar.
The Dems aren’t as dead or rudderless as you think.
It’s a pity people do not have all the facts or understand somethings the write/talk about. So here is one: Social Security IS NOT an entitlement. It is earned. We pay Social Security taxes and the employers pays them as well on their employees’ behalf. The government is supposed to hold onto that money so that you have something when you retire. IT IS NOT THEIRS to spend. When the gov’t “borrows” from Social Security they are taking taxpayers’ money. And, they never repay what they spend. That is one of the major reasons for all of the problem.
well, SS was originally a tax-free gift from the govt until the 1970’s. Then, the GAO decide it was ripe for taxing to make up budget shortfalls = unlimited spending. So, nothing new here under the sun. We pay taxes and receive “credits”. No govt holds onto such dividends…those entities are not intrinsically altruistic.
George Bush wanted to shut down all Deep Space missions to redirect NASA funding…to his own pork barrel projects. Nothing has ever been sacred.
One can vote from the rooftops…silly thought…or one could run for office – or else one could move to where fewer thistles and man-eating weeds flourish.
Speaking of Social Security, Bush took 1.37 TRILLION dollars from the Social Security trust fund to help pay for his war, and never paid it back.
Cataclysmic upheaval in late 2018? Sounds like the Russians hack the mid-term election and give us even more Republican legislators, who go buck wild killing “entitlements” like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
A turnaround in 2021? Nothing is going to stay stable in the US. Legislation will be kicked back and forth like a soccer ball. Now you have it, now you don’t. The parties have quit working together.
The appalling selfishness of people in my country baffles me. Republicans perpetually claim to be a party of “family values,” while doing all they can to make life impossible for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and anyone afflicted with an illness that can be deemed a pre-existing condition. Can you tell us if Mitch McConnell, the lobbyist-owned senator behind much of the hideousness that is the newest version of the Republican effort to take as much as possible from the poorest and most vulnerable Americans in order to fatten the already bulging purses of the wealthiest?
Um, not that I have an opinion.
Medicare cuts aren’t cuts. KellyAnne said so!
Damn that media…