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| ILLUSTRATION BY LYNE LUCIEN/THE DAILY BEAST |
The politicians in America hold their political seats by the
grace of billionaires who make or break them.
They are in the seats they hold to ensure a death rate that provides
cover for the rich to enrich themselves at the expense of everyday
Americans. The politicians view our
military families as dumb animals who do what they are told to protect the
assets of the billionaires.
The Democrats’ party died with the impeachment of President
Bill Clinton and the installment of George W. Bush by the Zionist wing of the
Democratic Party. The Republican Party
has devolved into the party of death and destruction tasked with destruction of
humanity in the cruelest ways possible.
No politician should be allowed to make any decision regarding the
health, education, and financial well-being of the American people as they are
devoid of morals and compassion. Any
life and death decision must be brought before the people in the form of a
referendum that the politicians must abide by.
As our millionaire, pampered, underworked, overpaid
political class leave for another vacation/recess before their month-long
August vacation the American people are left to fend for themselves against a
predatory medical/pharma/banking/military prison system of state sanctioned apartheid. From Connie Schultz at Creators.com:
Excerpt:
No Recess For The American Public
On Tuesday, public outrage forced the Republicans to postpone their vote to gut the
Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.
Two hours later, I stood with a loved one in an emergency room in
small-town Ohio and got an earful from the nurse taking care of him. The nurse, with more than 20 years in the
profession, had spent the workday running nonstop and hadn’t heard the news.
When I told her, she was relieved — and outraged.
“Thank God,” she said. “They have
no idea.” She pointed out toward the row of other examining rooms. “Those senators? They have no idea what
we’re dealing with here.” She was
talking about the opioid epidemic. She
was also talking about her daughter.
“We’re one of the lucky ones,” she said. “My daughter was addicted, but
she survived — and went to prison.” She waved off my sympathy. “No. She’s
32 years old, and this was the best thing to happen to her. She’s clean now and
doing so much better. She told me, ‘Mom, I’m so glad I have a roommate who
doesn’t want to date me or kill me.”
Others, she said, are not so
fortunate. She sees those addicts every week. Many of them live — thanks to an
emergency dose of Narcan, an opioid antidote… Without Medicaid insurance,
more of them will die. The Kaiser
Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on major health care
issues in America, offers sobering numbers about our growing opioid epidemic. A few snapshots: In
2015, more than 2 million people in America were addicted to prescription opioids, and
another 591,000 were addicted to heroin.
Between 2002 and 2015, opioid
deaths tripled. Medicaid covers a range of treatment services for more than 650,000 non-elderly adults with
opioid addiction. This is in the states that expanded Medicaid coverage. Of
the 26 states with an above-average rate of opioid overdose deaths, eight have
not done so…
Between 2000 and 2014, opioid-related inpatient stays increased by 64
percent. Opioid-related emergency department visits increased by 99
percent. That ER statistic — that’s the
one all of us should be citing: Opioid-related
emergency department visits increased by 99 percent.
It is impossible to believe that
congressional Republicans don’t know this…
McConnell said there will be no
vote to repeal health care until after THE SENATE HOLIDAY RECESS.
We have no idea how many of the Republicans will return to their states and
face their constituents over the holiday weekend. What
we do know is that there is no recess for the American public. I keep thinking of that emergency room
nurse’s lament: “Those senators? They have no idea.”
The Republicans in congress never intended to get rid of
Obamacare, the Republican written healthcare law. As a matter of fact, they have been quite
content with the generous subsidies they have given themselves to pay for their
Obamacare while demanding to slash subsidies for the American people who are
underserved and actually abused by Obamacare.
From CNS News:
Excerpt:
$174K-Per-Year Congressmen Will Get Special Obamacare Subsidy
Under the OPM deal arranged in
August, the average member of Congress
who makes $174,000 a year will be able to keep his approximately $10,000 health
insurance subsidy, like he used to get under his old plan, before
Obamacare. Congressional staffers who
buy through the exchange will also get to keep the subsidies they were receiving. (See Congress Salary CRS Report.pdf)
Before Obamacare, Congress’ plans
were administered by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and the government paid a yearly
contribution to those plans of $4,966.80 for singles and $10,048.76 for
families. The Obamacare law was
supposed to eliminate that FEHBP subsidy but the OPM essentially put it back
in.
Here are two hypothetical examples
of families buying health insurance, under the current rules, through the
Obamacare exchanges: 1) a family of four – two adults both age 58, and two
children under age 21 – living in D.C. who run their own small business; and 2)
a female member of Congress, age 58, with a spouse and two children living in
D.C.
Using the Kaiser Family Foundation
Subsidy Calculator, the D.C. family of
four making $94,250 a year, or just $50 above the 400% of poverty level,
would pay $15,481 a year for their family health plan if they chose the silver plan (the middle-tier
plan used by Kaiser). They would receive $0 in subsidy.
The congresswoman and her family living next door makes $174,000.
Her income is 739% of poverty level and her insurance plan, at the Silver
level, would also cost $15,481. But
the congresswoman would qualify for a subsidy of $10,048.76.
(The Kaiser calculator uses the
Silver tier plan for its calculations and the OPM rule requires Congress to
purchase at the Gold tier, but the federal subsidies are applicable
to either tier plan: Gold, Silver, Bronze.)
UNLIKE THE D.C. FAMILY THAT
GETS NO TAX-CREDIT SUBSIDY UNDER OBAMACARE, THE MEMBER OF CONGRESS GETS MORE
THAN $10,000 BECAUSE OF THE DEAL ARRANGED AMONG THE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP,
THE WHITE HOUSE, AND THE OPM IN EARLY AUGUST 2013.
Congressional staff members
would also qualify for subsidies even if their income exceeds the 400% of
poverty level.
It is one set of subsidy rules for
the electorate, and a different set of subsidy rules for those who work in
Congress.
The American people have been removed from the election
process through the legislated campaign finance laws, the exemption for members
of congress and their staff from insider trading laws, the ALEC written voter
I.D. laws and redistricting to dilute the will of the American people to choose
their legislators. America has become an
open air prison with our elected officials our jailors deciding who will live
and who will die. Who will eat and have
a roof over their head is dependent upon their degree of subservience to their
political masters.
If there is any doubt that the members of our pampered
oligarchical congress serves only their wealthy donors and the special
interests who ensure their lifestyles of the rich and famous, one need look no
further than the abomination of Obama Care.
The health insurance program written by the Republican funded Heritage
Foundation codified into law a healthcare program designed to enslave the
American people into a system of government funded profits for the American
Medical Association and big Pharma.
When the American people elected a Democratic President,
House and Senate who promised Medicare for all, the Democratic Party betrayed
their voters. Barack Obama, Rahm
Emmanuel and the Chicago gang of thugs proceeded to pass a Republican agenda
that no Republican administration had been able to pass since the 1970’s. From The Intercept:
Excerpt:
DEMOCRATIC SUPERDELEGATE, IN ROOM FULL OF HEALTH INSURANCE EXECUTIVES,
LAUGHS OFF PROSPECT OF SINGLE PAYER
ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY have
provided real momentum to the idea of a single-payer health care system,
pressing the issue in California and among leading figures in the Democratic
Party. The mere prospect of single payer, however, has elicited swift derision
from some corners of the party, with Dick Gephardt, the former Democratic House
minority leader, laughing off the idea at a health insurance conference
earlier this month.
“Not in my lifetime,” scoffed
Gephardt, when asked if the United States will ever adopt such a system. Gephardt, who serves as a Democratic
“superdelegate” responsible for choosing the party’s presidential nominee,
was asked about the possibility of single payer at the Centene Corporation
annual investor day conference at The Pierre, a ritzy five-star hotel in New
York City…
“There is no way you could pass single payer in any intermediate
future,” Gephardt declared. America, he added, has the “greatest health
care system in the world, bar none.” And while single payer would provide
universal coverage, there would be less quality and innovation without the
“involvement of the private sector.”
Haley Barbour, the former Republican National Committee chair,
another speaker at the event, chimed in to agree. “Hear, hear. Put me down as agreeing with Leader
Gephardt as usual,” Barbour chuckled.
The claim that single payer suppresses innovation is an old argument
that does not stand up to scrutiny. Most medical innovation in the U.S. are
already government funded, through universities receiving federal subsidies and
grants, as well as through the National Institutes of Health. A single-payer insurance system, like
Medicare, would simply negotiate for lower prices from providers…
Despite well-entrenched opposition
from much of the private health care industry, political momentum for single
payer has enjoyed a rapid boom of late… When
Colorado debated a ballot measure to adopt single payer during the election
last year, a small army of Democratic
Party consultants descended upon the state to help health care industry
interests defeat the measure.
Gephardt, notably, became a corporate lobbyist after serving as a
populist Democratic lawmaker from Missouri. His clients have included
Peabody Coal and Goldman Sachs, among others. He also serves on the board of
Centene, receiving annual
compensation of around $315,965 in cash and stock awards.
Yes, Dick Gephardt formally the Minority leader in the
Democratic Party and Super Delegate who defied the American people’s will and
installed Barack Obama as president in 2008 believes “America, has the
“greatest health care system in the world, bar none.” That is true if you are a pampered, super
rich politician in America, but if you are a normal American not so. Congress has a hatred and disdain for the
American people and wants them to “hurry up and die.” The GOP plan keeps congress’ subsidies while
removing subsidies from Americans to give themselves yet another tax break on
their ill-gotten gains. From The Intrepid Report:
Excerpt:
Trump, Republicans seek to euthanize 80 million young and old Americans
“These county lessons are significant because Medicaid is the largest funder of
preventive health, births/pregnancy, drug recovery and mental health treatment
services. When we talk about the growing costs of Medicaid, it is prudent
to remember the population being served. Of the 80 million individuals covered
by Medicaid today, more than 34 million
are children under 18 years old, 7.3 million are low-income elderly and 11
million are disabled…
“Low income people—an estimated 23 million—will be stripped of all
health coverage. Millions of people will suffer needlessly, and many thousands will die an early death. For the authors of these bills and their
corporate backers, this is not an unfortunate byproduct, but the deliberate aim
of their health care reform.
For the richest 10 percent who tower above the lower orders and control the political system and its two
major parties, the diversion of money
from profits and private bank accounts to keep working people alive and
reasonably healthy—especially those too old to serve as a source of surplus
value and profit—is an intolerable
affront.
Life expectancy in America is already declining and mortality rates are
rising for the working class, in tandem with the colossal growth of social
inequality. The ruling class wants to
accelerate this process…”
Blood is flowing from the US
Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Lingchi, or death by 1,000 cuts, is the Republican’s
preferred method for turning the American Republic into a corporate and
security state while culling the
non-productive human herd in America…
Trump and the Republicans—and their woeful Democratic “opponents”—have taken
wickedness to a new levels of savageness...
The butchers in the Office of Management and Budget and Treasury could
care less about 70 percent of the country’s populace.
In case the death rate isn’t escalating fast enough the
“Liberal” Democrats delivered another blow to the American people to ensure
death and destruction of the American way of life. Corey Booker, the Obama wannabe and whore
extraordinaire who gained fame as Mayor of Newark trotting around for a photo
shoots helping to shovel out his constituents after a snowstorm, is now
shoveling favors to big Pharma in the U.S. Senate. From The Slot Jezebel:
Excerpt:
For Some Reason, Cory Booker and 12 Other Dems Helped Kill a Bill That
Would Lower Drug Prices [Updated]
Last night, Senate Republicans took
their first leap towards repealing Obamacare by approving a budget procedure
that would allow them to avoid a Democratic filibuster. The 13 Democrats who subsequently voted against making drugs cheaper
for people deeply undercut the ability of that party to speak with
credibility on behalf of the working class.
The amendment, which was proposed
by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Bernie Sanders, would have allowed the
importation of drugs from Canada. Trump
has taken a more Democrat-friendly tone on drug prices—at one point during
yesterday’s maniacal press conference he accused pharma companies of “getting
away with murder,” which sent stocks tumbling—and 12 Republican senators,
including John McCain, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, ended up voting in favor of the
bill…
Between 2010 and 2016, a handful of
the Democratic senators who voted “nay” were amongst the top Senate recipients
funded by pharmaceutical companies: Sen.
Booker received $267,338; Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) received $254,649; Robert
Casey (D-PA) received $250,730; Michael Bennet (D-CO) received $222,000.
As the former mayor of Newark, Cory Booker faced corruption scandals and
increased crime and unemployment levels as his star power outside the state
rose. He is heavily favored by Wall Street, with securities and investment firms donating $1.88 million to Booker
during the 2014 midterm elections; their second-favorite candidate was Mitch
McConnell.
Facing a 2020 lineup that
apparently also includes fucking Andrew Cuomo, Democrats certainly appear to be
setting themselves up for a massive failure, don’t they?
Corey Booker has his snout firmly entrenched in the Wall
Street lobbyist trough. But no matter
how much pay, kickbacks, bribes and perks congress receives it is never enough,
they want more. The Tea Party, the Koch
Brothers’ caucus has portrayed themselves as fiscal policemen in congress. Although much showboating has taken place to
give the illusion that they are fiscal warriors for the people, they are just
the same politicians with a different mask.
From Huffington Post in 2012:
Excerpt:
Living Large on Capitol Hill
Last year, 21 freshman members of the House of Representatives made a show of
sleeping in their offices. Instead of renting apartments and living among
the city’s lobbyists, reporters and political hacks, the incoming Republicans
wanted to be seen as outsiders, unsullied by the ways of Washington… Despite a series of ethics reforms targeting
things like outside income and unseemly junkets, members of Congress receive grandiose compensation and live a lifestyle
that’s too big to fail.
At a town hall meeting in Wisconsin
last year, a constituent challenged Rep. Sean Duffy, one of the new Republican
couch surfers, about his salary. “I’m just wondering what your wage is and if
you guys would be willing to take a cut?” the man asked, according to a video
of the event. The man seemed surprised
by Duffy’s answer: Members of Congress
make $174,000 a year, the congressman said, after some hemming and hawing.
“That’s three times—that’s three of
my family’s—three times what I make,”
the constituent stammered. He described himself as a builder who’d been
having a hard time finding work since the economy tanked. Duffy pushed back against the perception that
his salary meant he was a member of the nation’s white-collar elite.
“I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you,” Duffy told the
town hall attendees. “With six kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still
pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I’m living high off the
hog, I’ve got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now.”
Duffy may have debts, but the
reality is that, when compared to the population at large, members of Congress
still manage to live on the uppermost portion of the hog. A congressman’s
salary is more than three times the median income of American
households—currently about $49,445. That
paycheck comes fully loaded, with generous health insurance, retirement
benefits and other perks that set lawmakers apart from average Americans—AND
SET THEM UP FOR A LIFETIME OF FORTUNE AND COMFORT.
So, all gestures of austerity
aside, the guys and gals on the couches are still doing very, very well, thank
you.
Amazing that with $174,000 per year and unbelievable package
of perks reserved for the rich and famous members of congress, they actually
feel that they are underpaid. They don’t
receive enough they want more money so they can move out of their offices. From Local Kicks.com:
Excerpt:
Chaffetz calls for $2,500 legislator housing stipend
WASHINGTON, DC. - Just days before
he resigns from Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said Monday that House and Senate lawmakers should
receive a $2,500 per month housing allowance — something he explained would
help ease housing costs for members who can’t afford two mortgages or rents.
“I really do believe Congress would be much better served if there was
a housing allowance for members of Congress,” Chaffetz told The Hill in an
interview in his Capitol office, where he sleeps whenever he’s in Washington.
“In today’s climate, nobody’s going to suggest or vote for a pay raise. But you
shouldn’t have to be among the wealthiest of Americans to serve properly in
Congress.”
The comments from the fifth-term
lawmaker suggest that financial
considerations were a big part of his surprise announcement in April that he
was stepping down from Congress and relinquishing his Oversight Committee
gavel.
Yes, American people ask not what your country can do for
you, ask what you can do to better “serve congress.” Unbelievable but that is what our “Democratic
Republic” has devolved to. Our elected
officials do not serve America, the American people serve our “elected”
officials.
These are the people who are deciding whether you and your
families live or die. These are the
people who decide whether or not your child will have access to an Epi-pen when
they are lying on the ground writhing in pain unable to breathe. These are the people who decide if your
parents after working a lifetime must forfeit everything they have earned in
life just to live their last days in
dignity. From Forbes:
Excerpt:
Draining The Swamp? Not With Tom
Price As Head Of Health
Rather than “draining the swamp”
and appointing respected and ethical cabinet members, PEOTUS appears hell-bent
on surrounding himself with people who will rapidly deepen the quagmire. Explosive new information has come out
further suggesting that Rep. Tom Price is
one of those, mired in questionable ethical practices.
Price, ethics and conflicts of
interest
In December, the Wall Street
Journal reported that Price “traded more than $300,000 in
shares of health-related companies" in just four years, “while
sponsoring and advocating legislation that potentially could affect those
companies’ stocks.” He did this while serving on powerful, health-related
committees in Congress. In 2015, Price also became Chair of the House Committee on the
Budget.
In August, Price purchased between $50,000 and
$100,000 of stock in an Australian biotech company called Innate Immunotherapeutics (ASX:
IIL). The company’s key drug is for
multiple sclerosis, known as MIS416, and it is seeking FDA approval. Price bought
shares at a steep discount of just 18 cents a share. The offering was not
public. The stock price subsequently rose to 90
cents and could go as high as $2. (A second, larger investor was
Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), who also sits on an important health
committee, and whose family now owns 20% of the Australian company. Collins
also sits on the board of Innate Immuno—but hey, there’s nothing to see here.)
The Kaiser Health News Report notes
that Innate Immuno is specifically
targeting a U.S. market, given that new drugs here can carry a
higher price tag—likely $5,000 per month or more. The 21st Century Cures Act, which Price
supported and which passed Congress in December 2016, will be an asset for
Innate Immunotherapeutics, as it will weaken safety testing and clinical trials
in order to expedite approval of drugs and devices…
CNN just reported that last year
Price bought shares in Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH), a medical
device manufacturer… What is quite disturbing, however, is
that less than a week later, Price introduced the “HIP Act,” a bill that
greatly benefited Biomet financially by delaying implementation of certain new
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations.
Zimmer Biomet expressed its appreciation by donating to Price’s
reelection campaign. “Devices cost
$76 billion annually in the United States alone, and the profit margin for
devices like defibrillators and prosthetic hips is over 20%...” “Providers
of home medical equipment have ranked as key Price backers, contributing
$52,600 to his campaign since 2013.” Home health companies contributed an
additional $24,000.
The days of the voters choosing
their representatives is over, today the politicians choose their voters. Our political elite have made insider trading
for members of congress and their staff legal.
The laws they pass financially benefit themselves, especially healthcare
related laws. Every agency of the
American government has been infested by special interests that effect our lives.
This 4th of July as we
celebrate Independence Day, we find ourselves enslaved by the very politicians
that were elected to preserve our independence.
I guess freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose and that’s
all the politicians have left us. God
bless America land of the enslaved, sick and dying for profit. Politicians who are enriched by the suffering
of Americans should never be allowed to make life and death decisions for us
and our loved ones.
By Patricia Baeten
