@corncaucus2008 you win the TPM today 
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There is, it must be said, much that is dubious and little if anything that is original in this chapter. Everything is based on the work of other historians and economists; there is no real additional contribution. There is a huge amount of hand-waving in the chain of causation from Protestantism leading to constitutional republics leading to educational institutions leading to good environments for research and development leading to economic growth. It is certainly not the dishonest hack-work of a Skousen, but neither is it scholarship worth much consideration. The conclusion that Protestantism was indeed important for economic growth, though the effect was not large compared to other factors, does show some degree of intellectual restraint.
In which I read David Bratâs dissertation so you donât have to â patrick iber
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I figured a well-read staffer must have clued him in.
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Yep. Cuz mandatory funding cuts without taking responsibility and accountibilty for anything youâre cutting worked (and continues to work so frikkin wellâŚ) /s
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I just figured out what the solution for this terrible fix is: a big tax cut for the super rich! That would cause the super rich to invest in free health care institutes, offer all expenses paid scholarships for everyone entering the medical field, pay all of the costs for developing a cure for cancer, and put a chicken (healthy) in every pot in the nation!! This will be called MitchCare.
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ButâŚbutâŚisnât a leap of faith the basis of religion? Most trumptersâincapable of understanding cynicism or irony-- would see Bratâs comment as a good thing. The Lord Will Provide!
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Anyone know if this needs 51 or 60 votes to pass? I thought I read on twitter last night that it didnât meet the Reconciliation requirements but, i canât remember who said it.
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This isnât a football game where you can run out the clock. Itâs more like a murder where thereâs no statute of limitations.
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I donât think anyone can say for sure at this point, since there is no actual bill for the parliamentarian to make a ruling on. At this point âSkinny Repealâ is just a concept for a bill that McConnell is expected to cobble together later today.
Presumably if McConnell wants it to have a chance of passing, heâll stick to provisions that the parliamentarian is likely to rule are within the budget reconciliation process and only need 50 votes, and will alter his bill if necessary to make sure thatâs the case.
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So seriously, why do the insurance companies put up with this? If skinny repeal passes, theyâre left with two choices - either lose all their good, healthy customers while retaining all their unhealthy, expensive customers, or leave the market place entirely. Either way, they lose millions and millions of customers in billions and billions of dollars. How do they make any money if theyâre not even in the marketplace? But they seem to stay mum on the whole thing.
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AS of 10 AM, stock market doesnât like this deal. Merck had positive news and is way up, S&P index slightly up, techs moreso, healthcare basket XLV, biotechs(XBI) down more. Nothing huge.
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If skinny is the bill that McConnell has described, then I dont know how it gets a favorable ruling because (1) the proposed changes are principally for policy purposes, not principally to reduce the budget deficit and (2) if the proposed changes became law they would increase the budget deficit, not reduce it, because they would reduce premiums paid overall, and would decrease tax revenues.
But who knows what this parliamentarian will actually do. I have thought that this voting on the various Republican options has been nothing more than a kabucki dance from the very beginning-- all leading to skinny, which will get enough R votes to get through.
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And why wouldnât House Republicans vote for it? It would send the insurance markets into chaos, premiums would spike, insurers would pull outâŚgee sounds like Republican nirvana.
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Remember Nancy Reagan, and JUST SAY NO!
Bastards. Congress should have the exact access to health insurance any one else has. They should not exempt themselves and write themselves a better deal.
They should use the Medicare model and let everyone partake. Fund it by removing the salary tax cap in Social Security. That should then fund both SS and Medicare in perpetuity. But fairness isnât in the GOP vocabulary.
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They should have the same as us âŚ
That way theyâll die sooner ----
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Just using the articleâs sources, the possibility of âskinnyâ passing is far from remote. But the lobbyists have had a massive hand in the developments so far. And I just canât see them tolerating the âskinnyâ and the âfixesâ that would be required to placate them would just be more wasteful of time, money, and most important to the politicians political capital.
If it turns out to be easier to just somehow put things in suspended animation, thatâs what will happen.
Suspended animation: Like 400 House votes to repeal with a cumulative legislative impact of zilch.
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This has nothing to do with âbuying timeâ. If the Senate passes a âskinny repealâ bill simply eliminating the mandates, the House will pass it in about half of no time at all. That would give Republicans everything theyâve ever wanted: the remainder of Obamacare would collapse (quickly); the Republicans could run next fall pointing to it and crying, âLook what an unworkable mess that Democrat Party created! We told you so! 22 million people just lost their health carer on account of those heinous libtards!â); and of course it would clear the way for the humongous tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy that have been the Republicansâ only goal in this whole royal rannygazoo from the beginning.
Not to mention that itâs the only exit strategy that doesnât require them to agree on some substantive health care plan of their own â something they manifestly canât do, and wouldnât if they could.
What better guaranteed to bring those so-called âRepublican moderatesâ scurrying back intgo the fold?
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Actually the insurance companies started making noise this week. Better late than never, I suppose.
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