Why Are Hawkish Lawmakers Willing To Pay For An Escalation Of The War But Not For Health Care?

[babylonsister]

Why Are Hawkish Lawmakers Willing To Pay For An Escalation Of The War But Not For Health Care?


In recent days, heated policy discussions in Washington have largely focused on two topics: a possible escalation of the war in Afghanistan and health care legislation. Both a troop escalation and health care legislation carry significant price tags: roughly $100 billion and $80-$100 billion a year respectively. (It should be noted that health care reform, unlike a troop surge, would cut the deficit.)

In his New York Times column today, columnist Nicholas Kristof asks why hawks claim health reform is “fiscally irresponsible” while enthusiastically supporting a troop surge in Afghanistan, given the fact that fixing our broken health care system is, unlike a troop surge, essential to the health and well-being of Americans:

The health care legislation pays for itself, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while the deployment in Afghanistan is unfinanced and will raise our budget deficits and undermine our long-term economic security.

So doesn’t it seem odd to hear hawks say that health reform is fiscally irresponsible, while in the next breath they cheer a larger deployment of troops in Afghanistan?

Meanwhile, lack of health insurance kills about 45,000 Americans a year, according to a Harvard study released in September. So which is the greater danger to our homeland security, the Taliban or our dysfunctional insurance system?

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/12/health-care-afghanistan/

[bigwillq]

1. Because war is good, silly.

We must stay a macho country, or the other countries will point and laugh at us. We must KILL!!!



:sarcasm:

[RC]

2. The Hawks like to kill and this way they get the most bang for the buck.

[Hippo_Tron]

3. Because of the way the issues have been framed for decades...

Defense spending is something that we can't cut a dime from or we will be vulnerable. Health care is something that everybody should be able to afford and if they can't then they are lazy bums.

[Enthusiast]

12. Yup and it caused an unforeseen

problem when the Soviet Union surrendered. Then they had no boogie man to justify their obscene spending so they created "The Islamofascist". Now they have whole religion to scare us with.

At least the Soviet Union had a military to justify the spending. This new menace has NOTHING but made up fear.

[Hippo_Tron]

20. It is quite frustrating

When I was at gatherings with family friends in the year or two after Katrina it was a common subject to talk about how people (mostly black people from their view) committed about $1 billion worth of FEMA fraud. I wanted to reminded them George Bush perpetrated a fraud that cost 1000 times that with the Iraq War and that their priorities of what they should be outraged about are severely disoriented. Unfortunately, that's not appropriate dinner conversation.

[butterfly77]

4. Because the GOP are invested in war..

and their family,friends and associates. Why doesn't Chris Matthews or anyone else ask the Teabaggers or GOP why it doesn't matter if the spending is for war but,it matters when it comes to the citizens of this country and its "our money" and it is needed for us. Isn't spending,still spending and the spending they want for the war could go one for many years and cost us much,much more in blood and treasure.

Oh,but of course I forgot these are the same damn hypocrites who claim to love life but,hate their President because he is black,they love life until it is born,they love life unless they want to bomb some other country then they don't give a damn..

[onethatcares]

5. because deep down inside, they are really concerned about

women having the right to go to schools and learn DEMOCRACY.

It's always better to kill people for democracy, than it is to provide healthcare or some silly safety net or other. sheeeesh.

[Echo In Light]

6. Fascism, that's why. Sicko fucks care more about $ than people

So fuck em

[Uncle Joe]

7. Because the only financing, these Senators are concerned about is their own.

In the case of health care, they're being payed vast sums of money from the "health" insurance and Big Pharma corporations; via lobbying bribes to mandate their criminal hold on the American Peoples' health care. Private for profit "health" insurance has no logical reason to exist, every dollar profit they make can only be made at the expense of health care.

In the case of Afghanistan, the good Senators are being payed vast sums of money from the military industrial complex, mercenary corporations and I imagine something will be coming if it hasn't already from the gas pipeline beneficiaries.

This is where I believe we need to reverse our thinking from one famous phrase of John Kennedy's.

“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

I believe the Senators and to a lesser degree Representatives have begun to believe they are the country; this is only logical as "corporations are persons and money is free speech" so whoever or whatever can send the Congress the most dollars is therefore doing the most for "the country".

Apparently the American People are only expendable chess pieces on the board to protect and further the personal aims of the "country's" self promoted Congressional Royalty.

45+ thousand Americans dying every year because of an illogical, immoral, blood money, for profit based system isn't enough motivation for Congress to even seriously consider universal single payer health coverage, aka Medicare for every one from the cradle to the grave, even though that system would save the nation treasure and lives.

So as the Senators and Representatives believe they are the country, we need to not only start asking; but demanding. What can they, aka the "country" do for the American People!?

Thanks for the thread, babylonsister.

[meow2u3]

8. Because the GOP Money Machine would rather see poor people dead than alive

Sociopaths. Plain and simple.

[Enthusiast]

13. Is there any question that

they are more dangerous to the county than the terrorists? Just look what the assholes did to the country in eight years!

[rudy23]

9. Ever played SimCity? Did you care about your "citizens?" I have a feeling we're a lot like Sims

to our representatives. After a few weeks on the job, I'd imagine you get pretty numb to your constituency's humanity. After a few months, I'm sure it's all just like a big game of SimCity to them.

[Fire1]

10. Babylon! You knew the answer to this before you typed

the question!!:hi:

[LonelyLRLiberal]

18. Rhetorical question, but a good one that needs to be asked, over and over and over.

[Fire1]

22. How many Babylonsister's are there on this site? n/t

[Enthusiast]

11. Because war Dollars go

more directly into their pockets than insurance industry Dollars.

[frylock]

14. bercause everyone gets paid..

pro-war benefits the MiC, anti-healthcare reform benefits the insurers and big pharma. win-win for both as well as the members of congress who get their coffers stuffed with money.

[FatDave]

17. That was my answer too.

The simplest explanation is usually correct.

[drm604]

15. Because of the Republican philosophy of limited government.

They believe that national defense is a proper function of government, and that health care is not. It's that simple.

We disagree with them on the health care part, at least I do, strongly. Since it doesn't fit successfully into the free market model, I believe that insuring people's health is a proper function of government.
Paradoxically, the Republican's do seem to agree that it's a proper function of government after the age of 65, but that's not ideology. That's hypocrisy based on political reality.

[malaise]

16. Someone should have asked Bush that today

because he appeared rather confused re matters free market.

[Selatius]

19. War is a racket. It's one of the most profitable ventures anybody could engage in.

How many people get rich from contracts awarded by the government for war materiel. How many billions of dollars do companies get for providing war-time services and machinery to the government? Companies like Halliburton or General Electric could give you an answer.

[David Zephyr]

21. Jerry Brown in 1992 said we can never find money for schools, roads, children, but always for war.

Nothing changes.

Another great thread from babylonsister.