President Obama is addressing a joint session of Congress tonight. His mission? To sell health care reform. In what may be the pitch of his presidency, President Obama hopes to jumpstart the debate that has stalled over the summer while critics of his health proposals dominated many public forums and his approval ratings dropped. To help President Obama get in touch with his inner Willie Loman and sell health care reform to a seemingly skeptical audience, we have gathered a roundtable of experts: Ted Widmer is a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton; Lisa Schiffren is a former speechwriter for Vice President Dan Quayle; and Cindy Gallop, an advertising consultant and former chair of ad agency BBH.
President Obama Seeks to Narrow 'War on Terror,' A Closer Look at the IRS Inquiry, Boy Scouts to Allow Gay Members
The DSM and Mental Health in America
Defining Normal After a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia, The Mayor of Oklahoma City, A New Kind of Commencement Speech
Lessons From a Female Union Electrician
Diplomatic Damage Caused by Drone Strikes, In Defense of the DSM-5, Bob Woodruff's Advice for New Grads
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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Comments [2]
We definitely need health care reform with a public option but there are some items that need to be part of a final bill including (1) common sense tort reform (2) freedom to offer higher deductible options (3) privacy protection in smart cards, computerization, etc. (4) maximum competition across state lines, (5) incentives for real cost containment. Everyone is disgusted with extreme right wing lunatics shouting people down and spouting lies at town hall meetings, on talk shows or in Congress but we do need to listen to common sense ideas from all sides in the debate.
The United States spends far more per capita on health care than any other country in the world but we are lagging far behind in the health of our people. Doing nothing about health care reform is inexcusable since doing nothing will further decrease our competitive advantage in the world and health care cost increases will continue to far exceed our ability to pay. We must get health care reform done now!
I'd be up for something gold-plated, like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. Of course, that wouldn't bend down Mr Orszag's cost curve would it?
Or hey! Maybe the Feds coulds shut down the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan and join the lumpen proletariat in whatever single-payer system eventually comes to pass. (Yes, crickets chirping.)
If the government takes over paying for our health care, rationing will follow, as night follows day. And yes, that does include "Death Boards." If you doubt it, compare outcomes for cancer patients in the UK and the US.
In the end we the peasants will have the benefit of socialism - the equal sharing of misery, while the nomenclatura will continue with its Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.
Spare me. I'd prefer to take responsibility for my own future and my own outcomes, rather than depend on America's only native criminal class.
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