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Richard Trumka: Wishing You Strength and Solidarity in 2010
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The holiday season is a time to step back from the daily grind, relax with family and reflect on the future. This year was a tough one for workers. In times like these, we appreciate more than ever the love and support of our families and our unions.
This holiday season, I am especially grateful for the support of my family and the solidarity of our union family. Union members have always been an essential part of my family. We share strong values that guide us—compassion for the less fortunate, commitment to fight oppression, the joy of giving and solidarity of purpose.
As the new year begins, I am committed, along with the entire labor movement, to making these values the cornerstone of the policies that guide our nation. If we stay true to our guiding values, we will rebuild our economy on a new and stronger foundation and come back stronger than ever.
That is why we are fighting for an economic recovery that will create millions of good jobs that pay a decent wage and that reaches Main Street where working people and small businesses need help. And for affordable health care for everyone and an Employee Free Choice Act that lets people freely choose to join a union to make their lives better.
I am proud and also humbled that you have elected me to the AFL-CIO presidency this year, and I go forward every day dedicated to fulfilling the trust you place in me to improve the lives of America’s working families.
Building on the strength we draw from each other and from our solidarity, we are poised to do great things as a nation and a movement. Now is the time for bold action. We know where the nation needs to go, and we are ready to lead the way.
I look forward to the year ahead because I know we will make a difference that will make our great country even better.
On behalf of the 11.5 million members of the AFL-CIO, I wish you all a Happy New Year, filled with strength and solidarity.
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16 Comments
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Please do not send even one dollar of my dues to these phony demorats.They have sold LABOR down the river again.Either start a WORKERS PARTY or contribute to a third party but not one more dime to these corporatist demorats.
That’s right we ought to declare an immediate boycott of all donations to any Democratic candidate for any federal office until the Employee Free Choice Act is law. Doing otherwise is to play Charlie Brown to the Democratic Party’s Lucy as she promises not to pull the football away this time.
Indeed one hopes the coming decade portends better for the working folks of the land. The last decade was disasterous for all Americans except only a handful.
Alas, that handful seems to still control the government. Perhaps in the next election, our friends the dems, need a little lesson in what occurs politically when they alienate a major portion of their base. Let’s face it, the projected healthcare bill, worker’s rights bills, the economic bills and more are not “mainstreet” helpers; but a continued bailout of corporations.
“Half a load” is not a good deal when we are paying for the bakery at an inflated price. It would be impolite to tell our fearless leaders where they can put the half loaf.
Perhaps knocking out a couple of “dems” in the primary might well send the message. If not, then perhaps a “working” party as third party might well be in order.
Depending on your union, you may be able to keep any of your wages from going into the “PAC” fund, which generally gives money to any corporate stooge in a political race with a “D” behind his or her name. If the leadership won’t cut the cord with the party that has continually betrayed workers, then the membership should pull their money. Its something to look into.
Many are so scared of a republican in office, who would be openly anti-worker, that they refuse to make any demands of a democrat to keep campaign promises. They only mildly protest when the democrats keep the same republican policies in place.
Union brothers and sisters – you’ll be hearing plenty from the politicians that ignored you and sold you out after getting your vote. Because they want your vote once again.
In an attempt to make us forget about NAFTA and the broken promise of an anti-strike replacement workers bill, the Democrats brought in a smooth talker and promise of the Employee Free Choice Act.
And look what happened with that: Bush promised to veto it in 2007, so Dems could vote for it and use that to get union votes (and money and volunteers) in 2008. When EFCA had the best chance of passing (Democratic majority in Congress AND the fact Obama co-sponsored the bill in ’07), suddenly they get cold feet.
Not only do several Dems drop their sponsorship of EFCA, some come out AGAINST the bill. Other Dems (not Rep’s) lead the charge to gut the bill of the card check, with arbitration up next.
Obama speaks up for the bill briefly at union rallies, but pushes for it nowhere else. His agenda is wall street bailout, war escalation, and the scandalous bailout to the insurance and drug profiteers being called “reform.”
And where are the unions in this?
The members have called for political and corporate accountability, the members have called for universal health care, jobs and and end to these senseless wars.
The ‘leadership’ has ignored these demands and instead agreed to promote the Democratic Party’s agenda over that of the members. They ignore us or tell us we have nowhere else to go. The time for a third — or fourth party has long been here.
What will the Democrats promise this year?
Will the union leadership fall in line as usual, or will they use OUR time and money more wisely this time?
An open letter to AFL-CIO President Jim Trumka,
(This appeared in this week’s Fox Valley Labor News)
You claim to be in favor of a public option, but The AFL-CIO got a ticket to Congress’ “Healthcare Roundtable” to negotiate healthcare reform. Single payer advocates did not. When they came anyway, the Democrats had them thrown out and arrested, and The AFL-CIO just sat there while they did. You weren’t there to support them when these union doctors and nurses protested the arrests on Capitol Hill the following day, and neither were the Democrats.
You stated, “The absolute refusal of Republicans in the Senate to support health care reform and the hijackers of the bill by defenders of the insurance industry have brought us a Senate Bill that is too kind to the insurance industry.” The Democrats are more guilty than the Republicans. All unions are getting is taxed on our healthcare, and that money is being used to government subsidize status quo profit private healthcare for non union members. Doesn’t that make the AFL-CIO a “defender of the industry” too. Do unions profit from the insurance premiums collected from their members? It’s a yes or no question.
Molly Ivins once said, “The important differences in this country aren’t about smokers verses non smokers or wine verses beer drinkers. This fight isn’t about yoga or vegetarianism. It’s not about lifestyles or religion. Keep your eye on the shell with the pea underneath it. It’s about who’s getting screwed, and about who’s doing the screwing. And anybody who tells you different is lying for money.” Mr. Trumka, are you lying for money – with our money?
The AFL-CIO gives my Senator, Dick Durbin, a 100% approval rating? As the majority Whip in the Senate, he yields a lot of power. He talks a lot out of his rear about The Free Elections Now Act and The Employee Free Choice Act, but Republicans don’t decipher what gets debated on the senate floor – Durbin does. If the Employee Free Choice Act is dead – and it is – it’s Durbin’s fault.
The unionized workforce in Illinois shouldn’t be factored into Durbin’s “grade” anyway. Business owners don’t have to hire union workforces. They, many of them Republicans, do so by choice. Healthcare costs are putting union members out of work and the business owners out of business. Meanwhile, I know the most anti-union, anti-liberal, anti-Democrat business owning right wing Republican in America. He almost obsesses about it. But there’s a big difference between his “all talk” and Dick Durbin’s “all talk.” At the end of the day, that right wing Republican contracts out UNION workers. That’s the root of his discontent. What does Dick Durbin have to show for himself at the end of the day? Nothing.
Republicans only hate unions because we donate to and vote for Democrats. Period. I’m sick of hearing “the Democrats are in the unions’ back pocket.” We’re in the Democrats’ front pocket. Not even the big one, that little pocket in a pair of jeans that nests inside the large one to keep chump change contained so it can’t move or make any noise jingling in the big pocket.
And that’s what the three hundred grand labor donated to Dick Durbin in the last election is compared to the $1.2 million he got in contributions from corporate law firms and lobbyists: chump change. Money talks, therefore unions are to the Democrats what a mistress is to her married boyfriend. He’s not going to leave his wife for her. Why would the Democrats buy the union cow when they can get the milk (our votes) for free?
Just as its in the best interest of the mistress to give the married man walking papers, unions need to walk with our votes. It’s too late for 2010. Unions need to start scouting for Bull Mooser Theodore Roosevelt’s to run in the Republican primaries in 2012 in every seat currently held by a member of the Democratic Leadership Council. That’ll show em!
The DLC cares only about keeping the Democratic majority. They don’t believe in unions, the environment or civil rights at all. In factt, they fundamentally believe that we threaten that majority and their power. Their economic and foreign philosophies are an exact match to the neo-conservatives. Sure, they just pretend to champion Democratic ideals to get re-elected, but they don’t really believe in those ideals and have no intention of passing legislation on any of them, either.
Healthcare is what makes unions relevant. Reform it, then. The AFL-CIO needs to ensure the final bill includes an amendment allowing states to reform their own healthcare. Unions states have large populations of people with unions who have good relationships with the private companies. Cut out the middle man (the government) and negotiate a single payer plan with the Big 8 for Illinois, California, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
If unions spent a little less time enabling the Democrats, and a little more time going directly to the insurance companies to reform healthcare in blue states where your members live, we wouldn’t need federal healthcare reform to force states that are too scared stupid to want it anyway. Instead, make them sorry they didn’t listen to us. I gave your office a copy of the single payer plan I submitted to my state legislature, but the state’s not acting. The AFL-CIO needs to call the AFL-CIO of Illinois and tell them to take the deal directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Write it up and take it to the Illinois state assembly. If Blue Cross isn’t interested, we threaten to call Indiana’s monopoly carrier, WellPoint, to make Blue Cross interested.
And if the AFL-CIO spent a little less time trying to unionize new members, and a little more time taking care of the members you already have – we wouldn’t need a card check law. Since 1972, They said that Americans are greedy and lazy, but what they really meant is that the “rich” knows better how to spend the fruits of our labor than we do. So they stagnated our wages and began lending them back to us – with interest, and here we are. We were right – they were wrong, and the bail outs, the five trillion lost in savings and pensions prove it. The credit card bubble is set to burst around 2012, and unions should be ready with bells on to say “I told you so.” But if the unions don’t make some fundamental changes, and now, the only ones who will be saying “I told you so” are your enemies.
This is my letter that will be in this week’s Fox Valley Labor News:
After reading AFL-CIO President Jim Trumka’s lame “Five Point Plan” for jobs, and then that immigration “reform” article from the Illinois SEIU president, union members from every spectrum should really consider putting “Under New Management” banners on our offices in Washington, D.C.
Either they don’t get it, or they don’t want to get it: the government is not going to “help” unions. Unions are set up like a quasi government that is funded with our dues, which adds insult to injury that they run with the Dems, who are funded with our tax dollars and dues as well. What the AFL-CIO needs is a national leader who gets it. One that is a fierce defender of unions who will remove our brown noses from the Democrats’ “Party” and get back to the business of bargaining for their members, the American workers, and who can unite scattered entities of the Democratic voting block to get things done.
In my opinion, the best man for the top job at the AFL-CIO is Greg Palast. He’s currently an investigative reporter for BBC News and The Guardian, and he independently investigates corporate and governmental fraud – all over the world – through his not for profit Greg Palast Investigative Fund. When Al Jazeera offered him a job, he refused, calling the station “TNN: Terrorist News Network.” Palast is a former negotiator for the United Electrical Workers Union and fundamentally believes in unions like no one else. And how many people do you know with a MBA who can explain why unions are good for the economy in laymen’s terms that even the most uneducated American can understand? The only one I know of: Palast.
He was not always a journalist, he became one after being sickened by what he saw from both political parties as a corporate fraud investigator and forensic economist for the government. Internal memos and secret government documents from global government whistle blowers come into his office fax constantly, so he doesn’t need – or want – what he considers a useless White House press pass.
Our union leadership talks much, although vaguely, about “Green Jobs,” but if we had a MBA union President with a background like Greg, he never would have donated $59 million of our dues to Democrats who have done nothing but deliberately destroy American unions. He would have steered us on how to invest that money so we would be our own bosses, and not have to fight corporations that don’t want us working for them anyway. Palast says, “Bill Clinton used to say that, once he became president, he finally earned more money than his wife. That was a carefully crafted bit of modesty to show Bill as an aw-shucks regular guy versus Richie Rich-kid George Bush. But Bill’s cute remark raised a question in my mind: How did Hillary get that big ol’ salary? And another question arises: how has she stayed out of prison?
The story’s a little complicated, involving a New Orleans power company, Indonesian billionaires, a New York nuclear plant and plain old influence peddling. But if we follow the money, we’ll get the picture. And it ain’t pretty. But first, let’s stop at Wal-Mart. Read an official biography of the Senator and you’ll find her six-month stint on a child-protection task force. Yet you won’t find her SIX YEARS on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Corporation. She may have earned a Grammy for “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” But it takes a Governor’s wife to provide cover for Wal-Mart’s profiteering off systematic wage-enslavement of children in its factories in South America… Sam Walton called Hillary, “My little lady.” Sam paid her an eyebrow raising sum for a director – equal to 60% of her entire not-insubstantial salary as a lawyer. By contrast, Wendy Diaz (her real name), a 13-year-old in Honduras, was paid 25 cents an hour to make shirts for the “little lady’s” label. Hillary’s rake-in was made possible by Wal-Mart’s 100% union-free operation and out-sourcing of 100% of its manufacturing, some to prison factories in China. Now, you could say that Hillary couldn’t hear the screams of the kiddies in Kamp Wal-Mart in Honduras. After all, she relied on the intelligence provided her by the President (of Wal-Mart).”
The biggest hurdle in “green tech” is not big oil, it’s Big Al Gore. If he cared more about the environment than stroking his own ego, Gore would see that he is a divisive wedge in winning the energy race that can never be reconciled, and he would step aside. Greg Palast could have removed him from the equation a long time ago, if anyone had listened. “Al Gore won the election, but lost the presidency,” Palast says in his book Armed Madhouse. “Bush could swipe it only because it was so close. Its shouldn’t have been close, but Gore lost the NAFTA wounded states of Ohio and Missouri. The next time you run into Al Gore and he tries to run that line that NAFTA didn’t cost American jobs, you might remind him – it cost you yours…. How could history had been different if the prep school kid, slicked into Ivy League schools and politics with Daddy’s oil money and political connections, became president? Yes, there is a difference between Gore and Bush. Gore’s oil money, unlike Bush’s, came from Occidental Petroleum, the jungle marauders of Ecuador.”
The letter I wrote about what Obama did to the UAW in the GM BK, and other one about Osama’s “deal” with the drug companies on healthcare reform? Both were from Palast’s investigations. I understand that Trumka was just elected, and we may have to wait four years to get a new leader. Unfortunately, we don’t have four years on our side. The least Trumka could do is take that $300,000 labor blew on Dick Durbin in the last election, and give it to Palast to investigate and find out how the Democrats are screwing us every week…. Palast understands that making life better for American workers can only be accomplished by making life better for workers in other countries. He knows that it’s our own corporations that are using our tax dollars and “free trade deals” to not only to rape and pillage the global citizenry, but also to force them to have no other choice but to move here illegally and pick 3,500 pounds of tomatoes for McDonald’s and Taco Bell for fifty bucks – or take our job.
Palast fundamentally believes that only the unions and the people can make a difference. The governments of these rogue and greedy nations and corporations, including our own, are not part of the solution, but the only problem. And Palast, of given the resources, has the guts to put a stop to it.
My blood pressure went up after reading that “Mass Deportation Is Not the Answer to Immigration Reform in America” by Tom Bolanoff, President of the SEIU Illinois Council. Resorting to fear mongering about a deportation that is never going to happen is “right out of Karl Rove’s playbook.”
“Like it or not,” Bolanoff said, “today our economy is dependant on the cheap labor of unauthorized workers who are easily exploited…” That’s hypocritical coming from a union who wants immigration reform only to exploit them. Earlier in the article, he said of mass deportation, “Such false solutions are a slap in the face to those of us who have dedicated our lives to improving opportunities for America’s workers.” I couldn’t agree more, but about Bolonaoff‘s “final solution.”
I realize that he represents the Illinois Chapter, but the “I” in SEIU stands for INTERNATIONAL. Why should illegal immigrants “pay fines” when it’s U.S. trade deals, like NAFTA and CAFTA, that are the REASON they are here in the first place? Where is the SEIU to fight for Indian and Iraqi agriculture because they are forced to buy Monsanto’s “suicide” seeds that only germinate one season, and for good reason – the farmers can only buy MORE highly expensive” suicide” seeds. Rightfully named too, because Indian farmers are committing suicide over the losses they are suffering because of them. It’s truly sickening to see Monsanto’s recent round of “family farmer” commercials all over the MSM. What a lie! They SUE our family farmers for patent infringement to force them to buy their oil based, government subsidized products that have ruined the environment, milk hormones that infect the dairy cows that results in puss in pour milk supply, pesticides that have ruined our soil and cashed in big time on the “War on Drugs.” Their genetically modified seeds are banned in every other western nation. They watched us like Guinea Pigs to see their effects, and it don’t look good… Under new laws, organic products are the only thing they cannot patent – and haven’t.
When you own a small family farm in Mexico, and NAFTA repeals the countries Pheasant Law, which makes it legal for American agri-gangters to kick you off the land your family has lived on for generations, where are you going to go? To add insult to injury, the “free” trade deal forced Mexico to import two thirds of their corn from the United States, which costs American tax payers $25 billion a year in corn subsidies, and a sixty percent increase in tortillas. Replace corn with rice, and it’s precisely why Haitians are literally eating dirt cookies. And Obama just appointed Monsanto poster boy Tom Vilsak as AG Secretary, so don’t be hold your breath for any “change we can believe in.” Ain’t happening as long as Iowa holds the first primary.
If illegal immigrants add $652 billion to the GDP, and the corporations only pay $350 billion a year in taxes, who should be paying fines? Who are the real deadbeat welfare mothers in this story? American citizens pay for the roads corporations use with the gas excise tax. We pay $927 billion a year in payroll taxes which covers the healthcare, housing, food of these unauthorized immigrants and their dependants. Our property taxes pay for the public educations of their dependants who can not speak English, thus No Child Left Behind puts our property values in the toilet. And Bolanoff’s grand “plan” is to legalize them, collect SEIU dues so they can be fired and replaced with NEW illegal immigrants?
You can unionize workers in America all day, but if you don’t fight for workers rights in other countries, it will only make things worse for us here at home. If I go on an all inclusive vacation in tropical region, and I want to tip an employee, they will lose their jobs for taking it? Where is the SEIU to fight that? Japan wants our military bases out, and they are moving to Guam, and there’s a $10 billion contract. Who’s getting that money to build those bases, and a luxury subdivision that will house the contractors, while the surrounding areas are poor and desolate? Is it the same “electricians” who electrocuted a dozen servicemen because they didn’t ground the wire on the bases in Iraq, the ones who got ANOTHER $35 million contract from Obama to “fix” the problem, while the U.S. government told one mother that her son killed himself? If she would have believed that, we never even would have known about the electrocutions.
My husband is a member of the IBEW under the AFL-CIO. We don’t need “policies like the SEIU is fighting for everyday; public jobs programs… Worker training programs.” The SEIU might want them to make the taxpayers cover their training costs, but the IBEW trains their own members. My father in law bids the jobs and pays all the benefits, and it’s hard for private small union business owners to get jobs when the SEIU, who left the AFL-CIO claiming we were too politicized, is “fighting” for well paid government workers and illegal immigrants to get additional wages and benefits on the taxpayers back – when the tax payers are out of work and without healthcare themselves.
I spend a lot of time on the right wing blogs trying to defend unions, and what I learned is that conservatives don’t have a problem with union workers and employers, they have a problem with union leadership and their strange bedfellows in the Democratic Party. The AFL-CIO alone has given $65 million to politicians. That’s an expensive stab in the back….
But the blame lies solely on our union “leadership” in Washington. They are supposed to be collectively bargaining for American workers, not getting the Democrats elected. John Sweeney’s political and Clinton pandering while president of AFL-CIO has ruined our reputation and cleared our bank accounts, and Trumka’s tired rhetoric says he will not be any different.
Bolanoff was correct in saying, “We need investment in aging infrastructure, green jobs and green technology. We need healthcare reform and labor reform.” But the notion that the government is going to do any of that is naïve. What unions need is leaders who can invest OUR money in green jobs and technology, while calling the politicians onto the carpet for not winning the energy race.
Three very good comments here, I hope they are heard as the core issues are contempt and disgust.
we are witnessing the result of misaligned priorities as the unions have aligned themselves to ride on the coattails of politicians instead of standing on our own two feet.
on the bright side we are seeing how truly dysfunctional our government is, to the point of being non-functional.
I for one will not be phone banking, going door to door, or donating to anyone this election cycle or next. this is sad.
WHERE IS OUR MILLION MEMBER MARCH TO WASHINGTON TO PUT SOME FIRE AND BACKBONE INTO OUR ELECTED SO-CALLED LEADERS?NOW THAT WOULD PAY DIVIDENDS FOR LABOR.LETS DO LIKE THE TEABAGGERS DID AND USE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF OUR UNION DUES AND HAVE A MASS RALLY ON DC BROTHERS AND SISTERS,PAYED BY YOU AND ME WITH THE MONEY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE SQUANDERED ON DEMORATS.
Is Richard Trumka in favor of Medicare for All, single-payer health care reform?
Hard to say. I believe he personally supports it, but he toed the union line of supporting a robust public health insurance option instead. Strangely, the AFL-CIO passed a resolution in favor of Single Payer during their national convention last September, but the movement for it never left the convention floor.
Things are not going to improve for the American worker as long as big business retains it’s stranglehold on the politicians of this country. And I mean ALL politicians. The control of big business over our government has no boundaries. It encompasses both Dems and Reps. As long as big business continues to ‘grease the palms’ of the very folks who are supposed to represent the ‘American people’ we, the American people, are SCREWED!
And don’t think for a minute that it stops with our politicians. Our unions are trying to convince us that it’s important for them to represent not only American workers but the illegals in this country as well. Just who in the hell do they think they’re fooling? Our politicians palms aren’t the only ones being greased!
Fantastic comments! Yes, it is time for a workers’ party! Three decades of being sold out by both the sociopathic Rs and the Blue Dog, New Dog, Spineless Dog, back-stabbing Ds must end!
Perhaps the Labor Party can be resurrected, but this time with the intent to immediately run candidates. Our “Platform” should be the product of elected rank and file delegates who will carry the message of their memberships to a Labor Party Convention. No high brow stuff. Just democracy, and peace and pork chops wrapped in social and economic justice for all!
Here’s an example of how the back-stabbing Ds operate. Last year the Democratic National Committee cried holy hell when Republicans talked about taxing health care benefits. In 2009, and now in 2010, the back-stabbing Ds are actually advocating a tax!
We must become vocal at our various union gatherings! We may have to “push” recalcitrant officials to do what is right, and if they refuse we have to push them the hell out of the way!
It’s time for our own Party!
Human Beings are not illegal anywhere on this vast planet.If you would just truly think about what your saying,you might come to the realization that there is power in numbers and that we need to organize people in general without malice.I am an son of Irish Immigrants and my parents told me they were screaming those same comments you have made on this forum.For the love of GOD,find some empathy for the unfortunate people in our world.
TAKE THIS HEALTHCARE PLAN TO BLUE CROSS OF ILLINOIS TRUMKA –
We can continue to attack Great Britain’s healthcare system, or we can grow up. Mark Twain once said, “An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven’t been done before.”
Reforming healthcare is very simple. The Illinois legislature should cut a deal with Blue Cross. All 12.9 million Illinois residents and 550,000 illegal immigrants pay $100 per person every month. Employers won’t be required to pay it, but will be to deduct premiums from their employees’ gross pay, should they choose to enroll. Any portion the employer picks up can be 100% written off, and they get huge tax breaks for paying them in full.
Illinois pays $17,000 a year for every Medicaid recipient. Many work, but either illegally or for low pay. Medicaid recipients will be connected to a breadwinner, that breadwinner’s company either adheres to the same rules as the rest of the business community, or Blue Cross garnishes premiums right from the company, while the state fines them. The free ride’s over, taxpayers cannot afford to subsidize the healthcare of your employees and their dependants anymore. There’s a ten year waiting list before new Illinois residents can apply for Medicaid to prevent an influx from other states.
No preexisting, no caps, and you can go anywhere you want. In return Blue Cross gets 2.3 million new customers because Medicaid, Medicare and Veteran payments will be privatized, but not the programs. Military related medical costs will continue to be provided by the feds. Employers and the state will deposit the premiums each month, and Blue Cross gets 90 days to pay the claims so they can collect interest on that $13.6 billion a month. We cut the same kind of deal with a malpractice insurance provider. The AMA can decide what’s fair.
Office visits are $20. ER: $100 to prevent abuse. Prescriptions: $10 for sporadic, and $4 for permanent. If you’re on public assistance. the healthcare provider bills the state, and the state deducts small payments from assistance checks. No one is required to enroll, but if you need care and don’t have insurance – you’re on your own. My insurance premiums are sky high because my provider garners the uninsured into their paying customers’ premiums. That’s worse than a “public option.”
Medicare supplemental insurance providers will freak, but it’s not the taxpayers job to keep them in business, Grandma and Illinois’ bills are our business. Blue Cross is the best choice because they already insure 75% of the state, they’re well established in the current system, and they negotiate prices better than the government does. My son had a brain tumor removed last spring, the neurosurgeon billed Blue Cross $24,000, but they only paid $4100.00. If Blue Cross doesn’t want our business, then another Big 8 company certainly will. Let the bidding begin. It’s not government regulation, it’s a contract between the customers and the company. The state is only acting as the mediator.
trumpka needs to step down from his position for backing obama