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By Richard Fernandez

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The Gathering Storm

March 26, 2010 - 5:43 am - by Richard Fernandez
Doug
2010-03-26 23:33:17

Donna,
SEIU is doing their best to dash our dreams:

White SEIU organizers silence Hispanic Amnesty Demonstrators!

The Battle of the Mimes looks pretty silly in many ways. But beneath the makeup and balloons, the SEIU’s “silencing campaign” on Sunday showed a lot about the ability and willingness of one of the biggest money/muscle partners of the pro-amnesty forces to use well-orchestrated intimidation to keep debate from happening.

Perhaps surprising was that the main intent was not so much to silence me but to silence their pro-amnesty marchers. Once the Park Police finally required that the marchers be given the right to speak to us, we could see why SEIU didn’t want them to be heard. Pretty radical stuff.

Paul Ryan on Healthcare Reform

“Health care experts across the political spectrum acknowledge that a fundamental driver of health inflation is the regressive tax preference for employer-based health insurance. This discriminatory tax treatment lavishes the greatest benefit on the most expensive plans while providing no support for the unemployed, the self-employed or those who don’t get coverage from their employer.

Reform-minded leaders like Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, and Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, pushed legislative proposals that would directly address this issue. I helped write a plan that would replace the bias in the tax code with universal tax credits so that all Americans have the resources to purchase portable, affordable coverage that best suits their needs, with additional support provided for those with lower incomes. All these ideas, though, were dismissed early on, as they didn’t fit with the government-driven plan favored by the majority. But going forward it’s important that we reconsider this regressive tax issue.

Then, when helping Americans with pre-existing conditions obtain coverage, we should focus on innovative state-based solutions, including robust high-risk pools, reinsurance markets and risk-adjustment mechanisms. I intend to continue advancing true patient-centered reforms like attaching tax benefits to the individual rather than the job, breaking down barriers to interstate competition, and promoting transparency and consumer-friendly coverage options.

We should ensure that health care decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not by bureaucrats, whether at an insurance company or a government agency. By inviting market forces into health care, we can encourage a system where doctors, insurers and hospitals compete against one another for the business of informed consumers”