Bad Deeds for 8-21-2009

Michael Bloomberg Has No Idea of What “Don’t Make a Lot of Money” Means – Billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical companies and their chief executives on Friday, declaring that they “don’t make a lot of money” and shouldn’t be scapegoats in the health care debate.

However, pharmaceutical CEOs are known to make millions, with generous salaries, stock options and other perks. Abbott Laboratories Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Miles White’s compensation was $25.3 million in 2008. The North Chicago, Ill.-based company saw profit rising 35 percent to $4.88 billion. Merck & Co.’s chief executive, Richard T. Clark, received a $17.3 million compensation package for 2008. The company’s profit more than doubled to $7.8 billion.
Earlier this year Bloomberg declared “we love the rich people” while arguing against raising taxes on the wealthy.

 

Democrats Missed a Chance to Show Bold Leadership – Let us imagine for a moment a world where Democrats proceeded from strength. Here is how the health care debate would have unfolded. Before introducing any legislation, the Democrats hold hearings on the state of health care in this country. They bring in the top health care industry executives and ask them to answer for these grave injustices and inefficiencies:

a. The practices of denying people care through rescission and denying people coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Rescission is where insurance companies will let people die because of a technicality. Then the Democratic congressmen and senators would get on all of the cable shows and pronounce that they are shocked to find out that private health care insurance companies kill people for a profit in this country.

b. Then the Democrats would ask the CEOs of these companies how much money they make. The CEO of UnitedHealth Group would have to concede that he has three quarters of a billion dollars in stock options. Then a Democratic congressman would lean in toward his microphone with great gravity and ask, “You mean to tell me that you deny people the life-saving procedures they need because it costs too much money while you personally are set to make over $750 million?”

c. Then you bring out family members of people who have died because they were denied insurance coverage either for pre-existing conditions or because an insurance company executive had found some technicality in their forms. Ask them how it feels to go on without their loved ones and how they felt about the practice of rescission. Finally, ask them how they feel about the millions of dollars the CEO of the company that denied the coverage makes.

d. Bring out the private insurance bureaucrats who deny people coverage on a regular basis. Not just the people who practice rescission or find pre-existing conditions, but also the people who decide what procedures you can and cannot get based on your coverage. Have them explain what [insurance] bureaucratic standards they use to get between you and your doctor.

e. Bring out the accountants of these private health care companies and have them explain how much money they spend on overhead, advertising and executive salaries. Ask them how much they have increased premiums over the last ten years — the answer is a stunning 119%. Ask them to repeat how much money they spent on advertising and executive compensation.

f. Bring back the CEOs and show them pictures of the people who died because their companies wouldn’t cover their medical expenses, as they had promised. Then show them pictures of their own houses/mansions and yachts and jets. And ask them, one simple question: “Was it worth it?”
After the hearings announce with serious concern and appropriate gravity that something must be done about this! The problem is undeniable and there has to be something that Congress can do to help protect the American people.

Then the Democrats introduce the legislation the American people really need, announce that they must do the will of the people by voting as a Democratic bloc, and treat the Republicans as the irrelevancy they are.

 

Republican Official’s Idea of How to De-Escalates a Conflict – Charles McAffee, an employee of a contractor for Wells Fargo, was sent to photograph a house whose owner, Robert Lutes, was delinquent on his mortgage. Lutes said, “I’m trying to find out why he’s taking pictures of my house. I said, ‘Knock on my door, let me know what you want.’ Then, I think he’s reaching for his business card and he pulls out a concealed weapon and I think he’s going to blow my head off.” McAffee acknowledged he pointed the .357 Magnum handgun at Lutes, according to the police account.

What kind of person would do that? McAffee is among Idaho’s anti-tax tea-party activists, is a member of the Idaho Republican Party Central Committee and Republican chairman from the Boise suburb of Garden City.

One of McAffee’s supporters said, “McAffee brandished the weapon to de-escalate the conflict.” Yes, you read that right: he pulled a gun to de-escalate the conflict.

Regards,

Jim