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After working very hard to kill many progressive idea about how best to control health care costs, Mary Landrieu has found one she likes. Too bad it is the one that will most benefit millionaires:
I can only support a bill if the Cadillac plans are taxed at the level they are in the Senate [bill,]” said Landrieu. “It’s not because I’m thrilled about taxing those plans, which I’m not, but it is the No. 1 cost-containment measure in the bill. It’s what is going to drive costs down over time.”
Well that is just a great justification for keeping the Cadillac tax. After Landrieu fought for months to kill the public option in the Senate, which would have brought down costs, and voted against drug re-importation that the CBO said would save American consumers around $100 billion, she is worried about cost control. I can only assume based on her vote on the Dorgan amendment that she would also be opposed to government price controls on drugs, to get them in line with prices in Canada, or direct Medicare drug price negotiations, since both would upset PhRMA. It seems Landrieu is against the progressive ideas for controlling health care’s spiraling costs, but uses the issue of “cost control” to defend only one provision.
With the terrible Senate bill already written, Landrieu has magically transformed into someone who cares about cost control. She has laid down a marker on the so-called “Cadillac tax” on health care benefits even though the CMS says it will cause millions of Americans to see increased co-pays and deductibles, while only reducing national health expenditures by a measly 0.3%.
By demanding to keep the excise tax on health care plans unchanged and the overall price tag the same it means the millionaires surtax in the House bill is likely to be dropped or dramatically scaled back. Does a millionaire like Landrieu really feel passionately about the need to tax health insurance benefits, or is it just that she is passionately opposed to the House’s alternative funding mechanism, which is increasing taxes for millionaires? I will let others judge, but I think the evidence clearly points to one conclusion.
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She is odious. How much DSCC money was spent on her re-election, anyway? I hope DSCC donors will reconsider their contributions when they see how this DINO screwed them over.
I didn’t realize Landrieu was a millionaire. If she’s not now, then she will be, of course, after her Senate career is over and she goes to work for a lobbying firm.
These “Democratic” senators are despicable.
Wow. Could the con job being pulled by the Democratic party be any more blatant?
The only “cost control” the Senate excise tax does is force people out of decent employer payed for health care plans into the new, “crappy health insurance for everyone” individual market as company after company reduces benefits or (more likely) drop their health insurance plans altogether. Insurance companies are going to win because they make more profit from individual policies than group policies.
Lets face it, the only goal of this “reform” effort is to enrich the insurance companies and line the pockets of our corrupt politicians.
what did brer rabbit say ” please don’t vote me outa office “
Her daddy was mayor of New Orleans once upon a time and if you don’t come off that gig with a million you’ve just failed to pick up the coins.
As indicated elsewhere, she -and the NYTimes and other Senators and ObamaRahma- are arguing against raising taxes on the 4/10ths of 1 % of American’s who make $500,000 or more a year.
Just one more instance of how the government seeks-and succeeds- in having laws that benefit the wealthy at the expense of those less financially well off.
the bill sucks .. kill it ..dead … start over ..
Cost containment my ass. Hers is an anti-union position, full stop. No surprise for the Senator from D-Walmart, one of the world’s biggest employers and vehemently anti-union.
The Waltons of Walmart will also be happy not to pay a higher “millionaire’s” tax, though unless the Senate agrees to extend the inheritance tax for 2010, rather than let it lapse altogether for a year, I would not want to be an elder Walton until 2011.
Landrieu is particularly obnoxious, attempting to declare climate change legislation off-limits in 2010 because otherwise she and other Democrats will be seen working against and voting against climate change legislation during an election year.
This woman is a total scoundrel politician.
It’s not Republicons vs. Dimocrats. It’s rich vs. poor. In other words class war.
As Senator Landers is so much smarther than I, can she please explain how does a tax on an insurance policy force down the prices from the medical providers?
Is this not the equivalent of saying that a sales tax on cars brings down car prices?
The scandal is that people like her get away with stuff. Where are the protests in her state. Where is the outrage by the liberals on the media outlets. Why is there not greater exposure?
Her father was a decent progressive, wasn’t he? She’s a brat just like Evan Bayh (whose father was also a good man).
The people who piss me off the most is the media and liberal democrats, who continue to enable them by calling them “fiscal conservatives.”
This plan especially screws over labor unions – just like NAFTA! Rahm’s dream come true.
Yes mary Landrieu cares…..about her own usless ass, and her benefactors satisfaction. a senate whorebag from the word go.
Senate Democrats have sold us out?
They had some good ideas to work with, proposals that would have saved money and improved health care for more people, and this is what they chose to do. Now they have to play games at our expense in order to bend the cost curve. Shameless and sleazy.
Because many of the Louisiana liberals were washed away.. and Landreiu sat idly by while she her best buddy Lieberman allowed no Katrina scrutiny on their Homeland Security Committee. They still don’t.
And she ran unopposed (from the left) last year… while my senator (her fellow gang of fourteen member) Mark Pryor gave her a bunch of campaign cash.
I am ashamed to admit that when I first came to Firedoglake, my idea of expressing my unhappiness with Senate Democrats was to contribute to the DCCC and then give less to the DSCC, along with a note explaining why.
Thanks to all of you, I see just how stupid that was of me. The DCCC and the DSCC can kiss my a.s.s. Anyway, I’ve given more to FDL efforts than to either of them since then, and they will not be getting anything from me for a long, long time to come.
neck and neck with lieberman for douche bag of the year.
does the senate leadership pray for a shitty bill?
do they not care about reconciliation or dumping the filibuster and getting what 88-91% of the caucus wants?
this is shameful. shameful.
OTOH, Landrieu is correct. It is the only cost control in the bill.
Why do the people in her state keep voting against their own interests?
I certainly can’t speak for the Senator from
Wal-MartArkansas, but I think the reasoning behind thinking the tax will lower costs goes something like this:Employers that provide their employees the plans generous enough to be taxed, will eventually choose to provide them with plans that won’t be taxed. I.E., less generous, and less costly plans. Thus, the employer, and the insurance companies, will have lowered their costs.
The impacted employee however, not so much. S/he will see their insurance cover less and less and them be forced to either use less, or pay more of their own money.
I think that’s the rationale. In reality, there just isn’t any cost control measures in the Senate bill. I suppose some would argue that the mandate is a cost cutting measure, but I don’t buy it, at least not with any real regulation. In fact, since they didn’t end their anti-trust exemption, I suppose technically they could all get in a room together and decide on the premiums. And with all mandated to be customers…. my what fun that could be.
I still cannot believe the Democrats are passing this shit. And no way in hell will they ever be able to blame Republicans. Because they aren’t going to get a single Republican vote. It’s like some kind of political suicide mission. But, IMO, they do deserve the losses that will be afflicted on them next year. And I’m going to do everything I can to help see that’s exactly the result they get.
Why do people in every state keep doing that? If everyone voted their self-interests, we’d have the most progressive House and Senate that was ever envisioned even in a fantasy.
The key is: they are trying to lower spending, not costs.
Not enough people see the difference.
While she is at it could she explain why the insurance company stocks are going through the roof?
The money I paid to my health insurance company, as a self-employed/insured person, was entirely considered “income” for tax purposes. I totally do not get that.
We’re all going to SEE the difference and it won’t be pretty.
Mary Landrieu is from Louisiana.
Plantation Blanche Lincoln is D- Wal-Mart from Arkansas.
The time has truly come for people who want progressive reform to quit voting for and donating to and speaking well of Democrats for several years. The Democratic Party is not simply owed my vote and my money and the figures at the top of the party for a very, very long time have acted as if they are entitled to my vote and my money.
They vote against their own interests because they don’t have much understanding, broadly, that are doing so, and because they have no choice besides the Republican candidate when they go to vote.
Whoops, sorry, my bad. I get them intertwined in my less than stellar mind sometimes.
Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to saddle you with even more nutty Senators than you’ve already got. *g*
It’s especially disturbing because I would love to “do” the Senator from La., not so much Senator Lincoln from Arkansas.
Senate’s current “Future Lobbyist Club”: Landrieu, Dodd, Lincoln and Nelson.
Despicable indeed!
Is there a way to kick the corporatist out of the Dem party.
Must be some way where those(Landrieu,Nelson & Lincoln) that do not submit to the party’s charter should be removed.
Look at Specter,how long do you thing he will pretend to be in line with
the Dem party’s platform ? One year until people are stupid enough to vote
his re-election.
So, Obama wants single-payer out of the equation and gets Baucus to do the dirty work. Next, he wants the public option and the medicare buy-in out, and has Lieberman kill them. He keeps his hands clean while Nelson damages reproductive freedom, which I’m sure he and Rahm believe will be popular with swing voters. Finally, he gets Landrieu to put the knife in the back of blue-collar Americans.
A first rate Shakespearean villian, better than Iago in his manipulations. Or perhaps Othello to Rahm’s Iago?
Yep, and oh by the way, guess who will be campaigning for Specter, I suppose perhaps even in the primary.
And we should start a pool on how long it will take Specter to change back to R if the R’s retake the majority in 2010. I put it at 18 months, tops.
She wants cost containment?
Then why did Landrieu and pals force the jettison of portions if the bill that would actually contain costs?
Oh yeah, because the insurance industry told her too. Scaling back any profits for the insurance industry is out of bounds.
So, they tax Cadillac plans causing employers to offer less pricey plans. This will cause the insured, or some of them anyway, to incur more medical costs because the cheaper plans will have higher co-pay/deductibles.
In concert with this they change the medical itemized deduction exclusion from 7.5% of AGI to 10%. Thus, these folks are less likely to be able to get a tax deduction for these higher medical outlays.
Is it tin-foil hat time?
Odious. Like that word. I was gonna say somethinmg else. But I like odious.
i get ‘em mixed up too. as for wanting to “do” Landrieu…… I’m not even gonna comment.
Especially hard to understand after so much of their state drowned and the almost non existent governmental help that followed.
Time for some De-Fenestration?
The SAP were particularly good at that.
Is it me, or is the only thing missing from the Landrieu picture the apple in the mouth?
As for the person who wanted to ‘do’ her, please tell me that you were talking about styling her hair?
SAP? South African Police?
Entirely plausible hypothesis. But——how do you know that Obama so niftily choreographed this superb Dance of the Senators? As I said, it is not implausible. But before I spread the news, I need backup for my recap of his brilliant choreography!
follow the money then you will find who congress represents.
naw we want these people to represent us when their money comes from the have mores.
they know what it takes to get elected/reelected. $$$$$$$
now they must convince the voters they are for them.
in a dumbed down society this is not difficult to do.
this is why they can be reelected term after term and still represent the have mores.
how do you think societies become third world.
dumbed downed voters.
Bright lights, shinnie objects,Never had to use insurance to poverty health care plan.If it did not happen to you. Didn’t happen. Stand next to you and you look right pass you.Speek Compassionately down at me. Tell me I don’t have the IQ to understand.When all the goverment leader’s choose to keep a Low Level Slective Morals Conscious. Our value on Hi IQ without Intellingents.Devalue All in My United States of America. Watching from the side lines out of the way.
As a Union member let me get this straight?
Sen. Mary Landrieu thinks by taxing my health care benefits package that I get via my employer through 36 years of contract negotiations in lieu of pay and perk benefits is going to save health care??? !!!
Does Mary Landrieu think that after taxing my health care that I’ll have enough money left over to pay taxes to pay for her Senate health coverage?
I am not afraid to debate raising the top 5% earners tax rate. I have watched job cuts over the years and had to pick up the work responsibilities of those jobs that were discontinued with no extra pay compensation for it.
How about cutting one senator from each state and make the one do the work of two senators for their state? How about Mary Landrieu cut her staffers that tax paying Americans with health care or no health care pays their health care.
You know, if all middle class Americans give all their money to the wealthiest of our nation. They would trickle it down to us because they care so much for us.
It seems the aliens have infiltrated the Gov’t and are writting the cook book menus on how to prepare humans for eating.