Paul Krugman - "Medicare and Mediscares" - Ryan Plan Will End Medicare!

[TomCADem]

Lets get one thing straight. The Ryan plan does not merely modify or even trim back Medicare benefits. It is not a tweak. It is not even a cut. It is the end of Medicare. It destroys Medicare as explained by Paul Krugman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/opinion/27krugman.html

Mr. Ryan may claim — and he may even believe — that he’s facing a backlash because his opponents are lying about his proposals. But the reality is that the Ryan plan is turning into a political disaster for Republicans, not because the plan’s critics are lying about it, but because they’re describing it accurately.

Take, for example, the statement that the Ryan plan would end Medicare as we know it. This may have Republicans screaming “Mediscare!” but it’s the absolute truth: The plan would replace our current system, in which the government pays major health costs, with a voucher system, in which seniors would, in effect, be handed a coupon and told to go find private coverage.

The new program might still be called Medicare — hey, we could replace government coverage of major expenses with an allowance of two free aspirins a day, and still call it “Medicare” — but it wouldn’t be the same program. And if the cost estimates of the Congressional Budget Office are at all right, the inadequate size of the vouchers — which by 2030 would cover only about a third of seniors’ health costs — would leave many if not most older Americans unable to afford essential care.

If anyone is lying here, it’s Mr. Ryan himself, who has claimed that his plan would give seniors the same kind of coverage that members of Congress receive — an assertion that is completely false.

[DJ13]

1. Why was this unrec'ed?

Did I end up at FR without knowing it?

[TomCADem]

5. Sometimes Anti-Dem Articles Get Kicked To The Greatest Page...

...while an article like this, which destroys Republican talking points and exposes Republican lies gets un-rec'ed. In 2008, John McCain offered "rewards" to folks who posted Republican talking points on messages boards and blogs, even liberal ones, which can explain why this board is sometimes gamed into Free Republic II. In fact, some Democratic message boards have had to institute anti-sock puppet rules banning folks from maintaining multiple acounts or at least preventing folks from recommending, and commenting on, threads they started through the use of multiple accounts:

http://www.bluenc.com/sock-puppets-and-astroturfing-at-bluenc

What is astroturfing?

Astroturfing occurs when one or more users registers under multiple pseudonymous identities in order to use them to create a phony sense of grassroots support for or against a person, organization or issue.

We do not allow astroturfing at BlueNC. If or when we become aware that an astroturf-style campaign is under way, we reserve the right to block all user accounts involved and ban the IP address(es) of the individual(s) who created the multiple identities.

* * *
What are sock puppets?

On the internet, sock puppets are alternate identities of one person that are used deceptively in an online community. We do not strictly prohibit multiple identities at BlueNC because there are valid reasons for some people to have a public identity and an anonymous or pseudonymous identity. We do however ban the creation of multiple accounts when they are being used to create a false sense of support for or against a person, organization or issue.

If and when discovered, the owner of the multiple accounts will be given an opportunity to select one identity to use. All others will then be blocked. If this person fails to cooperate, an IP ban will be placed on the user's IP address or multiple IP addresses.

[WheelWalker]

2. Kicked & Recommended

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Faryn Balyncd]

4. Rec #5

[JDPriestly]

6. Thanks for posting this.

K&R