An article authored by Eli Zaretsky entitled A Bill to Cut Health Care Spending appeared yesterday on Tikkun Daily, ostensibly to assist in the creation “an independent left.” Zaretsky argues that the current health care proposal is actually an effort to cut spending by eliminating Medicare. Not only is his premise blatantly false; it is a repetition of right wing talking points introduced by the insurance industry to kill health care reform.

We at Tikkun should be asking ourselves, “Do I want to demonstrate my left-leaning independence by repeating everything Glenn Beck says?”

Zaretsky states–rather ludicrously in my opinion–that we should ignore the details of the existing bill in favor of its “meaning.” First of all, we do not yet have one bill. We have a number of competing proposals put forth by committees in both Chambers. The details of each proposal differ in important ways. Some do a better job of reducing disparities and eliminating corporate profiteering than others.

Several weeks ago, I interviewed Senator Jeff Bingaman (who is intimately familiar with the details of two of the proposals as he sits on both Senate Finance and Senate HELP and was an author of each). I also interviewed Congressman Ben Ray Lujan about House legislation. At the risk of appearing arrogant, I encourage readers to look at these interviews. Understanding the legislative process and familiarizing ourselves with the details of specific legislation we want to influence is the only way, short of armed revolution, to shape a just government.

Zaretsky then goes on to claim that the “meaning” of the existing “bill” is “cost-cutting” which he erroneously conflates with ending existing entitlements. He does this without offering up a shred of evidence and by repeating right wing lies.

In the first place, Zaretsky uses the phrases “cost reduction” and “spending cut” as if they were the same. They are not. He claims that because Obama has cited a reduction in health care cost as a primary purpose of reform, the bill’s “meaning” is an end to entitlement spending.

In reality, cost and spending are very different matters. Health care cost is the cost of providing care. Health care costs are high in America because profit must be factored in. When Obama cites a “reduction in health care costs” as a primary objective of the bill, he is saying that we need to control profit. If we have a bone to pick, it should be that we want our President to eliminate profit entirely through a single payer bill (HR 676)! It makes no sense to me whatsoever for a left wing spiritually focused blog to accuse the President of immorality for trying to control insurance industry profit.

Zaretsky’s conflation of cost and spending cuts was initially introduced into public dialogue by AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) as a means to derail reform. AHIP has long been a target of Daily Kos blogger nyceve, who for years has doggedly reported their promulgation of “murder by spreadsheet.” Nyceve lead the charge to help the Sarkisyan family reverse Cigna’s decision to deny their 17-year-old daughter a liver transplant. As it turned out, the reversal came too late to save Nataline’s life.

How can it be a spiritual endeavor to further the talking points of this heinous organization?

Ezra Klein (a compendium of information for anyone who wants to understand the actual content of various bills and reports without reading through thousands of tedious pages) has done an admirable job of documenting AHIP’s false attack on health care reform. AHIP commissioned PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the same firm that produced “studies” for the tobacco industry predicting global economic devastation if cigarettes were taxed to fund health care reform, to produce a report claiming that the current reform bill will result in health care spending cuts. The report (which has been thoroughly debunked as trash) was released on the eve of the Senate Finance vote.

Next, Zaretsky parrots the dire warnings of a former Philip Morris shill, Betsy McCaughey, that Obama is planning to finance reform by cutting half a trillion dollars from Medicare. For those of you who are unacquainted with Betsy, she was recently eviscerated in separate, enormously gratifying interviews by Jon Stewart and Dylan Ratigan for inventing lies such as death panels,to terrify seniors. She was also profiled as a vampire risen from the grave by Tom Dickenson inThe Rolling Stone.

McCaughey first appeared in 1993 when she published No Exit, an article in The New Republic falsely warning Americans that the Clinton plan would forever end our ability to purchase care outside of mediocre socialized Medicine. The article was quickly picked up by other sources and effectively ended the health care reform effort. The New Republic later retracted the article, which was both financed by the tobacco industry and blatantly false, and issued an apology. She has most recently resurfaced as the originator of the “death panel” hysteria.

But don’t take my word for it. Watch her yourself being called to task by comedian Jon Stewart and decidedly non-leftist Dylan Ratigan.

Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart on The Real McCaughey

Dylan Ratigan and Anthony Weiner Drive A Stake Through Her Evil Undead Heart

Finally, in another post on Tikkun, that was paraphrased by Dave Belden, Zaretsky implies “The Left” (which in point of fact is as much a fiction as is the purported single health care bill) are sheep being led astray by Barack Obama’s Pied Piperlike croonings. While many at this site are frustrated by Obama’s continuation of bad Bush policies, it is a fact that Karl Rove, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh et al have long tried to deligitimize the election by claiming that he is a “Magic Negro” incapable of any real accomplishment, and that those who cast votes in his favor are gullible idiots lulled by his nice speaking voice.

Is Zaretsky claiming anything different? Right wing talking points are right wing talking points even if you dress ‘em up in Jungian clothing!


Bookmark and Share