Why don't most Americans support a "Public Option" for health insurance?

You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy
 
You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy

If you were correct the constiution would state the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, Provide the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

But it says this

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
 
Oregon spends more money per child on education than almost any state in the nation...we might even be @ #1 right now.

Our school kids test very, VERY low.

Giving money to the gov't to fix things NEVER works. Ever.
 
o god...I love how the general welfare clause is making its rounds now as the new hot topic for the libs to hang on.

The Preamble does not give or imply that Congress has the authority to do anything. A preamble is an introduction, relaying the purpose or reasoning behind a document or text.
Congress only has the authority to act under what is listed in Article I, Section 8. To say that the Founders left the term "general welfare" for interpretation could not be further from the truth. The Founders didn't recognize the right to health care or other "positive rights." Rights that promote the exchange of property (intellectual or material) from one individual through the force of government to another is precisely an idea that our Founders were strictly opposed to because our Founders recognized individual sovereignty.

James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, noted that the clause had a narrow meaning. Madison wrote the following.

"With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators."
 
Nope there is not.

the words general wealfare are there.

Now go prove the founders prohibited this interpitation

"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one...." - James Madison

"With respect to the two words "general welfare," I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators. If the words obtained so readily a place in the "Articles of Confederation," and received so little notice in their admission into the present Constitution, and retained for so long a time a silent place in both, the fairest explanation is, that the words, in the alternative of meaning nothing or meaning everything, had the former meaning taken for granted." - James Madison

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." - James Madison

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated." - Thomas Jefferson

"The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best . . . (for) when all government . . . shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as . . . oppressive as the government from which we separated." - Thomas Jefferson

"We must confine ourselves to the powers described in the Constitution, and the moment we pass it, we take an arbitrary stride towards a despotic Government." - James Jackson
 
Because they don't know what it is.

You know, last year during the election, an off-shoot conservative group passed around flyers in FL, especially Jewish areas of FL, stating that Sarah Palin was half Jewish and had a flag of Israel along side the flag of the US in her office. This was completely false.

The Republicans have become the party of no truth. They spread around false rumors and get people upset because they want to ruin Obama's administration and make him fail so they can gain power next year and ultimately get back in office in 2012.

Unfortunately, there are several Americans that are stupid enough to fall for this shit.

The Republicans are doing it again by talking about the UK healthcare system or the Canadian healthcare system and show the absolute worst examples of them to scare Americans into thinking that that was our future under healthcare reform. It's a great method because it's a double-edged sword... some congresspeople will get so much flak from their constituents that they will vote against the bill. Others will vote for it and ultimately pass it, which will make their constituents turn against them next November. At least, that's the plan.

But what's really interesting is how effective the plan is. No matter how often Obama has gone out and said "we're not getting government run health insurance like the UK or Canada" the Republicans still spread the BS around.

According to fivethirtyeight.com, a majority of Americans polled, don't know what the "Public Option" actually is.

8.27.2009

Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters

by Nate Silver

8.27.2009
Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters
by Nate Silver @ 4:49 PM
Bookmark and Share Share This Content

A new survey by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates for the AARP reveals widespread uncertainty about the nature of the "public option" -- a government-run health insurance policy that would be offered along with private policies in the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Just 37 percent of the poll's respondents correctly identified the public option from a list of three choices provided to them:

It is tempting to attribute these results to attempts by conservatives to blur the distinctions of the health care debate. And surely that is part of the story. But it may not be all that much of it. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to correctly identify the public option in this poll, but not by all that wide a margin -- 41 percent versus 34 percent. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Republicans thought the public option refers to "creating a national healthcare system like they have in Great Britain" -- but so did 23 percent of Democrats.

This should serve as something of a reality check for people on both sides of the public option debate. If the respondents had simply chosen randomly among the three options provide to them, 33 percent would have selected the correct definition for the public option. Instead, only 37 percent did (although 23 percent did not bother to guess). This is mostly a debate being had among policy elites and the relatively small fraction of the public that is highly knowledgeable and engaged about health care reform; for most others, the details are lost on them.

This is also why relatively small changes in wording can trigger dramatic shifts in support for the public option, which has been as high as 83 percent in some polls and as low as 35 percent in others depending on who is doing the polling and how they're asking the questions. You don't see those sorts of discrepancies when polling about, say, gay marriage or the death penalty, where the options are a little bit more self-evident.

Unfortunately, some liberal interest groups may be contributing to the confusion as well, with this poll being a prime example. When Penn, Schoen and Berland ask people to identify the public option, they describe it -- correctly -- as offering health insurance at "market rates". However, when they ask people how they feel about the public option, a different concept is introduced:

"Starting a new federal health insurance plan that individuals could purchase if they can’t afford private plans offered to them."

Seventy-nine percent of the poll's respondents -- including 61 percent of Republicans -- say they'd support this proposal. But it seems to be a very different proposal from the "public option" that Penn, Schoen and Berland took so much care to define, or the one that is actually being debated before Congress. Rather than offering health insurance at "market rates", the public option has been transformed in this question into a sort of fallback policy for people who are priced out of the market. Moreover, the term "government" has been replaced by the softer but more ambiguous term "federal".

Also, if you read the fine print, this is an Internet-based poll, which is not something that an esteemed firm like Penn, Schoen and Berland or an esteemed organization like the AARP should be toying with. Telephone polls have their problems, particularly if they do not include respondents with cellphones, but they are a long ways ahead of Internet-based polling. Zogby Interactive, the most prolific (if the least methodologically sound) Internet-based pollster, has missed the outcome of recent elections by an average of 7.6 points when conducting polls online. (Internet-based polling is cheaper to conduct, but as is the case with fine dining in Manhattan, "value" should not be confused for "cost". Any organization commissioning an Internet-based poll is probably wasting its money, because the poll isn't likely to be any good.)

More generally, there seems to be a sort of arm's-race on both sides of the debate to conduct crappy, manipulative polls on health care reform, and the public option in particular. This poll belongs in the 'crap' pile, as do most of the others. Defenders of the public option, however, should have little to fret about: the most neutrally and accurately-worded polls on the public option -- these are the ones from Quinnipiac and Time/SRBI -- suggest that their position is in the majority, with 56-62 percent of the public supporting the public option and 33-36 percent opposed.

THE GOVERNMENT RESUME

SOCIAL SECURITY- BANKRUPT
MEDICARE- BANKRUPT
MEDICAID- BANKRUPT
POSTAL SERVICE- BANKRUPT

The above all government programs all failed programs, now you want to turn over 6% of this economy to a bunch of idiots who would not be able to run a profitable neighborhood lemonade stand. YOU BETCHA!!!!!!

I don't care what Obama says, READ THE BILL. Then read HR 3400 the republican plan for real health care reform.
 
Last edited:
You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy

If you were correct the constiution would state the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, Provide the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

But it says this

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

Promoting genreal welfare is what the programs do.
 
Because they don't know what it is.

You know, last year during the election, an off-shoot conservative group passed around flyers in FL, especially Jewish areas of FL, stating that Sarah Palin was half Jewish and had a flag of Israel along side the flag of the US in her office. This was completely false.

The Republicans have become the party of no truth. They spread around false rumors and get people upset because they want to ruin Obama's administration and make him fail so they can gain power next year and ultimately get back in office in 2012.

Unfortunately, there are several Americans that are stupid enough to fall for this shit.

The Republicans are doing it again by talking about the UK healthcare system or the Canadian healthcare system and show the absolute worst examples of them to scare Americans into thinking that that was our future under healthcare reform. It's a great method because it's a double-edged sword... some congresspeople will get so much flak from their constituents that they will vote against the bill. Others will vote for it and ultimately pass it, which will make their constituents turn against them next November. At least, that's the plan.

But what's really interesting is how effective the plan is. No matter how often Obama has gone out and said "we're not getting government run health insurance like the UK or Canada" the Republicans still spread the BS around.

According to fivethirtyeight.com, a majority of Americans polled, don't know what the "Public Option" actually is.

8.27.2009

Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters

by Nate Silver

8.27.2009
Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters
by Nate Silver @ 4:49 PM
Bookmark and Share Share This Content

A new survey by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates for the AARP reveals widespread uncertainty about the nature of the "public option" -- a government-run health insurance policy that would be offered along with private policies in the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Just 37 percent of the poll's respondents correctly identified the public option from a list of three choices provided to them:

It is tempting to attribute these results to attempts by conservatives to blur the distinctions of the health care debate. And surely that is part of the story. But it may not be all that much of it. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to correctly identify the public option in this poll, but not by all that wide a margin -- 41 percent versus 34 percent. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Republicans thought the public option refers to "creating a national healthcare system like they have in Great Britain" -- but so did 23 percent of Democrats.

This should serve as something of a reality check for people on both sides of the public option debate. If the respondents had simply chosen randomly among the three options provide to them, 33 percent would have selected the correct definition for the public option. Instead, only 37 percent did (although 23 percent did not bother to guess). This is mostly a debate being had among policy elites and the relatively small fraction of the public that is highly knowledgeable and engaged about health care reform; for most others, the details are lost on them.

This is also why relatively small changes in wording can trigger dramatic shifts in support for the public option, which has been as high as 83 percent in some polls and as low as 35 percent in others depending on who is doing the polling and how they're asking the questions. You don't see those sorts of discrepancies when polling about, say, gay marriage or the death penalty, where the options are a little bit more self-evident.

Unfortunately, some liberal interest groups may be contributing to the confusion as well, with this poll being a prime example. When Penn, Schoen and Berland ask people to identify the public option, they describe it -- correctly -- as offering health insurance at "market rates". However, when they ask people how they feel about the public option, a different concept is introduced:

"Starting a new federal health insurance plan that individuals could purchase if they can’t afford private plans offered to them."

Seventy-nine percent of the poll's respondents -- including 61 percent of Republicans -- say they'd support this proposal. But it seems to be a very different proposal from the "public option" that Penn, Schoen and Berland took so much care to define, or the one that is actually being debated before Congress. Rather than offering health insurance at "market rates", the public option has been transformed in this question into a sort of fallback policy for people who are priced out of the market. Moreover, the term "government" has been replaced by the softer but more ambiguous term "federal".

Also, if you read the fine print, this is an Internet-based poll, which is not something that an esteemed firm like Penn, Schoen and Berland or an esteemed organization like the AARP should be toying with. Telephone polls have their problems, particularly if they do not include respondents with cellphones, but they are a long ways ahead of Internet-based polling. Zogby Interactive, the most prolific (if the least methodologically sound) Internet-based pollster, has missed the outcome of recent elections by an average of 7.6 points when conducting polls online. (Internet-based polling is cheaper to conduct, but as is the case with fine dining in Manhattan, "value" should not be confused for "cost". Any organization commissioning an Internet-based poll is probably wasting its money, because the poll isn't likely to be any good.)

More generally, there seems to be a sort of arm's-race on both sides of the debate to conduct crappy, manipulative polls on health care reform, and the public option in particular. This poll belongs in the 'crap' pile, as do most of the others. Defenders of the public option, however, should have little to fret about: the most neutrally and accurately-worded polls on the public option -- these are the ones from Quinnipiac and Time/SRBI -- suggest that their position is in the majority, with 56-62 percent of the public supporting the public option and 33-36 percent opposed.

THE GOVERNMENT RESUME

SOCIAL SECURITY- BANKRUPT
MEDICARE- BANKRUPT
MEDICAID- BANKRUPT
POSTAL SERVICE- BANKRUPT

The above all government programs all failed programs, now you want to turn over 6% of this economy to a bunch of idiots who would not be able to run a profitable neighborhood lemonade stand. YOU BETCHA!!!!!!

I don't care what Obama says, READ THE BILL. Then read HR 3400 the republican plan for real health care reform.

Now go look at who ballooned the debt
 
You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy

If you were correct the constiution would state the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, Provide the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

But it says this

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

Promoting genreal welfare is what the programs do.

Then they dont need any tax funding, as they are not providing anything only promoting things.

Now if they encouraged(promote) the states to provide health care i wouldn't have a problem, as the individuals in each state would have a much better opportunity to mold the system they will have to live under.
 
while you're looking at that...take a look at who raped social security to balance his own budget
 
Because they don't know what it is.

You know, last year during the election, an off-shoot conservative group passed around flyers in FL, especially Jewish areas of FL, stating that Sarah Palin was half Jewish and had a flag of Israel along side the flag of the US in her office. This was completely false.

The Republicans have become the party of no truth. They spread around false rumors and get people upset because they want to ruin Obama's administration and make him fail so they can gain power next year and ultimately get back in office in 2012.

Unfortunately, there are several Americans that are stupid enough to fall for this shit.

The Republicans are doing it again by talking about the UK healthcare system or the Canadian healthcare system and show the absolute worst examples of them to scare Americans into thinking that that was our future under healthcare reform. It's a great method because it's a double-edged sword... some congresspeople will get so much flak from their constituents that they will vote against the bill. Others will vote for it and ultimately pass it, which will make their constituents turn against them next November. At least, that's the plan.

But what's really interesting is how effective the plan is. No matter how often Obama has gone out and said "we're not getting government run health insurance like the UK or Canada" the Republicans still spread the BS around.

According to fivethirtyeight.com, a majority of Americans polled, don't know what the "Public Option" actually is.

8.27.2009

Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters

by Nate Silver

8.27.2009
Poll: Most Don't Know What "Public Option" Is -- Including Pollsters
by Nate Silver @ 4:49 PM
Bookmark and Share Share This Content

A new survey by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates for the AARP reveals widespread uncertainty about the nature of the "public option" -- a government-run health insurance policy that would be offered along with private policies in the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Just 37 percent of the poll's respondents correctly identified the public option from a list of three choices provided to them:

It is tempting to attribute these results to attempts by conservatives to blur the distinctions of the health care debate. And surely that is part of the story. But it may not be all that much of it. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to correctly identify the public option in this poll, but not by all that wide a margin -- 41 percent versus 34 percent. Meanwhile, 35 percent of Republicans thought the public option refers to "creating a national healthcare system like they have in Great Britain" -- but so did 23 percent of Democrats.

This should serve as something of a reality check for people on both sides of the public option debate. If the respondents had simply chosen randomly among the three options provide to them, 33 percent would have selected the correct definition for the public option. Instead, only 37 percent did (although 23 percent did not bother to guess). This is mostly a debate being had among policy elites and the relatively small fraction of the public that is highly knowledgeable and engaged about health care reform; for most others, the details are lost on them.

This is also why relatively small changes in wording can trigger dramatic shifts in support for the public option, which has been as high as 83 percent in some polls and as low as 35 percent in others depending on who is doing the polling and how they're asking the questions. You don't see those sorts of discrepancies when polling about, say, gay marriage or the death penalty, where the options are a little bit more self-evident.

Unfortunately, some liberal interest groups may be contributing to the confusion as well, with this poll being a prime example. When Penn, Schoen and Berland ask people to identify the public option, they describe it -- correctly -- as offering health insurance at "market rates". However, when they ask people how they feel about the public option, a different concept is introduced:

"Starting a new federal health insurance plan that individuals could purchase if they can’t afford private plans offered to them."

Seventy-nine percent of the poll's respondents -- including 61 percent of Republicans -- say they'd support this proposal. But it seems to be a very different proposal from the "public option" that Penn, Schoen and Berland took so much care to define, or the one that is actually being debated before Congress. Rather than offering health insurance at "market rates", the public option has been transformed in this question into a sort of fallback policy for people who are priced out of the market. Moreover, the term "government" has been replaced by the softer but more ambiguous term "federal".

Also, if you read the fine print, this is an Internet-based poll, which is not something that an esteemed firm like Penn, Schoen and Berland or an esteemed organization like the AARP should be toying with. Telephone polls have their problems, particularly if they do not include respondents with cellphones, but they are a long ways ahead of Internet-based polling. Zogby Interactive, the most prolific (if the least methodologically sound) Internet-based pollster, has missed the outcome of recent elections by an average of 7.6 points when conducting polls online. (Internet-based polling is cheaper to conduct, but as is the case with fine dining in Manhattan, "value" should not be confused for "cost". Any organization commissioning an Internet-based poll is probably wasting its money, because the poll isn't likely to be any good.)

More generally, there seems to be a sort of arm's-race on both sides of the debate to conduct crappy, manipulative polls on health care reform, and the public option in particular. This poll belongs in the 'crap' pile, as do most of the others. Defenders of the public option, however, should have little to fret about: the most neutrally and accurately-worded polls on the public option -- these are the ones from Quinnipiac and Time/SRBI -- suggest that their position is in the majority, with 56-62 percent of the public supporting the public option and 33-36 percent opposed.

THE GOVERNMENT RESUME

SOCIAL SECURITY- BANKRUPT
MEDICARE- BANKRUPT
MEDICAID- BANKRUPT
POSTAL SERVICE- BANKRUPT

The above all government programs all failed programs, now you want to turn over 6% of this economy to a bunch of idiots who would not be able to run a profitable neighborhood lemonade stand. YOU BETCHA!!!!!!

I don't care what Obama says, READ THE BILL. Then read HR 3400 the republican plan for real health care reform.

Now go look at who ballooned the debt

Lets see....if we are holding presidents responsible for the debt that would be Carter, Reagan, Bush sr, Bush Jr, Obama.

You can add carter, reagan and both bush's debt together and it would almost equal the debt that the bills obama has signed, and the health bill he wants, would create.
 
You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy

If you were correct the constiution would state the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, Provide the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

But it says this

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

Promoting genreal welfare is what the programs do.

Yet the quotes I provided to you show that it was never intended for the general welfare clause to give the government unlimited power to do whatever they want. An amendment to the Constitution is absolutely necessary to make universal healthcare legal.
 
You guys lost this arguement a long time ago.

Your definition for the doc is NOT how the vast majority see it.

This is a democracy

If you were correct the constiution would state the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, Provide the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

But it says this

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.

THE GOVERNMENT RESUME

SOCIAL SECURITY- BANKRUPT
MEDICARE- BANKRUPT
MEDICAID- BANKRUPT
POSTAL SERVICE- BANKRUPT

The above all government programs all failed programs, now you want to turn over 6% of this economy to a bunch of idiots who would not be able to run a profitable neighborhood lemonade stand. YOU BETCHA!!!!!!

I don't care what Obama says, READ THE BILL. Then read HR 3400 the republican plan for real health care reform.

Now go look at who ballooned the debt

Lets see....if we are holding presidents responsible for the debt that would be Carter, Reagan, Bush sr, Bush Jr, Obama.

You can add carter, reagan and both bush's debt together and it would almost equal the debt that the bills obama has signed, and the health bill he wants, would create.

while you're looking at that...take a look at who raped social security to balance his own budget

Why is Bernie Madoff in prison? Oh yeah Ponzie schemes are illegal....so why isn't congress in jail for Ponzie Scheming Social Security?

.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to PLYMCO_PILGRIM again.
 
National Road - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The National Road or Cumberland Road was one of the first major improved highways in the United States, built by the federal government. Construction began in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It then crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River in 1818. Plans were made to continue through St. Louis, Missouri, on the Mississippi River to Jefferson City, Missouri, but funding ran out and construction stopped at Vandalia, Illinois in 1839.
 
Last edited:
as I said b4

The Preamble does not give or imply that Congress has the authority to do anything. A preamble is an introduction, relaying the purpose or reasoning behind a document or text.
Congress only has the authority to act under what is listed in Article I, Section 8. To say that the Founders left the term "general welfare" for interpretation could not be further from the truth. The Founders didn't recognize the right to health care or other "positive rights." Rights that promote the exchange of property (intellectual or material) from one individual through the force of government to another is precisely an idea that our Founders were strictly opposed to because our Founders recognized individual sovereignty.
 
Madison sure seemed to think building federal roads was part of the constitution.

sounds like general welfare to me
 

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