Profiteering on War and Health Care

Not everything is a market possibility, not everything should be a profit, especially war, prisons, and health care. (I would add public education to the list.) If you are a Bill Maher fan, and I am, his show Friday night was totally on point, on everything he said. Here is his column from the huffingtonpost.com, based upon the closing segment, "New Rules," where he sets out how we should be acting as a society or as individuals.

"In the U.S. today, three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to 600 hospitals and other health care facilities. They're not hospitals anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes with bedpans. America's largest hospital chain, HCA, was founded by the family of Bill Frist, who perfectly represents the Republican attitude toward health care: it's not a right, it's a racket. The more people who get sick and need medicine, the higher their profit margins. Which is why they're always pushing the Jell-O."

With a profit incentive, Republicans don't want to lose the opportunity to make a buck, even though those bucks are breaking Americans, our businesses, and our future. As Senator DeMint said, it is about making health care reform Obama's Waterloo. and as President Obama said in response, it shouldn't be political.

It is also about keeping health care as a profiteering center. Read about who is behind the racist Obama cartoon and the "patients' rights" movement, really teaparty nuts and health industry lobbyists.

Bill Moyers' Journal did a segment on decoding the talking heads on health care reform. Take a look.