Who’s side are they on?

With all the crying and complaining about “government bailouts” you would think that Republicans would want to do everything possible to make sure that the government would not have to “bail out” major industries ever again.  You would think that they would be all in favor of tighter regulations and increased accountability in American business, but you’d be wrong.  Dead wrong.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.  It’s Republicans that  want to ensure that government continues to bear the responsibility of coming to the rescue of irresponsible American corporate interests.  Of course they won’t dare say so, but it’s true.  Facts are facts, and what we’ve seen recently–particularly since the inauguration of President Obama–only serves to prove the point.

President Obama today spoke in front of the White House about the deepening crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.  In a politically correct manner he berated BP, Haliburton, and Transocean execs for their Teflon behavior during this past week’s congressional hearings on the oil spill in the Gulf.

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Not a single one of the companies involved were willing to take responsibility for the utter, complete, and disastrous failures of their firms.  And while BP claims that they’re willing to shoulder the responsibility to clean the mess up (yeah, right), all three companies are simply thrilled that the government has taken the lead in trying to contain the spill and prevent the oil from completely covering the Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi shore lines.

And you know who’s going to end up paying the majority of the costs?  The United States taxpayer, that’s who.  And while it’s perfectly reasonable for the U.S. Government to pitch in resources that private industries typically don’t have access to (like containment booms, a fleet of ships, and other equipment), it’s is totally UNreasonable for the government to have to bear the brunt of the cost because these companies irresponsibly cut corners and blatantly ignored safety regulations and procedures in order to save a few dollars.  And it’s Republicans that insist on allowing that laissez-faire attitude toward protecting the environment and allowing safety standards–both for the workers involved and in prevention measures–to continue.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) yesterday blocked a bill presented by Senator Robert Menendez (R-NJ) that would have increased the liability cap on oil companies from $75 million to $10 billion.  She was concerned that it will put too much of a burden on her corporate oil overlords and could drive them out of business.  Never mind that last quarter alone BP realized profits of over $5 billion. Never mind that according to Menendez the top five oil companies saw $25 billion in profits in the first three months of 2010.

That’s profits! That’s how much they made after expenses, and how much they get to keep!  Yet Murkowski claims that $10 billion will put these companies at risk.  Better the public suffer than careless corporations.

So the government is left to pick up the tab, just like they were forced to pick up the tab after the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.  And Republicans are against bailouts?

The current spill happened because there was virtually no oversight.  It happened because of the culture of allowing the oil companies to do whatever they want, of leaving them to make up the rules and decide how they are to be enforced.  And this is not the first time that BP was grossly negligent in following and enforcing safety standards:  In 2005 a refinery in Texas City, TX, exploded, killing 15 BP employees and injuring 170 others. That accident resulted in the largest fines in industry history, but apparently either BP didn’t learn it’s lesson or simply doesn’t care.

But it’s not just the oil companies that Republicans get chummy with and vow to protect from “crippling regulation.”  Recently Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) met with banking industry and Wall Street execs to ensure them that they would do everything they can to prevent the Democrats from passing any kind of meaningful reform.  This shortly after House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) exhorted Wall Street execs to stand up to the “little punk staffers” and fight against financial reform. Never mind that it was the complete lack of rules and regulation that allowed Wall Street and the banking industry to nearly collapse the American economy.

It was Republicans who were against any kind of meaningful health care reform, desperate to protect insurance industry profits.  And yet without meaningful reform, it’s the American taxpayer that gets stuck paying for the hospital visits of those without any health insurance.  “Everybody gets healthcare” they tell us  “They can just go to the emergency room and they get taken care of.”  But who pays the hospitals for those emergency room visits?

Republicans are far more interested in protecting corporate profits than they are in protecting the public interest.  Their opposition to any kind of meaningful reform guarantees that the government will be required to step in and pick up the tab when disaster strikes due to corporate negligence.  It’s the government’s job to protect the economic interests of the country, yet right wingers won’t allow it to be done through regulation, so it must be done through bailouts.

Republicans insist on allowing their corporate benefactors to use their virtually unlimited resources to influence our elections, especially when it drowns out the interests of the every day average citizen.  They want to make sure the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class all but disappears, and we were set firmly on that path during the Bush administration.

The only interests that concern Republicans are the interests of those who can put gobs of cash into their pockets.  The fact that Republican lawmakers were hired by the voters to protect their interests matters little.

So just whose side are the Republicans on?  Because it’s pretty clear that they don’t care a whiff about the constituents they’re supposed to serve.  And the current stance guarantees that taxpayers will be left to clean up corporate messes.

The Healthcare Summit

One of the biggest things to come out of last week’s healthcare summit in my mind was the clear separation of the priorities of the two parties.  Never has it been more clear where Democrats and Republicans stand in regards to what they think about the American people, and their fundamental view toward health care.

Eric Cantor (R-Va) and John Boehner (R-Pa) sat there and proudly proclaimed that the Republicans had this great plan that would cover an additional three million Americans!  That’s outstanding, except that there’s over 40 million Americans without any kind of health insurance, most of whom are unable to get it for one reason or another, either due to pre-existing condition exclusions or simply because they cannot afford it.

On the other hand, the “Democratic” plan (I use quotes because the plan contains so many previously Republican supported ideas and initiatives, such as the individual mandate and the ability to purchase policies across state lines) covers an additional 30 million Americans.  Hhmmmmmm…….let’s see…….I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure that 30 million is more than three million…….a LOT more!  The Republican sponsored plan also reduces the budget deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office, by $60 billion over 10 years.  Whereas the “Democrat” plan reduces the budget deficit (again, according to the CBO) by over $132 billion over 10 years, and $1 trillion over the next 10 years.  And again, not a mathematician, but I’m pretty sure than $132 billion is more than $60 billion.

Another major point of contention is the Republicans insistence that we can get more people covered by creating “high risk pools.”  On the surface it seems like a good idea.  After all, it provides a mechanism for people who’ve been denied coverage or kicked off their plan by the insurance companies to get at least some kind of coverage.  The problem is that this has been done–particularly here in California–and it only exacerbates the problem.  These are people, who by the very definition of the pool, are in need of the most care.  Many are cancer patients or survivors.  And these policies that they’re being directed to cost them thousands of dollars per month and often put ridiculous limits on what kinds or how much care they can receive.  These are the people who are driven into bankruptcy because of the astronomical costs of their health insurance alone!

Creating more and segregating more people into “high risk” pools will do nothing to bring down the costs of these types of policies.  Rather, it gives the insurance companies free rein to further gouge these victims.  They’re trapped in high cost, high deductible plans with no way out.  While it is true that the “Democrat” plan also includes the use of “high risk” pools, it’s only used as a short-term bridge to get us to the massive exchanges that are also included in the plan, which will serve to spread the risk out amongst potentially hundreds of millions of people, making these high risk customers much less risky overall (since the costs of covering them will be blunted by the massive number of people in the system).  The Democrats understand the plight of these “high risk” people and are actually trying to help them.  The Republicans are merely trying to further segregate them and isolate them, as pointed out by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Ia) during the summit.

The bottom line is this:  Democrats consider health care to be a basic, fundamental right.  Republicans consider health care to be a privilege that is available only if you have enough money to pay for it.  If you get sick and can’t pay for care, then too bad.  If you can’t afford health insurance, too bad.  Democrats are for protecting the rights of consumers, Republicans are against consumer protections of any kind.  Florida Congressman Alan Grayson pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said that the Republican plan was “if you get sick, DIE QUICKLY!”

Eric Cantor emphasized repeatedly yesterday in his appearance on Meet the Press that the Republicans want to provide healthcare to America.  But their actions and policies clearly scream out otherwise.