"WASHINGTON (AFP) — President Barack Obama unveiled Thursday an unprecedented bid to reform the country's ailing healthcare system to much-needed insurance to millions of Americans and give a shot in the arm to the ailing economy.
Calling it a "down payment" on healthcare reform, the Obama administration proposed to set aside a whopping 634 billion dollars over 10 years to finance reforms to make health coverage affordable and move the country toward universal coverage.
The proposed healthcare fund is at the heart of the six-week-old administration's budget plans for the next decade, which begin with a bold 3.55-trillion-dollar budget for 2010.
"Because of crushing healthcare costs, and the fact that they drag down our economy, bankrupt our families and represent the fastest-growing part of our budget, we must make it a priority to give every single American quality, affordable healthcare," Obama said at the White House as he officially unveiled an overview of the budget plan.
The Democratic president made healthcare reform a major campaign plank and one of his first acts in office was to sign into law expanded healthcare coverage for low-income children.
The lack of universal healthcare coverage in the United States has left 46 million Americans uninsured.
And with the world's largest economy struggling with recession, soaring unemployment threatens to tip millions more into the ranks, since most workers rely on employers or themselves to pay for coverage.
Obama's budget plan -- to be finalized and submitted to Congress in April -- envisions a dramatic shift in government spending that pours more money into healthcare, education and green energy, on top of other initiatives designed to promote long-term economic growth.
To pay for the massive spending, his administration wants to allow tax breaks for the rich to expire in 2011 to level the playing field for other Americans.
The new healthcare fund would also be financed by a reduction in the itemized deduction rate for families with incomes over 250,000 dollars that would raise an estimated 318 billion dollars over 10 years."
As promised during campaign. Fuel for the anti-Spending/Obama crowd.
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." - unknown
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." - unknown
I am all for spending if it's needed and if it is properly used....
Where does he really think these gazillions of dollars are going to come from? The bank of China ( or insert any foreign bank name here ) will foreclose on our gazillion dollars of outstanding loans and our country will be renamed...
We actually owe Japan nearly double what we owe China. Its around 750 Billion to Japan and just over 350 Billion to China. Big Numbers but the popular thought today by the majority is that its better to get the economy going than to balance the budget and suffer for 10-20 years of depression.
And China needs us as much as we need their money. Japan not as much but we have a great relationship with them.
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." - unknown
We actually owe Japan nearly double what we owe China. Its around 750 Billion to Japan and just over 350 Billion to China. Big Numbers but the popular thought today by the majority is that its better to get the economy going than to balance the budget and suffer for 10-20 years of depression.
And China needs us as much as we need their money. Japan not as much but we have a great relationship with them.
China is still ahead. Mainland was $727 billion at the end of December plus Hong Kong's $77 billion, gives $804 billion.
I stand corrected. still a lot of cash, but still have the largest GDP in the world.
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"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." - unknown
Obama's Healthcare
