De Oorlogsstaat 2

Zoals bekend kost oorlogvoering niet alleen veel menselevens maar ook veel geld. Dat geld moet ergens vandaan komen. In 1950 kwam 25 procent van de federale inkomsten uit belastingen op ondernemingswinsten, een halve eeuw later was dit nog slechts 10.1 procent. Dus moet er volgens de neoliberale ideologie worden bezuinigd op gezondheidszorg, volkshuisvesting, onderwijs, sociale uitkeringen, bejaardenzorg enzovoorts. Meer dan veertig miljoen Amerikanen zijn momenteel te arm om een ziektekostenverzekering te kunnen betalen. De Washington Post bericht: 'House and Senate GOP negotiators, meeting behind closed doors last month to complete a major budget-cutting bill, agreed on a change to Senate-passed Medicare legislation that would save the health insurance industry $22 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Senate version would have targeted private HMOs participating in Medicare by changing the formula that governs their reimbursement, lowering payments $26 billion over the next decade. But after lobbying by the health insurance industry, the final version made a critical change that had the effect of eliminating all but $4 billion of the projected savings, according to CBO and other health policy experts. That change was made in mid-December during private negotiations involving House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and the staffs of those committees as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee. House and Senate Democrats were excluded from the meeting. The Senate gave final approval to the budget-cutting measure on Dec. 21, but the House must give it final consideration early next month. The change in the Medicare provision underscores a practice that growing numbers of lawmakers from both parties want addressed. More than ever, Republican congressional lawmakers and leaders are making vital decisions, involving far-reaching policies and billions of dollars, without the public - or even congressional Democrats - present.' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301700.html?sub=AR Of:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012406N.shtml