Reply #5: How can you mandate something without the threat of punishment? [View All]

[Armstead]

The nature of a mandate is that you get punished if you don't go along. Jail, fines...whatever.

My basic disagreement with this version of "reform" from the beginning has been that it is wrong to have mandates that rely on forcing people to become CUSTOMERS OF PRIVATE CORPORATIONS....It is especially wrong if those private corporations are not regulated forcefully (like we used to do with public utilities, before the "deregulate and privatize" con game of the 80s and 90s and 00s that was aided and abetted by both the Republicans and Centrist Democrats.)

If there is to be a mandate for coverage it should have been based on a PUBLIC SINGLE PAYER NOT FOR PROFIT PROGRAM (like Social Security) with payments based on income.

If that is not possible and desirable the ONLY compromise that is acceptable is a REAL public option as a backup for mandates. A public option that operates in a straightforward way that ANYONE WHO WANTS IT can choose it rather than private insurance.

Instead the Democrats have been bending over backwards to placate private insurers and right-wingers who will never support true reform.

AND HERE IS MY RESPONSE TO THE 'REALISTS.' If you say we have to only go for crumbs, then we should have seperated mandates from the reforms that are less controversial. Do other real reforms now and go for a real single payer and/or public option as step 2.

In other words, start by regulating rates and behavior of private insurers. REGULATE RATES AND ACCESS AND THE TERMS OF BASIC COVERAGE so that, under the private system, insurance would at least be affordable and more widely available...It's true that would still not be palatable to insurance companies and to right wingnuts. But among the sacred moderates that would be very popular.

DON'T GIVE US THE WORST OF WORLDS BY FORCING PEOPLE TO BUY INSURANCE WITHOUT A STRONG PUBLIC BACK-UP OF EITHER SINGLE PAYER, A REAL PUBLIC OPTION FOR EVERYONE OR -- AT LEAST -- REGULATION OF INSURANCE LIKE A PUBLIC UTILITY.