I think this thread really gets to the heart of what's truly wrong with american politics....most people don't care and those who do form their opinions from little to no information about what they're arguing.
First of all, though off topic, this is a PERFECT example:
Lies? Wait, you mean a bunch of terrorists DIDNT hijack some planes, DIDNT fly them into buildings and DIDNT kill some 6000 civilians?!
The current death toll from the september 11 attacks stands at
2974 people ......why would you more than DOUBLE the number? ignorance? or would you have liked to see more people die so it would be easier to play politics with their demise?
Also, 9/11 has absolutely nothing to do with iraq.... that's a fact. The majority of the hijackers were from our "friend" saudi arabia and NONE were from iraq.
As for SCHIP ....the program mainly provides for children of working parents who can't afford healthcare. For example if they work somewhere, like walmart, where they don't get employer sponsored health insurance or if they work two part time jobs and don't get benefits from either. Of course the alternative would be to buy insurance on the individual market but if you are struggling to barely make ends meet there is no way you can afford 6000 to 11000 dollars for health insurance per year.
Also, the program gives states the right to decide who is eligible and the federal funds are there to match state funds.....so the federal government isnt really paying the bill...its shared between the federal and state governments.
Most importantly though, is that children are very cost-effective when it comes to healthcare. You get alot for what you put in since they don't incur significant healthcare costs. Also, to continue the program as it is now its funding needs to be increased almost 3 times the $5 billion that bush is proposing! And if the program doesnt get funded then millions of children will loose their healthcare and become uninsured.
The only reason that bush and the few republicans who still support him are worried is because the program works TOO well and noone is making an ungodly profit off of it!!! The program is by no means funding adult healthcare ...though some states do extend coverage to parents this doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we should fund the program and it is also so rare that it should be a non-issue. Also having a healthy parent makes for a healthy child! Furthermore, it isn't a one way ticket to socialized medicine... this is a sill scare tactic that people with no argument are buying into....we aren't just going to drop the employer sponsored system we have now overnight...its impossible. As for the cigarette tax, the only reason the democrats are doing this is because a sin tax (like those on tobacco, alcohol, porn) are more acceptable to some republicans than a *GASP* tax increase.