EMAIL SIGN UP!
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Health Care Debate Must Include Farmers
Our current health care system is crushing farmers. And the proposals under consideration in Congress won’t give us the relief we need.
Farmers often depend on off-farm jobs to provide health insurance, if we can find them. But this takes us away from our calling. And anyway, those jobs are vanishing, and those that remain are cutting their health care benefits.
Oh, we can try to find individual coverage, but the price is exorbitant, with extremely high deductibles.
Farmers have few options for health insurance, yet we desperately need comprehensive coverage. Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in America: heavy machinery, large animals, long hours in the sun and exposure to hazardous pesticides can all take their toll.
Many of us have pre-existing conditions and we are nearing an average age of 58 years.
Rural residents are twice as likely to be uninsured as urban Americans, while farmers and ranchers are four times as likely to be underinsured, notes the Center for Rural Affairs.
Members of Congress are expending plenty of energy but have little of substance to show for it.
House Democrats exulted over their 1,018-page health care reform bill. “It is really historic. It’s transformation. It’s momentous,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
The best part of the bill is an amendment by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, that would allow states to experiment with their own single-payer health care plans without being penalized by the federal government for doing so.
But that’s not likely to fly in the Senate.
There, single payer is a nonstarter, probably even at the experimental state level.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., says single-payer health care “is off the table.” It is especially galling that Baucus, from such a rural state, one that would benefit most from a single-payer plan, is opposed to any discussion.
It’s also distressing that President Obama has distanced himself from single payer as fast as he could, even though a February CNN poll showed 72 percent favored a government-controlled plan. Any issue with that much across-the-board support should be “on the table.” The insurance companies, in hopes of killing single payer, say they are willing to cover those with “pre-existing conditions” — provided everyone buys their health insurance.
They’re licking their chops at signing up an additional 46 million people, under orders of the government. Of course, they could still deny payment of claims; they’re very good at that.
Still, they say, “Trust us.” Trust an industry that employs an army of claims deniers and other administrative personnel whose numbers have grown 25 times faster than the number of physicians in the United States over the past 30 years? Despite the House action, we are no closer to health care reform today.
The Senate may strip the public option from the bill.
Without a public option, much less without single payer, farmers and the self-employed would be, at best, underinsured — or fined for not having private insurance.
Some Americans lack confidence in the government’s ability to administer a public health insurance plan. But it’s been doing a pretty good job with Medicare and Medicaid.
Just ask an elderly person. Or someone with a disability.
We can’t keep falling for that same old line from the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry. They peddle it for a reason: It keeps them rolling in profits — and keeps us at their mercy.
There are roughly 46 million uninsured and 25 million underinsured in America, many of whom are farmers.
We know when we’re being swindled.
And we’re being swindled right now.
- Posted in
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
33 Comments so far
Show AllOne issue farmers have is that of a reliable income month to month. If a bill comes up they very often do not have the money onhand to pay it. Thus many of them or their wives "Get a Job In town".
They then count on that crop coming in come fall and pray that they get sufficient rain or there not an early frost.
Their income can be all over the place year to year. How do you MANDATE they buy insurance? What do you base their income on in any given year?
Is it not just a lot easier and CHEAPER to say...OK you are a Citizen of the US. Forget how much money you make or what your income was last month, or whether we need bureacrats to deem whether or not we have to subsidize your payments with taxpayers money...you are covered.?
Keep it simple. EVERYONE is covered. Base how much it costs it on ability to pay.
But that would be socialism and require the rich to give up some of what is rightfully theirs. They're rich (and more secure and comfortable) because they are better than we are. Why can't you accept that?
I hope nedlud is being ironic with this post. Sometimes it's hard to tell. I know Republican sympathizers who believe exactly that, without equivocation or doubt.
q
Bitterly satirical actually. I'm really fuckin' pissed off (about this country) and why not express it? I included this remark (the one in question) so readers would definitely know I was also being satirical (and personal) with my other one...
Jim(bo) Goodman and me go back a ways on CommonDreams. I'm not saying I don't like him, I'm saying I don't like him much. Did that confuse anyone? ??
We need to do more than write. We need to be personal with one another. If that scares somebody well then, be scared. Because as it is now, people are ZOMBIES, blindly serving the MACHINE. No, not everyone but a very great number.
nedlud
Jimbo~
Surely you can just add a few more cows, install a robotic milker system, follow the regulations a little more precisely and carefully, and all again will be well.
If you'd done a better job of managing your own operation I wouldn't have to sit and listen to your incessant whining.
Your health is your own hands. No one else is to blame but you. I, for one, am not falling for that 'we' shit.
Move on.
nedlud, I don't think it's fair to blame farmers for government policies dictated by agribusiness that is strangling small farmers. Too many small farms have gone out of business while agribusiness is getting the lion's share of subsidies which were intended for small farms in the first place. I'm not saying subsidies are necessarily the best way to go, but it's no accident that small farms and small businesses are being stomped by policies that make corporations rich. Like the rest of the little people in this country, they're being screwed. And the Main Street Party seeks to address their concerns as well.
Unfortunately I don't know much about what they need. I would like to hear from small farmers to include their needs in the Main Street Party platform.
By the way, I think it's disrespectful to address John Goodman as Jimbo while you're dissing him.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Lol~
You missed some of my ummmm, argument...a few details. See other comments elsewhere and know that me and ol' Jimmy have some history together.
Thanks for your concern.
nedlud
p.s. I don't think it's fair to blame farmers either. I am one (a farmer) who has been blamed (viciously I might add) and I'm tired of it. Real tired and so I am fighting back....
So your idea of fighting back is attacking farmers. And adding a few cows and huge capital expenditures won't help those in tight situations. a) They don't have the capital nor the credit to do that and b) The profit motive of the ag supply corps is eating away at any farm profit. With milk at around $10/100# (what's that? 1969 prices!) few if any farms are showing an actual profit today, add more cows and all that accomplishes is greater losses at this point.
"have to"??? No you don't have to! You choose to so that you can then do your own incesstant whining. That's sure what you're comments seem to be. I don't know what city you grew up in but out in rural farm country we have a saying - "Don't put down another until you've walked a mile in his shoes." People might not look so askew at you if you gave that a try.
Please try not to be too cynical... The collapse of American agriculture is nigh!
-30-
Come to think of it, why were the rural electrification co-ops not into the health insurance biz, let alone wind and solar energy? Not in their charters? Change the charter.
-30-
Very pertinent commentary, Mr. Goodman. However, if ranchers and farmers have such a low level of health care coverage, why is this situation not being addressed? Are your organizations content with the status quo? Do farmers and ranchers themselves accept the situation? Are there problems organizing ranchers and farmers? If so, what are they?
My point is, many Americans who would benefit from organizing and having their collective voice heard, are not doing so. Knowing the barriers to unionism among certain population segments - is it fear of socialism? big government? individualism? - would help those dedicated to organizing workers.
Yes, the powers that be trample on workers and the underclass, even the middle class, but we must admit that we are very disorganized and passive. I am not giving a pass to the oligarchy, just noting that they prey on our weaknesses, the worst of all being that most workers actively oppose being unionized and what unions there are, are harmless. From what I have heard, between unionism and exploitation, most voice preference for the latter convinced of their individual powers to either get by on their own or stoically withstand the situation.
Part of the problem is us.
Lupita, many Americans do not want to join a union, but a majority of Americans support the right of those who do to do so. Congress, at the command of their owners, does not agree.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Excellent questions! The best answer is because of propaganda. The major farm organization is the Farm Bureau who is fully in the tank for corporate agribusiness and always defends the status quo. The farm press continually shills for agribusiness as well, always telling us small farmers that the large factory farms are essential for OUR survival. And hardworking, god fearing small business people lap this bullshit up like honey. It is the American way, just as Paul Harvey used to hoodwink his listeners, now its Mike Huckabee we put our trust into. The fascist playbook is easily sold to rural Americans.
Hotrod: Good post, except the "god-fearing" aspect. I like asking the clergy why they want me to believe in a certain deity or creed if I have to fear this all-knowing, all-loving, omnipotent God, who hasn't been able to stop one war, or give us "single-payer" healthcare. Otherwise, you nailed it! When I was a kid, listening to Paul Harvey, I too thought his commentary was the gospel.
It's great to hear from a farmer the problems of that specific occupation with health care "reform" as it is being formed. But it's not just farmers, it's any other occupation (or non-occupation, we have many and many-more counting of people not employed, disabled, too old to work, etc.) for which an "employer-based" health care system just won't cut it, however many provisions are made for their "special cases." The simplest (single payer) system is the only system that makes any sense at all and, when the curtain finally falls on the foolish effort of a Committee to create a horse that turns out to be a camel (a turkey if you prefer), single payer may yet be the very plan that brings us to our collective senses. And so---hope springs eternal---all may not be so lost if Congress adjourns in a few weeks without having created a "comprehensive" health care reform program.
Right on, Jerry!
So yes, farmers also suffer but why no mention of the real culprit, FACTORY FARMS? Up until 50 years ago, small farmers didn't have to worry about losing their money to agri-business and unfairly so. If government would butt out and stop subsidizing Big Agri, our small farmers wouldn't have to worry so much about lack of enough health insurance because they would be in business and more people would be eating healthy and in the long run not stressing farmers out to the point of forcing them to also be at the mercy of Big Insurance. And if it weren't for Big Agri, the young would not be falling for all that cornfed junk and ruining their mindsets. Single payer is no doubt needed but farmers need more. It's time to stop subsidizing Big Agri with our taxpayer dollars and give small farmers and local farmers markets a chance. I learned that lesson the hard way but was glad I made the switch to less processed foods in the last few years. If we can't get single payer for these farmers, the least we can do is unite and switch from all the corporate junk food (fast foods, tv dinners, prepackaged junk, etc ...) to local homegrown produce and show our small farmers some respect and make room for more of them. There are young people who want to be farmers too.
Yeah, I've been to the local farmer's market and I can shop there for my eggs and fruit. It'll be a bit more, especially for the eggs, $5 for a dozen instead of $1.50 or so at the store, but I only use a few eggs each week. The fruit is reasonably priced...I'd love to get my bread there too, but I don't know how long a loaf of real bread will last in the fridge...and $5 for that is a bit steep, since I make sandwiches for work every day.
Not much, but it's a start. And I'm trying to find meatless replacements for the meat I currently use to cook dinner with.
Don't feel too bad about paying a little more. Trust me. You'll have plenty more to save in health dollars in the long run and that's where you'll find a huge savings difference. On meat, let me help you out. You don't have to go meatless per se even though I am mostly vegetarian and rarely eat meat anymore. Instead, look for pasture raised meat. For example, on beef, you should find grass fed beef at a local organic grocery store. For chickens and eggs, you'll usually see something like cage-free on the labels. I can't speak for all meat products but I will be more than happy to research and post for you and others to check it out. As general rule of thumb, for each meat you choose to purchase, ask them where the meat comes from and ask them if the animals where the meat comes from are forcefed corn feed or are they allowed to roam and are free to eat what they want. They'll have to answer. The more we can find good substitutes, the better our chances of cutting down our healthcare costs and cutting down others. That to me is the Plan B if we can't get single payer. :)
Well I think I can find cage-free eggs at the farmer's market, they just cost about 3x as much. I don't cook too many different types of meat...I'm pretty broke, so usually I make chicken stir-fry on weekends for dinner, bacon and eggs for breakfast on weekends, and pasta with meatballs on weeknights for dinner...that's pretty much my meat consumption, excepting whenever I eat out, maybe once a week.
I'm thinking of finding a vegetarian alternative to meatballs, just something with a similar texture I can toss in my whole wheat pasta. I suppose I could find pastured ground beef and make my own, but I've never done that before, and eh I don't want to bother with that. I'm sure I can find humanely raised chicken at the local Whole Foods, it shouldn't be too expensive for me since I only cook it twice a week. Bacon might be another story...but I believe that's sold at the farmer's market in Silver Spring too, I'll have to check it out next weekend.
zmann: If you can do so, please avoid shopping at Whole Foods, because Mackey, the founder of the chain believes in corporate personhood, the Republican Party, and is against labor unions, and it is one more monopolistic business chain which helps put small independent health food stores out of business. I drive past a Whole Foods store to another town and spend my money at a small health food store in order to help keep them in business. To me, the extra time is worth the effort.
Do yourself a favor and get off the bacon, and try reducing the amount of meat you eat. Whether it be chickens, cows or pigs, "humanely" raised, at the end, it is not humane to guillotine these animals in order to devour their flesh. (to each his/her own...my girlfriend eats fish and meat...not my preference, but we are all in different levels of development.)
As a meat substitute, you'll be a lot healthier eating raw nut and seed butters, and they are inexpensive compared to meat products. As for the whole wheat pasta (I could literally eat it everyday), be creative with the sauce, minus the meatballs. Make a pesto-like sauce using fresh organically grown greens with raw garlic and onions. Put them in the blender or food processor with fresh tomatoes or a can of tomato sauce (without added sugar or corn syrup) and puree the ingredients. It may take you a few times to acquire a taste for it, but you'll feel the benefits from the pureed raw garlic and onions soon enough. I kid you not!
I've had this debate with a co-worker here about Whole Foods. It may be anti-union, but if the workers are paid well, have good benefits, and have a safe and good work environment, what do you need union bargaining for? Perhaps a union could be useful to safeguard the benefits that employees at WF already have, but they do have very good working conditions, far better than either of the other two major grocery chains I've worked at.
As for meat, the way I look at it is that meat is natural, just the way it's commercially raised and butchered in this country isn't. I do eat nut butter sandwiches for lunch in place of meat. But humanity evolved to eat meat as well as vegetation. As long as I don't eat much, and what I do eat is humanely and naturally raised, I see no problem with it.
And I actually managed to find vegetarian meatballs yesterday and cooked with them last night, they were great. I can't make my own sauce though because I don' have a blender or food processor, and don't really make enough money right now to get one. I'm stuck with the stuff in a jar for now.
With due respect, I take it you work at Whole Foods. It's still honest work, and in itself is commendable, compared to being a henchman and goon for the Pentagon or a swindler and shyster on Wall Street. I had to include those two digs because of our taxes being squandered on these two "organizations."
As more and more union contracts are being reduced to the bare minimums, and there is no parameter for non-union companies or the employees of such companies to use as a standard for comparable or near-comparable wages and fringe benefits, then, being true capitalists, management will initiate the process of paying the least and extracting the most work out of their employees. This is SOP but not always the case. The rule applies to all industries. And I am happy you do have good working conditions at WF. May they remain intact.
Physiologically, humans are herbivore, but over the eons have adopted the omnivore diet. The word "butchered" describes the outcome these poor creatures are relegated to, no matter how humanely we treat them before subjecting them to an untimely death. Also, a little known fact: the death march at the slaughterhouse makes the cattle instinctively terrified and they release huge amounts of adrenalin in the fear of being put to death, that it sort of poisons their bloodstream with this powerful substance. And we consume it by eating their flesh.
Good for you for finding tasty vegetarian meatballs. I never found any I liked.
No, I don't work at Whole Foods, but I have taken a look at their pay scale and benefits package when I tried to get a second job working there, and it's a lot better than what I had at Publix or Winn-Dixie.
And here's two things about consumption of meat, one which is useless but I will mention it anyway, the other which one day may need to be seriously addressed: first of all, in nature, the killing of an animal by a carnivore for food is probably much more painful, and definitely more drawn-out, than how we do it, maybe even at those disgusting gigantic meat packing factories. Second, suppose we do stop eating meat, all of us. What then becomes of the uncountable numbers of cows, chickens, pigs, any animal raised for meat? After whatever generation remains from the time we decide to stop eating meat dies out naturally or otherwise, are they not more or less extinct? There is not enough wilderness for the amount of animals being raised for food to live on.
I never heard of Publix but I know about Winn-Dixie from relatives who worked there.
The response to the first question is, yes, it is definitely drawn-out, when a carnivore attacks another animal which would make it more painful. But I wouldn't equate an animal, whether carnivore or herbivore, to a human being, which has the ability to cultivate the soil for growing food and planting food producing trees and vines. For the second question, we breed them specifically for meat production, so without controlled breeding, the populations of the animals mentioned would be greatly reduced and maintain their species on the alloted land, and I would let them live out their lives naturally.
Human overpopulation is a bigger problem, but I wouldn't euthanize people with large families because of it.
Jennifer: Yep!
Today's Sunday New York Times has a front page article on healthcare, another in the News of the Week in Review and a single, very long top to bottom page editorial on health care reform. In all that verbiage there is not a mention of what polls clearly show the majority of US population and majority of health care professionals want: a single payer system with universal coverage for all. No mention of Medicare for all either. Thus does the "Newspaper of Record" fulfill its ever more consistent task of spinning information to the side of the ruling corporate elites and their courtiers. In the manner of 1984, certain unacceptable ideas and concepts are simply rendered unprintable/unspeakable and vanish down the memory hole. The rest of the corporate controlled media performs similarly having lost any sense of social responsibility and being an essential part of a supposedly self governing people, the freedom of the press being the only profession mentioned in the Bill of Rights. Master PR propagandist, Edward Bernays, vision of the "necessary manipulation of the mass public mind" is seen at work. But interestingly, despite it all, the majority of people still hold to the vision of single payer. Only the shills for the greed and power mad drug, insurance and hospital corporations, many bought and paid for Congress members, are determined to keep bleeding the population.
The breadth and depth of the corporate propaganda system in which we find ourselves has escaped the notice of many. It's just part of the landscape and invisible as air. Even many well educated people think they are getting real news rather than spin with NPR, Jim Lehrer, and NY Times, not noticing that these outlets did little more than stenographic journalism in the lead up to the full scale war on Iraq and are now following the line of the big O and crew in the extended wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
And the spun and lapdog reporting continues on healthcare as well as wars, and Wall Street banksters.
courtjester: Excellent post. Thank you!
Follow the money… http://hmc-lavadogs.livejournal.com/19845.html
Call Congress and demand, “Single-Payer Health Care for All Now!
Sign the Single-Payer Petition: http://www.singlepayeraction.org/join.html
SEMPER FI!
"heavy machinery, large animals, long hours in the sun and exposure to hazardous pesticides can all take their toll."
Gee, going organic would fix the last one.
Now imagine how it is for those who work for dairy farmers!!! Force me to pay for damn near useless insurance from the greed motivated insurance corps with no public option? That'll be one less farm hand in a heartbeat. Why we don't juct solve this problem in the traditional American way and institute Single Payer Healthcare makes no sense. The solution is simple and right there in front of us but the profit motive of a small segment of the population that thrives on greed and feeding off the labor of others are digging into their very deep coffers to maintain an unsustainable status qui.