It seems a little strange to call this a "debate," since there was very little difference among the candidates. One slight difference is that, though everyone agrees on single-payer healthcare there are some differences about how exactly to get there. Some candidates say that if one likes one's health insurance you should be able to keep it, for instance. Warren, however, said "I don't know anyone who likes their health insurance" and I concur; anyone who "likes" their insurance usually means that it could be worse. Those of us who have health insurance through an employer know about high deductibles, co-pays and many things not covered. Private health insurance is something of a scam whereby the "insurer" charges as much as possible and pays out as little as possible, often denying coverage in order to increase their profits. This is a clear conflict of interest and there are many, many stories of those who have had to file for bankruptcy because of their medical bills and most of those people have health insurance. As Sanders says, "healthcare is a right."
To distinguish themselves each of the candidates found some way to be unique. Everyone said, "I am the only one on this stage who:
"served in the Obama administration" Biden
"served in the armed forces" Buttigeg
"voted against the Iraq war" Sanders
"started a business and a non-profit" Yang
"lives in a black/brown neighborhood" Booker
"is a Senator running from the Midwest" Klobuchar
"has been a public schoolteacher" Warren
"is from Texas" O'Rourke
"has served in the Cabinet" Castro
"has been an attorney general" Harris
I think any of these candidates would make a good President and, at the moment, my favorite is Warren; Biden is too befuddled and has too much for which to answer and Sanders is sometimes too strident in his repeated (and justified) denunciations of Wall Street and corporate interests. Warren makes her positions clear in a forthright manner, including precise ways of financing single-payer healthcare and paid family leave.
No comments:
Post a Comment