[Rhodes22-list] Economics and Health Care

[Robert Skinner]

Herb -  As I understand it, Moody's comments were 
about the future, not the past.  It's the difference 
between shooting yourself in the foot yesterday, and 
being concerned about the 50-mile hike with full pack
coming up tomorrow.

/Robert
-------------------------------------------------------
Herb Parsons wrote:
> 
> I want to see if I understand your point correctly - when reporting the
> news that the Moody credit rating was risked being lowered because of
> their (Moody's) concern over the costs of Medicare and Medicaid, that
> the reporter should have also inserted concerns (that Moody didn't
> state) about two wars, borrowing money to pay for them, interest on the
> national debt, etc?
> 
> Or is it your point that reporting Moody's concerns was "one sided
> conservative press"?
> 
> Rob Lowe wrote:
> > Man, talk about a one sided conservative press.  No mention of all about
> > starting two wars and paying for them by borrowing money.  No mention of tax
> > cuts (mostly for the rich) paid for with borrowed money.  No mention of the
> > interest on the national debt eating up all discretionary spending in
> > another decade.  No mention that most of the national debt occurred during
> > the Regan and Bush years.  Sure health care spending is a problem.  But tell
> > the whole story. - rob
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com>
> > To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 8:46 AM
> > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Economics and Health Care
> >
> >
> >
> >> Here is the 900 pound elephant in the room that refuses to go away.
> >> "Elephant?  What elephant?" When a candidate promises you a new benefit,
> >>
> > the
> >
> >> question you should be asking is, "how are we going to pay for that when
> >>
> > we
> >
> >> can't pay for what we've already promised?" Happy talk and wishful
> >>
> > thinking
> >
> >> is not going to solve this!  Brad
> >>
> >> --------------------------------
> >>
> >> from the Financial Times
> >>
> >> US's triple-A credit rating 'under threat'
> >>
> >> By Francesco Guerrera, Aline van Duyn and Daniel Pimlott,in New York
> >>
> >> Published: January 11 2008 02:00 | Last updated: January 11 2008 02:00
> >>
> >> The US is at risk of losing its top-notch triple-A credit rating within a
> >> decade unless it takes radical action to curb soaring healthcare and
> >>
> > social
> >
> >> security spending, Moody's, the credit rating agency, said yesterday.
> >>
> >> The warning over the future of the triple-A rating - granted to US
> >> government debt since it was first assessed in 1917 - reflects growing
> >> concerns over the country's ability to retain its financial and economic
> >> supremacy.
> >>
> >> It could also put further pressure on candidates from both the Republican
> >> and Democratic parties to sharpen their focus on healthcare and pensions
> >>
> > in
> >
> >> the run-up to November's presidential election.
> >>
> >> Most analysts expect future administrations to deal with the costs of
> >> healthcare and social security and there is no reflection of any long-term
> >> concern about the US's financial health in the value of its debt.
> >>
> >> But Moody's warning comes at a time when US confidence in its economic
> >> prowess has been challenged by the rising threat of a recession, a weak
> >> dollar and the credit crunch.
> >>
> >> In its annual report on the US, Moody's signalled increased concern that
> >> rapid rises in Medicare and Medicaid - the government-funded healthcare
> >> programmes for the old and the poor - would "cause major fiscal pressures"
> >> in years to come.
> >>
> >> Unlike Moody's previous assessment of US government debt in 2005,
> >> yesterday's report specifically links rises in healthcare and social
> >> security spending to the credit rating.
> >>
> >> "The combination of the medical programmes and social security is the most
> >> important threat to the triple-A rating over the long term," it said.
> >>
> >> Steven Hess, Moody's lead analyst for the US, told the Financial Times
> >>
> > that
> >
> >> in order to protect the country's top rating, future administrations would
> >> have to rein in healthcare and social security costs.
> >>
> >> "If no policy changes are made, in 10 years from now we would have to look
> >> very seriously at whether the US is still a triple-A credit," he said.
> >>
> >> Mr Hess said any downgrade in the US rating would have serious
> >>
> > consequences
> >
> >> for the global economy. "The US rating is the anchor of the world's
> >> financial system. If you have a downgrade, you have a problem," he said.
> >>
> >> Moody's did once threaten to cut the rating of some of the US Treasury's
> >> debt when Congress refused to pass the president's budget in the
> >>
> > mid-1990s.
> >
> >> Other large economies, notably Japan in the 1990s, have had to suffer the
> >> symbolic blow of losing their top-notch credit rating.
> >>
> >> Last year, David Walker, comptroller general of the US, caused controversy
> >> when he compared America's current situation with the dying days of the
> >> Roman empire and warned the country was on "a burning platform" of
> >> unsustainable policies.
> >>
> >> Medicare and Medicaid spending, which has risen sharply over the past few
> >> decades and now accounts for about 45 per cent of total federal spending,
> >>
> > up
> >
> >> from about 25 per cent in 1975, has long been a source of concern.
> >>
> >> Last month, Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office,
> >>
> > which
> >
> >> advises Congress on the federal budget, said the issue was "the central
> >> fiscal challenge" facing the US.
> >>
> >> Most presidential candidates have vowed to reform the healthcare system
> >>
> > but
> >
> >> many of them, especially on the Democratic side, have focused on extending
> >> coverage to the 40m-plus uninsured Americans rather than on cutting costs
> >> __________________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
> --
> Herb Parsons
> S/V O'Jure - O'Day 25
> S/V Reve de Pappa - Coronado 35
> 
> __________________________________________________
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-- 
Robert Skinner  "Squirrel Haven" 
Gorham, Maine         04038-1331
s/v "Little Dipper" & "Edith P."