| New Registrations | Letters Sent | |
| So far this month: | 336 | 25,609 |
| Last month: | 582 | 60,741 |
June 25, 2009
Categories: Health, Downsizer-Dispatch
Quote of the Day: "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." – P.J. O’Rourke
Subject: Good offense is good defense
When we tell Congress not to pass their planned health care legislation we're playing good defense, but when we ask Congress to pass legislation that would help restore free market health care, we're playing good offense and defense at the same time. This is very important to recognize...
Saying YES to free market health care is the same as saying NO to further government meddling in health care.
We've so far sent more than 5,000 messages opposing increased government control of your medical care. This is good. But we also need to stay on the offensive, by demanding that Congress restore the free market.
Congress has it in its power right now, with one simple change, to make health insurance more affordable for tens of millions of Americans. It can do this NOT by increasing government involvement, but by REDUCING it.
Congress has the legitimate authority, under the commerce clause, to allow Americans to buy health insurance regulated by the state of their choice. One major reason health insurance is so expensive is that state legislators have created mandates to enrich insurance companies and health care providers at the expenses of health care consumers.
Please remember that state governments make health insurance more expensive by requiring coverage for things like...
* Maternity care for single males
* Infertility treatments for people who don't want children
* Alcoholism therapy for people who don't drink
The solution for this is very simple. Congress must create free trade across state borders, by allowing YOU and all other Americans to buy health insurance regulated by the state of your choice. This kind of thing was a major reason why the commerce clause was included in the Constitution.
Mostly Congress abuses the commerce clause, but this is a perfect opportunity for them to use it correctly. So why aren't they doing it? There are several reasons...
* Restoring free market health care does nothing to enhance their power
* Insurance companies and health care providers pay lobbyists to fight these kinds of reforms
* Too many Americans fail to use their right to petition Congress for a redress of grievances
But there's one other problem -- our own human psychology. We naturally respond more to things we fear than to opportunities for positive improvement. We see this constantly in response to our various campaigns. We tend to get more participation when we're trying to stop bad bills than when we're trying to promote good bills.
We need to recognize this and adjust our behaviour. Saying no to something bad is defensive only, while saying yes to something good both promotes the good and fights the bad. It's offense and defense at the same time.
Do this even if you've sent a message about this before. You don't issue instructions to your employees only once -- you must do it constantly until they get the job done.
Use your personal comments to tell your Congressional employees that...
* Representative Shadegg and Senator DeMint introduced legislation on this in the previous Congress
* Ask your Representative and your two Senators to contact Shadegg and DeMint to request that they reintroduce their inter-state health insurance legislation
* Tell your Congressional employees to ask Shadegg and DeMint to also improve their legislation by giving employers the same ability to buy health insurance regulated by other states
If you live in South Carolina or Representative Shadegg's district, please contact us at the following email address, because we need your help to get this legislation re-introduced and improved: Feedback@DownsizeDC.org
Remember, the end of the month is near and we're pushing hard to meet our month-end goals. To exceed the 36,512 messages we sent last month we need to send at least 647 messages today.
Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army. To see how fast the army is growing check out the Keeping Score report below my signature.
Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
KEEPING SCORE
We've grown by 32 net new members since Tuesday. This brings us to 1,499 net new members for the year. The Downsize DC Army now stands at 25,848 -- nearly 85% of the way from 25,000 to 26,000!
We can also grow faster by doing more outreach to potential DC Downsizers. Please help us do this by starting a monthly credit card pledge -- it can be as low as $5 a month (which is just 17 cents per day). You can start your pledge using our secure online contribution form.
Please let us know if its okay to advertise your support here:
NEW MONTHLY PLEDGERS IN JUNE: Maggie Culver, Ginny Rober, Dwight E. Baker, David H. Abernathy, John Murphy, Jeremiah J Blanchard, FIVE unlisted -- IN MAY: Don Matesz, Silvy Berman, David Jones, Barbara Baxter, Nancy Kovar, Ryan Ackroyd, WM Michael O'Brien, John C Houghton, James Alan Speedie, THREE unlisted
Or, you could make a one-time donation. Please let us know on our secure contribution form if its okay to advertise your support here:
NEW ONE TIME DONORS IN JUNE: Autumn Browne, David Morris, Victoria Pate, Patricia Barnum, Dwight E Baker, Rick Slusher, Dr. R.S. Gillinson, Edward J Krieger, Jan Berridge, EIGHT unlisted -- IN MAY: Dorothy Davis, Arlene Lindstrand, Dee Clary, Joan Garro, Jennifer Tarling, Richard Linchitz, Steven Palmer, Bruce N. Liddel, Ernest P. Eusea, Chris Reulman, David Anthony, Christopher T Wagner, Thomas Sartwelle, Jr, EIGHT unlisted
Technorati Tags: Downsize DC health care reform health insurance
Posted by James Leroy Wilson at
June 25, 2009 - 09:21 AM |
Health
| Downsizer-Dispatch
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