Bill Maher: New Rule

[ready4ONE 5,400]

How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things we just didn't do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn't used to define us. But now it's becoming all that we are.

Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a "war profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated by private contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations. There are more private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and we pay them generous salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for themselves ­-- like laundry. War is not supposed to turn a profit, but our wars have become boondoggles for weapons manufacturers and connected civilian contractors.

Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason --­ who the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you're going to have trouble with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company called the Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock Exchange, which is convenient since that's where all the real crime is happening anyway. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population ­-- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.

Television news is another area that used to be roped off from the profit motive. When Walter Cronkite died last week, it was odd to see news anchor after news anchor talking about how much better the news coverage was back in Cronkite's day. I thought, "Gee, if only you were in a position to do something about it."

But maybe they aren't. Because unlike in Cronkite's day, today's news has to make a profit like all the other divisions in a media conglomerate. That's why it wasn't surprising to see the CBS Evening News broadcast live from the Staples Center for two nights this month, just in case Michael Jackson came back to life and sold Iran nuclear weapons. In Uncle Walter's time, the news division was a loss leader. Making money was the job of The Beverly Hillbillies. And now that we have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out with the Palin family, the news is The Beverly Hillbillies.

And finally, there's health care. It wasn't that long ago that when a kid broke his leg playing stickball, his parents took him to the local Catholic hospital, the nun put a thermometer in his mouth, the doctor slapped some plaster on his ankle and you were done. The bill was $1.50, plus you got to keep the thermometer.

But like everything else that's good and noble in life, some Wall Street wizard decided that hospitals could be big business, so now they're run by some bean counters in a corporate plaza in Charlotte. In the U.S. today, three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to 600 hospitals and other health care facilities. They're not hospitals anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes with bedpans. America's largest hospital chain, HCA, was founded by the family of Bill Frist, who perfectly represents the Republican attitude toward health care: it's not a right, it's a racket. The more people who get sick and need medicine, the higher their profit margins. Which is why they're always pushing the Jell-O.

Because medicine is now for-profit we have things like "recision," where insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you coverage when you get sick, even though you've been paying into your plan for years.

When did the profit motive become the only reason to do anything? When did that become the new patriotism? Ask not what you could do for your country, ask what's in it for Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized medicine," I get to call private health care "soulless vampires making money off human pain." The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism.

And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal system, my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they charge? They must be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!

Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher airs live tonight at 10pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/new-rule-not-everything-i_b_244050.html

[Heracles 417]

Quite a few good points.

And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal system, my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they charge? They must be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!

Edited July 26, 2009 by haza

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Red Trucks

Come to think of it - good we didn't get stuck with this guy...

Edited July 26, 2009 by Mr. Big Dog

[_Simpson_ 250]

Bill Maher------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The rest of the left

[luckytxn 2,264]

So if companies don't make a profit then there would be no company and no jobs from this company. What is the first things that companies do when they are going to show a loss? Should any company that starts up plan on only being for non profit? How much loss should they expect to make and still be viable? maybe their goal should be a break even point. What is the break even point? What happens if by accident they make a small profit? Should they give it away or just the next business cycle reduce prices a bit to pay it back?

Ok now what about these hospitals. Since they are now supposed to make no profit whatsoever then how long can they ble stay open when they keep losing money. They can help everyone at a loss only for so long and then where does the money come from to pay for personnel and supplies and other bills. That Catholic hospital you are so fond of was a charity hospital that was a charity and many good people gave to help out those less in need. There has been much talk about how as more and more the Government has stepped in that charity has dropped. Whether you give a tithe to the church or get taxed by government is the same. Why give to that hospital when the government is now taxing you to pay for the things needed at another hospital? You are still giving your hard earned money to help out only now the government is taking it and a bureaucrat is now saying what is going to be done with that money not the charity you gave to that you liked and respected and wanted to give to.

War profiters has always had a negative connotation throughout history. No one complains when that same company is hiring workers that put food on the table and pays corporate taxes. Maybe now the Socialists can just start up a business and have the government run it and forego a private business. Of course the government can be trusted to run that business honestly and with better business sense.

The evening news has always had sponsors and was supposed to make money. Cronkite was the highest paid talking head in his time. There have been many times when the networks have restructored their news divisions because they were losing money.

If you are working for a company that is making no profit then I do hope you are putting away a good nest egg for when the company closes its doors and you are unemployed.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If you are working for a company that is making no profit then I do hope you are putting away a good nest egg for when the company closes its doors and you are unemployed.

You should be doing that no matter how much profit your company does or does not make.

[mRx 16]

Funny how every example cited are industries that are heavily hamstrung with regulation. The winners, losers, profits and losses are not determined by the market system (i.e. you and me) in these industries, but by bureaucrats waving a pen.

Healthcare, prison contracts, and bloated war contractor salaries are not examples of Capitalist failures; they're examples of government failures and corruption.

Let's see Mr. Maher make his Marxist case against an industry not-so-severly hampered by regulation-- Like the fast-food industry. The capitalist market has enabled a wide array of ready-to-eat food choices at extremely low prices. Food not available to Kings a few short centuries ago.

I suppose cheap and bountiful sustinence is just a wicked side effect of the greedy profit market.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Even Al Gore figured out how to make a huge profit from all the global warming ####### he got the gullible so worked up about. Makes me wonder what Mr Maher invests in.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This line especially...

The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population ­-- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.

.....

I would like to hear some honesty from those who embrace the ideology that capitalism is the solution to all our social ills. They know that's not true, but they're standard response is that socialism isn't the answer. Of course it isn't. Somewhere in the middle is the answer, but the dialogue on the Right won't acknowledge that...to the dominate voices of the Right, there is no middle ground.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

This line especially...

The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population ­-- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.

.....

I would like to hear some honesty from those who embrace the ideology that capitalism is the solution to all our social ills. They know that's not true, but they're standard response is that socialism isn't the answer. Of course it isn't. Somewhere in the middle is the answer, but the dialogue on the Right won't acknowledge that...to the dominate voices of the Right, there is no middle ground.

What are you talking about, Stevie? This country isn't purely capitalist. It's already somewhere close to the middle, and anyone who's paying attention knows that. Conservatives just don't want it to go more to the socialist side than it already is. Whether you realize it or not, socialism is costly in more ways than one.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This line especially...

The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population ­-- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.

.....

I would like to hear some honesty from those who embrace the ideology that capitalism is the solution to all our social ills. They know that's not true, but they're standard response is that socialism isn't the answer. Of course it isn't. Somewhere in the middle is the answer, but the dialogue on the Right won't acknowledge that...to the dominate voices of the Right, there is no middle ground.

What are you talking about, Stevie? This country isn't purely capitalist. It's already somewhere close to the middle, and anyone who's paying attention knows that. Conservatives just don't want it to go more to the socialist side than it already is. Whether you realize it or not, socialism is costly in more ways than one.

The fundamental argument from the Right against universal healthcare is that it is socialized medicine...or pick any big issue in this country right now and it's the same argument from the Right - government can't fix this. So if you are now acknowledging that solution to the big issues requires both public and private involvement, where's the middle ground in the arguments from the Right? Threatening partisanship if a public option is left on the table is not middle ground and the Right's argument is that the private sector alone can reform health care.

[Danno 1,228]

And I'm wondering if Ole Bill Maher is working on a "not for profit" model?

Or is this another "do as I say not as I do" Dim-ocrat?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

And I'm wondering if Ole Bill Maher is working on a "not for profit" model?

Or is this another "do as I say not as I do" Dim-ocrat?

You probably should go back and read what he said because you've missed the central point.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

This line especially...

The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population ­-- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.

.....

I would like to hear some honesty from those who embrace the ideology that capitalism is the solution to all our social ills. They know that's not true, but they're standard response is that socialism isn't the answer. Of course it isn't. Somewhere in the middle is the answer, but the dialogue on the Right won't acknowledge that...to the dominate voices of the Right, there is no middle ground.

What are you talking about, Stevie? This country isn't purely capitalist. It's already somewhere close to the middle, and anyone who's paying attention knows that. Conservatives just don't want it to go more to the socialist side than it already is. Whether you realize it or not, socialism is costly in more ways than one.

The fundamental argument from the Right against universal healthcare is that it is socialized medicine...or pick any big issue in this country right now and it's the same argument from the Right - government can't fix this. So if you are now acknowledging that solution to the big issues requires both public and private involvement, where's the middle ground in the arguments from the Right? Threatening partisanship if a public option is left on the table is not middle ground and the Right's argument is that the private sector alone can reform health care.

Public/private partnerships are nothing new. Arguments from the Left is that government can fix anything are also nothing new, but they are ready and willing to destroy much of the private sector to get what they want.

Tell me, Stevie. What does the government create?

[mRx 16]

What is a public/private partnership?

There is no such thing.

You silly partisans.