USPOL: Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In New York Times Office

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL: Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In New York Times Office

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ded redd: Aug 1, 2010; by Fluffdaddy

By the way in case anyone forgot CHIP is about to die.

quote:

Advocates for children�s health started worrying months ago that congressional incompetence would jeopardize the nation�s one indisputable healthcare success � the Children�s Health Insurance Program, which has reduced the uninsured rate among kids to 5% from 14% over the two decades of its existence.

Their fears turned out to be true. Funding for CHIP runs out on Saturday, and no vote on reestablishing the program�s $15-billion appropriation is expected for at least a week, probably longer. That�s the case even though CHIP is one of the few federal programs that has enjoyed unalloyed bipartisan support since its inception in 1997. The consequences will be dire in many states, which will have to curtail or even shut down their children�s health programs until funding is restored. Hanging in the balance is care for 9 million children and pregnant women in low-income households.

What happened? The simple answer is that congressional Republicans� last harebrained attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act got in the way. A funding bill for CHIP seemed to be well on its way to enactment until a week or so ago. That�s when the effort to pass the egregious Cassidy-Graham repeal bill sucked all the air out of the legislative room.

Agreement on a bill had been reached in mid-September by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). �Momentum was building,� says Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, a children�s advocacy group in Washington. Then came Cassidy-Graham, and �we couldn�t even get a meeting,� Lesley says. �No one was even taking our calls.�

The impact of delay varies by state, because states are able to apply unspent CHIP money in any fiscal year to the next year. But even those with money in their coffers can�t escape the consequences of Congress� inaction. Because they can�t merely assume that Congress will eventually get around to reauthorizing the funding, they have to start planning to shut down their programs now, or reallocate funding from other social programs. According to Medicaid officials, who manage CHIP from the federal end, California, Arizona, Minnesota and North Carolina will run out of CHIP funding by December or early in January. Half the states won�t make it beyond the first three months of 2018. Some will run out of money next week.

�There are huge ramifications in pretty much every state across the country,� Lesley says.

Minnesota Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper warned her congressional delegation on Sept. 13 that the state�s $115-million allotment for CHIP would run out this weekend, throwing healthcare for low-income children, infants and pregnant women into chaos. The only way to save their care, even temporarily, would be through an intricate series of funding shifts it took Piper two densely worded paragraphs to explain.

Utah sent a warning Sept. 15 to Medicaid administrators that the state would have to roll up CHIP starting immediately if funding wasn�t enacted by Saturday. Utah�s senior senator is Hatch, who co-founded CHIP with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in 1997 and has called providing children�s healthcare �a moral responsibility,� but couldn�t manage to move a funding bill to the floor in time.

In today�s dysfunctional political environment, even the traditional bipartisan support for CHIP has come apart at the seams. The Affordable Care Act bumped up all CHIP allocations to states by 23 percentage points from 2014 through 2019, bringing the total federal share to 100% for some poorer states such as Mississippi and West Virginia, and no less than 88% for all others.

That enhanced funding became a bone of contention for congressional conservatives, who wanted the increase axed outright. Supporters of children�s health, meanwhile, wanted the increase made permanent. The compromise reached between Hatch and Wyden will kill the increase, but wind down the funding over four years instead of immediately.

By the way, if you�re wondering why Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price hasn�t bothered to sound the alarm about CHIP funding, which falls within his bailiwick, consider that as a Georgia legislator he voted twice against expanding the program in his state.

Losing the 23-point bump will be costly across the board. California, as the largest state, would lose more than $600 million of a federal grant that reached $2.7 billion in the current year. But if the cut were enacted this year, Mississippi�s appropriation would fall to about $243 million from $317 million, money it can ill afford to go without.

The main problem facing CHIP, however, is congressional resistance to making it permanent. Under current law, the program has to be reauthorized every few years; Saturday�s deadline was the product of a two-year extension negotiated in 2015, the most recent episode of brinkmanship over whether Congress would act in time to avoid disruption. This time it failed.

To avoid the chaos, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), a nonpartisan congressional advisory body, recommended in January that CHIP be extended by five years to 2022, the better to inoculate the program from �heightened � uncertainty about the stability of the exchange market� and proposals to �change the structure and financing of the Medicaid program.�

MACPAC also recommended extending the 23-point funding bump to 2022 and eliminating a six-month waiting period imposed on children who lose employer-sponsored insurance.

Is there any more poignant example of how Congress� wasteful partisanship affects ordinary Americans? It�s hard to imagine one. If the lawmakers can�t act in support of a program that was enacted in a spirit of bipartisanship and serves the most truly defenseless members of society, there�s no hope for them.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:26

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# ? May 25, 2024 15:46

Grapplejack: Nov 27, 2007

Unoriginal Name posted:

Maybe we should have an education system that produces citizens capable of understanding laws, rather than specialists who do it for them

I'd love to have Civics be a course you're forced to take in 11th / 12th grade so people can get a decent grasp on how basic government and politics work, but that might be asking too much.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:30

LITERALLY MY FETISH: Nov 11, 2010; Raise Chris Coons' taxes so that we can have Medicare for All.

Jizz Festival posted:

I never advocated for banning lawyers. I was arguing against people claiming that lawyers dominate congress because they make great legislators.

And I never argued that they make better legislators than other people. You're being obtuse and misinterpreting what a lot of people in the thread are saying with this.

Keep in mind that it all started with this

Kilroy posted:

It would get the loving lawyers out, at least.

and if you're going to paint me and many others with the same brush as like one guy then don't be surprised when it happens to you, too.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:30

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

Good thing I'm no longer a child at least.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:30

ded redd: Aug 1, 2010; by Fluffdaddy

Grouchio posted:

Good thing I'm no longer a child at least.

Politifact rates this as: mostly false.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:31

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

Grapplejack posted:

I'd love to have Civics be a course you're forced to take in 11th / 12th grade so people can get a decent grasp on how basic government and politics work, but that might be asking too much.

I had a class like that. I learned about things like unfunded mandates and the grey panthers.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:32

ded redd: Aug 1, 2010; by Fluffdaddy

The party of life is allllll about the babykilling.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:34

Kilroy: Oct 1, 2000

Condiv posted:

edit: i really don't get why some people are pretending we're trying to dumb down congress or be anti-intellectual in advocating for less lawyers in congress

they have criminal justice degrees or some poo poo probably

It's the same shitheads who think IT folks should be launched into the sun the moment they have an opinion on anything other than what's the best OS[1], but for some reason lawyers should be in charge of running the country and gently caress you if you think otherwise.

Lawyers know everything about everything and that's why you want lawyers pondering the finer points of economic theory and how to put together a sensible health care system. It is exactly the same sort of "common sense" horseshit coming from talk radio talking poo poo about college professors, except from a different direction.

[1]Linux Mint

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:39

karthun: Nov 16, 2006; I forgot to post my food for USPOL Thanksgiving but that's okay too!

Office Pig posted:

By the way in case anyone forgot CHIP is about to die.

Yep, Minnesota has about 6 weeks of emergency CHIP funding left and I doubt the Republicans in the State House and Senate will allow any more spending.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 06:53

Kilroy: Oct 1, 2000

Pretty sure that if we had a legislature dominated by hedge fund managers and I said "get the loving bankers out of Congress" no one would say peep about how I apparently want to murder all the bankers and create a society without banks.

But as soon as I say "get the loving lawyers out" apparently I've got an unquenchable thirst for lawyer blood :thunk:

Tell you what: I'll settle for 6% of Congress being lawyers. That to me, qualifies as "get the loving lawyers out". All you L&J majors' fee-fees better now? jfc

# ? Oct 1, 2017 07:09

Jizz Festival: Oct 30, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

LITERALLY MY FETISH posted:

And I never argued that they make better legislators than other people. You're being obtuse and misinterpreting what a lot of people in the thread are saying with this.

Keep in mind that it all started with this

and if you're going to paint me and many others with the same brush as like one guy then don't be surprised when it happens to you, too.

Kilroy wasn't saying we should ban lawyers either.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 07:10

thehoodie: Feb 8, 2011; "Eat something made with love and joy - and be forgiven"

As a (soon-to-be) lawyer: ban all lawyers.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 07:16

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

thehoodie posted:

As a (soon-to-be) lawyer: ban all lawyers.

as an economist: ban all lawyers

# ? Oct 1, 2017 07:17

Killer-of-Lawyers: Apr 22, 2008; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2020

Lawyers are important, I will die defending them.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 09:21

OtherworldlyInvader: Feb 10, 2005; The X-COM project did not deliver the universe's ultimate cup of coffee. You have failed to save the Earth.

Unoriginal Name posted:

Maybe we should have an education system that produces citizens capable of understanding laws, rather than specialists who do it for them

Specialization has benefits. Not everyone has an aptitude or interest for law, and if everyone spends years studying law then that's time they're not doing something else.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 11:09

The Puppy Bowl: Jan 31, 2013; A dog, in the house.

*woof*

Our understanding of law, civics, and government should be better than it is coming out of high school. That doesn't change the fact that specialization is required for a full understanding of any of the hyper specific aspects of our society. It's not a bad thing that lawyers are so deeply involved in our politics but it probably is a bad thing that so many lawyers are present to the exclusion of other socially relevant professions. We could use a lot more teachers, medical professionals, social workers, builders, etc.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 11:26

Condiv: May 7, 2008; Sorry to undo the effort of paying a domestic abuser $10 to own this poster, but I am going to lose my dang mind if I keep seeing multiple posters who appear to be Baloogan.

With love,
a mod

The Puppy Bowl posted:

Our understanding of law, civics, and government should be better than it is coming out of high school. That doesn't change the fact that specialization is required for a full understanding of any of the hyper specific aspects of our society. It's not a bad thing that lawyers are so deeply involved in our politics but it probably is a bad thing that so many lawyers are present to the exclusion of other socially relevant professions. We could use a lot more teachers, medical professionals, social workers, builders, etc.

exactly!

i dunno why this is such a controversial thing to say in this thread

# ? Oct 1, 2017 12:01

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Exploration is ill-advised.

Then the solution you want is to reduce the barriers of entry to politics. Something I wager both major parties will vehemently oppose, perhaps especially the Democrats, thanks to entrenched nepotism and deeply classist culture.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 13:04

socialsecurity: Aug 30, 2003

Inescapable Duck posted:

Then the solution you want is to reduce the barriers of entry to politics. Something I wager both major parties will vehemently oppose, perhaps especially the Democrats, thanks to entrenched nepotism and deeply classist culture.

Jesus dude every single post of yours is randomly making GBS threads on the Democrats did they kill your dog or something?

# ? Oct 1, 2017 13:05

Syenite: Jun 21, 2011; Grimey Drawer

socialsecurity posted:

Jesus dude every single post of yours is randomly making GBS threads on the Democrats did they kill your dog or something?

Well, considering everything they said was true...

# ? Oct 1, 2017 13:35

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Kilroy posted:

they have criminal justice degrees or some poo poo probably

It's the same shitheads who think IT folks should be launched into the sun the moment they have an opinion on anything other than what's the best OS[1], but for some reason lawyers should be in charge of running the country and gently caress you if you think otherwise.

Lawyers know everything about everything and that's why you want lawyers pondering the finer points of economic theory and how to put together a sensible health care system. It is exactly the same sort of "common sense" horseshit coming from talk radio talking poo poo about college professors, except from a different direction.

[1]Linux Mint

What kind of computer janitor are you?

Because Linux Mint is a garbage recommendation to give if your friend is asking you what OS to get and they aren't running a server farm for fun in their basement.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Oct 1, 2017

# ? Oct 1, 2017 13:56

Crowsbeak: Oct 9, 2012; by Azathoth; Lipstick Apathy

There is a problem with lawyers making up the majority of congress. This is that if you have anyone profession dominant in congress it means that you have people of a certain view dominant to the point that other views are not considered. This would also be true if congress were dominated by farmers.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:06

MizPiz: May 29, 2013; by Athanatos

Crowsbeak posted:

There is a problem with lawyers making up the majority of congress. This is that if you have anyone profession dominant in congress it means that you have people of a certain view dominant to the point that other views are not considered. This would also be true if congress were dominated by farmers.

A majority farmers congress would be worth it if only to see every bougie urbanite throw conniption fit.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:13

Volkerball: Oct 15, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Crowsbeak posted:

There is a problem with lawyers making up the majority of congress. This is that if you have anyone profession dominant in congress it means that you have people of a certain view dominant to the point that other views are not considered. This would also be true if congress were dominated by farmers.

Farmers don't make their living arguing their case to the death even if they don't believe what they are saying. How many congressman actually spend a significant amount of time sitting in a dim office writing up hundreds of page long bills anyways? And how many actually read all the bills that are put before them? Isn't that all the responsibility of a bunch of nameless staffers? If so, then those staffers for sure need to be lawyers, but actual congressman don't really benefit from an extremely specialized background in law.

Volkerball fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Oct 1, 2017

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:15

Professor Beetus: Apr 12, 2007; They can fight us
But they'll never Beetus

I'm glad there are apparently lawyers that aren't terrible people, but nearly every lawyer I've met IRL has been extremely fucky and willing to defend the most heinous poo poo in our system just because "well it IS legal beep boop."

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:16

Fritz Coldcockin: Nov 7, 2005

Office Pig posted:

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/914227522287620096
... Tim!

Reminder that this stupid fucker wanted to oust Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:18

sugar free jazz: Mar 5, 2008

I have an unquenchable thirst for lawyer blood tbh

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:21

Hellblazer187: Oct 12, 2003

Lawyers are necessary in a society but not as many as the US has. Japan has like 1/10th of the lawyers per capita as the US and they aren't some lawless hellhole.

Disclosure: I am nominally a lawyer but haven't practiced in years.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:31

WhiskeyJuvenile: Feb 15, 2002; by Nyc_Tattoo

Alter Ego posted:

Reminder that this stupid fucker wanted to oust Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.

Reminder that other stupid fuckers thought that backing Ryan over Pelosi was a good idea.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:35

DaveWoo: Aug 14, 2004; Fun Shoe

WhiskeyJuvenile posted:

Reminder that other stupid fuckers thought that backing Ryan over Pelosi was a good idea.

I suspect most of those folks just wanted Pelosi gone for whatever reason, and didn't realize who was waiting in the wings to replace her.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:37

Quorum: Sep 24, 2014; REMIND ME AGAIN HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE?

MizPiz posted:

A majority farmers congress would be worth it if only to see every bougie urbanite throw conniption fit.

In the age of mechanized agriculture, farmers are bougie. We aren't talking old timey Jeffersonian salt of the earth types here.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:38

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

DaveWoo posted:

I suspect most of those folks just wanted Pelosi gone for whatever reason, and didn't realize who was waiting in the wings to replace her.

Or it could be she is a woman in power and people are misogynists. It isn't more complicated than that.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:46

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Exploration is ill-advised.

Quorum posted:

In the age of mechanized agriculture, farmers are bougie. We aren't talking old timey Jeffersonian salt of the earth types here.

From most personal experience, most farmers are still struggling with booms and busts, expensive machinery and likely rising debt.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:47

steinrokkan: Apr 2, 2011; Soiled Meat

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

Or it could be she is a woman in power and people are misogynists. It isn't more complicated than that.

Oh yeah, Pelosi never did anything to warrant any sort of criticism whatsoever. gently caress off already.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:54

steinrokkan: Apr 2, 2011; Soiled Meat

Inescapable Duck posted:

From most personal experience, most farmers are still struggling with booms and busts, expensive machinery and likely rising debt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kic1wyYI6k

# ? Oct 1, 2017 15:55

Pembroke Fuse: Dec 29, 2008

steinrokkan posted:

Oh yeah, Pelosi never did anything to warrant any sort of criticism whatsoever. gently caress off already.

Pelosi is a mixed bag, but mostly positive. Supports PRISM and originally supported water boarding (although opposed it later), but is basically solid on environment, voted against the Iraq war both times, supported lifting embargo on Cuba, supported minimum wage increase, is pro-abortion and convinced Obama to push through ACA (over the objections of that real useless poo poo: Rahm Emanuel).

I mean, she's not "full communism now" by any means, but of all the Democrats she's probably one of the better ones.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 16:35

yronic heroism: Oct 31, 2008

Condiv posted:

that's above the maximum given by nate silver. in any case, if you want to re-litigate 2016 take it to the thunderdome

If you're citing Nate Silver, he says Comey letter probably did swing the election.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 16:36

Mustached Demon: Nov 12, 2016

Paying teachers like other professional career paths sounds great. Pay teachers like engineers.

Maybe even a few English degrees will go into teaching instead of defaulting to law school to get by (with massive amounts of debt).

# ? Oct 1, 2017 16:54

twodot: Aug 7, 2005; You are objectively correct that this person is dumb and has said dumb things

Pembroke Fuse posted:

Pelosi is a mixed bag, but mostly positive. Supports PRISM and originally supported water boarding (although opposed it later)

I legitimately don't understand how people get to here and think that a politician that only supported torture for a little bit is mostly positive. Surely we can find politicians that both support a minimum wage and never thought it was a good idea to needlessly inflict harm on other human beings?

yronic heroism posted:

If you're citing Nate Silver, he says Comey letter probably did swing the election.

He said it was one of like at least 5 things that that could have swung the election. Blaming any one event doesn't make any sense.

# ? Oct 1, 2017 17:07

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# ? May 25, 2024 15:46

RuanGacho: Jun 20, 2002; "You're gunna break it!"

It can be succinctly stated that generally speaking, Americans do not appreciate what it takes to have a functional society. Most people I know in public service would argue that they have to do things beyond the theoretical scope of their job constantly because they want society to function and they know it won't get done otherwise. This ranges from teachers to food regulation to building inspectors and service workers.

We know the economics of why capitalism wants to pay the numerous and required workers less, but have we ever considered why we embrace the concept of low level but required jobs being without dignity? Isn't the same mindset that makes fun of computer and building janitors, teachers and college instructors without masters the same people who we can point at as Part Of The Problem in the Democratic Party?

# ? Oct 1, 2017 17:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL: Pulitzer Feeling Increasingly Out Of Place In New York Times Office

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