Hello all,
I know you have probably seen this article already and it has been discussed in another diary. I have already seen stuff on social media explaining the plan and how he is going to pay for it, which I have liked and reposted but there's another way to address this as well.
Which I did on FB. Back in August there was this article about the cost of the Research and Development, not production, just R and D of the Air Force's newest bomber skyrocketing.
Last year the U.S. Air Force estimated a 10-year (fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2024) cost of $33.1 billion for the program. The 10-year cost for fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025 is now estimated at $58.2 billion, and Speier thinks that the increase warrants an explanation. Here is a portion of her letter to James, as cited by Defense News:
This sudden 76 percent increase in estimated cost is alarming, because it raises questions about the management of a crucial program that lacks transparency, on which we cannot afford serious cost overruns, development errors, and reduced production numbers that would deprive the United States of one of its core military capabilities. … The Defense Department has promised that the LRS-B would be produced at a fixed price of $500 million per plane, but these reports suggest we should be concerned about the reliability of that promise.
The Air Force stated, no, no, it's only "An Air Force spokesman said on Monday that the true cost estimate for both years should have been $41.7 billion. Air Force spokesman told Breaking Defense in an email that both 10-year estimates in the two reports were incorrect and that “the program costs have remained stable,” presumably at $41.7 billion."
Which is still an almost 10 billion dollar increase. This is just to develop the plane, not to build it. So, when people get upset at spending money to provide healthcare for Americans, all American, perhaps we could remind them how much the government is willing to spend to research a plane to kill people elsewhere.
Because really, that's what this comes down to. Where are our priorities as a nation?
We could also remind them that the government had no problem spending $2 trillion or more on the war in Iraq. A war which served no greater purpose, unlike healthcare for all will.