Here is information with some useful links, provided with the hope that we here in California can use our values and energy for positive change now. The “nation-state” of California can serve as a leading model for other states in our country.
Healthcare in California
The Democratic Party has what’s called a “super-trifecta” in California, the governorship and super-majorities in both houses of the legislature, so how can its leadership possibly blame anything on the Republicans, the other party of this obsolete two-party system? Although Democratic Party leaders say they support a single-payer healthcare system (see the Platform Preamble below) what have they done? We’ll look at that below. A state Medicare for All system would save both money and lives, as it does in other industrialized counties.
The Green Party is clear in its support of single-payer healthcare. We are not conflicted about it, because the Green Party and its candidates take No Corporate Money at all, and reject money from the pharmaceutical, hospital and medical industries.
Here’s a great quote to address the question of whether a single-payer healthcare is worth it:
I’m a Canadian. Americans have heard a lot about our healthcare system. I have to admit, living here we never had to worry about pre-existing conditions or deductibles. But I can tell you this. If you ask a Canadian if our healthcare system needs work, 100% of us would say “YES!”. And if you asked us if we wanted American-style healthcare, 100% of us would say “NO!!!!”
In 2022, the Democratic Party had all the elements going for them in Sacramento: a super-trifecta, campaign promises, budget surplus, pandemic, bill to implement, and a bill to fund. In 2021 they said they’d do it “next year.” And yet, in early 2022 they would not even let it come to a vote. In this way, no one knew how their representatives would have voted.
Amazingly, during the 7 years of our action-hero governor Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Democratic legislature put a bill on his desk twice, and as he had promised, Schwarzenegger vetoed it. How many times did the Democratic legislature put the healthcare bill on the governor’s desk in 14 years of Democrats Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom? Zero.
Gavin Newsom has more than a year left in his governorship. Can we make him get it done?
Trifecta State: California and others
Some US states have what’s called a “trifecta.” That’s when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. This map https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas shows the current trifecta states.
A “SUPER TRIFECTA” is held by a few states and one of them is California, since 2011, more than 14 years ago. A super trifecta means one political party has the governorship and a SUPER MAJORITY in both houses of the legislature, which pretty much means they can do anything they really want to do!
California Democratic Party – Platform Preamble
https://cadem.org/our-platform/#preamble
We support an excellent public education system, from pre-K through college, to empower our youth to reach their full potential; a universal, single-payer health care system; good union jobs; sustainably planned communities; a strong democracy from the workplace to the federal government; and, a secure and peaceful world.
Because climate change presents an existential threat to the future of humanity, we will fight to: protect our air, water, and natural resources through renewable energy; locate affordable housing near public transportation; and, develop innovative technology to reduce our carbon footprint.
The Hope for Healthcare
The hope is that we either get healthcare in the next year in California, or we turn away from the two-party system that has blocked healthcare for decades, and we elect a no-corporate-money Green governor. Here is one more link: https://www.butchware4gov.com/
Book with Hope
Rutger Bregman, Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World, focused on Universal Basic Income (UBI), open borders, and a 15-hour workweek, with examples from around the world, including the US.