Inquiring minds are reading the details of an interview in the Tuscaloosa News with Congressman Spencer Bachus. Please consider Bachus discusses Social Security, health care.

“Social Security could face default within two years,” U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus predicted here Tuesday. “The situation is much worse than people realize, especially because of the problems brought on by the recession, near depression. What this recession has done to Social Security is pretty alarming."

“We’ve known for 15 years that we were going to have to make adjustment to Social Security, but we still through that was seven or eight years down the road,” he said. “But if things don’t improve very quickly, we’re going to be dealing with that problem before we know it.”

“We could raise the retirement age, or in the worst case, cut back on some benefits,” he said. “But that is something we are just now beginning to get a handle on.”

By the way, and as noted in Federal Tax Revenues Suffer Biggest Drop Since Great Depression, there is no Social Security fund and there is no trust either.

All that exists of Social Security is a bunch of IOUs and unpaid promises that most believe cannot possibly be met.

Health Care Debate Rages On

Bachus also commented on health care and will not vote for the package in it’s current form. “I cannot vote for a bill that has the government intruding into the private sector, subsidizing health care and eventually putting the insurance companies out of business,” he said.

Bachus believes privately-administered health “co-ops,” and elimination of fraud and waste in Medicaid and Medicare is the way to go.

The creation of health care “co-ops,” or non-profit health cooperatives run by members, is an idea that has gained momentum as Democrats and President Barack Obama seems to have moved away from the idea of a “government option,” which would be a government-run alternative to private health care now offered by for-profit insurance companies.

Who Is In Favor Of The Bill?

Inquiring minds are asking who is backing the health care bill? For the answer, simply watch TV commercials as noted in Drugmakers Ramp Advertising Campaign For Health Care Reform.

The pharmaceutical manufacturers would not be spending $120 million in advertising if it did not mean immense profits for them.

The more promotion there is for this package the more leery of it you should be. The…

Please consider Drugmakers Consider Ad Campaign on Health Overhaul.

Drugmakers are considering a $100 million advertising campaign starting as early as September to push legislation that would overhaul the health care system, said a person familiar with the discussion.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s lobbying group, discussed funding the ad campaign during a meeting in Washington last week, the person said. PhRMA spokesman Ken Johnson said no decision has been reached on the group’s campaign strategy for when Congress reconvenes after the August recess.

PhRMA will be running television commercials in August promoting the importance of the drug industry on the economy in states where pharmaceutical companies have operations, Johnson said. PhRMA said they support measures to revamp the health care system and will contribute $80 billion over 10 years to lowering drug costs. They also stand ready to oppose legislation that would allow the government to directly negotiate prices on medicines sold through the prescription drug program of Medicare, the government’s health plan for the elderly and disabled.

Two people familiar with the discussions in Washington said the amount of money put into ads could increase to $120 million.

$8 Billion a year for 10 Years

Will PhRMA really lower costs by $80 billion? Who gets to measure? How much will PhRMA profit?

In order, the answers are no, PhRMA, and immense.

The last two questions are easy to figure out. The pharmaceutical manufacturers would not be spending $120 million in advertising if it did not mean immense profits for them. Note "They also stand ready to oppose legislation that would allow the government to directly negotiate prices on medicines sold through the prescription drug program of Medicare, the government’s health plan for the elderly and disabled."

In other words the manufacturers do not want group rates. US consumers pay the highest rates in the world for prescriptions. I would like to see legislation that would allow drug imports come in from Canada and for the rest of the world to pay their share of the costs.

By the way, the ads have already started. I saw one last night.

The more promotion there is for this package the…