Filed under: Democrat Corruption, Economy, Foreign Policy, Law, Liberalism, National Security, Politics, Progressivism | Tags: A Government Shutdown, Much Ado About Nothing, Obama's Power Play
The media, always ready to do the bidding of the Obama administration, continues to shriek about a government shutdown — as if a shutdown were unusual. It isn’t. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) even stretched mightily to claim that a shutdown would be “as dangerous as the break-up of the Union before the Civil War.” Mild. Harry Reid has called us “anarchists” and the president’s communications director Dan Pfieffer said Congressional Republicans were “terrorists with bombs strapped to their chests” in an apparent contest to come up with the worst insult.
— There have been 17 funding gaps since 1977. Under federal law, operations and services continue for those essential for “the safety of human life or the protection of property” as well as those programs funded through multiyear or permanent appropriations.
— Crucial government services and benefits continue without interruption. A 1995 legal opinion said “the federal government will not be truly ‘shut down’… because Congress has itself provided that some activities of Government should continue.”
— Social Security and veterans benefits will continue to be paid. 80 % of Social Security Administration employees kept working in 1995 because they were considered ‘essential’ to making benefit payments.
— National Security, including the conduct of foreign relations, is considered an essential function.
— Food and Drug safety would not be affected.
— Air Traffic Control and other transportation safety operations are considered essential, and TSA agents will continue to search you.
— Federal law enforcement at all levels will continue to operate, FBI, Border Patrol, Bureau of Prisons all stay open and functioning.
— The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department continue to function, and the IRS keeps on collecting money.
— Emergency and Disaster services are essential services in the case of hurricanes or tornadoes.
— Federal employees who are not considered essential would be furloughed. Based on past examples this is a small number compared to the federal workforce.
Not much is shut down. Museums may not be open, Parks may be officially closed, but it really isn’t a big deal, contrary to the horrified shrieks of the Media. It’s just politics as usual.
Filed under: Democrat Corruption, Economy, Health Care, Law, Liberalism, Politics | Tags: False Statements, False Statistics, Refuses to Negotiate
Here is Senator Barack Obama explaining his 2006 vote against raising the debt limit.
From Senator Obama’s Floor Speech, March 20, 2006:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that “the buck stops here.” Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
Senator Obama was urging Congress not to tolerate an increase that would bring the debt ceiling to $9 trillion. Under President Obama, the debt ceiling has raised to $14.3 trillion. Without counting most of the unfunded liabilities, the national debt is now calculated to be nearing $16.7 trillion, and increasing by about $1.86 billion per day. But things often look different from the other side of the fence.
Today the president said:
So Americans who’ve lived for years in some cases with the fear that one illness could send them into bankruptcy, Americans who’ve been priced out of the market just because they’ve been sick once, they’ll finally be able to afford coverage — quality coverage — many of them for the first time in their lives.
Some of them may be sick as we speak. And this is their best opportunity to get some security and some relief. Tens of thousands of Americans die every single year because they don’t have access to affordable health care. Despite this, Republicans have said that if we lock these Americans out of affordable health care for one more year — if we sacrifice the health care of millions of Americans — then they’ll fund the government for a couple more months. Does anybody truly believe that we won’t have this fight again in a couple more months? Even at Christmas?
So here’s the bottom line: I’m always willing to work with anyone of either party to make sure the Affordable Care Act works better, to make sure our government works better. I’m always willing to work with anyone to grow our economy faster, or to create new jobs faster, to get our fiscal house in order for the long run. I’ve demonstrated this time and time again, oftentimes to the consternation of my own party.
It would be refreshing if the president could speak honestly, without demagoging an issue. I was curious about the president’s constant repetition of the idea that everyone is only minutes away from medical bankruptcy. This is a difficult subject because bankruptcy laws are different in each state.
An essay from The American magazine from the American Enterprise Institute says : “There is no evidence to indicate that a government run healthcare system in the United States will reduce personal bankruptcies.”
Democrats are trying to push the idea that everybody is going bankrupt because of a sudden immense medical bill. They are also assuming that bankruptcy is a very bad thing. Yet our bankruptcy laws are designed to protect people from going off to the poorhouse, as they once did. There’s a big difference between medical expenses being a factor in a bankruptcy and medical expense being the cause. When someone has to go through bankruptcy because they cannot pay their bills, medical bills might be just one of the bills. Democrats will always stretch to reach for the scariest statistic. A comparative analysis of Canadian and U.S. statistics suggests that bankruptcy statistics are being exaggerated and distorted for political purposes.
An article by Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute, points out President Obama’s claim that the cost of health care causes a bankruptcy every 30 seconds.
But the alleged link between health costs and bankruptcy is about as real as the tooth fairy. The overwhelming body of research shows that medical costs play little or no role in the vast majority of U.S. personal bankruptcies. …
The study also reviewed Warren’s early research on medical bankruptcies and found that medical spending was a factor in no more than 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies.
A detailed analysis by The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle further discredited the link between bankruptcy and medical expense. She found that Warren’s team classified a filing as a medical bankruptcy whenever unpaid medical bills were resolved through bankruptcy proceedings — even if other debts were far bigger contributors to insolvency.
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economy, Energy, Health Care, Politics, Socialism | Tags: A World of Trouble, Debunking ObamaCare, Ted Cruz's Triumph
A lot of people have misunderstood Ted Cruz’s valiant “filibuster.” It wasn’t really a last-ditch plea for Congress to defund ObamaCare. That was never in the cards, The Republicans need to control the Senate to accomplish that. There just aren’t the votes, and Democrats will not allow their people to fail to support the party line. They use the hardest of strong-arm tactics. They are not nice people.
What Ted Cruz did, eloquently and precisely was to spell out the problems inherent in ObamaCare. He spoke calmly and carefully for 21 hours explaining just what was in the law and why it was a problem. Oddly enough, the media suck-ups found the brief reading of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham as a bedtime story for his two small daughters, the most important part to talk about.
The ObamaCare Law is indeed a train-wreck and even Democrats are coming to agree that it is. Not yet ready to turn against their president, however.
The law is and was clearly unconstitutional, but through some convoluted reasoning, the Supreme Court decided it was Constitutional. The Court is very reluctant to directly defy a law passed by Congress. There are many lawsuits proceeding through the courts, and more being filed.
Hearts sank when the Supreme Court failed to act. Many placed a lot of faith in the ability of the House to defund the law and still believe that we can somehow defund it.
Some believe that we just have to elect a Republican Senate next year, so that it can be repealed. Others believe that we must just allow the law to collapse of its own internal conflicts, which are innumerable.
Obama is angry, and I believe, frightened. He hates Republicans on general principles, he is losing supporters, his approval rate is plummeting. He has had neither interest nor skill in foreign policy. He opposed the Iraq War as a “dumb war” without ever getting beyond far left propaganda to find out what it was all about. He assumed the only reason to be in Afghanistan was to “get” bin Laden, and once he was dead, al Qaeda would no longer be a threat. The Arab Spring has turned to a bloody debacle, he has supported all the wrong people, and embarrassed himself and America with his bumbling in Syria, red lines and all. Now he’s back to wanting dialogue with Iran, sure that his persuasive powers, honed by Alinsky will allow him to convince Iran to stop with the nuclear weapons.
The world is interfering with his battles at home, The Republicans in Congress are attacking his precious ObamaCare, and threatening to defund it, or demanding to delay it for a year. This would be an extremely successful thing to do, for Americans are angry that everybody gets a waiver except ordinary citizens. And the plan is clearly not ready to roll out.
Obama cannot admit that it is flawed. All is subject to the budget talks, raising the debt ceiling so our bills can be paid is one thing, convincing the administration that they really have a spending problem is quite another. Democrats will demand that the sequester be ended. Forcing them to cut back on their spending is impossible. As Nancy Pelosi, brilliant mathematician, insists “The cupboard is bare. There just isn’t any place where we can cut at all.”
A world of troubles. And to top it all off, the IPCC has had to back off of their claims of alarming global warming. Al Gore is demanding prison sentences for anyone who denies climate catastrophe. And all those billions of green investments? Graft. Enriching his cronies and supporters. Chicago politics.
Are the American people finally beginning to recognize the failure? Or are they still hoping, waiting for things to change?
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Economy, Freedom, Health Care, Law, Politics | Tags: It's a Part-Time World, SEIU Meets ObamaCare, Service Employees International Union
Members of the Service Employees International Union local 1 (Chicago) have gone on strike over recent cuts in employees hours at a janitorial company called Professional Maintenance. Here’s another union who were big Obama supporters who are suddenly confronted with the realities of ObamaCare.
Tyler French, Local 1’s organizing director, said the company claimed it had to cut its employees hours due to ObamaCare mandates. Mr. French does not believe that explanation, He’s sure it’s the latest excuse in a long line of many that we’ve seen from corporate America.”
SEIU enthusiastically backed ObamaCare when it passed, and is sending unionized health professionals out to promote the law in 30 cities over coming months. How interesting that they seem completely unaware of what the new law is doing to employment all over the country. I guess it’s hard to give up your illusions.
The Unions are being screwed. I wonder if we will see more strikes?
Filed under: Domestic Policy, Environment, Freedom, Heartwarming | Tags: Cleaning up Detroit, One Park at a Time, The American Spirit Lives!
I love this! Don’t whine. Don’t wait for government to act responsibly. Just go to work. The American Spirit lives!
Filed under: Democrat Corruption, Health Care, Law, Politics, Socialism, Taxes | Tags: An "Infrastructure" Project, Subsidies and Waivers, The ObamaCare Disaster
The Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services has not assessed whether ObamaCare will be ready to roll out on October 1, a spokesman for the Inspector General said today.
They have not done in-depth inspections of specific parts of the law, the spokesman said. “Whether the Affordable Care Act will be able to be up and fully functional on October 1, is not something that we have done assessments of,” said Donald White, a department spokesman.
That immense stack of paper is a printout of the Affordable Care Act. Nancy Pelosi thought she was being cute when she said “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it.” It wasn’t funny, but unbelievably crass. Passing a bill with not so much as a single word included from a Republican, a bill ginned up in a back room, passed with the most corrupt form of bribes, and without a single Republican vote — is not the way things are supposed to work.That alone should be enough to fire every single Democrat congressman.
Democrats have long wanted single-payer health care, like the British have. Because it is paid for through taxes and a reduced standard of living, the Brits believe that their health care is free at the point of service. If it’s free, then you can run off to the doctor for every sniffle and cold, and over-use becomes a real problem.
But the British have long been glad to return to power whoever promises not to interfere with their “free” healthcare. Unfortunately, the service is terrible; waits for service long; hospitals are filthy; the aged are left without water, clean sheets, or care to die from neglect. The scandals are real, people die, because the incentives are all wrong. Doctors are servants of the system, the newest medicines or newest diagnostic tools are too expensive to buy. Patients are encouraged to over-use the system, hospitals and doctors offices are encouraged to treat more patients in less time so it will cost less. And Doctors and hospitals are desperate to be paid adequately for their services. Incentives are really important. So, as was completely inevitable, Britain’s National Health Service is going broke.
Forbes magazine reports that ObamaCare will increase the average Individual-market insurance premiums by 99% for men, 62% for women. The technology problems involved in the exchanges are huge, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be ready or functional at all. The U.S. has had to delay the deadline for finalizing the final agreements with insurance plans. In some cases they say they’re ready, but nobody has checked.
The architects and supporters of ObamaCare had wonderful visions about the possibilities of information technology, the kind of visions held only by those who have never been more deeply involved with their computer than moving the mouse around. Megan McArdle said she worked in an IT consultancy, and she thought setting up this system would be something like an eight-year job. You should hear the doctors who have to switch from handwritten notes to entering data in a laptop. My doctor says the errors are going through the roof (how often do you have a typo? And it’s worse with numbers) and endangering patients.
A Price-Waterhouse study found that “insurers passed over major medical centers” in many states to keep premiums down. Those buying a Blue Cross plan in California’s exchange will have access to 47% fewer doctors and 22% fewer hospitals than subscribers can get today. The Blue Cross plan in New Hampshire excludes more than half of the state’s hospitals. That’s what the incentives direct insurers to do, and how the best intentions go astray. Having an insurance card does not guarantee access to specialists or other providers.
At the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday, President Obama did admit that his health care law does raise taxes after all. ” So what we did— it’s paid for by a combination of things. We did raise taxes on some things.”
Filed under: Capitalism, Domestic Policy, Economy, Election 2014, Health Care, Law, Politics | Tags: Hypocrisy, ObamaCare Exceptions, The Affordable Care Act
Americans don’t like ObamaCare, and the more they learn about it, the less they like it. Obama promised that their costs would decline by $2,500 for a family of four, and they are learning that is not true. Obama promised that they would have the same excellent health care plan that members of Congress had. So when the Affordable Care Act (the formal name makes me snicker) was passed, a caveat was included that members of Congress and their staffs had to participate, just like everybody else.
Members of Congress squawked, as did their staffs, many of whom suggested they might have to resign rather than bear the cost. So of course Obama ordered an exemption for members of Congress and staffs. But he cannot do that. This the law of the land, as they keep reminding us. Not even the President of the United States can just say nevermind. It doesn’t work that way. Zero legal authority.
The Affordable Care Act requires the 11.000 people who work on Capitol Hill to purchase their health insurance on its exchanges, but many of them earn too much to qualify for subsidies. That’s a financial hit worth about $5,000 for individuals and $11,000 for families. Polls show that over 90 percent of Americans object strenuously to the special privilege the Obama administration has delivered to members of Congress.
Republicans have voted to defund ObamaCare somewhere around 44 times, but nobody is fooled by the gesture. No member of Congress, especially Republicans, should dare face the voters next year if they have not enlisted in ObamaCare just as they are forcing the rest of the country to do. The Congress are the servants of the American people and serve at their pleasure, and can be removed at their pleasure. Yes, you won’t like it. Yes, it will cost you a whole bunch more. You put this wretched law together behind closed doors with no input from Republicans, forced it through with all sorts of sleazy deals, and passed it without a single Republican vote.
If this represents a struggle between your wallets and your principles, Republicans had better opt for principles. This one is a no-brainier. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has been shopping around an amendment to overturn the opt-out. He is not being well received. Republicans should think again. Senator Vitter is right. And do allow all the Democrats to exempt themselves. The more of them defeated at the polls, the better.
American Elephants 