Not for every generation, perhaps, but I liked this...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Oh, So Now We Know...
Since only sketchy or no details about the Health Care DIsaster bill were available to the public or the media before it was passed (doesn't that make you feel good about the process?), we are only now seeing better evaluations trickle out about the costs of the bill.
Below is a portion of a report out today from Fox News regarding the evaluation from the Dept. of Health and Human Services on the cost of the bill. You should keep one thing in mind on the little comment inserted about "that increase could get bigger." This evaluation is required by the bill to assume that a 20% cut in Medicare reimbursement will be allowed to occur. This is the same 20% cut that has been "scheduled" to occur for years now. Every time it comes due to take place, Congress postpones it for anywhere from a week to a month to a year. This is the exact same proposed cut that in the past month we've seen postponed for a number of days at a time, some 3 or 4 times.
Why doesn't the "cut" take place? Because if it did, many hospitals, clinics, and doctors that care for Medicare patients would go under financially or have to stop caring for Medicare patients. That would create a huge crisis because Medicare patients would not have ready access to care in many cases. That situation will not improve with time, which is why I can't see it realistically ever taking place.
If you never implement that 20% cut, then the cost of the health care bill increases significantly, even dramatically. Now can you understand why Congress made sure the bill never addressed this problem? They didn't want the bad press that would come with it, since it would make it even more obvious that the bill will INCREASE the cost of health care in the U.S.. And yet it's as real as the sun, earth, and air.
Here's the excerpt:
"WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government economic forecasters concluded Thursday in a sobering assessment of the sweeping legislation.
A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department said the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance -- adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls.
But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, however, since the report also warned that Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, forcing lawmakers to roll them back."
Full story here.
Below is a portion of a report out today from Fox News regarding the evaluation from the Dept. of Health and Human Services on the cost of the bill. You should keep one thing in mind on the little comment inserted about "that increase could get bigger." This evaluation is required by the bill to assume that a 20% cut in Medicare reimbursement will be allowed to occur. This is the same 20% cut that has been "scheduled" to occur for years now. Every time it comes due to take place, Congress postpones it for anywhere from a week to a month to a year. This is the exact same proposed cut that in the past month we've seen postponed for a number of days at a time, some 3 or 4 times.
Why doesn't the "cut" take place? Because if it did, many hospitals, clinics, and doctors that care for Medicare patients would go under financially or have to stop caring for Medicare patients. That would create a huge crisis because Medicare patients would not have ready access to care in many cases. That situation will not improve with time, which is why I can't see it realistically ever taking place.
If you never implement that 20% cut, then the cost of the health care bill increases significantly, even dramatically. Now can you understand why Congress made sure the bill never addressed this problem? They didn't want the bad press that would come with it, since it would make it even more obvious that the bill will INCREASE the cost of health care in the U.S.. And yet it's as real as the sun, earth, and air.
Here's the excerpt:
"WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government economic forecasters concluded Thursday in a sobering assessment of the sweeping legislation.
A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department said the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance -- adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls.
But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, however, since the report also warned that Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, forcing lawmakers to roll them back."
Full story here.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
We Are Americans First
Two recent reports caught my attention. One was a caller to a radio talk show - I think it was the Sean Hannity Show - an immigrant to the United States from a Central American nation. He expressed his support for the principles of the Tea Party, identifying them as the founding principles of America and the reason for America's success and uniqueness, and reasons he personally loves America. He clearly had not bought into the 'party line' from Democrats that he should support them because they would 'take care of' him or 'level the playing field' for him or give him special advantage. He loves America because he has personal freedom of expression and choice, and opportunity for success and improvement of his and his family's fortunes.
The second was an oddly posed question from an NBC reporter to a participant at a Tea Party rally who is black. The exchange was reported this way, as a "news report, brought to our attention by the fellows at NewsBusters.org, involved NBC reporter Kelly O'Donnell and tea-party activist Darryl Postell. O'Donnell approached Postell at a Washington rally, and hilarity ensued:
O'Donnell: There aren't a lot of African-American men at these events.
Postell: [laughs] Right.
O'Donnell: Have you ever felt uncomfortable?
Postell: No, no, these are my people, Americans.
Good for Mr. O'Donnell! Aren't you uncomfortable here? - as though his skin color should determine that. No, I'm not uncomfortable here because these are my people - we are Americans first and I share core principles and values with these folks, this group I'm a part of. Good for him!
These two examples represent what our focus is an needs to be. The principles we stand for are for our freedom and opportunity - and those are as valuable and worthy of fighting for for all Americans, regardless of where we were born, our skin color, our accent, or any other factors that many in government and the media try to divide us by.
The second was an oddly posed question from an NBC reporter to a participant at a Tea Party rally who is black. The exchange was reported this way, as a "news report, brought to our attention by the fellows at NewsBusters.org, involved NBC reporter Kelly O'Donnell and tea-party activist Darryl Postell. O'Donnell approached Postell at a Washington rally, and hilarity ensued:
O'Donnell: There aren't a lot of African-American men at these events.
Postell: [laughs] Right.
O'Donnell: Have you ever felt uncomfortable?
Postell: No, no, these are my people, Americans.
Good for Mr. O'Donnell! Aren't you uncomfortable here? - as though his skin color should determine that. No, I'm not uncomfortable here because these are my people - we are Americans first and I share core principles and values with these folks, this group I'm a part of. Good for him!
These two examples represent what our focus is an needs to be. The principles we stand for are for our freedom and opportunity - and those are as valuable and worthy of fighting for for all Americans, regardless of where we were born, our skin color, our accent, or any other factors that many in government and the media try to divide us by.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Eyes on a Different Prize
I'm convinced that with Obama and the Democrats (as with most politicians, to be honest), the key is to watch what they DO, not what they SAY so much.
For most Americans right now, they would hope that leaders in government would 'keep their eyes on the prize' - the prize to us being the priority of getting the economy moving and job creation geared up (which generally means getting off the back of the private sector so companies can find ways to create jobs and the innovation that spurs job creation).
To Obama and Democrat leaders, however, their eyes are on a different prize - their 'prize' is to take command of huge swaths of the economy not only for now but to make that control a permanent feature of American life and society. That's a big reason why they pushed and maneuvered so hard to get the Health Control Disaster Bill passed - in spite of the political hit it appeared they would and have taken. It's about power. It's about control. It's NOT about economic growth - despite their words to the contrary.
What's the evidence for this? Well, there are many evidences, but I'll give one here that I watched closely because it impacts on my profession and interest area (technology in medicine). Remember the ridiculously named "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act" of a year ago? That was also nicknamed the "stimulus" bill where about a trillion dollars were spent (i.e. mostly borrowed) with the purported purpose of stimulating the economy and job creation.
As part of that act, there was the separately named HITECH section of the act. This designated over $30 billion to be applied to speed the adoption of computerized records technology in the U.S. - it was also sold as part of the stimulus bill to create jobs and economic activity.
Only one problem: of the over $30 billion, only about $2 billion was supposed to be spent in 2009-10, which is the time frame we needed to get the economy and job creation going. The rest was DESIGNATED TO BE SPENT FROM 2011-2015! Think about that! It was NOT about creating jobs and getting us past the recession. It WAS/IS about extending federal influence and control over another area of the economy and healthcare. That's what I mean - watch their actions and you will see that Obama and the Democrats eyes are on a different prize than us...and it's disturbing to say the least.
For most Americans right now, they would hope that leaders in government would 'keep their eyes on the prize' - the prize to us being the priority of getting the economy moving and job creation geared up (which generally means getting off the back of the private sector so companies can find ways to create jobs and the innovation that spurs job creation).
To Obama and Democrat leaders, however, their eyes are on a different prize - their 'prize' is to take command of huge swaths of the economy not only for now but to make that control a permanent feature of American life and society. That's a big reason why they pushed and maneuvered so hard to get the Health Control Disaster Bill passed - in spite of the political hit it appeared they would and have taken. It's about power. It's about control. It's NOT about economic growth - despite their words to the contrary.
What's the evidence for this? Well, there are many evidences, but I'll give one here that I watched closely because it impacts on my profession and interest area (technology in medicine). Remember the ridiculously named "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act" of a year ago? That was also nicknamed the "stimulus" bill where about a trillion dollars were spent (i.e. mostly borrowed) with the purported purpose of stimulating the economy and job creation.
As part of that act, there was the separately named HITECH section of the act. This designated over $30 billion to be applied to speed the adoption of computerized records technology in the U.S. - it was also sold as part of the stimulus bill to create jobs and economic activity.
Only one problem: of the over $30 billion, only about $2 billion was supposed to be spent in 2009-10, which is the time frame we needed to get the economy and job creation going. The rest was DESIGNATED TO BE SPENT FROM 2011-2015! Think about that! It was NOT about creating jobs and getting us past the recession. It WAS/IS about extending federal influence and control over another area of the economy and healthcare. That's what I mean - watch their actions and you will see that Obama and the Democrats eyes are on a different prize than us...and it's disturbing to say the least.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Crazy Spending, Trivial 'Cuts'
Want to get a sense of scale as to how much the federal government is spending under the yoke of Obama and the Democrats, how much debt we are being crushed with, and what a trivial joke is Obama's promise to "cut" $100 million from his multi-trillion dollar budget?
Watch this short little video clip.
Watch this short little video clip.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Democrats and Coercion
Denver Post columnist, David Harsanyi, on Obama and the Democrats: "What does it say about your cause that nearly every policy idea you cook up is based in some form or another on coercing the American people?" I think this guy gets it! He's got some other great columns you may want to read if you've got a few moments.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Former NY Governor Pataki Weighs In
True enough, governor.
"Former New York Gov. George Pataki announced Wednesday the creation of a national organization that will work to repeal the Democrats' health care overhaul, which he called a "horrific" and costly bungle..."I can't recall anything remotely like this in my lifetime," Pataki told FoxNews.com. He said the law was passed in the face of substantial opposition from the public and hastily rammed through Congress by its chief architects, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "We can't just roll over and accept it as a fait accompi. That's what I think the president, Pelosi and Reid thought would happen," Pataki said. "We're going to fight, mobilize and get this repealed." ... A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 58 percent of Americans support repeal."
"Former New York Gov. George Pataki announced Wednesday the creation of a national organization that will work to repeal the Democrats' health care overhaul, which he called a "horrific" and costly bungle..."I can't recall anything remotely like this in my lifetime," Pataki told FoxNews.com. He said the law was passed in the face of substantial opposition from the public and hastily rammed through Congress by its chief architects, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "We can't just roll over and accept it as a fait accompi. That's what I think the president, Pelosi and Reid thought would happen," Pataki said. "We're going to fight, mobilize and get this repealed." ... A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 58 percent of Americans support repeal."
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Americans Determined to Wipe Smirk Off Government's Face?
Much can change over several months in politics, but here's more evidence Americans are understanding more and more what Obama and Democrat progressives/liberals are trying to do, and they don't like it:
Monday, April 12, 2010
Many Ways Government Can Now Control Our Options
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and the discussion turned to the curious "bundling" by Congress of the health care bill with the federal take-over of the student loan program.
"Take over" meaning that rather than the federal government serving the relatively inert position of guaranteeing student loans, it "cuts out the middle man" of private lenders and puts the federal government in the direct position of loan-making.
With that power, of course, the government also gains power over our individual choices and options. Example: you have worked hard in school and been accepted into your choice of medical schools. Turns out it's expensive and demanding, meaning it would be nearly impossible to have outside employment while going through the medical school. So you apply for a student loan. Since it's from the government, let's say the government "has determined" that we don't need more surgeons but we do need more pediatricians. So they will give you a loan if you commit to go into pediatrics, but not if you go into surgery.
You might say "hey, the government wouldn't do that." Really? You trust that? Look at the history of what government is willing to do once it is given the power and permission to do so.
Beyond this additional encroachment on your personal choices and freedoms, the bundling of the student loan take-over withe the health care bill represented yet more accounting games designed to make the bill look financially prudent, when it is anything but.
It's going to take months of steady and compelling effort on all of our part to make Democrats pay for this in November so we at least have a chance to get some of our freedoms back and try to pull the nation back from the brink of financial insolvency. Be strong, folks!
"Take over" meaning that rather than the federal government serving the relatively inert position of guaranteeing student loans, it "cuts out the middle man" of private lenders and puts the federal government in the direct position of loan-making.
With that power, of course, the government also gains power over our individual choices and options. Example: you have worked hard in school and been accepted into your choice of medical schools. Turns out it's expensive and demanding, meaning it would be nearly impossible to have outside employment while going through the medical school. So you apply for a student loan. Since it's from the government, let's say the government "has determined" that we don't need more surgeons but we do need more pediatricians. So they will give you a loan if you commit to go into pediatrics, but not if you go into surgery.
You might say "hey, the government wouldn't do that." Really? You trust that? Look at the history of what government is willing to do once it is given the power and permission to do so.
Beyond this additional encroachment on your personal choices and freedoms, the bundling of the student loan take-over withe the health care bill represented yet more accounting games designed to make the bill look financially prudent, when it is anything but.
It's going to take months of steady and compelling effort on all of our part to make Democrats pay for this in November so we at least have a chance to get some of our freedoms back and try to pull the nation back from the brink of financial insolvency. Be strong, folks!
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