More quotes on Obamacare

2 quotes for today

Because they lack the bargaining power that large businesses have and face higher administrative costs per person, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more for the very same health insurance plans – costs that eat into their profits and get passed on to their employees.

As a result, small businesses are much less likely to offer health insurance. Those that do tend to have less generous plans. In a recent survey, one third of small businesses reported cutting benefits. Many have dropped coverage altogether. And many have shed jobs, or shut their doors entirely.

This is unsustainable, it’s unacceptable, and it’s going to change when I sign health insurance reform into law.
President Barack Obama Weekly Address to the Nation 7/25/2009 Available at www.whitehouse.gov/

When I take this bill to the floor, it will win. But we will move forward

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on CNN State of the Union July 26, 2009 Transcript available here.

First, I am absolutely delighted that President Obama realizes the importance of small business in the American economy. He cites a rather long study by the Council Of Economic Advisers to support his concern. The report is also available at whitehouse.gov. It is dated July 25, 2009 the day he gave his weekly address. Too bad the CAE didn't publish it sooner, I'm certain it would have dispelled any and all concerns about a negative impact of health care on small businesses. (slight sarcasm!)

For Speaker Pelosi, a point of clarification please. You stated that when you take the bill to the house floor you will win, which I presume is your goal. Then you say "But we will move forward." The way I interpret this remark is that the health care bill is a move backward, if you move forward after it is passed by the house.

And now a question for both of you. Imagine you are not professional politicians for a moment but small business owners. Which would be easier for you to understand and comply with, a bill that is 10 pages long, 100 pages long or 1000 pages, the length of the current Health Care Reform Bill? Do you see my point? I believe you will have better success if you break it up and try to get the least expensive and burdensome parts of the bill passed first. But then, what would I know? I'm not a professional politician.

Great News for health care reform!

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (Dem-Nevada) announced today there will be no vote on President Obama's requested health care legislation before the summer recess. Thank goodness for this decision. There is still some sanity left in Congress. As I stated earlier, the USA has gotten by without the so-called direly needed health care reforms, we can get by a little bit longer. Again, I remind President Obama he still has 3 years left to do this. A little more deliberation and negotiation will only make it better not worse.

More scare tactics on health care reform

This is from President Obama's weekly address to the nation today. You can read the entire text or watch the video at WhiteHouse.gov.

"Or whether we'll seize this opportunity -- one we might not have again for generations -- and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009."(italics mine)

What is the basis for this?? What will happen 09/01/2009 that will prevent any form of legislation on health care for generations?! Congress is just taking their summer recess. They will come back and carry on as they always do. President Obama does not tell us the source of his urgency in his speech today or any other day that I am aware of. I sure hope he tells America why we can only act now, the suspense is killing me.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Az) delivered the Republican Weekly Address today and proposed a reason for President Obama's repeated warnings that it is now or never for health care reform.

"The President and some Democrats insist we must rush this plan through, why? Because the more Americans know about it, the more they oppose it. Something this important needs to be done right, rather than done quickly."

At first glance, it sounds like a conspiracy theory. But the more I review the rhetoric and the conspiracy theories of the President and the Democrats, his explanation becomes more and more plausible. You can watch his address here on youtube.

Good news/bad news on health care reform

First the good news. President Obama is trying to have medicare reimbursement rates and policies decided by a commission of health care experts. Right now rates are being set by members of congress. Congressional use of medicare reimbursements as pork is a major cause of the increases in medicare costs. Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel described this as "the least talked-about, most important issue on the table." (Washington Post Com July 16 2009. "Obama Eyes The Purse Strings for Medicare") On this issue the Obama administration has my full support. Anything is better than setting reimbursement rates with a committee of 535.

The bad news came from testimony by the Congressional Budget Office Director today before the Senate Budget Committee. Douglas Elmendorf said there was nothing in the current bills that slow down the rate of federal spending for health care. Instead of bending the cost curve downward, a goal of health care reform, it will actually raise the rate of federal spending on health care. Here is a snippet of the questions Mr. Elmendorf had to face today. This is from the committee chairman, Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) As quoted from the Washington Post.Com July 16, 2009 "CBO Chief criticizes Democrats health reform measures":

"I'm going to really put you on the spot," Conrad told Elmendorf. "From what you have seen from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve?"Elmendorf responded: "No, Mr. Chairman."

I cannot add anything to his response. No means no, what else is there to say. Time to go back to the drawing board.

A Few Quotes on Obamacare

Here's a few quotes on the so-called dire need for health care reform.

"We will work through some of the differences we have among the members, both Democrats and Republicans, with the objective that we will have a bill," Waxman said. "We cannot allow this issue to be delayed. We cannot put it off again. We cannot — quite frankly, cannot — go home for a recess unless the House and the Senate both pass bills to reform and restructure our health care system." Rep Henry Waxman D- California.

"I don't know many small-business men or women who are making themselves $280,000, so I am not sure that very many small businesses are going to be affected by this," Hoyer said. "But we are committed to paying for health care reform. The Senate is committed to paying for health care reform. . . . That is one option that has been proposed." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md

Both quotes from the Belleville News-Democrat July 14, 2009 "House Democrats propose surtax on rich to pay for health care."

And now for a counter quote to both:

"Imagine, if you will, that I am an idiot.
Then, imagine that I am also a Congressman.
But, alas, I repeat myself."-- Mark Twain 1866

To Mr. Waxman, please read my blog on June 16, 2009 on health care reform. Bill Clinton said the same thing you did back in 1993. His prophecy of doom and gloom did not materialize. Health care reform advocates like yourself should read the parable about the little boy who cried "Wolf!" The USA has hobbled by without the so-called needed reforms we can probably get by a little longer. Maybe we should focus on economic recovery first then if there is a need for health care reforms it will be obvious to anyone.

To Mr. Hoyer, just because you don't know many small business people making $250,000 doesn't mean they aren't out there. Maybe you do know some and they just don't feel their earnings are any of your business.

Barney Frank attempts to be Big Brother

Have you read George Orwell's novel 1984? The movie's male protagonist, Winston Smith, was a civil servant who rewrote history to suit the government, embodied by Big Brother. The government maintained all records and newspapers. Whenever something happened that was contradicted by past records or policies, the contrary items were purged and replaced with records that supported the new policy.

As you will see in this youtube video of Barney Frank interviewed by Bill O'Reilly on the O'Reilly factor, Mr. Frank seems to think that all the things he said and did in the past would not come back to haunt him.



Lots more to come on this later.

Last rant on the smoking prevention act (for now)

Remember the Master Tobacco Settlement back in the 1990s? One of the rationales for this legislative extortion was the money would fund smoking prevention programs. Here is a graph from the campaign for smoke free kids. This group supported the smoking prevention act even though they have proof on their website that the states did not use their funds for cessation programs. Where did the money go? Wherever the state legislatures felt like spending it. Not unlike President Obama's campaign chat with Joe the Plumber. Obama wanted to "spread the wealth". A nice vague statement that can easily be sidestepped and revised ad nauseam later.

Spending Graph

The smaller parts of the graph are the amounts the states spent on their smoking cessation programs. The larger one is the amounts states received from the Master Tobacco Settlement and their current tobacco sales and excise taxes. You need a magnifying glass for the spending on smoking prevention programs. You can see the receipts from Tobacco taxes from across a large sized room. Do the math and you will see the states spent less than $7 billion over a 10 year period. During the same 10 year period they received over $200 billion. When politicians receive over $20 billion a year, they are not going to kill the goose that lays this many golden eggs. That is why the smoking prevention programs get such a small percentage of the tax receipts that tobacco generates.

To learn more about how we are doing on smoking cessation, visit Campaign for smoke free kids, just click here