Mitt’s Flipitus
Posted: 19 September 2012 Filed under: Elections, Health Care, Observations, Politics | Tags: Mitt Romney, Obamacare, Postaday 2012 2 Comments »
The Health Care Mandate
Posted: 6 July 2012 Filed under: Government, Health Care, Observations, Politics | Tags: Cartoon, Obamacare, Political Humor, Postaday 2012 Leave a comment »
One Last Time
Posted: 6 July 2012 Filed under: Health Care, Observations, Politics, Public Policy | Tags: GOP, Obamacare, Postaday 2012 22 Comments »This will be my last post on this subject…….it has gone from a news story to nothing but clap trap and no one is listening…especially the voters…..
The SCOTUS decision has generated much talk in the MSM and surrogates from both sides have been busy dancing their way to the news stations…….is it a tax? Is it a penalty? Let’s be honest…..who f*cking cares!? Let’s look at the “Repeal And Replace” slogan that is flying around the conserv sites…….I understand that they hate it because some black guy had the audacity to take their idea and make it his own… repeal it will be more difficult than these people are telling the voter….it will take winning the House, the Senate and the presidency….something they will not DO! Not matter how much confidence they pretend to have….WILL NOT HAPPEN!
But let us say that they somehow buy enough voters to repeal ACA…..what is the GOP answer for a replacement?
Before the Supreme Court ruling was released, ThinkProgress spoke with Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) about what Republicans would do to protect the 57 million Americans who have pre-existing conditions. “We’re going to work on that,” Terry promised, offering no specifics beyond “there’s going to be lots of ideas. We just have to accept all of them.”
When we pressed him on whether, two years later, Republicans had come up with the “replace” part of “repeal and replace,” Terry was frank: “no.”
KEYES: If it does ultimately all get struck down, what do we do for 57 million people who have pre-existing conditions?
TERRY: We’re going to work on that. We’re going to do it by looking at first, how do we lower health care costs, how do we make the system more efficient and less costly.
KEYES: Are there any ideas on how to do that?
TERRY: There’s going to be lots of ideas. We just have to accept all of them.
KEYES: Do we have any yet?
TERRY: We’re going to hold hearings, we’re going to invite experts. This is not going to be a closed process at all. It’s going to be completely open where we take as many ideas for reform as we can get and then we’ll see what it takes to deal with those that need more attention if they have significant pre-existing. So we’re going to deal with all of those issues.
KEYES: The mantra for a while has been “repeal and replace.” Is there an idea of what the replace would be yet?
TERRY: No. We want to take it in a very deliberate, open approach and take everybody’s ideas.
There it is……”Repeal and Replace”…….they want to repeal it and have NO idea how to replace it.
People, the GOP has NOTHING as far as health care goes! Their nominee had an idea…the only problem is it is ACA……what to do? What to do?
Let me ask one more question…….why would a state with high uninsured people opt out of a plan that is almost totally funded by the Federal government?
Here are those states that will most likely opt out…….
UNDECIDED, APPEAR TO BE LEANING NO:
R – Alabama
R – Georgia
R – Indiana
R – Mississippi
D – Missouri
R – Nevada
R – Texas
R – Virginia
NO:
R – Florida
R – Iowa
R – Kansas
R – Louisiana
R – Nebraska
R – South Carolina
R – Wisconsin
The states with the highest percentage of poor people……..why would they want to do this and penalize poor people knowing that states will mostly likely have to cut services down the road to try and cover budget deficits?
Anyone with a good answer?
It’s All Bush’s Fault!
Posted: 5 July 2012 Filed under: Health Care, Observations | Tags: Obamacare, Political Humor, Postaday 2012, SCOTUS 2 Comments »
SCOTUS & The GOP
Posted: 3 July 2012 Filed under: Government, Health Care, News | Tags: Cartoon, GOP, Obamacare, Political Humor, Postaday 2012, SCOTUS 2 Comments »
Obamacare Lives
Posted: 2 July 2012 Filed under: Government, Health Care, Observations, Politics | Tags: Cartoon, Obamacare, Political Humor, Postaday 2012 Leave a comment »
When Is A Tax Not A Tax?
Posted: 2 July 2012 Filed under: Health Care, News, Observations, Taxation | Tags: 2012 Elections, Obamacare, Postaday 2012, SCOTUS 2 Comments »I was not going to mention the health care decision….I was going to let the pundits rattle their brains for the proper spin……but I will have to admit that I did not see the taxation thing coming with the decision…..Judge Roberts has done what he intended….he gave the GOP its talking point for the next week or so…..that being that the was constitutional and that the penalty for not having insurance would result in a penalty would be a form of taxation……
When I heard the ruling I thought it was a win for the prez and that the GOP was having sour grapes and would spin it…..they did as I thought they would ….but the more surrogates roll out and the more the spin turned not from health care but to the taxation thing….I got to thinking….
And so did the Congress……and now they will not admit defeat and work on jobs but rather they will vote and vote on what is a dead subject, at least for now….
But as long as they plan on tapping this decision, the taxation part, I have a counter to their spin…..the Repubs are now saying that the penalty for not having insurance is a form of taxation, right? If you are crazy enough to buy into this argument….what about the penalty for an overdrawn check…..a tax? Or the penalty for parking improperly….another tax? The penalty for speeding, jay walking, etc….are all these taxes?
These are seemingly preposterous questions are no more so than to label the insurance penalty as a tax….I may not agree with everything, or in reality not much….but this line of attack is nothing more than idiotic……. just the lame attempts of the losers in the Obamacare case trying to spin this for the benefit of a candidate that has no position other than he wants to repeal the law…….the same law that he passed and approved for the state he was governor several years before.
I have often called the time from primary wins to conventions as the doldrums of politics….that time when the most moronic stuff is said to stay in the news……yes, I know….it is pathetic….but that is American politics.
While You Wait
Posted: 28 June 2012 Filed under: News, Observations, Politics, Public Policy, Society | Tags: Obamacare, Postaday 2012, SCOTUS, Supreme Court Leave a comment »Today is the big day! We all, well us political geeks, are waiting for the decision from SCOTUS on Obamacare. No matter which way it goes there will be a wealth of surrogates sprinting to the closest mic to spout the party talking points (thank God for the House gym that keeps all these toads in shape for sprints like this one)…….
While you sit on the edge of your chair waiting nervously for the big announcement let me give you something to think about…….America is in the midst of radical change…..wait! What do I mean?
James Fallows of the Atlantic has summed it up very well, indeed…..
This is distilled from a longer item earlier today, at the suggestion of my colleagues. It’s a simple game you can try at home. Pick a country and describe a sequence in which:
- First, a presidential election is decided by five people, who don’t even try to explain their choice in normal legal terms.
- Then the beneficiary of that decision appoints the next two members of the court, who present themselves for consideration as restrained, humble figures who care only about law rather than ideology.
- Once on the bench, for life, those two actively second-guess and re-do existing law, to advance the interests of the party that appointed them.
- Meanwhile their party’s representatives in the Senate abuse procedural rules to an extent never previously seen to block legislation — and appointments, especially to the courts.
- And, when a major piece of legislation gets through, the party’s majority on the Supreme Court prepares to negate it — even though the details of the plan were originally Republican proposals and even though the party’s presidential nominee endorsed these concepts only a few years ago.
How would you describe a democracy where power was being shifted that way?
SCOTUS was originally created to be the referee between the Executive and Legislative branches….and since those days it has morphed into something radical and out of control……they have long since moved from neutral referee into a party arm…..and no matter which way the vote goes…they are helping create an America that no one respect…….
Obamacare, What’s It Good For?
Posted: 13 June 2012 Filed under: Government, Health Care, Observations, Public Policy | Tags: Health Issues, Obamacare, Postaday 2012, Supreme Court 2 Comments »The days are counting down until SCOTUS releases its decision on Obamacare………..Obamacare has been in the news since it was enacted….Repubs hate…..Tea Party hates it…..Health companies hate it…..everybody wants to repeal it. Why?
We hear about the mandate……we have heard so much about it that the whole act has been sent to SCOTUS for their opinion…..an opinion that has already been given….just not published yet……let us say that the whole law is repealed…..will that satisfy all nay sayers?
I hate to be the one to let all know things (okay that is a lie…I love it!)……..but there are those that will benefit the most if it is repealed……but who are these masked men?
Investopedia has narrowed it down for easy understanding…….
Small BusinessesWhen you look at the front lines of this battle, special interests representing the small business community are making their presence known. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) believes that Obamacare will be detrimental to the growth of small businesses. Representatives from the lobby group report healthcare costs skyrocketing between 20% and 40% since the passage of the law and many worry that the premiums will continue to rise.If this bill is repealed, small business owners hope to see decreases in premiums, but just as important is the removal of the uncertainty that has kept their growth plans shelved.DoctorsIf you still believe the old model where doctors are among the richest people in America, some doctors want you to rethink that idea. There are still some physicians with lucrative positions who live the a lavish life, but most are finding their practices struggling to survive, with health insurance companies only paying a fraction of what they once did. Because of this environment, America is facing a critical shortage of doctors by 2020.
A recent study conducted by The Doctor’s Company in February, found that 60% of doctors believe that Obamacare will hurt patient care and further put their practice under financial pressure. Moreover, if Obamacare is repealed, some believe that doctors will stop leaving the profession, and more will believe that the large debt load they take on to become a doctor will result in a lucrative career allowing them to pay off the debt in a timely way.
The Wealthy
Those making more than $250,000 per year will pay a 3.8% surtax on their investment income to help pay for Obamacare. That, along with other tax hikes, would bring capital gains taxes up to 23.8% and dividend taxes could rise from the current rate of 15% to as high as 43.4%. If Obamacare is repealed, that wouldn’t bring tax rates down to Bush-era tax cut levels, but it would remove the 3.8% surtax.Big CompaniesWhen the healthcare bill was passed, companies immediately took charge-offs and raised concerns that this legislation could drastically cut employees’ healthcare benefits or even cause layoffs. AT&T took a $1 billion charge-off to account for a rise in healthcare costs, while Caterpillar, John Deere and many others took smaller, yet substantial charge-offs, soon after passage.
If the bill is ruled unconstitutional and later repealed, companies who took this charge-off could see a bounce in their stock price and the same thing could happen in the broader market. Markets hate uncertainty and since nobody knows the true effect of the bill until it takes effect, many investors would much rather see it repealed.
SCOTUS could make many high dollar donors very happy……….many have ulterior motives for wanting the repeal…….and very little has anything to do with jobs, fairness or anything so noble…….it is about wealth and greed…..period!
BTW….we cannot say that Romney does not have a plan….you wanna see it?
Mitt Romney laid out an alternative … that would apply free-enterprise principles to the nation’s health-care system rather than run it like a ‘government utility,’ letting competition drive down prices and increase quality. He also vowed to divert federal Medicaid dollars and other federal funding to state governments, making them responsible for covering the uninsured.”
And this is the plan if he is elected…..you people are smoking crack! This is the most absurd idea on record!
Obamacare: Repeal And Replace
Posted: 6 April 2012 Filed under: Fiscal Policy, Government, Health Care, Observations | Tags: GOP, Health Issues, Obamacare, Postaday 2012 10 Comments »The Supreme Court has in its hands now…it has already made a decision but they need 3 months to write up the ruling…..it is NO secret that I think SCOTUS is a joke but they are the final word on constitutional matters and we will have to wait for the news of their ruling and that should be good for a couple of weeks of MSM jaw bumping…….
Until then let us look at the GOP’s favorite slogan….at least for now…..Obamacare: Repeal and Replace….we Americans have been exposed to this bumper sticker for almost a year…but if it is repealed what will be its replacement?
From The Week Magazine……..
Republicans charged into the 2010 midterm elections with the battle cry: “Repeal and replace” the Democrats’ massive health care reform law. The GOP rode that promise to a landslide victory, but once conservatives took control of the House and were strengthened in the Senate, the “replace” part of the equation sort of disappeared. With the Supreme Court seemingly on the cusp of striking down or neutering ObamaCare, effectively carrying out the “repeal” part of the GOP promise, there’s a new urgency regarding what, if anything, would take the law’s place to fix America’s broken health care system. Do Republicans have a plan?
No. “Replace” was always a lie: Republicans have been promising to unveil their ObamaCare alternative for 15 months, says Jonathan Bernstein at The Washington Post. And here we are — still waiting. “The truth is that ‘replace’ has always been a fraud, cooked up presumably because a flat-out repeal of health care reform polls much worse than replacing it with some unspecified legislation.” If the Supreme Court does toss out the law, at least it will call the GOP’s bluff.
“The GOP’s ‘repeal and replace’ fraud”Of course Republicans have a plan: “There is a Republican health plan,” says John Goodman at Fox News. But just as Democrats are often loathe to discuss ObamaCare, “Republicans are just as afraid to talk about their plan.” That’s because it’s “more radical and progressive than ObamaCare”: It scraps all the “arbitrary, unfair, and wasteful” federal and state tax subsidies for insurance coverage and gives every America the same amount of money to buy their own insurance. Problem solved.
“There is a GOP alternative to ObamaCare”The GOP solution might look a lot like ObamaCare: Even ObamaCare opponents know that some parts of the law — like the rule preventing insurers from turning away customers with pre-existing conditions — are “overwhelmingly popular,” says Eli Lehrer at The Huffington Post. But such provisions cost money. So we ObamaCare detractors have “a rather unenviable set of choices”: Find a way to pay for the popular parts of the law, or oppose it all and take a political hit. The sad truth? Keeping the popular parts of the law means embracing a solution that will be awfully similar to ObamaCare.
“An unenviable health care choice for conservatives”
Well Romney’s plan is out for it looks like Obamacare. So what s left? Tax credits? Savings accounts? what is the GOP’s stand on getting adequate health care for Americans? A better question is…Is there a plan?
I guess these questions will be answered in June when SCOTUS chimes in……
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