We Remember 9-11

  In memory of those lost September 11th, 2001

We Will Never Forget.

 Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?

Obama's Biggest Lie To Date

“Universal Health Care Without Raising Taxes or the Deficit”

In what I can only call Obama’s biggest lie to date, one line in his speech jumped out at me as I read the text copy of it earlier today.  This line went unnoticed by damn’ near everyone in the liberal and conservative newsmedia, so allow me for a moment to point it out right here.

Quoting Obama:

“We will have a plan to cover all uninsured Americans without increasing the deficit or raising taxes.”

Now the question: Has the United States government ever been able to create such a massive program without increasing the deficit or raising taxes?

The answer is NO.

Now the reality check: Obama’s plan will tax health insurance companies which ultimately will force premiums to rise for those of us that have private health insurance, whether through our jobs or a co-op or other means.   A tax by any other name is still a tax, and its important to remember as a consumer that all costs of producing a good or service whether it’s making widgets, selling a service or health insurance coverage are passed onto the end consumer in the form of increased prices. This includes taxes.

Why is Obama backpeddling so furiously and now choosing an “alternate” method of accomplishing the same goal of “Universal Healthcare?”

The main distinction between soaking insurers directly and eliminating the tax-free nature of employer health benefits is that the latter proved wildly unpopular, especially among Democrats' union allies, while the former is palatable to all but insurers shareholders (i.e. many pension funds.)

But the distinction would rob Peter to pay Paul as both would result in higher customer co-pays and out of pocket expenses and more limited coverage for those already insured.

Healthcare companies including drugmakers would pay a direct tax and people with high priced health insurance would also pay.  Taxing what the politicians in D.C. call "Cadillac" health plans also has other flaws.  It would not distinguish between typical private sector employees who already pay a third of their premiums out of pocket and for those who work in government who often pay next to nothing.  It would also disproportionately hit consumers in high-cost states that bar insurers from denying coverage to riskier customers, thus discouraging a key goal of "healthcare reform"

How about this simple idea instead: Open up health care and promote competition.  Eliminate the barrier that prevents health care companies from selling policies across state borders just like is done with automobile and life insurance policies today.  Why have health care companies been prohibited from this type of competition anyway?

The answer is simple: because individual states have their own mandates which require health companies to comply with them.  This has had the effect of stifling competition across state lines and has kept premiums high.

Remove this obstacle, let companies compete across state lines and watch the premiums consumers pay fall.  Competition will ultimately force premiums down making health insurance more affordable to all, and that should be the proper goal of any health care "reform" coming out of Washington D.C.  Promote competition and let the market (along with the American People) do the rest.  This is what our country and economy excels at - as long as Washington DC doesn't interfere like they did in the housing market. 

Poverty At 11 Year High – Thanks Obama!

The U.S. poverty rate hit its highest level in 11 years in 2009 as the worst recession since the Great Depression threw millions of Americans out of work, a government report showed on Thursday.
The Census Bureau said the poverty rate -- the percentage of people living in poverty -- jumped to 13.2 percent, the highest level since 1997.

The government defines poverty as an annual income of $22,025 for a family of four, $17,163 for a family of three and $14,051 for a family of two.

With unemployment rising, real median household income fell 3.6 percent to $50,303 in 2008, a 10-year low. The percentage decline was the biggest annual drop since 1991 and snapped a three year streak of annual income increases that occurred under the Bush Administration.

Yes, Obama is Causing More Poverty!

"The poverty rate will not fall back to the 2007 rate until the economy expands enough that the unemployment rate falls back below 5 percent. This is not likely to happen for several years," said Sheldon Danziger, a Russell Sage Foundation fellow and professor at the University of Michigan.

Poverty was higher among blacks and Hispanics, the report showed. About 14.1 million children under the age of 18 lived in poverty last year, up from 13.3 million in 2007.

"We project that with the continuing deterioration in the labor market, by 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty," said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

Guess that “Hope and Change” isn’t working out so well for America’s working families now is it?  It breaks my heart to even think that so many children will be living in poverty by the end of this year, and that Obama’s policies continue to make this situation worse.

Guess “The One” isn’t going to be happy until we’re all living under poverty, begging the government for our daily bread.

Which reminds me …

Where A People Fear Their Government, There is Tyranny.

Where A Government Fears The People, There is Liberty!

--- Ronald Reagan