If Socialized Medicine Was So Good …

Why Did A Canadian Premier Fly to Florida for Heart Surgery?

Source: Canadian Press (via Google)

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams faced a tough choice: succumb to Canada’s failed socialized medicine model and have a painful, highly intrusive operation to repair a heart valve, or fly to the United States of America for a minimally invasive, high-tech procedure that was not available in Canada.

Williams flew to Sarasota, Florida for the operation.

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics” Williams said in seeking the best care available in the United States. 

"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.  Yet Williams and politicians like him in both Canada and the United States seek to restrict care for ordinary citizens through socialized medicine.

While stating that his decision was not a reflection on the Canadian health care system, Williams added “(But) this is not a unique phenomenon to me. This is something that happens with lots of families throughout this country, so I make no apologies for that."

Right, quality healthcare for thee, but not for me.

You arrogant smug bastard!

 

Media Bias in the Headlines

Misleading Titles, Lack of Facts, Drive-By Journalism Run Amok

Today on Yahoo Finance a headline caught my eye, so I decided to read the article to see what facts were presented to back up the article’s title “Glee for the GOP, Trouble for Obama: The Politics of Falling Consumer Confidence".

Sure enough, Aaron Task who writes for Yahoo Finance used a quote by  The Atlantic’s eft-wing writer Megan McArdle as the title of his article, rather than actually seeking out facts (or Republicans who were “gleeful” of the country’s economic woes.)

Quoting McArdle in the article:

But not everyone is upset by the data. Republicans will view the much-worse-than-expected confidence report "with glee," says McArdle, who believes there's not much Obama and the Democrats can do to stem the momentum before the November mid-term elections.

I’m not a “Republican” and haven’t called myself one since 1990 when George Herbert Walker Bush broke his promise of “read my lips, no new taxes”  but I do know plenty of Republicans and let me tell you – not a single one has any “glee” over the current economy.  Especially those Republicans outside the DC beltway that suffer the same unemployment as Democrats outside the beltway.

Here in America’s heartland, being unemployed isn’t about one’s political affiliation – it’s about this Administration’s complete inability to recognize the fact that spending money we do not have, creating Government jobs that produce nothing but more bureaucracy and require more taxes from the few producers left in this country is NOT the way out of the Great Recession.  There are no “winners” here, we’re all losing.

The reality is this: until this Administration shifts positions to generating growth in the private sector through deep tax cuts and research and development incentives, stops threatening business’ of all size with new taxes and regulations, stops the largest expansion of the Federal Government since FDR and actively works to cut spending and balance the budget, there will be no end to this, the Great Recession.

This is not to say the Republican Party is perfect, it is not and again I do not call myself a “Republican.”  The reality is however that Obama’s “policies” have been proven a failure in one short year, and the proof is in one simple question: “Are you better off now than you were a year ago?”  Overwhelmingly by more than 80%, American’s say NO!

The evidence against Obama builds daily as more and more American’s awaken to the reality that this President simply does not have a clue.  The “anger” in the electorate is felt by all of us across all socio-economic barriers.  The “post racial” President may not have been able to “unite” Washington DC and move beyond party politics but I’ll tell you this: He’s sure united Democrats and Republican’s in the Heartland against his policies, and that’s going to make this year’s mid-term elections a veritable blood-bath for the Democrats.

 

Where’s The Economic Recovery?

Claims of 2 Million Jobs Created Doesn’t Hold Water

I wrote about this almost 5 months ago now that any economic recovery’s leading indicator is an uptick in State tax revenues as a result of increased economic activity.

That’s just Economics 101.

Last Friday, Obama made the wild-assed statement that the $787 Billion dollar “stimulus package” had created 2,000,000 jobs “and counting.”

Today the Rockefeller Institute of Government (not exactly a ‘right leaning organization’) reported that in 46 states tax collections including all sales tax, income taxes, fees and other taxes collected by State Governments fell again for a record fifth quarter.

What’s causing State Revenues to drop at record levels for the fifth quarter in a row?  Higher taxes stifling economic activity!

The old saying is absolutely true: If the government wants less of something produced, they simply tax it more.

Clearly the Obama Administration is aiming for less economic activity with all their proposed increased taxes.