Category Archives: Obamacare

Media, Obamacare, Politics

Media Focuses On Politics Rather Than Obamacare

A prime example of how the media circles the wagons around this president, is this AP story that took two people to write.

julie_paceObama_presserNotice how AP writers Julie Pace and Nancy Benac make the story over the politics of it all. How this will hurt the administration, how republicans fell into a controversy with legs, etc.. Well Julie, Nancy, just because Solyndra, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS intimidation of political adversaries, EPA intimidation of political adversaries, and NSA domestic surveillance are not in your reporting doesn’t mean they didn’t happen and are not attached to this administration.

For the AP, it isn’t about how Obamacare (the law) is not doing what it was supposed to do or doing what it was promised to do. And, it isn’t about leaving seniors, and everyone for that matter, in the lurch with cancelled policies, higher premiums and deductibles, and a non-functioning website. Not to mention that there are millions of Americans that aren’t plugged into the Internet in the first place, like seniors, that need a health insurance policy. None of that.

And only now do they admit how wildly unpopular Obamacare is and always has been with most of America. Wouldn’t be surprised if Julie Pace, Chief White House Correspondent at the AP, gets a W-2 from The White House.

Link: For Obama, health care woes may have staying power

Obamacare

Obamacare Destroying Health Security

Here’s a headline that should get your attention: More Americans In 3 States Have Had Their Insurance Canceled Under ObamaCare Than Have Filed An Exchange Account In All 50. And it centers upon President Obama’s big promise when he was “selling” his plan to you.

Over 500,000 individuals have seen their insurance policies cancelled in just 3 states. In all 50 states, only 476,000 applications have been “filed” in an exchange. (Even though we are still learning the true definition of “filed.”)

But the deception doesn’t stop there. When the administration cites the enrollment numbers, few as there are, they exaggerate them too! Whatever the number of enrollment they give, it includes those who have enrolled in Medicaid instead of buying insurance through a government exchange. Even the young and “healthy” are getting on Medicaid, and they’re the ones the government is depending on to pay the freight for older Americans.

Link: More Americans In 3 States Have Had Their Insurance Canceled Under ObamaCare Than Have Filed An Exchange Account In All 50

Media, Obamacare, Politics

Dems Join Ranks Of Terrorists, Hostage Takers

All of a week after several weeks of calling House and Senate Republicans hostage takers and terrorists for wanting to save Americans from the terribly flawed Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, six senate Democrats (up for re-election) are strapping on their bomb vests and calling for delay and/or repairing as KKK_democratswell. And oh yeah, they’re racists too. The only reason they don’t want it to go into effect is because Obama is Black.

It is instructive to note the emphasis that the media puts on this move. It’s not about the poor people who won’t have insurance, it’s about how it will affect the Democrats politically.

As Democrats began to fret about the political consequences ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, the administration late Wednesday said it was granting what amounts to a six-week filing extension. The March 31 deadline for having insurance became the new deadline for applying for it.

You will recall that the bills that the House proposed a few weeks ago to end the government shutdown were defeated for a lack of six Democrat senators who stood with their party instead of the American people. Today, they’re claiming to be defending the American people.

Link: Democrats Want ‘Obamacare’ Deadlines Moved Back

 

Economy, Obamacare, Politics

Obamacare Fines, For Poor People Only

Hearken back to how the unaffordable Affordable Care Act was promoted with the mandate attached. It was called a “fine” or “penalty” all the way up to the point it went to the Supreme Court. Then, the description of the mandate changed from a penalty to a “tax” you will pay if you did not buy an insurance policy that the obamacare_going_to_hurtgovernment approves of.

That the government does not approve the policies of hundreds of thousands of insured people is the reason insurance companies are notifying their customers that their policy does not meet the “minimum requirements” as proscribed by Obamacare and is being cancelled as of the end of the year. (Barack Obama, “If you like your policy, you can keep your policy.”) Oh never mind.

Which brings me to the mandate, the penalty. The alternative revenue stream that is supposed to make the government exchange insurance policies “affordable.”

Aside from people finding out how expensive their government exchange insurance policy with high deductibles will be, presuming the healthcare.gov website gets fixed, the details of how the penalty is collected is where the program breaks down. Long story short, if you pay taxes already and don’t get a tax refund, and choose not to buy health insurance, you’re home free. If however, you are like many low income people who revel in receiving a tax refund (which is actually you paying more taxes than you owe), and choose not to buy the expensive health insurance, the government will deduct your penalty from your refund. You’ll pay your fair share. (Obama’s words) So where does this end up? Right where Obama intended it to end up. He will try to take Obamacare to its final destination, a single payer system where the private sector health insurance industry becomes extinct and the whole country is on Medicare.

Regardless whether you believe that a single payer system is the goal, that Obamacare is the pathway to a single payer system (like Obama himself has said), you better believe that not only does the mandate have no teeth, but it punishes low income workers while giving everyone else a pass on paying the so-called mandated penalty.

The Joint Tax Committee prepared a summary of Obamacare that includes this discussion of the mandate:

The penalty applies to any period the individual does not maintain minimum essential coverage and is determined monthly. The penalty is assessed through the Code and accounted for as an additional amount of Federal tax owed. However, it is not subject to the enforcement provisions of subtitle F of the Code. The use of liens and seizures otherwise authorized for collection of taxes does not apply to the collection of this penalty. Non-compliance with the personal responsibility requirement to have health coverage is not subject to criminal or civil penalties under the Code and interest does not accrue for failure to pay such assessments in a timely manner.

As I understand it, the only way the IRS can possibly collect the penalty is by withholding your tax refund. No problem: if you arrange your taxes so that you don’t overpay, the penalty can never be collected from you. Some observers who should know better continue to tell young people they should pay the penalty and forgo expensive insurance. No: young people, if they want to follow their self-interest, should forgo expensive insurance and NOT pay the penalty, because it can never be collected from them.

Since Obamacare is, by all accounts, “settled law,” it will be interesting to see the wailing from Democrats to change it when the people who look to them for sustenance find out that the government is dipping into their tax refund while taking nothing from those rich people.

The beauty of this train wreck is that Republicans have nothing, zip, zero, nada, to do with it. They didn’t write it, they didn’t amend it, and they didn’t vote for it. But they do have an alternative that does not increase the debt, will actually work to decrease premiums, doesn’t involve raising taxes or imposing fines on poor people, has no death panels, and, doesn’t put the government between you and your doctor. It’s called H.R. 2300, the Empowering Patients First Act of 2013.

Link: DELAY THE MANDATE? WHAT MANDATE?

Media, Obamacare, Politics

HEALTHCARE.GOV Website Developer Was Fired By Canada

“Oh no”, says Barack. Those pesky bloggers are at it again. In other words, doing the job that the lamestream media just won’t do.

Did you know . . . The Canadian government fired the parent company of CGI Federal, CGI Group, Inc, the prime contractor for the problem-plagued Obamacare health exchange websites, last year for poor performance.

The Canadian firm that was paid $634 million dollars without a bidding process, to build the Obamacare website and other computing services, was fired by Canada for failing to meet three years of deadlines as the developer of Canada’s online medical registry.

Let that sink in for a moment. Now ponder why the Obama administration would give Serge Godin, among Canada’s richest 100 citizens, and his wife, the owners of CGI Group, Inc. over a half billion of taxpayer dollars to a Canadian company that was fired for failing to do the job that Obama expects them to do?

According to Open Secrets, CGI Federal alone has contributed $1,020,000 from 2008 to 2013 to the DNC.

So let the investigations begin. Beginning with this question, is Serge Godin a big-time Obama campaign bundler? And let’s include Nina Freeman in this too, an employee of his, who is involved in distributing the money. And while we’re at it, we better subpoena Toni Townes-Whitley. (see update below)

Link: Canadian officials fired IT firm behind troubled Obamacare website

Update 10/22/2013, and needing no further setup. Well, except for the fact that once the news breaks, the lamestream media plays catch-up . . . Report: Healthcare website failed test ahead of rollout 

Update 10/28/2013, the lobbying donations don’t even tell the complete story as to why CGI Federal might get a no bid and open contract. Come to find out that a Princeton University classmate of First Lady Michelle Obama, Toni Townes-Whitley, lives in the neighborhood (Fairfax Station, Va) and is a Senior Vice President at CGI Federal. I can hear the Church Lady now, “Isn’t that special?”

Obamacare

Obamacare, Making The Post Office Look Good

No offense to Post Office employees intended. But the ability of the government to run anything efficiently has always focused on the U.S. Postal Service. Now that Obamacare has become activated, they’re looking pretty good by comparison. In the same way President Obama has made President Carter look good.

Not only are people not able to get to the website, but the insurers are getting the wrong and/or incomplete data on the people who were lucky enough to sign up.

I tried the site out. Was able to input login information and that’s all. That was three days ago. Tried every day since then and can’t login again, getting a 400 error. So I can’t get to see what a good deal I can get on health insurance under Obamacare. Maybe because there isn’t any good deal for me under Obamacare. Ya think?

Link: Obamacare woes widen as insurers get wrong data

2014 Election, 2016 Election, Economy, Obamacare, Politics

Barack “The Crisis” Obama Is At It Again

Andy Rooney mode ON: Have you ever wondered why President Obama habitually decries crisis-driven management right after he does it? Andy Rooney mode OFF:

In an April 6, 2013 weekly address to the nation, the President talked about his plan to create jobs and reduce the deficit. Didn’t mention the debt, AT ALL. His plan obama_houdiniwas increasing taxes and building roads and bridges. He said then . . .

While it’s not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it’s a compromise I’m willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short-term, crisis-driven decision-making, and focus on growing our economy and our middle class for the long run. {emphasis added}

Today, over six months later, and two months after a five week vacation for Congress, and one day after a grandstanding government shutdown he imposed was lifted, Barack “The Crisis” Obama goes before the mic again, ostensibly removing himself of all responsibility and says “The American people are completely fed up with Washington.” (Not just fed up. I’d include Fed up, capital F)  He says . . .

“I understand we will not suddenly agree on everything now that the cloud of crisis has passed. Democrats and Republicans are far apart on a lot of issues,” Obama said. “And sometimes we’ll be just too far apart to forge an agreement. But that should not hold back our efforts in areas where we do agree.”

Shouldn’t hold back “our efforts” where we agree? You mean like opening National Parks, funding the military and veterans, funding funeral benefits for fallen soldiers? Those areas of agreement? Virtually funding everything except Obamacare? It was those areas that prompted him to not agree just to keep the crisis going.

The mid-terms and general election can’t come soon enough.

2014 Election, 2016 Election, Economy, Obamacare, Politics

America Is Sick, And The Doctor Is Out

So what did the House of Representatives hope to accomplish by what was thought to be a futile attempt to defund Obamacare, aka a government shutdown?  How was that strategy supposed to help the Republican party?hope_and_chang_making_america_sick

Common questions over the government shutdown, arguably, imposed by President Obama. Given that the House passed bills to keep everything, but Obamacare, running.

The strategy was doing what they were elected to do, exercising their Constitutional responsibility of holding the purse strings of the federal government. It’s no more complicated than that. It wasn’t meant for the good of the party. But rather, the good of the country which, is being buried in debt at a rate unprecedented and with no end in sight.

It had less to do with politics than fighting the good fight which, was better than not fighting at all. Today, it is clear they did not prevail. Turned out to be a “lost the battle, not the war,” kind of thing.

kick_can_to_greeceWhat amazes me is how Congress still allows for increasing the debt limit. Something candidate Obama called irresponsible and un-patriotic. The words LIMIT and CEILING have no meaning anymore. Even without Obamacare, we are headed for default if drastic reforms are not made. Increasing the debt limits will only allow, and lead to, increasing the national debt.

The politics of it all is that Congress is playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded revolver. There’s NO budget proposal by the majority that reduces deficits towards a balancing point, let alone paying down the debt. By definition, a budget that includes deficit spending, includes borrowing. And borrowing adds to our debt. (I know. Slim chance that the low-information crowd will have read this far. But just in case.)

Check this link at the CBO. There are two scenarios, Bad, and Worse.http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42905 It says that no budget now or in the future will be without deficit spending. The only variable is will we go over the cliff at 100 miles per hour or 50 miles per hour.

First thing to do is to scrap the ‘baseline budgeting’ game, and make budgets like you and I have to. Then start reforms from there. THAT, won’t be popular with anyone. But when you’re sick, the medicine you need to get well tastes bad. The so-called ‘leaders’ in Washington should be preparing us for recognizing the illness, and prescribing the medicine. Instead, they’re kicking the can down the road.

America needs the right kind of doctor to save America. And President Obama isn’t the one. If one does not rise to the call, the 2014 and 2016 elections is where we’ll find one.

Economy, Media, Obamacare, Politics, Race Relations

Then There’s Obama’s Economic Recovery Recession

There’s a reason the news has been consumed by things like the debt ceiling, continuing resolutions, and Obamacare. They can be easily demagogued and republicans can, and will, be blamed for all of it by the administration and the compliant media.

When it comes to the economy and related numbers, income is down, poverty is up.  It’s no longer possible to blame Bush for it. This is Obama’s failed economy. No one else’s.

Try as they might, there are some out there that tout it as a resounding success. Like MSNBC’s Ed Shultz. He can’t believe that only 45% of Americans believe Obama’s handling of he economy is good! And that was a month ago.

“It amazes me that people don’t love Obama…It just amazes me he can’t get above 50 percent when it comes to a favorable view of the economy.”

Ed then touts how the stock market is going through the roof and how Obama has been “hands off” on Wall Street. Oh really? The stock market has been artificially pumped up for years with the Quantitative Easing from Federal Reserve. Printing trillions of dollars that is not going to main street. It’s being used on Wall Street, and, is a major contributor to the widening gap in income between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of us. And that’s why any hint that the QE printing presses will be cut back causes the stock market to come down off its QE high. While Ed Shultz is touting this great stock market, and  how wonderful the economy’s doing, here comes Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve saying, “Oh, no it’s not, and if we don’t continue to pump $1 trillion a year into it, it’s gonna plunge.”

On Main Street, the picture is not any better. In fact, it’s much worse.

According to the Census report, the high point for median household income in the United States was back in 1999 ($56,080). It almost got back to that level in 2007 ($55,627), but ever since then there has been a steady decline. The following figures come directly from the report, and as you can see, median household income has fallen every single year for the past five years…

  • 2007: $55,627
  • 2008: $53,644
  • 2009: $53,285
  • 2010: $51,892
  • 2011: $51,100
  • 2012: $51,017

You also didn’t know that there are six counties in America where the median income is over twice the national median.  Four of those counties are suburban Washington.  The median income in those counties is it $101,000. And now that Obama has exempted them from the Healthcare Exchanges, making you pay 75% of their health insurance policy, the political class is doing just fine.

The new Census report also revealed that 46.5 million Americans are living in poverty. During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people on poverty increased by about 6,667,000, according to data released by the Census Bureau.

Right now, one out of every five households in the United States is on food stamps. Keep in mind too that the increased cost and fines associated with Obamacare have not been fully realized yet. That will only make things worse. There are lots of troubling signs as we get ready to head into the fall season…

  • -Total mortgage activity has dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since October 2008.
  • -One of the largest furniture manufacturers in America was just forced into bankruptcy.
  • -According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2013 holiday shopping season is already being projected to be the worst that we have seen since 2009.

Oh but it doesn’t stop there. The administration will say that two million jobs were created last year? What kind?  Lower paying and part-time jobs primarily in the service ObamaUnemploymentMathindustries, some of which are second and third jobs people are taking just to make ends meet. The sad fact is that over two million jobs have been lost from the entire labor force since Obama took office. Counting unemployment the way it used to be counted, the rate would be well over 14 percent, known as the U-6 by the BLS.

But those falling median income numbers still don’t tell the whole story. Breaking it down by ethnicity, you’ll see that the strongest voting block for Democrats is hurting the most, and by far.

“The median income for non-Hispanic White households was $57,009, and it was $33,321 for Black households,” which is falling, after nearly five years of the first Black president. Black unemployment remains the highest in the country, Black median income at the lowest.  Teen Black unemployment is unacceptably, almost criminally high. With results like this, it is puzzling why the Black population votes by 93% every four years for the Democrat candidate. Under both White and Black Democrat presidents, it should be obvious that Obama’s skin color didn’t improve their circumstances one iota. In fact, they got worse. The promises are always there. They’re fighting for you. Bla Bla Bla. Have the Democrats fulfilled their promise? Are you gaining, or losing? That’s the only question you need to ask yourself. And the answer, no mater the color of your skin, is losing. At best, it’s time to realize which party can help your situation. At worst, you can ask yourself, “What do I have to lose?”

Economy, Media, Obamacare, Politics

Obamacare And The Separation Of Powers

Let’s not pretend to be so shocked that the House of Representatives wants to fund the government, but not Obamacare. The latest iteration of House Republicans obamacare-you-lie-obama-politics-1341488584negotiating with themselves has melted down to merely extending the same exemptions that Obama illegally gave businesses (until after the mid-term elections) to you and me. Ordinary citizens without the deep pockets.

Obama and his believers in the media will say, hey, it’s the law. You have to fund it. Well, the ACA may be the law, for now, but it is anything but normal.

Beginning with its origination. This law was written to the exclusion of all Republican lawmakers. Mistake #1. Who’s surprised that the country is divided on this? This law was not voted on and approved by the House. Instead, it was “deemed passed” by then Speaker Pelosi (D-CA). Mistake #2. Who’s surprised that the country is divided on this? This law is not performing as it was promised when “sold” to the American people, from the quality of care, keep your doctor, keep your plan, lower cost, no increase in national debt. The opposite is proving to be true about this bill. “Legal” or otherwise. Who’s surprised that the country is divided on this? Mistake #3. There is no budget here to debate over. Obama hasn’t had a budget to abide by since Bush’s last one. During all of Obama’s years, he and congress have been flying by the seat of their pants (where their brains are), and have been operating on CR’s ever since.

As for the Supreme Court ruling on it. That was only about whether the Federal Government can force you to pay for it. Contrary to all of Obama’s and the supporters of the ACA’s arguments up to that point, the Supremes said, with the aid of Chief Justice Roberts, that Congress has the power to tax, so it was a tax. Obama’s lawyers argued all along that it was not a tax, but was a penalty, a fine. Roberts had to change their argument in order to declare it constitutional. Whether the Constitution permits the Federal Government to force citizens to buy a product was not addressed.

Since Obama and Reid have said they’re not willing to talk or negotiate with the House leadership, the House has only one recourse left to them under the Constitution. And that is, the House controls the purse. Not funding the disaster is all that is left. On this, the House must stand their ground. If for no other reason than to force The White House and the Senate to abide by the Constitution as our founders intended.

It’s not the House’s fault that Obama and Reid can’t live with this separation of powers that the founding fathers designed. It’s up to Obama and Reid to not only comply with the Constitution, but to embrace it. Negotiate, and come up with a mutual resolution. Not to demagogue the House with its “my way or the highway” approach. That’s a dictatorship, not a constitutional republic.