Friday, November 15, 2013

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

How many of you received that Berkeley County telephone survey yesterday?

Here are a few of the questions asked:

"Do you think BC is headed in the right or wrong direction?"

"Since there are four candidates running for County Supervisor in 2014, Dan Davis, William Peagler, Jerry Beckley, and Larry Groomes, who will you support or are you undecided?"

"Will you be supporting your present County Councilman in the 2014 election or are you undecided?"

Well, isn't that special?

Since Senator Groomes has stated repeatedly that he has no interest in the position of County Supervisor, who would want to muddy the election waters with this type of rumor?  Who could benefit from this scenario? With Senator Groomes so accessible to deny this rumor, who would dumb enough to think it could work?  Could this be a sign of "somebody's" panic?

HE SAID WHAT?

It seems our parents were correct when they said, "If you wait long enough, the truth will out."

Last night on Fox News, one of the co-authors of ObamaCare, a Harvard (I'm MUCH smarter than you) professor admitted, under pressure, a few morsels of truth.

1. The drafters of the ACA knew the destruction of the private insurance market was part of the law from the start.
2.  Moving "customers" from the private market to the exchanges is mandatory for the success of the ACA.
3.  Even with the miserably low numbers who have signed up, 90% are either the "very sick" or eligible for "free" care.  Both are an unsustainable financial drain on the system.
4. Young, healthy "customers" are staying away in droves.
5.  The one year delay "fix" the president announced yesterday will have to turn the situation around within that year or the entire plan will fail.
6.  With only the "very sick" and those who will be paying nothing signed up in the exchanges, unanticipated "contributions" to the plan will be necessary for this first year.  He, finally, admitted that this meant the federal government would be obliged to not only subsidize the cost of the care provided by the exchanges but, also, reimburse the insurance companies for their losses. In case you don't know, the federal government gets its funding for US, the taxpayers.

So, the picture of Obama's plan is very clear and simple:  Obama designed a plan knowing at least 5 MILLION Americans would lose their health coverage right out of the chute.  When these 5 MILLION Americans lost their health coverage and complained, Obama declared they could keep their coverage, even though it is virtually impossible for the insurance companies to reverse this colossus within the time frame, if at all.  As a pleasant side affect, these same 5 MILLION taxpayers have the pleasure of subsidizing the negative results of the plan that cannot be reversed.

Folks, we couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.  And, we couldn't find a better example of the failure of Socialism.  The policy holders lose.  The taxpayers lose.  The insurance companies lose.  The economy loses.  And the greatest irony of all, even Socialism loses because over half of the country have had their eyes opened to the deceit and incompetence of our leadership.  There is no way for this mess to go but further downhill.  THANK GOD.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

NO CHALLENGE HERE

It's disappointing and almost no fun when a political situation becomes void of challenge and surprise.  After the president's remarks today, that seems to be the case.  One would have expected some really clever maneuver executed to confound and put the Conservatives at some sort of disadvantage.  Instead, a plan was laid out that a five year old could see right through.

Mr. Obama announced that he was very concerned about those who had lost their health insurance plans without mentioning that the number at question is 5 MILLION and growing.  Instead, he referred to the comparatively small number.  Without a great deal of fanfare, he casually outlined how the problem would be solved.  He said he would "administratively" disallow the portion of the ACA that dictates to the insurance companies the required coverage contained in the policies they are allowed to sell. He went on to say that, if the insurance companies choose, they can restore the cancelled policies to the 5 million subscribers.  RED FLAG, RED FLAG.

FIRST ISSUE:

HOW THE HELL CAN THIS MAN, UNILATERALLY,  CHOOSE THE PARTS OF THE LAW THAT MUST BE OBEYED AND THE PARTS THAT DO NOT HAVE TO BE OBEYED?  If an act of Congress was required to pass this law, why does it not require the same kind of action to amend it?  And more importantly, why are the members of Congress silent on this issue? If the LEFT tries to introduce legislation to amend the ACA and the RIGHT refuses to cooperate, the LEFT will attempt to attach blame for this mess to the RIGHT.

SECOND ISSUE:

The insurance companies have spent over two years retooling their businesses to comply with the requirements of the ACA.  They have analyzed their policies and cancelled the appropriate ones. In CA alone, BCBS has cancelled over a million policies and the company has moved its business out of the state. How simple will it be for them to reverse theses actions?  How much money that cannot be recouped would a reversal cost the company?  Who, in their right mind, would think the insurance companies would agree to go along with such an insane plan?

Also, each of the states have specific insurance regulations and any policies offered must be approved by 50 individual State Insurance Commissions.  Even if the insurance companies agreed to this plan, the red tape of state approvals could take as much as a year.  This won't do a thing to help the people who have their coverage ending in January 2014.

THIRD ISSUE:

Exactly how stupid and gullible does Barack Hussein Obama think the American people are?  A blind man on a galloping horse could see this one coming.  After a few weeks pass and none of the 5 MILLION have had their insurance policies reinstated, you can bet the farm, the President and his willing stooges will be out there on every venue trying to blame the insurance companies and the states.   If the Conservatives fail to cooperate with any Liberal legislation, an attempt will be made to blame them for the failure of ObamaCare.

As recently as 6 months ago, this kind of maneuver may have stood a small chance of success but, with BO's record of telling big black lies to the American people, his chances of of getting away with this one is somewhere between slim and none.






Wednesday, November 13, 2013

THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

FACT:  Almost 5 MILLION Americans have lost their health care insurance since ObamaCare was launched on the 1st of October.

FACT:  ObamaCare was designed to incorporate these Americans into the ObamaCare system.

FACT:  The revenue realized from premiums paid by these Americans was intended to support the non-paying participants of ObamaCare.

FACT:  Over 90% of those who have signed up for ObamaCare have entered the FREE expanded Medicaid program.

FACT:  Less than 50,000 (we don't know the exact number) of the needed 500,000,  have signed up for policies requiring paid premiums.


When attempting an intelligent conversation on almost any subject, we have found that it is not usually advisable to incorporate the words "always" and "never". BUT, when discussing the mindset of the Liberal, Progressive philosophy, an exception can legitimately be made.  Empirical evidence gleaned from actual history, going back as far as the early 20th century, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Liberals, Progressives ALWAYS follow a pattern.  Wilson's efforts toward a Liberal, Progressive utopia was soundly rejected by the American people and was followed by the greatest economic boom in history.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives ALWAYS think they are more intelligent than everyone else.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives NEVER consider the results of actual historical facts to be legitimate.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives ALWAYS think, had they been in charge of the failed effort, the result would have been positive.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives ALWAYS think a failed effort would have been successful if only it had been pushed to a higher degree and more money had been committed.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives NEVER see reality as it exists but ALWAYS see the world as they wish it exists or could exist.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives NEVER acknowledge the law of UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives can ALWAYS find a way to blame the failure of their efforts on someone else.

FACT:  Liberals, Progressives ALWAYS consider their positions and opinions to be beyond reproach and none of their attacks on their critics is unreasonable or undeserved.


Before ObamaCare became law, Conservatives tried desperately to point out the flaws in this system. Conservatives provided facts AND figures that proved the program was doomed to failure.  Liberals, Progressives maintained, "Our minds are made up so don't confuse us with the facts."

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
Millions of Americans will lose their existing healthcare coverage.

RESULT:
5 Million Americans have lost their healthcare coverage.

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
These Americans will NOT accept higher premiums to buy ObamaCare policies.

RESULT:
The 5 MILLION who have had their policies cancelled have NOT signed up for ObamaCare.

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
More people will sign up for FREE health care than those who will pay.

RESULT:
90% of people who have signed up have opted for free Medicaid.

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
Young people will NOT sign up for expensive plans.

RESULT:
Young people have opted to avoid coverage and pay the fine.

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
This program will put an unsustainable burden on the economy.

RESULT:
Now the government is considering subsidizing the independent issuance pool.

CONSERVATIVE WARNING:
The ObamaCare website was not ready for launch.

RESULT:
The ObamaCare website crashed on the first day.

Many other Conservative warnings and Liberal, Progressive results have yet to come to light as this train wreck develops.  As the reality of ObamaCare unfolds, it is exasperating, almost beyond the level of endurance,  to watch the Liberal, Progressive reaction to the predictable results.  NOW, all the Liberal, Progressive talking heads are insisting the Conservatives MUST work with the designers of this fiasco to find a "FIX" for the problems.

When all Conservatives were standing on the runway, desperately waving their arms in warning, the Liberals, Progressives insisted that the plane take off.  It was of no consequence to them that the wings on their plane were hanging on by a thread or that there was no fuel in the tanks.  BUT, now that the plane has, as predicted by the Conservatives, CRASHED into a mountain, the Liberals, Progressives insist the Conservatives are obligated to help create solutions to the problems.  Exactly when did Conservatives become culpable for this mess?

As usual, Liberals, Progressives have placed Conservatives in an untenable position. It is unarguable that a solution must be found in order to literally save the lives of millions of Americans.  Conservatives will not stand idly by and let the worst happen.  Liberals, Progressives know this about Conservatives.  Conservatives ACTUALLY care and they will do everything in their power to extricate these 5 million Americans from this Gordian Knot.  BUT, when Conservatives act to mitigate the damage,  one unfortunate side affect will be that political cover for the 2014 elections will be provided for the Liberals, Progressives who solely created the problem in the first place.

Even with the efforts of every Conservative, we see a conundrum.  Exactly how does anyone put this genie back in the bottle?  How can the insurance companies reinvent the 5 million policies that have been declared ILLEGAL by ObamaCare and removed from the market?  Even if these policies suddenly were declared LEGAL, how long would it take the individual state Insurance Commissions, under existing state laws, to evaluate and approve them?  At best, this process would take far longer than the January 2014 deadline when these policies expire.  And, with no federal contributions, how will the states find the funding to support the expanded ObamaCare Medicaid programs?

As usual, the delusional, pie-in-the-sky Liberals, Progressives have created a problem that has no solutions and they are standing there with their heads planted securely up their ideals waiting for Conservatives to pull their fat from the fire.  And, some have the audacity to suggest that history doesn't repeat itself.




Friday, November 8, 2013

SHALL WE REASON TOGETHER?

Mr. President, in your eternal wisdom, you created ObamaCare.

Prior to your actions, 85% of Americans had some sort of health insurance, either paid for by themselves or their employers.  That left 15% uninsured but a considerable number of that 15% had free health care under Medicaid.  A very small number of those remaining were caught in the bind of either having too much income to qualify for government coverage or not having the  ability to afford coverage on their own.

Prior to your plan, the 85% of Americans sought out and purchased health care plans that met their individual needs.  EXAMPLES:

  • A 60 year old retired couple chose a plan that would cover prescription drugs, office visits, and hospitalization.  
  • A 25 year old single man would opt for a simple catastrophic plan that would cover care should he be involved in an accident and require extended hospitalization.  If he needed to visit a doctor one or two times a year, he would pay out of his pocket.  Most times he would have no need for prescription drug coverage.  
  • A young family man would choose a policy to cover general care with additional maternity care and pediatric care.  Each paid premiums according to the coverage they chose.


Once more,  Mr. President, in your eternal wisdom, you had the bright idea that it would be better to destroy the entire existing system than to address the individual problems.  But, you made every effort to kept this fact a closely guarded secret. A few radical racists found out about your plans and tried to warn the public but  you took every opportunity to debunk those who only wished to panic the country and assured every American that there was no cause for concern. When these troublemaking liars said Americans were going to lose their existing insurance plans, you made speech after speech declaring, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, period" and "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan, period". There are over 40 taped examples of you making these statements.

All the time you were making these speeches and assuring the American public there was no need for concern, you knew these claims were false.  You knew what was coming and you chose to give misinformation to the public.  Early on, before your plan was passed into law, there were detailed discussions within your administration about how much information should be made available to the public.  The political arm of your administration vetoed the wishes of the governing arm to come clean about your plan.  The political arm prevailed because 'there was not one vote to spare' and it was decided 'if certain senators and representatives knew the full depth of your plan, they might bolt', resulting in the failure of the entire effort.

So, Mr. President, you kept your secrets and consistently provided misinformation to the American people.

As the flower called ObamaCare began to unfurl, the reality of your plan became obvious.  Your plan has literally put the health, safety, and welfare of millions of Americans in jeopardy due to the loss of their existing health insurance.  But, that was the plan all along, wasn't it, Mr. President?  Instead of the thousands of individual plans on the market, your new law allowed for only a few that you deemed acceptable and the insurance companies were force by law to comply with your wishes.   According to your logic, that 60 year old retired couple has to be covered for in-vitro fertilization and infant care.  That 25 year old single man has to have pre-natal and pediatric coverage.  That young family man can function very well with a $16,000 deductible.

For your information, Mr. President, since you have so little experience in the area, here's an example of Business 101.  Insurance companies are "for profit" concerns.  The premiums they charge must be commensurate with the coverage provided.  The more areas of coverage provided, the higher the premiums.   Are you getting this?  When your law dictates that insurance companies provide every possible area of coverage, your outraged reaction to higher premiums or the cancellations of policies that do not meet the criteria of your law is more than disingenuous and misleading.

As these realities of your plan become widely known, Americans have begun to react.  The national media, are accurately reporting for the first time on negative individual events brought about as a result of your plan.  The facts surrounding development and execution of your plan are being brought to light.  Your actions and intentions are being brought into question.

So how, pray tell, Mr. President, did you react to these negative reports?  Did you ask for a prime time slot to formally address the nation?  NO.  With the country in utter chaos as a direct result of your actions, you arranged a simple casual interview with a sympathetic reporter.  AND, you had the unadulterated gall to say, "I am sorry if some people 'find themselves' in a bad situation".  Mr. President, these people DID NOT "FIND THEMSELVES" in this situation.  YOU, SIR, PUT THEM INTO THIS SITUATION.

Mr. President, let's look at a simple outline of where we "find ourselves" at this juncture:

1.  The ObamaCare law is making it necessary for insurance companies to raise premiums for adding the new law's compulsory coverage.

2.  The ObamaCare law is forcing insurance companies to cancel policies that do not meet the criteria of the new law.

3.  People who are losing coverage because they can't afford the new policies initially provided by the insurance companies are being forced into the ObamaCare network.

4.  Most of these people can't even investigate alternatives to their old policies which expire in January 2014 because the ObamaCare website is a dysfunctional disaster.

5.  In addition to being put in the dangerous position of having their families uninsured in January, these same people are facing fines for not having coverage if they don't choose a plan from the ObamaCare network.

6.  Many who successfully access the website are finding they can't afford the policies offered there either.


Let's see if we have this correct, Mr. President.  Because of your law, people are having vital services they want taken away from them and replaced with services they don't want, don't need, and can't afford to pay for.  Insurance companies are being forced by law to take away what customers want; replacing these desired vital services with those people don't want, don't need and can't afford to pay for.  If Americans aren't happy with taking this tack, they can try to obtain these vital services by accessing a website that doesn't work or, if it does, has no hope of security for sensitive information provided.  These new service networks provided under your law might or might not give them access to their preferred doctor or hospital. And to top it all off, if they don't accept what they don't want, don't need, and can't afford to pay for, they will be subjected to a fine for noncompliance, imposed by your law. Do we have it right so far?

Also, Mr. President, I would like to touch on one other small issue.  In every one of your recent speeches, you have touted ObamaCare as the greatest thing to visit the universe in recorded history. You have assured every audience that every American is straining at the bit to get their ObamaCare coverage because they know how wonderful it is.  According to you, ObamaCare will solve the nation's problems and create an absolute utopia for the people.  You assure all Americans that ObamaCare has only an up side and no down side; all positives and no negatives.  In other words, ObamaCare is almost as perfect as you.  

Well, Mr. President, if ObamaCare is all that, why did you decide that you and your family would not participate in the program?  Why did you agree to exclude the entire Executive Branch of government?  Why did you agree to exclude the Legislative and Judicial Branches of government?  For that matter, why did you offer weavers from ObamaCare to over 117 groups of your friends, donors, and supporters?  It would stand to reason that the folks who brought America this wonderful gift would be the first in line to sign up.  And please don't waste your time explaining that you have employer provided insurance so you're not required to participate.  Next July, just a few short months before the 2014 elections,  that shoe has yet to drop.


UPDATE:

Mr. President, thank goodness you are listening to the complaints of the American taxpayers and are making an effort to provide some resolutions to the problems your ObamaCare plan has created.  I especially like this trial balloon:

Since everyone now knows the success of your plan to provide health care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, depends on young healthy people buying the more expensive policies offered by your exchanges.  Unfortunately, the sticker shock of these policies to the healthy people is preventing them from signing up.  Now, you have suggested subsidizing, with government money, the cost of these plans that cost more because they contain coverage young healthy people do not need.

I think we understand.  Your plan to pay for health care for people who don't have any money is to take money from people who can't afford the expensive policies. When these people refuse to spend money they don't have to buy these policies they don't need, you want to subsidize their premiums with these same taxpayers' contribution to government. Being as we are running a deficit, there is no taxpayer money there to take, so we will have to borrow these funds from China.

Makes sense to us.