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thanks to telegraph.co.uk
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Do you remember when Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it?” That’s the dictionary definition of a Stool Sample…. Pretty well sums up Obamacare, doesn’t it?
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To help save our economy, the Government will announce next week that the INS will start deporting seniors instead of illegals in order to lower Social Security and Medicare costs. A side benefit is that seniors are easier to catch and won’t remember how to find their way back home.
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In case you are having a rough day, here’s a stress management technique recommended in psychological journals. It really works and will make you smile.
1. Picture yourself lying on your belly on a warm rock that hangs out over a crystal clear stream.
2. Picture yourself with both your hands dangling in the cool running water.
3. Birds are sweetly singing in the cool mountain air.
4. No one knows your secret place.
5. You are in total seclusion from that hectic place called the world.
6. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
7. The water is so clear that you can make out the face of the Congressman you are holding underwater.
(See it worked: You ARE smiling, and you feel better already – much better!)
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“That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” – Barack Obama, in a speech to the American Medical Association on June 15, 2009.
“And if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it. No one will be able to take that away from you. It hasn’t happened yet. It won’t happen in the future.” – Obama, remarks in Portland, Ore., April 1, 2010, after the bill was signed into law.
This last joke was on all of us. And it’s a cruel joke, not humor.
Wall Street sent a very clear message the day after Mr. Obama told the nation to “pass this bill.”
The message? Increasing taxes, as Mr. Obama promised to do, does not encourage investment or new jobs. Adding another $450 Billion in spending will break the bank and it scares investors.
Mr. Obama’s plan is a huge negative to the business community. A 300 point drop in the DOW spoke volumes.
A $1000 dollar saving for an employer would not convince any worthy business person to hire. Hiring is done when there is demand for product and service. Hiring is done when business people feel the risk is worth taking for what they assume will be the reward. A $1,000 tax savings is not a reward that will turn many heads. Real business people (not the ‘government and NGO type business people’ with who Mr. Obama is familiar) do not allow the tax tail to wag the economic dog.
I think Wall Street was very disappointed, as I was, after weeks of hyping his plan, Mr. Obama had no specifics to offer. Congress has not even been sent a copy of the bill, yet, Mr. Obama said over and over and over again that Congress had to “Pass this Bill.” Pass what bill, Mr. President? Is this like Ms. Pelosi who said that we first have to pass the bill to find out what is in it?
This was disappointing political theater. It was a campaign speech. It made a mockery of what is supposed to be a serious body – the joint session of Congress. Wall Street saw it as such and registered its feeling with the 300 point drop. In spite of all the mainstream media cries that the drop had nothing to do with Mr. Obama’s speech and everything to do with the European economies, we know the truth as does Wall Street.
I’m not sure what I expected but I know that I am VERY disappointed that Mr. Obama passed on the opportunity to do something positive and instead chose to play politics again.
Yesterday, in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Obama marched out his newest plan to stimulate the economy. Included in the $180 Billion plan were two very good ideas: A permanent R & D tax credit, and one time (2011 only) write off for business capital purchases. Both of these ideas are the sort of thing that encourages business to take risk. I am convinced that both of these measures will produce some economic activity. I have the feeling that Congress will want to join the President and pass such measures before the November elections. I don’t have the feeling that they will be able to do so without adding a fair percentage of pork to the bill.
A couple of observations: 1. $180 Billion for this program is one helluva lot of money, yet, with the current Congress and Administration who brought us $800+ Billion in ‘Stimulus’ and untold Billions (probably Trillions) in ‘Health Care Reform’, this seems like a drop in the bucket. 2. This is a complete reversal for Mr. Obama who during the campaign made fun of Mr. McCain’s economic plans which included these two measures.
It makes me wonder. Why would Mr. Obama propose such measures? I see only three possible answers.
First, (color me cynical but this is the first thought that comes to mind) Mr. Obama is trying to buy votes. His choice of venue tells us this is purely political. The timing (wouldn’t you try the $180 Billion fix before the $800+ Billion fix?) appears to be politically motivated. Current polls consistently show that Mr. Obama and the current Congress are starting to take the blame for not fixing the economy. It seems if they attempt some logical steps and don’t fill the measures up with more pork, they might just persuade some folks that they are serious about fixing the economy. This might actually buy some votes from folks who really want to believe in Mr. Obama.
Second, Mr. Obama truly believes these measures will help our economy and he is sincere about doing so. This would either indicate that he has just come to the realization that all the previous programs were not the answer. If that is the case, he is a hopelessly slow learner or exceedingly stubborn. Or, maybe he was just so clueless about how a capitalistic economy works that it has taken him about 3 years to start to come up to speed.
Third, it could be a combination of Mr. Obama wanting to buy votes and wanting to improve the economy. I think this may be the closest to being right. I think that Congress and the President have allowed the economy to get weak enough to increase the power of government to a point where they could get what they want – control (some would say nationalization) of the auto industry, control of the health care industry, and control of the higher education industry. Further weakening the economy would just mean more power over something of less value. It makes me think of slaveholders: the perception is that many of them beat their slaves to gain full control over them but didn’t beat them so much that the slaves could not still do a full day’s work.
If you believe that these moves are not inspired in large part by a desire to buy votes, let me know. I’m convinced they are.
All during his campaign, Mr. Obama harped on the theme that the Republicans were corrupt and that they politicized everything. In his view, the Republicans were the kings of pork or “earmarks.” Mr. Obama’s campaign website claimed: “Barack Obama is committed to returning earmarks to less than $7.8 billion a year, the level they were at before 1994.”
He now admits that he hasn’t been able to control Congress as he had hoped and agrees that “earmarks” have not gone down. He does, however, blame Congress for his failure to live up to his promise.
I find it very interesting that a leader chooses to blame his own team for his inability to live up to his promises. Imagine, if you will, a real leader blaming his team for his own failings. If John Wooden’s UCLA basketball team lost a game, Wooden took responsibility for not preparing his team or for having a poor game plan. Truman didn’t say, “The Buck Stops with those guys in Congress except when it is something for which I want the credit.” I think he said, “The Buck Stops Here.” Leaders take responsibility. They blame themselves and spread among their team members all credit for successes.
So I have a simple solution for Mr. Obama. If he truly wants to change the system and reduce or eliminate porkbarrel politics, all he need do is have a little chat with Congress. His remarks could be very short and very sweet, “I will not sign any legislation that contains any pork (earmarks), period. If the legislation cannot stand without bribing a few Members or Senators with pork, it does not deserve to become law. If you, Nancy Pelosi and you, Harry Reid, want to override my veto, you will have to answer to the American People for the bribery and fraud you are perpetuating.”
Of course, then he would have to follow through and keep his promise. What do you think the chances are he would do that?
When Congress passed and the President signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, virtually no single person knew or understood what was in it or what would result from its passage. Nancy Pelosi famously said, “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” I’m not sure it was so much the ‘fog of controversy’ as it was the fog induced by trying to understand thousands of pages of legalese and references to other legislation. To be fair to Ms. Pelosi, she was probably right to say that nobody would know what was in the law until it was enacted and operating.
An article today in the Wall Street Journal points out that a single issue, Medical Loss Ratios, could have a monstrous affect on the direction of health care in the U.S. and yet how it affects us is entirely up to new bureaucrats in new agencies created by the new law and which don’t yet exist. It appears that government bureaucrats will decide which providers are allowed to provide which services at what prices. That is to say, ‘we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
This brings me to my questions.
1. Why would anyone want to turn over to bureaucrats the control of such a basic individual responsibility as caring for one’s own health? Should I also turn over to my government the control of my basic responsibility to find food and shelter for my family?
2. Do I really want disinterested bureaucrats to decide how I should spend my health care dollars? If I have the money to get plastic surgery to change the shape of my nose should I have to ask Big Brother for permission? Conversely, if I don’t have the money for the plastic surgery, but can convince a bureaucrat that I need the surgery to boost my self esteem and help me find a job, should tax money pay for my new nose?
3. Can the Government actually run health care more effectively than free markets? Since State and Federal governments have been toying with the health care market for years, have we actually seen what markets will do to correct themselves?
4. Is the action of our Congress to take control of health care seen as a good solution or is it seen as a move towards a true Nanny State where our government knows best and must protect us from ourselves?
5. Is this just a case of Congress doing the right thing and not explaining it well to the people, or has Congress underestimated the people? Will there be a huge backlash at the polls this November?
I think the vote in Missouri on Tuesday goes a long way to answering these questions. It appears that, at least in Missouri, the people think that the Congress has overstepped its bounds. Will we see more of this in the November election? I think we will. Any time you can get over 70% of the people to agree on a ballot measure, the politicians are going to have to study both the measure and the vote. I think many will conclude that this was not a vote against government health care, just against a mandatory coverage provision. I think they will be wrong. I still think that Congress in general underestimates the general public rejection of a government health care scheme. This will be one of the most interesting discussions leading up to the November Election.
photo credit - Peter B. Johnsen
California’s Central Valley grows about one quarter of all the fruits and vegetables grown in our country. Or, maybe I should say “did” grow about one quarter. This past year the numbers were down dramatically as some 750,000 acres of land went without irrigation. Orchards and vineyards that are up to 50 years old have died for lack of water and are now being torn out. The water is available, but for fear of killing of the Delta Smelt and with the tool of the Endangered Species Act, the pumps for many of the Valley’s canals have been shut down.
You might think that farmers were none too bright to plant in arid areas that depended on irrigation. You are probably right since most of them made the huge investments in the land only after getting ‘guarantees’ of water from both the California Water Project and the Federal Water Project. In other words, farmers put their full faith in their government to do what it said it would do. That turns out to be a huge mistake.
The Delta-Mendota canal and others were built to move water from the Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers south to cities and farms in Central and Southern California. The huge water projects in the Central Valley were paid for over many years by State and Federal tax dollars, many, if not most of which, were produced by the richness of the California Agriculture. As a result of the water projects, in particular the Delta-Mendota and Friant-Kern Canals (both completed as part of the Central Valley Project in 1951), farmers had the water they needed to produce much of the bounty of California’s huge agricultural output. Today the canals are administered by the Federal Government (Bureau of Reclaimation).
Extreme Environmentalists have learned over the years the power of the Endangered Species Act. They use it to stop any land use they don’t like. Often, a small group of very liberal people overrule the wishes of a huge majority of folks by using this tool. Most often, those using the tool have nothing to lose and are backed by politicians who have power to gain. What power? Look at the recent Health Care ‘Debate.” It was passed through strongarm tactics. Representatives who are Democrats were told that either they voted for the bill or they would find they had little or no support and lots of competition in the fall elections. Many were called into the Oval Office and told in no uncertain terms that their political careers were about to end. Some still knew the 2000+ page bill was a disaster and planned to vote against it.
Those who needed more persuasion held out to get special ‘incentives’ to change their votes, much as Senator Nelson from Nebraska had in the Senate side of the legislation. California Rep. Jim Costa bragged publicly that during his meeting in the Oval Office, he’d demanded the administration increase water to his Central Valley district. On the Tuesday before the Health Care vote, Interior made an announcement, giving the Central Valley farmers 25% of water supplies, rather than the expected 5% allocation that had been planned to comply with the order to save the Delta Smelt. Mr. Costa, who denies there was a quid pro quo, four days later said he’d flip to a yes. He voted for ObamaCare. Like many of the wavering Democrats who were “Persuaded” to vote with Mrs. Pelosi, he is a Democrat in an unsafe seat with a great number of Conservative Farmers. My guess is he was bought and paid for regardless his denial.
Two weeks ago, I wrote the post below. I did not publish it because I was thinking I had gone overboard and spent too much time and effort condemning the Administration’s rush to Health Care Reform. As things have unfolded in the past two weeks, I have thought better of it and decided to publish this anyway:
Let’s make the assumption that between Mr. Reid and Mrs. Pelosi’s bribes, deception, and false public statements that they somehow get the Senate Healthcare Bill to the President’s Desk and Mr. Obama signs it into law. For a moment, suspend your concerns about the effect this will have on medical care in the USA. Instead, look at what will be some of the other consequences of this legislation.
The first consequence is already being seen and how far reaching that may be is yet to be determined. What is that consequence? It is a complete lack of faith and trust in Congress. With poll after poll showing the American People do not want this bill, Congress pushing ahead with it has helped prove that Congress is not serving the people. An interesting poll conducted this month by Harris shows that there are few things in our society about which the people are less comfortable, less confident.
So what is the long term cost to the Nation of a complete loss of faith in our most important institutions?
The next consequence is loss of faith in our ability to govern ourselves from our allies around the world. Can you imagine what we look like in the eyes of the rest of the world? Here is a country that is more powerful, more charitable, and less corrupt than probably any before it and yet in one year has degenerated to the level of Chicago Mob Politics, vote buying, and Presidents who regularly lie to their people. How shameful it is. Can we expect any other country to put their faith in us to work with us on any international issue when our own people will not?
Now the President is telling Congress that the real consequence if this bill does not pass is that the office of the President will be diminished and will not be able to help them pass other measures that are important to them. What he is really saying is that the most important consequence of a loss in health care is that his ego and his power will be diminished and without those two things in tact, Congressional Democrats will have to muddle along without him.
Trust is based on belief. When you stop believing what you are told, you lose trust. It would seem a large majority of Americans do not believe what they hear from Congress any more. If they can’t believe, there will be no trust. This is a crisis of credibility. It’s like your father taught you: “You must be truthful one thousand times to be thought honest and you need lie only once to be thought a lier.”
Passage of the Health Care Bill will have many grave consequences, especially monetary, but worst of all, in my opinion, will be loss of faith in our government so severe that it will spawn widespread disregard for law and order. In little more than one year, we will have gone from being among the most orderly societies with one of the most admired governments to one of the most disorderly and disrespected governments. If ever you doubted the power of leadership, this must certainly change your view.
Back on January 20th, I posted Don’t Gloat taking a page or two from blogging friend Nelson Guirado (Asymmetric blog). I recommended that Republicans not gloat about the Scott Brown victory in Masachusetts.
Mr. Brown campaigned hard while his opponent sat and waited to be crowned. Mr. Brown covered the state talking with constituents and taking positions on issues. Mrs. Coakley, seeing that she had a challenger, asked for help from Washington (Mr. Obama). (That seems to be the way democrats do things: If you can’t handle your own problems, you beg Washington for help.) Mr. Brown won an unexpected victory for which he should be proud, but not boastful. I strongly hoped he and his team would not gloat and for the most part they did not.
I have similar advice for Mr. Obama, Ms. Pelosi, and Mr. Reid.
They have less reason to be proud of their ‘victory.’ Unlike Mr. Brown’s win, the Liberal Health Care plan was passed and signed only after blatant bribes in the multi billions of dollars, and, with the use of every parliamentary trick they could conjure.
My guess is that they would be very smart to move on to anything else as quickly as possible. If there is still debate about the new national health care program in November, I think Democrats will wish they had not been as arrogant about their success in passing what will (IMHO) go down as one of the worst pieces of legislation ever.
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – March 12, 2010
WASHINGTON – Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama’s health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand.
“It won’t be long,” before lawmakers vote, predicted Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She said neither liberals’ disappointment over the lack of a government health care option nor a traditional mistrust of the Senate would prevent passage in the House.
The President and the leadership in both the House and the Senate are now working harder than ever to rush through a Health Care bill that is still being written. Pelosi has admitted that when she said, “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” If you feel that might be taken out of context, read the entire remarks from her own website. Mrs. Pelosi, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Obama all know the key to deception is speed and distraction – slight of hand.
And why do they need to rush this and use distractions, like their assault on the Insurance Industry? My guess is that they are aware (from what is known of the as yet incomplete bill) that the bill is a turkey. They also know that the public is on to them. Poll after poll shows that the American people do not want this legislation. They know it is flawed in too many ways to count. It bases its small (?) annual deficit of $100 Billion on collecting taxes for 10 years but only providing services for 6 years. It purports to cut the cost of health care insurance even though our government’s record of doing that is contrary to that claim.
Kansas City Schools were taken over by the Feds. It was done because a judge ordered it to improve performance and cut costs so they could avoid bankruptcy. Ask the folks in Kansas City just how that has worked out for them. We will be lucky if Federal Control of Health Care turns out to be as small a disaster.
I’m at a loss to see how any self respecting Congress person or Senator could vote for this. I have yet to hear a single argument in favor of this horrible legislation that is based on anything but Hope (that it won’t really bankrupt the country) and Emotion. Please someone tell me why this is not the worst piece of legislation to come out of Congress since…..the Stimulus Bill. It is interesting that the stimulus bill was also rushed through Congress and has also put us another Trillion Dollars in Debt.
Note the updated Headline – below is the post from yesterday –
By the time you read this on Wednesday morning, chances are fair that a winner will have been determined in the Senate Special Election in Massachusetts. The chance does exist that there could be recounts or lawyers involved in the final outcome and that could mean a big delay.
If the race is close and the decision is delayed, my guess is that Senate Democrats and Mr. Obama come out as winners at least in the short term. The delay will give them more time with the 60 seat majority to push the Health Care Bill to passage. Long term, though, I think a close election and delayed result hurts the Democrats, especially those currently in Congress and facing reelection this year. If the hand picked successor to Teddy Kennedy cannot easily win a statewide election in Liberal Massachusetts, who can claim to have a safe seat?
If Coakley wins outright, I think the Democrats breath a sigh of relief but I don’t think they are out of the woods. I think the pressure this election has caused will have most of Congress actually a bit concerned about what their constituents want. If that is the case, again, I think the Democrats are the short term winners, but the voting public ends up the big winner. Politicians might just learn the lesson that they can’t ignore constituents. The downside is that if the health care bill as now conceived goes through, the new national debt will be astronomical and will depress our economy for years to come.
If Brown wins, there will be a lot of spin but the inescapable conclusion is that the Democrats, and especially Reid, Pelosi and Mr. Obama will be damaged goods. They may not be able to get their health care bill through Congress without shenanigans that would just further hurt them this Fall. Regardless if the get their Health Care Bill Passed, they will all be sweating bullets in this Fall’s elections. Denying the Democrats the 60th and veto filibuster proof vote may even sidetrack the Health Care bill. It will be interesting to see if the Democrats will see it as important enough to sacrifice as much political capital as it will take to get the bill passed. Most of the polls show that passage of this bill is against the will of the majority of Americans and it will be hard for Democrats to defend their votes if they do go lock-step for the bill.
So I guess the real message is that regardless the outcome, the American People are the winners after this closely contested race. It could mean a more balanced Congress. When a single party controls all the buttons, they tend to get drunk with power and do what drunks do – stupid things. For sure, politicians will be aware that they can’t vote against the will of the people and be assured of their seats in Washington for life. That is a good thing. Complacency breeds an inattentive Legislature and bad law.
Responsibility-Freedom Demands It 
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