Posted on 12/17/2014 4:26:34 PM PST by Enza Ferreri
Jonathan Gruber is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) health economist who was one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) in America, modelled on the UK's NHS.
Not once, but twice he has been caught on tape saying that the "stupidity of the American voter" made a certain amount of duplicity necessary to the passage of Obamacare.
The first time was during the panel sessions at the 2013 Annual Health Economics Conference, the video of which you can see by clicking on the "Enza Ferreri Blog" link above. (The relevant remarks are at 20:25.) The video surfaced in November of this year.
"This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO [Congressional Budget Office, a federal agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress] did not score the mandate as taxes," he said. "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the 'stupidity of the American voter' or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.”
"In terms of risk-rated subsidies, if you had a law which explicitly said that healthy people pay in and sick people get money, it would not have passed," he added. "You can't do it politically, you just literally cannot do it. It's not only transparent financing but also transparent spending."
The National Interest observes in the piece "How One Man Could Obliterate Obamacare":
Obamacare is largely a Medicaid expansion plus churn between old health-insurance plans and new Obamacare-compliant ones, so far achieving modest gains in coverage at the cost of higher premiums and reduced access for many.But the excuses about his speech subsequently offered by Gruber, the Democrats and their supporters have been refuted by similar utterances on his part.It's hard to imagine the stupid American voter would be enamored of this, if smart people like Jonathan Gruber had deigned to explain it to them at the time.
Liberals quickly disowned Gruber's impolitic observations. Some even insisted it was the most transparent debate ever, as suits the most transparent administration in history...
Gruber-gate is important for a few reasons besides the normal political "gotcha" game. First, it reminds us that Obamacare's losers will remain a vital part of the repeal constituency. The mobilization of such people was essential to rolling back the Medicare catastrophic coverage expansion of the 1980s, one of the most prominent examples of a broad-based entitlement being repealed in the post–New Deal era.
Second, it is a fitting window into how the technocrats view the masses. You might have liked the health plan you already had, but Jonathan Gruber knows it was bare-boned and terrible. The liberals truly are the best and the brightest.
Another video surfaced showing Gruber speaking at an October 2013 event at Washington University in St. Louis, once again claiming that the Obamacare's authors took advantage of the "stupid" American people.
Referring to the so-called "Cadillac tax" on high-end health plans, he said: "They proposed it and that passed, because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference."
Republican Senator John Barrasso told Fox News: "It confirms people's greatest fear about the government. Remember, it was [California Democrat] Nancy Pelosi who said first you have to pass it before you get to find out what's in it.
"We knew it was written in a way that it was really deliberately written to deceive the American people, and now people are paying the price."
And that's not enough:
The Obamacare architect had already become Exhibit A in the Halbig v. Burwell case, now on its way to the Supreme Court, which could potentially make people who bought health insurance through the federal exchange ineligible for subsidies.Little-noticed comments made by Gruber in 2012 could unravel the Affordable Care Act and offer the law's conservative challengers a major boost in the most high-profile ongoing challenge to undo it.
Republicans say they will try once again to repeal the health-care law, described by Robert E. Moffit, senior fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health Policy Studies, as a disaster, or at least change its most controversial provisions.
US voters are stupid. That’s how we got the lyin’ king not once, but twice. Amazing.
America does have some stupid people who vote. No question about that. We also have some people that don’t vote for stupid reasons, about 4 million of them in 2012.
Now, in all fairness, the 'stupid' is in fact 'ignorant' but the ignorance is self imposed making one a stupid person.
Just thought I'd clear that one up.
I wouldn't be surprized if one were to drive around with a large sign on his car roof, "Y'know, you really ARE stupid" ... no one would take offense and THAT would be the most revealing thing about the American spyche .... it no longer exists.
psyche
“US Voters Are Stupid”, That’s How Obamacare Was Passed.
The purpose of public education.
“US Voters are Stupid”
As much as I hate to admit it, it’s true. We have the public school system and liberal college professors to thank for it. Since the 60s they have successfully dumbed down our children who now are now voting for candidates not based on what is best for this country but what they think will make them feel and look better to their liberal friends. I doubt that 1 out of 10 college graduates could pass a sixth grade civics test from the 1950s. Heck, I bet other country voters know more about our candidates and what they would do than the average American voter.
I’m trying hard to come up with a reason I disagree with the title of this article, but can’t.
BULL CRAP !!
ObamaCare was passed behind closed Doors
By DEMORAT REPRESENTATIVES !!
Republicans were not involved
The voteing public was NEVER INVOLVED !!
THE DEMORATS LEGISLATORS OWN THIS !!
I recall the for/against numbers on this issue being about 30% / 70% during that lame duck session, so the majority of Americans were smart enough to oppose ObamaCare. If they were stupid about something, it was the mistaken notion that the people still have any influence over our “elected representatives”, short of picking up a hunting rifle.
Andn now the so called “Republicans” own the current funding (House), and the “Robert’s” vote.
“If they were stupid about something, it was the mistaken notion that the people still have any influence over our “elected representatives”
Yes.
I aree that the Zer0 Care was passed 100% by the democRATS who the majority of US voters voted for. A more accurate title would be “Majority of voters went for democRATS, and are proved stupid by Zer0care”!
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