Posted on 08/12/2009 6:24:41 PM PDT by Kaslin
It's hard to know why President Obama said what he said at Tuesday's health-care town hall in New Hampshire. He actually stated, "If you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It's the Post Office that's always having problems."
Oops. Freudian slip? Subliminally speaking, was the president inferring that private health insurers are doing just fine?
Government insurance is what's in trouble today. Medicare is in the hole by about $40 trillion on a discounted present-value basis over the next 40 or 50 years. And if we're going to equate government care to government mail, according to Steve Hayes of the Weekly Standard, the U.S. Postal Service is going bankrupt with a $7 billion net loss this year.
With 633,000 career employees, the Post Office won't be able to make $5.4 billion in retiree health-benefit payments. How many of these federal employees will populate the new government-backed insurance plan if it passes?
So it's something of a mystery why the president went down the FedEx/UPS/Post Office turnpike. Perhaps the inner Obama is a free-enterprise guy. Maybe in the heat of battle his private-sector FedEx/UPS endorsement kind of, well, slipped out unconsciously.
Some will be skeptical of this reasoning. But having once had dinner with the man, along with other conservative pundits, and knowing how carefully he parses his words, it's hard to understand how he let this free-market blessing slip out. Perhaps he's secretly competing with Joe Biden to win the hoof-in-mouth-disease contest.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Good grief! Larry Kudlow doesn't know the difference between infer and imply.
The listener infers. The speaker, Obama, implies! What is the world coming to.
One of my pet peeves too ladyjane.
Well at least I can find a reference to the Post Office in the Constitution, Still looking for the Amendment that talks about Health Care.
Has anyone heard? And, if so, what are the odds?
ping
1 : to derive as a conclusion from facts or premises
2 : to involve or indicate by inference, association, or necessary consequence rather than by direct statement
Poor delivery. I'll bet he was thinking that *absent the free market alternatives*, the USPS would be doing okay. I mean, if this bill were about revamping our postal and shipping system, it would be companies like UPS and FedEx that were about to get chopped, rather than health insurers.
Come to think of it, I'll bet the board members of FedEx and UPS are feeling a bit uneasy right about now.
While the meanings are indeed very close, ladyjane correctly identifies the nuance in their difference.
Good point.
Clearly, the man is lost when he is not reading from the teleprompter. What a sock-puppet!
You’re right. Those definitions look very similar.
Someone who looks at a situation or listens to someone talk and then draws a conclusion is making an inference. It’s a thought process.
It’s the listener who makes the inference. The speaker is the one who implies,
BTW the pictures on your home page are great!
I think the reality is that absent Congressional meddling, USPS would be doing fine.
Intrade has it trading at 36%
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I’m curious, what’s your first language? Peace.
Kind of like Evan Baxter in “Bruce Almighty” when despite himself, Evan babbled because Bruced used his “powers” to change what he wanted to say! Perhaps a power greater than Obama is thwarting his own words (or maybe God is answering our diligent prayers!).
My first language is German
Rockin’ The only German I know is the basics. It’s a cool language though. :)
BTW, Townhall.com has the same column this morning by Lawrence Kudlow, but it’s titled ‘Obama’s Hoof-Mouth Disease
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