In Defense Of Jonathan Gruber

thefederalist ^ | Dec. 10, 2014 | Greg Scandlen

[PROCON]

Jonathan Gruber felt little constraint in making the various statements that have been trumpeted by conservative media because most of what he said was completely unremarkable in health policy circles. Here are some of the health care truths that few people want to hear.

Employer Benefits Are Not a Gift from Benevolent Bosses

Every penny spent on your benefits is a penny taken out of your wages. The richer the benefits, the less money you take home every week. Companies think in terms of total compensation. A good accountant might be worth $78,000 a year to a company. The company is largely indifferent to how that $78,000 is allocated—it could be $3,000 on retirement, $18,000 on health care, and $57,000 in cash wages. Or it might be some other combination. It doesn’t really matter.

Now, that isn’t quite the whole story. A company might prefer to spend more on health care to keep you working harder and reduce sick-leave expenses. And there are some other considerations, such as not having to pay payroll taxes on health benefits, but it is still the total cost of filling a job that matters to the company.

[PROCON]

Only a Very Stupid Population Would Have Believed President Obama’s Promises

Gruber was probably astonished that people actually believed what Obama said.

Yup, although democrats gave us the ACA, it was the stupid American voter who believed his lies.

[lee martell]

Gruber was correct about the stupidity of the American voter was essential in passing this monstrosity. That said, now he should be prosecuted for fraud, which is a lot more serious than some cross-eyed nerd calling people names.

[2harddrive]

The courts won’t EVER prosecute Gruber for fraud, because they will say no one has standing to bring charges!

[mason-dixon]

Defense of Jon Grubby Gruber NONE!!!

[FreeReign]

Only a Very Stupid Population Would Have Believed President Obama’s Promises Gruber was probably astonished that people actually believed what Obama said.

What?

Gruber thought the American people were stupid. His entire ACA strategy was based on this. He wasn't astonished at all that the American people believed Obama.

Why on earth are we "defending" Gruber with this nonsense?

[SeekAndFind]

RE: In Defense Of Jonathan Gruber

I’ve always thought that he told one truth — Americans are mostly stupid.

They voted for Obama a second time DESPITE Obamacare.

And many who don’t like him allowed him to win anyway by staying home DESPITE Obamacare.

[boycott]

I,agree with Gruber. Only stupid people would have believed their lies.

[PROCON]

Why on earth are we "defending" Gruber with this nonsense?

I believe the author is making a generalization of all the "Gruberesque" among the liberal, ivory tower elite.

They're so enlightened that it's hard for them to fathom how stupid the typical American is.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

We and the senators were really stupid and thought that a penalty collected by the IRS which we were specifically told was not a tax, was in fact a tax.

We're all just too stupid to run our own lives and need genius experts like Gruber to run our lives for us.

[PGalt]

FUGruber

FUObama

FUNationalSocialistsinCONgre$$

FUUSSCespeciallyJRoberts

Were the “stupid Americans” in CONgre$$ who voted for Totalitariancare - forced by socialists, enforced by I.R.S. - in fact “stupid” or willing co-conspirators?

[PGalt]

The lie is the weapon used most often by the criminal. Liars and amplifiers of their lies enslave the unsuspecting, the innocent and lead to a shattering of trust in fellow human beings, and/or the plunder/death of the victim.