Weight Of Reality Sinks Health Reform

IBD Editorials ^ | July 24, 2009 | CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

[Kaslin]

What happened to ObamaCare? Rhetoric met reality. As both candidate and president, the master rhetorician could conjure a world in which he bestows upon you health care nirvana: more coverage, less cost.

But you can't fake it in legislation. Once you commit your fantasies to words and numbers, the Congressional Budget Office comes along and declares that the emperor has no clothes.

President Obama premised the need for reform on the claim that medical costs are destroying the economy. True. But now we learn — surprise! — that universal coverage increases costs. The congressional Democrats' health care plans, says the CBO, increase costs in the range of $1 trillion plus.

In response, the president retreated to a demand that any bill he signs be revenue neutral.

But that's classic misdirection: If the fierce urgency of health care reform is to radically reduce costs that are producing budget-destroying deficits, revenue neutrality (by definition) leaves us on precisely the same path to insolvency that Obama himself declares unsustainable.

The Democratic proposals are worse still. Because they do increase costs, revenue neutrality means countervailing tax increases.

It's not just that it is crazily anti-stimulatory to saddle a deeply depressed economy with an income tax surcharge that falls squarely on small business and the investor class.

It's that health care reform ends up diverting for its own purposes a source of revenue that might otherwise be used to close the yawning structural budget deficit that is such a threat to the economy and to the dollar.

[Kaslin]

[Jeff Head]

It was never about good health, or a balanced budget, or any of that. For Obama, it has always been about control, and creating a command economy on the ashes of the free market.

Here is a link to the full House Democrat Health Care Plan in PDF. In Section 1233 E & F, pages 426-433, you find the part about mandatory end-of-life counseling for anyone over 65 years of age. A lot more provisions now being documented at that site.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT HEALTH CARE PLAN - http://www.jeffhead.com/DemHealthCare.htm

[Grams A]

IMO Medicare payments exceeds contributions; CHIP is 100% expense with no contributions and billions of dollars are spent on medical care for illegals with no contributions. These are all 3 areas that Congress can control all by themselves. Why can’t they get it thrugh their pea brains that if they take care of these, we wouldn’t be in the shape we are in!

[Kaslin]

I am both on SS and medicare and I still get medicare deducted from my social security

[Salvation]

Thanks for that link. I had not seen that yet.

[Kaslin]

It has been, and is always about control for 0bama

[BamaBlue]

Thanks for the link...

[Buddy B]

Bookmarked and let’s see how long this Thread runs.

[prophetic]

The Democratic proposals are worse still. Because they do increase costs, revenue neutrality means countervailing tax increases. It's not just that it is crazily anti-stimulatory to saddle a deeply depressed economy with an income tax surcharge that falls squarely on small business and the investor class. It's that health care reform ends up diverting for its own purposes a source of revenue that might otherwise be used to close the yawning structural budget deficit that is such a threat to the economy and to the dollar.

0Bama dont care 2 hoots about the costs, all he cares about now is the FAME (or infamy) of having proved to be like the President Franklin D Roosevelt that had so many things rammed through in his first 100 days. 0Bama sees himself and this Healthcare & Crap on Trade bills as nothing more than legislative hurdles to his FAME and the American Businesses & Economy be dammed regardless.

For himself, its all about his grandiose EGO, for the likes of NazI Peloski & Harry Reid its all about socializing America under their collective jackboot heels.

[WOSG]

“It was never about good health, or a balanced budget, or any of that. For Obama, it has always been about control, and creating a command economy on the ashes of the free market.”

Well, there is one good thing about being in a recession: We are farther away from being able to afford such a monstrosity now than in normal times.

“Here is a link to the full House Democrat Health Care Plan in PDF. In Section 1233 E & F, pages 426-433, you find the part about mandatory end-of-life counseling for anyone over 65 years of age.”

There are parts of the Democrat bill that go beyond merely bad and enter into “evil” territory.

[Jeff Head]

They are invested in the culture of death on both ends of the spectrum. As it becomes more obvious, more and more people will shun them like the radioactive waist they are.

[MarMema]

You beat me to it, Jeff. He doesn’t care at all about the Americans without healthcare. He just wants to have power and control.

[Sun]

I received this by email from AFA:

“Democrats refuse to allow Republicans to mail information on the Obama health care plan to their constituents”

Glad the public knows despite the Dems.

[JoeFromSidney]

Great job, Jeff