Obamacare Is Dead and Here's Why [Obamacare Ongoing Thread]

Town Hall ^ | 1-26-10 | Robert A. Levy

[JustPiper]

As the Massachusetts blame game unfolds, the president’s unpopular health bill leads the list. But the substantive provisions of the bill were just part of the problem. Perhaps more important, voters were appalled by how the deal unfolded.

Consider the pre-election giveaway to the labor unions. Negotiators agreed to exempt union contracts until 2018 from the tax on so-called Cadillac health-insurance plans. That backroom bargain not only outraged the voters, it also violated the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, requiring the federal government to extend equal protection of the laws to all U.S. persons. Of course, not all voters understood the constitutional nuances, but they sensed that something was very wrong; and they reacted.

I have been disturbed by the socialists for years, ever since I learned many members of Congress 'openly' joined the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). Several years ago, the names were published on the DSA site. (since removed of course) Please post any info you have, many of you have been on this issue for many years, & if we can store it all on one thread, we have our FreeRepublic Warehouse on the enemies of the state. How DO we combat this, when it's coming at us from every angle? When the people have been asleep for decades. Please post anything you have found or accumulated. Also choose a dictator these people follow, of particular interest,those in D.C. who have been quoted with their adulation of one.

Communism- Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism-Trotskyism-Maoism- Hoxhaism-Hoxhaism-Titoism ETC

[newfreep]

One concern of mine is the possibility of losing a conservative SCOTUS judge and our current 5-4 advantage before they rule on this case. Considering the Alinsky communist in the White House, I would not be surprised if one of these heroes would “travel to Ft Marcy Park”.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Rats who voted “no”; Impy posted them here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2437390/posts?page=2506#2506

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

God bless you Piper.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

A constitutional convention right now would be a HIDEOUS disaster. The Information Age needs more time to get people informed about the God-inspired beauty of original intent.

Piper, I am gravely concerned about such a thought. I wouldn’t even trust this current leadership with a Constitutional amendment, let alone a convention.

[MestaMachine]

SIGN THE PETITION TO PROTECT PA FROM OBAMACARE!

[MestaMachine]

That is one of the things that has me very antsy. Was actually discussing that with someone in a real world conversation yesterday afternoon. These people are not above that kind of suspicion...especially after the recent attacks by this admin on the court.
The admin has been baiting the Conservative judges, trying to illicit a political, over the top, response as a prelude to an attempt to impeach one of them.
I pray they keep their mouths shut and do the LORD’S work. We so desperately need them now.
Just because I haven’t been posting doesn’t mean I am laying down on the job. Working every waking hour now.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Our freedom is so very fragile. I’ve wondered that myself since I began researching online. We MUST do something about the root of all these problems — the Constitutional law professors. We MUST! But for now, we weed out key RINOs, and then Super Tuesday!

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

God bless you, Mesta. Proud Virginian here. =]

[combat_boots]

Denninger’s piece from yesterday:

“Monday, March 22. 2010
Posted by Karl Denninger in Health Reform at 13:23
Health Care: Arbitrage Obama And The Dems
Yes, I mean it.

And yes, I’ve read the Health Bill. Both the 2,000+ page original and The House changes as voted upon.

Here’s the bottom line:

•If you refuse to buy health insurance, you will be fined on a sliding scale that amounts to 2% of your AGI. So if you make $100,000 a year, you could be fined $2,000 for “refusing” to buy insurance.

•You cannot buy a catastrophic policy any more. The “cheapest” acceptable policy will cost somewhere around $15,000 for a single person, and over $20,000 for a family. This is, for most people, more than five times the maximum possible fine - each and every year. The law makes it effectively impossible to maintain an existing catastrophic policy as they “renew” every year, and should any change be made you are then forced to buy something “acceptable” in the law (or pay the fine.)

•When the “pre-existing condition” bar comes down you cannot be charged more or denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

•I fully expect 20-50% premium increases immediately, and for the next three years sequentially, in all existing policies. This is precisely what the banks did in front of the CARD act becoming effective, and it will happen here as well. That is the cause of the short-term rocket shot in the health-related stocks this morning.

•In addition the capital gains tax changes will do severe damage to capital formation immediately, and these changes will become especially severe starting in 2014. The market will anticipate these changes and react accordingly, although you certainly wouldn’t know it today.
Ok, this one’s easy.

When the fines and pre-existing coverage “stop-out” go into effect (now for kids, in a couple of years for the rest) drop all coverage for those affected.

Why?

Because:

•The fine is 1/5th or less the cost of the “insurance.”

•For routine care, you now can negotiate for your care before it is provided. It will be cheaper to do so than to buy the insurance - for routine events. Don’t try to tell me it’s not either - I’ve been carrying a catastrophic-only policy now for more than a decade, and as a consequence I’ve negotiated these fees and costs for routine things and saved tens of thousands compared to simply “buying a full-boat policy.” The only reason for me to carry the “catastrophe” policy - the possibility of being screwed if I developed a serious condition and thus got excluded - has just been erased by this law, effective in a couple of years.

•If you have a catastrophe of any form, buy the insurance at that point in time. You cannot be turned down or charged more.
Screw the government. They are the ones who set the standards - we simply have to live with them, and this is the only logical action to take given what they have just done.

Is there a risk in this strategy? Sure. You could have a “zero notice” catastrophe before you (or someone with a power of attorney) could buy a policy. So you have to be able to survive that sort of “short-term” event - but remember, you’re going to be banking $10-20k per person during the time you’re running “naked.” So do exactly that - bank it for a year or two - so you have the ability to cover the instant expense from one of those “aw crap!” catastrophic circumstances. Fact is, they don’t happen often and in a year or so you can have a very nice cushion against them.

Businesses will be dropping people like flies from business-covered “insurance”; there will be no reason for anyone as an employer to be providing this “benefit” into an environment where insurance prices will double - and probably double twice - in the next four years. If you think not, look at what was done to credit-card holders in front of the provisions of the CARD act going into effect.

This, by the way, will bankrupt the insurance companies in the end. Nobody will buy until they have HIV, Cancer or some other serious illness - then they will buy, and the companies will have to pay - with no lifetime caps or exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

The health care companies that are getting a rocket shot today in the stock market are being bought by fools.

If you have any belief whatsoever in the efficient market hypothesis this is exactly what people will do as the effective dates for these provisions approach, as it will save them ten thousand dollars a year or more - each. The insurance companies will instantaneously lose the “pool” of healthy people who buy against risk - rather, they will have a pool of all sick people who buy against known costs.

Forget it folks - this is the end of the health industry in America, and I will be looking for the recognition in the market (as expressed by technical analysis on the stocks in this sector) that the efficient market will come to the fore.

The intention of The Democrats (and liberals generally) in this legislation is clear and impossible to hide - they intend to completely destroy private health care in favor of a fully-government-run single-payer system. The efficient market guarantees this outcome given the law they passed, and they know it.

I cannot stop this idiocy but I can sure attempt to profit from it.

I am looking to establish the largest targeted short positions of my investing career if and when the technicals confirm that this obvious arbitrage is about to, or is, taking place.

This is one place where a fistful of PUTs can easily turn thousands into hundreds of thousands, and is an extremely-high probability play.

Disclosure: No positions in the sector yet, but as discussed I will have some extremely large ones in the coming months and years!”

http://market-ticker.org/authors/2-Karl-Denninger

[combat_boots]

And....the ‘illegals’ question:

Population of Mexico (2009 est):
111,211,789 (July 2009 est.)
http://www.indexmundi.com/mexico/population.html

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Population of Mexico City:
“This area is home to roughly 18% or almost one fifth of total Mexican population (est. 2009):

City (Federal District only): 8,841,916
Greater Metropolitan Area: 19,981,801”

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_population_of_Mexico_City

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Poverty in Mexico:
“Since the mid-1990s, poverty in Mexico has been defined under three categories.

Food poverty is the inability to afford a basic minimum diet. Thirty-seven percent of Mexicans were in this category in 1996, and 14 percent 10 years later.

Capacity poverty means that families or persons find it difficult to afford education and health expenses. Nearly 47 percent of the population was in this category in 1996, and around 21 percent in 2006.

Cash poverty includes those who have insufficient resources to pay for clothing, housing, energy and transportation, who made up 69 percent of the population in 1996 and 42 percent a decade later.

By the World Bank’s method of measurement, based on a daily income calculated in dollars, overall poverty in Mexico fell from 45 percent in 1994 to 41 percent in 2000, and to 32 percent in 2006.”

http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/2009/05/23/economy-mexico-crisis-drives-up-poverty-rate/

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Mexico DF, where the air itself, under the open dumping on the edges of the city, is known as ‘la mierda.’

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“12,000 illegals enter the USA every day.” (not just from Mexico, but mostly via Mexico)

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977959871

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

From scanning down that post, it looks to me that Talk Radio nailed the truth of this bill from the get-go.

[grey_whiskers]

*PING* to post #2589 this thread (too long to re-post) for your comments?

Cheers!

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Rush Limbaugh: Elections could end thanks to Obama
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130577
‘The Constitution has been ripped to shreds, so why is anything safe?’

Only Three Reasons to Panic [I got on soapbox]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2477653/posts

Lots of latest coming up.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

CNN poll: Americans don’t like health care bill [59 - 39 oppose]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2477413/posts

Parliamentarian Rules Against GOP Challenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2477454/posts

Federal health care? Not so fast, say states
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130581
12 attorneys general line up lawsuits, citing violations of U.S. Constitution

‘Peace partner’ plans ‘resistance’ in Israel’s capital
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130825
Some analysts blaming Obama administration for emboldening Arabs

Obama keeps promise to ‘spread the wealth around’
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130513
Health-care bill will generate $409.2 billion in additional taxes by 2019

GOP’s Boehner: ‘Hell no, you haven’t read it!’
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130497
House minority leader gives floor speech in opposition to health-care bill

Karl Denninger confirms that Talk Radio had this bill figured out from the get-go:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2437390/posts?page=2589#2589
http://market-ticker.org/authors/2-Karl-Denninger

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Kudos to the Drudge Report. All of this is from Drudge this morning [except for one pile-on]:

ACORN FOLDS...
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Acorn_folds.html?showall

Hong Kong, Taiwan suffer from Chinese sandstorms...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100322/ap_on_re_as/as_china_sandstorm
[China Dustbowl? I’m asking American in Tokyo]

0-care Aftermath:

CBS: Pelosi’s favorability ratings 11%, Reid at 8%...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000937-503544.html

POLL: 11% rate Congressional performance good...
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance

House, Senate Republicans quick to release ‘repeal’...
http://www.thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/88323-house-and-senate-republicans-quick-to-release-repeal-bills

‘Spread the Wealth Around’ as Bill Imposes New Taxes...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ake7tOWwUT6E

Bricks shatter glass at NY Democratic offices...’
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/22/us/AP-US-Democrats-Offices-Damaged.html

Assassination Calls on TWITTER; Secret Service to Investigate...
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/health-care-bill-spurs-assassination-calls-twitter/story?id=10170233

After health, Obama allies zero in on climate...
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.b24442bc9647cf6ceeb5e334a6908618.d01&show_article=1
[Not immigration? Is this a red herring? Or is it Christmas?]

Texas Republican Shouted ‘Baby Killer’...
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/03/22/texas-republican-admits-to-shouting-baby-killer/

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Ann Coulter visit sets off furor...
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/03/20/13300156.html

...threat of ‘criminal defamation’ by University provost
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2710026

Email that set things off...
http://biggovernment.com/acoulter/2010/03/21/canadian-university-provost-wants-to-send-me-to-jail-for-a-speech-i-havent-given-yet

[WND’s take] School to Ann Coulter: Watch your mouth!
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=130877
Official warns columnist of limits on free speech

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Flowers ‘losing scent’ due to global warming...
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20100322-206015.html

From Drudge: THANKS FOR MAKING MONDAY THE SECOND MOST-VIEWED DAY IN 15-YEAR HISTORY OF DRUDGE REPORT! THE PAGE WAS SEEN 36,407,277 TIMES FROM OVER 50 COUNTRIES [including 4 vists from Swaziland, and 17 from Malawi]

Mohawked Man Goes Berserk Goes at Miami Airport...
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Mohawked-Man-Goes-on-Miami-Airport-Assault-88828812.html

Town Announces 24-Hour Ban On Dog Barking...
http://wcbstv.com/local/dog.barking.ordinance.2.1581172.html

Fred Phelps at Arlington Cemetery, Sunday, March 21,2010
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2473204/posts

[Bitsy]

I sure hope there are at least 219 of them because there are 219 Traitors gonna be looking for a job and a place where they’re not despised.

Looking forward to November with great anticipation.

[MestaMachine]

VIDEO

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4119156/fallout-from-health-care-vote?category_id=86858

Fallout From Health Care Vote
Part 1: RNC Chairman Michael Steele on Republican reaction; plan moving forward
*************************

Steele stammering and stuttering throughout...
Shep Smith on the attack.....
DO NOT WATCH THIS if you anger easily.

[MestaMachine]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2477750/posts

A Point of No Return?
Real Clear Politics ^ | March 23, 2010 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 10:58:12 AM by COUNTrecount

With the passage of the legislation allowing the federal government to take control of the medical care system of the United States, a major turning point has been reached in the dismantling of the values and institutions of America.

Even the massive transfer of crucial decisions from millions of doctors and patients to Washington bureaucrats and advisory panels— as momentous as that is— does not measure the full impact of this largely unread and certainly unscrutinized legislation.

If the current legislation does not entail the transmission of all our individual medical records to Washington, it will take only an administrative regulation or, at most, an Executive Order of the President, to do that.

With politicians now having not only access to our most confidential records, and having the power of granting or withholding medical care needed to sustain ourselves or our loved ones, how many people will be bold enough to criticize our public servants, who will in fact have become our public masters?
**********************************
EXCELLENT ARTICLE BY THOMAS SOWELL.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/23/a_point_of_no_return_104867.html