I’m tough on Obama. I don’t think he likes what America is. I think that he wants a dramatically more redistributionist state than we have now.
And I don’t think that he has any meaningful experience that would lend itself to being President of these United States of America.
I posted the difference in media coverage between the Chris Christie bridge scandal and the IRS targeting scandal. I made the point that media coverage of the bridge scandal has dwarfed that of the IRS scandal in recent months.
In the comments nickgb called shenanigans base on the fact that the tails of a scandal are less covered than the beginnings of the scandal.
Full point.
Posted in Government, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Bridge Gate, Chris Christie, IRS
Listen, I mentioned that government is coercion:
We allow ourselves to be governed in exchange for a certain degree of order. We allow ourselves to be subject to the confiscatory practice of taxation in order to pay for that order, that law and order.
And we give power to men that we wouldn’t otherwise give.
Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Posted in Government, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Bridgegate, Chris Christie, IRS
This is a common story and is most likely mitigated:
David Miller, of Franklinton, says he has applied, canceled and reapplied for health insurance for his family 14 times. After weeks of technical glitches, he was finally able to select a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that would cover him, his wife and twin sons. However, he still encountered problems.
“We got to the very last step. We had it all set up, and when we hit the confirm button, then another technical glitch prevented us from being able to complete the process,” Miller said, adding that he has no idea if he and his family are covered. “Every time we think we’re getting close, then there’s another technical glitch, as they call it.”
No one denies that the roll-out of the service was a massive failure. And, to their credit, the administration seems to have the front end fixed.
But this is the problem left unresolved:
Miller says he called Blue Cross Blue Shield and was told that his application has not been forwarded to them. He says he calls the Healthcare.gov helpline about every other day and regularly spends two to three hours on the phone waiting for and then talking with service representatives and their supervisors who are unable to tell him his status or how to proceed.
The insurance company doesn’t think that he has coverage. That’s because the back end website structure isn’t communicating between all organizations. The billing organizations are collecting money, the insurance companies aren’t receiving data and the consumer isn’t sure if they are getting the right information regarding subsidies or not.
This isn’t close to being over.
This past Friday I posted on the problems that Obamacare is facing:
One of those problems is counter-intuitive. The ACA is going to force policies to rise.
…
These prices are only going to continue to rise as Obama’s target market shuns the the law opting for a fine that might not ever be levied – the young and the healthy are fleeing the scene of the crime. This results in only the older and the sicker enrolling; the most costly of the people covered. The only result is a rise in policy costs.
In addition to the costs associated with rising policies, there will be rising costs in other places as well. However, these costs are GOOD costs:
“The real big surprise was how much out-of-pocket would be required for our family,” said David Winebrenner, 46, a financial adviser in Lebanon, Ky., whose deductible topped $12,000 for a family of six for a silver plan he was considering. The monthly premium: $1,400.
While the health law makes many preventive services free — such as vaccines, blood pressure screening and mammograms — most medical care is paid out of pocket until the deductible level is reached. Some of the new plans offer limited coverage for certain services before a patient has met the annual deductible. These services can include primary care, some prescription drugs and routine care for common chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
We are never, EVER, going to control the costs of medical care until we expose such care to the market. Wanna have people spend less on health care? Ask them to spend their own money.
“But Pino, if we allow the government to negotiate prices for the goods and services, we’ll SAVE money!”
Exhibition A:
Another industry where the government is the only player, and we can’t contain it either.
No, the answer isn’t government control of the health care industry – the answer is the exposure of the health care industry to the free market. And high deductibles is the very best way to do that.
Posted in Health Care, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Catastrophic, Free Market, Obamacare
When I have criticized the ACA in the past, I’ve done so for different reasons; none of them being a horrible website roll out. With such issues as fewer doctors, rising premiums and political exemptions – the law is riddled with problems.
One of those problems is counter-intuitive. The ACA is going to force policies to rise.
In all the discussions regarding the benefits of the new law, including “free” contraceptives, for example, it has never been brought up by the defenders of the law that nothing, of course, is free. That contraceptive package will have to be paid for by somebody – maybe even you.
And how will that cost be recouped? Why, by raising the premiums on people, of course:
Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97 to 99 percent, and for younger women by an average of 55 to 62 percent.
These prices are only going to continue to rise as Obama’s target market shuns the the law opting for a fine that might not ever be levied – the young and the healthy are fleeing the scene of the crime. This results in only the older and the sicker enrolling; the most costly of the people covered. The only result is a rise in policy costs.
No – make no mistake, the problems with Obamacare have nothing inherent to a failed and botched website – that’s only gravy in the pursuit in demonstrating that this administration is dangerously inept at management issues.
Posted in Health Care, Politics: National
Tagged ACA, Barack Obama, Insurance, Obamacare
Look, I want life to work out well for everybody. But when people are making horrible decisions, and I try and tell them that they are basically hurting themselves, I have little sympathy for them:
Many in New York’s professional and cultural elite have long supported President Obama’s health care plan. But now, to their surprise, thousands of writers, opera singers, music teachers, photographers, doctors, lawyers and others are learning that their health insurance plans are being canceled and they may have to pay more to get comparable coverage, if they can find it.
They are part of an unusual, informal health insurance system that has developed in New York, in which independent practitioners were able to get lower insurance rates through group plans, typically set up by their professional associations or chambers of commerce. That allowed them to avoid the sky-high rates in New York’s individual insurance market, historically among the most expensive in the country.
But under the Affordable Care Act, they will be treated as individuals, responsible for their own insurance policies. For many of them, that is likely to mean they will no longer have access to a wide network of doctors and a range of plans tailored to their needs. And many of them are finding that if they want to keep their premiums from rising, they will have to accept higher deductible and co-pay costs or inferior coverage.
“I couldn’t sleep because of it,” said Barbara Meinwald, a solo practitioner lawyer in Manhattan.
I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’
I told you so!
So, Obama shook hands with Castro at the Mandela funeral service. A bunch of people seem to think that this is a big deal and is symbolic in some way.
While true that a sitting President should not shake hands with a communist dictator, I fail to get worked up over this turn of events.
Why?
Because:
1. We know that Obama is a Marxist and resonates with the philosophy of the communist leader.
2. Hanlon’s Razor:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
I am more convinced that Obama either didn’t know who he was shaking hands with or that his advance staff failed to tell him who he was. Such an explanation is far more likely than Obama making a conscience statement with his actions.
Posted in Idiots on Parade
Tagged Barack Obama, Cuba, Marxist, Nelson Mandela, Raul Castro
It’s a simple concept; make a thing more expensive and the demand for that thing is reduced:
Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc. which is the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, told Megyn Kelly on “The Kelly File,” that his company and others will choose to hire part-time employees instead of full-time employees because of increased costs from the health care law.
He said in the six months in 2013 before the Obama administration delayed the employer mandate, which requires companies with over 50 full-time employees to provide health coverage to all full-time employees, employers were already reducing worker hours to prepare for the law.
“It’s very simple if you increase the cost of something businesses will use less of it,” Puzder said. “If you decrease the cost they will use more of it. So if you increase the cost of full time employment, there will be less full time employees. If you decrease the cost of part time employment, you’ll have more part time employment.”
I am reminded of Hanlon’s Razor:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
It is becoming increasingly clear, even to Obama’s supporters, that he is stupid.
Posted in Idiots on Parade, Politics: National
Tagged Barack Obama, Hanlon's Razor, Obamacare