Missouri's vote on health care

About 71 percent of Missouri voters backed a ballot measure, Proposition C, that would prohibit the government from requiring people to have health insurance or from penalizing them for not having it.

This is just the first step, but its important. It will force the federal government into a position where they will have to assert that insurance is a federal concern. Furthermore, they'll have to back laws that give the federal government a superseding right to fine you if you do not have insurance.

Chart of our health care

The GOP put out an updated chart of what our health care will look like.
This one is classic.

Click here to download the PDF.

IRS Health care powers

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article covering the new things that the IRS can do connected with health care:

Ms. Olson also exposed a damaging provision that she estimates will hit some 30 million sole proprietorships and subchapter S corporations, two million farms and one million charities and other tax-exempt organizations. Prior to ObamaCare, businesses only had to tell the IRS the value of services they purchase. But starting in 2013 they will also have to report the value of goods they buy from a single vendor that total more than $600 annually—including office supplies and the like.

But... I thought that was debunked by the left, when they said that the IRS would not be involved...?

Life expectancy, and infant mortality

Two lies came out during the health care debate that I want to make sure are addressed, regarding our health care:
1) We have a rapidly declining life expectancy
2) Our infant mortality rate is horrible compared to other countries

1) We do not have a rapidly declining life expectancy.
That was an outright lie produced during the health care debate by those who wanted universal health care. Don't believe me?
Here is a chart.

The argument has been, for a while now, that the US is 'lagging' behind other countries in life expectancy... which is party true: other countries don't kill each other as much as we do in the US. We have a much higher rate of homicide then other countries.
The irony is that we also have much more self-destructive habits then most other countries. The more prosperous a country, the more ways we come up with to kill ourselves. For instance, drugs. Cars. Not to mention skateboarding down a railing. The point is that sometimes, people become so prosperous that they actually do bad things to themselves. We're at that point.

2) Our rates of infant mortality can be found here, and the chart allows you to compare it to other countries.

Now I know you've heard (again) that we lag behind other countries... and that is also true. However, again, it doesn't tell you why:
Differing definitions of infant mortality, fertility treatments, drug use, and young women having babies.

I found this out after a long search on the web. The first problem is that not every country defines infant mortality the same. Some countries describe a child who is stillborn as an infant mortality, while others don't describe the child as being born at all.
The second problem is that it turns out that premature babies tend not to live long. That leads me to the other three reasons...
Fertility Treatments: We literally create babies that would normally not make it to term. They get born prematurely, and thus (unfortunately) have a high infant mortality rate.
Drug use: creates babies with harmed immunity systems
Young women: have premature babies at a much higher rate. See above.

I understand that these are hard things to look up. Honest, it took me a while. But I hate that there were people in charge, who knew better, who used these as arguments to why our health care was 'inferior'. It had nothing to do with our health care. Those were dishonest arguments from the start.

Germany to increase health insurance premiums?

Now that we're on the path to government run insurance, stories are coming out about how its not working in other governments.
Let's talk about Germany, where they are raising taxes and cutting drug benifits to balance their health care program:

The measure is part of an overhaul of health care intended to plug an 11-billion euro ($13.8 billion) deficit in the public health-insurance system in 2011. It follows Cabinet agreement on June 29 to cuts in spending on drugs to reduce soaring costs to public health-insurance funds.

Neat.
Keep in mind, Germany was supposed to be one of the places where government run health care 'works'.

Post Office = The future of health care

Whenever I speak to people about the upcoming health care takeover, I bring up the United States Post Office. I don't think that you can get a greater idea of what we're in for with government health care then the post office.

Think about it. You wait in line, usually for 15 minutes, just to send a package. The person behind the desk usually has an attitude that normally runs the gamut between indifference and incompetence. They move at a snails pace because they can never get fired.
We've all had this experience. Yet, some people defend the USPS as an example of efficiency.

CBS has an article about the current crisis in the USPS. Despite government oversight (or more likely, from it) the USPS:

Kearney said the agency is facing a $7 billion loss in 2011. The rate increase will bring in an extra $2.5 billion, meaning it still faces a $4.7 billion loss.

This is a government run agency that has the worst customer service of any organization that I've ever run into. In my opinion, its just a peek of what we should expect out of government run health care in the future.

Employers: Health care costs to jump

But... I thought that health care was going to be cheaper?
Oh boy.
From AP:

Companies that offer employee health insurance expect another steep jump in medical costs next year, and more will ask workers to share a bigger chunk of the expense, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

Strange... that's what all of us Tea Party folks were saying. Huh.

Universal Health Care will never have rationing

Remember when they said that?
Obama is in the process of finding a new guy to put in charge of Medicare, and CNS found an old quote of his:

'The Decision is Not Whether or Not We Will Ration Care--The Decision is Whether We Will Ration Care With Our Eyes Open'

Who didn't see this coming?

A round up of polls on Health Care and the Tea Party

According to CBS news, most Americans are still against the health care bill:

More Americans now disapprove of the legislation, and many expect their costs to rise and the quality of their care to worsen; few expect the reforms to help them.

I guess when you shove a bill through, it makes people skeptical.

Fifty-three percent of Americans say they disapprove of the new reforms, including 39 percent who say they disapprove strongly. In the days before the bill passed the House, 37 percent said they approved and 48 percent disapproved.

I think this is great. It means that people are paying attention. Now we need to get more people to pay attention.
Most important to me about the poll:

Even though the president and Democratic leaders have repeatedly pointed out that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office called the reform package a deficit-reducer, six in 10 Americans still think the new health care reforms will increase the budget deficit. Just 13 percent think the reforms will decrease the deficit and another 15 percent expect no effect.

I believe that means that pretty much the only people who don't believe that the health care bill will add to the deficit are democrats.
Which would explain this poll by Rasmussen:

Following the passage of the health care bill, 53% now say they trust Republicans on the issue of health care. Thirty-seven percent (37%) place their trust in Democrats.

Again... that just might have something to do with the democrats pushing the bill through so hard. It might also explain why in a generic poll, Republicans have gained considerably:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate, up from 46% last week, while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent, down a point from the previous survey.

The news gets even better.
Gallup recently did a profile to find out who Tea Party members were. They found out that they were more likely to be male, and slightly less likely to be lower income. But then the real news comes out:

In several other respects, however -- their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large.

Please go to the Gallup site for their breakdown. Its worth reading if you want to see who Tea Party members are. The most interesting fact for me is that while 40% of the general population has an unfavorable view of Tea Party members, 63% of liberals have an unfavorable opinion.

Finally, the one poll that puts it all in perspective. The best poll, ever, from Rasmussen:

On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own.

Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly feel closer to the Tea Party and most Democrats say that their views are more like Obama’s. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.

This isn't the way that the president thought it would be, I'm certain.

Representative Cleaver refuses to discuss "spitting" incident

You may remember Emanuel Cleaver. He's the representative who claimed that someone spit on him the day that the Democrats shoved the Health Care takeover through the house.

Well, now it appears as though Cleaver doesn't want to talk about the incident.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they can't find videos of anyone yelling racial epithets?

Howard Dean, on redistributing wealth with health care bill

I don't know what is more frightening. When they deny it, or when they admit it.
Howard Dean admits that the health care bill is about redistributing wealth.

Scott Brown: "The Healthcare Fight Is Not Over"

Scott Brown tries to remind the Democrats, gently, how he got elected:

Everywhere I go, people ask me what can be done about this now — after the president has signed it into law, and Nancy Pelosi and others are taking their victory laps.

I don't think he's lying about that. I know that there are a bunch of Republicans in my life who are trying to figure out ways to dodge this craptastic bill. Its what happens when people who hate business try to take over businesses.

Heritage: 10 disasters of Obamacare

This is what the Heritage Foundation is great at... math.
One example:

2. Bending the Cost Curve in the Wrong Direction.
The provisions of the legislation aimed at reducing health care spending are reactionary, addressing the symptoms rather than the root causes of growth in spending.[3] Instead of reducing spending in health care, the bill will increase overall health spending in the U.S. by $222 billion between now and 2019.[4]

Read the full thing. Its full of some common sense.

2/3rd of the US thinks that the health care takeover is too costly

From USA Today:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government's role in health care too far, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, underscoring an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats.

Apparently, math scores in the US are better then what I thought.

Talking Points Memo on Democratic Talking Points

TPM is one of those groups who thinks that the only reason why Obamacare has a bad rap is because they aren't pushing the message right.
They say:

Last summer, members were caught unprepared and were faced with angry voters, loud protests and televised meetings that portrayed them in many cases as fumbling and unsure of how to talk about a bill that didn't actually exist yet.

Its kind of a blunt assessment from a blog that before blamed the chaos on Tea Party members yelling. Now they admit that congress critters didn't know what they were saying.

The Democrats actually put out a whole set of Talking Points for their lemmings... er.. congresspeople, to mimic. If you want to ask them a question, be prepared to hear a pre-recorded message.

A sample of what is on the web page:

CBO Score:

• Four Key Points You Need To Know About the CBO Score
• Full CBO Score

Never let it be said that I won't publish the same crap the Democrats are pushing.
Let's take one talking point, from 'four key points':

Is fully paid for – costs $940 billion over a decade. (Americans spend nearly $2.5 trillion each year on health care now and nearly two-thirds of the bill is paid for by reducing health care costs).

It is not fully paid for. The only way it could possibly be paid for is if they reduce medicare by $500 billion over ten years. Who believes that they would do that? They also pay for it by taxing anyone who doesn't get health care insurance.

Catching up with some links.

Investor's .com came up with a list of 20 ways that the health care bill will take away our freedom. My 'favorite';

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
You're a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You're a woman who can't have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You're a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former CBO director, explains the faulty math in the CBO's 'costs' of health care in the NY Times:

Gimmick No. 1 is the way the bill front-loads revenues and backloads spending. That is, the taxes and fees it calls for are set to begin immediately, but its new subsidies would be deferred so that the first 10 years of revenue would be used to pay for only 6 years of spending.

Even worse, some costs are left out entirely. To operate the new programs over the first 10 years, future Congresses would need to vote for $114 billion in additional annual spending. But this so-called discretionary spending is excluded from the Congressional Budget Office’s tabulation.

The worst part about it is that in Douglas' opinion, the CBO should have been more critical of the spending.

Speaking of spending, Social Security finally hit the point of no return... where outlays are more then revenue. We are now also running a Social Security deficit:

This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

But we need to spend more on social programs. Right.

Did you know that as part of the health care bill takeover, from now on, the federal government will be in charge of student loans? That should bring down the cost of tuition...

Ending one of the fiercest lobbying fights in Washington, Congress voted Thursday to force commercial banks out of the federal student loan market, cutting off billions of dollars in profits in a sweeping restructuring of financial-aid programs and redirecting most of the money to new education initiatives.

This is like taking the car keys away from the guy who is stumbling drunk and giving them to the guy who is passed out, and telling him, "Here... you look responsible!"

A week after the health care takeover was passed, Rasmussen did a poll. They found out the following:

One week after the House of Representatives passed the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats, 54% of the nation's likely voters still favor repealing the new law. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 42% oppose repeal.

The only people who didn't see that coming were hard core democrats.

More lies spread by the left on health care reform

Someone told me the other day that tort reform was in the health care bill, which literally made me say "What the fuck?", since I hadn't heard a damn thing about it.

So I researched it.
And guess what... it never happened.
From Politifact:

So, Democrats have not included medical malpractice limits in either the House or Senate version of the bills. Instead, the administration has said it will give some states $3 million grants to test new approaches for limiting lawsuits.

Where is the left getting their info from? Its like these factoids just spontaneously show up, and they repeat them verbatim.

The Health Care Summit Was A Stunt

This time, its not me saying so:

Murakami added that the summit is a "big PR stunt" where "nothing is going to be decided."

No kidding Murakami.

How unpoplar is the health care bill?

Ask CNN:

Twenty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say Congress should pass legislation similar to the bills passed by both chambers, with 48 percent saying lawmakers should work on an entirely new bill and a quarter saying Congress should stop all work on health care reform.
CNN then goes on to point out that 'portions' of the bill are 'very popular'.

Its pretty simple.
I like cheese.
I love chocolate.
I do not want cheese on my chocolate.

Similarly, the public likes some of the basic thoughts of the health care bill. But they really don't like what it all means as a package.

Remember how the "Republicans have no plan"? Well, the WH is linking to those non-existent plans now.

If you go to the White House, you'll find a link to both the Senate and House Republican plans.

Wait: I thought that they didn't have one?
Huh. I guess that they not only do, but the Republicans had plans going back months into May and June.
Weird how that happened to get ignored by the press, eh? Weirder still that the White House is linking to it today.