ObamaCare a jobs eraser

The Weekly Standard and The Daily Caller published excerpts of testimony from the House Budget Committee.  Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf responded to questions from committee chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) on Thursday.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often called ObamaCare, could legitimately be called a jobs eraser.

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Democrat health bill signed, sealed and delivering surprises, part 3

Pt. 3 of 3

Taxes and Center for Comparative Effectiveness place big question marks on healthcare bill’s cost and policy impact.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) commented on healthcare legislation passed by Democrats: "This fight is not over."As Democrats promise benefits to Main Street, some elements of their healthcare bill promise nasty surprises for those expecting more quality care for less money. What the bill arguably delivers in questionable promises of premium decreases by President Barack Obama, it may take back in taxes through the back door Democrats are so fond of.

Political analyst and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Charles Krauthammer pegged one outcome—he predicted a national sales tax during an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported the Obama administration was looking at a value-added tax (VAT) in May, 2009. National media said the idea came from a book written by the brother of the White House Chief of Staff, Ezekiel Emanuel who allegedly endorsed the idea in a book he wrote about guaranteed healthcare.

A VAT tax would not replace the income tax or any of the other numerous taxes the feds levy on everything from gas to cell phones—such a tax would be in addition to existing taxes.

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Democrat health bill signed, sealed and delivering surprises, Part 2

Pt. 2 of 3

Aside from gouging the middle class, will the government’s plan divert dollars from and decrease quality of care for  immigrants and families on federal programs?

Spend a little time reading HR 4872 or HR 3590, the healthcare bills that constitute the blueprint for Democrats’ takeover of the healthcare sector (the bastardized offspring of HR 3200), and you’ll realize you really don’t have to be very smart to run for Congress. The bill raises serious questions about who actually wrote this legislation. Big Labor has publicly declared they worked on the bill; media has said Big Pharma did the same. We’ve already looked at claims by the president and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that don’t reflect what’s really in these bills. There are more surprises in these bills.

Within the legislation there is a provision for communities “with high percentages of children and adolescents who are uninsured, underinsured or eligible for medical assistance under Federal or State health benefits programs…” or where access to care is a problem. These communities can qualify for school based health clinic programs and those programs will be integrated into the school environment.

What’s wrong with that?

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Democrat health bill signed, sealed and delivering surprises, Part 1

Pt. 1 of 3

Do Democrats know what's in the bills they wrote?

On October 30, Rep. Paul Ryan presented a copy of the massive 1990-page health care bill Friday to a standing room only crowd at the Franklin Public Library. Ryan's speech on the House Floor in March was the speech of a statesman. The bill has since grown to more than 2,000 pages.Democrat drama has been high profile with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) enjoying adulation from the leftwingers and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Calif.) oddly silent about the ‘landmark legislation.’ It's a cliche, but we couldn't help thinking about Nero, the fiddle and the fire.

GOP drama has risen to the task, with standouts like Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) trying to tell Americans why the bill won’t bring promised reform. Ryan, by the way, made an eloquent speech about the bills conservatives see as fiscal disasters that will also erode personal freedom.

President Barack Obama may be paying attention to the GOP, though, because on Monday he phrased the bill as “health insurance reform” rather than “healthcare reform.”

What Dems aren’t talking about are specifics in HR 4872 and HR 3590, more than likely because most of them haven’t read the bills.

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In healthcare war, Dem deeds raise questions about uninsured, labor unions, foreign doctors

In her typically breathless tone, Pelosi said, "[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy." It would be interesting to see a study on the mental health of voters who continue to elect this woman from a family long involved in US politics.[by Kay B. Day/screen snip]Democrats in the House of Representatives, in a drama played out like a soap opera, by using a variety of maneuvers and persuasions, passed landmark legislation on Sunday. Democrats are calling the federal healthcare takeover landmark reform. A number of conservatives see it as landmark looting by leftwing Dems who are expanding the federal government to unprecedented size.

Now all that remains is for the biggest spender in American history, President Barack Obama, to sign the bill and for the Senate to consider changes. That process in the Senate will likely produce a spinoff drama, by the way.

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On matters like HR 3590 and other healthcare bills, Eisenhower gave good advice

Most political junkies know about President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warnings about the “military-industrial complex.” But the Republican president’s farewell speech in 1961 was quite visionary. The speech was broader in scope than is popularly realized.

The federal government is mortgaging the future not only for these recent graduates, but also for their children. [Photo by Kay B. Day]Lesser known passages from Eisenhower’s speech speak directly to what we are confronting today. Though he could not know it, his statements go to the core of all that is wrong about HR 3590, the Senate healthcare bill and its spawn, and for that matter, the House healthcare product HR 3200 or for another matter, HR 4872. Not a single bill is framed in a proper perspective and neither bill rests on a vision of what 10 years down the fiscal road will really bring.

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