Healthcare… Have the Dems Worn You Out?

Healthcare

By: Esther Petersen

I am afraid that we have been proven right.  I have attended five Tea Party type events this year and the theme, for most of the people I talked to was, “it all about control”.  At the very first Tea Party event on April 15^th, it was TARP and the Omnibus spending plan that were front and center in the targeted anger.  That is interesting to note as TARP was passed under the leadership of the GOP and Omnibus was under the leadership of the Democrats.  Healthcare reform (or take over) was still on the “far-off” drawing board with Cap and Trade.  Two big, bad, bills looming in, what we hoped, was a very distant future.  If only……..

 Fast forward to the end of September and look at where we are now.  Cap and Trade was rammed through the House of Representatives and the Healthcare legislation has at least four different bills floating around.  “We the People” did our job throughout the summer with our phones calls and emails, and we certainly made our position know loudly and clearly through our unprecedented town hall participation.  Oh yes, we read up on as much as we could, we made no pretences as to our positions, we fought hard all summer, and ended with a massive march on Capitol Hill.    And what has happened since?  Have our Representatives decided to actually listen to us and to do what we demanded of them?  No, they most certainly have not.  In fact, they are now putting a gag order on Humana, a private business, which prevents Humana from passing on information to its customers that is backed up by the CBO!  That is correct!  Humana is not lying to its customers, they are passing on information that has been verified by the Congressional Budget Office, yet the long and ever far reaching arm of the Federal Government has told them to “shut up”. 

 If only that were the only thing that was obscene about the moves made since the August recess.  Now, what is referred to as the Baucus bill will include not only a substantial fee, but possible JAIL TIME for people who do not purchase insurance.  Let us think about that for a moment.  It has been shown through interviews and speeches that President Obama, Representatives Pelosi and Frank, and Senators Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich to name a few, are all supportive of a single payer health system.  The problem is, the American people do not agree.  The American people want healthcare reform not a “government takeover”.  So what is the solution?  Why that is simple, force the public into a single payer system over a period of time and do it by making the current system so obnoxious that people begin to think there is no other option.  Boom, there it is.  They gain full control and we are stuck with it.  If this is not the case then why would they be opposed to the options such as opening up state borders and tort reform that would cost the American public nothing?  Why would they be opposed to free market solutions?  Why would they be opposed to breaking the bill down into much smaller, less intrusive, easier to read bills?  The answer, I am afraid, is becoming more and more obvious.  They do not want to just reform healthcare; they want to completely transform it into something we in this country have never seen before.  They ultimately want to control it, therefore they will not listen to us and reform it slowly with common sense moves.

 What can we do, then?  Are we doomed to accept what they are about to force on us?  I say “NO”.  I say that we must insist that “if” they do what I think they are going to do and use reconciliation to pass this bill, we must demand that the new people we WILL elect in 2010 must immediately begin working to repeal anything that moves healthcare out of our hands and into the hands of the Federal Government.  My friends, I feel we are in for a long fight.  Are you up for it?

 

 

Steve Buyer learns about The Apollo Alliance

Who writes the bills? Who is the Apollo Alliance? A high school student asks Congressman Steve Buyer – if HR 3200 passes, and salaries for physicians are capped, what motivation does he have to enter med school?

 

Danville, IN, Town Hall with Rep. Steve Buyer (R), cont.

More questions:

Part 5:

Part 6 (SCHIP):

 

Danville, IN, Town Hall with Rep. Steve Buyer (R)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

 

Why Higher Taxes isn’t the Answer

This is something that many people don’t understand. In one way, it should work this way — the higher the tax rate, the more revenue you take in — but it doesn’t. The Laffer Curve is the visual reason why; but the explanation is also quite simple: the more you tax, the more people hide their money; the more you tax, the more they move themselves and/or their money; the more you tax, the less incentive people have to earn money; the more you tax, the less there is to spend; the less there is to spend, the slower the economy goes; the slower the economy goes, the less revenue comes in.

One of the series of books I read through and greatly enjoyed was the Nero Wolfe mystery series, written by Rex Stout (and a few years ago, also made into a series of A&E TV shows). The books were set contemporary to when they were written, with the first one being published in the 30s, I think, and going all the way through the 70s. A recurring motif in several of the earlier ones (probably those written in the 40s and 50s), was the oppressive income tax, and how it squelched the brilliant detective’s desire to take on a case. When the novels were set in late November or early December, it was frequently noted that Wolfe would turn down cases because he was at or near a certain income, and if he earned any more, he would be taxed at a rate of 90% for it, so he figured that 10% of whatever fee simply wasn’t worth it. And that’s true — would you want to do the same amount of work and actually get to keep only 10% of your gross? It’s ridiculous! It’s time to trim the federal budget, so that we can keep more of our money. We are

Taxed

Enough

Already!

 

Ask not what your country can do for you…

Remember that famous quote from John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address? That famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country,” has been repeated by many different people over the past 48 years in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes. But it seems that we have forgotten it, and are only asking what our country or our government can do for us.

During this past election cycle, I got in a conversation with someone who was planning on voting for Obama and basically an entire Democrat and/or liberal ticket. She asked me why I was going to vote Republican, because “what have the Republicans ever given you?” I’ve thought about that question a lot in the past several months, and found it to give insight into the reason why government is so big, why they take so much from us in taxes, and why they are elected into office again and again, despite their massive failures. [Massive failures? Yes! Pres. Johnson declared “War on Poverty” in the 60s, and it’s only gotten worse. Yet we continue to throw good money after bad, in the apparent insane hopes that maybe this time history won’t repeat itself. And that’s just one example.]

This woman didn’t realize it, but she was selling her vote to the highest bidder — to whomever was able to convince her that s/he was going to give her the most. In one way, that’s not too different from what everyone does — everyone votes for the person that s/he thinks is the best. The difference comes in the way someone determines who will be the best candidate for the job. It’s an easy thing to vote for someone who promises you to “give” you what you want (even if, like so many campaign promises, the promise is forgotten the day after the election). It’s much harder — requires more discipline, more maturity, more circumspection, more thought — to vote for someone who does not promise you the moon.

But it is important to remember, that “the government” cannot give unless it first takes. They take our money in the form of taxes, then they take a percentage of our money off the top for bureaucracy, then they give us back a smaller portion of our money in the form of “benefits” and services. Some taxation is necessary, and some benefits and services are needful; but it’s time to say enough already!!!

We have to step up and let our voice be heard. A reader named Craig sent the link to this news story about various Representatives and Senators going apoplectic about proposed budget cuts, because the cuts were going to affect their districts. One of the items was a Presidential helicopter that Obama says is not necessary. Although $800,000,000 is a drop in the bucket, compared to the monstrosity of the “stimulus” package, it is still eight hundred million dollars of your money and my money that will be spent unnecessarily unless it is ultimately cut. And it will be spent because people voted, not for what they could do for their country, but what their country could do for them. Unfortunately, that comes at a very steep price, because as I said before, the government cannot give anything that it does not first take away.

 

Ripley, MS, TEA Party

Earlier, Chuck gave his perspective on the TEA Party he helped organize [in seven days] in Ripley, Mississippi. Here is the video of the rally, with speaker Les Riley.

 

A Call to Conservatives

The government has gotten too much control away from the people — we are fast becoming an oligarchy and we don’t even know it. When they speak of right-wing groups being dangerous because we want states’ rights, they may be correct. But it is not because we are wrong, but because we are right. The only thing that has kept the federal government at bay this long is that our states were more independent. Now, our states’ rights are being eroded on a daily basis, and no one seems to be noticing or caring — and the people who do care are now being labeled dangerous conspirators. We are not dangerous to the government created and restrained by the Constitution, but rather to the government that has thrown off the restraints of the Constitution, which serve to keep us a free people — free not from outside enemies, but from inside enemies, and from the government itself.

We have forgotten the famous (and truthful) quotes of past leaders — “That government is best which governs least”; “America is great because she is good. When America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great”; “Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We are fast heading towards a government with absolute power, and it is guaranteed to be absolutely corrupt. May God have mercy on this country.

 

A volunteer gives it to us straight… no handouts needed

My name is Steven; I am 25 yrs. old with a family. I rent an apartment, I paid cash for all my cars, and I have never asked the government for anything except for safety in my neighborhood — and really I pay for that along with every other tax paying citizen. The reason I attended the Tea Party Was to let the Government know that I am pissed because I have to bail out the people who irresponsibly took out loans they could not afford, I am paying for the people who gave them the loans to go on expensive vacations and buy them flashy cars. Again I am PISSED OFF and I will not rest until the American people are in control of this government not the other way around. My 20 month old son could run things better than the idiots in Washington. The Tea Party is only the beginning. We need to keep pushing with different issues. We organized this — we can do anything!

My experience at the Tea Party was great — I worked Security and didn’t have any problems. To see all those people gather without incident was truly moving and gave me inspiration to show Washington we are not going to keep quiet any longer.

Steven N

 

Toxic Asset Plan. Obama has saved the day.

500 points up.  Why are investors in banks so happy today?  Shouldn’t this wonderful plan put an end to these senseless Tea Party’s?  The Democrats and Moderate Republicans were right all along.  Socialism is the answer.  Bigger Government will bail out America.

 

Or were they?

 

Why are investors so thrilled with putting money into banks?  Because Uncle Sam just rolled out a plan basically letting all of the people who responsible for this mess off the hook, that’s why.  In reading about this plan it calls on private investors to buy up “toxic assets” and the government would take a large share of the risk.  The government is going to subsidize the risk.  That does not sound like a free market solution.  Call me crazy but this does seem like a good deal to everyone except….. drum roll please… the tax payer!  Initially they are talking about using 100 billion taxpayer dollars but do not be fooled they are hoping to invest 500-700 billion into this project.  The only reason they are not asking for the money now is because they know that John and Jane taxpayer have had enough.  Maybe we were a bit premature in calling off the Tea Party’s.  Maybe the everyday working man and woman are getting screwed yet again.

 

Lets explore this just a little bit further in defining what these “toxic assets” really are.  Hold onto your seats but if you boil all the murky water away and clear away the smoke you basically have a group of people who borrowed money they could not afford to pay and banks that should not have made the loans.  Remember when everyone was so upset when Obama rolled out his plan to help people who were about to default on their mortgages?  Remember how everyone was so angry about it?  This new plan that was rolled out today is basically the same thing except on steroids and without actually helping anyone stay in their home.  The good ole boys on the Hill are teaming with the good ole boys on Wall street.  They forgot to invite us to the party.

 

I don’t mean to harp but here is what you need to be telling your Representative and Senators:

 

Get out of the private sector.  Stop telling me that America is too fragile to handle AIG being put into receivership.  Stop spending money you do not have to bail out irresponsible people.  Balance the budget.  Right size government *hint* you guys are going the wrong way.

 

I will be writing a letter on this and will post it.  Feel free to copy and paste and use my link on the left to get in touch with your politicians who represent you.