Numbers

Orrin Hatch (R. – Utah) presented some figures to the Senate during the debate over cloture on Saturday.  The numbers were falling on deaf ears, so I’m reproducing them.  You can read  his complete remarks here.

• 0 – the number of provisions prohibiting the rationing of health care.
• 0 – the number of government-run entitlement programs that are financially sound over the long-term.
• 10.2 percent – our national unemployment rate, the highest in 26 years.
• 70 – total number of government programs authorized by the bill.
• 1,697 – times the Secretary of Health and Human Services is given authority to determine or define provisions in this bill.
• 2,074 – total pages in this bill.
• 2010 – the year Americans start paying higher taxes to pay for this bill
• 2014 – the year when this bill actually starts most of the major provisions of this bill
• $6.8 million – cost to taxpayers per word
• $8 billion – the total amount of new taxes on Americans who do not buy Washington-defined health care.
• $465 billion – Cuts in Medicare at a time when it faces a $38 trillion unfunded liability to finance more government spending.
• $494 billion – total amount of new taxes in this bill
• $2.5 trillion – the real cost of the bill
• $12 trillion – our total national debt

My current, favorite president – Sarkozy!

President Sarkozy of France was not impressed with President Obama’s performance at the United Nations last week.  In his comments to the General Assembly (which were not reported in most US media forums) were biting and to the point.  This story in the London Telegraph tells all about it. 

“President Obama dreams of a world without weapons … but right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite.

“Iran since 2005 has flouted five security council resolutions. North Korea has been defying council resolutions since 1993.

“I support the extended hand of the Americans, but what good has proposals for dialogue brought the international community? More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe a UN member state off the map,” he continued, referring to Israel.

The sharp-tongued French leader even implied that Mr Obama’s resolution 1887 had used up valuable diplomatic energy.

“If we have courage to impose sanctions together it will lend viability to our commitment to reduce our own weapons and to making a world without nuke weapons,” he said.

Mr Sarkozy has previously called the US president’s disarmament crusade “naïve”.”

I think I’ll have some French fries for lunch and maybe some French toast for dinner.  Vive la France!!

No Bias in News Reporting

“On Friday, as new unemployment figures painted a newly troubling portrait of the American economy, (the president)  was vacationing in aNew England paradise.

Simply amazing.”

This is a paraphrased version of what was printed in The New York Times about the president’s visit to Martha’s Vineyard.  Here is the original version.

“On Friday, as new unemployment figures painted a newly troubling portrait of the American economy, Mr. Bush placed himself in the same scenes–golfing and fishing in a New England paradise–that once caused his father electoral grief.

Simply amazing.”  New York Times, July 9, 2001

At the time, the unemployment rate was up; it was 4.5%, up from the 2000 average of 4.0%

The current unemployment rate is 9.4%, more than double what it was in July, 2001.  This is what The New York Times had to say about President Obama’s vacation trip to Martha’s Vineyard:

Mr. Obama, whom aides described as being amused by all of the gloom-and-doom prognosticating over his health care agenda, did not even consider skipping his vacation. Last year, he talked about the importance of taking a break to avoid “making mistakes.”

One Single Payer System

Funny…   a little bit disrespectful…   but funny!

Seven Ways to Make Health Care in America Better

A wonderful column from Herman Cain.  He’s a great businessman, a logical thinker and fun to hear.  Enjoy!

My most recent column highlighted the massive ignorance about the U.S. health care system. Too many people want to fix the leaks in our health care roof by blowing up the building. Here’s a novel idea, let’s just fix the leaks in the roof, and here are seven solutions by Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute.

Pipes explains each solution in more detail in her book, The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care, but these brief explanations will make you more knowledgeable about solutions to our health care system than 90 percent of the voting public. Taken together, there would be no involuntary leaks in the roof.

Change the tax code. Level the playing field by allowing employees to have the same tax deductibility rules as employers, which would make it possible for the employees to buy employee-owned health insurance accounts. People would then make more prudent choices, because it would be their money and not their employer’s money.

Reduce costly government mandates and regulations. Just look at Medicare and Medicaid. The more the government tries to control costs with mandates and regulations, the more costs go up and the quality of care goes down.

Allow the purchase of insurance across state lines. This one is more controversial, because the states are vastly different concerning mandated coverage and insurance regulations. But it is worth exploring for the sake of enhanced competition.

Expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). These accounts are available at most banks and allow you to save money tax-free for current and future health care expenses. But as usual, the government has set stupid limitations and regulations that discourage their use. One of the best features of the HSA is that money not spent from the account in a given year can be carried over to accumulate an emergency health care fund that you control. Imagine that. You control the money and not the government!

Support Retail Health Clinics. Wal-Mart and Target are opening health clinics in many of their stores. They are doing it despite some opposition from state bureaucrats and objections from some health professionals. These clinics are not hospitals, but they provide convenient and affordable basic services to millions of people. The clinics are staffed with medical professionals, and of course these retailers know that most people will fill their prescriptions in their stores and pick up some other items before they leave. So what?

Implement Tort Reform. When it costs doctors an average of $250,000 for malpractice insurance, something is wrong. This is driving a lot of doctors away from medicine and out of small towns that cannot generate this kind of medical ante. People’s legal rights need to be protected, but not to the extent that it eliminates health care in some areas altogether.

Provide Vouchers for the Working Poor and Chronically Ill. Brilliant! It is the same principle as providing food stamps for the people who need help buying food. Just like we would not ration food to make sure we feed the poor, we should not ration health care to take care of those who do not have it. Fix the “leaks” in the roof.

Every nation that has gone the route of socialized medicine has made access, cost and quality of care worse. We have an opportunity to get it right. Then why are the Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration determined to take the U.S. in the same direction?

It’s not about health care, it’s about control.

Franking Commission

Some Republican members of Congress want to send a chart to their constituents.  The Congressional Franking Commission is blocking the mailing. 

This information came from themoderatevoice.com:

Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the secretary of the House Republican Conference and a former District Court Judge, is having his messages to constituents censored by Democrats on the Franking Commission. Republicans are no longer allowed to use the words “government run health care” in the communications to their constituents.

Carter received an email from the Franking Commission informing him of the censorship.

“What we proposed as language was as follows, ‘House Democrats unveiled a government-run health care plan,’” Carter said. “Our response from Franking was, ‘You cannot use that language. You must use, ‘The House majority unveiled a public option health care plan,’ which is Pelosi-speak or ‘just last week the House majority unveiled a health care plan which I believe will cost taxpayers…’”

Check out the chart showing the bureaucratic nightmare that would evolve!

One More Unnecessary Decision

Environmental/political correctness run amuck!!  Salazar could study without calling a two year arbitrary halt.  I almost titled this post “One More Stupid Decision” – maybe next time!

This article is in the Washington Times:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Monday that he will place a two-year hold on the filing of new uranium and other hard-rock mining permits on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon, prompting charges from mining groups of compromising U.S. energy security and of encouraging more dangerous mining abroad.

Mr. Salazar said the department would spend those two years studying whether the lands should be withdrawn on a more extensive basis from new mining claims in order to protect the watershed, species and plants from possible contamination. Mining exploration or extraction that has already been approved for permitting would not be affected by either the two-year moratorium or a permanent ban, he said.

Read more

Seven Ways to Make Health Care Better in America

This from an opinion piece  by Herman Cain.  He is quoting extensively from a book by Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute. 

Change the tax code. Level the playing field by allowing employees to have the same tax deductibility rules as employers, which would make it possible for the employees to buy employee-owned health insurance accounts. People would then make more prudent choices, because it would be their money and not their employer’s money.

Reduce costly government mandates and regulations. Just look at Medicare and Medicaid. The more the government tries to control costs with mandates and regulations, the more costs go up and the quality of care goes down.

Allow the purchase of insurance across state lines. This one is more controversial, because the states are vastly different concerning mandated coverage and insurance regulations. But it is worth exploring for the sake of enhanced competition.

Expand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). These accounts are available at most banks and allow you to save money tax-free for current and future health care expenses. But as usual, the government has set stupid limitations and regulations that discourage their use. One of the best features of the HSA is that money not spent from the account in a given year can be carried over to accumulate an emergency health care fund that you control. Imagine that. You control the money and not the government!

Support Retail Health Clinics. Wal-Mart and Target are opening health clinics in many of their stores. They are doing it despite some opposition from state bureaucrats and objections from some health professionals. These clinics are not hospitals, but they provide convenient and affordable basic services to millions of people. The clinics are staffed with medical professionals, and of course these retailers know that most people will fill their prescriptions in their stores and pick up some other items before they leave. So what?

Implement Tort Reform. When it costs doctors an average of $250,000 for malpractice insurance, something is wrong. This is driving a lot of doctors away from medicine and out of small towns that cannot generate this kind of medical ante. People’s legal rights need to be protected, but not to the extent that it eliminates health care in some areas altogether.

Provide Vouchers for the Working Poor and Chronically Ill. Brilliant! It is the same principle as providing food stamps for the people who need help buying food. Just like we would not ration food to make sure we feed the poor, we should not ration health care to take care of those who do not have it. Fix the “leaks” in the roof.

Read the Bill!

Congress Should Take Its Time

You didn’t have the time to read the 1100 page stimulus bill. And neither did members of Congress—by their own choice. Most lawmakers—on both sides of the aisle—were only given 13 hours to read the bill before it was passed.

ReadTheBill.org is a commonsense solution – we want Congress to post all bills online for 72 hours before they are debated. That gives members of Congress – and you – three days to read legislation and consider how it could potentially affect each of us in our daily lives. A 72 hour rule would also give you a chance to let your senators and representative in Congress know what you like, or don’t like, about a bill before they vote.

If no one is taking the time to read these crucial pieces of legislation, then no one knows what’s in them before they are passed.

Please take time to sign the petition and call your congressperson and Senators.

Read the Bill

Thought from Thomas Sowell

I love reading Thomas Sowell’s columns.  He is brilliant, succinct and occasionally scathing.

His most recent column begins here.  Go to the link to read the full column:

Alice in Medical Care

Most political and media discussions of medical care have an air of unreality reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. There is an abundance of catch-phrases but remarkably few coherent arguments.

Let’s start at square one. Why is there alarm about American medical care? The most usual reason given is because its cost is high and rising.

That is certainly true. We were not spending nearly as much on high-tech medical procedures in the past because there were not nearly as many of them, and we were not spending anything at all on some of the new pharmaceutical drugs because they didn’t exist.

This general pattern is not peculiar to medical care. Cars didn’t cost nearly as much in the past, when they didn’t have air-conditioning, power steering and high-tech safety features. Homes were cheaper when they were smaller, had fewer bathrooms and lacked such conveniences as built-in microwave ovens.

We would like to have all these things without the rising costs that come with them. But only with medical care is such wishful thinking taken seriously, with government regarded as a sort of fairy godmother who will give us the benefits without the costs.

A cynic is said to be someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. If so, then it is political cynicism to point to other countries that spend less on medical care, including some countries where there is “universal health care” provided “free” by their governments.