Homonculus

Democrat Press releases are like Gold for Bloggers.  Take the NHDP spin on the Shaheen Health Care Vote.  The Party hacks called it historic.  Yet the only way they could achieve this ‘historic’ vote was to bribe democrat hold-outs with massive amounts of tax payer money, of which Shaheen was no beneficiary.  It’s historic alright, just not in the way Mr. Buckley would like you to think. 

It goes out of its way to not just break party promises; it runs them over with the Partridge Family Hopey-Changey bus while Reid and Pelosi rewrite the lyrics to “I’ll Meet You Halfway,” and “Am I losing you.”

So Shaheen is ‘appropriately’ heaped with praise.

" …thanks in large part to the hard work of Senator Shaheen, this bill is also the greatest deficit reduction package passed in the last decade - reducing the deficit by more than $130 billion in the next 10 years.”

Mr. Buckley then credits Dame Shaheen with four mythical horseman of deficit reduction, also farcical in the greater sense of Shaheen related votes.  In order for the Senator to even approach the words ‘deficit reduction’ in a pre-Shaheen context, she will need to help pass 69 more ‘historic’ bills of similar prowess over that same ten years to offset the trillions (and trillions) in debt related spending she has racked up in just her first 11 months in office.  That would mean no more new spending. No more democrat spending?  That would be historic. 

So how far off the reservation are the democrats?  Let’s just say they were never on it in the first place.  They continue to suggest that they can provide something for nothing after spending something (trillions) for nothing (except historic debt).  The conquest of your health benefits—and care—are no exception. 

The homunculus of deficit reduction perched on Jeanne’s shoulder cannot come without two things; more revenue and less service.  Anyone without blue Kool-Aid stains on their lips knows this. 

It taxes tanning booths, medical devices, and medicines.  Good thing only rich American’s use those things right? 

It taxes your employer which is a tax on you.  It also taxes you directly if you don’t meet the mandate and buy a policy.  And it also taxes the policies themselves which is more important when you consider the plan will make insurance more expensive. 

The Cadillac plan tax affects policies whose values exceed certain thresholds. But the bill by its very construction will increase the cost of every plan because in the world outside Washington DC there is no such thing as something for nothing.  Most if not all of us who carry insurance will see the cost rise past the taxable threshold, making them that much more expensive to administer.  Costs that will divert money from business and industry (jobs and growth) to insurance and government.

What does that mean?  Many American’s will opt out and pay the other tax, getting insurance when they actually need it.  So that tax will have to rise as the government becomes the only source of revenue for failing insurance companies who have no low risk revenue to offset costs.  As the tax becomes the insurance, government will be the de-facto provider propping up the new GSE insurance industry—which will consist of the few remaining big players strong enough to survive or the selected 'winners' connected enough to benefit from federal largesse. 

As we see, there is no path to competition, just less.  There is no something for nothing, just nothing for something (your hard earned dollars).  And everyone will be paying more for less at the expense of free flowing capitol, jobs, and quality. 

But then, that is the point of the bill.  Historic indeed.

Comments

[Pam Manney]

The financial hardship this bill, if passed in it's current state, will create for the average American, especially our youth, is without doubt and indeterminant. I guess I could say that, for those youth blinded by the "hope and change" of Obama's sirene call, they are getting what they deserve. But, then that would be to dismiss the "ignorance of youth" stage of life.
This type of legislation, coupled with the taxes imposed by the NH legislature this past session, is giving our youth a real wake-up call. Kind of funny listening to them complain when they, say, register their car, apply for a hunting license and what-not, but...not really.
Let's hope next time they vote, they did a little deeper than feel good hope and change rhetoric they were handed last time around.

[Steve Mac Donald]

Amen