Economy

Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Republicans - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A Democratic Philosophy Against Transparency

October 1, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

We can look at four of the amendments offered as additions to the healthcare bill that Democrats defeated and what we see gives us a glimpse into the Democratic Party’s true soul. And it is a dark look, indeed. At least it’s dark if you are one of those lowly citizens that thinks government transparency and accountability is a good idea.

Here are the amendments that the Democrats defeated:

  • Bunning Open Records Amendment: would have required the full language and full price tag to be available on the Internet for three days before Congress votes. (Offered by Jim Bunning- R, KY)
  • Hatch Medicare Advantage (MA) Amendment: would have suspended MA provisions if the CBO finds that (contrary to the President’s promise) seniors are going to lose coverage or benefits. (Offered by Orrin Hatch- R, Utah)
  • Kyl Anti-Gag Order Amendment: would have allowed MA insurers to inform seniors of their likely loss of benefits. (Offered by John Kyl- R, AZ)
  • Ensign/Cornyn/Kyl Malpractice Lawsuit Amendments: would have provided relief from lawsuits. (Offered by John Ensign- R, Nevada/John Cornyn- R, Texas/John Kyl- R, AZ)

So the Democrats don’t want you to know how much this boondoggle will cost, the Democrats don’t want you to be able to read the bill before they pass it (likely in the dead of night as per usual), the Democrats don’t want you to be alerted if you are losing benefits, and the Democrats don’t want all of us to have relief from the sort of lawsuit abuse their favorite campaign donors in the realm of tort law are so prone to perpetrate.
Continue reading “

A Democratic Philosophy Against Transparency”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Republicans - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obamacare: It’s War on the Middle Class

September 25, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again we see that Barack Obama cannot be relied on to tell America the truth. During the late presidential campaign, Team Obama attacked Hillary Clinton for having mandates for health insurance yet now he is himself touting forced mandates on the people.

In 2008 an Obama flyer slammed Hillary for her forced insurance purchase suggestion. That flyer told Obamaites that, “Hillary’s health care plan forces everyone to buy insurance, even if you can’t afford it.” This was bad, Obama thought.

That was then.
Continue reading “

Obamacare: It’s War on the Middle Class”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Senate Economic Committee Report: How Easy to Keep Your Doctor With Baucus Bill?

September 25, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

How many times have we heard the president’s wild claim that we can “keep our healthcare plan if we like it”? Well, if that were true we’d also be able to keep our doctor, right? Hasn’t the president said that we won’t have to lose our favorite doctor with “his” healthcare policies?

So, how easy will it be to keep your doctor and access his services under the Baucus bill now under consideration in the Senate?

The Senate Joint Economic Committee recently addressed this question by creating a nice visual representation of how easy it will be to access your doctor through Obamacare. The JEC crated an interesting flowchart so that we can follow the steps that the Baucus bill will impose on us all as we try to access the care we usually get by just going to our doctors and asking for it.
Unfortunately, if you like your doctor, Obamacare will make it so much harder to deal with him in the future.

Here is a small snippet of the chart:
Continue reading “

Senate Economic Committee Report: How Easy to Keep Your Doctor With Baucus Bill?”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obamacare is About Controlling Every Aspect of Your Life

September 24, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Peter Fleckenstein spent a huge amount of time reading H.R. 3200 and found hundreds of provisions that do nothing less than give government complete control of our very lives. This is a stark list that should frighten any freedom loving American from any support for this anti-American president and his socialist Congressional majority. Aside from this frightening list, Fleckenstein has more at his site http://blog.flecksoflife.com.

Read on and be afraid… be very afraid of Obama’s un-American plans to control your life:

  • Sec. 113, Pg. 21-22 of the Health Care (HC) Bill MANDATES a government audit of the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self-insure in order to “ensure that the law does not provide incentives for small and mid-size employers to self-insure”!
  • Sec. 122, Pg. 29, Lines 4-16 – YOUR HEALTH CARE WILL BE RATIONED! 

Continue reading “

Obamacare is About Controlling Every Aspect of Your Life”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obamacare Mandates Will Cost Business $49 Billion a Year

September 24, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It has been estimated that employer mandates forced on businesses by H.R. 3200 and the other legislation barreling through Congress will cost America’s businesses $49 billion a year if passed.

According to the Heritage Foundation the mandates in the bills now under consideration will force employers to buy healthcare insurance for their employees or pay a per head tax to the federal government. This could affect between 95 million to 105 million workers and about 1 million small businesses.

What will this mean to America’s business community?

The mandates will cost businesses at least $49 billion per year and put 5.2 million low-wage workers at risk of unemploy_ment or reduced working hours. The prospect of fewer job opportunities in the future will put another 10.2 million workers at risk of slower wage growth and cuts in other benefits. Up to 382,000 low-wage unskilled workers are likely to lose their jobs.

Worse, these higher costs of doing business will be passed onto customers in higher prices and/or restricted availability of products. It cannot be ignored that higher prices will hurt low-income households the hardest.

This all amounts to a defacto tax increase for all Americans regardless of income level.
Continue reading “

Obamacare Mandates Will Cost Business $49 Billion a Year”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Liberals - Warner Todd Huston

Why Do EPA Employees Make More Than the Vice President?

September 23, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is a curious thing. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has somehow been given authority to pay some of its employees more than we pay the vice president of the United States of America!

How is it that a mere perfunctory agency can pay more to its civil service employees than we pay the second most powerful man in our government? Apparently Health and Human Services (HHS) was given special pay authority under Title 42, Section 209(f) of the U.S. Code and the EPA has glommed on to that authority to pay some scientific employees higher salaries than they could earn under the normal Civil Service system.

But Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Greg Walden (R-Oregon), ranking members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, claim that the EPA isn’t legally entitled to “cash in” on the HHS special pay provisions.
Continue reading “

Why Do EPA Employees Make More Than the Vice President?”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Capitalism - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A Doctor’s Deep Concerns About Obamacare

September 23, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Woodrow Wilcox, a fellow that operates a Medicare advice and assistance website, was contacted not long ago by a local Indiana doctor that read the entire bill of H.R. 3200. Once he was done he had some deep and troubling concerns about Obamacare. The doctor, Stephen E. Fraser, M.D., then sat down and wrote Senator Evan Bayh about these concerns.

Here is that letter:

Dear Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician, I have major concerns with the health care bill (HR 3200) before Congress. I spent the last week reading this bill, which at over 1000 pages is quite difficult to get through. Have you read it? I’m shocked by the brazenness of the government’s intrusion into the patient-physician relationship. I’m especially concerned about the creation of a central committee to decide medical coverage decisions.
Continue reading “

A Doctor’s Deep Concerns About Obamacare”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Gov’t ‘Non-Profit’ Insurance ‘Competition’ Idea is Uninformed

September 23, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In his desire to slander capitalism and impugn the integrity of all insurance companies in order to play up his “public option” idea, President Obama’s main claim has been that those evil insurance companies need “competition” from a government sponsored plan. This purported competition is supposed to “keep them honest.”

Obama presents this idea as if there currently isn’t any non-profit health insurance group keeping those for-profits honest. He acts as if he has some sort of new idea, one that currently doesn’t exist. But the truth is many states already have non-profit health groups. On top of that one of these non-profits is usually one of the largest insurance groups around.

That group would be Blue Cross and Blue Shield. John Lott, economist and author of “Freedomnomics,” gives us some of the facts:
Continue reading “

Obama’s Gov’t ‘Non-Profit’ Insurance ‘Competition’ Idea is Uninformed”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Health - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

What Mandates Do To Our Insurance

September 21, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

There has been a lot of talk about mandates emanating from the federal government to force each of us to buy healthcare insurance but what do those mandates do to the insurance itself? And are they even Constitutionally justified?

First of all we need to remind everyone that these mandates cannot possibly be Constitutional. After all, the Constitution does not give Congress the power to demand that the citizens buy a certain product. The Constitution only gives Congress the power to tax, not to serve as an arm of any industry. These mandates will essentially make the federal government an insurance salesman and this is most certainly unconstitutional.

Still, even if we are unfortunate enough to be burdened with this new system, what will it do to our insurance companies?
Continue reading “

What Mandates Do To Our Insurance”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Poll: 45% of Docs Would Quit Under Obamacare

September 18, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Recently Investor’s Business Daily published the results of a poll that found that an astonishing 45% of doctors polled would rather quit the medical field than suffer under Obamacare.

This is in stark contrast to recent news that a majority of physicians support Obama’s healthcare “reform” policies. IBD disputes this poll and also points out that a recent L.A. Times story that trumpets the American Medical Association’s approval of the so-called public option is based on a group that only represents 18% of American doctors.

The major finds of the IBD poll are:
Continue reading “

Poll: 45% of Docs Would Quit Under Obamacare”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Dem. Rockefeller Says Baucus Plan Raises Taxes on Middle Class

September 18, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) says that the newly released healthcare plan crafted by Senator Max Baucus (D- Mon.) will raise taxes on the middle class. Imagine that, one Democrat accusing another of raising taxes. These are strange and wondrous times, indeed.

The Baucus plan features new taxes on so-called high-end healthcare plans obtained through employers. Beginning in 2013, a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for “high-cost plans” will be instituted. These “high-cost plans” are “defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.”

This tax will be levied on the whole cost of the plan, not just the part that the employees pay.
Continue reading “

Dem. Rockefeller Says Baucus Plan Raises Taxes on Middle Class”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Charlie Rangel: Obamacare Doesn’t Spend Enough Money

September 18, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Not enough money is being thrown around to “fix” things; that’s always the liberal’s lament. Representative Charlie Rangel (D, NY) doesn’t disappoint by shying from this big government, money wasting attitude where it concerns Obamacare, either.

Obama has announced his determination not to sign a bill that adds “one dime” to the deficit and he’s also said that “his” bill will feature a low, low $900 billion price tag. Both of these Obama points seem to be vexing Rep. Rangel because, well, it’s just not enough.

Rangel complained to reporters about Obama’s “restrictions” and said that the president’s policy druthers would reduce coverage for “poor and working people.” He complained that it would be “very difficult” to achieve Obama’s prescriptions and said that Obama’s cost estimate was $100 billion too low.

So, Rangel wants more money thrown at it. In a time when our economy is struggling, Rangel wants to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at Obamacare.
Continue reading “

Charlie Rangel: Obamacare Doesn’t Spend Enough Money”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Health - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama Dissembles Again About His ‘Responsibility’ For Healthcare

September 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a new 60 Minutes interview, President Obama made a big show about telling correspondent Steve Kroft that he “owns” healthcare if it goes wrong and that because of this he has “every incentive to get this right.”

But is this true? Will Obama face any real, personal consequences for any possible failures of Obamacare if it gets passed? I would say he doesn’t.

In the interview, Obama sonorously tells Kroft,

“I have no interest in having a bill get passed that fails. That doesn’t work. You know, I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it. And if people look and say, ‘You know what? This hasn’t reduced my costs. My premiums are still going up 25 percent, insurance companies are still jerking me around,'” Obama explained.

“I’m the one who’s going to be held responsible. So I have every incentive to get this right,” he added.

This claim that he will face consequences if Obamacare becomes a mess later because he didn’t “get it right” is a bald-faced lie.
Continue reading “

Obama Dissembles Again About His ‘Responsibility’ For Healthcare”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - GOP - Health - House of Representatives - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Not The Party of No, GOP’s Offered Many Healthcare Bills

September 13, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

For months the Old Media, President Obama, and the Democrats have been jabbing the GOP for being the “party of no” and for not offering any healthcare ideas of its own. Byron York of the Washington Examiner, however, reveals the facts behind this epithet and finds the attack to be false. The truth is, the GOP has offered all sorts of ideas and bills, not that the Democrats have bothered to entertain any of them.

We learned earlier in the week that Obama hasn’t invited GOP leaders to the White House since April. And there’s been report after report that Democrats either don’t need or don’t want to bother with Republicans during this process. All this despite Obama’s happy-talk of how he wants bi-partisanship.
Continue reading “

Not The Party of No, GOP’s Offered Many Healthcare Bills”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

California’s Mass Job Loss… Except in Government

September 13, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A recent report by the Sacramento based California Budget Project shows that two out of five working-age Californians are out of work. The jobless rate has not been this bad since 1977. California’s unemployment rate is one of the worst in the country at 12 percent.

Yet, union membership has grown in California despite the recession. And it’s no wonder when looking at the CBP study. On page three, for instance, we see a notation that reports that unionization in government jobs has grown substantially and is also at a much higher percentage of the total sector workforce in California than it is in the rest of the country.

Unionization rates were consistently higher in the public sector than in the private sector in 2008-2009. As Figure 2 shows, public-sector unionism was especially strong in Los Angeles as well as in California: during 2008-2009, well over half of all workers in the California and Los Angeles public sectors were union members. In the nation as a whole, the unionization rate for public-sector workers was 37.0 percent; much higher than the 7.5 percent rate found in the private sector, but well below the rates for public-sector workers in California (57.4%) or Los Angeles (56%).

So, while regular citizens are losing their jobs by the millions, government workers are in clover, riding the gravy train, on easy street.
Continue reading “

California’s Mass Job Loss… Except in Government”

Barack Obama - Congress - GOP - House of Representatives - Illinois - Republicans - Society/Culture - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Rep. Shimkus Walks Out on Obama Healthcare Speech

September 11, 2009 by

– By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Representative John Shimkus was “fed up” with the lack of new ideas in President Obama’s healthcare speech Wednesday. So, nearing the end of the speech, he got up and walked out in disgust.

“Congressman Shimkus was frustrated that the president was not offering any new ground and left with just minutes remaining in the speech,” spokesman Steven Tomaszewski said today in response to our question about the late-speech walk-out.

“Regardless of the words the president used, the tone did not bring Republicans on board,” the congressman’s spokesman said. “As George Stephanopoulos said, ‘He was right on the edge of anger,’ and as Rachel Maddow said, ‘I think liberals will be happy.'”

Shimkus is the 19th District Congressman from Madison County (southwest near St. Louis).
Continue reading “

Rep. Shimkus Walks Out on Obama Healthcare Speech”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Revenue Neutral? Hardly!

September 10, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A couple of stories have recently come out that really put the lie to President Obama’s claims that “his” healthcare bill is revenue neutral. These on top of the original plan-killing news that came out of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in July. In July the CBO said that Obama’s plan was clocking in at over a trillion dollars and said there would be no savings despite the rosy picture that the administration tried to paint for it all.

Early in September, the CBO dealt Obamacre yet another body blow to its claims of fiscal savings. CNSNews reports that the current House health bill will hike Medicare drug coverage premiums twenty percent forcing seniors to pay more for the same coverage they currently have.

“Overall, CBO estimates that enacting the proposed changes would lead to an average increase in premiums for Part D beneficiaries, above those under current law, of about 5 percent by 2011,” CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said to Camp in a letter. “That effect would rise over time and reach about 20 percent in 2019.”

So much for “helping” Seniors save costs!
Continue reading “

Revenue Neutral? Hardly!”

Anti-Americanism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Obamacare Gives Union Leaders Gov’t Power in Healthcare Bill

September 10, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Kevin Mooney of the Washington Examiner has a piece from Sept. 2 that warns that H.R. 3200, the House healthcare bill, gives special consideration to union bosses for positions on various healthcare management boards.

This means that Barack Obama is handing official government power to union bosses!

Sections 123 and 2251 of H.R. 3200, the version of Obamacare being pushed by House Democratic leaders, are of particular concern, according to NRTWC, because they could put union-backed appointees on new government committees that recommend mandatory health insurance benefits provided by private insurers, and personnel policies the bill describes as necessary “to ensure quality and adequacy” of the nation’s health care workers.

This is nothing but raw political payback. It has nothing whatever to do with “insurance,” or “healthcare,” or any legitimate attempt to save money and cut costs. In fact, with union bosses heading things up it is likely that costs will soar as they pad the plan with goodies to their friends.
Continue reading “

Obamacare Gives Union Leaders Gov’t Power in Healthcare Bill”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Censorship - Democrats/Leftists - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Hate Speech: Team Obama Scrubs Website of Posting

September 8, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last week, the MyBarackObama website forced a meet-up posting down the memory hole. Obama’s Organizing For America (his ground stormtrooper organization that evolved from his campaign army) section of his website had a posting for what was going to be a meet-up in Illinois to push Obamacare. Apparently, even the extremists that run Obama’s website were ashamed of the intemperate rhetoric in this listing and so, down the memory hole it goes.

As it happens, the meet-up writer felt compelled to call Republicans “domestic terrorists,” and “proud right-wing terrorists. The posting went on with all sorts of ignorant comments and slams on half the American voter base, castings aspersions, calling names, and indulging in all sorts of hate speech.

A Google cache of the site can be seen HERE. Or if you click on the screen shot below, you can see what the page looked like before Team Obama scrubbed the site of this outrageous site.
Continue reading “

Obama’s Hate Speech: Team Obama Scrubs Website of Posting”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obamaism, Unionism, Interventionism… Are Turning USA Into a Third World Nation

September 7, 2009 by

Economists from George Mason University and The Locke Institute, as well as Nobel laureate James Buchanan are warning that if President Obama is allowed his interventionist, fascist way the U.S.A. will be laid low and turned into a third world nation.

Here is a short editorial by Charles K. Rowley of GMU that appeared in The Telegraph.

Adam Smith would not be optimistic in today’s economic world

Adam Smith once commented that “there is a great deal of ruin in a nation”. He meant that bungling governments imposed only a limited check on the economic performance of a Great Nation.
Continue reading “

Obamaism, Unionism, Interventionism… Are Turning USA Into a Third World Nation”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ready For the Newest Obamacare Messaging?

September 2, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

ABC’s Jake Tapper has an interesting look inside the Obama messaging factory as it appears to be making plans to change its way of trying to sell Obamacare to the country. This change is in the offing because Obama is thus far losing the debate and they are all painfully aware of this in the White House.

Tapper has a revealing quote from former Senator Tom Daschle (D, SD) that presages the new, new way of selling the snake oil that is Obamacare.

“I think we have to do better at making this issue a moral imperative,” Daschle told the New York Times Magazine.

“I don’t think we’ve succeeded at that yet. I think the more we can bring everybody to an understanding about how this, in many respects, is the civil rights battle of the early part of this century — it’s a fight for the disabled, it’s a fight for the sick, it’s a fight for equal rights when it comes to health.”

So we’ve gone form calling it a “healthcare” plan, to calling it “insurance reform,” now, it seems, we are about to retool the debate into a “civil rights” issue.
Continue reading “

Ready For the Newest Obamacare Messaging?”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Liberals - President - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

U.S. Government Killing Dialysis Patients

September 1, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Want an example of why government healthcare in the U.S. is a dangerous proposition? USA Today has a lengthy story on kidney dialysis and how new research is showing that having dialysis treatments more often seems to be keeping patients alive and healthy longer than the traditional thrice weekly treatments. The piece also sadly shows that the U.S. has higher rates of early death of dialysis patients than other western nations.

Why is that, you might wonder? It’s because Medicare won’t pay for more than three treatments a week so the national standard has become thrice weekly because that is what government will pay for. Not only that but government won’t pay for medical services ancillary to dialysis causing patients to succumb to other problems that often accompany or presage kidney failure.

Barry Straube, chief medical officer at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medcaid Services, says 25 million Americans have kidney disease, but Medicare benefits don’t kick in until patients are at the most advanced stage. Many patients with earlier-stage kidney disease aren’t treated for high blood pressure or diabetes, which cause two-thirds of kidney failures.

In other words, medical care is rationed by government to keep down costs based on a one-size-fits-all system. This rationing kills patients sooner than necessary and stifles life-saving innovation in treatment.
Continue reading “

U.S. Government Killing Dialysis Patients”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A Patriot’s Reply to a Pro-Government Takeover of Healthcare Supporter’s Video

August 31, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is a fantastic video. Some half-informed, leftist made a video in support of Obama’s socialist takeover of our healthcare system and a great patriot found it and then took the time to reply point for point against this fool’s anti-capitalist, un-American talking points.

The original video was made by Andy Lubershane and called “Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance.” But patriot and smart guy Lee Doren saw it too and he felt that the lies, misconceptions, and half-truths were so thick that he just had to respond.

I only wish that the Patriot’s voice was a bit more distinguishable from the left-wit’s voice. The two fellows have a similar timer to their voices which makes it a tad confusing at times. If you aren’t listening closely, there are times when you miss the fact that one guy stopped talking and the next started. But, that is a mere quibble. This video does a great job to show why the healthcare socialist is basically lying with every one of his talking points.

In any case, Mr. Doren does a great job showing that the rhetoric used by the leftist is misleading and full of false dichotomies and misdirection. This video should be passed around.
Continue reading “

A Patriot’s Reply to a Pro-Government Takeover of Healthcare Supporter’s Video”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Speech - Health - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Feingold: About That Bill, Did I Say It’s Doomed? On Second Thought…

August 31, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last week Senator Russ Feingold was heard to lament that there would be no Obamacare bill to vote on before Christmas. The liberal Feingold even said he wondered if there would ever be a bill at all because the divisions were so deep.

Well, only six days later, Senator Feingold is playing a different tune. Suddenly he’s quite upbeat and jubilant about the bill saying how he’ll work hard to get Obamacare passed and that he’s sure it’s all just over the horizon. Gone is the gloomy guss of a week ago and in is the happy Russ for this week. Suddenly the “no bill before Christmas, if ever” Russ is saying he’s sure it’ll come just before Christmas.

Check out these two quotes back-to-back:
Continue reading “

Feingold: About That Bill, Did I Say It’s Doomed? On Second Thought…”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - Liberals - President - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

A Warning For Obama: President Hoover’s Fealty to Unions Worsened Great Depression

August 30, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

An economist is saying that President Hoover set the stage to worsen The Great Depression because of his pro-labor union stance.

Pro-labor policies pushed by President Herbert Hoover after the stock market crash of 1929 accounted for close to two-thirds of the drop in the nation’s gross domestic product over the two years that followed, causing what might otherwise have been a bad recession to slip into the Great Depression, a UCLA economist concludes in a new study.

Lee E. Ohanian, a UCLA professor of economics, lays the worst of the Depression at the feet of Hoover who, in his opinion, made the recession “three times worse” by keeping industrial wages too high which “sharply depressed employment.”

Ohanian’s study is being published by the peer-reviewed Journal of Economic Theory in December and was also posted at www.nber.org, the site of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Continue reading “

A Warning For Obama: President Hoover’s Fealty to Unions Worsened Great Depression”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Immigration/Immigrants - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

California’s Free Cash For Illegals, Coddling Lawbreakers

August 29, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is just another example of why the State of California is in a budget crisis: The Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).

What is this program, who qualifies? Well, it does no less than give free government money to any illegal immigrant that is either over 65 years of age or is disabled or blind and does not qualify for Supplemental Security Income (Social Security) due to their immigration status.

Why is California just giving money away to elderly illegals?

Your guess is as good as mine.
Continue reading “

California’s Free Cash For Illegals, Coddling Lawbreakers”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

$15 Million Stimulus Spent for 1,095 Canadian Tourists in Montana

August 28, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

What is the cost of three Canadian visitors a day? Fifteen million dollars in Obamabucks, apparently. Worse, this waste of money wasn’t something the president of “transparency” seemed disposed to let us easily discover. Still, the Boston Globe reports that $15 mil is the amount of so-called stimulus money that Obama allowed to be spent by the state of Montana on a tiny border check-point facility that sees about three visitors a day — that’s $14,000,000 per tourist for the year.

Despite Obama’s promises that the stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process that is both secretive and susceptible to political influence. This allowed low-priority projects such as the checkpoint in Whitetail, Mont., to skip ahead of more pressing concerns, according to documents revealed to the Associated Press.

Obama claimed he’d be “different,” though. Remember that he was supposed to be the serious president that only did the right thing? Yet, he’s turned his back on any sort of effort to hold stimulus spending to account. Projects all across the country are being given to less needy government facilities instead of going where need is greatest because of the influence brought to bear on distribution of funds by powerful politicians.
Continue reading “

$15 Million Stimulus Spent for 1,095 Canadian Tourists in Montana”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Tax for Clunkers

August 26, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yep, you read that right. In many states car buyers that turned in their “clunkers” for up to $4,500 off the cost of a new car are finding out that they have to pay state sales tax on the $4,500 too. And still others just might find out next year that they’ll have to pay income tax on that “free” government money.

Many South Dakotans, for instance, have been shocked to find that the wonderful gift from Obama was still added in with the cost of the automobile for the sales tax calculation, so their tax went up accordingly despite that they didn’t pay the $4,500 themselves.

Some states calculate sales tax by subtracting from the total cost of a new purchase the trade-in allowance of a buyer’s old car. But in the case of cash for clunkers, there is no trade-in allowance and the $4,500 remains added to the car purchase.

Even worse, many states will charge income tax on the $4,500 because the sum will be determined to be the same thing as income to the car buyer.

There is also another interesting aspect to this cash for clunkers situation. One can be sure that many buyers did not take the time to negotiate with dealers and paid full sticker price further negating the supposed savings that they were supposed to realize from the cash for clunkers program. As Market Ticker’s Karl Denninger quipped, “Ain’t car dealers grand (several grand out of your pocket, that is!)”
Continue reading “

Tax for Clunkers”