We all will have to have health care by 2014 or face the penalties, but exempt from this requirement are low income people.

No Incentive for Low Income Folks To Work Hard For a Better Life

The incentive for low income people to work hard for a better life and become self sufficient has now been eliminated. Not all of these folks mind you, but the fact that many will now think their health care coverage is “free,” will be in for a rude awakening at some point in the future when the system comes crashing down upon them.

Who pray tell do you think makes up the majority of the 40 million uninsured today? Could it be low income people?

This Bill Is a Complete Sham On American Tax Payers

This bill is a complete sham put on the American tax payers who actually are productive in society to take care of those who are unproductive or less productive.  At the same time the bill benefits, Big Pharma, Big Insurance and of course the IRS.

Almost all insurance and pharma stocks are higher today on the news.  Surprisingly the U.S. Dollar is also up as the market believes the hype presented by Obama and Pelosi.

Obama and Pelosi Don’t Even Agree On the Savings

Do people actually believe their government when they say this Health Care Plan will save us money? Obama, in his celebratory speech last night, said the health care bill will save $1.1 Trillion and Pelosi comes on 10 minutes later and says it will save us $1.3 trillion.

If anything, it will COST us that much, not save us that much.  If you disagree, please comment as to how government programs actually lower costs and provide examples.

Health Care Doesn’t Work In Massachusetts and It Won’t Work for the Nation As a Whole

You need proof, look no further than Republican Mitt Romney’s MassCare for the citizens of Massachusetts.  Howard Dean was on CNBC today telling everyone that the ObamaCare plan is modeled after Romney’s “health care for all” plan in Massachusetts.

Romney’s “MassCare” has put the tax payers of Massachusetts in “dire” straits as cuts in spending over the last two years haven’t worked in resolving their budget crisis and the threat of more taxes is all that is left.

Health Care Won’t Be Free

I remember watching the MTV Music Awards show (I do it for research to keep tabs on the youth of today, not for the enjoyment of the entertainers) and listening to the host Russell Brand say to the American audience, “and we have free health care” referring to the fact that those in England, his home country, don’t have to pay for health coverage like us Yanks have to.  According to Russell Brand’s mentality, health care is “free” in England.

Of course anyone with half a brain knows that this young Brit knows nothing about the real cost of Health Care in England which taxes anything and everything to pay for said “free” health care for its citizens.  No mention by Brand of the waiting lists and long lines either.

England’s Tax Rates For Their “Free” Health Care

11% of the citizens of England’s income goes to what is known as the “national insurance tax” on top of the 40% that goes to the income tax not to mention the 17.5%  VAT tax (rising to 18.5% soon) in addition to excise taxes on motor fuel, alcohol, tobacco, betting and vehicles.  We’re up to 63% so far.  Add to that, a capital gain tax of 18% (ours is 15%), council (property) tax and after you’ve been taxed your whole life in England, if you were lucky enough to accumulate some wealth, you’ll pay an inheritance tax of 40% on any amount over $503,000 upon your demise.

Free health care indeed….

Don’t Be Fooled By the Ignorant

Does anyone think providing free insurance for 40 million people comes without a cost? Is it even conceivable for an educated person not to envision their taxes will be higher in the years to come?

Does anyone think that Cap and Trade isn’t next and won’t pass? Come on now… the government is on a roll!  The promised “change” is here!

Congress Turning Us Into Serfs – That’s the “Change” Obama Promised

These people (Congress) will never stop taking until their hands are cut off. But since it’s against the law to take up sword and cut off their hands, the grass roots efforts to remove them from office must accomplish the same goal.

But they can’t be replaced by just anyone (think Scott Brown here who voted with the Democrats on a recent jobs bill). They have to be replaced by true Liberty candidates. There needs to be a stamp of approval for those we want in office.

Sean Hannity would have you just vote for who he wants you to vote for on his site. These people will be the same ones that “talk the talk,” but still do the same spending that Hannity was silent about during the Bush administrations drunken sailor spree.  Hannity’s silence was the norm while the Republican Party who had control of the House and the Senate disbanded fiscal conservativism that they so embrace today….when it’s just too late in the game.  We reap what we sow indeed…

What Can You Do?

Campaign for Liberty and Daily Paul are two sites that offer the best opportunity for people to discuss true fiscally conservative Liberty candidates that are in We the People’s best interest.

People are “Fed Up!” and it’s time to put an end to this Homer Simpson mentality where Homer sticks his finger in the electrical outlet, gets shocked and sticks it in again thinking he won’t get shocked by repeating the same behavior.

Aren’t you tired of being shocked again and again?

It’s time to stop being a Homer!

It’s time to say “ENOUGH!” to Congress!

Make your vote count come November…

Related posts:

1. Health Care Reform Didn’t Work for Romney and Won’t Work For Obama – Here’s What Will Work
2. Defend Your Health Care; Stop Obama’s Health Plan
3. Digger’s Friday Triple Play

While reading below, keep in mind that Romney’s Health Care Plan isn’t working in Massachusetts and neither will Obama’s Health Care Plan work for America, but there are solutions.

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3/21/2010 UPDATE NYTimes: “Massachusetts, which has made a series of painful cuts over the past two years, is gearing up for more. Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told The Boston Globe: “There’s no end to the bad news here. The state fiscal situation is already so dire that any additional bad news is magnified.”

Even with the cuts that Massachusetts has been making the last couple years, “the situation is dire.”  This will be the future for America if the Health Care bill is passed and if it is passed, who knows what the Senate will do with the reconciliation bill if they get the 51 votes to pass…  All Republicans in the House are voting against it, but just enough (by a count of “1″) Democrats are voting for it that it looks like the bill will pass.

Be careful what you wish for Americans, because government has proven they can’t do anything right and who pays for their mistakes?  You and I.  Look how Congress through the advice of the governments great Harvard and Yale economists ruined the economy.  This health care plan is a guaranteed failure and most in America know it. But those you elected aren’t listening to you.  The good news though is that 16,000 jobs will be created with the passing of this bill.  The bad news, those jobs will to expand the IRS.  Next step: State Nullification. To be continued…

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Romney’s Intent; Health Care For All

Romney’s original intent to provide health care for all citizens of Massachusetts was to make sure “the costs of health care will be reduced.” In accomplishing this goal he stated; “And we will need no new taxes, no employer mandate and no government takeover to make this happen.”

Read My Lips “No New Taxes!”

Has anyone heard this line before; “we will need no new taxes?”  Of course Romney had to say this as the alternative, “we will raise your taxes to cover all citizens of Massachusetts” would have been suicide for his goal from the beginning (think Walter Mondale here).  No politician will get something passed by telling people they will raise taxes to pay for it, unless of course the smokers pay for it.

Unfortunately, people believe that what comes out of a politicians mouth is the Gospel truth.

So How Did Romney’s Health Care Mandate Pan Out?

Inquiring minds are interested in learning what effect Romney’s MassCare has had on the citizens of Massachusetts.  According to Irwin Stelzer, director of economic policy studies at the Hudson Institute;

Overall health insurance costs in Massachusetts are almost a third higher than the national average, with a basic plan costing almost $17,000 for a typical family of four. Nearly 30 percent of Massachusetts residents report that their medical costs have increased since MassCare’s implementation.

It’s a similar story for government health care spending. Public health insurance expenditures are expected to be up 42 percent, to roughly $595 million, this year compared to 2006.

Have Taxes Increased for the Citizens of Massachusetts Since Romney’s MassCare Was Implemented?

According to Jennifer Nassour, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, “Democrats in the [Massachusetts] House and Senate decided that right now is a great time to increase our sales tax by 25 percent during a recession.” Trudy Lieberman of the Columbia Journalism Review adds, “the state needed the money to pay for health reform.  Massachusetts has no dedicated funding source for the subsidies it pays people to buy insurance, and the cost of those subsidies goes up because medical costs keep going up.”

Remember folks, states can’t just print money to pay for things like the government does via the Federal Reserve.  States have to raise taxes which means you pay more.

Are Citizens of Massachusetts Even Getting Promised Health Care Coverage?

While the citizens of Massachusetts are realizing their taxes are going higher, are they even getting the promised health care coverage?  Trudy Lieberman states;

In 2008, some 352,000 Massachusetts residents did not have coverage, even though the law requires that they do. That’s about 5.5 percent of the state’s population; up from the 2.6 percent who were uninsured in the years after reform took effect.

The state still uses the 2.6% figure to hide the truth.

Christians Won’t Go for This On a National Level; Romney’s Health Plan Subsidizes Abortions

Christians won’t like the fact that Romney’s 2006 universal health-care law subsidizes abortions.  This makes me wonder how many Republicans would vote with Romney on National Health Care if he was elected President in 2008.  Naturally, Romney doesn’t make for a good Presidential candidate choice come 2012.  He did come in second to Ron Paul in the recent CPAC straw poll so there are people out there that actually think Romney would be good for our country.  Seeing how good he was for the state of Massachusetts, clearly he is not.

Are There Solutions for Health Care in America?

Of course there are.

For Individuals

For those that have the means, the first thing to do before any real “change” occurs is to self insure yourself.

How do you do that?

For starters, you establish an emergency fund that is kept separate from all other funds.  How much this amount will be will depend on the next step, but it will be at least $5,000.

Once this fund is established, you instruct your current health care provider or new provider if your existing one doesn’t have this option (like with HMO’s) that you wish to increase the deductible to the highest amount available.  Here in California, that amount is around $5,000.

The first thing that will come to people’s mind here is that “I have to come up with $5,000 before I get any medical coverage?”  The answer is, yes, for most.  But as Paul Harvey used to always say….and now…for the rest of the story.

If you are currently undergoing treatment where you use your health coverage often, then by no means change to a different plan.  But for most, we don’t go and see the doctor between the ages of about 14 to age 55, and possibly age 65 if you take care of yourself.  It’s only later in life that your health deteriorates from natural causes.  Knowing your family history can also play into one’s thinking.

In the meantime, odds are you don’t need health coverage except for routine physical exams and normal preventive measures like mammograms.  You know…the things that for the most part aren’t even covered under the Obama Health Care plan.  Remember, the government is not in the business of keeping you healthy.

Your emergency fund will pay for the routine exams and should also be large enough to pay for the coinsurance amount you will be liable for should there be a catastrophic illness.  The total amount out of pocket that you would have to come up with if you were to become sick or injured and need your coverage to pay for your bills is the total of the deductible you would have to pay plus the coinsurance amount.  Any competent insurance agent can give you these amounts.

If one didn’t have the deductible or coinsurance emergency fund available, they can go in with some family members, friends or neighbors and sign a contract where each side provides a stated amount to the fund until that time where the emergency fund can be established individually.

Remember, the odds are you won’t need to use your health coverage until later years in life and you’ll be able to take control of your preventive costs by negotiating with your health care provider on a cash basis.  These routine checkups are always negotiable.  Just ask!

The money you save from moving to a higher deductible will eventually equate your emergency fund and from that point forward you are ahead of the game.  You win, not the insurance company!

For Employees (and Employers)

Many of us work for employers that provide some sort of health coverage.  They provide this coverage because it is the law to do so if the company is over a certain amount of employees.  Employers thus pay for this coverage for you in lieu of paying you more in income.

Wouldn’t it be nice for you to have a higher income and take control of your health insurance costs by doing the planning yourself as outlined above?  For some the answer will be no because their employer is footing the entire bill for their health coverage.  Believe me, these folks are in fact paying for this one way or another.

For most of us, we have to pay something each month out of our paycheck.  First, the fact that your employer gets to deduct the premiums for your health care and you don’t needs to change.  While some self employed individuals can write off some of their premiums, it isn’t a fair system when employers can write off all of their premiums and individuals can’t.

What one company, that should be a model for all employers in the United States, is doing, is giving their employees more control of their health coverage.  John Mackey from Whole Foods has set up his employees with a high deductible plan like I mentioned above for the individual.  He then pays the employee an amount that can be set aside in a Medical Savings Account (similar to the emergency fund above) that can go to pay for preventive care, massages, dental work, chiropractor work, many of the things that are NOT covered under today’s insurance plans.

The employees in turn take control of their health care expenses by negotiating for services in advance of paying for them.  Why?  Because it is THEIR money that is paying for the services, not the health insurance companies.

Why Health Insurance Companies Keep Raising Their Rates

You want to know why health insurance companies keep raising your rates?  It’s because there is no incentive to the insured to negotiate with the Doctors and hospitals.  The Doctors and Hospitals can keep raising their rates because they know the insurance company is going to pay them.  It’s a racket that is on par with organized crime.

We need to get government out of the health care business, not give them more of us to provide health care for!  Medicare is going broke and Congress is trying to push through some sort of legislation that claims they will provide health care coverage for us in the future, years down the road, but will have us start paying for it today!  Why?  Because they’re broke!  They know the system can’t go on as is, so who better to turn to under the guise of “health care for all” in getting money to pay for Medicare (a government program mind you).

It’s time to wake up people.  It’s time to take control of your own destiny and not leave it in the hands of the greedy politicians.

For Uninsured

But what about the uninsured some of you may ask?  Think of it from the Health Insurance providers point of view for a moment.

How nice is it for Health Insurance Companies to have a built in business mandated by government where employees have to be covered?  How nice is it for Health Insurance Companies that when an unhealthy person loses their job or decides to go work on their own, they can’t continue their same plan but for 18 months under COBRA law?  As long as someone pays premiums on a health insurance plan, they should be able to carry that plan with them for life.  This means across state lines too.  Health insurance should be portable.

A 5 Step Plan Is All That Is Needed To Reform Health Care Reform

You don’t need 2,400 pages to reform Health Care!  Just do these 5 things…

1. Allow health insurance companies to compete across state lines – competition hasn’t hurt the computer, cell phone or Lasik surgery industries has it?
2. Utilize high deductibles and establish an emergency fund (From an insurance company provider perspective, they will rake in premiums from the majority that won’t even use their health coverage any longer.  People don’t use their auto or home owners coverage often either, providing more than enough income to pay for the unhealthy minority and still provide profit for shareholders – From an insured perspective, competition for your preventive care needs will drive Doctor’s and hospital costs down making it more affordable for all ).
3. Make premiums for health insurance tax deductible just as they are for employers (this utilizes the incentive for people to buy health insurance, similar as to the incentive to save for retirement via an IRA – unfortunately many people won’t do it without an incentive.  Also, more income would be available to individuals to pay for health insurance as Employers would no longer be paying for it.  One way or another, the employee is paying for it.  Free health coverage from your employer is in lieu of higher income/salary to the employee.).
4. Make health coverage portable (including across state lines) – solves most of the problems related to the uninsured.
5. Keep the government out of health care.

It may not be a perfect plan, but it’s better than anything the government will force us to do.  It’s either We take control or Government takes control.  The Constitution states; “We the People” not “We the Government.” Do nothing and the Constitution will soon have to be changed to, “We the Serfs.”

What You Can Do Now To Stop Government Health Care

Write your congressman and let them know what you think.  For those that need information on who their congressman is and how to contact them, please go here.  Do it now or you more than likely won’t do it at all.  If you don’t know what to write, then copy and paste this article.  If there’s not enough space to copy and paste the entire article, then copy the 5 step plan.

Any replies from your congressman, please post here for all to read, and thank you for making a difference…

Related posts:

1. Low Income Folks Get Free Health Care and You’ll Pay Higher Taxes
2. Defend Your Health Care; Stop Obama’s Health Plan
3. The Government Is Not in the Business of Keeping You Healthy

So where do the Social Security trustees get their information to make their current projections? Looking at their 2004 projections shows the worst case scenario is already close to reality here in 2009.  From the 2004 OASI Fund Trustees Report (OASI stands for Old Age Survivor Insurance):

Uncertainty of the Projections

Significant uncertainty surrounds the intermediate assumptions. The Trustees have traditionally used low cost (alternative I) and high cost (alternative III) assumptions to indicate this uncertainty. Figure II.D7 shows the projected trust fund ratios for the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds under the intermediate, low cost, and high cost assumptions. The low cost alternative is characterized by assumptions that improve the financial condition of the trust funds, including a higher fertility rate, slower improvement in mortality, a higher real-wage differential, and lower unemployment. The high cost alternative, in contrast, features a lower fertility rate, more rapid declines in mortality, a lower real-wage differential, and higher unemployment.

This “high cost alternative in the 2004 report is represented by the numeral III in the graph below, showing Social Security funds to run out by 2031.

Question to Ponder: If the governments own projections from five years ago have resulted in the worst case scenario coming to fruition in just a few short years, what does this hold for today’s projections on how long the Social Security Fund will last?

Today’s projections show a projection of funds running out shortly after the beginning of 2028 as shown in the graph below.  Please note that the Trustees graphics have gone downhill in the last five years.  It looks like government is cutting back in some areas.

The Truth of the Matter

One can choose between I. low-cost projections, II. intermediate-cost projections and III. high-cost projections in the graph above.  If you believe the Social Security Trustees high-cost projections, the fund for Social Security benefits and Disability benefits combined will run out in the year 2025.  The Disability portion is scheduled to run out by the year 2016.  That’s just seven short years from today, assuming things remain the same.

Why Use the “High-Cost” Projections?

Take a look at what our past and current administrations are doing to the economy.  The current budget deficit is slated to run 1.6 Trillion for 2010 and $9 Trillion for the next decade to include $1 Trillion for an overhaul of the nations health care system.

This is new debt added to the current debt of $11.8 Trillion.  Where will this money come from?  Answer? Inflation and higher taxes.

To make matters worse, the interest on the assets in the fund are projected to be lower through 2012 than in last year’s report because of the lower interest rate environment.

Social Security Won’t Run Out of Funds…..However….

How is adding debt to more debt going to solve any of America’s problems in following through with the promises to seniors who have trusted their government to at a minimum give them their money back they put into the system?

Answer?  The Government is very capable of paying all the money back that they have collected from citizens over the years.  The problem is that the dollars they collected will have a much, much lower purchasing power than the dollars they are paying out.

This is the effect of the U.S. government creating and carrying so much debt. The government can always, through the Fed, create as much money as it needs to pay seniors their social security check just by the press of a button.  But what most in America don’t understand is what effect the current spending will have upon their future income’s purchasing power.  If you’re asking for health care overhaul today, how will it be paid for tomorrow?

The System Is Broke, Sure, But Should I Be Worried?

Unfortunately for those who live on Social Security, the answer is yes, you should be worried.  The prices of items just ten short years ago are much higher than they are today.  Ten years from now, prices will be much, much higher than they are today.  If you rely on just social security CPI adjustments, they will come, but won’t keep pace with real inflation.  Some of you will be forced to make alternative decisions on where to live.  Younger families will be forced to take in their older relatives.

For those that have time on their side, they can do something about it by buying gold to insure they are prepared for the dollar devaluation that is sure to come.  Gold since 2000 has kept up with inflation and will continue to do so.

Your financial advisor won’t tell you about gold because most of them are ignorant of how gold fits into a diversified portfolio.  Financial guru Dennis Gartman was on CNBC just today talking about how he would recommend 2% to 3% invested in gold, but laughingly said at the most 5% because, “you can’t eat gold.”

Well Dennis, you can’t eat paper dollars either, can you?  Ask yourself this question: “Will 5% of your portfolio in gold protect the 95% that is subject to the fall of the U.S. dollar?”  Answer:  No.  This is what Gartman and other financial advisors don’t understand.

I met Gartman once.  He said he is wrong over 80% of the time.  You can count his current comments about gold in that 80%.  Sure, gold could fall in price from here with a temporary dollar move higher.  But in the end, all of this government spending will come back to bite seniors pocket books every time they head to the grocery store.  Our Government reaps what it sows.

Related posts:

1. America’s Infrastructure In 2009: Grade “F”
2. Vote For Those That Voted “NO” To the Bailout Come November
3. We’re Winning The War On Terror!

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UPDATE: 3/19/2010

President Obama and Congress are doing all they can to ramrod a health care bill into existence. I wrote an article that addresses REAL health care reform that you can send to your congressman.

I direct people how to take action at the bottom of the following article: Health Care Reform Didn’t Work for Romney and Won’t Work For Obama – Here’s What Will Work

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Dr. Betsy McCaughey PhD, makes some startling discoveries in the Obama Health Plan.

The title of this article, “Defend Your Health Care” comes from the website of Betsy McCaughey, PhD, founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and former Lt. Governor of New York State.  Please go to her website and sign up to keep up to date with what’s going on with Obama’s Health Plan.

Some of the facts she presents after a thorough analysis of the plan:

Obama says: You can keep your own health care plan:

The Truth:  And as soon as anything changes in your contract – such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year – you’ll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17).

When you file your taxes, if you can’t prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you’ll be fined thousands of dollars – as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size – and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168).

Obama Says: No one is going to reduce your Medicare Benefits

The Truth: The Congressional majority wants to pay for its $1 trillion health bills with a $500+ billion cut to Medicare. This cut will come just as Medicare enrollment increases by 30%. Less money and more patients will necessitate rationing.

Did Obama Really Say Those Things?

Mandatory Five Year Counseling for Those in Medicare On How to End Their Life Sooner

The following is an excerpt of an interview that Dr. McCaughey did with Fred Thompson:

“Page 425 of the bill, Congress will make it mandatory, absolutely required, that every five years people in Medicare will have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner. How to decline nutrition, how to decline being hydrated, how to go into hospice care and if you get sick within that five year period, like getting cancer for example, you have to go through that session again all to do what’s in societies best interest or your families best interest, and cut your life short.”

Here is what the Plan actually says;

Page 425:

“(FF) advance care planning consultation (as defined in subsection (hhh)(1));”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“Advance Care Planning Consultation

“(hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:

“(A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.

“(B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.

“(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.

“(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning, including the national toll-free hotline,

What are other physicians in Congress and elsewhere saying about this bill?

Congressman Tom Price, MD, Georgia:

“You know this has not been a bipartisan effort.”
“The American people will have access to get in line.”
“What you all are planning is to drastically intrude on health care in this country.”
“This plan will destroy health care in this country, you should be ashamed.”
“Physicians will exit the practice because of this bill.”
“The American people have no desire to have the government intrude in their health care.”

Dr. Dave Janda, orthopedic surgeon and a world-recognized expert on the prevention of sports injuries, particularly in children had this to say:

Excerpt:

“I rest my case. The ObamaCare Plan is hazardous to the health of every American.

After I finished my Capitol Hill presentation, I was asked by a Congressman in the question-answer session: “I’ll be doing a number of network interviews on the Obama Health Care Plan. If I am asked what is the one word to describe the plan what should I answer.”

The answer is simple, honest, direct, analytical, sad but truthful. I told him that one word is FASCIST.”

What you need to do now to stop the Obama Health Plan

Contact your Senator

Contact your House Representative

Learn About the Real Cause of Our Health Care Crisis and the Solution

The Right to Medical Care Versus Socialized Medicine

Synopsis: “A demonstration that government intervention inspired by the philosophy of collectivism is the cause of America’s medical crisis and that a free market in medical care is the solution for the crisis.”

Ask Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Medved, Boortz etc. Why They Never Talk About Supporting These Bills:

H.R. 1233: “Taxpayers’ Freedom of Conscience Act of 2009″ which prohibits a federal official from expending federal funds for any foreign or domestic population control or population planning program or family planning activity (including any abortion procedure).

Protect Patients’ and Physicians’ Privacy Act, HR 2630: which allows patients and physicians to opt out of any federally mandated, created, or funded electronic medical records system. The bill also repeals sections of federal law establishing a “unique health identifier” and requires patient consent before any electronic medical records can be released to a 3rd party.

H.R. 2629 Coercion is Not Health Care Act: This legislation forbids the federal government from forcing any American to purchase health insurance, or conditioning participation in any federal program on the purchase of health insurance. Forcing Americans to purchase government-approved health insurance is a back door approach to creating a government-controlled healthcare system. Congress would define what policies and coverage requirements satisfy their mandate. Does anyone then doubt that what conditions and treatments are covered would be determined by who has the most effective lobby? Or that Congress would be capable of writing a mandatory insurance policy that fits the unique needs of every individual in the United States?

Congress should put the American people back in charge of healthcare by expanding healthcare tax credits and deductions, increasing access to Health Savings Accounts, respecting privacy and the doctor/patient relationship. Further politicizing and bureaucratizing of healthcare will only increase costs and reduce quality, as demonstrated by most other countries with socialized medicine.

Ask Yourself Why?

Why won’t these media pundits who are decrying Obama’s Health Care plan talk about these bills that are getting zero media attention and as a result the public hardly knows about them?  These bills are in the public’s best interest!  AND, each of these bills were written by a Medical Doctor (MD).

The reason Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Medved, Boortz et al. don’t talk about these bills is they were all written by Ron Paul.  And although Ron Paul has been right all along about the deteriorating economy with repeated warnings, when it comes to health care, something he knows a little about having been a physician, Ron Paul is again shunned by the media.

If you’re a conservative reading this, I hope you can see the light and put pressure on those who are supposed to speak for all conservatives by calling into their shows and getting behind some of these bills that will keep the Obama Health Care plan from infringing upon your liberty and freedom of choice.

If you don’t challenge them, who will?

Thanks to George Reisman for some of the links in this post.

Related posts:

1. Health Care Reform Didn’t Work for Romney and Won’t Work For Obama – Here’s What Will Work
2. Low Income Folks Get Free Health Care and You’ll Pay Higher Taxes
3. The Government Is Not in the Business of Keeping You Healthy

Below is the response from my local house rep. Typical politician double speak…”I’m against it but I voted for it…”

Senator Feinstein voted for it and replied to my letter of protest. Senator Boxer voted for it and never replied.

Racetrack improvements, $100 million, movie industry $500 million and $2 million for wooden arrows are part of the bill? Are you kidding me?

All the pork thrown into this bill has got to wake America up to what is really happening with our elected officials. I swear….if it doesn’t, then Americans deserve what they get.

You can only blame ignorance for so long…pretty soon you crossover into the realm of stupidity.

If anyone votes in November for any of those that voted “yes” for this bill, they have crossed over. If this bill was really for helping the economy, then why did the stock market go down 150 points?

The ship is sinking folks… Make your vote count in November. Shove these losers that voted yes out the door.

FYI, Obama and McCain voted “yes” for the bailout bill. A vote for either of them means you approve of this bailout.

Doug Eberhardt

www.youcanmakeadifference.org

From my House rep Mike Thompson:

Dear Doug:

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act passed by the House today is not much better than the one we rejected on Monday. While the increase in FDIC protection is an important improvement, more market reforms are still needed. The reality is that the credit market is locked up and that is hurting Americans. It was very evident that if the House failed to act the consequences would shake the foundations of our economy.

From the time that the Bush Administration first asked for this rescue package, I argued that if taxpayers were being asked to pay up, then we needed regulatory reform at the same time. But this week, the precarious state of our economy showed that we needed to act quickly, and that getting comprehensive regulatory reform would take time, a luxury we did not have. In my many conversations with constituents and economists, it became clear to me that this crisis is not going to just affect those on Wall Street, but folks on every street across our district and around the country.

You don’t have to look any further than today’s unemployment numbers to see why we have voted to act now. The country lost more jobs in September than any month in the last five years. Unemployment in California stands at 7.7 percent, the highest it has been in 12 years. A major reason is that our financial system has stopped functioning and banks are not extending credit to employers. I have talked with individuals and business owners across the district who say that the tightening of the credit market has already affected their ability to maintain operations or to expand their businesses.

Within the last two weeks, the Arcata Community Recycling Center has seen their interest payments balloon to four times their normal rate. Standard Structures in Windsor was about to finalize a $10 million order from a Texas company until they got word this week that the project was stalled because of the credit crisis. There are fifty jobs tied to that one contract. Many more of our small businesses will be forced to lay off workers or wait on hiring new workers if they don’t have access to credit.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Treasurer Bill Lockyer announced this week that California has four weeks of cash flow, and if the markets are not restored, the state will be unable to pay its bills. It’s only a matter of time before cities and counties will be forced to pass along these budget shortfalls by reducing public services. From public health and safety workers, to road crews and garbage pickup, the government services that we rely on will be disrupted and these jobs will go on the chopping block.

I can assure you I still disagree with this bill and I remain committed to enactment of concrete market reforms that address the underlying problems that lead to this crisis. To that end, I’ve received a direct commitment from Speaker Pelosi that she too will work to identify and address the problems that led us to this point. The House will immediately begin holding hearings on the regulatory shortcomings in our financial system, so that come January we will be ready to craft legislation that addresses the issues I’ve raised and others that will be uncovered. Congressman Barney Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has promised me that his committee will make the reforms I advocated for a top priority. And I’ve received a personal commitment from Senator Obama that if he’s elected President he too will work for these important market reforms. In January, we will be well positioned to pass important legislation that will close the loopholes and tighten up regulations in the financial services sector.

Today I voted for this legislation because it was clear to me that we must take immediate action to restore a measure of confidence in the economy. This isn’t the end of our problems nor is it the last of the legislation. Like everyone else, I’m outraged that taxpayers have been tapped to cover the greed and excesses of the financial marketplace, and I’m outraged that as taxpayers we have been asked to cover for the failure of Wall Street regulators. But when forced to choose between doing nothing and passing this bill, I voted for what I believe is best for our country and our district, and voted to pass this legislation. We face a tough road ahead, but hopefully by unfreezing the credit markets, Americans can get back to growing their businesses and growing our economy.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this important issue. I appreciate your conviction on this matter and have valued your continued dialogue.

Sincerely,

MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
[link edited for length]

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Here is the 2005 Report Card on the 12 categories:

Aviation — D+

Bridges — C

Dams — D

Drinking water — D-

Energy — D

Hazardous waste — D

Navigable waterways — D-

Public parks — C-

Rail — C-

Roads — D

Schools — D

Solid waste — C+

Transit — D+

Wastewater — D-

SOURCE: American Society of Civil Engineers

There’s a game that I played years ago called Sim City. The basis for Sim City is managing local government. The objective of the game is to use your decision making skills to build a city and manage the city as potential disasters and other problems arise. Some schools, such as Auburn University use Sim City to teach students systems thinking, problem-solving skills and “craft” in the planning profession.

I remember in playing this game that if I concentrated on one aspect of planning and neglected others, there were consequences, sometimes severe consequences. This leads to our current situation here in America. For now, our nation’s leaders (Congress and the President) are spending their time waging undeclared wars where the cost to pay for said wars aren’t even included in the budget deficit figures.

So when will our leaders decide that our own nation needs some TLC and leave other nations to depend upon their own people to survive? The answer will probably be found when the next bridge collapses or the water situation hits crisis level. A “D-” for drinking water? Are you kidding me?

Our leaders are reactive, not proactive. The only thing that they are leaders of is the march towards the destruction of America as we know it! They would lose every game of Sim City they ever played. If only there were no consequences.

The next ASCE report card is due out in 2009. I can only imagine what further deterioration will have occurred. Can the grade of “F” be too far off? If your child receives these types of grades, are you proud of them? No! You do what you can to fix the problem by paying more attention to what is causing it!

What’s causing our problems in America? We need $1.6 trillion over the next 5 years to fix our infrastructure. Where will that money come from? Is it in the current budget? Will war with Iran make things better or worse? Does Congress even ask these types of questions?

So to pay for the repairing of infrastructure, congress can only do one of two things; raise taxes or print more money (the hidden tax called inflation).

Either way, you will pay more for everything.

You’ll find out what’s going on with your state’s infrastructure here.

Doug Eberhardt

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Congress is taking our nation towards bankruptcy because they don’t address the Evil that allows them to wage war and spend like there’s no tomorrow.  They live like kings and queens and the do so because We The Serfs don’t speak up!

Below is the letter I sent to Congressman, John Campbell of Newport Beach, California. He chairs the Budget and Spending Taskforce of the Republican Study Committee.

The purpose of the letter was to point out how his solutions are limited based on his own admissions and that to really solve the problem, the means by which Congress abuses its power must be removed.

Dear Mr. Campbell,

I listened to you on the House floor today. You’re on the right track, but you are missing a few important points. A few comments if I may….

If the government is to live within its means, congressional spending, as you say, is part of the problem. And the problem, as you point out, is congressional spending beyond their means (doubling the deficit for 2008).

This is something Congress can’t control, because again, as you mentioned, they have been doing it for the last 44 out of 48 years! Not a great track record!

The problem then lies in the “means” by which congress is allowed to conduct this spending. If we had a sound monetary system, then congress wouldn’t be able to play their spending games, including their war games. That is the bottom line.

But congress won’t cut the hand that feeds them, so there will be nothing your committee can do but either tax U.S. citizens more, or continue devaluing The People’s purchasing power via the hidden tax of inflation.

Congress IS the problem and the Federal Reserve IS the Evil that allows you the means to Pillage the Serfs.

America is headed for trouble no matter what your efforts may be to save her. The proof is in your words that we’ve only been able to do it for 4 years over the last 48! And these, most would say, were “the good years!”

If you want to help The People, then you need to cut government programs that contribute to the waste while paying off the debt….and you do it NOW!

The only way we can stop the spending madness is to take away the Evil by which they are allowed to drive us deeper in debt: The Federal Reserve.

The only way we can stop the spending madness is to take away the Evil by which they are allowed to drive our nation deeper in debt: The Federal Reserve.

Doug Eberhardt

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