Opinion

I Report, You Decide (No, I'm not the presidents Truth Czar)

p.s Thanks Politico, Barack Obama, & TheFlaCracker for the inspiration and material for this "article."

As of today, California is now over 26 billion dollars in debt. Politicians are scrambling to "fix" the problem by organizing endless meeting with a whole lot of talk and very little action.

Governor Schwarzenegger has a major mess to deal with. Nothing worse than career politicians bickering over money. Nobody wants to admit defeat, yet something has to be done. California is the richest state in the US and its economy is as large as some countries yet it can't even follow a budget that is actually feasible.

The verdict is in and the spotlight is now on the United States Senate. President Obama used his weekly internet and radio address to encourage the Senate to vote in favor of the climate bill that narrowly passed the house by a vote of 219-212 on Friday. 44 democrats defected from party lines and voted no due to their connections with industries that would be adversely affected by the bill.

The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" would put a cap on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions,"encouraging" businesses to steer away from forms of energy that may cause climate change such as coal, oil and other fossil fuels. It would require emissions to be reduced 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050.

Due to the narrow margin of victory Obama and fellow democrats are concerned that the bill might not have enough support to pass a 60% majority in the senate. Critics have called this bill one of the largest tax increases in American History. Yet Obama claims that it will only cost the equivalent of 1 postage stamp per day, or 160 dollars a year for the average person.

During one of the worst recessions in over 25 years politicians can't seem to make up their mind when it comes to health care reform. Will it cost 1 trillion or 1.6 trillion, will we require employer mandates or individual mandates, the list goes on and on. Nobody seems to know how much it will cost, or even how it will work. But hey, lets test it out, what could possibly go wrong?

Approximately 50 million Americans are without health care. With medical costs increasing as much as 10% per year, there seems to be no end in sight as far as the price tags are concerned. Yet President Obama wants action NOW. Providing 50 million people with free or reduced health care sounds like a great idea, yet actual reform is needed for it to work. Its all about the almighty dollar. And these days, people are living off of plastic and "monopoly money".

Why the push for universal health care during such troubling economic times? Probably because its sounds nice, compassionate, its just seems right. Nearly 10% of Americans are without jobs, free health care sounds awesome! These days its all about making everyone happy and leveling the playing field. People seem to forget that even people without jobs can't be denied medical treatment for emergencies to begin with. And others selectively weed out the fact that its the cost of health insurance that is the problem, not the lack of government forcing its hand by requiring that everyone have it.

I recently read in the NY Times that President Obama is calling for a new “public health insurance option”. Yet this so called option seems to come with a minor hitch, thanks to proposals by many democrats and even republicans. The proposal would require that all doctors and physicians who currently work with Medicare patients, also provide health care for these alternatives to private health care.

This may be optional for the public, but its not exactly an option for physicians. Medicare which is already government funded covers any American Citizen over the age of 65 who has been a citizen for 5 or more continuous years. According to the most recent estimates, there are close to 40 million Americans over the age of 65. And that number is expected to reach 86.7 million by 2050.

The American Health Association released a statement in response to the push for public (aka government) Health Care.

“The A.M.A. does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs. The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans.”

So Obamacare steps in, declares the public has an option, then forces all doctors and physicians to participate in this new reformed health care system. What of the 30% of Americans without private health care? Yup you guessed it, they will be covered. And the 12% of Americans 65 and older, they will continue with their medicare benefits as well. Leaving the remaining number of American to choose, Public or Private.

By forcing doctors and physicians to take part in these "public choices" they are essentially positioning their government programs for success. Why? Because politicians are good at spending other peoples money. Medicare is already funded by taxpayer dollars which consists of 2.9% in payroll and income taxes. And those percentages are expected to rise as Americans live longer, and more people get closer to retirement age.

You want to read something really scary, check out this report by the NCPA which not only addresses Medicare but Social Security as well.

NCPA Report

- Currently, a 12.4 percent payroll tax on wages funds Social Security and a 2.9 percent payroll tax funds Medicare Part A. But if payroll tax rates rise to meet unfunded obligations:

• When today's college students reach retirement (about 2054), Social Security alone will require a 16.6 percent payroll tax, one-third greater than today's rate.
• When Medicare Part A is included, the payroll tax burden will rise to 25.7 percent -- more than one of every four dollars workers will earn that year.
• If Medicare Part B (physician services) and Part D are included, the total Social Security/Medicare burden will climb to 37 percent of payroll by 2054 -- one in three dollars of taxable payroll, and twice the size of today's payroll tax burden.

After government got its hands in retirement benefits via Social Security taxpayers are now paying over 12% in payroll and income taxes. When government got its hands in medical care for citizens 65 and older, Americans are paying 2.9% in payroll and income taxes. Leaving taxpayers in over 100 trillion dollars worth of debt to these social security and medicare beneficiaries.

Yet for some reason, Obama and his health care reform followers seem to think that the government getting its hands in our public health care system is a good idea. Politicians can already vote themselves pay raises while raises taxes at the same time. So what says that the government won't "out compete" private health care providers? This entire health care fiasco could be the end of private business as we know it.

Stop and think about where government has already started to move into. They control interests in banks, car companies, and now they are even pushing for control over energy in the form of cap and trade as well as taxing oil companies and big business.

Why conquer the people, when you can conquer their livelihood. Our very existence depends not only on our social freedoms, but our financial freedoms as well. And when you take control of the most basic of things like our health, you are one step away from controlling EVERYTHING.