"A billion dollars for your thoughts"

It used to be "A penny for your thoughts" but with inflation and all I figured I'd update the cliche. I chose a billion dollars since that's the kind of numbers our government throws around now; and a trillion is right around the corner!

You know the latest $900 billion dollar health care bill the Senate just passed? Estimates of the unfunded liabilities of this bill will exceed $9.2 trillion!!

Nonsense you say. Well this estimate is based on similar, under funded government programs that now have historical data. Lets start with Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the first year of the program would cost $238 million. It actually topped $1 billion. The program now cost 37 times more (adjusted for inflation) then when it started. The current cost for Medicaid is $251 billion!!

Maybe that's an anomaly you say. OK, let's look at Medicare. In 1965 Congress estimated that this program would cost $12 billion in 1990. It's actual cost was $90 billion. And, over a 20 year period, the number of Medicare beneficiaries rose by 37% but the program cost rose by 372% . This is not a good track record.

No one in Congress is looking at cost cutting. That would require free market solutions. Instead, in a blatant attempt to get re-elected, they continue the policy of promising people everything -cost be damned. Unfortunately for them this time we're not buying it. Poll after poll shows that the majority of Americans don't want any of these health care bills to pass. I know that's not what the administration will tell you. They don't look at facts that are inconvenient to their story. I'm guessing that the best way to get re-elected is to do what you constituents want, not what the president wants.

But maybe that's why I'm not in politics. Common sense apparently has no place in Washington.

Financial data obtained from US News and World Report.

What is the Hurry?

People have tried for over 50 years to reform health care in this country. The last two presidents had 8 years each to do it. So how does Obama think he can get it one in 8 months! And, more importantly, why does it need to get done so fast. Something this massive that will affect all Americans for the rest of their lives deserves good, spirited debate. Obama promised transparency so we, the people, can have a chance to review such new policy. Congress doesn't even read the entire bills they pass now,

So, what's the hurry? Could it be that Obama wants to "sneak" this through? That doesn't sound transparent. Could it be that he knows his popularity is already falling? The last Rasmussen poll I saw (today) shows him at 51% and the trend is downward. At this rate he'll lose the moderate Democrats and he may actually have to accept debate on this legislation.

The latest Congressional Budget Office just released their report that says the current plan making its way through Congress will actually cost MORE than the Dems say it will. There is no credible plan to pay for any of this. Do not think that raising taxes on the top 1% will do it.

Guess where they'll look next.

ABC is just Another Barrack Commercial

So much for even trying to look impartial. Last Wednesday ABC devoted the whole day to promoting Obama's health care plan. From Good Morning America to World News Tonight it was a one-sided infomercial expounding the wonders of more government control. The coup de gras was the 90 minute "special" called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America".

There are so many problems with this. Where do I begin? First of all ABC News employees gave 80 times more money to Obama's campaign then they did to John McCain's. Second, ABC refused to take paid ads from critics of O's program. Among the groups turned away - the Republican National Committee and a group called Conservatives for Patients Rights (damn extremists!!)

Third, the program served up softball questions from a pre-selected audience. In 75 minutes of air time 12% was used for questions and Obama talked for 60% of the time. That is not dialogue that's a monologue. The show had no health care experts or Republican congressmen on hand to ask questions.

Fortunately viewers were few and far between as well. The TV ratings for the evening showed that the program came in last among the top three networks. A rerun of CSI:NY even garnered more viewers than Obama.

Looks like America knows good fiction when it sees it!