Was Obama Care Designed To Fail?

     This is an interesting idea.  The Affordable Care Act is the crowning achievement of the Obama Presidency and it seems to be a total disaster.  How is this possible? 

     The web site does not work inspite of an almost unlimited budget and more than enough expertise available to roll it out in a much shorter time than the government had to work with.   I saw one comparison showing how we won World War II in less time than the government had to get the website functional. 

     The Affordable Care Act is 2,400 pages of legalese that no one seems to have read.  It is so complex that I probable could not understand it or comprehend it if I did read it.  Maybe Nancy Pelosi was right when she said, “We have to pass it to find out what is in it.”

     I could never understand how the unions backed it, but they have been granted exceptions.  I never understood why some insurance executives supported it, but now we know they were promised bailouts if claims were too high.  The political elite is also excluded.  The rich are not affected.  It seems like only the working middle class is affected.

     We were promised we could keep our medical insurance if we liked it.  We were promised we could keep our Doctors.  We were promised lower medical insurance premiums.  People with medical insurance through their work thought they would not be affected.  We now know all that was not true.  Were the people making these claims misinformed, incompetent or just lying?  It’s just politics, so who cares?

     In order for Obama Care to work, a lot of young healthy people that do not have medical insurance must sign up with higher premiums than they would have had prior to the implementation of the law.  This is further complicated by the fact that the law allows kids to be covered under their parent’s policy to age 26.  The numbers don’t work.  They can’t work.  Some right wing nuts have been saying this for years.  I am proud to be one of those nuts.

     Forget the web site for a minute.  What is going to happen with Obama Care?  We already know many people will lose their medical insurance.  Some will have to change Doctors.  Some will lose their jobs or have their hours cut to part-time. 

     More people will sign up for Medicaid.  Some people will receive subsidies from the government to pay for their medical insurance.  Unfortunately, they will still not be able to afford the deductibles.  The cost for the government will continue to escalate. 

     More government departments will be created and more employees will be hired.  Eventually, Affordable Care will grow to the point it will be more efficient to go to a Single Payer.  This is what the Progressives wanted all along, but they knew they could never get there in one step.  Is Obama Care just one of the steps?  Did the political elite know it could never work? 

Business Myths

In my book Business Fits: How to Find the Right Business for You! I have a chapter called “Myths about Starting a Business.” The myths discussed are:

·       Starting a business is too risky.  A good job is the only real security.

·       Start small and grow.

·       Banks make business loans.

·       Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

·       I will know the right business when I see it.

·       I need to find a business that can’t fail.

·       Why should I pay a franchise fee and continuing royalty for something I can do myself?

·       Do what you know and love and you will be a success.

If any of these business myths peaks your interest, you can order Business Fits at: https://www.createspace.com/4290991

Thunderbird or Pinto

When I was a Ford-Mercury dealer in the early 1970s, I sold both Thunderbirds and Pintos.  Both cars were both great cars for the time.  The Thunderbird was a true personal luxury car, and usually what my wife chose to drive.  The Pinto was also a great car, but did not have the comfortable ride or the equipment of the Thunderbird.  The Pinto did have a lower purchase price and was more economical to operate and maintain. 

Both cars filled a need and the more economical Pinto offered some people the opportunity to buy a new car that could never afford a new Thunderbird.  This is the free market system.  As a dealer, I liked to sell a new Thunderbird because I normally made more profit selling a Thunderbird than selling a Pinto, but I sold a lot more Pintos than Thunderbirds. 

What would have happened if the government passed a law that all Pintos were “Sub Standard” and everyone had to buy a Thunderbird?  The answer is simple.  Most people would not have been able to afford a new car.  They would have to keep their existing car, buy a used car, use public transportation, or walk.  

Now I understand that Progressives would say the evil car dealers and manufacturers should just sell everyone a Thunderbird for the price of a Pinto.  Unfortunately, neither the dealer nor manufacturer can stay in business this way.  The other option is for the government to subsidize everyone that can’t afford a Thunderbird. 

This makes sense only if we want bigger government, more taxes, less personal freedom, and a socialist country eliminating the free market system.  Kind of sounds like Obama Care doesn’t it.  Personally, I don’t like the idea and will vote accordingly.

Insurance Deductibles

When I was a Ford-Mercury dealer, I needed insurance for the business.  This insurance policy was normally referred to as Garage Keepers insurance.  One of the things it covered was damage or losses to vehicle inventory.  The majority of the policies at that time had a per vehicle deductible much the same as the deductible on your personal vehicle with your Family Auto policy.  For example, you might pay the first $100 to $500 of any damage claim.  This is fine for an individual, but presents a risk for an auto dealer. 

The problem with a per vehicle deductible for a dealer is that damage to a lot full of vehicles could be a catastrophic loss for the dealer.  Protecting against catastrophic loss is what insurance should do.  I knew a Ford dealer that had his entire new and used car inventory damaged by a hailstorm.  The damage per car was not huge, but the total damage was devastating.  Since he had a per vehicle deductible, the storm almost bankrupted the dealership. 

For this reason, I demanded an insurance policy with a Per Occurrence deductible instead of a per vehicle deductible.  Some companies would not write the policy at the time, but I found one that would.  By increasing the deductible amount, the premium remained the same.  This meant I had a higher deductible and loss when there was damage to a single vehicle, but I was limited to the same deductible for a catastrophic loss to many vehicles.  The free market system does work if we can keep the government out of it. 

In the early 1970’s car dealers still made a big deal of introducing the new models.  The introduction was usually done at night and dealers often made it a real party with food, drinks, balloons and spotlights in the sky.  Transport companies covered vehicles so the public could not see them until the day they were to be introduced.  I had rented the grandstand at the fair grounds to store and hide vehicles until the introduction day.  Some kids broke into the building and damaged almost all the vehicles.  It would have been a catastrophic loss if I had not had the Per Occurrence deductible. 

All insurance should be meant to protect against catastrophic losses and not first dollar loss that should be assumed risk.  How did we ever get into the mess we are in with health care and first dollar billing medical insurance?  See my blog of 3/8/2012 titled, “The Greatest Marketing Job Ever In The US.”

First dollar billing medical insurance is a joke.  With all this administrative cost, it is no wonder our total health care cost is five times what it should be, and anyone that thinks the federal government can handle this administrative cost better and cheaper than the private sector only has to look at history. 

        Think about the deductibles with medical insurance.  Your deductible is annual.  You start over ever year.  How does this protect you from a catastrophic illness or accident? If you are sick or hurt so you can’t work, how do you pay the premiums and deductible?  Catastrophic medical insurance should have a large deductible per illness or injury, and not an annual deductible.

        The only solution for affordable health care is catastrophic medical insurance with a large per illness or per injury detectable, and medical savings plans.  Why do we continue to look to the federal government and insurance to solve a problem they created?  The government can never to something as efficiently as the private sector with the exception of ……  Sorry, I can’t think of anything.

War On The Working Middle Class

        The government shutdown is over.  There is a lot of talk about if Democrats or Republicans are the winners.  I don’t think either was a winner, but there defiantly was a clear loser.  That loser is the working middle class and future generations in this country. 

        It is back to business as usual in Washington DC.   Big government is alive and growing.   Politicians even had the audacity to attach three billion in earmarks for things that probably could never get funded on their own.  This is just thumbing their nose at the working class that will pay the bill.

There was no change to Affordable Care.  Government continues to grow and Obama Care still doesn’t and can’t work in my opinion.  The rich and politically connected will continue to be exempted or get subsidies.  Over 700 companies and unions have been exempted so far, and don’t forget Congress.  There is still no break for the working, middle class taxpayer. 

The debt limit and government-spending problem was kicked down the road again.  I love the word compromise in government.  A liberal wants to grow government with no concern for the future or with the goal of a socialist country.  Growing the government is what they call growing the economy.  Progressives are convinced the political elite is much better qualified to tell us how to live our lives than allowing us to make our own decisions.  A moderate seems to be a liberal on a slow track.  Anyone that actually wants to control government, observe the Constitution, and grow the private sector of the economy is called a right-wing Tea Party wacko.

In summary, who won?  The rich and politically connected won and will continue to get richer and stronger.  The welfare class will continue to grow, and we will see three and four generations of welfare recipients that never know any different.  The working middle class will continue to decline in numbers and will experience a decline in their standard of living.    Anyone that does not see what has happened in the last few decades either has their head in the sand or wants a socialist country.  Look at our national debt.  Is this what we want?  We have to change it at the polls before it is too late.

The Sky Is Falling

Do you remember the old story of Chicken Little who is hit on the head by an acorn and convinces her friends that the sky is falling?  It kind of reminds me of some of the statements I hear about reaching the federal debt ceiling. 

Some politicians would like us to think our country will default and we will see economic collapse if we don’t raise the debt ceiling.  It could hurt our credit rating, but it will not hurt our credit rating nearly as bad as if we raise the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts.  We have already had our credit rating lowered twice on August 5, 2011 and September 14, 2012. 

Politicians try to tell people the sky is falling with scare tactics like saying Social Security payments would stop.  This type of tactics is ridiculous and I think it is unconscionable for the mainstream media to repeat them.  The fact is the federal government continually has income.  By law the interest on the debt must be paid, then the military is paid, then Social Security, then Medicare, and them Medicaid.  There is more than enough to cover these payments.  After these obligations are met, government spending to pay off campaign contributors is another matter. 

The Executive branch of our government must pay these obligations by law unless they just ignore the law.  I think some of the results of the government shutdown are clearly political decisions intended to create the most inconvenience for the public.  I hope the public is placing the blame for these decisions with the people actually making the decision. 

Withholding death benefits for our fallen military or any veteran benefits is totally unconscionable.  Isn’t that part of paying for our military which is required by law?  The military is one of the few actual obligations of the federal government according to the Constitution.  The decision not to pay these benefits was made by an administration that has made many Executive Orders with the force of law.  Some of these Executive Orders gave government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency authorities specifically denied by Congress.  I find it interesting that this same administration can refuse to pay veteran death benefits; veteran benefits, or open the World War II memorial for World War II veterans on Freedom Flights.  I hope people lay blame where it belongs.

We go through this same problem on a regular basis and it is becoming more frequent.  It seems like there is no way to get liberal progressives to even talk about cutting government.  This is ridiculous.  Our National debt was under $10 trillion at the beginning of 2008.  It is now approaching $17 trillion.  This should be alarming and unacceptable for all Americans.  In my opinion, most of our political problems are the direct result of a federal government that has grown out of control. 

On March 16, 2006, Senator Barrack Obama made a floor speech in the Senate.  He said:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.  It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay it’s own bills……I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”

I don’t agree with President Obama often, but he sure was and is right with this statement.  When are we going to hold our elected officials responsible and fix this problem?

        I heard a rumor that President Obama thought he should be given the authority to raise the debt limit, as he felt necessary.  That can’t be true, or can it?

Why Can't We Just Be Americans?

I have a niece that posted this on Facebook: 

“Why can’t we just be Americans and get along?  Somewhere along the way, I think the two parties have lost the purpose of the design.  Could we just clear everyone out of DC and start over with new people?  I know that can’t happen, but really, how will this ever get fixed?” 

Victoria Miller

I am not sure if it was the government shutdown, the debt ceiling, Obama Care, or all three that prompted this, but Vicki makes it sound simple.  We should just get along and do what is best for America.  What is the problem with that?  The problem is having the electorate and elected officials want to do what is best for the country.

Let’s take a look at some of the problems. 

·       Politician’s more concerned with getting reelected than doing what is good for the country

·       Political elite that only want in increase their power

·       Special interest groups promoting their financial interests at the expense of the country

·       Too large a percentage of the electorate that are on welfare or just want free stuff

·       A Progressive movement that feels enlightened bureaucrats are better able to tell us how to live our lives.

·       A media that does not accurately report the news

·       No requirement for politicians or political ads to be truthful

·       An education system that does not teach accurate American history and government

·       The rich, the political elite, and the politically connected continue to get richer and more powerful

·       The working middle class continues to decline and lose disposable income

·       Too large a percentage of the electorate in the public sector

·       The non-contributing welfare portion of this country continues to increase 

Is it time for some real change?  The path government has taken over the last few decades obviously is not working.  What’s Einstein’s definition of insanity?  “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Our great country is heading down a path to big government and socialism.  The federal government continues to grow and take away states rights and individual freedoms.  Spending continues to increase, the deficit continues to increase, and the national debt is increasing at an alarming rate.  A moderate now is someone who just wants to slow down this path to destruction. 

    I want to take the federal government back to the limits set in the Constitution.  This is what made this country great.  I will probably never live to see this happen, because it took about a century to get in this mess and it can’t be corrected over night, but for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we had better start now, before it is too late.  Some politicians seem to ignore the Constitution if it does not fit their political agenda. The Progressives call some one who wants to stop or reverse this growth of government an anarchist or racist.  Conservatives don’t want to eliminate government, but calling someone names is always good if you don’t have facts to support your argument.  

    What can we do now?  We have to elect representatives that will work in the best interest of the country and not want to create a political elite ruling class.  I am not a fan of people who vote for candidates on a single issue, but if we don’t start voting for candidates that will stand fast to reduce the size of government and balance the budget, everything else is irrelevant. 

The exception is if you want your children and grandchildren to live in a socialist country and not have the same opportunities we have had in the past.  Our founding fathers knew the dangers this great republic faced and their fears are proving valid.  They were so smart.  I hope we start to heed their warnings.