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.

De-Funding Obama Care

We have a lot of news about the government shutdown, the debt ceiling and de-funding Obama Care these days.      I was watching debate about Obama Care on TV the other day.  There were six people and a moderator involved in this debate.  As usual, the Democrats were blaming the Republicans, and the Republicans were blaming the Democrats.  I think there is enough blame to go around.

Finally, one individual suggested we do something to actually reduce health care costs.  He said the solution was “catastrophic medical insurance and medical savings plans.”  No one commented, a commercial break was taken, and these real, workable solutions were never discussed again.  Is it possible the media and government bureaucrats don’t actually want to reduce health care costs?

The implementation of catastrophic medical insurance and medical savings plans solution would also eliminate all communication between a health care provider and a medical insurance company.  Health care and cost considerations must be between the patient and his or her health care provider without interference from an insurance provider or the government.  Tort reform is also needed so the health care provider can work with the patient without the threat of a lawsuit.

I wrote a blog called The Solutions to Affordable Health Care on July 24, 2012.  In this blog, I stated health care costs could be reduced by 40% in the first year and 80% when fully implemented.  I still believe this to be true if we get real about fixing the problem. 

It drives me crazy when I hear people interchanging the terms health care and medical insurance.  The two are not interchangeable.  First dollar billing medical insurance and government intervention are the two major causes of our high health care costs.  Why do we keep trying to solve the problem with more of the very things that caused the problem? 

Passing the Affordable Care Act now has proven to be a huge mistake.  It has and will raise the cost of healthcare, hurt the economy, hurt the job market, reduce the number of full-time jobs, and reduce the standard of living for some of the working middle class. Obama care will also hurt the quality of healthcare for some groups like seniors.  One of the most dangerous results is it will grow the size, power, and spending of the federal government. 

Why is it that most groups that supported the Affordable Care Act now want to be exempted from the law or de-fund the law?  Unions are a prime example.  I could never understand why they supported Obama Care in the first place.  This may give us a clue just how disastrous this law will be when fully implemented.  

Medical insurance companies did the greatest marketing job in the history of this country in my opinion, as I mention in my March 8,2012 blog.  They have sold the public and health care providers on the idea of first dollar billing medical insurance.  It is big business and much more profitable than catastrophic medical insurance.  They backed Obama Care because it will continue first dollar billing for a while.  The end result might be the end of medical insurance, but the top insurance executives will be retired with millions in bonuses by then and don’t care. 

I love the name game in politics.  It is a major part of all good marketing, as I discuss in my book, Business Fits, How to find the right business for you.   Think about the Affordable Care Act.  It sounds good and gives a positive image, but does just the reverse.  What a joke. 

Some people suggest ignoring Obama Care because it will eventually collapse on itself, and it will.  The problem with this idea is we are sending millions for implementation and, as we know, these government agencies perpetuate themselves and never go away. 

If we keep going down the Obama Care road, what is the end result?  We now know the act won’t work as written so the next step may be the “single payer” plan which is the government.  This means the elimination of all medical insurance.  If we think the claims process is expensive and inefficient with the insurance companies handling it, wait until the federal government is handling all claims.

When single payer does not work, the next step is government provided health care for everyone.  Quality is almost certain to decline, but this will be a huge victory for big government and socialism.  Maybe we should do something to change big government now.  What do you think?