Govt. Dependency

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ObamaCare lie tied to Clinton era

By now most have heard the “2013 Lie of the Year” as selected by PolitiFacts:  “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.”  President Obama said it some 20 times beginning in 2008, knowing it was a lie.

Now it has been revealed in the release of the first batch of the “Clinton Papers” that advisors to President Clinton were concerned about including a similar line about HillaryCare in the 1994 State-of-the-Union address.

Clinton&ToddStern (politico.com)

President Clinton and Todd Stern (politico.com photo)

Todd Stern, a former top aide to President Clinton, warned of making such a statement asking, “can we get away with it?” and adding, “I am very worried about getting skewered for over-promising here on something we know we won’t deliver.”

Here’s the excerpt by Stern from the “Clinton Papers”:

“We have a line on p. 10 that says ‘You’ll pick the health plan and the doctor of your choice.’  This sounds great and I know that it’s just what people want to hear.  But can we get away with it?  Isn’t the whole thrust of our health plan to steer people toward cheaper, HMO-style providers?  It’s one thing to say we’ll preserve your option to pick the doctor of your choice (recognizing that this will cost more), it’s quite another to appear to promise the nation that everyone will get to pick the doctor of his or her choice.  And that’s exactly what this line does.  I am worried about getting skewered for over-promising here on something we know full well we won’t deliver.

President Clinton went on to say, “You’ll pick the health plan and the doctor of your choice” in his address. Continue reading →

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Increase in minimum wage a bad idea

GeorgeWill(onenewspage.com photo)

George Will (onenewspage.com photo)

    “Liberals say, if you want people to smoke less, raise the price of tobacco.  If you want people to drive less, raise the price of gasoline.  Raise the price of something, people will buy less of it.  Then, they come to the subject of entry level wages and they will say it will have no affect whatever.  Clearly, it will have an effect.  Not only will people hire fewer, but there will be a huge incentive for places like California Pizza Kitchen and Chili’s to go to automated ordering, cutting down minimum wage workers.”   -George Will

                                        A new twist on Obama’s redistribution of wealth

The president got what he wanted when he increased the tax rate on the top income earners to 39.6 percent.  It was part of his redistribution of wealth agenda.

Now as the numbers of those below the poverty line grows, the president is talking about income inequality and the necessity to increase the federally mandated minimum wage again, from $7.25 to $10.10.  His economy is in the tank and in true liberal form, he continues to apply the wrong measures. Another indication of his lack of business acumen.

Nancy Pelosi and all the others on the left stand before the microphones in support of the hike, saying it would create jobs.  But then the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office releases its findings that the $10.10 option when fully implemented “would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers,” a number that could increase to one million. Continue reading →

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ObamaCare destroying American work ethic

DouglasElmendorf (Examiner.com photo)

Douglas Elmendorf (Examiner.com photo)

ObamaCare creates a disincentive for people at the lower end of the economic ladder to work,” said Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas W. Elmendorf during a House hearing this week.  “The result of this is it will be harder for people to climb the economic ladder into the middle class,” he added.

Elmendorf had earlier told the House committee members that ObamaCare will cause some 2.3 million people to reduce their work hours while receiving subsidized health insurance. Continue reading →

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Where’s the outrage?

THERE THEY WERE, the nation’s five top intelligence officials, Clapper (DNI), Brennan (CIA), Flynn (DIA), Comey (FBI), and Olsen (NCC), sitting before the House Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday.  Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) asks, “Can anybody at the table tell us when somebody will be held responsible for the murders in Benghazi?” … read more

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More from the sidelines …

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers – As I watched Rep. McMorris Rodgers give the Republican response to the president’s State of the Union address last night, I wondered how many heard her mention she was the 200th woman elected to Congress, or for that matter how many viewed her remarks.  After all, a survey indicated only 30 per cent of Americans were expected to watch the president.… read more

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From the sidelines …

Problem for the Administration – Just 18 per cent of young adults say they are likelyYAF Guidestar.org image to enroll in ObamaCare, compared to 46 per cent who are not likely to enroll, according to a survey conducted by the Young America’s Foundation.  More revealing was the fact that 48 per cent consider the government too big compared to just four per cent who believe it’s too small. … read more

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Taxpayers lose again to big government

 As taxpayers are beginning to feel the effects of big government with the introduction of ObamaCare and its high premiums, inconceivable deductibles and the accompanying taxes, the consequences of another government intervention in our lives has slipped under the radar. It’s the result of our government’s ill-advised auto bailout, investments and standards.

On the surface, recent news of the government’s sale of its remaining stock in General Motors for $39 billion sounds positive, until you learn that we taxpayers are out $10.5 billion. As we might expect from a liberal and someone with no business experience, the president’s rationalization for the $10.5 billion loss was that it was well worth the investment. Continue reading →

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You are a Democrat

You might be a Democrat, wrote Janice Shoemaker in her Progressive Views column.  It reminded me of the story New Mexico’s Governor Susana Martinez told at the Republican convention. The Governor related how she was brought up as a Democrat, but she and her husband were invited to lunch by a couple of Republicans interested in her switching parties.  She had planned to just meet with them as a courtesy, but she said, “when we left that lunch and got in the car I looked over at Chuck and said, ‘I’ll be damned, we’re Republicans.’”

Unfortunately, Shoemaker’s broad brush attempt to paint Democrats in a light that would test Republican positions on issues falls flat.  Not only does she not understand the issues she cites, she ignores other issues of deep concern to conservatives.  Continue reading →