Big Dogs Weblog

The Obama Hustle

by Big Dog on Dec 17, 2009 at 11:05 Political

Back during the era of Disco (what were we thinking) there was a song called The Hustle. Obama and I are roughly the same age so I imagine that must have been his favorite song because he is hustling the American public.

During the campaign Obama vowed to take on the pharmaceutical companies. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post recounts this campaign pledge and the way that Obama broke his promise:

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to take on the drug industry by allowing Americans to import cheaper prescription medicine. “We’ll tell the pharmaceutical companies ‘thanks, but no, thanks’ for the overpriced drugs — drugs that cost twice as much here as they do in Europe and Canada,” he said back then.

On Tuesday, the matter came to the Senate floor — and President Obama forgot the “no, thanks” part. Siding with the pharmaceutical lobby, the administration successfully fought against the very idea Obama had championed.

“It’s got to be a little awkward,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.).

I wrote earlier that the Democrats will do anything to get their health care takeover bill passed and I gave examples of the thuggish tactics used. In this case Obama flat out broke his promise in order to advance his signature legislation.

All Obama promises come with an expiration date and this is no different. He broke another promise in order to get what he wants (though that is still a long way off). Obama sided with Big Pharma over the people he pledged to help in a manner reminiscent of old style politics, the very kind of politics he vowed to put an end to. Another promise broken.

Obama is now using scare tactics to get this passed. He told Charlie Gibson that if we do not pass his bill that will lower costs, the country will go bankrupt under the weight of health care costs.

President Obama told ABC News’ Charles Gibson in an interview that if Congress does not pass health care legislation that will bring down costs, the federal government “will go bankrupt.”

This is basically true if there is no sensible reform (which I have discussed in detail) but under the bills being considered right now the country will most assuredly go bankrupt.

The government runs Social Security and Medicare and both of them are unsustainable. The unfunded liabilities are almost 100 trillion dollars for these programs and the cost continues to go up. There are many reasons for this but one is that Congress took all the money that was supposed to be in a “trust fund” and spent it while leaving worthless IOUs. The money is not there and we have no way of getting it back.

The plans being debated will cost an additional 2.5 trillion dollars and will not pay for themselves. Government has shown with the two previously mentioned programs that it is unable to run things efficiently. The costs for these two programs are well above what anyone ever estimated they would be and the cost of health care will be the same.

This is not about health and it is not about care. It is about control over our lives.

Obama might have telegraphed the danger we are in with the health care takeover when he said this:

“it’s clear we are on the precipice of achievement that’s eluded Congresses, presidents for generations — an achievement that will touch the lives of nearly every American.” Pajama’s Media, Roger’s Rules

Webster defines precipice as: 1 : a very steep or overhanging place; 2 : a hazardous situation; brink.

It is obviously not number 1 so it must be number 2 and that one is appropriate for this issue. This bill is the brink of a hazardous situation because it will add trillions to our deficit and it will cost more than we can pay. It will increase the costs of health care for the average consumer and premiums will go up. There will also be rationing and long lines. Obama told us what to expect and though, as I pointed out above, his word is not exactly his bond, on this one I think he is correct.

The Senate Bill will be coming up for a cloture vote soon and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida was on Greta’s show discussing the bill and laying out why he will vote for it. The meetings that have taken place behind closed doors have resulted in some concessions to his state (and a few others) which remove the burden off Medicare recipients there. He also indicated that Medicare will be made solvent by cutting reimbursements to doctors, nurses, and hospitals. In other words, the Senate expects these people to work for less than it costs to treat people or, in some cases, for free. Obama has stated that the way to control Medicare costs is to cut payments to those providing the care. He called it a “safety valve.”

How many doctors or hospitals will continue to accept Medicare patients if they cannot get paid adequately for their services? How many will drop Medicare patients for the same reason?

Maybe we should consider cutting salaries to members of Congress.

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

Tags: bankruptcy, bill nelson, health care, Obama, precipice