Don't gruber me bro!

The new face of the United States Government

 

 

 

Stuart Smalley would be appalled. According to the advisers hired by our government, and our government representatives by virtue of their choice of these advisers, we are not good enough, we are not smart enough and doggone it they really don't seem to like us. 

 

The contempt which Barack Obama holds for our constitution and US laws, along with his misguided arrogance as an 'I know better than you' academic, has been on display through a series of videos of Johnathan Gruber explaining how and why he helped the president craft the ACA.

 

It appears that Professor Gruber is well versed in the formulas used by the CBO to score legislation and determine its viability. Except it turns out that he knows the CBO's methods so well, he had to create a fictional event to assure the auditors could not dismantle the ruse. Enter the Cadillac Tax. 

 

The bottom line of the Cadillac tax is to tax your employer insurance benefits which are currently not taxed and to make it seem as if this tax will not affect you but rather be a tax on big business. 

 

The now-famous former outside adviser on ObamaCare, Jonathan Gruber of MIT, spoke about the Cadillac tax before an audience at the Pioneer Institute in 2011, saying, "It turns out politically, it's really hard to get rid of. And the only way we could get rid of it was first by mislabeling it, calling it a tax on insurance plans rather than a tax on people, when we all know it's a tax on people who hold those insurance plans." He called that a "clever" exploitation of Americans'  "lack of economic understanding."

 

In addition to this fictional event, Gruber structured a $500 billion 'savings' in the ACA to assure the math worked for the CBO.  Nearly $220 billion of this savings comes from reducing annual increases in payments that health care providers would otherwise receive from Medicare.

 

Have you noticed doctors cutting your bills lately?

 

Other savings include $36 billion from increases in premiums for higher-income beneficiaries and $12 billion from administrative changes. A new national board -- the Independent Payment Advisory Board -- (AKA "Death Panels") will be tasked to identify $15.5 billion in savings, but the board is supposedly prohibited from proposing anything that would ration care or reduce or modify benefits.

 

Is that like saying the IRS is prohibited from targeting you based on your political affiliation?

 

Then there's another $136 billion in projected savings that would come from changes to the Medicare Advantage program, an alternative to traditional Medicare that has turned out to be much more costly than expected. About 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.

 

What changes? Seniors will have to somehow receive $136 billion less in care for this to pan out.

 

Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.

-P. J. O'Rourke

 

The governments seemingly insatiable appetite for your hard earned money, taken from you in the form of taxes - seen and unseen - can at times be justified but make no mistake about it, this must be controlled lest we become Japan: here is a loose summary of Japan's tax rates. Individual - 50%, Payroll - 25.6%, and VAT (coming soon to a country near you) 8%.

 

Tithing 10% will leave you with 6.4 cents of every dollar you earn! Not sure you could even pay the deductibles on those new ACA health plans with that.

 

This well thought out and not so well executed con (passed under reconciliation - on straight party lines - and without a single member of congress reading the bill) lies squarely at the feet of President Obama.

 

To be fair - this is not an Obama phenomenon. It is the path the American government has been tracking regardless of which party is in charge. And parties aside, the current trajectory takes all of us to a very bad place indeed. I'm afraid not even Stuart's optimism will save us then.

 

Wake up America!

 

 

 

 

PDB - So now we know

The art of politics, unfortunately, requires deniability. The Obama administration has become Putin-esque in their execution of this skill.

Sure, the skill's necessary to convince most of your citizens and a large part of the world you didn't do it after you shoot down a commercial airliner or invade and take over a country are beyond Obama's dreams, but rulers are like everyone else; competitive and driven to be better than their peers.

Ruler you say? Well, let's be honest, this administration stopped behaving as a democracy and started functioning as an autocracy the moment our leader told us that without congress taking some sort of action he would act alone. Fear of this behavior is exactly why the founders created our style of government; three separate branches designed to prevent any one branch from assuming too much power.

The PDB, Presidents Daily Brief, historically has been presented to the president and supported by dialogue, a format whereby the president is able to gain the proper perspective of the intelligence directly from its authors or their representatives. Under President Obama, the format has changed to a word document submitted electronically and read in private by the president, allowing for perspective to be framed by personal beliefs or opinions.

A news story today suggests Obama received regular 'exquisite intelligence' through his PDB's on ISIS' capabilities and potential beginning over a year ago. Long before his "JV" comment. So assuming he read his electronic PDB's and further assuming his world view allowed him to fully comprehend the information provided, why would he put forth the JV narrative? Could it be the same reason he stated Osama Bin Laden is dead and Al Qaida is on the run? (Public relations preceding his run for re-election - in this case preceding the mid year elections.) Could it be his desire that all societies behave as advanced intellectual beings rather than the animals we are? Maybe it was a Freudian response to the memories of his time on the JV basketball team at Occidental  (if he really played  - remember we haven't seen his grades from that college either). Or by reading his PDB's in private and therefore preventing a clear perspective on the information, was it simply one more skillfully placed layer of deniability?

I give him credit for the aforementioned desire. In a dream world where all societies are moving toward a singular society, one where everyone agrees on and works toward common goals, there might exist greater civility. Might. And some day, we might get there. Some day. Might.

In 2014, in the real world, however, negotiating with ideological terrorists hiding behind religion (IS, Hamas, etc.) or tyrants who change their countries constitution in order to stay in power (Putin),  is like trying to conciliate with a Great White Shark before he eats you. Should you have the terrible misfortune of winding up in his neighborhood, even if you spoke his language, you would absolutely and without question, not be able to reason with the shark. You would become lunch.

"What’s unique about our times is the nature of the threats—suicidal, homicidal, genocidal terrorists, well armed and organized, seeking the destruction of the United States. The other difference: the lack of Western leadership, starting with the president himself. …"

What does the body language and facial expressions in this speech say? I see unleashed emotion, anger, determination, a plan to deal with anyone possessing a different view.

How about this one? I see passivity, restraint, a lack of emotion, no plan for addressing those with a different view. Even though the scum possessing those views are killing Americans, taunting our way of life, and threatening the very existence of individual freedom around the world.

Am I crazy or does this president have it backwards?

For my money, I am staying out of the water and when circumstances dictate I must confront the Great White, it will be with a harpoon.

"Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong."

- Ronald Regan

Time to join the Varsity team Barry!

 

 

 

The height of hypocrisy

Dear reader, when last I wrote to you, I asked if government paid attention to anything. It was a rhetorical question because of course it does, but generally only when the issue can somehow further the government's agenda.

And so today the FAA announced that all flights to Tel Aviv were prohibited for 24 hours. They stated that their decision was based on the fact that missiles being fired into Israel from Gaza are too close to the airport making travel unsafe.

So we are supposed to understand that in light of the downing of a commercial airliner, Malaysian flight MH17 over Ukraine by Russian supported separatists that it is suddenly not safe to fly into Israel. OK - but why now instead of 5 days ago when this terrorist attack occurred? Or 22 days ago when Hamas lobbed the first missiles into Israel? For the record, it will make no difference if it turns out that MH17 was misidentified as a military target - it was terrorism and Putin played a role.

My guess is that it has less to do with protecting airline passengers and more to do with economic pressure on Israel to halt the unquestionably justified defense of their nation.

In a pathetic attempt to capture worldwide sympathy, Hamas has launched an Internet campaign to highlight their casualties of war. Blatantly missing from their campaign, at least to those who pay attention [see furthering the government's agenda above], are the two primary causes of the loss of civilian lives:

1) Unprovoked, Hamas or their affiliates began firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets.

2) Israel is using missile defense to protect civilians, and Hamas is using civilians to protect missiles.

What does all this have to do with hypocrisy?

President Obama has refused to cut aid to the Palestinians while they repeatedly launch missiles into Israel and at the same time he has now placed new economic pressure on Israel for defending themselves. Hypocrisy.

Hamas is spreading propaganda through social media claiming civilian deaths are the result of Israel's aggression. Israel could reduce Gaza and other Hamas areas to rubble if they desired. Instead they are purposely conducting a ground offensive with the intent of minimizing Palestinian casualties. Hypocrisy.

Recently General James Amos spoke out against Obama's handling of Iraq. There can be no question that President Obama does not understand history and believes his ideology will trump evil.

There can also be no question that President Obama does understand fundraising. He has successfully raised money during a European countries invasion and capture, an American border - and potential humanitarian - crisis (invasion), and now amidst the intentional killing of nearly 300 innocent civilians, he has managed to raise thousands more dollars for the Democratic National Committee.

So it is, with head in hands, I return to you only to admit I was wrong. The government is paying attention.

The real question is - are you?

"Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing."
-Edmund Burke