Where Will We Be in 5 Years Without Reform?

[somarco]

Reform needs to happen but not at the extent of taking freedoms from the citizens.

ALL of the options put forth so far, including the ever-changing Baucus bill, removes almost all freedom of choice.

But so what?

Now that Obamaman has joined in a love fest with the dictators of the world we can beat our swords into plowshares and focus on health care for everyone.

 

[Winter_123]

Where in the hell will we be in 5 years? 10 years? Will we really be selling $10K deductible copay plans with 5K OOPs?

."

I don't think so based on the way things are shaping up. Obama and his crew have already stated that they are not going to allow people to circumvent the proposed mandated insurance by just getting major med plans. Quite possibly the goverment cannot make the mandated piece work but in a socialist, big-brother environment the goverment gets around this by offering tax credits and subsidies only for the types of plans that it wants to see. So if you want a high deductible plan to make it more affordable or because there is some kind of mandate then you can do so but will get no credit or subsidy. Thus you might as well get the one the government wants you to get.

I do indeed understand that mandate is a crap shoot at this point but the governments ability to implement carrots and sticks regardless of whatever reform is enacted is a given.

The good news is that the public option and probably even co-ops are not going to be enacted. The bad news is that as the government masters the socialist game they will find that they really dont even need government run programs anyway. They can regulate private carriers to the point where they are practically government entities all while keeping the cost off the government books by transferring it to carriers and the states. Same over in the financial sector. The government will continue to smarten up by not going further into Wall Street and corporate ownership but will beat the bejesus out of them so that they accomplish the governments goals but the risks are on their books. Just as with health care reform.

Change you can believe in.

Most likely I am wrong.

 

[somarco]

2010 will be (hopefully) a turning point in much the same was as the Contract with America was in 1994. I really think O-man, Princess Pelosi et al have gone way too far to the left. Next year is not going to be a cake walk with more banks failing, more foreclosures (especially in the commercial lending side) and Afghanistan ramping up.

Obamaman is in way over his head and things are starting to unravel. He can join hands with Chavez, Ghadaffi and others and sing Kum-Ba-Ya all he wants but it wont save his butt.

 

[Bitnis]

The bad news is that as the government masters the socialist game they will find that they really don't even need government run programs anyway.

Do you really think they are that smart? It took me a while to figure out that subbing things out is much more desirable than having your own employees. I'm not sure it's the same with government though. They want to be able to float our money and control us.

 

[Winter_123]

Do you really think they are that smart? It took me a while to figure out that subbing things out is much more desirable than having your own employees. I'm not sure it's the same with government though. They want to be able to float our money and control us.

It comes in phases. Regular viewers know that I have said since the campaign that Obama's entire world view is based on giving free stuff away and we will not find out who and what he really is until we reach the end of that cycle. We will however reach that point because we are essentially a center-right country and fears about a Californication of the national budget will set in. Well, we are not at that point quite yet but we can see it from where we are. Six months ago he could just give anything and everything away. Now his health reform package is dragged down by the previous expenditure on stimulus and so it goes and will continue to go.

So what is a socialist giveaway guy to do when he begins to run into resistance on spending from even his own party, the folks on Main Street, the CBO, the new Congress that will be elected in 2010 etc. Answer: He will just allow an illusion that certain industries are private but regulate them to the point where they might as well be government entities and tranfer the risk for social programs to the private sector.


Hmmmm........let's see Mr. Obama is just back from the G20 meeting yesterday where they all agreed to regulate executive pay around the world, regardless of whether it is a troubled or government supported industry. No need to get a CBO report on the cost of that or fight for appropriations on that type of thing. Didnt lower those drugs costs.....hmmm.......maybe we need to lower your executive pay.

As far as whether I think they are that smart? Yes. They are plenty smart. I never underestimated Obama for a second. I think he and Rahm are the types that can come into office and within a few months be running half of Wall Street and General Motors. Could happen. He is running into a fairly substantial counter-revolution though as folks smarten up so he will begin to morph over into the regulator role rather than the give-away and take-over roles. That is well under way now that he knows that funding for health reform will be substantial but nevertheless have a crimp in it.

It all going to be about Afghanistan come next election anyway. And actually there are parallels to his other programs there. He came in on a promise to give more resources (both troops and schools and so on to Afghans). First thing he did was send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan (giving free stuff away) and no one batted an eye even though he had no strategy and is just beginning to suggest that maybe we should have one. We can agree that the next 30,000 will not come as easily and he is as likely to be criticized for not doing enough as for doing too much as is true of his domestic programs now.

By the first of the year we will be past the giveaway phase and well into the meddling with anything and everything phase. Tis the nature of socialist governents. It is what they do. Can't afford to nationalize those oil companies because you just nationalized the banks? Oh, okay........might have to just regulate them and tax them more then. Then when they collapse we will pick them up at a bargain.

Change you can believe in.