Posted by Tina
Former Democrat Senator from Nebraska, Bob Kerry, spoke to David Martosko of the Daily Mail and had nothing positive to say about the Presidents signature achievement, Obamacare. Kerry said he believed President Obama had to know he was lying when he told the american people that they could keep their insurance but he said there was a much bigger lie told in selling the idea to the public:
The worst lie Democrats told about Obamacare, Kerrey reasoned, ‘is not “If you want to keep your health care plan…” – the worst one is, “Everybody deserves high-quality, affordable health care.”‘
‘Excuse me? Uh, I don’t know if you’ve heard about the bell curve?’ he snarked.
‘If I’ve got 1,000 doctors, 100 are great, and 100 are not so good.’
He outlined the shape of a bell curve with his hands, and then threw them skyward.
‘It’s absolutely impossible,’ he said.
‘And affordable? Forget about it.’
He went on to talk about the dire need for entitlement reform:
In his Washington, D.C. days, the former Nebraska governor often stood out as the rare Democrat who publicly lamented U.S. entitlement programs’ seemingly unstoppable march to insolvency.
‘We’re robbing from the future to pay for the past,’ he told MailOnline on Wednesday. ‘We just are.’
‘And we’re shoveling more and more money to people over the age of 65.’
A lack of political will and a healthy dose of electoral fear, he said, has virtually guaranteed a climate inside the U.S. Capitol where no one will take the first step toward cutting benefits or ratcheting up the national retirement age.
‘It’s the one thing “R”s and “D”s can agree on,’ Kerrey explained. ‘Don’t screw with seniors.’
Bob Kerry has apparently not heard of Paul Ryan, a Republican that has withstood the slings and arrows…AND LIES…of left criticism in his attempt to get an honest conversation going about reforms to Medicare. The Huffington Post article just cited asserts that, “Conservatives like Paul Ryan want more market competition in federal health care programs. Trouble is, those plans don’t save money.”
That is a lie. As I have ponted out several times the prescription drug legislation passed under George Bush known as “Plan D” used market forces and because of that the program has come in under budget, costing less than projected.
Robert Moffit of Heritage was against Part D when it passed but now acknowledges the superiority of applying market forces when creating such legislation:
Mr. Moffit, though, said Mr. Bush’s drug plan is more permissive than Mr. Obama’s health care exchanges, and he said the strict rules in the new law will hamper the free-market forces that otherwise could have held down costs.
“If we were to take the principles that apply to Medicare Part D and we apply them across the entire Medicare system, we might actually get the kind of bend in the cost curve the Obama administration promised all along,” Mr. Moffit said.
America has tied her own hands and feet in adopting big government redistribution social programs like Medicare and Social Security. Our nation is divided so finding solutions to the unsustainability of these programs will not be easy. When politicians begin to talk about reforming these programs, and they will, please remember the lesson of Plan D. Reforms that include market principles may be the only reform that will be tolerated in such a contentious environment. One thing is certain, they are reforms that would guarantee milenials and future generations a brighter future.
One thing we don’t need any more of is lies and deception. Any politician that promises all things to all people is lying. The world is not fair and can never be made to be absolutely fair. Wealthy people will always have better dctors and fancier healthcare options. Under a free market system America produced the finest health care in the world. Through charity and limited government assitance we saw to it that the needy recieved good health care. The train began to leave the track, however, when we began to think it was possible to give everyone the very best without drowning future generations in debt.
It’s time to talk honestly about what is possible and how we can best get there. It’s time to rid ourselves of the albatross that is Obamacare and it’s time to reform the unsustainable programs that are driving debt high and putting economic pressures on future generations. It’s time to work toward a plan that works for everyone in every age group and class…the people, doctors, hospitals, insurers and the taxpayers of today AND tomorrow are begging for a system that works.
Politicians take note: The American people are tired of lies, deception and corporatist deal making; we are tired of divisive solutions; we are tired of cut throat political games; we are tired of solutions that blunt economic prosperity but enrich politicians’ prospects.