Hidden Costs Of the Healthcare Bill You Will NOT Believe*
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on March 21, 2010 at 11:05 AM in Current Affairs
I was shocked to discover more of what is hidden away in this horrible bill the Democrats are trying to ram down our throats to protect Obama’s presidency. Sorry, Obama – this isn’t ABOUT you! It is about the American people, who have been telling you and your hench people that we do NOT want this bill as it is drafted, with its giveaways to states, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies, while taxing us out the wazoo.
But FIRST, you just have to hear this interview with Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) as he explains why he sold his soul, Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, explains why he completely reneged on his commitment to NOT vote for the Healthcare Bill:
I don’t know about you, but that sounded like a whole bunch of nothing. He essentially admitted he caved after meeting with Obama and being told there would not be a public option. So, Kucinich apparently threw up his hands, said, “Oh, well!” and threw away his integrity. What a “man of his word,” standing by the power of his convictions – NOT. What a piece of work he is. Not only do I have zero respect for Kucinich now, a man I actually liked, but now my opinion of him is WAY in the red.
You are not going to believe the jobs created in this bill, though. Seriously – my mouth dropped open when I heard this from Rep. Boehner (R-OH), the Minority Leader. Admittedly, it is “job creation,” but at what cost to our democracy? Here is Rep. Boehner on the bill:
That’s right, this bill will create *SIXTEEN THOUSAND new IRS positions to hunt down employers, make sure they are doing right by this bill, and fining them if the agents don’t like what they find.
WHAT THE HELL???
And then there is the shell game the CBO and the House Democrats are playing with this bill. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, exposes the game and the double dipping the bill uses to “cut” the budget and deficit:
So, they are basically using the same pool of money for certain programs and just moving it around? Um, that sounds like Enron accounting to me.
But wait, there’s more – wanna guess where some of the money “saved” is going to go? You’re just going to love this:
The new package also promises new aid for colleges serving minority students, using money the government is supposed to save by no longer paying banks to make student loans. Included are annual payments of $100 million for schools with large numbers of Hispanic students, the same amount for colleges with many black students, and millions more for schools with large numbers of native Americans and other minorities.
I have no qualms about money being budgeted for certain groups when it is discussed during BUDGET decisions in the light of the day. But what the HELL is it doing being buried into the HEALTHCARE Bill? It is just these kinds of shenanigans, along with the NUMEROUS kickbacks still in this bill, that are the cause of so much opposition from the people. Here are some examples:
-Retains $300 million in extra Medicaid aid for Louisiana, which had helped win support for the Senate health bill from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. The state is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.-Keeps $100 million included in the Senate bill that is expected to go for a public hospital in Connecticut sought by Dodd, who is retiring.
-Preserves language won by Baucus permitting many of the 2,900 residents of Libby, Mont., to qualify for Medicare benefits. Some of them have asbestos-related diseases from a now-shuttered mine.
-Provides an additional $8.5 billion over the next decade for 11 states and the District of Columbia to help them pay for the more generous Medicaid assistance they have been providing low-income residents. These states are Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Holy smokes. But, hey – the Democrats are doing it to save Obama’s presidency, so there’s that. Yes, by all means, spend 1/6th of our economy to keep this sham of a president in power. All I can hope is that IF this passes the House, if there are enough mealy mouthed, cowardly lions like Kucinich in there to get this thing passed, it will mean a one term presidency for Obama. That would be the ONE bright light of this obscene bill. That and Nancy Pelosi losing her job as Speaker of the House. And Harry Reid losing his job as Senate Majority Leader. Still, this bill will be a mighty hefty weight to accomplish those three changes. It’s not worth it.
I can only hope and pray that the Nays will stand strong, and not allow this horrible bill to become law. That and for my state to join VA and Idaho in allowing us to be exempt from it (SC has already crafted legislation to that end). How sad that it may come to that. Still, there is a little hope that the Democrats will fail in their attempt to change the face of our nation. And it is to that hope I will cling…
* I have now heard two different numbers – fifteen thousand and sixteen thousand. Either way, to add in IRS agents to go to our businesses is a scary damn thought.
by Ronald Scott
* More novels by 
* 
(
)
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
