Laffer Weighs in on Health Reform
According to a new report by former Regan economic advisor Arthur Laffer, proposals championed by President Obama and Congressional Leadership would drive costs up, increase health care cost inflation, add more than $285 billion to the deficit over a decade and still leave more than 30 million people uninsured.
And just what else would a republican say? What’s the point? This is just another republican opinion designed specifically to kill any hope of true reform.
What about all the esimates of what doing nothing will cost? Where is the CBO predictions over the cost of doing nothing? How many people will be un-insured next year or a decade from now? How high will the level of poverty be in 10years? How many MORE people will be forced into poverty? How about the reduction in small buisness because they ahve been driven out of buisness by high insurance costs? What about all the lost productivity? I notice that complete silence in that discussion.
Why don’t conservatives deal from honesty, (as much as possible for politicians), instead of terrorizing Americans?
It is so dis-heartening to watch the hopes of millions vanish under corporate and political greed. And all for the illusion of free-market enterprise. Illusion because in health-insurance there is no free-market. Health insurance is exempt from anti-trust laws nationwaide and can do what they want, when they want. Even the government is proving itself powerless in the face of health-insurance companies.
Brian, you need to get a life. You seem to have nothing to do but demonstrate daily how little you actually know about anything.
Did you know that Art Laffer voted for Bill Clinton twice? Did you know that the only presidential candidate that endorsed his flat tax proposal was Jerry Brown.
Calling his views a “Republican opinion shows that you have no idea what you are talking about.
Agree with Ken. Plus every CBO report has come to the same conclusion: as far as costs are concened, the cost of doing nothing is lower than the cost of passing any of the reform bills. The reason: all of these bills increase costs.
the CBO? what you mean the conservative budget office? Because that isd exactly what they are. There have been noprojections, none that have been discussedor released, about the cost of doing nothing. Yeak I know that the CBO has both Dems and Repubs on staff and that supposedly makes them non-partisan but just listen to the langauge used and it is clear that the CBO parrots the republicans almost word for word.
So what if Laffey voted for Clinton twice? That doesn’t mean anything. I often vote republican, (about a 40% rep- 60% dem). I vote for whom I think has the most experience, the better ideas for forward progress….
Just because I am trying to stand up for myself and millions of others who have been destroyed by insurance, just because my life experiences show me exactly how crooked the system is, just because I can show that republicans are lying when they claim to want reforms, all of it matter nothing. I am too emotional or I don’t have a life….. yaddad, yadda, yaddda.
I will continue to show republicans for the liers they are, at least on this issue. I will continue to support healthcare reform. I will continue to support a reform that translates to savings for the consumer rather than reforms that only increase profits for insurance companies. I will continue to point out that insurance overcharges on premiums and Pharma overcharges for medications. I will continue to fight FOR a free-market— free from the monopoly of healthinsurance. I will continue to fight for the citizen AGAINST buisness because whether you want to acknowledge the truth or not, health insurance IS the enemy. This isn’t repeating a democrat speaking point because I have been saying the same things for over 3 decades now. it is more that dems are parroting me, but it is more likely that the truth is finally coming out.
Brian,
There are two things you say that are particularly distressing to me:
1. “I vote for whom I think has the most experience, the better ideas for forward progress….”
– Obama has the LEAST EXPERIENCE of any candidate and also the most proposterous, left wing, ultra-liberal views of any politician in office today! How could you justify your statement of voting for Obama over McCain, who has 20+ years of political experience and was much more moderate in his approach to problem solving?
2. “I will continue to fight FOR a free-market— free from the monopoly of healthinsurance. I will continue to fight for the citizen AGAINST buisness…”
– Welcome to Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto.” If any American can say that he/she will rally against free market or any business, then the advocation is in favor of a classless society in which there is no capitalism, and essentially no FREEDOM. I suggest you read a little more about the philosophy of socialism and/or communism and see just how closely our Democratic party is walking that line before you back them and THEIR lies. Last I checked, this was America, not Communist Russia. I think that you will be in for a BIG SHOCK when you see that the ideology that you are holding so highly is really that which this country feared so greatly and fought countless wars over! You may need to re-evaluate who truly has your best interests as an American citizen at heart.
Brian- have you read the proposed Bill in Congress HR 3200 ? the NFIB Voice for Small Business Just made there Statement -that they do NOT SUPPORT THIS BILL – WHILE THEY WANT “reform” this Bill will hurt jobs, Free Enterprise and force Costs of Employer penalties to Small Business that are already struggling- There will be a Payroll tax that Employers must pay whether they are Profitable or not-it Punishes the Employers WHO ARE ALREADY PROVIDING INSURANCE FOR THERE EMPLOYEES -(LIKE MINE!!) It will end up pushing out Good plans for a Bad Single Payer Single Decision the Govt. and will Cost the Taxpayer as Well – Get Cancer- Forget it- pAGE 272 sEC. 1145 they only will treat certain ones – then you are left with Assisted Sucide option- pg. 425 & 426 and YES that is in the Bill- READ it ! Read it ! It will End up Robbing from Medicare (which is Going Broke)BECAUSE THE BILL PLANS TO ROB 32 BIL FROM NURSING HOMES-cuts-On top of the 12 B to Medicare already just imposed -(See AHCA?NCAL Advocay Center) and as we Get older and are thinking of Retiring – We can look forward to a Broke Social Sec. a Broke Economy with more laid off people -AND MORE GOVT.CONTROLS – They are not representing the Truth- they call it “REform” it is a RUSH- A PUSH – TO A GROSSLY INADEQUATE BILL. If it is so Good is the Congress giving us there Same plan ??????? No i don’t think so. Are they going to give up there plan to be on this plan ? No – i don’t think so !! If they Kill this Bill and Start over with Actual Reform- then i’ll be listening – but with this Bill Your OPTIONS WILL BE LIMITED – AND QUALITY OF CARE WILL GO DOWN – THIS IS WHY The Group Divided WE Fail- is Alreadly – Pulling away and ” DIVIDED -AARP & NFIB want Reform- but BECAUSE THEY DON’T LIKE WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE BILL IS-Check it out- The MATH is bad on this Rush to REFORM – THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY un-insured …Once you Minus the Undoc. Aliens-about 20 MIL-and the $PRICE TAG- ARE YOU KIDDING ME ? WITH 90 BIL- IN PORK FAT FOR PARKS- ORGANIC FARMERS MARKETS….i’m sick of it- They’ve cut the care going to my Mom Who is in a Nursing home- to Pay off Senators to Vote for this Controlled Kaos –
Mass. Tried it- & close to Bankrupt trying to fund- it – It JUST DOES NOT WORK-AND THIS BILL IS A COMPLETE FARCE – WHILE ELSE WOULD THEY NEED TO BUY THE VOTES WITH THAT MUCH PORK- kill the bill and start over!! Let this Operate State by State : and Do a test Model that Actually Works – Give indivuals a Tax Credit or Subsidy if they need help with Insurance Cost- But stay away from my GOOD -Very pleased with Company Paid Plan- !!
First off- I have read much of the bill and am still reading the bill (HR3200).
Second- There is as yet no onew bill that reforms healthcare. HR3200 certainly needs some revisions and bi-partisan input. But the myth of death panels is just that a myth.
Third- As it stands presently every fear over illness that you described and the supposed actions in HR3200 are a reality now. People are routinely dropped from insurance when they get ill. Not only dropped but black-balled industry-wide. Nothing coming gfrom conservatives has yet to address this fact of life under private insurance.
Fourth- The illegal alien question. It is fristly based on assumptions. Most illegal aliens do nopt register with the census for fear of deportation. Most illegals do not get much healthcare because agaoin that gets their name and address and deportation. The myth that illegals are included in the 47 million un-insured is over inflated. Do illegals get healthcare? I’m sure some do but NOT 20 million, (an invented number scince we cannot be sure of the total number of illegals in the country). Also never forget that these illegals work and pay payroll taxes and do NOT file for returns therefore they do pay as much in taxes as you or I do at a job. The minimization of the problem is a tactic used so that peole don’t really care about reforms because they aren’t really needed…. its just the poor or illegals that are suffering so who cares? Whether the number of un-insured is 5 million, 10 million, 50 million, or 100 million— it doesn’t matter. The fact that there are ANY un-insured is an embarrasement to America (the land of plenty unless you are poor).
Fifth- the reason for the rush is an easy question to answer. Simply the longer it takers the more assured that nothing will happen. That is the historical track record of republicans in washington. The longer they have, the more fear they spread, the more lies they tell, the more exaggerations they point out with the result that nothing gets done and the only winner is corporate america. Look at what is happening now and imagine if republicans had an entire yaer to destroy any chance at reform. Regardless of their statements to the contrary, republicans do not WANT reform of healthcare. President Bush called on republicans, (then the majority in every branch of government), to reform healthcare with no results. Republicans completely ignored it, (basically saying that americans aren’t worth protecting). Waiting only benefits the status quo. It has never benefitted change. It is important to get it right but it is more important to do something rather than do nothing.
Michelle-
And how do you know who I voted for in the presidential election?
As it turns out you are correct that I voted for Obama but not out of some hero-worship but quite frankly because of how he controlled himself during the economic meltdown. Another reason was because Obama knowing that hios weakness was primarily in foriegn affairs chose someone knowledgeable in foriegn affairs. Conversly Mc Cain, whom I originally supported, acted like a chiken with its head cut off. A frantic,jerking, spectacle. His self-admitted weakness is the economy but rather than pick someone that would bridge that gap he chose Palin. I like Palin and think highly of her as a person and because of the struggles which she faced. But she has no economic experience and was a blatant play to disaffected women and democrats and was never a serious pick because of her merits. She was mis-handled by the republican machine and she was kept silent. There was never any real hope that she would have any power in a MCX Cain administration and was just arm-candy. I found that insulting and so I changed my vote to Obama. I know that he can’t keep each and every campaign promise nor should he be expected to, that is impossible for any candidate, rep or dem.Obama isn’t the messiah, and its funny that only conservatives view him in that light,Obama is a man plain and simple. He is doing what he feels best for the nation and in the matter of healthcare he is 100% correct. The system NEEDS to be fixed. Republicans will not lift a finger to fix healthcare then or now so it falls to someone else. Someone with the guts to be un-popular and do the right and nessessary thing rather than play it safe, sell out the american public to the greed and profit-only insurance companies, as republicans continuously do.