Oppose the Baucus Health Care Bill: Privacy

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Senator Max Baucus' health care bill is the current star in the Senate and is currently in markup in the Senate Finance Committee. While they rejected an amendment today to add a public option to the bill, there is still a lot to dislike in its current form. For instance:

Invades Your Privacy - The Baucus bill enforces both its individual and employer mandates by deputizing the Internal Revenue Service. To enforce these provisions, the bill would therefore require individuals, health insurers, employers, and government health agencies to report detailed health insurance information on all Americans to the IRS, adding significant administrative costs and reducing privacy protections. The IRS would also be required to report personal income data to state exchanges, insurance companies, and employers because premium credits and out-of-pocket limits would depend on income.

I'm Sorry I Missed It

Looks like it would have been good fun to join Saturday's 9/12 rally in D.C. You may not have seen much coverage of the event because most media outlets have been trying to ignore or misrepresent this grassroots movement. It was hard to ignore the number of people that turned out.

Good article over at American Thinker about the event:

Most significantly of all, those in attendance had not relied in any way on members of the current political class to get them there, nor had they showed up because their livelihood would be in jeopardy had they not agreed to demonstrate, as is the union way.

Why National Debt Matters

Benjamin Franklin wrote: "...think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty."

The Founders considered public debt a necessary evil. They found it necessary to borrow to finance war-time spending and establish a brand new nation. Then they went to work trying to pay it off before it was passed to the next generation. Thomas Jefferson stated, "I, however, place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared." One of Andrew Jackson's greatest personal triumphs was to pay off the public debt in 1835. Although short-lived he was the only one to do so, but not the only one that worked towards that end. Modern attitudes towards public debt and deficit spending have changed.

Warren Buffet wrote about grave concerns over deficit spending in his recent op-ed The Greenback Effect in the August 18th NYT *(free registration required). Key observations that he makes:

To understand this threat, we need to look at where we stand historically. If we leave aside the war-impacted years of 1942 to 1946, the largest annual deficit the United States has incurred since 1920 was 6 percent of gross domestic product. This fiscal year, though, the deficit will rise to about 13 percent of G.D.P., more than twice the non-wartime record. In dollars, that equates to a staggering $1.8 trillion. Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory...

Legislators will correctly perceive that either raising taxes or cutting expenditures will threaten their re-election. To avoid this fate, they can opt for high rates of inflation, which never require a recorded vote and cannot be attributed to a specific action that any elected official takes. In fact, John Maynard Keynes long ago laid out a road map for political survival amid an economic disaster of just this sort: “By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.... The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”

Please go learn a little bit about the national debt, what it means, and the implications for you as an individual. If you go to the website for the Bureau of Public Debt you can do a little research on where we currently stand. Wikipedia, as flawed as it is, has a decent article on United States national debt with plenty of external links to flow.

High debt carries repercussions for nations just as it does for individuals and families. Take for instance these headlines all appearing on a single day, 9/8:
UN wants new global currency to replace dollar
Senate must raise debt ceiling above $12T
China alarmed by US money printing
Barack Obama accused of making 'Depression' mistakes
U.S. no longer most competitive economy

We may be in for a roller-coaster ride.

*You can bypass annoying compulsory registration for this site and others by searching bugmenot.com.

For A Laugh

I'll be practicing some of those dance moves over the weekend.

That Creepy Video

One of the videos I linked to in my last post caught the attention of a few family members who were understandably creeped out by its message. I found the video to be puke-inducing and didn't quite make it to the end the first time through. If you have a strong gag reflex, I suggest you grab a suitable receptacle (sick bag, trash can, briefcase, etc.) just in case.

I pledge alligience to Obama

And to the social causes for which he stands.

One nation under his care,

Unquestioning with obedience,

And entitlements for all.

I'll give you a minute to mop up the mess...There, feeling better? If you don't share my reaction to the message then there is probably a lot we don't agree on.

PS - Apparently the propaganda was directed and edited by Demi Moore and presented to their Great Leader in honor of his inaguration. So it's a little old, but has hit the news again because school officials have been showing this to students.

No Thanks Mr. President--I'll Indoctrinate My Own Kids

Next Tuesday, September 8th, President Obama will address students nationwide as described at the U.S. Department of Education's home page. This has never happened before.

It's fully possible that the message is innocuous enough. If he sticks to the message sent to school administrators that would be great. I would hope for a message stressing the importance of education with a challenge to students to excel in areas of math, science, engineering, and medicine. These are key skills the economy needs in order to expand, innovate, and create.

I have a natural inclination to suspect ulterior motives. I'll admit that I don't trust the current federal government. Let's face it--adults are just too difficult to re-educate. The younger generations are much more malleable. I have a hard time not picturing some left-leaning suggestions creeping into the text of the speech. What's the over/under on how many times the word "green" will be in the speech?

Educators have been sent suggested activities for this speech including:

Grades 7-12
Guided Discussion:
What is President Obama inspiring you to do? What is he challenging you to do?
What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?
How can you be a part of addressing these challenges?

PreK-6
Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:
What do you think the President wants us to do?
Does the speech make you want to do anything?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?

I emailed the principal of my son's school to just ask if she has heard about the broadcast or had plans to participate. She responded that she didn't know anything about it, but would ask the teachers. Nationwide this event has parents prepared to pull their kids from class for the day. I don't think I'll go that far. At least for now, I'm still confident that I'm more of a hero to my son than the POTUS. I'm more concerned about biased teachers brow-beating progressive activism into kids in the classroom. What I don't need is someone committing my children to serve Barack Obama.

Healthcare Takeover Has Been Tried Before

I ran across this speech from Reagan today. Watch the clip after the jump. There is also an abridged (and 'hip') version that Glenn Beck has put out there. I recommend listening to the whole thing because of how familiar the arguments are and how well he exposes the motivations behind government controlled healthcare. This recording (it is audio only) was apparently released in 1961.

"What can we do about this? Well, you and I can do a great deal. We can say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms and that you demand the continuation of our traditional free enterprise system. You and I can do this. "

The currently proposed version of healthcare reform may not survive thanks to all those that have joined the debate during this August recess. Charles Krauthammer writes that the next version will surely come, may garner wide bipartisan support, and still accomplish the goal of socialized medicine--only delayed a little longer.

A Few Reasons to Oppose the Current Health Care Reforms

First, here are a couple of good articles from people who have actually read the bill.

• This one addresses 5 important aspects of the current health care system that would be destroyed.
• This one that takes issue with health care as a basic 'right'.

Lots more to discuss of course so now is an important time to discover and discuss the policy points--which the supporters don't seem to want to do.

Top Reasons to Stop the Cap-And-Trade Bill

Last Friday's House vote to pass the "American Clean Energy and Security Act" was like taking a kick to the gut. Especially for me in the Washington state 8th district, where our moderate Republican representative Dave Reichert was one of the eight Republicans that voted in favor of it. I have more to say about that later.

In the meantime, read this article of the top 50 reasons to oppose the bill that has now gone to the Senate. It is a long read, but an important one as there is still time to voice your opinion to your senators.

No Plans for the Fourth?

If you are interested in spending some time this July 4th with some patriotic people that believe in limited-government and fiscal responsibility--join a Tea Party event. You can find an event near you through TeaPartyPatriots.org.

"Thomas Paine" Open Letter to the President

Health Care Isn't Free

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office just posted a brief analysis of the draft legislation for health care reform. No surprise that it is going to cost you--a lot.

According to our preliminary assessment, enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period. When fully implemented, about 39 million individuals would obtain coverage through the new insurance exchanges. At the same time, the number of people who had coverage through an employer would decline by about 15 million (or roughly 10 percent), and coverage from other sources would fall by about 8 million, so the net decrease in the number of people uninsured would be about 16 million or 17 million.

So, if we quickly do the math: $1,000,000,000,000 / 17,000,000 = $58,823 per net individual insured by the plan--over a ten year period. This does not include the cost of debt in the form of interest payments and inflation needed to fund the plan--and does not include the possibility of significant expansion of Medicaid in the future.

This will be funded by increased taxes at some point. The "Affordable Health Choices Act" goes into committee for debate today. Call your congressional representatives and let them know how much you are willing pay for this program.

A Candidate I Wish I Could Vote For

Ted Cruz, running for Attorney General of Texas. I heard about this guy from this National Review article and went to check out his website. He's been in public service long enough to build up a solid track record--so much so that rather than list a 'platform' he has career highlights instead.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Texas...

The Budget Scalpel Is A Little Too Delicate

The good news is that the President has announced budget cuts. The bad news is that he’s trying to pull the wool over our eyes. The AP reports that Obama asked Congress to cut $17 billion in the next budget year. It sounds like a lot of money until you put this in perspective—this is a $17 billion cut from a $3.6 trillion budget. That’s a savings of 0.47%. Assume your family’s spending budget is $36,000 a year and you want to cut back to save a little extra. On the same scale as this cut you would save $170.

Since Congress controls the purse strings and not the President, there is no guarantee that his proposal will even be accepted. After all, there are a lot of favored programs that will be eliminated or trimmed and a lot of congressional delegates that don’t want to see these get touched. In fact, the administration already knows that some of the proposals will be rejected. No matter what the outcome of this proposal, Obama will get and take the credit for tightening belts in difficult times.

This message hides the fact that the original 2010 budget proposal is a 25% increase over the previous year.

Did the administration hear the message from the Tea Parties? Is this an attempt to placate? I find it all show and no substance. It’s too little and very disingenuous.

The British Want Their Guns Back

We The People Stimulus Package

Please, watch this video and tell me what you think. I don't agree with all his solutions and the "R" word is a little strong--but it's hard to disagree with the fundamental problem.

The Danger with AIG

The first mistake was using public—taxpayer—money to prop up a failing business. This by itself is a reward for incompetence. The system already has a solution--Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under protection of the courts, contracts large and small get reexamined and rewritten.

What is silly is this flap over $165 million in bonuses when the government has written checks to AIG for $165 billion. It seems the world has caught fire over 0.1% of the bailout money. The federal government has known about this payment structure and schedule since last year.

Now the fight is on to take the bonuses back. Politicians have threatened to do it by breaking the compensation contracts or narrowly taxing AIG employees. Their outrage holds no credibility. It is a political stunt to prop up falling poll numbers with populist indignation. Survey numbers released this week by Quinnipiac University shows Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) falling into a virtual dead heat with a challenger that 53% of respondents haven’t really heard of. Congress gave implicit approval for these bonuses in the language of the stimulus bill. No one seems to remember how that line got in there, but then again, not one of them read the bill before they voted on it.

What I fear we are seeing is smoke and mirrors in an attempt to distract us from more important issues and to redirect public outrage. We have unprincipled people in positions of leadership. No, they have one principle, and that is to maintain and consolidate power. The electorate is being disenfranchised by those that claim to represent them.

Any “solution” sets a dangerous precedent for contract law, taxation, or both. I do not like the idea of the employees of AIG’s financial products division getting any reward for failure, but it is far better than a government that can break promises on a whim or demand punitive tax payments. You should be rightly cynical of anyone now calling for action that undermines the rule of law—be they from the left, right, or center. If it can happen to an AIG employee—it can happen to you.

Book Review: President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman

President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman By: William Lee Miller

For anyone interested in the importance of principles and values in public service, this is a must read. The book looks deeply into the moral character of Abraham Lincoln during the period of his presidency. It’s not your typical biography. There is no chronological description of the events of his life. Instead, what Mr. Miller sets out to accomplish is a broad look at Lincoln’s character from the period of his first inauguration until his assassination. The presentation is how Lincoln’s moral convictions drove his actions through the examination of events both large and small of his administration.

Values and principles are only as powerful as the truths they are built on. In this case, we have a man who believed that this nation was the world’s great hope for self-government and that all men were created equal or should at least be treated that way. What Lincoln was, was the great defender of the Founder’s greatest successes in authoring a divinely inspired Constitution and the key individual that corrected the greatest defect in the same document. He lived an honest life. He was duty bound as President of the United States and his sworn oath of office took precedence over personal ambition. He saw his most important duty was to defend the Constitution—that the preservation of the Union was the key to that duty and Emancipation key to the Union.

Lincoln was not a man that put his political ambition above his public duty. Playing politics was not in his nature. While he recognized the importance of winning a second term in office, he kept his eye firmly on a principled goal rather than making compromising decisions to appeal to polling numbers. In August of 1864, he had become resigned to the fact that he would not be re-elected. Even in his disappointment, he continued to devote himself to an ideal that he saw as the great purpose and promise of this nation.

I am also impressed by Lincoln’s resolve after the early setbacks of the Civil War, in particular the defeat at Bull Run. He learned from the experience, and immediately re-doubled his efforts as chief executive to set policy. He replaced disappointment with renewed energy and clear direction to his cabinet and officers in the field. He provided real leadership that charted a course out of the chaos.

I came away from reading this book so impressed by Abraham Lincoln--the man and the statesman. Of him, we can truly say that he said what he meant and meant what he said. In a world today that lacks virtue, honesty, humility, and duty, we should hold Lincoln’s life as a great example. Here is a man that lived by principles and values that were tested at nearly every point of his service—and I use that word specifically. He knew he was a servant of the people and of the Constitution. A steward for a brief time. He is a remarkable man whose wisdom and foresight maintained and forever changed this great nation.

Interesting coincidences this week:

• A newly examined photograph is determined to be of Lincoln outside of the White House and may be the last known photo before his assassination. The image isn't much to look at but reading this story led me to the site of the owner of the largest collection of known Lincoln photographs.


• At the request of a watch maker's great-great-grandson, the National Museum of American History opened a gold watch owned by Lincoln and found a secret message inscribed inside. Apparently, watchmaker Jonathon Dillon inscribed a message marking the attack of Confederate troops on Fort Sumter that began the American Civil War. The inscription is date April 13, 1861, one day after rebels opened fire on the fort in Charleston, South Carolina.
  
  

Book Review: The Words We Live By -- Linda R. Monk

Do you have a copy of the Constitution in your home? Have you read it? Have you thought about what those words mean to you? If you answered "No" to any of those, I invite you to go change that very quickly. I believe that every responsible citizen needs to be familiar with what the United States Constitution is, and is not.

I recently finished Linda R. Monk's book, The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution. What it contains is the U.S. Constitution, broken down into each significant clause. Ms. Monk annotates each clause with historical background on court decisions and legal definitions. It is a complete overview that shows what the Constitution was and how it has grown into what we understand it today. The book contains numerous sidebar commentary from figures past and present weighing in on everything from Miranda rights to the Second Ammendment. It is not exactly a page-turner because of the subject matter and the methodical approach, but you will feel smarter next time you step into a voting booth.

U.S. Dollars in Circulation

This chart is just mind-boggling: