Who Is Looking Out For Us?

Congress and the President have been at it again this week trying to mutilate the real tax payers. It all makes me wonder who is really looking out for our interests. The health care plan is going to stifle those of us who have insurance and tax businesses into oblivion. The cap and trade will do little to help the environment and make people like Al Gore very rich through the trading of carbon credits. The deficit is on the verge of sinking the dollar as China and other countries look to replace the dollar as the global currency standard.

I want to start with health care and health insurance. It is a noble cause to make sure everyone in the country has access to an insurance plan. However, the current proposal in the House is a disaster. Below is section 102 of HR 3200 which is supposed to protect our current coverage. It allows us to keep our current coverage as long as we are participating in the plan prior to the first day of the enactment of the legislation. Anytime afterwards, we will be mandated to use a plan under the government system. After the fifth year of the legislation, our current plans will be forced to move into the government system.

SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE.
(a) Grandfathered Health Insurance Coverage Defined- Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of establishing acceptable coverage under this division, the term `grandfathered health insurance coverage' means individual health insurance coverage that is offered and in force and effect before the first day of Y1 if the following conditions are met:
(1) LIMITATION ON NEW ENROLLMENT-
(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1.

(b) Grace Period for Current Employment-based Health Plans-
(1) GRACE PERIOD-
(A) IN GENERAL- The Commissioner shall establish a grace period whereby, for plan years beginning after the end of the 5-year period beginning with Y1, an employment-based health plan in operation as of the day before the first day of Y1 must meet the same requirements as apply to a qualified health benefits plan under section 101, including the essential benefit package requirement under section 121.

(1) IN GENERAL- Individual health insurance coverage that is not grandfathered health insurance coverage under subsection (a) may only be offered on or after the first day of Y1 as an Exchange-participating health benefits plan.

Once we are all forced into the government exchange, we are bound by the rules dictated by several government agencies. Under Section 122, our essential benefits package will be certified by Office of the Actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Who are these people and what basement houses them? It also establishes preventative services will be offered at a minimum based on input from the Task Force on Clinical Preventive Services and vaccines defined by the Director of the Center for Disease Control. Section 123 creates the Health Benefits Advisory Committee chaired by the Surgeon General. The committee will have 9 members appointed by the President and 9 members appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The Committee will then forward all recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Keeping count? We are up to seven layers of government bureaucracy and going. Section 124 essentially gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services complete control on what benefits and treatments will be adopted for coverage. Section 141 creates the Health Choices Administration chaired by the "Commissioner" and reports directly to the Executive Branch. The Commissioner is given broad duties under section 142 to establish standards for plans in the Health Exchange and going down to remedying violations of rules in coordination with state insurance regulators and the Secretary of Labor. We are up to 10 now, 59 if you count each state separately. Section 144 allows the Commissioner to appoint a Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman to handle complaints and requests. Essentially, the Ombudsman is a middle layer so we cannot directly contact the Commissioner with any grievances. Section 162 amends the Public Health Service Act and brings in an independent third party for reviewing cases where health insurance is rescinded. Section 201 creates the Health Insurance Exchange under the Health Choices Administration to obtain bids and contracts for eligible health insurance plans. In section 206, a Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange is created to handle the auditing of the Health Insurance Exchange. The Treasury of the United States is named in section 207 to manage the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund. Section 221 creates the public health insurance option and managed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with another office of the ombudsman for the public health insurance option. Where are we now? Fourteen agencies of government. These are only the highlights. Once you get into the sections on types of coverages and payments you will find more involvement such as the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science who is responsible for reporting on geographical health care data.

Now, lets talk about start up costs. We have all heard about the one trillion dollar price tag. Think again. Section 222 lays out the funding.

(2) START-UP FUNDING-
(A) IN GENERAL- In order to provide for the establishment of the public health insurance option there is hereby appropriated to the Secretary, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $2,000,000,000. In order to provide for initial claims reserves before the collection of premiums, there is hereby appropriated to the Secretary, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as necessary to cover 90 days worth of claims reserves based on projected enrollment.
(B) AMORTIZATION OF START-UP FUNDING- The Secretary shall provide for the repayment of the startup funding provided under subparagraph (A) to the Treasury in an amortized manner over the 10-year period beginning with Y1.
(C) LIMITATION ON FUNDING- Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing any additional appropriations to the Account, other than such amounts as are otherwise provided with respect to other Exchange-participating health benefits plans.

They are only authorizing two billion dollars. Where did the rest of the money go? There is $8,000,000,000 going to Medicare. However, this is hardly a dent in the $56 billion deficit it is facing. If the funds to actually cover medical payments is only two-tenths of a percent the costs, our government has some serious overhead issues. Maybe it is being used to pay the salaries for all of the new agencies and the massive government red tape needed to gouge the tax payers.

Do not think about cutting health insurance as a last resort when your personal budget is tight. Section 401 modifies the tax code so the IRS can impose the following:

(a) Tax Imposed- In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of--
(1) the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over
(2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer.

This is the part that makes me despise our government. I want the freedom to choose how I spend the money I earn. If I feel I am healthy enough to go without insurance, I should have the right to go without. When I was waiting tables, I did not have the money to pay for health insurance. However, it only cost me $100 to get treatment at the urgent care when I did get sick. The urgent care system is great in this country where you are usually treated by a physicians assistant without the cost of going to an ER.

With saying this, I would never go without health insurance. I am just opposed to having it mandated by the government.

HR 3200 does not address the health care issues today. It is a big government health insurance program being paid for by only 50% of the population. The majority of the costs are driven by health care. These are two separate items. The biggest driver in costs is the inability of Congress to address tort reform. A typical doctor has to pay six figure premiums for malpractice insurance. It figures that the Congress would not stand up to the lawyers since the majority of Congress are lawyers themselves. The next biggest costs is the misuse of the emergency room system. Again, I would push for better management of the urgent care system. Why should a person go to the ER for a sinus infection? For $200, a person can get treated at an urgent care. This is about the amount for one month of cable television. How dare we ask people to prioritize their health care over their cable TV.

I can keep on going with this health bill. It makes for an interesting read. The taxes being levied on the the backs of those who worked hard to provide for themselves are outrageous. I do not work to pay my neighbors health care bill. I work so I can give my children the opportunities I did not have as a child. I came from a hard working farming family. I learned the difference between wants and needs. This has been lost in the eyes of many today. Everyone seems to want their flat screen televisions and tricked out cars over food and health care. We have been turned into a society that places more emphasis on image rather than taking care of the essentials. Congress sure did take care of their essentials by excluding themselves from the health care reform bill.

Next up, cap and trade or should I say make a small group of elites very rich at the expense of the rest of the population. Cap and Trade is being sold as an environmental bill to limit greenhouse gases. However, it does little to limit the gases and does more to help Al Gore, Goldman Sachs, and General Electric very rich. It will also make everything from cars to toothpaste go up in price.

The only way to really help with green house gases is to get all countries to limit emissions. Without it, even more manufacturing will move to places like India, Mexico, and China where they are not enforcing limits. We can also change the way we treat our eco system. Has anyone noticed that urban sprawl is destroying all of the trees? Plants absorb carbon dioxide during the daylight hours. This absorption helps clean our air through a natural process. We need to place more limits on clear cutting. We need to change our eating habits. PETA did a study showing where reducing our diet by one piece of chicken across everyone in the United States would be a greater benefit to the environment that cap and trade.

"By switching from a meat-based diet to a vegetarian diet for only 30 days, you will prevent the equivalent of more than 270 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the Earth's atmosphere. That means more pollution would be prevented than if you left your car at home every weekday and walked 20 miles."
(http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/04/offset_al_gore.php)

I am not exactly a PETA supporter, but I do enjoy a good salad every now and then. Just think, we give up one piece of chicken or beef a week and eat a salad, we would better our health and protect the environment.

In all, cap and trade is a bad idea. There are much better solutions than the self-serving solutions being promoted by Al Gore and his polluting private jet.

Lastly, think again if you are not worried about all of the new taxes. You will be begging the government for money when China and other countries dump the dollar. The CBO reported last week that the deficit is now 80% of the Gross Domestic Product. We are setting ourselves up for a deflated currency. Congress is spending money that we do not have. We will no longer be able to afford the costs to import products into this country. In essence, we will look like the USSR when loaves of bread were rationed. I would suggest doing like George Soros. He made his money betting against the US dollar. This netted him billions.

I look to our leaders to represent the best interest for all of us. I do believe in health care reform and a cleaner environment. However, there are better solutions that will not penalize the working class. I believe the roll in government is to provide incentives to bring down health care costs, not micro manage the entire process. Again, government should provide incentives and research grants for private industries to be innovative with eco friendly technology, not mandate ideas that benefit a few. These are much cheaper solutions than bilking my paycheck to the point where I cannot afford to provide a higher standard of living for my children than I had growing up. It is not the American dream. No one seems to be looking out for us.

Throw The Bums Out

I am finally at the point where I no longer believe most of our politicians listen to the country. Our country is so divided and lacking true leadership that I almost want to move. The message boards make my blood boil just listening people state the party line and go along with whatever they are told. In case you are wondering, I am getting infuriated with the "slam thousand page bills down our throats until it comes out our rear ends before we can read it" policies of Congress and a president who thinks this is called getting it done. This might be by design since this will cause carbon emissions with a tax to go along with it.

If the Cap and Trade bill eventually passes and gets signed into law, there are provisions in it that state I have to ensure my house meets certain energy efficiencies before I can sell it. The energy efficiencies are based on the California housing codes. I do not live in California for a reason. This is a direct intrusion on the sovereign rights of the States. Second, the EPA and hundred other agencies being granted power by this bill do not answer to the voters. I guess we will have a hundred blends of gasoline to go with it now.

We are a diverse country. I like diversity because it can help us draw upon the best ideas. However, diversity fails when it is mandated by the government. It splits us into political pawns with each side determining which group is going to garner them the most votes. We are being used for our votes so they can retain power.

Real tax payers are close to becoming a minority meaning those who actually have a net Federal tax liability. I paid close to $40,000 in taxes last year. I am not even close to rich, yet our government thinks I should be able to pay more into the system so they can help those who do not contribute. The real tax payers need to give an economics lesson to anyone who says the government needs to provide a public option for free health care. It is not free. People like me will be asked to pay more to pick their tab.

The voters and true tax payers need to wake up in the United States. We were founded on the principles of a true republic, a republic that is supposed to stand for legislation by representation. President Obama's victory only garnered 52% of the vote meaning there is 48% of the population who disagree with the "change." We have become a country obsessed with legislating all facets of our life.

Our freedoms are being eroded away at enormous rates in the name of fixing problems or being sensitive to every issue. Reagan had it right when he said "government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem." It is time to throw everyone in Congress out. I do not care who it is. If they are an incumbent in the next election, they need to go home and rethink how they have treated our country, its citizens, and the Constitution. We need a new Congress full of freshmen who represent the people and uphold our basic rights. The power needs to be given back to the states and local communities. The Federal government needs to go back being a place to settle intrastate issues, protecting our boarders and national security, keeping up with foreign relations, and maintaining the value of our currency.

The local communities and state governments are better suited to handle issues. They know the problems and issues facing us. If I wanted to contribute as a tax payer to the unemployed in Michigan, I would move there. I picked the community that best fit my lifestyle and beliefs. If the Federal government keeps up with the current pace, we will all be living under one set of regulations with no escape.

My mantra for 2010 is "Throw the bums out!" Who is with me?