About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

BO's Disincentive Programs

As the healthcare reform struggle continues I have received many messages from members of our group such as "Hi Doug - I was wondering if you knew where I can read a copy of the actual healthcare reform bill?  I'm trying to find some info out for someone and I'm having a hard time locating it" to which I replied "you are having problems because there are five versions working their way through Congress - some in the House & some in the Senate.  The Baucus Senate Finance Committee version is the one currently getting the most attention but it will surely change before this is all over."
 
Now after campaigning for almost two years in 2007 & 2008 on openness, transparency, & the benefits of disinfectant on Washington via the sunlight of day (such as hearings & debate on healthcare reform being aired on CSPAN) BO has continued his onslaught against America in rapid fire fashion, opacity, & the cover of darkness (amendments added @ 3 AM & voted on the next day) so it is no wonder that people ask the type of question indicated above on many issues.
 
The aforementioned onslaught is expanding rapidly & AFP reports that the Federal Communications Commission will decide on Thursday whether to move forward with so-called "net neutrality" regulations, which is an attempt by the government to take over the Internet.  BO said on the campaign trail: "I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to net neutrality" so we won't get a break from this type of destruction for another three years unless the results of the mid-term elections in 2010 are stunning.  As long as the Internet is free, we can use it to communicate, educate, and organize through e-mail clubs like this one & blogs like ReturnToExcellence.net - if you read these messages you certainly cannot say that you do not know the issues & knowing the truth about the issues is exactly what BO does not want you to know.  By government owning and controlling the Internet they can interfere with the transmission of information - like they do every day in shredding the first amendment.  There is a lot @ stake this Thursday & you can bet there is much more to come that you will not like.
 
But getting back to healthcare reform, just when it looked like the "public option" was dead it is being resurrected although the Baucus bill concentrates on Plan B in this regard which is "co-opts" or "insurance exchanges" where people can buy healthcare insurance when their employers do not offer it (which will be all of the time after the penalties are assessed).  An example of how dastardly this idea is can be illustrated by the example of a single individual who makes about $20,000 per year & would be mandated (with enforcement by financial penalties) to pay $600 per year for an average middle of the road policy.  Now if this individual would be promoted & get a raise to about $26,000 per year not only would he have his effective & possibly his marginal income tax rate rise but his annual mandated healthcare insurance premium for the same policy would increase to $2,300 from $600 because his subsidy would decrease because of his increased salary.  The same type of reduced subsidy applies to families as well as individuals so as anyone excels in their work they have the double disincentive of increasing income tax rates & reduced healthcare insurance subsidies under the Baucus bill.
 
This is no accident & really is what BO has in mind as his ultimate goal for all of his programs - not just healthcare reform - namely to make everyone totally dependent on government thereby reversing the principles on which this nation was founded.  Sustainable economic growth can only be realized if people are creating things of value that other people want - none of BO's programs do this.  Anyone with the most rudimentary understanding of America knows that America was founded on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, & free enterprise.  Just ask yourself to identify one of BO's programs that is not intended to reverse these principles & when you cannot you see what an enemy of America we have as our President.
 
Donald Marsh writes "The American standard of living depends primarily on their own entrepreneurship, industry, innovation, & motivation."  All of BO's programs destroy this idea, as illustrated in the simple healthcare example above, & replace it with a higher income tax wage rate disincentive that is nothing more than the increasing value of leisure time that is already all too prevalent in America today.

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