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Question of the Week: Will Obamacare Collapse?
Townhall.com ^ | July 15, 2013 | Daniel J. Mitchel

Posted on 07/15/2013 6:02:39 AM PDT by Kaslin

We have a very interesting question from a reader in Nebraska. Is Obamacare such a cluster-you-know-what that the law will self-destruct?

Well, I’ve already explained why I’m optimistic about the possibility of turning Obamacare lemons into free-market lemonade.

Simply stated, the law took a healthcare system that already was a mess because of government intervention and subsidies and it doubled down on that misguided approach!

And since it’s highly unlikely that more government is the solution to problems created by government in the first place, I think we’ll have great fun being able to highlight all the bad consequences of Obamacare and make a principled case for pro-market reform (meaning not only Medicaid reform and Medicare reform, but also tax reform to help deal with the third-party payer crisis).

That being said, I don’t think Obamacare will collapse on its own. We’re going to have to give it a push. A big push.

This is because legislation will be required to undo all the taxes and subsidies in the law. And even though we have the bizarre situation of the Obama Administration deciding to deliberately ignore a legal requirement to impose an employer mandate beginning in 2014, we’ll also need legislation to undo both the individual and the employer mandate.

In other words, the fact that the law won’t achieve any of its goals (such as lower costs and universal insurance coverage) won’t cause the bad policy to disappear.

But it will make the law even more unpopular – particularly if we do our job.

That’s why we should relentlessly highlight examples of wasteful Obamacare spending. The Washington Post, for instance, is reporting on “the extreme measures states are taking to get young people signed up for Obamacare programs.”

And when even the Washington Post thinks politicians and bureaucrats are going above and beyond in their efforts to waste money, you know it’s something especially foolish. But when you’re trying to trick young people into signing up for insurance policies designed to subsidize richer seniors, you don’t really have much choice.

Oregon might do branded coffee cups, for example, whereas Seattle is looking at doing outreach at music festivals. It only makes sense, then, that Kentucky would be doing outreach at multiple bourbon festivals across the state.

From a big picture perspective, this type of waste in just a penny or two on the dollar, but it’s very symbolic of a law that is poorly designed and unworkable.

I also think political cartoonists are very helpful allies since they’re so effective at illustrating some of the worst parts of Obamacare. So let’s wrap up this post with a new batch of cartoons.

We’ll start with a couple that skirt the edge of appropriateness by playing off the recent airline crash in San Francisco. The first one is by Steve Breen.


And the second one is by Eric Allie.


The donkey pilot blaming the elephant passenger is a good touch, and you find that theme in this Gary Varvel gem.


Let’s close with a great Rick McKee cartoon that focuses on exploding costs, a message near and dear to my heart.


One final warning. We’re not guaranteed of victory simply because Obamacare is leading to bad results. The statists are going to try and seize control of the narrative by asserting that the higher costs and greater inefficiencies could be fixed by squandering more money in the short run and imposing a single-payer system in the long run.

That’s a very perverse example of Mitchell’s Law and it surely doesn’t make sense to normal people. But it’s an approach that plays to the worst instincts of politicians, many of who will grab any excuse to increase the size and scope of Washington.




TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: democrats; healthcare; obama; obamacare
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To: Cringing Negativism Network
I haven’t put a lot of thought into how to fix healthcare...I just think we need to fix it


41 posted on 07/15/2013 7:21:17 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Without GOD, men get what they deserve.)
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To: pallis

Not at all.

I am merely looking for, we keep benefits Obamacare has for people who were not covered before.

Right now, employers are exporting American jobs.

As a result more, and more Americans are without coverage.

First off, we need to reverse the export of American jobs. Companies need to hire and keep American employees, and make things right here in America.

But we also need to cover those who need it.

How we do that, and keep insurance for those with good coverage, is a delicate balancing act.

I’ll let others opine, how we do that.


42 posted on 07/15/2013 7:24:32 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: Nervous Tick

Pretty awesome pic, actually.

:D


43 posted on 07/15/2013 7:26:53 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Yeah, I thought it was kinda cool.

Have a blessed day.


44 posted on 07/15/2013 7:29:48 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Without GOD, men get what they deserve.)
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To: sickoflibs

I am applying the Limbaugh theorem, Limbaugh did not say this.


45 posted on 07/15/2013 7:34:55 AM PDT by Perdogg (Cruz-Paul 2016)
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To: Nervous Tick

You as well.


46 posted on 07/15/2013 7:36:41 AM PDT by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: Kaslin
Is Obamacare such a cluster-you-know-what that the law will self-destruct?...
47 posted on 07/15/2013 7:40:45 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Perdogg
RE :”I am applying the Limbaugh theorem”

What is that theorem?

48 posted on 07/15/2013 7:42:04 AM PDT by sickoflibs (To GOP : Any path to US citizenship IS putting them ahead in line. Stop lying about your position.)
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To: sickoflibs
That Obama is never seen responsible for anything.
49 posted on 07/15/2013 7:44:27 AM PDT by Perdogg (Cruz-Paul 2016)
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To: sickoflibs
I hope and prey you are correct. We are really in a race against time, IMO. Hopefully, it all unravels and people get angry enough before dependency becomes widespread enough. I know my own health insurance, (once a great plan) is now crap. I virtually am better off paying cash out of pocket many times than using it.

The country really can not afford much more in the way of increased consumer prices. many things have doubled since Hussein took office as it is. I just returned from a month in Sweden. I first started living and going there about five years ago. Five years ago, I was in abject shock at the consumer prices of everything there. Now, we are nearly on par in many cases. In some cases, I was finding certain things cheaper there. We are already taking it in the shorts and getting nothing in return. Absolutely nothing.

50 posted on 07/15/2013 7:45:34 AM PDT by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
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To: Perdogg

I can see that, but then why would Obama call for the repeal of O-care?

Those seem to contradict each other.


51 posted on 07/15/2013 7:47:06 AM PDT by sickoflibs (To GOP : Any path to US citizenship IS putting them ahead in line. Stop lying about your position.)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
Which will lower the life expectancy dramatically.

The majority of people can not afford medical care right now. The costs are high enough that even having a baby in the hospital would be out of reach for most.

52 posted on 07/15/2013 7:48:53 AM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
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To: Kaslin

You have to identify a problem before you solve a problem. The problem is that medical treatment is too expensive for very many people to afford. The solution to that would be cheaper solutions. Nobody’s looking for cheaper, simpler solutions to things because there’s not enough profit in that.


53 posted on 07/15/2013 7:53:39 AM PDT by grania
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To: sickoflibs

Obama would allow the bill to be dumped to prevent an electoral meltdown in 2014. He can always claim “it wasn’t his bill to begin with”. It was Harry Reid’s.


54 posted on 07/15/2013 7:56:41 AM PDT by Perdogg (Cruz-Paul 2016)
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To: Kaslin

No, it will morph into single payer.


55 posted on 07/15/2013 7:56:42 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: riri

Taxes are still not popular, Obama got as far as he did by creating the illusion that the voters he needed all got free stuff, and those in need got free stuff, and only those who ‘have too much’ had/have to pay ‘more’.

The way O-care was phased in helped with this, free stuff now, you pay later.

Luring the stupid GOP into challenging (free) birth control in election year is a great example. He knew they couldnt resist suicide.

Alternatively they never got cap and trade because it was seen as middle class tax.


56 posted on 07/15/2013 7:57:57 AM PDT by sickoflibs (To GOP : Any path to US citizenship IS putting them ahead in line. Stop lying about your position.)
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To: Kaslin

Obamacare has already collapsed, but they will shove it down our throats, anyway.


57 posted on 07/15/2013 7:59:14 AM PDT by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

Do you really think that all the people who are going to get entangled in Obamacare will be better off than when they simply went through an emergency room to get what they needed? I spent more than half of my 60 years without any health insurance, and never missed it. Now my family is out about twenty thousand a year, if you throw in what is lost in salary because of employer contributions. ...What are all the people on Medicare going to do when Obamacare sucks that public teat dry? For almost nothing, medicare recipients are getting good healthcare, better than what most people on insurance get. They aren’t going to like giving up control of their healthcare to be put on Obamacare. Yeah, a lot of people are without jobs now, and sucking the nation’s wealth down the drain of Obamacare isn’t a good plan for creating real jobs. That’s why they delayed the employer requirement. Even the leftest fools in Washington understand the damage it will do to the job market.


58 posted on 07/15/2013 8:01:38 AM PDT by pallis
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To: Perdogg
RE :”Obama would allow the bill to be dumped to prevent an electoral meltdown in 2014. He can always claim “it wasn’t his bill to begin with”. It was Harry Reid’s.”

I dont see that,
he can just delay the tough parts again and for 2014 they will use VRA and Trayvon/Zimm to get out the vote, although that last one could run both ways.

Theme ‘They are armed and coming for you just like 1963 Alabama, so you need to vote to restore your civil rights and disarm the racists’

59 posted on 07/15/2013 8:02:14 AM PDT by sickoflibs (To GOP : Any path to US citizenship IS putting them ahead in line. Stop lying about your position.)
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To: Cringing Negativism Network
The big question is, who pays?

The reason that many large firms want Obama care is that it becomes easier to dump their insurance plans onto the state. The fine costs less than the coverage, so best of luck.

My company has said as much. They are lobbying for full on socialized medicine because it will cost the company far less than the current set up.

60 posted on 07/15/2013 8:05:35 AM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
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