Posted on 05/08/2014 12:41:15 PM PDT by Kaslin
As you can imagine, there’s a lot to choose from in the contest for the most spectacular waste of tax dollars.
But the politicians in Oregon must really want the prize, because they managed to flush several hundred million dollars down a rat hole by putting together a state-run Obamacare website that has to be abandoned because it is so dysfunctional.
And if the Oregon website is so bad that it’s switching to the much-derided Washington Obamacare website, it must be a disaster of unparalleled dimensions!
Here are some excerpts from an AP report.
After months of trying to get its problem-plagued online health exchange to work, Oregon on Friday officially gave up on the state portal… Officials say fixing the existing system would be too costly at $78 million and would take too long. …Oregon’s exchange is seen as the worst in more than a dozen states that developed their own online health insurance marketplaces. The general public still can’t use Cover Oregon’s website to sign up for coverage in one sitting. Instead, Oregonians must use a time-consuming hybrid paper-online process to sign up for insurance — despite $134 million the state paid Oracle Corp. to build the online exchange. …In March, the federal Government Accountability Office announced an investigation of Oregon’s exchange, including looking at whether the federal government can reclaim grant money given to Cover Oregon if taxpayer funds were mismanaged.
Heck, it’s not just the GAO that’s investigating.
The FBI reportedly is probing the failed launch of Oregon’s ObamaCare insurance exchange, joining several other agencies looking into the multimillion-dollar program that was scrapped last month. …the FBI has interviewed several people as part of the inquiry. The Oregonian reported that the bureau held a 90-minute meeting with a former Republican lawmaker who detailed potential wrongdoing — including suspicions that the state showed the feds a misleading demonstration to keep money flowing. …A U.S. House committee already is probing the Oregon debacle, as is the Government Accountability Office. The state received more than $300 million in federal grants to launch and operate the health care system. Much of what it has spent so far has gone to Oracle Corp.
But let’s be fair. Not all of the $300 million was squandered on the failed website.
The politicians also coughed up $3 million for this video, which presumably was supposed to lure people to the non-working website but probably just made people think Oregon is infested by patchouli-soaked deadbeats.
Cover Oregon: "Live Long In Oregon" - Laura Gibson (:60)
The video almost stands by itself as a form of left-wing self parody.
But what makes it especially amusing is that it generated this amusing segment on one of HBO’s programs.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: "Oregon Spirit" by Lisa Loeb (HBO)
Well done.
I don’t watch TV, so I don’t know if the guy who did this segment is on the right, the left, or somewhere in between.
But it would be nice to have a talk show host who is willing to go after all sides, unlike Colbert and Stewart who clearly bend over backwards to curry favor with the White House.
Anyhow, if you like videos that use humor to mock government-run healthcare, here are some good options.
*The head of the National Socialist Workers Party finds out he can’t keep his health plan.
*A creepy version of Uncle Sam wants to know about your sex life.
*Young people discover that they’re screwed by Obamacare.
*One of the biggest statists of the 20th century is angry that the Obamacare exchanges don’t work.
*A cartoon video showing how to buy coffee in an Obamacare world.
But never forget that this is a serious issue. Government has screwed up the healthcare system, yet politicians then use the mess they create to justify even more intervention.
The only effective solution is economic liberty.
Just a barrel of laughs, it is.
....But let’s be fair. Not all of the $300 million was squandered on the failed website. The politicians also coughed up $3 million for this video, which presumably was supposed to lure people to the non-working website but probably just made people think Oregon is infested by patchouli-soaked deadbeats.
Thieves should be in prison
Thieves should make four- to five-fold restitution :)
this is what happens when you get in bed with Oracle
$300 Million! I am forcing myself no to do an eye-roll lest I look like a slot machine. If there are not any indictments because of this, then...it’s Bush’s fault.
“several hundred millions of dollars...” C’mon. I started my own business and am playing in the world of “thousands”. They throw away millions with impunity. Ask a small business owner what a million dollars is and see if she shakes her head.
But hey, I’m sure those bureaucrats and programmers were all nice people with good families. They needed those millions for their families and children. So, it’s all good...... /SARC!
Spending all the money is the goal. If you tax payers had some different goal that is your problem. For an extra $500 million you can try again.
And the Doctor Governor, Kitzhaber, remember that name, is running for reelection and will probably be a shoe in!! Stupid Oregon voters!
Before we call anything Obama does a “failure”, we have to look at the true goals instead of just the stated goals.
This is the same state that emptied a water reservoir of 38 MILLION gallons of water because they caught some drunk young man peeing into the reservoir in the middle of the night.
I don’t know what they do about the over flight of birds that can poop on the wing.
I am NOT making this up in case those of you west of Salt Lake City haven’t heard about it.
The lack of common sense of a Liberal in Oregon is the litmus test for stupid, IMO.
I feel ya brother. I know next to nothing on launching an interactive website, but for $300 million, I could have bought programmers at an ultra premium price and come in way under and on time, just by sheer force of dollars.
I have realized that the Dems see the state and U.S. treasury as their own personal slush fund and campaign contribution machine. Let the indictments begin.
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