Jonathan Gruber: Obamacare Architect, Unplugged

Townhall.com ^ | November 20, 2014 | Larry Elder

[Kaslin]

Economist Milton Freeman said the promotion of bad policy requires two types of advocates. "Do-gooders," he said, act in good faith but out of ignorance in promoting counterproductive policies. The second type are the "special interest" rent-seekers, those who stand to personally profit from the scheme.

For economist Jonathan Gruber, the primary architect and intellectual godfather of both Romneycare and Obamacare, we need a new category. Gruber is a two-fer -- both a do-gooder and a rent-seeker. Gruber, so far, has pocketed $6 million advising the federal and state governments on the very law he helped design.

Massachusetts retained MIT economist Gruber to help design its signature health care measure. President Obama later employed Gruber to do the same thing for Obamacare, which Gruber called a deficit-reducing measure that bends the cost curve down. But it turns out when Gruber lets his hair down, he speaks very differently about the nature and goals of Obamacare. Recently, some rather embarrassing videotapes of Gruber comments have surfaced.

Gruber on cost controls: "Cost control turns out to be very, very hard to do. Probably the single biggest frustration I have with critics of this law are people who say it didn't go far enough. ... We do not solve our cost problem in health care in the U.S. with this legislation. We simply do not, OK? But you know what? That's because it was impossible to do so."

Gruber, in 2012, explaining how Massachusetts pulled off Romneycare: "The dirty secret in Massachusetts is the feds paid for our bill, OK? In Massachusetts we had a very powerful senator you may know named Ted Kennedy. ... Ted Kennedy and smart people in Massachusetts had basically figured out a way to sort of rip off the feds for about 400 million dollars a year."

Gruber, in 2012, admitting that Obamacare was intentionally designed so that only enrollees in state-run exchanges -- not the one run by the feds -- receive subsides and tax credits (a matter the Supreme Court will soon decide): "I think what's important to remember politically about this, is if you're a state and you don't set up an exchange, that means your citizens don't get their tax credits."

Gruber, in 2013, on voter stupidity: "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever. ... Look, I wish ... that we could make it all transparent, but I'd rather have this law than not. ... Yeah, there are things I wish I could change, but I'd rather have this law than not."

Gruber, in 2012, on Americans' lack of understanding economics: "We just tax the insurance companies. They pass on higher prices that offsets the tax break we get -- it ends up being the same thing. It's a very clever, you know, basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter."

Gruber, in 2013, on Democrats' efforts to disguise a direct tax on people who purchase so-called Cadillac plans: "Then another Massachusetts hero, John Kerry ... came up with a great substitute idea. They said ... 'What if we instead just levied a 40 percent tax on the insurance companies that sell these terrible expensive Cadillac plans?' We said, 'Well, that's pretty much the same thing. But why does it matter?' 'You'll see.' And we proposed it, and that passed because the American voters are too stupid to understand the difference."

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2009, extolled his credentials: "I don't know if you have seen Jonathan Gruber of MIT's analysis of what the comparison is to the status quo versus what will happen in our bill for those who seek insurance within the exchange."

Then-Sen. Obama, in 2006, bragged about how he stole ideas from Jon Gruber: "You have already drawn some of the brightest minds from academia and policy circles, many of them I've stolen ideas from liberally. People ranging from Robert Gordon to ... Jon Gruber." In 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called Gruber "one of the most respected economists in the world."

Today neither Pelosi nor Obama knows the economist from a fence post. Asked recently about Gruber, Pelosi said, "I don't know who he is." When asked about him, Obama shrugged and reduced Gruber to some guy who "was never on our staff": "The fact that an adviser who was never on our staff expressed an opinion that I completely disagree with in terms of the voters is not a reflection on the actual process that was run." According to Fox News, Gruber visited the Obama White House at least 19 times.

In deciding this key issue about state exchanges, the Supreme Court may throw the Gruber's own words right back at him -- and rule Obama's unilateral reinterpretation unlawful. Then even Pelosi will know Gruber's name.

[Liz]

As the esteemed Dr Carson opined: Obamacare was never about health care; it was about government control and wealth redistribution.

Clearly---Gruber was handed the Marxist dream plan FIRST. Then Obama bribed money-hungry Gruber w/ $400,000 hefty tax dollars to invent a healthcare model so that he, and lock-stepping Dems, could sell it to gullible Americans.

PROGRESSIVE POISON The so-called "Cadillac tax" was part of the Obama/Gruber conspiracy designed: (1) to destroy wealthy insurance companies......targets of Progressive virulent hatred, and, (2) to deny end-of-life care to the elderly....deplored by Progressive Poisoners in our midst.

Other Progressive Poisons: healthcare rationing, pulling $750 million out of Medicare, death panels....... and the Marxist Dream Triumphant: decimating intergenerational transfers of wealth (a longtime Progressive bugaboo); grandma/pa's holdings go to the govt---not to you.

=========================================

Gruber delivered Progressive Poison in spades: The preening, duplicitous Gruber---the embodiment of cockamamie far-left thinking---believed it was his moral duty to lie, deceive and collude w/ the US govt......so that these revolting ideas could be imposed on "sub-mental defectives' taking up valuable space in their Utopian America.

Loyal foot-soldier Gruber, in obeisance to the Marxist dream, invented mechanisms to serve Obama's Marxist obsession w/ wealth transfer---as candidate Obama told Joe the Plumber---his plan was to redistribute the wealth:

(1) throwing Americans off affordable health plans
while assuring them they could "keep their plans,"

(2) nationalizing 1/6 of the US economy,

3) installing IPAB's (healthcare rationing),

(4) decimating intergenerational transfers of wealth a longtime Progressive bugaboo;
via Obamacare, grandma/pa's holdings go to the govt---not to you,

(5) pulling $750 billion out of Medicare (another Progressive irritant---giving the elderly healthcare),

(6) drug-rationing---death panels,

(8) outright abandoning seniors and the chronically ill,

(9) transferring wealth from healthy young Americans to subsidize healthcare for others.

Obama organized Democrats into a lock-stepping cheerleading squad to force the Progressive Poison down the throats of recalcitrant Americans.

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Vladimir Lenin / 1945 pamphlet

“Socialized Medicine is the Keystone to the Arch of the Socialist State.”

[Travis McGee]

[Liz]

When Boobamba blathered about O/Care being a "jobs bill"......he was right....except all of the jobs went to Jonathan Gruber.

TAXPAYERS DEMAND CONGRESS GET ANSWERS WRT GRUBER'S CASHING-IN ON THE BACKS OF "STUPID" TAXPAYERS

Four U.S. states and the federal government (read taxpayers) have padded Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber's wallet to the tune of $5.9 million since 2000, including millions connected to his work on the Affordable Care Act.

We demand investigations---to pinpoint how our tax dollars changed hands---and landed into Gruber's pockets.

==============================================

Even more disturbing is the massive, multi-billion-dollar slush fund the self-serving Gruber hid from "stupid" Americans in Obamacare. Gruber made dam sure it was kept hidden from us stupid taxpayers.

The Untraceable $8 Billion ObamaCare PR Budget---truly govt fraud at its finest. Egged on by Pelosi, Democrats slavishly voted for Obamacare by an historic straignt-party line vote. But not one Democrat told Americans about Obamacare's Section 4002---which mandates an $8B untraceable fund to "promote" Obamacare (apparently b/c Boobamba had so little confidence in his signature legislation).

details here

THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PAYOFF--WHO GETS THE MONEY? Where is all the money going? Was cashing-in the incentive in getting the thing passed?

WHAT DOES GRUBER KNOW ABOUT THIS?
ACA SEC. 4002. PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUND.

(a) PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this section of the ACA to establish a Prevention and Public Health Fund (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be administered through the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private and public sector health care costs.

(b) FUNDING.—There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, and appropriated, to the Fund, out of any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated—

(1) for fiscal year 2010, $500,000,000;
(2) for fiscal year 2011, $750,000,000;
(3) for fiscal year 2012, $1,000,000,000;
(4) for fiscal year 2013, $1,250,000,000;
(5) for fiscal year 2014, $1,500,000,000; and
(6) for fiscal year 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter, $2,000,000,000.

(c) USE OF FUND.—The Secretary shall transfer amounts in the Fund to accounts within the Department of Health and Human Services to increase funding, over the fiscal year 2008 level, for programs authorized by the Public Health Service Act, for prevention, wellness, and public health activities including prevention research and health screenings, such as the Community Transformation grant program, the Education and Outreach Campaign for Preventive Benefits, and immunization programs.

(d) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of may provide for the transfer of funds in the Fund to eligible activities under this section, subject to subsection (c).

[4Liberty]

Only the Democrats’ voters were Stupid, they followed the Rat leadership right over that cliff.......

[mrsmel]

And this is all being studiously not reported by the lickspittle lapdog lackey media.