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Keyword: domesticpolicy

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  • Hubris and Naivete Are Bringing The President Down

    07/30/2009 10:15:16 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 15 replies · 674+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/30/2009 | Mike Volpe
    I don't know the president and so I want to be careful in making character observations. That usually requires reading some one's mind. Instead, I want to analyze his actions which I believe speak for themselves. Right now, health care reform is on life support. If that doesn't pass, it will also spell doom for cap and trade. Without either initiative passing, the president will face mid term elections in which we'll have near double digit unemployment, near two trillion dollars in deficits, and no major legislative accomplishments. That will create a bloodbath for any Democrat running in November of...
  • Why I Oppose National Health Care

    07/29/2009 9:41:02 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 9 replies · 498+ views
    The Atlantic ^ | 07/29/2009 | Meghan McArdle
    I know, most of you have already figured out why I oppose national health care. In a nutshell, I hate the poor and want them to die so that all my rich friends can use their bodies as mulch for their diamond ranches. But y'all keep asking, so here goes the longer explanation.
  • Obama's Failed Domestic Agenda = Economic Improvement?

    07/27/2009 1:11:39 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 3 replies · 184+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/27/2009 | Mike Volpe
    If you're a conservative, there probably is no question mark at the end but an exclamation point. Is this correct? Let's examine the situation. First, there's no doubt that the disintegration of health care reform, in its current form, will be a blessing for our economy. Right now, about 11 million small business owners are facing the prospects of either a new tax or being forced to provide health insurance for their employees. There are roughly 27 million small businesses in this country, any business with 500 and less employees. About 40% of those don't currently provide health insurance to...
  • Current Health Care Reform is a Political Cancer

    07/27/2009 8:40:57 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 5 replies · 317+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/27/2009 | Mike Volpe
    There are all sorts of things that one can learn by having a statcounter on their web site. For instance, after I published this piece in which I listed the page numbers along with some of the most insidious portions of the House health care bill, I received an interesting set of hits from google searches. Almost immediately, I got an enormous amount of hits with the search term (page 425 health care bill). Page 425 creates "advanced care planning consultation" and thereby sets regulations for treating those near death. In other words, it rations the care of those near...
  • CBO: IMAC Savings only Marginal

    07/25/2009 8:54:43 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 2 replies · 134+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/25/2009 | Mike Volpe
    For the last week, the president has been touting the Independent Medical Advisory Council as a means of saving significant money in Medicare. According the the Congressional Budget Office, those savings will be anything but significant. The CBO estimates that the savings would be $2 billion over the next ten years.
  • Key House Paney to Hold Votes

    07/22/2009 6:22:35 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 5 replies · 335+ views
    Foxnews ^ | 07/22/2009 | Chad Pergram
    Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the only House committee yet to vote on health care legislation, said Wednesday he intends to forge ahead with a vote Thursday afternoon. At the same time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., signaled that the House bill was ripe for passage on the floor.
  • The Three Big Lies of ObamaCare

    07/21/2009 1:18:49 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 14 replies · 484+ views
    Real Clear Politics ^ | 07/21/2009 | Michael Tanner
    In making his case for a government takeover of the US health-care system, President Obama is going far beyond the usual Washington truth-stretching. Take a look at just a few of the most common claims: "If you like your current health-care plan, you can keep it." Even White House spokesmen have said that Obama's oft-repeated pledge that you can keep your current insurance isn't meant to be taken literally. The reality is that millions of Americans - perhaps most Americans - will be forced to change insurance plans.
  • Next Stop: the Incompetent Label

    07/21/2009 10:01:29 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 7 replies · 559+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/21/2009 | Mike Volpe
    In the span of two days, the administration has blown through two deadlines without producing a report. Yesterday, we marked ninety days since the President asked for his cabinet members to each produce a report that would lead to a reduction in administration spending of only $100 million. That report was due in 90 days. Yesterday, absolutely no report was produced. Meanwhile, a panel was supposed to produce an interim report on progress toward closing GITMO today. That report will also not be filed.
  • Obama Has Deadline But No Clue

    07/21/2009 9:58:28 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 11 replies · 451+ views
    Hot Air ^ | 07/21/2009 | Ed Morrissey
    “The time for talking is through,” sayeth the man who apparently doesn’t realize that Congress exists to debate legislation and not to muzzle itself and rubber-stamp executive initiatives. Of course, Barack Obama might be able to make that argument a little better if this particular executive took any sort of responsibility for the executive initiative in question. Real Clear Politics has this quote from the President who wants Congress to pass the health-care reform bill by the end of the month without debate, but who
  • Public Losing Faith in Obama

    07/21/2009 8:54:00 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 9 replies · 644+ views
    Politico ^ | 07/21/2009 | andy Barr
    Trust in President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies to identify the right solutions to problems facing the country has dropped off significantly since March, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll
  • A Trillion Here, A Trillion There

    07/20/2009 7:32:18 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 2 replies · 206+ views
    Politico ^ | 07/20/2009 | Bobby Jindal
    In an Ideas piece, Bobby Jindal says Washington is trying to tax and spend our way back to prosperity. Photo: AP Digg/Buzz It UpDigg this Story! Buzz it up on Yahoo! Buzz POLITICO 44 Things in Louisiana are looking up. We are announcing major economic development wins and private capital investment and reducing government spending in order to live within our means. We just completed a grueling legislative session where we all had to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to find a way to do more with less.
  • This Ad is Devastating and Here's Why

    07/19/2009 2:53:51 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 10 replies · 1,002+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/19/2009 | Mike Volpe
    In business, and in life, there is a concept that everyone should follow, manage expectations. If you promise someone that something will get done in two weeks and it's done in three you look like an incompetent. If, on the other hand, you promise it done in four weeks and it's done in three you're a hero.
  • The President's Hurry Up and Wait Health Care Policy

    07/19/2009 8:45:04 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 6 replies · 288+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/19/2009 | Mike Volpe
    Any successful salesperson worth their salt knows that to close the sale you need to create urgency. If there's no reason to buy NOW there's no reason to buy period. A car salesman will claim that said deal will go away, often referred to as a take away close. A stock broker will say that the price of said investment will go up. A mortgage broker will say that rates are about to go up. You get the idea.
  • The Shadow Government of the Obama Administration

    07/18/2009 7:41:44 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 16 replies · 606+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/18/2009 | Mike Volpe
    I first wrote about the potential dangers of President Obama's penchant for naming czars back in January. Then, President Obama's desire to name czars, envoys, and special advisers was much greater than the actual number. Now, the administration has over thirty czars. They include such dubious functions as green jobs, California water, and pay czars. Most of these czars don't even have functions that any fair reading of the Constitution would give the president. For instance, he has a full assembly line, pardon the pun, of czars just to deal with the auto industry. Of course, the president technically has...
  • The President's Loan Modification Plan and the Lessons of Universal Health Care

    07/18/2009 5:29:39 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 2 replies · 455+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/18/2009 | Mike Volpe
    The president's plan for loan modifications has been an abysmal failure. The reasons for its failures should be examined especially in the context of the president's plan for universal health care. With a bit of fanfare, the president announced his plan to save up to seven million households from foreclosure. The eligible loans were any loans securitized by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Any borrower living in the property they wanted to modify, with a hardship, no more than a loan to value of 105%, not already in foreclosure, a mortgage amount of less than $759,000, and a new housing debt to...
  • Higher Taxes, Less Freedom and More Rationing

    07/18/2009 11:25:43 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 7 replies · 238+ views
    IBD ^ | 07/18/2009 | Michael Leavitt
    President Obama and the Democratic leadership are trying to ram a medical insurance bill through Congress in record speed, before anyone can get a good look at it. This 1,000-page monstrosity was released last Tuesday. The president wanted to see voting start by Thursday.
  • The Health Care P.R. Debacle

    07/17/2009 2:34:56 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 12 replies · 493+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/17/2009 | Mike Volpe
    The president is finishing up a news conference that crystallizes in my mind the problem the Democrats have been facing regarding health care reform. He has a very sharp and clear message in this news conference. He has laid out what health care reform means: lower costs, universal coverage, a health care exchanges, and preventative care. Had this been the message for the last two to three months, it's very likely that the public would embrace health care reform in a much robust way than it currently is. That, however, is NOT what happened.
  • Sizing Up the Day's Activities on Health Care Reform

    07/16/2009 5:41:11 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 4 replies · 246+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/16/2009 | Mike Volpe
    It was a day that every political junkie would love regarding health care reform. It was also a day that will likely have ramifications for the future of health care reform. The first event was another nuclear bomb handed down by the Congressional Budget Office. Instead of saving the federal government from fiscal catastrophe, the health reform measures being drafted by congressional Democrats would increase rather than reduce public spending on health care, potentially worsening an already bleak budget outlook, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said this morning.
  • We Need to Reform the Reform

    07/16/2009 3:16:37 PM PDT · by fiscon1 · 1 replies · 123+ views
    Washington Times ^ | 07/16/2009 | Judd Gregg
    The president, Republicans and Democrats in Congress and millions of Americans all agree -- our health care system is broken and must be fixed. We also agree that we must reform how we pay for this system, and, at the same time, reduce the number of people who lack coverage without disrupting the coverage that insured people already have.
  • Visualizing Health Care

    07/16/2009 7:25:45 AM PDT · by fiscon1 · 7 replies · 255+ views
    The Provocateur ^ | 07/16/2009 | Mike Volpe
    That's a chart created by House Minority Leader John Boehner. It charts the complicated bureaucracy that will be created by the Democrat's plan for health care reform. Here's how John Boehner characterized it. If anybody thinks that all of this bureaucracy is needed to fix our health care system, I plainly disagree. What this is going to do is ration care, limit the choices that patients and doctors have and really decrease the quality of our health care system.