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Today's Nuze

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

Nobody's listening.

THAT'S NOT LOGICAL?

By
Neal Boortz
@ June 25, 2009 8:13 AM Permalink | Comments (67) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you catch this part of PrezBO's presser earlier this week? Some reporter asked him about his government health insurance pushing private health insurers out of business. Obama responds "If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical."

OK .. one of two things about Obama's "not logical" statement is true:

(a) Obama actually believes what he said; or,

(b) Obama thinks that we are too stupid to realize how completely inane his statement was.

Sorry ... but I'm going with (a). Obama's love of all-things-government is so strong that he just cannot see the inherent problems with private-sector insurance competing with a government plan.

First of all .. it is the very nature of competing businesses to try to run each other out of the marketplace. Government health care will be no different. The bureaucrats and politicians behind the government health plan, recognizing that every switch from private sector to government insurance increases government dependency, will fight to destroy the private market. This won't be hard to do, after all the private insurance market will have to earn a profit. The government insurance scheme will not.

Another point .. this from the Cato Institute .. did Obama happen to notice that Medicare completely wiped out health insurance plans for the elderly? To ignore that little fact is simply not logical.

Seriously, folks; did Obama put any real thought into his statement? How can any private sector insurance company compete against a government plan that does not even want to earn a profit and can, in fact, operate at a huge loss year after year? Maybe Obama picked up on that Atlanta college professor who, years ago, announced that the use of linear logic is racist.

Now ... if you don't' think Obama can do all of this ... if you're a doubter. Just click here. You'll feel so much better.

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What others are saying

  • What people like Owen keep forgetting
    after step 5 in Owen's list "My employer starts pressuring the employees to dump the employer insurance...", the Employer is no longer actively trying to promote Health Insurance as a benefit of working for his company, so step 6 is actually:
    All of the employer's employees move on to work for his competitor, driving the former employer out of business.

    The economics of why employers like to provide health insurance will not suddenly go away if the government provides an alternative. If the government plan really does suck, employers will continue to offer "better health coverage" as a cheap benefit they offer. Insurance companies will continue to attempt to get big employment-based health insurance contracts, and competition (yes, competition!) will force the insurance companies to try to cut costs.

    This can't mean cutting back on services: if a company doesn't provide better service than the government, an employer won't be able to list "Health Insurance" as a benefit, and won't bother signing up.

    This can't mean huge price increases: Employers only offer health insurance packages because it's cheaper than giving people more real money. If they can't do that, etc, see above, and so on.
    By someguy @ 06/26/09 04:58:28 AMreport abuse
  • @god's moron
    yo mama :) we'll see when it happens who was correct and who was conservative.
    By realtalk @ 06/25/09 05:12:09 PMreport abuse
  • Why is this so hard for you Marxists to understand?
    First, the government isn't spending its own money. Further, it doesn't have to rely on "customer satisfaction" to get more. Does that sound like the formula for a efficiently-run business?
    By MeFein @ 06/25/09 04:49:12 PMreport abuse
  • I am mixed on this...
    Of course this will kill off private insurance completely. That goes without saying. That said however neither government nor private insurers give a rats ass about any one of you. You are nothing to them. They hate each and every one of you equally. I would just be concerned with preventative medicine to be honest. There is MUCH too much corruption in government right now and just as much in the private sector because of all the unholy alliances being forged right now.
    By Ivan @ 06/25/09 04:44:40 PMreport abuse
  • Ugh
    learnin'................
    Joyce M/B

    go to sanford comments you'll see.....
    By butt neckid

    I am SO over that story and nonsense being tossed about.

    Got a beer handy?
    By Joyce M/Blythe @ 06/25/09 04:23:53 PMreport abuse
  • Government Health Care Results
    Let’s see if I can get this right:
    1. My employer pays $800 of the $1200 month premium for my family health insurance.
    2. Federal government forms the Health Care Collective to which all must contribute.
    3. Federal government takes an additional $200 per month out of my check to tax my “Health Insurance Income.”
    4. My employer winds up laying off one of every five employees to make up for his additional tax burden on his S-Corp tax filings, leaving our group plan a few short of the good rates and thus raising the price of my employer provided health insurance.
    5. My employer starts pressuring the employees to dump the employer insurance in favor of the “free” government plan in order to save him the now $1000 a month of employer contribution for the group insurance plan.
    6. Half of the employees dump the employer plan to save themselves the now $250 a month of additional “health insurance benefit” taxes and the now $500 per month of premiums.
    7. Employer withdraws group plan forcing everyone onto the government plan.
    8. Repeat at every small business in America leading to 295 million Americans on the government plan and 5 million flying to the new medical havens set up in the Caribbean island nations to get health care.
    9. All my insurance stocks in my retirement fund are now worthless, and I have to go to the Caribbean to visit my doctor brother.

    The above chain of events would take about 2 years to work out fully to steps 8 and 9, but make no mistake, they would get there.
    By Owen @ 06/25/09 03:46:48 PMreport abuse
  • learnin'................
    Joyce M/B

    go to sanford comments you'll see.....
    By butt neckid @ 06/25/09 03:10:05 PMreport abuse
  • Homeowners insurance in florida
    If you want an example, check out the home owners insurance fiasco since the government stepped in. Most companies won't write new policies so you have to get govenment policies. If a hurricane hits Florida the state could go bankrupt.
    By Kevin @ 06/25/09 02:20:46 PMreport abuse
  • Butt Neckid
    Amen!

    I missed the "learning"....
    By Joyce M/Blythe @ 06/25/09 02:16:56 PMreport abuse
  • realtalk
    what an idiot
    By God's Motive @ 06/25/09 02:14:33 PMreport abuse
  • @realtalk
    In Obama’s latest proposal, the government run “insurance’ gets its premiums whether the “insured” decides to use it or purchase a private plan, so most people, not having the wealth to pay for both, will use the government plan, not because it is better, but because they can’t afford both, just like the public school system. That is what I mean when I say it is not an even playing field, because government will not have to compete, it gets paid no matter what.

    And that is exactly why it will never be as good as private insurance, because with the absence of competition, there will be no incentive to be effective, efficient or responsive to the users of the service.

    You think insurance companies are unresponsive, just wait until it is a government bureaucrat making the decision about your healthcare.
    By paganposts @ 06/25/09 01:53:24 PMreport abuse
  • Same competition
    it is the same for the insurance companies to compete agauinst the government as against other ones. It is just they cannot make side deals to keep prices a certain way. I would definitely keep my insurance w/ a private company, but if they want to survive they will just have to lower prices and not deny coverage for every little thing that muight cost them money
    By Stan Gable @ 06/25/09 01:41:15 PMreport abuse
  • Bet
    I would bet that if the people directly ask their congressman/woman if they are going to drop THEIR plan in favor of the Obama plan, their answer will be No.
    By Mark @ 06/25/09 12:56:56 PMreport abuse
  • Logical ? Give me a break!
    Try this: I am a savage marauding Mongol (It's OK, I have Mongol blood) who cannot make carpets. I destroy Samarkand.
    All their carpet makers are destroyed. I cannot make carpets, nor manage their operations. Therefore I cannot be held responsible for their failure to survive.

    It isn't logical.

    Get it yet?

    Art
    By Art Simon @ 06/25/09 12:44:38 PMreport abuse
  • is it just me or................................
    today (well maybe not just today) I proved myself to be a dumbass. no I didn't vote or agree with muslim marxist osamabama. I forgot my civics and was soundly "learned" by one of our valued posters.

    but here is what is scary for me......a large tv network has given itself over to the muslim marxist osamabama. forced medical coverage coming soon, take over of banks and other bizniss's. where the heck are we headed?????

    has this ever happened before? if so where? how did it go for the folks there?

    RED LEADER yes we are stoopid enough to fall for all this crap....look what happened in November '08.

    Big Africa....if I was a believer I would pray that you are right about '10....but I ain't.

    I love my country and the ideals it stand for.......I fear my gubmint 'cuz I can't stop it from taking things from me.

    the one thing we could do is 'x-er-size our rights and use the declaration of independence and if necessary our 2nd amendment.

    am I saying over throw the gubmint? no not the gubmint just the scum suckers that have perverted what it stands for. I do believe we could have our country running just fine if we stuck to the CONSTITUTION to the LETTER!!!!

    can I get an amem?!?!?!

    DRIP
    ARM PROTECT
    By butt neckid @ 06/25/09 12:30:03 PMreport abuse
  • Government Control
    ...I'm just surprised that "Directive 10-289" hasn't been proposed on the floor of the House/Senate or is poised and ready on POTUS' desk... Can't wait for America to produce a zero sum gain for the next 40 years as the looters win.
    By KC in NC @ 06/25/09 11:54:14 AMreport abuse
  • shuttin down
    i writ that wrong, i don't know what the answer should be. all i know is the insurance companies have our representatives in their pockets. and i don't like it.
    the medical insurance companies reach high and low to get somebody listed as unavailable for treatment. if you got diabetes ---nope. or any pre-existing thing, i heard that there more pre-existing ailments than they got insurance will pay upon. that's not right.
    i got a story to tell you about bottom-tier junk. i used to work with some guy who couldn't afford insurance on his kids. he bitched about it constantly. every time he'd come up to me bitching i would say "you still got cable tv?". oh i know about stupid people and their bottom-tier junk.

    i'm in a quandary. being a libertarian in opposed to it. but being a realist, taxed by the government, i want whats best for the common man.
    By tshirt-doctor.com @ 06/25/09 11:52:35 AMreport abuse
  • Tax payer subsidized?
    Won't the Government's health care plan be subsidized by the tax payer. The are proposing $600 billion of new taxes to help pay for it. How can private business compete with that?
    By MikeG @ 06/25/09 11:40:20 AMreport abuse
  • USPS Mailbox Monopoly
    Looks like the post office has already weighed the options and found in favor of keeping itself a monopoly "for the common good" coming up with a bunch of BS excuses. My favorite is "Criminal statutes would have to be rewritten to allow open access; removing
    these high-penalty, felony-grade deterrents would make the mailbox a far
    more attractive target for identity thieves." Thieves are not deterred by consequences. Look at murderers. The death penalty, to a rational person, would be a pretty good deterrent. However, the researchers fail to recognize that criminals, by very definition, don't play by the rules or weigh the consequences.

    www.usps.com/postallaw/_pdf/ILOReport.pdf
    By Jared @ 06/25/09 11:37:45 AMreport abuse
  • A country full of greed and selfishness!
    Matt,
    You brought up so good points, so what are the answers? Neither party has the answers, but there's one party and about 15-20% of the country could care less about the uninsured and they probably hope they wither on the vine!!
    You could look at the medical problems in this country this way:
    We developed and used the atomic bomb within four years! The one big difference between the two times is that Americans were not as selfish as they are now,and almost everyone did their part to win the war!Greed and selfishness are what controls this country today!
    We're going to have to pay more taxes there's no way around it. Pres.Oboma should do what Bush and Company did in financing the War on Terror, leave it out of the budget and kick the costs further down the road! This generation won't have to worry about the costs then!
    By Frank @ 06/25/09 11:34:39 AMreport abuse
  • Asking the wrong question
    Is it possible that we are simply asking the wrong question and debating the wrong topic across the board here?

    The issue at hand is, should the government get into the health insurance business?
    Simply put: Look at Medicare and state run Medicaid programs and see their viability and/or quality.

    The REAL QUESTION we should be asking is why do we need another player to screw things up?
    Look at the following ADDED costs when insurance companies fall in line
    1)Cost of running the insurance company itself (salaries, equiment...)
    2)Profit made by running an insurance company (even not-for-profit has large bricks of back-up gold)
    2)Cost of hospitals/physicians etc... to comply with insurance company requirements (billing, coding etc..)

    Now if we throw the government we get the added bonus of the above 3 plus the excess waste simply having the government involved creates.

    Maybe B.O. and the rest of the country (regardless of your position) is just attacking the wrong argument. The real argument is how do we drive the cost down in the market.... seems to me disaster only coverage and self pay would make a lot more sense.

    -An underpaid family medicine resident with 200K in student loans.
    By Dr. G @ 06/25/09 11:28:31 AMreport abuse
  • Tip the playing field please
    The real elephant in the room is who writes the rules. The government will never have to compete with private sector business - they write the rules!

    Watch and see - GM won't have to meet the new CAFE standards - but Ford will. Medicare already doesn't play by the same rules as most insurers - they are slow to pay and the medical service providers are paid significantly less than the cost to provide services. But the government rules force Medicare down the throats of MDs and hospitals. If having a baby is too expensive for the Obamacare - they will just exclude it - and force private insurance to cover it (already a required coverage). (I know women who have had complete hysterectomies who are still required to pay for maternity coverage.)

    When you set the rules - you ALWAYS win.
    By fla_gal @ 06/25/09 11:21:14 AMreport abuse
  • Hussein believes there aren't enough people that know better for it to matter.
    He could be right. Sorry, didn't mean to be scary.
    By CowboyUp @ 06/25/09 11:14:20 AMreport abuse
  • Nothing from TOTUS is logical, Neal
    Agree that the statement is inane and demonstrates not even a basic comprehension of macro-economic theory. Even coming from a teleprompter.

    I'm only amazed at the sudden amazement of people who are only now discovering just how stupid Obozo really is....
    By $mooth Operator @ 06/25/09 11:11:41 AMreport abuse
  • @ Mark
    one step ahead of you buddy - already called off the pyrotechs. No reason to blow money on skyrockets and 'crackers for now - even without cap/trade and healthcare - I just don't have anything to whoop and holler about. (The grill and beer cooler will, however, be in full service :)
    By shuttin down @ 06/25/09 11:08:10 AMreport abuse
  • HC for profit
    This pencil-necked, purple-lipped, moron-in-chief keeps spouting that the reason the gov't option is better is because they are not in it for profit!!! That is precisely why it is a disaster, and that is precisely why the private insurers will be dead.

    They have convinced people that making profits is horrible! Just listen to the question Dianne Sawyer posed the Aetna CEO. She was, with disgust, talking about how they make billions in profits.
    By Club-a-Liberal @ 06/25/09 11:04:38 AMreport abuse
  • @Frank
    You miss the point sir. 24,000,000 vets at a limited number of facilities is roughly half of what Obama states will be added to the medical rolls. You also got me thinking a little deeper though- would those on the Tri-care, Medicare, and VA programs also be rifted to this new medical program. If the answer is yes, that is an even larger number of people to deal with. If not, then you have double beuracracy!

    I also want to address your limited facilities issue. The idea is that you would increase the amount of doctors in the field to account for the amount of patients dumped into the system, but I reject this notion. You have to ask yourself some questions on this: 1. How many potential doctors are going to want to be paid less overall and work longer hours? My guess is few. 2. How many of these potential doctors will now be of a lower quality? My guess is higher, because the demand will be higher and more lackies accepted into medical schools. If you need further proof, look at the quality of nurses you have at medical facilities currently. 3. How quickly can 46,000,000 patients be absorbed into the standard medical system? I'll concede this may not be as bad as illustrated in my VA example at the PCP level, but the line for the top surgeons in the field just got much longer. Also, consider the fact that the people being added to the rolls statistically lead a much less healthier lifestyle.

    I'm not whining Frank. I'm worried about the future of medical coverage for my elderly parents and my family.
    By Matt @ 06/25/09 11:03:19 AMreport abuse
  • best interest at heart
    tshirt, unless I misconstrue your last sentence @ 10:02:53 AM, so what?
    I'm not rich either, but I don't have my hand held out, palm up, waiting for a rich person to take care of me. (Try that - hold your hand out, elbow against your ribcage with the palm facing up and see how your sense of dignity falls a couple notches with this posture - isn't that neat?) People do not have to be rich to have a good private health plan in this country, but they may have to give up some shiny trinkets and gadgets to make ends meet. Too many "unfortunate" people put stupid useless bottom-tier junk at the top of the budget (this includes cell phones that make your dinner and do your wash, lottery tickets, rent-to-own rims and other stupid sh*t for what - a CAR?, jewelery, 8,000 inch TV's, booze, drugs, etc.) THEY are the ones that need to have their best interests at heart, not the rich.
    By shuttin down @ 06/25/09 10:54:41 AMreport abuse
  • Instead
    On top of everything that BO has done since Jan 20, I think if health care and cap/trade are passed, 4th of July needs to be called off. Why celebrate?
    By Mark @ 06/25/09 10:43:22 AMreport abuse
  • ObamaCare
    One thing that was left off the Post (although it is clear to most of the readers and followers of Boortz) is the government's power to tax. Not only with the government be paid by the employer (fines) and the insured, the government can tax the hell out of the citizens to reduce the direct costs to the insured. Add Boortz's point that the government can go into debt, in this case massive massive debt for the foreseeable future, the private sector cannot compete.
    By Brock @ 06/25/09 10:39:01 AMreport abuse
  • liberal double-speak
    Obama knows all too well that any government subsidized entity is a bottomless pit of evil, rich, white guy (taxpayer) money that has no market conscience.
    By stepcousin @ 06/25/09 10:27:58 AMreport abuse
  • God Bless the USSA!
    Jeremiah Wright was right..."not God bless the USA", but God bless the USSA! Our change to believe in - the United Socialist States of America! Government cars, healthcare, jobs - pretty soon they'll be telling us what to wear too!
    By Ron @ 06/25/09 10:24:03 AMreport abuse
  • Bottomline.....
    The government has never, nor will ever be able to run ANYTHING better than the private sector.

    VA medical, USPS, public schools, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, etc.....every one is a massive failure. When are the people going to wake up?
    By Jworley @ 06/25/09 10:17:24 AMreport abuse
  • I want to run the healthcare plan!
    I want to run a govt plan! That way, I can misprice services, and/or incur whatever costs I want to provide it. If I make money, great. If I don't, I get the taxpayer to write a check to cover the loss. I'd say that's great work if you can get it.

    If the private guy that's trying to run it can't make it work, he goes bankrupt - probably because I can under-price him. Ha ha, conservative businessman! Joke's on you, hater!

    Then, once I've driven off all the private competitors, I can kind of do whatever I want, including paying myself a lot of money, or decide who gets what coverage based on political connections. The aristocracy of the dollar replaced with the aristocracy of pull. Right on! Power to the people. Or me, you know, depending.
    By Todd, the Sofa King @ 06/25/09 10:13:24 AMreport abuse
  • Spock? Illogical?
    So the POTUS does not understand (along with some of the commenters here) why the creation of a health insurer financed by the taxing power of the govt and with no incentive to be profitable is likely to put a private company out of business. Have I got that much right?

    Or how, if rising healthcare costs are prompting private insurers to either raise rates or deny coverage (ration care), that somehow the govt plan won't have to do the same thing.

    Somehow, to suggest this defies logic.

    This is genius? This is the one in whose brilliance we are asked to bask?

    I think maybe he ought to ask Harvard for his money back.

    And I'm sure that this comment is somehow racist.
    By Todd, the Sofa King @ 06/25/09 10:12:25 AMreport abuse
  • Healthcare
    They'll probably try to build some kind of national program off a CHAMPUS/TRICARE boilerplate. These programs are pretty decent - considering - but they serve a limited sector, the military community (active, dependents, retirees, reserves). Trying to implement such a program for the entire country still boils down to two crucial things:
    1. Unmanageable cost.
    2. Stressing medical resources.
    There will be consequences.
    By shuttin down @ 06/25/09 10:09:05 AMreport abuse
  • Pagan Posts
    Excellent point, why even go with a private plan when you are already paying for a government plan?

    As someone else posted in another thread, "but I don't want to be a looter".

    RonPaul2012
    By Joyce M/Blythe @ 06/25/09 10:03:42 AMreport abuse
  • the insurance companies
    the insurance companies are paying neal to say that. they love the profits, no matter who dies. That's because health insurance companies are in business to make money -- not to pay medical bills. The more medical bills they can avoid paying, the larger their profits. In fact, the insurance company employees who deny the most claims (medical bills) are the ones who get the biggest bonuses.
    these spaces contain cost analysis, marketplace, competing businesses, etc.
    that's because they don't like people to discuss to real thing about america's health care.
    It is because our system is the best only for the rich. If you have the money to purchase the best insurance possible, and the money to pay for the medical bills that insurance won't cover, then the U.S. health care system is great. but who has that kind of money? neal does.
    they don't want to talk about when they need to use that private insurance and they find out how much it does NOT cover. or when they find out their insurance has been cancelled once the medical bills start climbing.
    i really concerned when the rich start telling us poor people what we should do about everything. they don't have our best interest at heart.
    By tshirt-doctor.com @ 06/25/09 10:02:53 AMreport abuse
  • fishhawk50@yahoo.com
    What can you expect form a college graduate whose only economic course was authored by Karl Marx. Obviously, Obackorama has never heard of Gresham's law...Bad money forces out the good! For example, bad government programs force out good private programs.
    By Steve @ 06/25/09 10:01:01 AMreport abuse
  • Plagiarism????
    Look what Neal wrote here today. Then compare what I wrote I wrote yesterday (see below). Maybe Neal is reading our posts?
    --------------------
    Did you guys see when some reporter actually asked him a good question yesterday: "Won't the public option in effect run the private HC companies out of business?" OBozo got a little testy and said something like, "That doesn't make sense. You guys say that govt can't do anything right, then why do you think govt will run the private sector out."

    Either this jerk is a complete economic ignoramus or a sociopath so hell bent on getting his socialistic programs passed that he can lie with such ease.

    When OBozo said the other day, ""If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what." He is again using the language to manipulate and make everyone seem like he is fair. But that pathetic statement is like telling a Dutchman living below sea level that once we remove the dikes, "if you like your home, you'll be able to keep your home, period." The private health care industry will drown if forced to compete with what is termed "a public option."
    By Club-a-Liberal @ 06/24/09 09:44:52 AM
    By Club-a-Liberal @ 06/25/09 09:58:59 AMreport abuse
  • @pagenpost
    there's nothin naive about what is the reality. what exactly are you proposing is unequal with the playing field? i can reply to that once i'm sure. yes, we will all have to pay.. so what. as you mentioned, we pay for public eduaction. i dont see people withdrawing from public schools by the masses. as a matter of fact what if there was no public eduacation and americans had to pay for it as we do now with insurance. there would be far less opportunities for the less than wealthy individuals in this country. i would neither want that as i want people that have no insurance to continue to go without any type of medical care whatsoever. do you think most average americans care if the private sector business in health care would be smaller?? really? i would think most dont.
    By realtalk @ 06/25/09 09:58:35 AMreport abuse
  • Where's the teleprompter? Are you blind?
    He's right there - standing right behind the podium!
    By shuttin down @ 06/25/09 09:51:43 AMreport abuse
  • Obama Knows What He Is Saying
    He is very disengenious. He makes the statement that if you like your current plan, you don't have to switch. With most people covered by their employers, the decision to switch is not their's to make; it is the companies. And Obama knows that most companies will rather pay a lesser penalty to the government and discontinue their health care plans. Thus, the employees are than covered under the government plan and they have no say about what happens. Comoanies bottom lines are improved and national health care becomes a reality.

    Obama knows exactly what he is saying.
    By Kevin H @ 06/25/09 09:45:18 AMreport abuse
  • Always whining! Never satisfied!
    Matt@9:31
    Do you think that with 3,000,000 disabled vets and 24,000,000 veterans alive today and a limited amount of facilities (yes limited) that you're going to walk right in and be seen?
    Please tell me what type of insurance program you have, that when you walk in the door they drop everything their're doing and wait on you!
    By Frank @ 06/25/09 09:43:51 AMreport abuse
  • don't forget....
    ....we can turn this thing around in 2010 and put some brakes on Chairman's slippery slope. But its going to take Republicans who do not want to act as world police to do it if we don't want to go bankrupt. Check it out;

    www.campaignforliberty.com/
    By Big Africa @ 06/25/09 09:42:52 AMreport abuse
  • Medical Slave Labor that's how!
    The government can and ScuzBO er PrezBO has already stated he would require all health care providers to take his plan at whatever payment/pricing plan he decides. Can private insurance even try to do that? No, the doctor's would toss their butts out of their offices so fast the door wouldn't get opened first! (Then charge them full price for the bandaid!)
    By Tim - Ohio Libertarian @ 06/25/09 09:41:49 AMreport abuse
  • No teleprompter?
    Where's the tele-prompter at in the photo?
    By Frank @ 06/25/09 09:35:25 AMreport abuse
  • If Obama cared about health...
    ....then he would relieve the chronically ill of having to pay any income tax.
    By Red Leader @ 06/25/09 09:33:29 AMreport abuse
  • Forgot to Mention
    PrezBo forgot to mention one little advantage his Government Health Care plan will have over the Private Sector. If he gets his way, he'll add Company paid benefits to our income tax liability, such as the Health Care that we pay for at a reduced rate from our employers. So what if signing up for his little Government run Health Care plan correspondingly lowers the income taxes we pay? It would seem he, as usual is smiling in our faces while his hand is in our back pocket. Neal is right, elections have consquences!
    By AGM28B @ 06/25/09 09:32:47 AMreport abuse
  • Government Heathcare
    The problem is no one in the media is diving any further. They ask the question, and never follow up with the point that the government doesn't have to make a profit.

    To Phil's USPS point- you actually make the arguement for why we don't want the government to run healthcare. We will be throwing money away on beuracratic mumbo jumbo. The USPS is constantly in the red (notice the price of your stamp going up yearly). Also, as you point out, USPS covers everything, Fed EX and UPS are rather specialized in what deliver. I can't have all of my mail delivered by Fed Ex or UPS. I am forced to have all of my mail delivered by the post office.

    It remains to be seen whether any supplemental plans remain after this Obamacare goes into effect. I believe that would fly in the face of the Obama philosophy. After all, why would someone pay for something that the government will covered by the tax payers of this nation? Why pay and still have to sit on a waiting list?

    The fact is this. I was under the VA for healthcare when I left the military. I recall that before I left the military, I had to go to a VA hospital for a hearing exam. I spent 6 hours waiting for the doctor to do a 5 minute exam. This is the future of your healthcare people. I hope your employer is understanding when you leave for your appointment.
    By Matt @ 06/25/09 09:31:03 AMreport abuse
  • @realtalk
    I have to ask myself the same question about you that Neal is asking about Obama, are you really naïve enough to believe what you are saying or just hope everyone else is?

    Compete with government on a level playing field, no problem, the private sector will beat them ever time. But how is the private sector suppose to compete with Obama’s healthcare when EVERYONE who pays taxes is going to have to subsidize it whether they buy their own private healthcare or not?

    What Obama is proposing is just like the school system, yes, we have private schools, but whether you send your kids to a public or a private school, you are still going to pay for the public school. So, just like the schools system, a private sector business will continue, but it will be much, much smaller and only cater to those who can afford both.

    If Obama truly thought government healthcare could be better and cheaper than private sector healthcare, then why not a voucher system? Give everyone a yearly voucher to purchase either government or private sector healthcare and let’s see who does better. But, just like school vouchers, which would do the same thing, an idea like that would be fought against tooth and nail by the socialist democrat party, because it’s about power, not about doing what is best for the people.
    By paganposts @ 06/25/09 09:30:05 AMreport abuse
  • love it
    I love how obama is being so lenient towards us whiners by allowing us to keep our current plans if we want. And just think, all we have to do is pay for our plan and fund the looter/gov plan. I think I'm going to start referring to him as obama the merciful for allowing us insignificant pests to have our way.
    By Rullivan @ 06/25/09 09:26:38 AMreport abuse
  • Obama think we are stupid....
    ...in fact he thinks were almost as stupid as Mccain thought we were....
    By Red Leader @ 06/25/09 09:24:17 AMreport abuse
  • Socialized Medicine
    I love the commercials on TV right now touting his plan. The first thing mention? Taking the insurance companies 13 billion in profits. Take their profits? When did it become acceptable to take a private company's profits? How can such a bold statement of socialism on TV ads of all places be over looked by Neal's "dumb-masses"?
    By Brendan @ 06/25/09 09:23:51 AMreport abuse
  • if they really cared...
    If socialists like Hillary and Obama really, truly cared about health care for the downtrodden, why don't they pool up some of their funds with their buddy George Soros and start a non-profit to do just that? There is nothing stopping them, and they wouldn't have to pass any legislation or spend a single penny of taxpayer money.

    It's a rhetorical question. They don't really care about health care. It's all about power and being able to direct trillions of taxpayer dollars where they choose.
    By TC @ 06/25/09 09:20:46 AMreport abuse
  • Rob Evans, bad example
    The USPS cannot deliver 2nd and and overnight cheaper than UPS or FedEx. These products are subsidized from regular mail. A portion of the money Americans spend purchasing stamps goes to making their 2nd day product cheaper than the private sector products. They also have the federal restriction that UPS and FedEx cannot deliver to PO Boxes.

    Joyce, UPS and FedEx cannot deliver mail because it is a federal crime for them to put their deliveries in mailboxes (or PO Boxes). This restriction would force UPS / FedEx delivery personnel to hand deliver mail. Federal laws put UPS / FedEx at a competitive disadvantage to USPS in terms of regular mail. And you're right. FedEx and UPS can't deliver Class 1 mail for $.44. If they could put the mail into mailboxes they'd be able to deliver it for about $.38.
    By Stuart Pitt @ 06/25/09 09:19:50 AMreport abuse
  • Phil
    "
    UPS and Fed-Ex do not delivery 1st class mail. They are prevented by law from doing just that. They can only delivery 'parcels'. Their overnight delivery is considered 'parcels', and they POUND the hell out of the USPS in that catagory. USPS survives on first class mail delivery, which they have no competition."

    First, I specifically mentioned "packages." You claim that FedEx and UPS have a bigger market share in packages than the USPS - which just proves my point that private sector can and does compete with the public sector.
    By Rob Evans @ 06/25/09 09:12:39 AMreport abuse
  • Take out
    the part of the paragraph that says "which they say can't run anything" and you have:
    "If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical."

    Uh, Duh, It's absolutely logical. Dumbass.

    3.5 more years of this. We're absolutely doomed.
    By JoeShmoe @ 06/25/09 09:06:54 AMreport abuse
  • Are you for real?
    "Currently, the government-run United States Postal Service competes with the private UPS and FedEx in the business of delivering packages. None of them seems to be going out of business, in fact, the private sector companies seem to be doing better than the USPS, which has talked about cutting out Saturday delivery."

    UPS and Fed-Ex do not delivery 1st class mail. They are prevented by law from doing just that. They can only delivery 'parcels'. Their overnight delivery is considered 'parcels', and they POUND the hell out of the USPS in that catagory. USPS survives on first class mail delivery, which they have no competition.
    By Phil @ 06/25/09 09:04:12 AMreport abuse
  • BTW
    That jibjab is hilarious!!!
    By Joyce M/Blythe @ 06/25/09 09:03:10 AMreport abuse
  • Medicare main point
    It did eliminate insurance for the elderly, that is what insurance companies are afraid will happen with a govt option approach.

    The USPS was already established under govt originally and was sinking fast till it became semi private. Not a good comparison. For the main purpose of USPS, delivering letters, UPS and Fedex cannot compete. Only in delivering packages do they excel. Ask either one if they would deliver letters for $.44.
    By Joyce M/Blythe @ 06/25/09 09:02:28 AMreport abuse
  • make up your minds repubs and conservs
    first you say that the government cant run a health care system. so why are you worried about the private sector competing? i wouldnt stop paying into my car insurance if the car manufactuer said they would fix any damages that occur but knew it would take weeks to get an appointment. i'm going to stay with the provider of better service. such hypocrites,.. here's your free market free market proponents, now shut your pie hole. if the government health care plan means long waits and bad service as you suggest, dont worry about your inferior government competitor. if no one is forced to leave their current plan why does the free market have as much anxiety as a man seconds before a colon exam? let the better service to the customer dictate where the consumers go. the plan is for the millions of americans that dont have insurance. the less wealthy and fortunate that the repubs and conservs would rather not recognize.
    By realtalk @ 06/25/09 08:59:08 AMreport abuse
  • Option B
    I vote for option B. Whenever I see Obama make one of these outrageous statements, the expression on his face reminds me of that scene in "Blazing Saddles" where the bad guys come riding into the phony town. The sheriff says "Look at this, they're buying it!".

    I'm not Bill O'Reilly's face-reading gal, but it seems obvious to me that Obama doesn't believe his own horse squeeze.
    By Jim S @ 06/25/09 08:53:12 AMreport abuse
  • Obama's Comment
    Rob makes a good point. And the question was not stupid but a logical one. If the private secotr is doing such a good job (which they aren't) and giving us such a good deal (which they aren't), then what are they afraid of?

    There are too many people that can't get or can't afford this "wonderful" private sector insurance. They get sick too. Something needs to be done and I'm glad that the President has made this a priority
    By 3mbw @ 06/25/09 08:51:26 AMreport abuse
  • Obama's Comment
    You misread his statement. He does think that government can run the program well, and acknowledges that it probably will run folks out of business.
    By anonymous @ 06/25/09 08:45:26 AMreport abuse
  • Non-Profit/Subsidized
    I would put the private sector up against a non-profit government program, but not a subsidized one.

    Market efficiency can make up for the profit margin. After all, FedEx and UPS survive and flourish in the face of the USPS. Each has its place. But we don't subsidize the Post Office. It has to carry its own weight. I don't think that will be the case with a government health plan. It will be subsidized with tax dollars, THAT is hard for the private sector to compete with.
    By BrianC @ 06/25/09 08:45:18 AMreport abuse
  • Gov't vs Private Sector Competition
    Currently, the government-run United States Postal Service competes with the private UPS and FedEx in the business of delivering packages. None of them seems to be going out of business, in fact, the private sector companies seem to be doing better than the USPS, which has talked about cutting out Saturday delivery.
    By Rob Evans @ 06/25/09 08:36:48 AMreport abuse
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