What’s not wrong with Obamacare? Any honest and serious study of the Affordable Health Care Act will lead to the obvious conclusion that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and it is certainally not affordable. As the debate finished the second day of deliberation in the U.S. Supreme Court, it seems clear the justices also think so. Obamacare is already estimated to cost double Barack Obama’s original figure of $900 billion to now $1.76 trillion. If the federal government takes over health care we would be handing over another 17% of the nation’s economy. To keep it in perspective, The Office of Management and Budget produces a table every year that tracks total government expenditures as a percentage of gross national product:
Fiscal year 1900: 05.0 percent
Fiscal year 1950: 15.0 percent
Fiscal year 1961: 27.4 percent
Fiscal year 1962: 27.8 percent
Fiscal year 1963: 27.7 percent
Fiscal year 2009: 36.5 percent
Fiscal year 2010: 35.0 percent
So, with government controlled health care we would no longer be a free-market economy. Just for laughs, let’s take a look at a few other government run programs and see how they are doing.
- Fannie Mae was started by FDR in 1938 with $1 billion to allow banks more capital to lend to Americans.
- Since then the housing market has collapsed and the government now holds $5 trillion in mortgage liabilities.
- Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970.
- Has lost money every year since.
- Post Office
- Lost $5.7 billion last year.
- Federal Reserve was chartered as a national bank in 1913.
- Since, the dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power.
- Education
- We spend 4 times more on education than we did in 1970 (before federalized).
- $2.5 billion spent/year on 1 million college students that need remedial education.
- 32 million students cannot read or write after passing through our education system.
- The National Report Card 2008 assessment found zero increase in reading skills or general knowledge since the early ‘70’s.
- We spend 4 times more on education than we did in 1970 (before federalized).
- Medicare
- Plan A will be completely insolvent by 2024 (at best).
- The unfunded obligation in estimated at $36 trillion (low end).
- The average worker (couple making $89,000) pays in a lifetime $114,000 and receives $355,000 in benefits.
- Student Loans
- VP Joe Biden has admitted that the government intervening with the free market and providing subsidies for students to attend college have been the major contributor to increases in college tuition.
- Currently $100 trillion in student loan debt.
- College tuition has increased 40%-50% in the past 10 years.
- $270 billion in student loans are at least 30 days delinquent
The road back to economic prosperity is not more government intervention, but less. A major step in the right direction will be when the Supreme Court declares the Obama Health Care Plan unconstitutional. This is why the democrats rammed this plan down the nation’s throats with Nancy Pelosi clamoring, “You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people.” Well, you passed it, and we got a chance to see what’s in it. Thanks, but no thanks. Hey, even the President has been on both sides – watch a pretty funny audio collection from American Crosswords…
