Would you buy a used car from this man? That was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this picture. It was more famously asked about Richard Nixon back in the days before Watergate. The answer then was supposed to be, no you would not. But with John Podesta the answer might yes, but not necessarily based on any trustworthiness. If he lives up to a hit man reputation he has, according to the Wall Street Journal, saying no to the figurative used car risks the figurative broken kneecap. As soon as he joined the White House staff Podesta proved out the Journal's opinion, calling Republicans "a cult worthy of Jonestown." I guess Obama means business. There's a lot at stake, all the more evident as state level healthcare exchange directors abandon, or are jetisoned, from the sinking ship that is ObamaCare. Just take a look at some of these numbers.
What an absolute cash cow ObamaCare has been for those who signed on to implement it. Just look at those grants: $205,342,270 to Hawaii and $303,011,587 to Oregon to set up their state exchanges. Not to mention the $634,000,000 for Healthcare.gov. Software development doesn't really cost that much. As a matter of fact, you've probably heard about those private for profit websites where you can get health insurance. They have an advantage over Healthcare.gov. They work. You can actually buy a policy on them. (Though if we had this to do all over again buying new insurance wouldn't be high on your list of things you'd want to do.) There's another advantage that doesn't get much mention. Development of the private websites didn't cost over a billion dollars like Healthcare.gov. But let's not mix apples and oranges here. The billions spent on ObamaCare were meant to buy more than just a website. The real objective is to buy the power and votes to secure Democratic majorities well into the future. Back in 2010 Obama and his cronies at the top of the Democratic party placed their bet that the tipping point was reached. They believed they could ram ObamaCare through even though it was (and still is) wildly unpopular. All they would have to do would be hang on until the subsidy checks hit the mail. Then the new dependent demographic makes repeal impossible, as fear keeps the gravy train rolling. Obama isn't giving up, troubles with ObamaCare notwithstanding. His goal of permanently co-opting federal income streams for the Democratic party is far from dead. Updated 12/21/2013. |
What I have always been curious about, and wish they did with the ACA, is how many people would explore getting insurance and obtain insurance through the government if it was not mandatory. Something to ponder as the news reports 2 million plus sign ups.
Posted by: Marian | January 01, 2014 at 02:29 PM