July 18-19 - Too Much of the Wrong Agenda Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Click here for a copy of the joke, “Hunting in Alaska.”

This week, I interview three terrific guests.  First, Congressman Glenn Thompson discusses the National Health Care legislation currently being forced through Congress.  Like Cap and Trade, this 1,000 plus page National Health Care bill would kill jobs and increase the cost of living for all Americans while reducing the quality of health care.  The most recent Congressional Budget Office analysis which was published this week estimates that this bill will cost America $1.5 trillion, which represents a massive increase in our healthcare costs.  And the liberal Democrats in Washington plan to pay for this bill by increasing income tax rates on the highest earning Americans to well above where the rates were under Bill Clinton.  Under the Democratic Party proposal and including state and local taxes, most business owners and high earners will be paying 50-60% of their incomes to the government.  It is not fair for any American to pay this much and it will lead to massive job losses as these high tax rates increase the cost of doing business for the entrepreneurs and business owners who create jobs and economic growth for America.   (Why should anyone work hard, take risks, and start a business if 50-60% of what you earn with your blood, sweat, and tears is forcibly taken away from you by the government?  Why bother?)

In addition, under the proposed legislation, all employers will be required to provide healthcare coverage or pay a penalty equal to 8% of the employee’s salary.  It also requires all employees to accept coverage, or else pay a penalty equal to 2.5% of their income.  The bill also establishes a “National Health Care Commissioner” and a federal government bureaucracy to determine which health care treatments we are permitted to receive at different ages.  The proposed legislation will lead to the kind of single payer system and rationing that has ruined health care in Canada, and forced Canadians who are sick to come to the United States.  (Under the Democrats’ plan, neither Canadians nor Americans will have any place left to go unless they fly to Singapore – no doubt where Nancy Pelosi, her husband, children and grand children will go for their health care on their private jet.)

The Democrats say they are doing this because millions of Americans are currently uninsured, but the reality is that today all Americans receive health care, even if they are uninsured.  Yes, it is expensive for some uninsured folks to receive care at hospital emergency rooms and clinics.  (This care is free to them and the rest of us pay for it as well as subsidize Medicaid and Medicare by paying higher private insurance premiums.)  But, the fact is that all Americans receive care today, and the Democrats’ plan will dramatically increase costs for the whole system while also forcing all of us to accept rationing of medical care under a largely nationalized system.  How could any rational person who cares for people and wants America to succeed support this insane bill?  I admit that until a few months ago, I thought that Barack Obama and the Democrats were misguided, but well intentioned.  I thought that they would actually try to evaluate the real facts before pursuing a policy.  Now, the evidence indicates that they are not good willed at all, but are in fact following an agenda which will make Americans poorer and less free if enacted.  If you can rationally explain the reasons for this plan (beyond the mind numbing White House talking points that ignore the “non-partisan,” but traditionally liberal leaning Congressional Budget Office as well as a myriad of medical professionals), then please email me.

Moving beyond health care, Tom Hoffman discusses how Cap and Trade will affect Americans.  He reminds us that many independent studies conclude that this 1,500 page legislation will kill jobs and send energy prices soaring.  The National Association of Manufacturers concludes that 3 to 4 million jobs will be lost if this bill becomes law. (This would be in addition to the 15 million Americans who are currently out of work.)  The American Petroleum Institute estimates that each individual American (including children) will pay $560 more in energy costs, and MIT estimates that each family will pay approximately $3,100 more in energy costs each year.  Even President Obama himself stated that if Cap and Trade becomes law, “electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”  The fact is this bill will hurt everyone who drives a car, buys food, turns on their lights, or just lives in America.  And what would we gain from this legislation?  According to Lisa Jackson, Obama’s EPA administrator, we gain absolutely nothing since Cap and Trade will not reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere.  But even if this legislation were somehow able to reduce atmospheric CO2, a growing body of scientific evidence indicates that solar activity and not CO2 is responsible for temperature changes.  Again, why are the Democrats doing this when they themselves acknowledge that it will create real economic pain for no environmental gain?  It seems like they are living in a left-wing fantasy world.  To be successful, a leader must make decisions based on reality, not some “feel good” fantasy.  Remember the Emperor with no clothes?

Finally, Mike Turzai gives us an update on the budget battle that has been raging all spring and summer in Harrisburg.  The good news is that so far Republicans have been able to hold the line against Democratic Governor Ed Rendell’s profligate new spending and proposed 16% income tax increase that will affect every Pennsylvanian’s pay check.  The bottom line is that on both the state and the national level, we must cut government spending and certainly not raise taxes, especially when unemployment will soon top 10%!  Even Barack Obama stated that in this economy, “the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.”

I wish that Governor Rendell would listen to our President.  For that matter, I wish our President would listen to himself.

Have a great week and stand up for America!