Unsustainable entitlements

The leadership of the Democrat party has long ago abandoned reason and logic in stating their case. In their political arguments they have to rely on a manufactured reality of the world, with mischaracterization and innuendo replacing sound political arguments.

Be sure to question the veracity of anything said by their leadership, from DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman-Shultz to Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to career politicians such as Senator Chuck Shumer. If you've been reading my column for very long, I've given clear examples of how each of them has a propensity toward deliberate misinformation. That's why it was so good to leave my TV on all night when Senator Ted Cruz held the Senate floor for 21 hours on September 24 and 25. He didn't resort to name calling and mischaracterization. He argued the issues! Senator Mike Lee of Utah was a great co-host as well. It was politics without vitriol for those 21 hours. How refreshing! Two people determined to bring sensibility to government and be a real voice in Washington for the people. No wonder the entrenched career politicians hate them so much!

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Then there was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. When he took the mic, he explained in such a clear way what makes America great and how ObamaCare and Democrat policies are so detrimental to the Land of Opportunity. He spoke of the need for a strong private sector to make opportunities for those who may be starting out from nothing. He and Cruz both spoke about their fathers' experiences after immigrating from Cuba - how they worked their way up from the bottom to achieve the American dream. While numerous reasons were given during those 21 hours as to why ObamaCare needs to be stopped, I would like to concentrate on one major aspect: our country simply cannot afford this experiment in government overreach, misnamed the Affordable Care Act. 1) ObamaCare will hurt business growth and slow down the recovery of an economy under increasing regulation and taxation. As people accustomed to their job providing health insurance are thrown into heath care exchanges, they will have to start paying a greater percentage of the premium. This will cause costs to go up for many. 2) The Un-Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to provide coverage for additional benefits, making the cost of the premium you pay even higher. 3) As the cost of employer-based health insurance becomes too expensive for businesses to afford, the massive number of individuals required to sign up for the government exchanges will cause chaos. Many people, in the confusion of suddenly being required to find their own health insurance will end up finding themselves being fined for lack of health insurance. So much for the assertions that everyone will have health insurance. 4) As the health insurance industry comes more and more under the command of the government, competition is more and more removed and the resulting monopolization of the industry means there is no free market incentive to create the best product for the least cost. As a result, the quality of coverage will greatly suffer and costs will increase. 5) In fact, we are witnessing the health insurance industry being transformed into what is commonly known as a single-payer system, in which health care becomes a government entitlement. This means the health insurance industry will be replaced by one big bureaucracy which is in charge of paying everyone’s health care. This will result in an increase in fraud and abuse, which will raise costs even more. Taking care of those in need is important for any nation, but it is unsustainable to have a rapidly growing welfare/entitlement system combined with a weakened business sector under assault by higher taxes and greater regulation, and the resulting shrinking tax base. While the health insurance industry and our nation’s health care system are in need of reform, ObamaCare is the wrong way to do it, and the longer we wait, the harder it will be to reverse its implementation.