Tag Archives: Obamacare

Jul 11 2012

Republicans Begin Effort To Repeal “Obamacare”

House Republicans began the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act of 2010 with rounds of meetings and media interviews before putting the 100% certainly doomed effort to a vote next week.

Jul 10 2012

Maine Governor Apologizes For “Gestapo” Remark

Maine Governor Paul LePage has apologized to Jews, Germans, Americans, Latvians, Argentinians, Eskimo Peoples, dogs, cats, small rodents, and just about all other thinking, sentient, aware forms of life throughout the universe for saying the recent Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act of 2010 will turn the Internal Revenue Service into a fascistic secret police organization.

LePage, who was elected in 2010 with support from the Tea Party (a group known for its reasoned and appropriate rhetoric), was making a speech Saturday when he said “This decision has made America less free. We the people have been told there is no choice. You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo – the I.R.S.”

The Gestapo were of course the Geheime Staatspolizei, “Secret State Police”, of Nazi Germany. This organization was responsible only to the leadership of the Nazi Party – they were not bound by any courts, political organizations, or other civilian or military authority. The Gestapo was responsible for political murders, social “cleansing” operations, and the arrest and torture of individuals deemed antagonistic to the Nazi Party.

So it’s easy to see why LePage would immediately think of them when trying to describe the I.R.S.’s role in collecting taxes.

In his apology LePage said “It was not my intent to insult anyone, especially the Jewish Community, or minimize the fact that millions of people were murdered, but really, how can anyone think that’s worse than having a negro in the White House? And he’s not just answering the door or serving the soup! He’s making policy decisions!”

LePage finished his apology by saying he was sorry if he angered anyone who works at the I.R.S.: “Please, please, please don’t audit me! There’s no way my books can stand-up to an audit!”

Jul 4 2012

Gov. Scott Says Florida Will Not Implement “Obamacare”

Florida Governor Rick Scott says he believes the Affordable Care Act will be repealed when Mitt Romney is elected president, and so Florida will not implement it. Of course if Romney isn’t elected then he will be able to back-out of this by saying obviously America wants to be run by a Kenyan socialist Muslim, and who is he to argue? Of course to not implement a federal law could lead to loss of federal funding for related programs and services, which would probably be the end of Scott’s political career. So no matter what kind of b.s. he spouts now before the election, it still just amounts to bullshit.

Jul 3 2012

Romney Camp Breaks With Party On Obamacare “Tax”

A senior adviser to Mitt Romney has said the candidate agrees with President Obama that the penalty attached to the “individual mandate” portion of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is not a tax.

Eric Fehrnstrom, in an interview on MSNBC, said Romney “agreed with the dissent written by Justice Scalia which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax.”

When the interviewer asked Fehrnstrom if he meant Romney agreed with Obama and Democrats that the penalty is not a tax, Fehrnstrom said “That’s correct”.

Earlier this year Fehrnstrom famously referred to a political campaign as being like an Etch-A-Sketch, in that once the primary is won a candidate can shake-up their message and move toward the center to whore for votes.

Jun 29 2012

And Now For The Bad News

Once the jubilation over the Supreme Court decision to uphold “Obamacare” dies down it will be time to fully enact the Affordable Care Act – including the provisions to pay for it.

Part of the money will come from cuts to the current health care costs incurred by the government, but the bulk of the $1 trillion that will be spent over the next ten years will come from taxes. Americans will pay an additional 9/10 of one percent on income over $200k to help finance the system. Those with investment income may be subject to a new 3.8% tax on some of their capital gains and dividends.

Businesses that offer what are considered “excellent” or “Cadillac” health care plans will also pay more: plans that cost over $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage will be subject to new excise taxes. Many business analysts claim businesses will try to avoid this tax by reducing their plan offerings or even cutting health care plans altogether. The theory is this will translate to higher wages or higher profits, and thus higher tax revenues – so either way the government is covered.

There is also a new tax deductible cap on “flexible spending plans”, and new regulations that limit what such plans can pay for, plus a 20% penalty for non-qualified expenses.

The limit for deductions for medical expenses will rise from 7.5% of income to 10% – although that provision will not kick-in until 2016 for those over 65 years-of-age.

Those who enjoy indoor tanning salons have been paying a 10% excise tax since 2010, supposedly because of the health care costs associated with irradiating your skin with UV light.

And finally there is the controversial “individual mandate”, that requires those who can afford health insurance but who choose not to get it to pay a penalty. This will be phased-in in a graduated plan between the years 2014 to 2016, starting at $285 per family or 1% of income (whichever is greater), and growing to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income (whichever is greater). Initially Obama resisted this provision but bowed to pressure from insurers who claim without it people will take advantage of the law’s lack of “preexisting condition” exclusions by waiting to buy insurance after they get sick. The insurers thus need the mandate to turn a profit and stay in business. Under the original proposed law these people would have been served via a “public option” offered directly through the government, but this was gutted from the law by Republicans who considered it to be “socialism” (unlike taking money from the insurance lobby, which is “capitalism”).

Jun 28 2012

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare On 5-4 Vote

The Supreme Court of the United States released it’s decision on the legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act of 2010 Thursday, rejecting arguments that the law is unconstitutional. The Court upheld “Obamacare” on a 5-to-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the Court’s 4 liberal justices.

President Obama immediately made a statement to the nation via just about every media outlet known to humanity, essentially saying “Nyah nyah nyah! Big stinkin’ Tea Party sucking conservatives lost!”

Conservatives immediately made a statement as well, saying “this isn’t the end of this! Well go all the way on this one, and we’ll take it to…uh, take it to…er, ah…is there somewhere to take it after the Supreme Court?”

To which Obama replied “No! There isn’t! Nyah nyah nyah!”

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he was disappointed in the Court decision, and added repeal of the law and firing the 5 justices who voted to uphold it to his “Day One To-Do List”, which now has several thousand items on it including “declare polygamy to be legal”, “change the name of the Earth to Utah”, and “install car elevator in White House garage”.

Apr 2 2012

Sotomayor Apparently Missed A Day In Law School

Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor is apparently laboring under the misconception that people without health insurance are turned away at emergency rooms. Actually Congress mandated in 1984 that emergency medical facilities must treat everyone who applies, although the level of care the uninsured receive need not be equal. Also only a small percentage of health problems are treatable at emergency rooms - and by the time someone with, say, cancer needs an emergency room treatment may not be worthwhile.

Mar 24 2012

Supreme Court To Rule On Health Care

The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments for and against the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - also called "Obamacare" by its opponents.

Jan 6 2012

More Pro-Obama Propaganda: He “Cured” A Woman’s Uterus

This poor woman doesn't realize she has been duped by socialism when she had a chance to die for her country upholding a corporation's right to condemn her to death!