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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Just Admit It, We Know You Did It

Recently, it has come to light that 111 waivers from the provisions of Obamacare have been given to major corporations, unions, companies no one has ever heard of, and our blog. The administration must have finally realized the economic reality that 100 million in losses each year would lead to less employment. Guess it's a steeper learning curve than we had suspected. I assume this list will grow. The notable exception will most likely be Wal-Mart as you don't need an exception from something you will never provide.

Here is the list, http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/approved_applications_for_waiver.html . (Via Gateway Pundit) You'll notice some large players on there. An SEIU chapter, New England Healthcare, Darden Restaurants (Owners of Capital Grille), Cracker Barrel, the Asbestors Workers Welfare Fund, and Maverick County. Those last two probably have you scratching your noodle. To make it even more chafed on the top of your head, consider that combined that have 3 enrollees. I have no idea why a country in Texas and ostensibly the stupidest sounding union affiliate (and that is saying something) are exempted from Obamacare, and I doubt the transparenter-in-chief will ever tell us.

I could understand exemptions to companies like McDonalds or Microsoft. They have thousands if not millions of employees and have an enormous impact on the economy. To pass legislation that adversely affects them might be irresponsible, but to allow it to reach its zenith would be downright (right) dumb. But Maverick Country, really? Now I'm sure the .000000000000001% the contribute to GDP is important, but to even take the time to review an exemption for one person seems like a farce. If this is so good for everyone, only a claim of an enormous disparate impact should be considered when evaluating exemptions.

Unless, (wait for it) the bill isn't all that great. Like many of you, I have been eagerly awaiting finding out what's in it once it passed (Pelosi) and it becoming more popular. (Obama, Biden, anyone not on Fox News) Pelosi's least contemptuous promise regarding the health care bill has actually come true. And much like her face before seventeen needles pierce it, it is terrifying. We're seeing what most of us already knew or at best feared. It is a major recalibration of the US health care system from top down and it will cost business billions and affect the lives of nearly one third of our population. Not to mention the fact that the big whopper of a promise, it not adding to the deficit, is actually false. The CBO was hovering their finger over the send button on that report for the eventuality that democrats would rescind their promise to cut half a trillion from a program beloved by their constituency, Medicare.

This only leaves the wise gumshoe with one conclusion, the bill is actually bad. Now, if you read Last's article about Obama's hubris in the Weekly Standard, you would not be surprised that he is having a bit of trouble admitting to this. I get that it's his signature bill and he is just too damn progressive to regress back to a time when our country didn't spend itself stupid, but what makes a president great is admitting mistakes and changing course going forward. Think Bush with the surge. Everyone already know it is bad, the GOP will most likely kill its funding, and somewhere around 50% want it repealed. (When was the last time that many Americans agreed on anything?) Obama, you can still be great, but you need to take a step back, look at what's going on, and readjust. It's about time for you to put down the snake oil and pick up some of the truth serum.

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