Britain’s vaunted nationalized healthcare system is bankrupting the nation and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning that if the UK doesn’t start charging for healthcare and raise the retirement age above 65 the country will not be able to get out from under the widening fiscal disaster.
The IMF is telling the British government that she must instigate a wholesale revamping of its pensioner and healthcare system to “help keep a lid on the debt.”
Treasury officials admitted recently that the deficit is expected to rise “£200billion this year - £25billion more than the Chancellor predicted in the Budget.”
That is the equivalent of £3,257 of debt for every man, woman and child, or £9,457 for the average family.
It should be pointed out that Britain’s deficit is no where near the Obama deficit in the U.S. and his $1 debt doesn’t even count any nationalized healthcare plan like the one Congress is desperately trying to pass.
Tags: Great Britain
Contrary to popular opinion in the media, the Individual Mandate, not the so-called public option is the key to stopping Obamcare in its tracks. Stop the Individual Mandate and the whole bill will unravel for lack of funding and mandatory participation in the scheme!
This is a very dangerous period because Nationalization will still occur even without an overt government run insurance plan like this “public option” provision everyone keeps fixating on - Wyden/Bennett and the Bacus bill are prime examples of this.
Here are the core elements what will be contained in the “health care reform compromise” after the so-called “public option” is in all likelihood dropped:
(a) Federal Regulation aka HEALTH CZAR/DEATH PANELS
(b) Employer/Individual Mandates aka NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
(c) Government Subsidies aka MIDDLE CLASS MEDICAL WELFARE
With the Federal Government setting the rules, forcing everyone to participate, and is paying the bills for most of the middle class through subsidies how is this anything other than Nationalization?
CATO Inst. Health Care Expert Michael F. Cannon on the how the Individual Mandate is Government Run Health Care:
“The most hazardous health reform measure before Congress is not the so-called “public option,” but proposals to make health insurance compulsory via an individual or employer mandate.
Compulsory health insurance could require nearly 100 million Americans to switch to a more expensive health plan and would therefore violate President Barack Obama’s pledge to let people keep their current health insurance. In particular, the legislation before Congress could eliminate many or all health savings account plans. Making health insurance compulsory would also spark an unnecessary fight over abortion and would enable government to ration care to those with private health insurance.
Obama adviser Larry Summers writes that mandates “are like public programs financed by benefit taxes,” meaning that compulsory health insurance would also violate President Obama’s promise not to increase taxes on the middle class. Under the House Democrats’ legislation, some middle-income earners would face marginal tax rates over 50 percent (before state taxes).
The experience in Massachusetts belies the claim that compulsory health insurance brings down health care costs. The “shared responsibility” ruse allows Massachusetts politicians to declare success for a compulsory health insurance scheme whose actual costs reveal it to be a failure. Massachusetts also demonstrates that compulsory health insurance enables, and ultimately requires, politicians and government bureaus to control nearly all aspects of health care and medical practice.
Rather than make health insurance compulsory, Congress should make it more affordable by letting individuals control their earnings and choose their own health plan from any state in the Union.”
Here are the links again for all conservatives to arm themselves with the facts in the health care debate:
Debunking of Democrat myths/talking points:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10583
Here are free market based plans:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10560
The failure of Rommneycare and its mandates:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10488
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10268
How mandates will be a defacto government run HC:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10576
http://www.publiusforum.com/index.php?s=what+mandates+do+to+our+insurance
http://www.publiusforum.com/2009/09/21/what-mandates-do-to-our-insurance/#more-6857
How the Individual Mandate is a Bailout for Big Health Insurance:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125409686516345031.html
http://healthcarehorserace.com/activism/09292009/two-former-gop-heavyweights-spar-on-individual-mandate/
How the Individual Mandate is an Unconstitutional Assault on your Liberty:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125362410155330667.html
http://healthcarehorserace.com/policy/09272009/one-year-in-jail-for-failing-to-meet/
http://healthcarehorserace.com/misc/09152009/health-insurance-is-not-like-auto-insurance/#more-5229
http://www.publiusforum.com/2009/09/30/new-state-govt-tactic-banning-insurance-mandate/#more-7134
http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=ODA2ODdhMzdiODc4ZmJlN2I0MGQ2MWFmNTJmODUxYjI=
How the Individual Mandate is a huge Tax Increase on the Young, Elderly, Sick, and Uninsured:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125358568876429877.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125418271275947943.html
http://healthcarehorserace.com/policy/09292009/senate-republican-policy-committee-baucus-proposals-would-break-obama-pledge/
http://healthcarehorserace.com/activism/09282009/at-least-8-new-taxes-in-obamacare/
http://healthcare.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmU4YWM3M2RjOTk3YWNlYWMwOTVlMGNjY2JmODhmNzk=
http://healthcarehorserace.com/therace/10012009/rep-paul-ryan-obama-breaking-pledge-to-seniors/
how “cost shifting” in HC is no more then 1-2% of your costs:
http://townhall.com/columnists/JacobSullum/2009/09/23/does_cost_of_uncompensated_care_justify_forcing_people_to_buy_insurance
http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7810.pdf
The primary justification (cost of Uncompensated Care or so-called Free Rider problem) for the Individual Mandate is FALSE
Here is the key quote from Kaiser 2008 study on Uncompensated Care:
The remainder of uncompensated care left to be covered by private dollars is relatively small compared to the $830 billion that will be spent by the privately insured this year (< 2%)
How President Obama Opposed the Individual Mandate as a Candidate (he was against it before he was for it!):
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-was-against-compulsory-health.html#comment-form
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/mkownacki/new-video-highlights-freedomworks-protest-of-big-I
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/health_insurance_mandates/
Another great story about the hypocrites on the left conspiring with big corporations against the middle class taxpayers:
Here is a great video from Freedomworks exposing the hypocrisy of the left on the Individual Mandates:
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/mkownacki/new-video-highlights-freedomworks-protest-of-big-I
Gee, I thought the left “hated” the “evil” big insurance companies! I thought the Democratic party and President Obama were always “looking out for the little guy and the Middle Class”!
But their plan will give them about 650 Billion in corporate welfare from your tax dollars and increased premiums!
And all the time that they have been conspiring with the insurance companies, they have been talking out the other sides of their mouth about how much they were going to “punish” them - what a crock!
Big Health Insurance Companies need to be called out for receiving Bailout money and a Monopoly Market – Health Insurance execs are politically unpopular and this would put the we opponents of the Federal government takeover of Health Care on the side of the people and AGAINST the special interests.
We conservatives have a responsibility to defend the concept of insurance and free markets but not the current government and special interest distorted market.
Obamacare is a corrupt bargain that benefits big government, powerful Washington politicians, big unions, and big companies/industry at the expense (once again) of the American taxpayer, small business, the elderly, and the young.
If the Obama and the Democrats really wanted to make the “Evil” Big health insurance companies toe the line for the consumers they would force them to compete nationally and offer a full range of products and service. There are 1300 smaller health insurance companies ready to undercut them. I am sure there would be many more start up health insurance companies too if we had a truly free national market.
Unfortunately, the Democrats want to do just the opposite - they want to help their rich friends in the Big Health Insurance market by giving them millions of new customers, billions in subsidies, and a government enforced national monopoly!”
Again, please get this out to all your friends - number one, its funny as all heck - and number two, I think allot of folks can be reached with this video and article!
thanks!
Conservatives and the GOP are missing an opportunity to expose Democratic inconsistencies on the Individual Mandate. Now that they need Trillions to fund their Health Care takeover, they are MUST have the tax revenue that the Individual Mandates would bring in with the fines, Insurance Taxes, etc.
Well, guess who didn’t support AND viciously attacked supporters of Individual Mandates during last years Democratic primaries?
I you said President Obama and VP Biden, give yourself an A!
And the Individual Mandate should be an easy target for conservatives and the GOP to attack since President Obama has done a huge 180 from his campaign promises!
Here is a great article by James Joyner about just how vigorous his opposition to Individual Mandates used to be:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/health_insurance_mandates/
From the mouth of then Candidate Obama:
“If you look at auto insurance, in California there’s mandatory auto insurance,” Obama explained. “Twenty-five percent of the folks don’t have it. The reason is because they can’t afford it. So John and I, we’re not that different in this sense; that I’m committed to starting the process. Everybody who wants it can buy it and it’s affordable. If we have some gaps remaining, we will work on that. You take it from the opposite direction, but you’re still going to have some folks who aren’t insured under your plan, John, because some of them will simply not be able to afford to buy the coverage they’re offered.”
Can we see some flip-flop adds please? The debate where he said this is on Video – why isn’t this on Fox, commercials, etc and juxtaposed to his current statements where he literally gushes over in his praise for using government force to compel you to buy a private product against your will?
Here is a link to the video with a great critic by President Obama himself on why the Individual Mandates are BAD:
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-was-against-compulsory-health.html#comment-form
These individual mandates are a huge tax increase on the young and healthy to pay for the uninsured!
This video needs to be shown in the conservative media and President Obama needs to be called out for his Flip-flop on Individual Mandates!
[...] (Cross posted at HealthcareHorseRace.com.) [...]
[...] nationalized healthcare plan like the one Congress is desperately trying to pass. (Cross posted at HealthcareHorseRace.com.) ____________ Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion [...]