As ObamaCare sinks in the polls, Democrats are complaining that the critics are distorting their proposals. But the truth is that the closer one inspects the actual details, the worse it all looks. Today’s example is the vast debt canyon that would open just beyond the 10-year window under which the bill is officially “scored” for cost purposes.
The press corps has noticed the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the House health bill increases the deficit by $239 billion over the next decade. But government-run health care won’t turn into a pumpkin after a decade. The underreported news is the new spending that will continue to increase well beyond the 10-year period that CBO examines, and that this blowout will overwhelm even the House Democrats’ huge tax increases, Medicare spending cuts and other “pay fors.”
Sen. DeMint appears on FOX News' "The O'Reilly Factor" with Bill O'Reilly to discuss health care and his plan to get $22 million more Americans insured under private, affordable plans.
Yesterday, Sen. DeMint appeared on "FOX News Sunday" with Chris Wallace to debate Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) on the Democrats' plans for a government health care takeover and the already bankrupt "Cash for Clunkers" program.
Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Steering Committee and member of the Senate Banking Committee, appeared on Fox News Sunday with host Chris Wallace and U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-New York). The following are excerpts from the discussion on today’s program:
On Democrat goal of government takeover of health care:
DEMINT: Well, people are starting to figure out that the president is on record, Congressman Rangel’s on record, for wanting a single-payer government health care system in America. So the debate’s really between the Democrats and the American people right now. And what we wanted mostly is to be able to put the -- the bill itself on the Internet and the airways so that the American people know what’s in it. They know it’s going to cut Medicare. They know it’s going to raise taxes on the small businesses that create jobs. And they know it’s going to eliminate jobs across the country.
WALLACE: So what do you think will end up happening as a result?
DEMINT: What’s -- what’s going to happen is you’re going to see Americans take to the street in August, and go to their congressmen’s office, and they’re going to go to town halls, and I think they’re going to let congressmen and senators know that they need to keep their hands off their health care.
On Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on small businesses:
WALLACE: Senator DeMint, it looks like the House is going to pass Congressman Rangel’s proposal to raise a half a trillion dollars by imposing a surtax on top earners. Now, combined with other Obama tax policies as well as local and state taxes, that would raise the top marginal tax rate in 39 states to over 50 percent. And take a look at this. The top tax rate in Denmark is 60 percent. It would be over 57 percent in Oregon, almost 57 percent in New York and California. That’s higher than Sweden and Belgium. Senator DeMint, what would that do to the economy?
DEMINT: Well, half of the so-called rich are small businesses that create 70 or 80 percent of the jobs in this country, and it’s a real jobs killer… they cut Medicare to come up with some money, and they raise taxes on -- on small businesses, and they penalize any American with a 2.5 percent tax if they don’t have government-approved health care...
The Senate Finance Committee is struggling to pull together a health reform bill to bring before the Senate for a vote. Up for debate is whether to allow the government to sponsor health care "co-ops" to compete with private insurers. While the idea may sound okay in theory, Wall Street Journal editors explain why such a plan would lead to another Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac government takeover of a private industry, providing American with less control over their health care, driving up cost and decreasing quality.
The details of the Senate Finance Committee’s hush-hush health talks aren’t fully known, but leaks suggest that one all-but-certain highlight will be new federally created health “cooperatives” to compete against private insurers. The onus is on Republican negotiators Chuck Grassley and Mike Enzi to explain why this isn’t merely the House “public option” in a better suit.
North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad floated the co-op concept last month, to attract Republicans who oppose President Obama’s state-run plan. According to Mr. Conrad, these nonprofits—modeled on local electricity or rural farm co-ops—fulfill the liberal goal of competing against private insurers, yet avoid “government control,” since they will be member-owned. Presto, a Beltway splitting of the political baby.
And in theory, health-care co-ops needn’t be destructive.[...] But the Senate is talking about government-sponsored co-ops, and that means multiple devils are in the details...
Sen. DeMint appeared on FOX Business yesterday with financial guru Dave Ramsey, saying that Washington, D.C.'s spending and debt is out of control. You can find a transcript of the interview here:
Sen. DeMint appeared on FOX News with Greta Van Susteren yesterday, pointing out that the recovery act was nothing but a liberal government spending plan that hasn't yielded President Obama's promised results. You can find a transcript of the interview here.
Amid the frantic efforts of liberal Democrats to wrestle the health care industry under bureaucratic government control, reports are surfacing that a bipartisan deal may be reached in the Senate:
In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) pushed ahead with efforts to forge a bipartisan bill, and appeared close to sealing a deal that would expand health insurance coverage, but by creating a network of nonprofit cooperatives, not by establishing a new public health plan as favored by senior House Democrats.
“We’re going to have some type of public option, call it ‘co-op’, call it what you want,” Reid said...
The co-op plan, authored by Sen Kent Conrad, D-ND, is still being tinkered with, but, working with Sen Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and other Democrats, some changes have been agreed to — like a major infusion of federal dollars at the beginning and an initial governing board set up by the feds with federal involvement. One point of contention, however, has been how long government officials remain on the board. Conrad has contended that the board should eventually be run solely by participants. Schumer and others have sought a continued government presence, trying to create a quasi-public option.
[Said Schumer,] “We don’t care what it’s called."
Sen. DeMint exposed the cooperative initiative on Sunday in an appearance on ABC's 'This Week' for what it is: a Fannie Mae-style health insurance arbiter in each state.
The Associated Press reports on a possible health plan "compromise" from Senate Finance that relies on federally-backed insurance cooperatives (co-ops).
But just a few weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) declared that Democrats view fed co-ops the same as a public option, government-run health care:
“We’re going to have some type of public option, call it ‘co-op’, call it what you want,” Reid said...
