Half Truths Are The Same As Lies
September 12th 2009 15:23
On Wednesday, September 9, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress during which he was publicly told, “You lie,” by Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina when Mr. Obama said his health plan wouldn’t insure illegal immigrants. What got Joe apoplectic was the Republican/Conservative claim that the Obama plan did not contain enforcement provisions.
There were other Obama health care statements that brought Republican/Conservative laughter, indifference, and heckling during the President’s speech, such as no federal dollars would be used to fund abortions, the federal deficit would not be increased, the insurance industry is too concentrated in too many states, and you or your employer won’t be required to change the coverage or doctor you currently have.
While there are no specific enforcement provisions to insure that illegal immigrants wouldn’t benefit from a new health care plan, as Representative Wilson correctly informed the world in his own crude way, any plan to defraud the government constitutes fraud, and should result in prosecution, hopefully sooner than later. But, I suspect that the President will now give the Republican/Conservatives a small victory by including enforcement procedures that make anyone wanting to claim benefits prove legal residency (the Democrats got an even larger victory by making Republican/Conservatives grovel when they got them to insist that Representative Wilson immediately and publicly contritely apologize to the President).
The “public option” in the House bill would cover abortions in the cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life was threatened, and it could be amended to cover all abortions. Private insurance could be purchased with federal money to cover abortions (most private plans cover abortions now). It depends on what the definition of “federal dollars” is. If you are a Democrat, and pro-abortion, then “federal dollars” means dollars paid directly from a health plan to cover a medical procedure. If you are a Republican/Conservative, and pro-life, then “federal dollars” means dollars paid to you to fund any kind of health care, including health insurance.
The Congressional Budget Office said the House bill would increase the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years while the President said the bill would cost $900 billion over ten years and would largely be paid for by savings in health care efficiency and a tax on top of the line health insurance plans; he also said that he would impose more budget cuts if the other savings didn’t materialize, but where are the cuts going to come from? The correct answer is: nobody knows the truth.
The President stated that, in thirty-four states, five insurance companies control 95% of the market. What he left out was the rest of the information from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) report that said the five insurance companies control 95% of the small group market, which, while not as competitive as the President may like, is not that unusual. His other remark about Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama controlling 96% of the small group market is not correct either; it is 75%.
While the “public option” would mainly be targeted at the uninsured, anyone would be able to choose it instead of private insurance. If enough of an employer’s employees chose the “public option”, the employer’s health insurance might become too expensive, forcing him/her to drop it for the remaining employees. So, the President’s claims that you or your employer wouldn’t be forced to switch insurers or doctors might not hold water.
Sure, Addison Graves (Joe) Wilson, the U.S. Representative from the 2nd Congressional District in South Carolina is a bore, and now the entire world knows it, not just the people of South Carolina. But, he has forced a closer look at the health care debate facts, and maybe he has forced both sides closer to a compromise.
Some advice to the President: I still support you because I believe your intentions are good, but don’t get on national TV anymore, unprepared, and read a speech someone else probably wrote (just like Sarah Palin does) without carefully checking the facts. If you can’t tell the whole and complete truth, don’t give the speech. Half truths are the same as lies, and they hurt your argument just as they hurt the Republican/Conservative’s.
There were other Obama health care statements that brought Republican/Conservative laughter, indifference, and heckling during the President’s speech, such as no federal dollars would be used to fund abortions, the federal deficit would not be increased, the insurance industry is too concentrated in too many states, and you or your employer won’t be required to change the coverage or doctor you currently have.
While there are no specific enforcement provisions to insure that illegal immigrants wouldn’t benefit from a new health care plan, as Representative Wilson correctly informed the world in his own crude way, any plan to defraud the government constitutes fraud, and should result in prosecution, hopefully sooner than later. But, I suspect that the President will now give the Republican/Conservatives a small victory by including enforcement procedures that make anyone wanting to claim benefits prove legal residency (the Democrats got an even larger victory by making Republican/Conservatives grovel when they got them to insist that Representative Wilson immediately and publicly contritely apologize to the President).
The “public option” in the House bill would cover abortions in the cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life was threatened, and it could be amended to cover all abortions. Private insurance could be purchased with federal money to cover abortions (most private plans cover abortions now). It depends on what the definition of “federal dollars” is. If you are a Democrat, and pro-abortion, then “federal dollars” means dollars paid directly from a health plan to cover a medical procedure. If you are a Republican/Conservative, and pro-life, then “federal dollars” means dollars paid to you to fund any kind of health care, including health insurance.
The Congressional Budget Office said the House bill would increase the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years while the President said the bill would cost $900 billion over ten years and would largely be paid for by savings in health care efficiency and a tax on top of the line health insurance plans; he also said that he would impose more budget cuts if the other savings didn’t materialize, but where are the cuts going to come from? The correct answer is: nobody knows the truth.
The President stated that, in thirty-four states, five insurance companies control 95% of the market. What he left out was the rest of the information from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) report that said the five insurance companies control 95% of the small group market, which, while not as competitive as the President may like, is not that unusual. His other remark about Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama controlling 96% of the small group market is not correct either; it is 75%.
While the “public option” would mainly be targeted at the uninsured, anyone would be able to choose it instead of private insurance. If enough of an employer’s employees chose the “public option”, the employer’s health insurance might become too expensive, forcing him/her to drop it for the remaining employees. So, the President’s claims that you or your employer wouldn’t be forced to switch insurers or doctors might not hold water.
Sure, Addison Graves (Joe) Wilson, the U.S. Representative from the 2nd Congressional District in South Carolina is a bore, and now the entire world knows it, not just the people of South Carolina. But, he has forced a closer look at the health care debate facts, and maybe he has forced both sides closer to a compromise.
Some advice to the President: I still support you because I believe your intentions are good, but don’t get on national TV anymore, unprepared, and read a speech someone else probably wrote (just like Sarah Palin does) without carefully checking the facts. If you can’t tell the whole and complete truth, don’t give the speech. Half truths are the same as lies, and they hurt your argument just as they hurt the Republican/Conservative’s.
| 27 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
