Saturday, July 18, 2009

Obamacare not good enough for Congress!

http://tinyurl.com/n3bdcr
Their Own Medicine Senators prefer the insurance they have.... liberals sing Hari Krishnas to the "public option" -- a new federal insurance program like Medicare -- but if it's good enough for the middle class, then surely it's good enough for the political class too? As it happens, more than a few Democrats disagree....all Democrats -- with the exceptions of acting chairman Chris Dodd, Barbara Mikulski and Ted Kennedy via proxy -- voted ...won't themselves join a plan that "will offer benefits that are as good as those available through private insurance plans -- or better," as the Ohio and Rhode Island liberals put it in a recent op-ed. And even a self-described socialist like Vermont's Bernie Sanders, who supports a government-only system, wouldn't sign himself up....they also qualify now for generous Congressional coverage. Most Americans won't have the same choice. Some will be transferred to the new entitlement as it uses its taxpayer bankroll to dominate insurance markets. Others work for businesses that will find it easier to dump their policies and move employees to the federal rolls. Democrats also know that the public option will try to control health spending by squeezing payments made to doctors and hospitals, and by not paying for treatments that Washington decides are too expensive, which will result in inferior care.... Judd Gregg was the only GOP Senator to oppose it, on ...grounds.... the public option "will be so bad that I don't think anyone should be forced to join."
****This isn't the first time Congress has long exempted themselves from a plan they thought "good" for the rest of us. It's only since 1983 that they pay into Social Security and only 8% of salaries into a combined plan (6% to SS) although the National Taxpayers Union says"this only compensates for about 1/5 of the typical lifetime benefit. We cover the rest as taxpayers...In the final analysis, Congressional pension benefits are 2-3 times more generous than what a similarly-salaried executive could expect to receive upon retiring from the private sector. That ought to be enough to concern any taxpayer...NTUF Policy Paper 131."****

No comments:

Post a Comment