Tuesday, March 12, 2013

so what's YOUR plan?

GOP numbers guru Paul Ryan will release his 2013 Budget today. 
Ryan’s plan calls for a balanced budget by 2023.  It is built primarily on an overhaul of our health care distribution system by way of reforming Medicare and Medicaid and repealing Obamacare.  In that regard it is more a "political document" than a serious budget.
Since the president signed Obamacare into law in 2010 Republicans have attempted to repeal it on 30 separate occasions.  They were defeated every single time.  Mitt Romney made the repeal of Obamacare one of the key platforms in his bid to win the White House.  He lost. 
Repealing Obamacare is a non-starter. Not because it is such a great piece of legislation.  In fact it has many flaws.  Republicans are constantly losing this fight because they have no alternative plan.  If you are going to repeal Obamacare you have to have a plan to replace it. 
They don’t. 
So far the only alternative they have offered is to allow insurance companies to market across state lines.  They argue that this will create more competition subsequently lower insurance costs.
 It won’t! 
If politicians would take the time to study the industry they would know that Insurance companies have been allowed to market across state lines forever.  All they have to do is abide by the individual state laws in which they wish to operate.  The net results of this brilliant plan are skyrocketing health care costs that suck 18 cents out of every dollar we earn.  The Republican liaise faire “increased competition” approach didn’t work.  It’s what allowed Obamacare to occur. Now the GOP wants to go back to the same old tired way of doing things that got us into trouble in the first place.
Sound familiar?
Why would you want to return to the same old failed business model?
Our health care costs were out of control long before Obamacare was a gleam in the president’s eye.  Obamacare is a flawed attempt to reign in those costs.  If Republicans don’t like it…fine.  Then offer another plan.
It’s easy to rail against big government and rant against spending.  But cutting and slashing doesn’t necessarily solve problems.  It just moves the burden from one demographic to another.
If Paul Ryan and his fiscally conservative buddies want to repeal Obamacare they need to offer a substantive alternative.                     

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