Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Hypocicy & Lies

HYPOCRICY THY NAME IS REPUBLICAN – Republicans are all about capitalism, free enterprise and the entrepreneurial spirit. They value the “I” over the collective “We.” They view government programs and social safety nets as handouts and bailouts for slackers and bums…a plague on that which made this country great.

So it is with great interest that we watched Republicans stand shoulder to shoulder with Democrats to pass a $1 trillion dollar five year extension of the Farm Bill.
The bill ends the system of subsidies paid directly to farmers that has been in place for 80 years and replaces it with a crop insurance program on steroids. Republicans joined hands with Democrats in praising the bill: “This bill will provide our ranchers and farmers with the security they need to invest in the future.”

Just so we’re clear… The same Republicans who have demonized government run health care under the ACA…voting 40+ times to repeal the bill…have just funded a $1 trillion dollar program that provides government run crop insurance for farmers and ranchers.

ACA bad…Farm bill good?

Just exactly how do free enterprise Republicans square taking $1 trillion tax dollars from the masses to a provide a small segment of our society “with the security they need to invest in the future.” Doesn’t this constitute a handout by the government? Just asking!

LIES AND MORE LIES – The ruckus you heard yesterday was the crush of gleeful Republicans rushing to microphones to comment on a headline featured in most news publications: “Obamacare Will Cost Economy 2 Million Jobs.”

The stories site recently released findings by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that says that the ACA “will reduce full time equivalent employment by about 2.3 million in 2021.” Last May the CBO had set the figure at 800,000.

For Republicans this was Christmas morning revisited. The CBO had just confirmed that the ACA was an even bigger job killer than they thought. Hosanna in the highest!

This is what happens when you don’t do your homework.

If you take the time to look past the headlines and actually read the article you gain an entirely different perspective. Quoting the report: “The reduction in full time employment that the CBO expects will arise from the ACA includes some people choosing not to work at all and other people choosing not to work as fewer hours than they would have in the absence of the law.”

Translation…the report doesn’t predict that businesses are going to dump workers because of the law. In fact studies conducted in states like Massachusetts and Vermont where universal health care is law of the land show no such cause and affect. The CBO report says that the reduction in jobs will be because people will no longer be tied to jobs simply because the need the health care benefits the job provides. The ACA provides people with the freedom to leave the workforce or reduce their hours because they can obtain healthcare through the exchanges. A spouse whose job provides the family health care can now choose to stay at home with the kids and obtain the coverage through the ACA. An entrepreneur who wants to start his/her own business but has been shackled to an employer for need of the benefits can now follow their dream and get insurance coverage through the ACA.

Republicans will undoubtedly change their tune once their partisan misrepresentations are brought to light. Our guess is that they will portray the ACA as creating a whole new class of slackers and bums who would rather stay at home than work.

But they can’t have it both ways.

You can’t say that you stand for individual rights, freedoms and liberties and then criticize those who exercise their lawful rights.





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