Nutter's Washington

Chocolate Milk, ObamaCare, Truth and Lessons in Life

When I was a young boy, I learned in one night valuable lessons that have serve me well, although at times painfully. Lessons that I wish our politicians had learned.

Chocolate milk used to be my favorite drink and a real treat as an 8 year old. In the house my family lived were two huge white curtains over the sliding glass doors. My mother loved those curtains- white lace. She brought them home from the cleaners one day, hung them, the same day she attended evening choir practice. It was a Monday. Before she left, she told my two beloved older sisters and me not to get near the curtains.

Almost before the door shut for her departure, I decided to make a huge glass of cold chocolate milk. I poured either Nestles Quik or maybe a heap of Bosco syrup into the glass. I took my treasure to the comfy chair, setting it on the nearby table by the window. Drummer, our boxer dog, lay at my feet. Perfect. My sisters watching television in the next room, me undisturbed to have the nectar.

I do not know what happened but within 15 seconds, the glass of chocolate milk even before I took a sip was hurdling towards the window and the white curtains at light speed. A blur but I could visualize every drop spilling. To my horror, the liquid drenched the curtain like black blood.

I raced to tell my sisters. All they could say is “now you are going to get it, Jackie”. I cleaned it up as best I could and cleaned it up like an eight year old would. The stains were not only everywhere but also very noticeable (like from the moon)

I now had 2 hours until my mother returned. How should I approach this? Lie, feign ignorance, run away from home, blame it on poor Drummer? I was prepared for the worst.

My mother returned and I immediately told her before she got in the door and showed her the damage. I was hoping for a beating, it would have made me feel better. Instead, she said “Jackie, go your room and go to bed. (My mother nevered called me Jackie so I knew this was serious) We can discuss this in the morning.”

I learned that night the following: 

• Tell the truth
• Do not try to hide what will be found out
• Fess up as soon as possible
• Take responsibility for your actions

I never received any punishment from my mother. She told me I did the right thing in telling her right away even though she was mad.  I have to say, my mother earned and had my unwavering love for the rest of her life. 

Now for the lessons in political terms: It seems some of our leaders have not been honest at best and probably just plain deceitful.

President Obama had stated and really vowed repeatedly over the last 4 years that under his healthcare initiative, those who like their health insurance plans could keep them. Not only that but a person could keep his doctor and it would not cost any more money under his plan. In addition, after the plan was enacted, there was no mention that full time work world morph into part time as a result.

Seems like none of this is true and the politicians knew it. They not only did not tell us, they continued to tell a fabrication

We now know more than 7 million people will lose their healthcare coverage as a result of ObamaCare's new standards.

Sources told the NBC news a few days ago that 50 to 75 percent of people who buy health plans individually would receive a cancellation letter in the next year. 

The NBC report states the Obama administration knew this fact because of an estimate buried in regulations from 2010 that "40 to 67 percent" of customers will lose their healthcare policies. In fact, this figure could be greater because many other plans were not "grandfathered" in by the administration under the healthcare law. 

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House minority whip, acknowledged on Tuesday the Democrats knew all along that some patients would lose their health insurance plans under the new law. Like Mr. Obama he did not bother to tell any of these people either.

These new revelations about the dysfunction of the health care law are shameful. The deception of trying to hide the consequences of the law is maybe worse than the law itself.  

Liberals, media apologists and the Administration are trying to explain all of this. How people will be better off under the new law. It is a bunch of crud, double speak and pure garbage. Who are they to say when a person is better off?    

It was the intention all along to destroy the individual insurance market, make people pay for what they do not want or need. To take choice away, to make others subsidize the chosen in the system. There was no mistake here. A mistake is not locking the front door, adding up the column wrong.

It is no wonder the public is distrustful of Washington. Hiding the truth, deception and lying are just wrong. Making up some lame excuses and rationalizing is insulting. Taking away choice is the wrong path to efficiency and low costs.

How did we do this to ourselves? How did we get to this point? Why do our “leaders” think they can get away with this behavior? Do they think we are stupid, sheep and powerless? Do they care? How does the government achieve such arrogance that only it knows what is good for its citizens?

Notwithstanding the substance of the Affordable Care Act, this kind of conduct makes me angry, sad, and disgusted-and I have been around politics for a long long time.

 

 

 

 

Birthday!

Today is my birthday. The best day of the year. My favorite national holiday. The culmination of the birthday month celebration.

Thank you for the wonderful year again. Each day is a gift and a blessing. 

Shutdown Over: Move on to Next Crisis

The 16-day rancorous partial shut down of the government ended when Congress passed legislation to fund the federal government (until January 15, 2014), and extend the debt ceiling to approximately February 7, 2014. The debt ceiling could be extended for s short time beyond February 7  by “extraordinary measures” by the Treasury Department allowed under the legislation.

The legislation passed in the Senate, by a margin of 81 to 18. All Senate Democrats voted for the legislation and 18 Republicans voted against it. The legislation passed the Republican controlled House with all 198 Democrats and 87 Republicans voting for it. Voting against were 144 Republicans ,a big contra majority.  

Conservative Republicans trying to find a way to derail the implementation of the Affordable Care Act initiated the budget impasse. The final agreement makes no changes to the health law, although it remains a contentious issue

As part of the agreement, a budget conference was established to reconcile the House and Senate budget resolutions passed earlier this year.  The budget conference committee includes 29 lawmakers – 22 from the Senate and 7 from the House of Representatives. Of the Senate members, 12 are Democrats and 10 are Republicans. Of the House members, 4 are Republicans and 3 Democrats. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) chair the conference committee,

The respective budget resolutions take a vastly different approach. The House budget generates savings entirely on the spending side by revamping federal entitlement programs and further reductions of $250 billion in discretionary programs beyond the sequester. The House budget also calls for a revenue-neutral tax reform that reduces tax preferences in order to reduce tax rates. The Senate budget generates savings from both spending cuts and revenue increases. The Senate budget calls for $975 billion in new taxes, a few reductions in health programs and only $380 billion from discretionary spending reductions in place of the $940 billion sequester. The gap between the two approaches is about $100 billion in the first year and wider after that. 

The tax issue is the great divide. Democrats want them big time. Republicans taking the Obama strategy will not even negotiate. End of Conference. In order to reduce federal spending the conservatives, backed up by the sequester, do not have to do anything. 

Congress will continue to be consumed by the budget and the entire attendant issues. Although the different sides re-opened the government, the fact is the parties only delayed any longer term resolution. It is unpredictable how the next round will be resolved but it is likely Republicans- politically stung by the shutdown-will not push the same issues again. However, it is equally likely any arrangement will not be some grand bargain, which included large lax increases

In addition to the budget, the Affordable Health Care Act will, after a rocky roll out of the health exchanges and the cancelation of many health care policies, will receive considerable political attention but doubtful Congress will make any substantive changes.

So, where does this leave the country? You know the people who actually live here.  Well, no worse or better off than we were collectively for the most part before all of this mess. The political conflict goes on and the divide-particularly the almost total distrust by conservatives in the Obama Administration- is deeper than ever. From the rhetoric from the White House (when not repeating the toll free number) the feeling is no doubt mutual.

The press is full of chatter about the fighting in the Republican Party and the low poll ratings of them in general. It is deserved but I suspect it is not lasting. Voting decisions are not made now and time will dissipate the ghosts of the October shutdown. The public memory is short and one story replaces another. Remember wiretapping the press, IRS scandal, Benghazi?

Congress can continue to debate and probably not resolve its fiscal woes (which are our also) Mr. Obama can look back at a year squandered. For the rest of us, we can continue to deal with our lives and hope the powers in charge do not screw it up more than it already is.   

 

 

 

 

Making Change at McDonald's: Cannot do the Math?

Last week I stopped by McDonald's to have breakfast with a friend. The order amounted to $ 7.20.

 I pulled out a ten and told the women cashier in her early twenties I thought I had 20 cents. She proceeded to ring it up while I dug for two dimes in my pocket. I tried to hand the two coins to her but she said she could not take them because the cash register was open.

 She could not give me three dollars back but had to give me $2.80 because that is what it said to do.  I was a bit surprised. What could be the reason?

I pushed a bit more, saying I did not want the change but she refused to give me the three one dollar bills. I told her it would not make a difference in the change drawer; the same amount of money would be in there. She said she had to be told in advance. I told her I did.

It is hard to think of why she did what she did. I can think of only two reasons.

• McDonald's has some sort of bizarre policy of making change, perhaps some sort cash drawer reconciliation with the register. Not sure how that would work as the amount in the till is the same

• The women did not understand the simple arithmetic involved. That is a scary thought. She could not make change or figure that when someone tenders $10.20 for a $7.20 bill, the change is three dollars.

 

Perhaps someone knows if I am missing something here.  I am not going to try to find some great symbol of the failure of the American education system here and I am not down on the women, she was pleasant but after thinking about it I felt sorry for her.

I did leave a bit irritated shaking my head with the extra change in pocket but did enjoy my McMuffin and coffee.

 

Obama interviewing for new job: Joins the the angry, mad and frustrated

 

The President of the United States will be unemployed on January 20, 2017. He has, however, started interviewing for a new job--that of an infomercial pitchman on late night cable television. Billy Mays has a replacement. Huckster-in-Chief.

The pitch yesterday by Mr. Obama for people to sign up under the Affordable Care Act through a web site that has failed to work was demeaning, comical and embarrassing. What were they thinking? It should be mocked-which is being done and ridiculed- which is also being done by almost everyone left and right.  It was a performance of desperation.  Can you repeat that toll free number again, Mr. President? Good God, that is horrible.

The Affordable Care Act is not as advertised and it is being implemented by a bunch of unaccountable clowns. Clowns that designed it and apparently cannot be fired. Maybe well intentioned clowns and definitely highly paid but by a bunch of people who in the last 3 years could not get it right.

This is what the ACA was to do:

 

• Allow everyone to keep their existing health insurance- Oops, seems like lots of companies are just eliminating the benefit.

 

• Save money on insurance premiums, Oops, seems like this is not the case. Those that are saving money are mostly likely reducing costs by downgrading coverage or are being subsidized by the taxpayers.

 

• Keep your job-Oops, new part-time is the old full time job so employers can avoid covering employees. 

 

These consequences are just part of the problems with the Affordable Care Act. Did I mention the incredible expense being added to the already record deficits?  Some commenters would call the promises deception, being sold a bill of goods, a cold calculated set of actions to achieve the overall goal of having the government take over health care, maybe just incompetence in the design of the law or maybe just a set of lies.

The President says he is angry and frustrated. I wonder if that is the same types of emotion a family has when they have lost their insurance, the full time job is now part time and the insurance they are going to have to get is much more expensive.

Now that would make me angry and frustrated. Let’s face it; The President is angry and frustrated because his dream child is ugly, in troubled and failing school.

In any event, I am not trying to bash the ACA or the President. These is a self-inflicted wounds. The desperate performance of the President speaks for itself. Like a train wreck, hard to watch but we all do it. Maybe he will want to change the named from Obamacare to Boehnercare to blame the Republicans? 

Budget Hysteria: Shutdown plus 15

The budget hysteria is in full tilt. I think I have seen this before. No reason to recap the mess here. Suffice it to say, the government is on shutdown plus 15 today and the debt ceiling is fast approaching. Congress and the Administration needs to start acting like adults.

Over the weekend, Democrats, including the President railed about the catastrophic consequences of bumping the debt limit, misusing the word “default”. This term is at best disingenuous rhetoric, it is inaccurate and it is a scare tactic.

The President either does not know what is a default, (perhaps by never having been in business), does not understand the concept or does not mind not leveling with the public. Of course, his tactic works to the uninformed, which would include most of the press. There will be no default on October 17th or anytime thereafter but hey don’t let the truth get in the way. The government I guess could become a deadbeat but not a defaulter.

Since the Administration has shown its distain for the House of Representative and vice-a-versa, the action has shifted to the Senate.

In the Senate there is an emerging proposal to extend the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority until Feb. 7, reopen the government and fund federal agencies through mid-January.  In addition, and this is where it gets silly, there would be a round of talks over broader budget issues to replace automatic spending cuts (aka the “sequester”).

Sheer nonsense. First of all, there does not have to be any framework to talk about anything. Secondly, this smells exactly like the Super Committee without teeth, an idea which failed and gave rise to the sequester. Thirdly, the Democrats have no intentions of cutting any federal spending at all. Nada, none.  Democrats do want to increase taxes. Hence, the parties cannot be further apart.

Reopening the sequester is total surrender for the Republicans. The sequester has been the only anti-federal spending provision that has actually done something. Lastly, this is a short term “fix”. In a matter of months the parties will be exactly where they are now. Kick the can down the road again, although in this case the can is rusted and beat up.

While the Senate moves bit by bit, the House is trying to come up with an alternative plan, much in the same framework as the Senate but adding a few more tweaks and restrictions than the Senate proposal. No real alternate plan yet, and not sure if it can pass but almost definitely the Senate plan cannot pass either.

So, what started out as a way to thump the Affordable Care Act by Republicans (such effort has been largely abandoned) has become a useless, futile and inane staring game by both sides that has continued for a lot of reasons- obstinacy, fecklessness, honest differences of opinions, partisan warfare, name calling, power, election politics, lack of leadership and on and on.

The public is growing tired of all of this. This should not be a chest beating exercise but it has. Mistakes and miscalculations have been made on both sides. Time to get it resolved and move on.

One thing is for sure, the trust is gone, Mr. Obama will never get any new initiatives through the House, ruining his plans for more big government expansion in his last 3 years unless the Republicans continue to fight the wrong battles and give up the only weapon they possess, the sequester. 

As I like to say, you did it to yourself.

Redskins: Ways to get the name changed.

The political correctness police and do-gooders are out to change the name of the Washington professional football team to something other than the “Redskins” It seems like the name is offensive to some, a racist derogatory slur.

I am not a rabid professional football fanatic. I am more or less ambivalent about it. The most I know is the owner of the team cut a bunch of trees down that he should not have and has been adamant about keeping the decades old moniker. I also know they appear to be not very good this year. However, I sleep well whether they win or lose.

However, I can understand being offended about names and other things. I am offended all the time by the conduct of others. The question is how to translate this emotion into action.

The best way make another person bend is economic coercion. In this case, if you are offended by the name Redskins then here are some tips:

1. Do not buy the gaudy, overpriced and usually cheesy merchandise. Not the lamp shade, the synthetic made-in-Indonesia throw blanket or the bumper sticker, Do not buy or wear the ill fitting jersey, thin t-shirt or those ridiculous baseball hats.
2. Do not buy tickets or attend the games. Let the seats and the parking lot be empty. Some other believer can spend 500 bucks to wait in traffic.
3. Turn the channel. Professional football lives on television. Do not watch the team. Watch another if you must.

In an event, I am a big believer conduct and many decisions are heavily influenced by money. The only way to get the name changed if that is important to you is to take on the juggernaut through the pocketbook.  If the team name is offensive, then do something. Good luck, sir! 

 

Three Stooges are running the Government: Shutdown plus 8

The “shutdown” of the federal government continues. I can tell because there are ridiculous blockades on the overlook turnout on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which I use most days. Interesting I can not longer pull into this approximate 50 yards asphalt to view the Potomac River or perhaps if I had car trouble. How stupid, how petty, how inane and what a waste. How did it come we deserve this? How did the country put people in charge that would think blocking this piece of not even road is necessary?

Makes me angry and very sad. The arrogance is astounding

The problem now is that the so-called leaders have to find a way out of this problem they have created. Debate all you want  on who is to blame but hint, it is all of them.

Republicans can take their share of blame. They took on an issue, which they could not win and even if they did the vicotry would not have made the difference on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, Republicans were given the political gift that would keep on giving in the form of the unpopular health law changes but have not recognized it.

Senate Democrats also deserve their share of blame.  Senator Reid’s Senate is inert. It did not move any appropriation bills and his tactics of thwarting almost every Republican amendment on legislation so his vulnerable member do not have to vote is self-defeating.

Of course. there is the Administration with its "I will take my ball and go home" attitude. There has not been an Administration which has gone out of its way more than this one to completely try to tar and insult the opposing party. The whining is deafening, the finger pointing is shameless.

Enough. It is embarrassing.

It looks like the country is following the Three Stooges. The Administration is the feckless Moe, the Senate in the guise of Senator Reid is the inept Larry and the House of Representatives is the silly Curly. I think I have seen this episode before.

In addition to the partial shut down, the political situation is further complicated by the upcoming lapse of federal borrowing authority due to the debt celling. On one hand, I understand the arbitrary nature of the debt ceiling. Congress has incurred these obligations and because of the horrific state of the Fisk, must borrow billions or dollars each day to pay for them.

The debt ceiling has become, however, a chance of spout off about excessive government spending and the dangerous levels of federal debt. Even the President then a Senator voted against raising of the debt ceiling. Oops, can you say hypocrite? Or at least, flip-flop? Or maybe a political opportunist?  Go ahead and give the other side the verbal blast but the raising the debt limit has to be done.  That is not to minimize the peril in front of the country due to the size of the debt, a peril the Administration does not either appreciate nor care about or both.  

In any event, this is all very serious and someone must find a way out. The way out is not rubbing the other side’s face in the mud. The only way I can see at this time is a very short term cooling off period which some kind of parameters are set to make some progress, somewhere.

 

Countdown Over: The Battle of the Lilliputians T plus 1

 

Parts of the Federal government are not working today.  The House of Representative and the Senate failed to reach any kind of agreement to fund portions of this vast machinery. Do not despair, it has happened before and the Republic will survive.

At least from my point of view, I will take some solace of predicting the event to some extent.

The “shutdown” was the inevitable result of the actions over a long period of time of a feckless and divisive President defending a flawed and unpopular law in conjunction with a lapdog liberal Senate against a drive-off-the-cliff conservative House. A great combination to nowhere.

Witnessing the tussle has been like watching the battle of the Lilliputians.

No one knows how long this will last-a few days probably. It did both sides good I suspect. Liberals can stand by their resolve to defend the nations from the evil, heartless hordes while conservatives can stand by their principal to take on an unwinnable issue lost to them by the last election.

Kind of pathetic, actually.

While all this goes on, the trains keeps a rollin’ along as Johnny Cash would sing. The debt limit is soon coming up and must also be resolved between the warring factions.

There is not need for great analysis here. The events speak for themselves. I have no trust in either side to get back on track. The longer it goes on public opinion will favor the liberals as story after story of this or that family missing a trip to some park comes out.

As I have stated, conservatives were on a no return mission to derail the health care. A person needs to know when his opponent is willing to take the sword, ruin the meal, drive into a wall rather that make an accommodation.  However, the specific horror stories of the Affordable Care Act make the action of the conservatives quite popular in a wide circle. It will not last but, in my opinion, there are other winnable battles for conservatives in the future. Just pick the right ones.