Obamacare: Teetering on the abyss

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/us/politics/deadlines-and-lagging-funds-bedevil-obama-health-care-law.html?_r=1&

The above NYT's article reports on the problems associated with the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The deadline quickly approaches yet states are not ready, and consumers are unsure what to expect.

Tom Price, Republican rep from Georgia, pinpointed one of the biggest problems -- consumers who are forced into the state exchanges who can't afford the payments yet don't meet the criteria to receive a subsidy. They can pay a fine, but what if they want insurance or can't afford the fine? There will be many, many Americans who complain through whatever routes are set up to accept and hear-out complaints, and representatives will be lobbied by those who're fighting for universal coverage to subsidize those who are in a gray area. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans will want to be the ones who say no.

Obamacare is going to disconbobulate a healthcare system already disconbobulated by years of government interventions, so, unforeseen costs will arise through the healthcare system, while Congress and the administration wildly throw money at it in a desparate attempt to make it work. One of the main cost over-runs, though, as stated above, will be new subsidies for millions of Americans seeking insurance, but shut out of the current Obamacare arrangement. Obamacare is a government failure waiting to happen.

Social Security is over as we know it

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/opinion/sunday/social-security-its-worse-than-you-think.html?_r=0

Despite political protection of SS so that politicians don't offend seniors, seniors don't have to worry. Anyone born before 1960 or so doesn't have to worry about SS, but even the NYT now admits SS has to be reformed. I promote more drastic changes than the author of the article linked above, but something has to be done. I prefer private solutions, and, ultimately, I think private solutions to retirement will win out over government schemes which are always politicized and thus made untenable.

Avoiding reality?

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/12/07/november-jobs-report-146000-jobs-added-jobless-rate-drops-to-7-7/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/business/economy/us-creates-146000-new-jobs-as-unemployment-rate-falls-to-7-7.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Two reports above. Although Hotair is clearer that this report is not good, both lead with what appears to be good news. The NYT starts off praising the report, then way down at the end of the article it reports that "some" economists warn the report is not so good. Reality: the report is not good.

To paraphrase Ayn Rand -- you can attempt to avoid the consequences of reality but you can't avoid the consequences of attempting to avoid the consequences of reality. In reality many workers are dropping out of the labor force because they're giving up looking for a job, and that should have been the headline. Media can mislead the American people, and they can soften the reality of the economy, but they can't change the reality of unemployment or the reality of the economy.

US interventions in mideast are unravelling

Even the NYT has to pay attention after awhile.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/africa/weapons-sent-to-libyan-rebels-with-us-approval-fell-into-islamist-hands.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp&

When will the American public demand that we stop intervening. It never works out as we plan.

Morning Joe 5/18/2012 -- State media and partisan hacks

On Morning Joe there were a few interesting moments. One was the continued clips of Biden doing his snark routine aimed at Romney. Of course, if Romney and his team were constantly snarky when speaking of Obama, it would be framed as shrill and desperate, but when Joe does it it's populist messaging which touches the common man and woman.

Another interesting moment which feeds into my title regarding media bias was the Billionaire's Super Pac turning down an ad which attacks Obama regarding his relationship with Rev Wright. It's a long non-story. The point is that the NYT highlighted the story in an attempt to smear Romney. It was a stretch which confirms that the NYT is merely an arm of the State and filled with partisan hacks propagandizing for Obama. The GOP doesn't have to attack the Left in this presidential campaign -- all that Romney's team has to do is simply state what the Left is doing, then point to the economy.

That brings me to the last interesting point, which was a discussion regarding the economy in which there was disagreement over why we are losing ground in the global economy. Steve Rattner believes that other countries are catching up, but he believes we are doing okay. The Harvard professor on the show believes that America is slipping because of fundamental problems we aren't addressing -- education, our tax structure, too much regulation and, in general, an unfriendly environment for businesses. This is a shame -- America has become an unfriendly environment for businesses. This started around the time of LBJ and it's only gotten worse with brief periods of improvement. Yes, we have to deal with the fundamental problems and stop obsessing over symptoms.