Obama Says US to be Bankrupt If Health Care Bill Fails
President Obama sat down with ABC’s Charlie Gibson to discuss a variety of issues. It was meant to be a swan song of sorts for Gibson as he retires from the nightly news to be replaced by Diane Sawyer. The President offered very little in the interview with one big exception. When discussing the state of the health care reform effort in Congress, President Obama took a rather assertive position that we haven’t seen from him in a while. Speaking of the bill’s likely success in the Senate, the President had this to offer…
“Here’s the guarantee… the federal government will go ’BANKRUPT‘ because Medicare and Medicaid are on a trajectory that are unsustainable.”
Needless to say, this little “guarantee” has raised a few eyebrows since the interview aired. I know it certainly got my attention. Its not that I don’t believe him – because trust me, bankrupting the federal government is one thing I am sure that this administration can do. I was alarmed for a different reason though as the very idea that these two entitlement programs are the lone culprit for that demise if it arises is based on the failed premise that this reform would “save” either of them and that they are in fact worth even saying. We have known for years that both programs were dying and bleeding the federal government dry, but is the solution to fixing two entitlement programs really going to be adding a dozen more (or one really big one if that’s the way you’d like to see it)? I know that it would be political suicide for any politician to speak of such things, but if senior citizens didn’t vote in droves, would anyone really care about saving these dying programs? In the same breath that the President says that we will be bankrupt because of these programs, he also says that we must pass an even bigger entitlement bill?
I would love to be able to crawl into the head of a liberal for just one day – okay maybe just an hour. I’d love to see how it feels to generate thoughts that are so obviously counter to all common sense. I would really love to take a spin in President Obama’s vast intellect if for no reason other than to see what it feels like to know that I am absolutely full of crap, undeniably acting in opposition to my own intellect, and still think that everyone will believe me. That would be one heck of an hour.
President Obama told ABC News’ Charles Gibson in an interview that if Congress does not pass health care legislation that will bring down costs, the federal government “will go bankrupt.”
The president laid out a dire scenario of what will happen if his health care reform effort fails.
“If we don’t pass it, here’s the guarantee….your premiums will go up, your employers are going to load up more costs on you,” he said. “Potentially they’re going to drop your coverage, because they just can’t afford an increase of 25 percent, 30 percent in terms of the costs of providing health care to employees each and every year. “
The president said that the costs of Medicare and Medicaid are on an “unsustainable” trajectory and if there is no action taken to bring them down, “the federal government will go bankrupt.”
If we don’t pass it – here’s the guarantee…
Opposition Party has made political decision to say no to everything. Republicans have not come to the table…
How bout putting the AMEX away instead of worrying about the neighbors food stamps driving you into the whole big guy!!
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