Aren't you proud of yourself??

I am going to take you back about 30 years. My brother was in 8th grade so he would have been 14, he is 40 now. He was playing a playoff football game, in the rain and it was cold and nasty. They were loosing the game 30-6 with about two minutes to play. All the player and fans by that point wanted to go home. The referree, then called a penatly, I do not remember what it was for, it was not unsportsmanlike conduct or any 15 yard penalty. One while, maybe the right call, not necessary toward the outcome of the game. I hear my Dad yell to the referree, "AREN"T YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF"?? It was an unpopular call.

That is how I see the health care reform bill. While the system needed to be fixed. It could have been done with some common sense and a bi-partisan fashion. The democrats, who most of them do not like the bill either, thought it was better to pass a bad bill, then pass no bill.

Fifty Five percent of Americans were against the bill while only 38% supported it. The remaining were undecided.

What I do know, is that I have to start paying more in taxes NOW, for an entitlement I can get four years from now. Seems like I have to pre-pay for health care for everyone else.

Here is how bad this bill is for our country.
1) It EXPANDS entitlement spending by over $1 trillion in order to "cover" 30 million more people.

2) It ADDS $500 billion in NEW tax INCREASES
3) It Robs Medicare and Social Security ( already BROKE, if you read my recent blogs). It is cut to FUND this new entitlement.
4) In order to keep the CBO score under $1 Trillion they count this TRANSFER from Medicare to the new entitlement a SAVINGS
5) $468 Billion in additional spending on subsidies to purchase GOVERNMENT APPROVED health insurance.
6)$48 BILLION, I am saying the word BILLION a lot in this, in additional Medicaid spending.
7) A HUGE new capital gains tax of almost 4%, that basically affects anyone with savings.
8) The bill has a DECADE of Medicare cuts and a DECADE of tax increases, but only SIX years of BENEFITS.
9) $70 BILLION long term care premiums will be collected under the "CLASS ACT" again to fund the $1 Trillion entitlement.
10)$132 BILLION in cuts to medicare advantage plans.

You know what is NOT IN THE BILL??? What it will take the Federal Government to ENFORCE the mandates. They are hiring 16,500 new IRS agents, which will cost at least $10 Billion and another $60 billion to enforce all of the mandates.

So I say to our congress.. AREN'T YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF??


Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker in Chicago. He can be reached at 888-448-5370. You can visit him online at www.isellhealth.net.

Thank you for reading.