Sorting out the ‘we’ in Medicaid expansionists’ claims
When someone tells me I can get something of value for “free,” I raise an eyebrow. When that “free” thing is coming from the government — and worth billions — I reach for my wallet.
So it goes with the question of whether Georgia should opt into Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid.
In upholding most of the health reform law this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court did allow one concession to the states that sued to overturn it. The court ruled Washington could not threaten to take away states’ existing Medicaid funding if they declined to expand Medicaid. Each state must now decide whether to take part in the expansion and make anyone earning 138 percent of the federal poverty level eligible for Medicaid.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal in August said he would decline the offer on two grounds. First, the state can’t afford its share of the expansion’s cost. Second, Deal doesn’t believe a heavily indebted Washington will uphold its end of the bargain, possibly putting the state on the hook for even more than projected. Medicaid already accounts for more than $2 billion in state spending each year, or almost $1 of every $7 from the state’s general fund — and rising.
There’s no sign Deal is wavering on this decision, but Obamacare supporters keep making their case to the public.
They scarcely try to convince us the state’s portion of the expansion is affordable — though they do argue the state’s projection of $4.5 billion over 10 years is too high.
Instead, they focus on the federal money Georgia will forgo if we don’t participate. A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, reported in the AJC this week, put the figure at $33 billion over the next decade. This, proponents say, is a matter of getting what’s due to us.
The gist of one of their key arguments is: We are going to pay the taxes levied by Obamacare, so we at least ought to get the funding it’s meant to provide us.
This argument assumes Obamacare will actually pay for itself, a dubious proposition given Washington’s history of missing high on revenue forecasts and low on cost projections. But that’s not my point today.
Instead, I want to point out that “we” isn’t always we. Sometimes “we” is they.
In the above example, the payers of the tax are indeed “we.” But “we” are not the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are the health providers, mostly hospitals, who have their eyes on that $33 billion.
New Medicaid enrollees would gain some benefit, though even that’s limited because the number of doctors who don’t accept new Medicaid patients is large and growing. But many of these potential enrollees already receive care that simply isn’t paid for.
While no one’s calling this a hospital-bailout program, that’s what it boils down to.
But aren’t we already paying for these patients? What about that “care that simply isn’t paid for”?
Yes, we’re already paying for them, in part via higher insurance premiums. But not as much as you think: A study by the Urban Institute found uncompensated care accounts for just 1.7 percent of health premiums. The Medicaid expansion would reduce this by only a fraction. The Obama administration itself has said the Medicaid expansion would reduce the “cost-shifting” from the uninsured to the insured by just $1 billion a year – nationwide.
Compare that $1 billion a year in savings to the estimated $95 billion a year Obamacare would spend to expand Medicaid.
The reduction of cost-shifting may be smaller than one might expect because Medicaid payments often don’t cover the cost of treatment, which explains why so many doctors don’t accept new Medicaid patients. When you lose money on every patient, you can’t make it up in volume.
So don’t expect the Medicaid expansion to lead to smaller premiums in your private insurance. History tells us the opposite will happen. Expanding a broken program is of no real help to the uninsured or to taxpayers.
Perversely, the states that decline to expand their Medicaid programs may actually make Obamacare more sustainable by lowering its costs. But it should keep pressure on Washington to come up with real reform that benefits the uninsured and our health system more broadly.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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247 comments Add your comment
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
5:48 am
[T]he payers of the tax are indeed “we.” But “we” are not the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are the health providers, mostly hospitals, who have their eyes on that $33 billion.
—————————-
Correction: The payers of the tax are the people who actually work for a living and pay taxes. The beneficiaries are Obozo’s base–the slothful, the lazy, the parasites.
The productive are going to pay regardless, and receive no benefit. The Obozo receptacles would have the productive pay even more.
Governor Deal is right to decline to raise taxes on the productive. All real Americans agree.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
6:00 am
But . . but . . . but . . . Kyle! It’s free money! And it will help the poor children! And it’s paid for! And the seas will lower!
All because Obama said so!
Skip
November 29th, 2012
6:01 am
The greatest nation the world has ever seen and it’s too greedy to take care of its poor.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
6:03 am
Skip, how much did you donate last year to provide health care to the poor?
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
6:06 am
Oh, and Skip, we didn’t become the greatest nation the world has ever seen by running a socialist economy. We did it by having free markets, by protecting private property rights, and by allowing the profit motive to incent people to actually go out and work for a living.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
6:07 am
We were once the greatest nation this world has ever seen because we used to take care of our selves, Skip.
Both are in the past however, due to people like you.
Skip
November 29th, 2012
6:30 am
No time to play with the slackers, I have work to do.
Jefferson
November 29th, 2012
6:31 am
It’s not free and you will pay, how much clearer can it be. Nobody expects selfish people to like it, grow up.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
6:35 am
LOL…Skip talks the talk about “taking care of the poor” but doesn’t do anything to make that a reality. She just knows that SOMEONE ELSE should be paying.
Skip, your greed for other peoples’ property is disgusting and filthy and un-American.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
6:47 am
Why should I pay for something I don’t use (like health care), Jefferson?
Why should I pay for teachers in Florida, firefighters in NY and cops in Chicago if I don’t ever need their services, Jefferson?
tiredofIT
November 29th, 2012
7:30 am
Why should I pay for this disaster?
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, still plagued by technological troubles, will ultimately cost taxpayers $396 Billion dollars.
middle of the road
November 29th, 2012
7:38 am
“Why should I pay for something I don’t use (like health care), Jefferson?”
So you must be Superman – invincible and immortal if you think you will NEVER use healthcare. I hope you don’t fall off a ladder tomorrow hanging Christmas lights.
Just Say No to New Taxes
November 29th, 2012
7:43 am
Our votes should be weighted by the amount of federal income tax we pay, for the 49% who are takers (aka dead beats), please note that zero times 1 is zero, exactly what you are worth!
parah salin (the governor)
November 29th, 2012
7:44 am
Lil Barry,
Actually the republican base is more likely the ones that don’t work and pay taxes. Here is the undisputed fact that might be food for thought for you – of the ten wealthiest states in the US, nine went for Obama. Of the ten poorest states in the US, nine went for Romney. If you don’t believe me, look it up yourself.
Tib, so if I understand you correctly, you have never visited the doctor or gotten any medications. Many medicines are already developed with federal funds. The law that made this so was passed by a Republican controlled congress and signed by St. Ronald Reagan in 1983. I would tell you the name of the law, but I am sure you already know the laws on healthcare inside and out.
The rest of the developed world has had universal healthcare coverage for four generations now, and I don’t see a “going out of business” sign posted at their borders. Here is a quick math lesson, if you want to insure an additional 50 million people it will logically cost more than if you don’t. It is called addition. When you get a chance you should read up on it.
BenDaho
November 29th, 2012
7:45 am
This argument assumes Obamacare will actually pay for itself, a dubious proposition given Washington’s history of missing high on revenue forecasts and low on cost projections. But that’s not my point today.
Really Kyle? Look at the resounding success of the profitable postal service, all of the money locked away in the s.s. trust fund, and our budget surpluses.. (sarc) Of course Obamacare will be self sustaining.. (gag)!
middle of the road
November 29th, 2012
7:46 am
“Yes, we’re already paying for them, in part via higher insurance premiums. But not as much as you think: A study by the Urban Institute found uncompensated care accounts for just 1.7 percent of health premiums.”
So if uncompensated care is so little, why don’t we pass a (federal) law making it illegal for hospitals to cost-shift. Then the hospitals should be able to bill the federal government for the uncompensated care, since that is an unfunded mandate caused by EMTALA.
rwcole
November 29th, 2012
7:47 am
Aren’t you proud, Kyle, to have such supporters like Barry? Such a patriotic and respectful guy and he agrees with everything you write. If I ever agree with anything lil Barry, the racist, says, I would seriously have to rethink my position. Yuck!
JDW
November 29th, 2012
7:51 am
@Kyle…
Typical Republican selfishness.
The we does include the health providers and hospitals or rather the companies the operate them and provide good high paying jobs to the people of Georgia which you want us to forgo, after complaining incessantly that not enough is done to create them. The we is the poor among us that today receive inadequate health care and suffer the consequences. The we is those among us that struggle to pay their premiums and will still do so, preventing those dollars from flowing into other local businesses. The we is the economy of Georgia which is stagnate, desperately in need of a boost because the Republican mantra is not working here. The we is the people of Georgia that should be ashamed at ranking 49th in the country in providing medical care to its poor.
This is simply a non factual statement…”This argument assumes Obamacare will actually pay for itself”
Georgians will pay the associated costs or incur a pro rata share of any debt. Either way we will pay the price and under Raw Deal’s plan forgo the benefits.
BenDaho
November 29th, 2012
7:53 am
rwcole
November 29th, 2012
7:47 am
Aren’t you proud, Kyle, to have such supporters like Barry? Such a patriotic and respectful guy and he agrees with everything you write. If I ever agree with anything lil Barry, the racist, says, I would seriously have to rethink my position. Yuck!
17 posts in and the race card is out. See you at the Klan meeting Barry. Is it my turn to pick up the dry cleaning on the way?
CC
November 29th, 2012
7:55 am
LBB and Tiberius:
It appears that Skip skipped out . . .
rwcole
November 29th, 2012
8:02 am
Ben, I’ll say this again for your benefit. Not all GA Republicans are racist but all racist white Georgians are Republican. And if you are defending lil Barry, whose every comment drips with racism and disrespect for our nation, then you haven’t read very many of his posts. Or you’re the same breed as Barry.
CC
November 29th, 2012
8:07 am
Here’s an idea . . .
Why not let those who are so concerned about the Medicaid availability sign a pledge to support this program in Georgia, no matter the cost, and agree to pay whatever their computed ‘share’ of the cost is determined. Once all the pledges have been signed, the mathematicians for the state can set each pledger’s cost and it can then be deducted from their paycheck or bank account on a monthly basis.
Now, which one of you leftists want to be the very first kid on your block to sign this pledge?
I suspect your feelings are (as always), we want to be very generous WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S HARD-EARNED MONEY!
CC
November 29th, 2012
8:15 am
rwcole:
The only “racist” comment added here this morning has been yours.
Have you been a racist all your life?
carlosgvv
November 29th, 2012
8:20 am
but but but but but………we’re supposed to be the richest Nation on Earth. Kyle, are you saying we’re actually so poor we can’t provide proper healthcare to our citizens? All other industrailized Nation do it. Are they richer than us?
GB101
November 29th, 2012
8:29 am
You are right, but…
we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Georgians, as federal tax payers, will be funding the federal share of the Medicaid expansion whether we want to or not, and whether Georgia participates in the expansion or not. As state taxpayers, we will not have to pay the extra 4.5 billion (over ten years) but we will be paying our share of the 33 billion that will go to other states.
Damned if we do; damned if we don’t.
Lynnie Gal
November 29th, 2012
8:33 am
Kyle, did you miss the article in this paper about Georgia hospitals losing half their federal funding because Medicaid expansion was designed to take up the slack? Yes. Grady and other state hospitals will have to cut services due to less funding and NO increased payments by patients from Medicaid. That means, if you have an auto wreck and need trauma services, your services are cut. If you have a stroke and need neurological services at Grady, your services (nurses, etc.) will be cut, thanks to our Governor Deal who does not want people who make too little to have health care but too much to qualify for current Medicaid, to get healthcare.
GB101
November 29th, 2012
8:35 am
Skip
As federal taxpayers we spends one trillion per year in means tested programs. At the state level, Medicaid is one of the biggest items in the budget. There is no basis for saying we do not take care of the poor. Unless you are thinking about your grandchildren. They will be poor because of the debt we continue to incur.
BenDaho
November 29th, 2012
8:55 am
rwcole;
It has been my experience in life that people who have a chip on their shoulder are usually the most intolerant people. That’s why libs are the most fervent stereotypers and name-callers.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
8:57 am
Once again the state of Georgia will lose and be the laughingstock of the Nation.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
8:58 am
Every advanced country in the world has Universal Healthcare.
They all pay much much less and get far better results than we do.
Obama is going to drag us ( some kicking and screaming ) there as well.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
9:02 am
Governor Deal is right to decline to raise taxes on the productive. All real Americans agree.
” Real Americans ”
Is code for White people.
The reality is its the red states are the biggest takers. Mostly the very poor Southern states.
The bluer richer states basically subsidize them by sending more to Washington than they get back.
DownInAlbany
November 29th, 2012
9:10 am
Lynnie Gal
November 29th, 2012
8:33 am
Kyle, did you miss the article in this paper about Georgia hospitals losing half their federal funding because Medicaid expansion was designed to take up the slack? Yes. Grady and other state hospitals will have to cut services due to less funding and NO increased payments by patients from Medicaid.
Have you taken a look at the balance sheets for these so-called, “public, not-for-profit” hospitals? Use guidestar.com and look at the Medical Center of Central GA (Macon), Phoebe Putney (Albany), The Medical Center (Columbus). The literally have $100’s of millions in cash and cash equivalents. Take a look at the salaries of senior management (+$1 million in most cases). Take a look at the lavish, marble floored facilities they are constructing. To quote ‘ole Mark Taylor, “cry me a river.” Grady is a special case and the State has proven time and again that they will not allow them to fail.
Obamacare does nothing to control the COST of healthcare.
Bob Loblaw
November 29th, 2012
9:13 am
I don’t care if its 1.7% more I pay or 20% more for my insurance–it should be 0%. Where government policy dictates I pay more, its’ a tax.
Scooter
November 29th, 2012
9:14 am
But the only acceptable form of blind faith is for politicians and their government.
Road Scholar
November 29th, 2012
9:15 am
BenDaho: You have not read many posts here or in Bookman’s column, have you? Both Conservatives and Liberals have many people who rely on insults versus proposing real possible solutions. Grab some popcorn and just watch…you will get the info to rescind your comment.
iRun
November 29th, 2012
9:20 am
Kyle,
Please, you CANNOT stand by and accept the support of someone so vitriolic and hateful as LBB.
His online persons drips with hate and disdain for his fellow human and he dehumanizes those he disagrees with to the point of wishing harm and death upon them.
For you to sit silently is tacit agreement with is position.
You must, at least, distance yourself from him. Do not accept his support.
Many of us do not agree with your opinions, but you do not seem to be a man who hates The Other Side, or would wish harm upon the poor and unfortunate. You simply have a different philosophy about how to take care of the problem.
So, please, in that spirit, when LBB comes on here and begins to spew the acid of his vitriol would you rebuke those words and sentiments? This place is YOURS. It’s NOT his.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
9:21 am
JDW, College grads 51-47% for Romney, wrong again.
http://www.aei.org/article/politics-and-public-opinion/polls/2012-election-results-from-a-to-z/?gclid=CPnqrMmt9LMCFYKK4AodomsAwA
independent thinker
November 29th, 2012
9:21 am
middle of the road 7:46 am said:
“”"”"”"”"”So if uncompensated care is so little, why don’t we pass a (federal) law making it illegal for hospitals to cost-shift. Then the hospitals should be able to bill the federal government for the uncompensated care, since that is an unfunded mandate caused by EMTALA.”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
AMEN! I have been posting similar comments since Obamacare was passed and Mr. Wingfield refuses to acknowledge that EMTALA is the only true socialized health care program we have and it was passed by Reagan as a an unfunded mandate so there is naturally cost shifting to the insured and paying patients. If Medicaid with recent increases and Medicare is cost shifted by hospital providers, it is because they are greedy and not cost efficient. If the Feds funded EMTALA as occurred in Mass. under Romney in that phantom program, there would be natural increases in Medicaid. There they cost shifted the unreimbursed hospital fund which was insolvent to guess who?
the feds and one report shows that through 2011 8.5 billion federal excess Medicaid went to Mass.
The morons in this state would rather the hospitals and partients absorb the cost while they bow and worship at the mention of Reagan.
Buzz belle
November 29th, 2012
9:23 am
Single payer was the way to go. We got to this point by caving into the republicans. Lesson learned. This is not the first huge mistake the republicans made in their “just say no” policy and it will not be the last. It is mind boggling that we have Norquist people refusing to help this country, by protecting the rich from paying their fair share by not coming to the table and making EVERYBODY’S taxes go up. I say fall off the cliff and let the chips fall where they may. It will be fun to watch the morning news shows then.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
9:23 am
Rafe here dripping with hate and disdain for Obamacare. A program that is going to bankrupt America and reduce our healthcare to third world status. Any effort to oppose it by any politician is appreciated.
There were much better ways to deal with the 40 million uninsured rather than destroy healthcare for the overwhelming majority that already had coverage.
Thomas Heyward Jr
November 29th, 2012
9:25 am
There is only one solution to the problem.
Allow intelligent people to OPT OUT completely of the Federal monopolistic/crony coorporatist health system.
(there would have to be some sort of means/intelligence test…romney/obama-bots need not apply).
.
The innovations, principles/pricing, and pure market-driven efficiencies of a Free-market Healthcare system’s tide would lift ALL Americans.
Even the ones despairingly stuck in Obama/Romney-Care.
.
Like it or not, this is already happening via wealthy American health tourists fleeing to freer countries..
Give the poor a chance.
.
Beware wallet-grabbing progs………. secesh fever’s in the air.
Dave
November 29th, 2012
9:28 am
1) Obama is in office for 4 more years with a Democratic majority in the Senate. The health care law isn’t going anywhere any time soon. After four years the law is going to be further entrenched and harder to get rid of.
2) Governor Deal has made his decision, Georgia is sitting back and letting the Feds run and pay for healthcare in Georgia on the rationales that we can’t afford to run our own programs and we can’t trust the Feds to keep the money stream coming.
So what is the Governor doing to deal with the eventuality that he predicts? Beyond a big “I told you so” what is he, and for that matter what are all the other naysayers, doing to deal with the disaster they predict?
The floor is open to leadership rather than sniping.
JohnnyReb
November 29th, 2012
9:30 am
The Left constantly pukes the Right has no compassion for poor people. That Obamacare will provide cost savings by doctors and hospitals not having to provide free care, etc. As Kyle points out, that’s all BS like most of their other idiology.
Obamacare is a hodge-podge of special interest initiatives. That’s why Nancy made the infamous remark the bill had to be passed to find out what is in it – she did not know, none of them knew exactly. They are putting it together on the fly. Do you really think it would have passed had the religious controversy over who pays for birth control had been in the bill?
As BIll Whittle states in this video, the biggest threat to poor peoples health is obesity. This is an attention-getting speech that should be mandatory for all Conservatives.
http://blip.tv/davidhorowitztv/bill-whittle-6444929
the red herring
November 29th, 2012
9:38 am
everything obama/pelosi/reid have promoted about obamacare has been false so far so you can expect it to cost much much more than they projected (already has to this point)—when you can’t see a doctor you want and there are too few doctors then people will understand the real cost of obamacare which is rationing. your choices will be limited not just of who will see you but also what obamacare/insurance will pay for as well. all the supporters of socialized medicine can’t explain why people in countries that already socialized medicine are coming to the U.S. for their care. there will always be people than afford to buy and drive a better car, that will be able to afford a bigger house, eat better quality food, etc, etc— health care will be no different–they will pay cash for it so obamacare will not level this playing field — if anything it will make it much worse for the middle class as they will have no option but take what obamacare will let them have. government can not run anything as well as private industry does for there are no incentives to limit what government programs
Glenn Beck
November 29th, 2012
9:39 am
Kyle
You mentioned free at the beginning of your article. Can you provide the exact quote from the person who said “free” regarding this topic? Hopefully it is not just from another Op Ed writer.
One would think you would have provided the quote within the article since you are depicting something as truth and not hyperbole and rhetoric.
the red herring
November 29th, 2012
9:39 am
correction–no incentives to limit what government programs spend.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
9:48 am
@Rafe…”College grads 51-47% for Romney, wrong again”
No Rafe…people who ONLY have a Bachelors degree went for Romney 51-47. People who have BOTH a Bachelors and PostGrad went 55-42 for Obama. You have to pro rate and then add the two together to get the number of people with a Bachelors that went for Obama. When you do that the number comes out to 50/50.
No Degree 53 percent of the electorate, Bachelors only 29 percent and Bachelors PLUS PostGrad 18 percent…notice how those total 100 percent.
Obama carried 47 percent of the 29 which multiplied together gives you 13.63 percent of the vote. Then he carried 55 percent of the 18 percent which multiplied together gives you 9.9 percent of the vote. His total among people with a Bachelors is 23.53. The total number of those with a Bachelors that voted is 29+18=47 percent. Divide 29.53 by 47 percent and you get 50% which is the total percentage of the voters that hold a Bachelors degree that voted for Obama.
USC-69
November 29th, 2012
9:48 am
Yawn – all the name calling and accusations will not solve this issue. Grow up, work hard, pay your taxes, and be glad that most U.S. citizens will now receive proper healthcare when they need it.
carlosgvv
November 29th, 2012
9:58 am
Someday, when a History of The Decline And Fall of The United States of America is written, the selfishness and greed of Big Business moguls and their puppet cons will be judged as the number one cause.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
10:03 am
ooopss typo…should read Divide 23.53 by 47 percent and you get 50% which is the total percentage of the voters that hold a Bachelors degree that voted for Obama.
independent thinker
November 29th, 2012
10:19 am
Truly amazing- none of the cons even attempt to deal with the root problem of billions being spent on mandatory free healthcare at any hospital under EMTALA. That law requires that the provider ensure free treatment until the patient is stable. In some cases illegals get millions of dollars of long term care until they can be deported and dumped to die in their home country . It happens in every hospital in Georgia. WHO PAYS??????????
Did you know that EMTALA was proposed by Ralph Nader and Reagan signed it because it was budget neutral. Stick to the states to figure out how to cover it- just do not fund it.
Strange thing is some high priced attorney named Michelle Obama found ways around it so she and the University of Chicago Hospital could make some serious profits after dumping patients, Yhats what happens with unfunded mandates.
Of course no one here wants to admit Romneycare replaced Reagancare. All of this is too complicated for the cons in this state who would rather keep the status quo of sucking up more fed $$$ than we pay in by keeping state contributions and taxes low Who cares if hospitals can’t afford EMTALA? Throw the bums out on the street.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
10:23 am
Obama carried 47 percent of the 29 which multiplied together gives you 13.63 percent of the vote. Then he carried 55 percent of the 18 percent which multiplied together gives you 9.9 percent of the vote. His total among people with a Bachelors is 23.53. The total number of those with a Bachelors that voted is 29+18=47 percent. Divide 29.53 by 47 percent and you get 50% which is the total percentage of the voters that hold a Bachelors degree that voted for Obama.
Gonna go right over his head.
Black Label
November 29th, 2012
10:26 am
“Gonna go right over his head.”
He will ignore it or come back with a bunch of nothingness.
yuzeyurbrane
November 29th, 2012
10:28 am
Kyle, I asked you once before to back up your numbers re the state’s contribution over 10 years and received no response to my challenge. The $4.5 billion you cite is a figure the Governor’s press secretary defended as being based on prior experience with Fed. programs. Kaiser and Ga. State public admin. advisors to the State legis. project it in the $1.8 to $2.5 billion range, without taking into account factors such as the new state tax revenues caused by the infusion of $33 billion Federal dollars into the Georgia economy and the reduced state subsidies to hospitals that now provide ER care to indigents. Nor does it factor in the reduced cost to hospitals in ER care they now eat nor the average $1,000, per Kaiser, that is shifted to patients with health insurance because ER’s are so much more costly than planned regular medical care. Of course, you also don’t factor in the human cost of 650,000 Georgians who actually get sicker and die sooner because they have no regular medical care. Also, while Georgia has its budget problems, let’s not lose cite of the fact that Ga. is #50 in per capita average amount spent on Medicaid. Just look in to it with state’s own figures. The right’s propaganda image of “black welfare queens” rolling up to the doctor’s office in their Mercedes is just plain false. Simply put, if you are not a child or in a nursing home, it is not easy to get on Medicaid in this state.
Black Label
November 29th, 2012
10:33 am
How ironic that Romney’s total vote percentage will end up slightly over 47%………
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
10:33 am
Did you know that EMTALA was proposed by Ralph Nader and Reagan signed it because it was budget neutral. Stick to the states to figure out how to cover it- just do not fund it.
Exactly right. Ronald Reagan.
The same people who are going nuts about Benghazi have no issue with Ronnie cut and running in Lebanon
On February 7, 1984, President Reagan ordered the Marines to begin withdrawing from Lebanon. Their withdrawal was completed on February 26, four months after the barracks bombing; the rest of the multinational force was withdrawn by April 1984.
Can you imagine if Obama did something like that ?
The hypocrisy of the Republican party is truly astonishing.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
10:34 am
@Cheesy…
I know it’s that whole Republican and math dynamic at work.
Gilliigan
November 29th, 2012
10:38 am
Skipper, you say that America doesn’t take care of its poor. The article notes that 1 out of every 7 state dollars spent is on Medicaid. How much should it be and what would you propose cutting to fund the increase (infrastructure, education). Hey, I’m all for reducing the government payrolls….
Black Label
November 29th, 2012
10:40 am
Interesting article on the governors who have decided to pass on the medicaid expansion. We will see how it plays out in the next few years
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/experts-governors-wont-resist-medicaid-expansion-for-long-84391.html?hp=l5
Jose
November 29th, 2012
10:43 am
Georgia will spend hundreds of $millions locking up marijuana growers but won’t spend a fraction of that setting up the health care exchanges and restoring the Hope Scholarship.
independent thinker
November 29th, 2012
10:46 am
“”"”"”"”"”"”"EMTALA truly improved a major problem of access to care. It said that no one would be allowed to die or be put in jeopardy in our ERs because of insurance or money. Of course there was no funding for all the uncompensated care that ensued. As a result, EMTALA has been cited as the biggest unfunded mandate of all time. The regulatory power and might of the government has enforced and refined EMTALA substantially since 1986. The hospitals live in mortal fear of $50,000 fines.
By now the full ramifications of EMTALA are well entrenched. The biggest is the “cost shifting” that has resulted because hospitals must charge more from their other paying sources to balance the losses of the indigent care they are mandated to provide for free. All the insurance plans have had to do the same. This phenomenon has been present from the beginning of EMTALA.
Additionally, specialists providing backup care to ERs either resigned from hospital staff or had to be paid to provide backup call for patients during the entire hospital stay. Such payments are routine throughout California for scarce specialties, such as general surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and cardiology. “”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”
http://www.marinmedicalsociety.org/magazine/articles/?articleid=470
Sounds very cost effective doesn’t it? And the cons think it is free an they do not pay for it.
Blue coat
November 29th, 2012
10:47 am
‘Crucified’ Obama painting ‘Crucified’ Obama painting- Ain’t you ashamed Obamaphone.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
10:50 am
Georgia will spend hundreds of $millions locking up marijuana growers but won’t spend a fraction of that setting up the health care exchanges and restoring the Hope Scholarship.
Don’t get me started on that one.
Another issue Georgia will be last to change on but imagine the revenue generated by selling citizens something that is basically harmless and they are going to get anyway.
Once again the blue states will lead the way.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
10:51 am
Not to mention the savings in law enforcement by decriminalizing it.
Black Label
November 29th, 2012
10:52 am
side topic:
I tried to tell you that “Let’s make a Deal” was only playing games about a new stadium and he would be coming around.
Said Deal:
”I think that, overall, if we get a new facility that’s upgraded and meets the current demands and needs of the future, then being on the hook for less than a third – that is repaid from money that comes from outsiders – I think that’s probably a pretty good deal.”
Jenner
November 29th, 2012
10:53 am
Lil’ Barry, you’re incessant ramblings belie your education level. You’ve bought into every one-liner the right ever came up with to get your vote. And you lost. The point of getting Obamacare passed was to get us a little closer to a universal payer system, you know, the one that works incredibly well for all the other advanced nations. The problem is, uneducated dolts like yourself can’t stand change so we have to slowly work our way there. Thankfully most of America is smart enough to move in the right direction or stupid enough to be convinced by those more capable of making a good decision. You are in the latter… and were convinced by the wrong people. But it doesn’t matter, we’re going in the right direction. And you’ll be a beneficiary even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming like the child you are.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
10:55 am
JDW
I get what you are saying, that the post graduate degree people also had a college degree and the majority of them supported Barry. Not sure all your math assumptions are valid, but even by your numbers, saying all the uneducated voted for Romney is false.
High School Grads and below 51% O
Some College 49% O
College Grads 51% R
Post College 55% O
http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president/exit-polls
How you can stretch this to say that Romney got the uneducated vote is beyond reaching. Looks to me that this vote went to Barry O. I couldn’t find where it was broken out showing how those with less than a HS degree voted, have seen it before, but it was overwhelmingly for the Mistake.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:00 am
Some of you have probably already seen this but this was Rachael Maddow’s ( Yes she is extremely biased ) rundown of things after Obama was re-elected. Most of it very true.
So you guys might as well get over it.
(1) “We are not going to have a Supreme Court that will overturn Roe vs. Wade. There will be no more Antonin Scalias and Samuel Alitos added to this court.”
(2) “We’re not going to repeal health reform. Nobody’s going to kill Medicare and make old people in this generation — or any other generation — fight it out on the open market to try to get themselves health insurance. We’re not going to do that.”
(3) “We’re not going to give the 20% tax cut to millionaires and billionaires, and expect [cutting] programs like food stamps and kids’ health insurance to cover that tax cut.”
(4) “We’re not going to make you clear it with your boss if you want to get birth control with the insurance plan that you’re on.”
(5) “We are not going to redefine rape.”
(6) “We are not going to amend the constitution to stop gay people from getting married.”
(7) We’re not going to double down on Guantanamo.
(8) “We’re not eliminating the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, or Housing at the Federal level.”
(9) “We are not going to spend two trillion dollars on the military, that the military does not want.”
(10) “We are not scaling back on student loans because the country’s NEW plan is that you should borrow money from your parents.”
(11) “We are not vetoing the Dream Act, we are not ‘self-deporting.’”
(12) “We are not letting Detroit go bankrupt.”
(13) “We are not starting a trade war with China on Inauguration Day in January.”
(14) “We are not going to have — as a president — a man who once led a mob of friends to run down a scared gay kid to hold him down and forcibly cut his hair off with a pair of scissors while that kid cried and screamed for help. (And there was NO apology, not EVER.)”
(15) “We are not going to have a Secretary of State John Bolton. We are not going to bring Dick Cheney Back. We are not going to have a foreign policy shop stocked with architects of the Iraqi war, we are not going to do it … We had the choice to do that if we wanted to do that, as a country, and we said no, last night, loudly.”
Forward
Black Label
November 29th, 2012
11:00 am
Rafe
Well look at it like this; Obama received 50% of the individuals with a college degree and more of the rest.
If someone is working in a “trade” or even at Walmart, I do not think on them any less because the don’t have a degree or voted for Obama or Romney.
You? You seemed to have touted that degree stat until JDW schooled you.
Romney lost. Moving on now.
An Observer
November 29th, 2012
11:01 am
Governor Deal is correct in his decision and i hope he stands by it. Paying for this expansion is being done on the federal credit card, which is already maxed out for many reasons.
Don't Tread
November 29th, 2012
11:03 am
“Medicaid payments often don’t cover the cost of treatment, which explains why so many doctors don’t accept new Medicaid patients. When you lose money on every patient, you can’t make it up in volume.”
And the same will hold true for 0bamacare. People, including doctors, generally don’t like it when the government tells them “you’ve made enough money” (which is another way of saying “to hell with your freedom”). Wonder what will happen when doctors don’t accept 0bamacare patients? Will the Democrats be sending the “National Defense Force” to the doctor’s office with a gun to force them to obey?
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:04 am
How you can stretch this to say that Romney got the uneducated vote is beyond reaching.
Not really. Because that’s exactly what happened.
Just look at the red states. They all have the lowest percentage of college grads
Now the blue ones. Much higher percentages of college grads
This one is easy.
Here are the 10 states with the lowest percent of college graduates.
1. West Virginia: 25.6 percent
2. Arkansas: 26.5 percent
3. Louisiana: 27 percent
4. Kentucky: 29.2 percent
5. Mississippi: 29.3 percent
6. Nevada: 30.1 percent
7. Oklahoma: 31.3 percent
8. Tennessee: 31.3 percent
9. Alabama: 31.6 percent
10. Texas: 33.3 percent
Mostly red states.
10 states with the highest percentages of college graduates.
1. Massachusetts: 49.6 percent
2. Connecticut: 46.6 percent
3. New Hampshire: 46 percent
4. Colorado: 45.3 percent
5. North Dakota: 45.2 percent
6. Minnesota: 45 percent
7. New Jersey: 44.6 percent
8. Maryland: 43.9 percent
9. New York: 43.7 percent
10. Vermont: 43.6 percent
Mostly blue states.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
11:08 am
@Rafe…”but even by your numbers, saying all the uneducated voted for Romney is false. ”
I did not say that, I said Romney’s dominant demographic was uneducated white males and it was. I further noted that the 10 “most educated states” voted for Obama while 9 of the top 10 “least educated states” voted for Romney.
http://www.happyplace.com/19076/election-infographic-shows-most-educated-states-voted-for-obama
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:09 am
BTW Wanna know why Republicans really have a problem with Susan Rice ?
Because if John Kerry is named Sec of State instead of her.
Then they can pick up a Senate seat with Scott Brown.
Thats what its really about.
GB101
November 29th, 2012
11:15 am
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
If Ga is the laughing stock of the nation, why are people moving here? The state’s population has nearly tripled in my lifetime. Do people move to places they deem to be a laughingstock? Do you live here? Did you move here from somewhere else? If so, why? Was it in hopes of getting a generous Medicaid program?
Hillbilly D
November 29th, 2012
11:18 am
It doesn’t matter which pocket it comes out of, we all know who is paying the bill.
This is all a political game and I don’t know who will wind up the winner but it’s for sure who is going to be the loser…..same as always.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
11:19 am
GB
Population in your life time as went up in many states.
Just saying.
I’m a GA native. Thanks for asking
JDW
November 29th, 2012
11:27 am
@GB101…”If Ga is the laughing stock of the nation, why are people moving here? ”
Interesting question…answer…it is happening less and less
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2012/08/city-of-atlanta-population-growth-lags.html
Matz
November 29th, 2012
11:31 am
We should have a single-payer system or a public option. Why didn’t we get that? Because Obama was busy trying to reach across the aisle and get consensus from the Republicans. What we got was much like President Clinton’s “don’t ask don’t tell”: a watered-down compromise that did not sufficiently address the problem, and which people were compelled to come back and fix.
I hope Obama has learned from this mistake, and will stop reaching across the aisle to get this fingers bitten off by people who care only about their own power and egos. If you don’t think poor people deserve access to medical care in this here “greatest country in the world,” then you’re not much of an American in my book, and there’s nothing you can possibly say about anything that I want to hear.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:34 am
This is all a political game and I don’t know who will wind up the winner but it’s for sure who is going to be the loser…..same as always.
Yup. The poor will probably get screwed again.
Jefferson
November 29th, 2012
11:38 am
Most know it alls appear to be selfish also. You can be mad all day, what about tomorrow?
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:39 am
Part of the explosion in Georgia population is the extremely high teenage pregnancy rate.
Its that way across the entire South.
Of course they just continue along with abstinence programs that dont work.
52 per 1,000 teenagers in Georgia get pregnant.
Compare that with a progressive state like Massachusetts where the number is around 20 per 1,000
Laughingstock.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
11:45 am
BTW The Fox News fake “War on Christmas” stuff has begun.
md
November 29th, 2012
11:55 am
The term “greed” is relative to all points on the spectrum…….remember that when throwing it out there.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
11:58 am
Cheesy, don’t even go there regarding what causes population growth rates in states.
The fact is that there are many reasons why people go to one state or another, and why some leave states for others.
Bottom-line is that Georgia’s population is growing faster than states like Massachusetts. We have GAINED Congressional seats while they have LOST them – and continue to lose them following each census.
Why? Climate is a big reason; both meteorological and economic. We’re warmer , and people in colder climates retire to warmer ones, and Florida is getting too crowded and too expensive for retirees. The taxes alone on purchases and housing are miniscule compared to the Northeast. I pay 1/3rd of the property taxes I used to pay in Mass or NH for a bigger and better house here. My food and gas dollars go farther. Then, we add in the cost of freedom. Far less government regulation and intrusion in Georgia. All-in-all, these are why 40% of Georgia’s population in the next 40 years is going to be retirees – because we’re attractive to them, and liberal Northeast states are not.
And why Georgia will likely gain another 3 Electoral votes in that time, while Massachusetts will likely lose the same to us.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
12:01 pm
And JDW, in case you missed it, the city of Atlanta isn’t Georgia.
Nor is it the destination for people moving into Georgia.
Wake up, will ya?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
12:09 pm
Zig Ziglar dies at age 86, even though he was so positive and upbeat that he was going to live longer . . .
Aquagirl
November 29th, 2012
12:10 pm
Far less government regulation and intrusion in Georgia.
How nice that retirees can spend their Social Security and Medicare dollars without the horrible nanny state intruding in their personal lives. Nobody bothers them while they unload their Hoverounds in the ADA mandated handicapped space in front of the pharmacy, roll up the ADA mandated handicapped ramp, and wheel through the extra-wide ADA mandated isles to pick up their Medicare D funded prescriptions.
Live Free Or Die!!!!
Hopeful
November 29th, 2012
12:25 pm
I’m sick right now but I have to take care of my mother I would like to lay in bed and relax ha!ha! That’s not going to happen oh! I’m not rich either no maid service here ! When do the Caretakers get a break huh when !!!!!!!! I wished the wish Foundation would grant me on I would go to fla. to that place that dose react of Jesus and someone would take care of mother !!
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
12:35 pm
Finn/Cheesy/JDW
Yes, the southern red states have less college graduates as a percentage of the population. The reason for that, is very complicated and has nothing to do with the intelligence of the people living here. As I have said many times, the overwhelming number of under educated/unprepared people, that live here, as a percentage, is staggering. It is a cultural thing, probably left over from the agrarian days. If all these people cared enough to register and vote, Georgia would probably be a blue state. It seems they are pretty apathetic about most anything requiring effort, education, voting, working, child rearing, etc. and this includes both dominant races in the state.
The blue states do not have the agrarian descendants, waiting around for the new season of American Idol.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
12:36 pm
@Tiberius…”in case you missed it, the city of Atlanta isn’t Georgia. Nor is it the destination for people moving into Georgia.”
The Atlanta Regional Commission reported Thursday the 10-county metro added about 37,200 people between April 1, 2011, and April 1, 2012. Metro Atlanta is now home to 4,179,500 people, making it larger than 24 states, according to U.S. Census data. The growth number is higher than the previous year, but it marks a fourth consecutive year of slower-than-normal growth when compared to the region’s population growth from 2000 to 2007, ARC noted.
It’s just where the people are…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 29th, 2012
12:42 pm
Goldline…The company’s business model was built on systemically swindling and scaring its mostly elderly clientele into purchasing overpriced gold coins, prosecutors in California alleged, leading the company to settle for $4.5 million in refunds to its customer. The City Attorney in Santa Monica, where the company is based, brought 19 criminal fraud charges against the company that were later dropped, but a Los Angeles judge last year instructed the company to foot the bill for a court-appointed monitor, who was tasked with ensuring the company revealed its price markups and stopped misleading consumers.
Thank you Glen Beck and Shawn Hannity! Our grandparents needed to be swindled out of their retirement and savings so you could fly in the private planes. Good job!
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/29/more_legal_trouble_for_beck_backed_goldline/
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 29th, 2012
12:43 pm
“Goldline now is the only gold company I personally recommend to you,” Sean Hannity says. “My choice for buying gold is Goldline,” conservative radio host Mark Levin says.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
12:44 pm
Not sure what that spin buys you Rafe. Simple fact is the more education one has the more likely to vote democratic they are, on a national basis. Not sure if that level of detail exists for states.
JohnnyReb
November 29th, 2012
12:45 pm
“…the 10-county metro added about 37,200 people…”
Would those be Makers or Takers?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
12:48 pm
JDW, in cased you missed it (and notice how I usually preface my remarks to you in this way, as you usually DO miss it), the growth in this area during the dates you cite was spurred by a growing economy and an inflated housing market, neither of which are in place today.
You see, in the REAL world, there are REASONS and EXPLANATIONS behind raw statistics which people of intelligence use to understand the statistics, rather than just spouting them off as the ignorant do.
You’ll also notice that the fastest-growing county in the state (and in the top 5 in the country) during that time was Forsyth county, which isn’t even in the 10-county metro area.
So again, the next time you wish to spout such incredibly ignorant comments about which you really don’t know anything, consult with those of us who do, OK?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 29th, 2012
12:51 pm
Jon Stewart nails the Cons on their Susan Rice attacks. Remember Condi Rice doing something similar back in 2002? Lookie here:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/wed-november-28-2012-neil-young
independent thinker
November 29th, 2012
12:53 pm
From that liberal bastion of thought , the Cato Institute:
“”"”"”"”"”"” final thought in this “Obamacare-at-the-Court” week: Does the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) make something like Obamacare’s mandate not only inevitable but legitimate? Enacted in 1986, EMTALA requires hospitals to provide care to anyone needing emergency treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. It’s often cited as the very reason we have to have Obamacare’s individual mandate, to cover the costs of providing for the uninsured indigent. As the Washington Post editorialized this morning, “If you end up in the emergency room, you will be cared for, as federal law demands. The government, already deeply involved in regulating the health-care market, has a legitimate interest in encouraging you to prepare for such an eventuality.”
Fair enough, but it must do so by constitutional means, and that’s just the problem here. Not every means that would solve a problem is authorized by our Constitution for limited government. In truth, however, the constitutional problem begins with EMTALA itself: neither the taxing nor the commerce power, if understood as the pre-New Deal Court understood it, authorizes Congress to compel hospitals to be Good Samaritans. In a free society, health care is no different than any other product or service: If you need or want it, you pay for it, failing which you don’t get it.
But the Constitution aside, that’s not how, “as a society,” we decided to go about things in 1986. We imposed the burden of providing such services on hospitals, which in turn shifted the costs mainly to those of us who do pay for the services we receive. To that complex system of “private” socialization Obamacare would add yet another layer of even more complex “public” socialization, the individual mandate being only one element in the mix. Needless to say, under neither arrangement is efficiency or the wise use of resources the goal.”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
Kyle’s right that expanding Medicaid will direct more money to hospitals. What is the alternative?
an unfunded mandate? less hospitals? People needing more emergency room care because they have no means of getting regular medical care or preventive care? Funny how it was great and fine when pushed through by Romney in Mass. but not here in Georgia.
Waiting to hear alternatives from the cons whose hero passed EMTALA. All we got from Kyle is a critique of a partial solution approved by all three branches of the US government to a problem the Republicans created. Yes that Black Muslim communist better clean up the mess faster and at less cost.
carlosgvv
November 29th, 2012
1:03 pm
Tiberius – 11:58 “we’re warmer”
And, thanks to global warming, we’re geting even warmer every year.
DawgDad
November 29th, 2012
1:10 pm
Medicaire expansion is a key front in the battle for leftist-socialist transformation of our nation with power consolidated into the Federal Government and partner corporations (willing or otherwise extorted) under the control of the Democratic Party. The goal for Medicaire must be CONTRACTION by ensuring as few people as possible need it. That is obviously not what the Democrats are all about.
In May 2012 the State of Illinois CUT $7 BILLION from their State Medicaire funding. Federal money, the funds Illinois will be leveraging, come from ALL of us, including Georgians. All made possible by their minion in the White House and the utter stupidity of the American voters.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 29th, 2012
1:22 pm
“And, thanks to global warming, we’re geting even warmer every year.”
And yet the warming is leveling off (and possibly cooling depending on which data you believe), despite NO programs in place to curb it, and no slowdown in the expansion of mankind.
Which is why I remain skeptical about the CAUSE of global warming, even if YOU buy into it hook, line and sinker, carlos.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
1:30 pm
@Tiberuis..”the growth in this area during the dates you cite was spurred by a growing economy ”
Indeed, one that has come to a screeching halt as the Republican disaster continues to unfold in this state.
“You’ll also notice that the fastest-growing county in the state (and in the top 5 in the country) during that time was Forsyth county, which isn’t even in the 10-county metro area.”
Of course Forsyth does’t benefit at all from the Metro Area does it
“consult with those of us who do”
If I ever need to know how things are in Tiberuisville I will ask…until then I will stick with sources that that have a bit more on the ball.
DawgDad
November 29th, 2012
1:38 pm
“an addition to Mount Rushmore so that it can be unveiled the day before President Clinton is inaugurated. I think that would be a fitting tribute to BHO.”
Would expect no less from the left and the American voters. BHO already has a Nobel Peace Prize, nothing can really top that for utter absurdity.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
“nothing can really top that for utter absurdity.”
Well except for thinking Romney was going to win because Fox and radio pundits kept saying it was going to happen I would agree 100%
yuzeyurbrane
November 29th, 2012
1:47 pm
Too bad Gov. Deal rained on your parade by announcing support of state funding for new Falcons pleasure palace on the same day as your article denouncing state expenditures on healthcare for the working poor. By the way, CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Studies) has stated that states that expand Medicaid to working poor can opt out of Medicaid expansion later if they change their minds. So what is the harm in at least trying for first 3 years when the Feds pay 100% to see how the numbers actually work out?
Don't Tread
November 29th, 2012
2:04 pm
“BHO already has a Nobel Peace Prize, nothing can really top that for utter absurdity.”
Well they gave it to Arafat, as I recall…About the same I suppose.
And adding 0bama to Mount Rushmore is about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of – it would be more appropriate to put a big poster of his face next to the national debt clock.
carlosgvv
November 29th, 2012
2:08 pm
Tiberius
Read the WHOLE article, boobie.
http://www.examiner.com/article/global-warming-has-stalled-but-2012-on-track-to-be-ninth-hottest-year-globally
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
2:16 pm
When someone tells me I can get something of value for “free,” I raise an eyebrow. When that “free” thing is coming from the government — and worth billions — I reach for my wallet.
I’m going to second “Glenn Beck” and his post @ 9.39. I do not recall anyone in an official capacity or otherwise, claiming that the funds for expanding Medicaid were free.
I say this because I think otherwise this is a perfectly respectable case you’re making. It would be a lot better if you didn’t lead with a straw man.
(I don’t agree with it–I think expanding the Medicaid safety net and getting more low income people into health insurance plans is worth it, however it’s funded.)
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
2:17 pm
And yet the warming is leveling off
I genuinely pity you.
JDW
November 29th, 2012
2:20 pm
@Tiberius…”Which is why I remain skeptical about the CAUSE of global warming, ”
Funny, thats just how it works when you boil a frog…they remain skeptical right up until the end.
There are only four choices you dufus…you should always pick one that you can impact and always avoid the worst option…ie bad things.
–Global warming won’t hurt us so we do nothing no harm no foul
–Global warming won’t hurt us but we cut emissions anyway causing no harm.
–Global warming will hurt us and we do nothing leading to bad things
–Global warming will hurt us and we do something saving ourselves.
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
2:21 pm
Paul Ryan thinking he ran a sub-3 hour marathon when in fact it was just barely sub-4 is arguably more absurd
not that anyone asked, but I’ve shifted my position on that one. I am now inclined to believe that he might well have just grabbed the number out of thin air, not remembering what his time was and thus grasping for what he thought a decent time might be (as he has claimed.)
It was very hard to believe when I first heard of it, because anyone who’s trained for and run a marathon in middle age knows it is bloody difficult. But if you do it one time, kind of as a lark, as a young man, which Ryan was a the time–you could conceivably let the overall time slip down the memory hole.
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
2:35 pm
John Q @ 2.24, I had to go back and check (I obviously wasn’t following this little sideshow THAT closely) but what he said was “2 hour and 50-something”. I really think he might’ve been thinking about what he had likely been shooting for 22 years ago, which might’ve been 3h50m-ish.
Believe me, I am NOT typically inclined to give Paul Ryan the benefit of the doubt on most things, but this, kinda like Obama saying “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii”–I think that was just a slip, nothing more to see here.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
2:48 pm
John Q
Either way, Romney and Ryan were delivered an Electoral College whipping.
Ryan did win his seat, but didn’t help carry his state or even his district.
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
2:51 pm
if herr ryan is the genius numbers wonk everyone alleges him to be, i’d venture to say it was a deliberate lie.
heh. well see… he is not a genius numbers wonk. There’s the rub. The idea that you could voucherize Medicare as he’d attempted to legislate, without massive economic disruption–that sort of thing does not come from a “genius.” It comes from a paid-for hack.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 29th, 2012
3:02 pm
And adding 0bama to Mount Rushmore is about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of – it would be more appropriate to put a big poster of his face next to the national debt clock.
Right beside Ronald Reagan’s.
After all he quadrupled the debt in just 8 years.
Obama hasnt come close to that.
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
3:02 pm
Same old stuff here. Any script writer could do the whole thing from memory every day.
LIberals refuse to believe that a DEBT means lack of money. Neither the state governments or the Federal government are out of debt meaning there is no money available.
Governor Deal knows that. President Obama does not.
You can talk about poor people, sick people, Reagan, Bush, climate, Emtala, Romney, population statistics, KKK, Black Panthers, religion, cheesy grits, schools, hospitals, my sick one,repayment,,and any other distractions.
One fact remains; the country and the state are deep in debt.
We need to cut spending and take less from taxpayers to live on.. ObamaCare increases spending. Medicaid increases spending. The “gravy train” moves on. The debt moves up. Both must “brake” before a catastrophic crash occurs as it did around 1929
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
3:08 pm
“Same old stuff here. Any script writer could do the whole thing from memory every day. ”
Yes, you and other righty bloggers are still crying. Same “ole stuff” and “same ole” deflections and excuses.
You betcha
MarkV
November 29th, 2012
3:08 pm
Kyle is using a whole bunch of convoluted, false arguments and statements. They start immediately as he starts:
“When someone tells me I can get something of value for “free,” I raise an eyebrow. When that “free” thing is coming from the government — and worth billions — I reach for my wallet.”
So my first question to Kyle is: Who has said anything about the Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid being “free” money from the government? If someone did, Kyle you correct that person, and not make it the subject of his article as if nobody understood that all the money the government uses comes from people.
But the most ridiculous argument Kyle has made is the following:
“In the above example, the payers of the tax are indeed “we.” But “we” are not the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are the health providers, mostly hospitals…”
So, according to Kyle, the money will just go to hospitals and health providers, “who have their eyes on that $33 billion.” Really? They will just grab the money and spend it on mansions and cars and yachts? They will not treat people?
“What about that “care that simply isn’t paid for”? Yes, we’re already paying for them, in part via higher insurance premiums. But not as much as you think.”
Then who is paying for the care, Kyle? Why don’t you tell us? Perhaps you can repeat the infamous Dusty’s argument that the hospitals just “have it in their budget?”
MarkV
November 29th, 2012
3:11 pm
“Medicaid increases spending.”
What a profound revelation. People get treated, and it costs money. Who would have thought that?
Don't Tread
November 29th, 2012
3:23 pm
But Dusty…taking less from the taxpayers would mean they’d have to give up the goal of “equality of results”, and we just can’t have that. Instead, they float around the idea of a “wealth tax” in addition to income taxes, carbon credits, and all the other schemes they can think of to separate productive people and their money.
JohnS
November 29th, 2012
3:26 pm
Deal has no problem finding half a billion dollars for a stadium for one of his republican buddies though.
curious
November 29th, 2012
3:42 pm
Don’t worry.
Gov Deal will embrace an expansion of Medicaid as soon as he figures a way to profit from it.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
3:44 pm
“Gov Deal will embrace an expansion of Medicaid as soon as he figures a way to profit from it.”
Sort of like the new stadium he was against just a few weeks ago.
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
3:45 pm
Same old stuff here.
Come on, Dusty. I mildly defended Paul Ryan’s character. That doesn’t happen every day.
stands for decibels
November 29th, 2012
3:46 pm
the goal of “equality of results”
Feel free to cite the elected Democratic officials of the past, oh, twenty years, who have advocated that as their goal.
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
4:08 pm
OH well, here’s a little something paraphrased from the writings of Pastor Niemoller. I call mine
DOLLARS UNBOUND ( if Shelley will forgive me for that title)
First they took my dollars for Social Security
and I did not speak out
because one gets old.
Then they took my dollars for Medicare
and I did not speak out
because one gets sick
Then they took my dollars for medicine
and I did not speak out
because there is pain.
Then they wanted my dolllars for ObamaCare
and I did not speak out
because there was nothing left to give.
.
.
GB101
November 29th, 2012
4:12 pm
Oh well
Yes, the population grew in the country as a whole. In my lifetime it doubled. In Ga it nearly tripled, as I said. Ga was a small state when I was born, now it is among the largest. Like I said, if this place is such a hell hole it does seem odd that so many people want to move here.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:15 pm
GB
Good point. Same can be said for the US and the crying folks do about the election.
GB101
November 29th, 2012
4:16 pm
JDW
The article you cite is not about Ga’s growth but Atlanta’s. And it is only about the municipality of Atlanta, not the metro area. The city proper has only about 10-15% of the metro population.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:17 pm
Dusty
Were you not the one speaking of Deal and congratulating him a few weeks ago in regards to his “stance” against a new stadium?
Apologies if it was not you. If so, have you read about his change of heart?
____________________
As for your poem. Originality; F
But keep trying and bless your heart
Thomas Heyward Jr
November 29th, 2012
4:17 pm
“But it should keep pressure on Washington to come up with real reform that benefits the uninsured and our health system more broadly.”
.
Remember this………….when a person mentions “reform” and “Washington” in the same sentence……. you are talking the language of the deviants in Washington.
.
Beware.
Kyle’s already gone over to the dark side.
.
lol
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:21 pm
“The city proper has only about 10-15% of the metro population.”
True, but you fail to mention like most other cities in the country; the metro areas grew because folks were coming to the Atlanta metro area, LA metro area, etc.
Most people in the country couldn’t tell you about the burbs of most other major cities, unless they lived there or do business there, but they know about the major city.
I would agree that Atlanta has grown so much that many come to the area and never go to Atlanta proper, but they still use the airport when needed, etc.
pogo
November 29th, 2012
4:22 pm
The house of cards that the democrats have made for themselves is going to fall apart. They celebrate their victory today but in just a short amount of time they will lamenting the day they ever heard the name Obama. When he can no longer hide behind the Feds money printing machines and the real bills come due, he may or may not be in office but one thing is for certain; he will be blamed. History has a way of exposing the frauds and make no mistake, Obama is a fraud. When I hear that some 60% of the people between 18 and 29 years old (and even a larger number for blacks) are OK with socialism, you know that we are in deep, deep trouble. What we now have is a society that is spoiled rotten and that are used to getting what they want at no cost to themselves (they think). But that will change. In the Great Depression if you did not work you did not eat. Now, you can eat and still not work. There is a reason for that. It is called deficit spending, something most of Obama’s base doesn’t understand (because of their literacy rate) and can’t comprehend and ultimately, they couldn’t care less if he country went down the tubes. Just as long as the checks and the SNAPS cards keep coming.
GB101
November 29th, 2012
4:24 pm
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
Georgia’s growth is not attributable to the high rate of teen age pregnancy. And as long as you are comparing Ga to Mass, our population is 30% black; Ma’s is about 7. About 70 % of black children are born to unwed mothers (this is not the same as teen mothers, but the two things are related. So when you say the Ga’s teen age pregnancy rate is higher than Ma’s you are in effect saying Ga’s black population is higher than Ma’s.
OK, I am ready. Call me a racist.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:25 pm
pogo
Sam crap, different blog for you
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:29 pm
pogo
Why no mention of deficit spending by Republican WHs and Congresses? Guess it doesn’t fit your narrow minded narrative.
It is a two way street if you have an inkling of intellectual honesty and knowledge.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
4:35 pm
GB
While not the same percentage as blacks, is there as reason you didn’t mention that white unwed mothers is growing?
carlosgvv
November 29th, 2012
4:55 pm
Dusty
The writeings of that pastor reflect on of the worst times in humam history.
To paraphrase it for purposes of a cheap political shot against Obama only shows how dirt common and base you truly are.
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
4:59 pm
Oh Well, do tell
I did like to hear that the governor was against a new stadium. So he changed. Happens. Must have gotten some new info on the cost & profit. He will let us know
I am also glad he knows the state is in debt and does not need any more Setting up a new unproven healthcare system while in debt is not a good idea. The governor knows that
He also knows that the Federal government is 16 trillion$ in debt.
Did you notice that the KIA plant in Georgia is going to enlarge its huge complex. More jobs! Now that is the way to get out of debt. Our governor knows that too. .
The U
November 29th, 2012
5:00 pm
What everyone fails to realize is that we are going to be paying for it, regardless. Georgians and all the folks in the other states that decline to participate in the expansion will still continue to pay federal income taxes. Those tax collections will then be used to subsidize the expansion of the programs in all those states that will be participating. How is that good for the citizens of GA? We pay but receive none of the benefits. What a deal for the states that are expanding!
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:14 pm
Dusty
You will buy what ever he is selling, what is new?
Only fools thought he was actually against the stadium. That is the kind of things that politicians feed people like you……… because you are gullible and willingly ate and will eat it up.
There was always going to be a new stadium.
But don’t fret, the left has as many sheep in their flock as the right does in theirs.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:18 pm
I see we have a new sock puppet in the Black Label / Sunny/ John Q group.
Welcome, Oh Well. (whoever you are)
md
November 29th, 2012
5:21 pm
I keep reading about why the money should be spent, but what I don’t see is what those in favor would like to cut in exchange…..or are tax increases the order of the day?
Ga IS a balanced budget state, they can’t play the same game the feds do by kicking the can down the road……
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:22 pm
And JDW,your ignorance about what caused the housing bubble and why it burst knows no bounds.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:22 pm
Tiberius
And who are you? Should that be a concern (I doubt it very much) of anyone including myself?
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:25 pm
“or are tax increases the order of the day?”
Well in GA they call it “fee increases” and not tax increases and didn’t Perdue change something regarding deductions for interests on your home?
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
5:27 pm
Carlos, re Pastor Niemoller’s writings
I do know he referenced one of the world’s greatest human tragedies, the Holocaust. We sorrow still.
He also showed the process that often leads to human disasters. That process includes the fact that people do not object/speak out when they think something is wrong. On a much lower scale of human disasters, throwing millions of people in greater debt does not rank near the top. But it does affect millions as we see in Greece, Spain and Portugal.
I speak about President Obama’s POLICIES that I think endanger this country. I will continiue to do so. ObamaCare is expensive, unproven ,incomplete and probably not effective. I will mention that as long as I see it and we have free speech.
In other words, if you don’t like what I write, just grin & bear it. And complain, too, of course!!
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:28 pm
“In other words, if you don’t like what I write, just grin & bear it. And complain, too, of course!!”
Like wise, yet it doesn’t stop you from crying and complaining
Just saying
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:28 pm
Your only concern, sock puppet, is to follow Kyle’s rules and try to tell the truth. If you’re capable, add something of substance.
But I’m site you already knew that being on this blog before.
md
November 29th, 2012
5:28 pm
“and didn’t Perdue change something regarding deductions for interests on your home?”
I rent a dirt floor shack…
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:32 pm
Tiberius
And you are who? The wannabe Deputy Fife. Take it up with the AJC. maybe threaten to sue them or something.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:33 pm
md
That may or may not be the truth, but if you are happy with it, I am glad for you.
If not, keep working and I am sure you will be able to purchase a house, trailer or rent something a little larger one day.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:38 pm
md
Haven’t numerous counties around the state increased millage rates to offset some of the decreased home values and subsequent lowered tax assessments?
mike
November 29th, 2012
5:43 pm
Don’t make him put his bullet in his gun.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:47 pm
Tthanks for confirming your sock puppet status, Oh Well.
Transparent as always.
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
5:47 pm
Uh oh… Mz O W!!…the new class monitor..
I guess Oh Well was clutching her crayons when she decided to take the job.. Poor baby! She luvs to fuss and hiss!
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:47 pm
“Don’t make him put his bullet in his gun.”
It is really just a cap gun, but don’t tell him. He is so proud of it along with his plastic deputy of the blog badge.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
5:48 pm
rwcole: lil Barry, the racist
rwcole: lil Barry, whose every comment drips with racism
——————————
Link please.
Didn’t think so.
Liar.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:49 pm
Tiberius
Don’t blow a gasket and get kicked off yet another blog.
Wouldn’t want your badge taken away.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:52 pm
I see that Oh Well has the liberal Playbook down pat: Can’t play the game so insult and whine.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:54 pm
“Can’t play the game so insult and whine.”
No Tiberius, I am not going to play your little game of dolls and threaten to sue the AJC. Those are your games, so no need to project onto others the things you like to do.
md
November 29th, 2012
5:56 pm
“Haven’t numerous counties around the state increased millage rates to offset some of the decreased home values and subsequent lowered tax assessments?”
I haven’t looked it up, but is that your solution….just keep raising taxes??
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
5:58 pm
So, Oh well, which sock puppet are you? Why must you hide behind a different name than you’ve posted with before?
mike
November 29th, 2012
5:58 pm
Did Tiberius threaten to sue the AJC? I haven’t heard about that.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
5:59 pm
md
I asked a question about the fees, changes to mortage interest and millage rate changes. Those have all taken place in GA. You purposely overlook these things when done by Republicans and only want to cry when it is done by Democrats?
I haven’t said I agreed or didn’t agree with Deal on the issue pertaining to this article. He has made a choice which is clearly his right to do. We will see out it plays out.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
6:01 pm
Tiberius is obsessed with me and all these so called “sock puppets”.
I blogging fatal attraction. WOW.
One can only hope he finds a friend or two.
Does he do this with other bloggers?
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
6:09 pm
Well, this is the day for poetry (or poetic justice or something).
Here are a few encouraging lines from Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING That title reminds me of Mz Oh Well so I dedicate it to her
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
Yes, and call her Honey, Honey to give her a little sweetness.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
6:12 pm
Dusty
Good one, little fella.
Now about some originality.
Dusty
November 29th, 2012
6:16 pm
Well, Tiberius, seems your honesty and integrity are not appreciated by one who does not recognize such virtues. Or maybe it is just envy, wishing she had some.
Or maybe she’s just hungry. which reminds me: dinner time!! .
md
November 29th, 2012
6:20 pm
“I asked a question about the fees, changes to mortage interest and millage rate changes. Those have all taken place in GA. You purposely overlook these things when done by Republicans and only want to cry when it is done by Democrats? ”
Not overlooking anything…..both sides over the years got us to where we are, that’s a given. And that isn’t the question……the question was what next? How high do we take taxes or how much other stuff do we cut to keep a balanced budget?
I’m well aware both spouses got to use the credit card, now I want to know what those in favor think we should do next. The budget has to be balanced, no if’s and’s or but’s……so how do we get there after adding the cost for the medicaid expansion?
md
November 29th, 2012
6:23 pm
You see, all I ever hear is “tax the neighbor” or “cut his subsidies” or “cut their program”……it’s very rarely “raise my taxes please”.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
6:25 pm
md
Deal has made a call and you do not read where I was complaining about it. If you have, post it for me.
I said, we will see how it plays out or did you miss that part?
MarkV
November 29th, 2012
6:27 pm
“cut their program”
Yes, we hear that a lot from the Republicans.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
6:29 pm
Dusty
Tiberius is shining his badge, he will be back to offer you words of comfort and agreement in due time.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
6:42 pm
What can I say, Dusty? Those with intelligence appreciate my insights. Those without will forever have them unavailable to them.
md
November 29th, 2012
6:43 pm
“Yes, we hear that a lot from the Republicans.”
Except what I heard during the election was to cut everyones program to some degree…..ss, medicare, medicaid, tax deductions, tax rate changes, etc etc…….
There is a difference.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
6:43 pm
I think that Oh Well just might be related to Gravy Stain, DNA is a close match.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
6:46 pm
Insights such as Romney will be President.
Yep, you were one heck of a trail blazer with that one.
Get your badge all shined up?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
6:59 pm
Oh well, your obsession with me is creepy. I don’t swing that way, fella, so take a cold shower,ok?
And if you’d recall correctly, I said that Romney might win by 20 electoral votes or less but that I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost, either.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
7:00 pm
Obama is up to his usual tricks in the fiscal crisis talks, moving the goal posts constantly. He is offering no spending cuts, asking the GOP to list what they want in cuts. If the cuts were to come through and the pain began, he would then say, not my fault, these were the GOP asked for cuts.
Today he is asking for revenue now and spending cuts in the future. We have played that game before. I don’t think he really wants any cuts, he just wants to further his class warfare by punishing the rich with more taxes.
I thought that during the campaign he said he was going to be better at working with the GOP and was going to try to be a better leader. He is offering no leadership. The GOP House should have the budget committee put together something they think will work, pass it through the house, and go home and await for Obama to tell Hairy Reed what to put in the Senate bill.
I’m afraid the GOP are going to get the blame no matter what, so why make things easy for Obama. If he takes his vacation without some settlement, he might share a little of the blame. We can only hope.
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
7:02 pm
Tiberius
Obsesses over other blogger s. Who they are, when they blog, how they blog……..
Lonely man.
Good luck finding a friend or two. You really need to try having one for a change
Oh well
November 29th, 2012
7:05 pm
Rafe
Both sides will eventually come to some agreement or another. The far left and far right will cry but it will happen.
Heck, Newt is saying that there isn’t even a fiscal cliff. Didn’t he win the GA primary?
Alter Ego
November 29th, 2012
7:22 pm
The GOP is in an untenable position. Vote for tax increases, antagonize the base; vote against, and be vilified for penalizing the middle class and killing the economy.
The truth is, of course, addressing the real issue, spending, specifically entitlements, just isn’t going to happen with this President. He clearly has no interest in addressing it now or in the future. The ridiculous proposal put forth by Geithner today-in lieu of Obama actually doing his job, or course-clearly illustrates it.
Some GOP members, including Chambliss, are now actually rethinking earlier statements on tax increases. We’ll see. Perhaps calling Obama’s bluff is really the only option on this.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
Alter Ego: The GOP is in an untenable position. Vote for tax increases, antagonize the base; vote against, and be vilified for penalizing the middle class and killing the economy.
————————
False. The GOP will pass a bill extending the current tax rates for all tax payers.
It will then be up to the Democrats or Obozo to obstruct it, angering the middle class who will be hit with a significant tax increase.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
7:40 pm
gee Obama wanting revenue first without spending cuts.
Color me shocked.
President Incompetent strikes again.
Numbers-R-US
November 29th, 2012
7:40 pm
If Republicans would just deliver on their 2010 campaign slogan–JOBS–Medicaid, unemployment, deficit spending, etc., wouldn’t even be an issue. Then again, Republicans never deliver anything for we the people.
Alter Ego
November 29th, 2012
7:48 pm
@Lil’ Barry
They could vote to increase tax rates, but without the requisite spending cuts-what’s the point? You’ve gained nothing from the negotiation except to lose credibility-as much as existed, anyway.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
7:51 pm
Numbers, in case you missed it (and you did) it ties two houses of Congress and a president willing to compromise to get things done.
Easy in the Senate and White House we have neither.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
7:52 pm
Republicans don’t vote to increase tax rates, Alter Ego. They’re going to vote to keep them as they are. The un-American Democrats and Obozo will likely obstruct.
Alter Ego
November 29th, 2012
7:53 pm
@Tiberius
We’ve seen this con before-and it cost Bush Sr. dearly. There’s no sense in falling for it now, but I disagree it stems from incompetence. Obama know exactly what he’s doing, and it doesn’t stem from wanting to have a ‘good faith’ negotiation on this a year from now.
Alter Ego
November 29th, 2012
7:56 pm
@Lil’ Barry
They have, and they will, IF they get the corresponding cuts. Their hand will be forced if they do not get them.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
7:59 pm
I guess Obozo doesn’t understand what the “fiscal cliff” is. His “solution” to the economic hit the fiscal cliff’s tax increase would cause is….raising taxes.
Obozo: Just as ignorant and un-American as his voters.
Alter Ego
November 29th, 2012
8:04 pm
@Lil’ Barry
Considering what his background was prior to becoming CEO of the world’s largest economy, I wholeheartedly agree.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
November 29th, 2012
8:09 pm
Im a big proponent of cutting out ALL deductions and loopholes and leaving rates where they are – including the home mortgage interest deduction.
Its time this government stops driving behaviors through the tax code.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
9:21 pm
It’s also time this regime fixes it’s spending problem. Obozo has raised federal spending from $3 trillion per year at the end of Our President Bush’s administration to $3.5 trillion every year.
JamVet
November 29th, 2012
9:32 pm
Obozo: Just as ignorant and un-American as his voters.
Poor Lil BB, in full post-election, unrepentant meltdown mode.
Don’t worry, the sting of yet another stunning failure will only last a few more years. Until the next one…
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 29th, 2012
9:42 pm
I’ve nothing to be repentant about, JamVet. The American values I defend from scumbag Democrats are timeless and just as correct as they were when the Founding Fathers established this country.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 29th, 2012
10:33 pm
I think Obama makes it obvious with his offers, that he has no interest in reducing spending; that talk was just campaign rhetoric, as we knew. He either does not realize the fiscal peril we are in or he doesn’t care.
He has proposed new spending, which he claims is just leftover from his “jobs” bill. He used that same “leftover” reason for signing the 2009 appropriation bill that was drowning in earmarks, even though he campaigned against earmarks, pledging not to sign bills with earmarks. He is deceitful, deceptive, and duplicitious in his economic policies.
You dont say
November 29th, 2012
10:54 pm
“Republicans don’t vote to increase taxes”
Facts and history are not kind to you, but blather on.
You dont say
November 29th, 2012
10:55 pm
lil barry
when did you defend anything? You served or serve in a militarty or police capacity?
You dont say
November 29th, 2012
10:56 pm
barry
when did you serve and defend anything? Running your mouth and playing blog bully doesn’t count
catlady
November 30th, 2012
6:52 am
Well, Kyle, I do think “we” will benefit because “our” hospital costs won’t be upped to pay for those who are unable to pay. My neighbor, for instance, who has little income (by choice–not willing to work, but has skills–who goes to the hospital and claims indigency, leaving the bill to be made up by me, who works, pays insurance premiums, deductables, and copays. At age 58, weighing 350+ and having no regular, preventative care, he will be making more and more of these hospital trips yet stoutly (heheh) proclaims he will NOT buy insurance–they will have to fine him.
catlady
November 30th, 2012
6:53 am
After all, what’s $84 per year?
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
7:26 am
Link please.
Didn’t think so.
Liar.
Lil’ Barry, your current screen name alone is a racist dogwhistle.
I don’t expect you to own it, I don’t expect you to so much as acknowledge that rational people would see it as such, but it is what it is.
So, there’s your link.
CC
November 30th, 2012
7:31 am
We made it ’til 7:26 before anyone typed “racist” this morning! Hope this isn’t indicative of the way the day will go. That word means absolutely nothing anymore, and says much more about the user than the person it is used against.
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
7:35 am
CC @ 7.31, I was addressing Lil’ Barry’s denial upthread. t’werent me who used that term, originally.
Sorry if you find typical online conversation to be upsetting.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
8:04 am
Last House race brings 2012 election to an end
How many seats did the Cons lose in the House and Senate?
Ouuuuuuch
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
8:05 am
That word means absolutely nothing anymore
but you just can’t stop using it…..
JDW
November 30th, 2012
8:11 am
@Tiberius….”And JDW,your ignorance about what caused the housing bubble and why it burst knows no bounds”
:roll” So enlighten us “o great one”. Impart your supreme wisdom. Why it must have been excess gubmint spending. Didn’t have anything to do with lax oversight, reduced standards, greed and easy money AKA as the environment created by Duhbya.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
8:14 am
It’s also time this regime fixes it’s spending problem.
I believe on Nov 6th the AMERICAN PEOPLE told you to STFU.
But you just cant…….
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
8:15 am
The American values I defend…were made irrelevant on Nov 6th.
mwuahahahahahahahahahaha. LOSERS!
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
8:23 am
for the record:
That word means absolutely nothing anymore
When used as a noun I tend to agree. 20+ years ago right wingers on the AM radio circuit started using it to describe pretty much any well-known black person they didn’t happen to like. I think it gave them some kind of special forbidden-fruit kind of feeling inside, but that’s just irresponsible speculation on my part.
Anyway, whatever power it might have had as a simple insulting pejorative is largely gone now from overuse.
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
8:35 am
[T]ime this regime fixes it’s spending problem.
The only “spending problem” we have at the moment is that we’re not spending enough on infrastructure, health insurance, and renewable energy. Stuff we need anyway, which will put more people to work and ultimately increase our GDP as we emerge from this ongoing self-inflicted economic wound.
And if I’m wrong, you can always drop your stupid austerity bomb, if you ever manage to win a majority of American voters again.
CC
November 30th, 2012
8:41 am
“Anyway, whatever power it might have had as a simple insulting pejorative is largely gone now from overuse.”
EXACTLY my point . . .
“Sorry if you find typical online conversation to be upsetting.”
Nothing written here, or anywhere else for that matter, upsets me.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 30th, 2012
8:47 am
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
7:26 am
————
So you have nothing either?
That’s what we thought.
Liar.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 30th, 2012
8:51 am
Finn: I believe on Nov 6th the parasite Obozo receptacles pretended to have some sort of authority to tell Real Americans to STFU.
———–
Fixed.
And good luck with that, liberal fascists.
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
8:52 am
Liar.
…and our Little Barry lives up to his name by name-calling.
Don’t ever change, babe. It is ever so entertaining.
stands for decibels
November 30th, 2012
8:57 am
Nothing written here, or anywhere else for that matter, upsets me.
CC, thank you for the clarification. I suspect you and I might get along ok, then.
(although I suspect I could get nitpicky and find *something* in writing that might theoretically upset you, like, say, a foreclosure notice due to some bank’s robosigning error…)
/drive-by
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
9:03 am
Look, you Cons lost big time on Nov 6th. No one is interested in your points of view, your opinions, your ideals, your goals, or what gives you the wet dreams.
the AMERICAN PEOPLE don’t care. Understand?
Didn’t think so…..
Glenn Beck
November 30th, 2012
9:06 am
Lil Barry is defending America again. Must have put two more made in China US flag magnets on his car to go with the one he already had.
Lee Greenwood and LLB saving America.
You tough little guy.
JamVet
November 30th, 2012
9:17 am
Lil BB could be the poster boy for why the GOP just got trounced again.
Everybody and everything but him is the “problem”…
independent thinker
November 30th, 2012
9:19 am
Unlike the biased political statement of the Cato Institute that Kyle cites, here are some facts from health care professionals who have a huge finacial stake in the dillemma of unreimbursed medical care due to “Romneycare”’s unfunded mandate:
“”"”"”"”"”"The per capita health costs of the roughly 46 million uninsured in 2004 were $1,629 compared to $2,975 for the insured. Since EMTALA by definition makes hospital EDs responsible for providing treatment regardless of ability to pay, and provides for no specific funding mechanism, who is footing the bill for the majority of these costs, which go uncompensated? In short, everyone. Physicians lose a portion of their annual income to uncompensated care; those insured through their employer help to foot the bill as cost-shifting drives up their medical bills and insurance premiums; and taxpayers more broadly pay a portion of the bill as publicly funded hospitals levy greater taxes to offset uncompensated charity care. This isn’t to say that the cost burden on the uninsured isn’t significant as well. Full-time uninsured individuals who lack health insurance for the entire year pay for 35% of the cost of care out-of-pocket. Part-time uninsured individuals pay for roughly 25% of their care out-of-pocket, while the figure for insured individuals hovers around 20% annually.[[#_ftn2|[2]]] Nearly 85% of the cost of uncompensated care is funded through federal, state, and local government, mostly through the form of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. However, since physicians’ uncompensated care is not generally subsidized through government dollars, an estimated $5 billion in uncompensated care costs are still absorbed annually by providing physicians.[[#_ftn3|[3]]]
Hospitals charge that EMTALA patient requirements have led to increases in uncompensated care, since they can’t obtain an individual’s insurance information before examining them where the law applies, a charge which the evidence backs up. This increase also corresponds largely with a rise in the number of uninsured and a decrease in physician access more generally over the past two decades.
A figure which reflects EMTALA’s impact on emergency department utilization is that the amount of uncompensated care delivered by nonfederal community hospitals grew from 6.1 billion dollars in 1983, before passage of the law, to 40.7 billion dollars in 2004.[[#_ftn4|[4]]] According to a May 2003 American Medical Association study, the average emergency physician provided $138,300 of EMTALA-related care yearly, with a third of these physicians providing over 30 hours of such care per week. Physicians in other specialties provide, on average, about six hours a week of care mandated by EMTALA, and on average incurred about $25,000 of EMTALA-related bad debt in 2001.[[#_ftn5|[5]]] Community health clinics and free clinics, two of the only viable alternatives to EDs for the uninsured, are also disproportionately overcrowded and lacking funding. “”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
http://healthcarefinance.wikispaces.com/EMTALA
Of course if you are just looking to air your grievances towards the Dems and Obama and could care less that Obamacare has now been supported by all three branches of the government and the US voters, keep spewing out nonsensical garbage . The usual suspects on here probaly have no idea what EMTALA is or why Romneycare was created in Mass. to solve a problem that the cons here will not even address but they will jump if the NRA or right to life people want to ram legislation through the Georgia legislature.
No wonder Obama got a mandate.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
9:30 am
The usual suspects on here probaly have no idea what EMTALA is or why Romneycare was created
If Fox News doesn’t explain the EMTALA you can bet your undies the “usual suspects” on here haven’t a clue.
CC
November 30th, 2012
9:46 am
“No one is interested in your points of view, your opinions, your ideals, your goals, or what gives you the wet dreams.”
Exactly, Finn, no one is interested in yours . . .
CC
November 30th, 2012
9:48 am
“If Fox News doesn’t explain the EMTALA you can bet your undies the “usual suspects” on here haven’t a clue.”
. . . and if MSNBC ceases broadcasting, you will disappear!
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
9:55 am
A CC quote from October 30th:
it will confirm what I have thought all along: Obama is on a fast-track for White House departure!
mwuahahahahaha
Hey, CC, which teams you think will win on Sunday? I need to know who to bet against.
mwuahahahahahahaa
Dusty
November 30th, 2012
10:30 am
Well, looks like all the ugly Americans got up early and descended on this blog with insults, fabrications and name calling. And most of them turned out to be loud mouth LIBERALS.
I do believe the next big book will be” UGLY AMERICANS turn on their country”. Maybe Woodward will write it. There’s plenty of material right at the AJC with the blogs of Galloway, Bookman and now the invaders of Kyle’s blog.
No wonder Lil Barry raises the flag of patriotism. It seems to be mostlhy missing here. Not to mention civility and consideration.
Our founders gave us freedom of speech. Now our own citizens try to ruin it.. They live in the greatest country in the world and they try to change it to shanty-town socialism. I really don’t understand the dullard shift from democracy to dirt. .
Glenn Beck
November 30th, 2012
10:32 am
What was confimed is that CC buys whatever Fox pundits, radio pundits and right wing websites sale him.
Nothing more. Nothing less
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 30th, 2012
10:35 am
loud mouth LIBERALS.
Thy name is Finn.
Glenn Beck
November 30th, 2012
10:37 am
Dusty
Yes you were up before the rooster crowed and will be the poster child of the book you mentioned.
Congrats. It is all you. All day and you know it which is good that are comfortable in admitting It.
Way to go Dust
breckenridge
November 30th, 2012
10:40 am
The nation, and specifically the republican party, need to address the fact that 40% of kids born in this country are born to parents or a single parent on Medicaid. Every American has the right to have children but not at taxpayers expense. That’s why the GOP, being the party of fiscal responsibility, needs to promote birth control and abortion, and take a zero-tolerance policy on paying to raise more children that aren’t theirs. That’s not to say that we are not a nation of benevolent people; we are, and we will gladly help those already here. But we simply cannot allow the irresponsible creation of even more taxpayer liabilities.
MarkV
November 30th, 2012
10:43 am
“No wonder Lil Barry raises the flag of patriotism. It seems to be mostlhy missing here. Not to mention civility and consideration.”
Decrying lack of “civility and consideration” in the same paragraph with a praise of Lil Barry can only be explained by selective blindness.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 30th, 2012
10:50 am
Finn:
Look, you Cons lost big time on Nov 6th. No one is interested in your points of view, your opinions, your ideals, your goals, or what gives you the wet dreams.
MarkV
“No wonder Lil Barry raises the flag of patriotism. It seems to be mostlhy missing here. Not to mention civility and consideration.”
I will let one of your own leftwing socialist wantabee’s explain this to you two.
Hillary Clinton Apr 2003
I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic, and we should stand up and say, “We are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration!”
CC
November 30th, 2012
10:51 am
“What was confimed is that CC buys whatever Fox pundits, radio pundits and right wing websites sale him.”
It confirms nothing except that you choose to assign untrue attributes to someone who disagrees with your warped perception of facts an realty, and I’m not speaking of election outcomes.
Dusty
November 30th, 2012
10:55 am
Glenn Beck
Thank you but I am not a liberal Democrat. Also I don’t get up with the chickens.
Keep trying. You may get something right yet.
MarkV
November 30th, 2012
10:57 am
“They live in the greatest country in the world and they try to change it to shanty-town socialism. “
One must wonder what Dusty knows about “shanty-town socialism,” or any socialism for that matter. Why don’t you tell us, Dusty, when and where did you see that “shanty-town socialism?”
Dusty
November 30th, 2012
11:00 am
Dear MarkV
My vision is quite clear. Thanks for your concern.
Have you had your tunnel vision corrected yet?
MarkV
November 30th, 2012
11:02 am
Rafe Hollister @10:50
If you want to respond to something, you have to learn to comprehend what has been written.
MarkV
November 30th, 2012
11:04 am
Dear Dusty,
You inability to respond factually has been noted.
Dusty
November 30th, 2012
11:10 am
Dear MarkV
Your inability to recognize facts has also been noted.
I depart to the world of shops and credit cards. Wish me luck!!
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 30th, 2012
11:12 am
Still eating for “stands for decibels” or any of the others crying “racist” to provide any links or quotes to back up their poutrage.
Liars.
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
November 30th, 2012
11:14 am
“Waiting”, not “eating”…darn spellcheck.
stands for decibels: Pathetic liar.
CC
November 30th, 2012
11:28 am
“You inability to respond factually has been noted.”
The fact that you’re incapable of original thought and a lame excuse for a wordsmith has been noted.
MarkV
November 30th, 2012
11:44 am
CC @ 11:28 am
“The fact that you’re incapable of original thought and a lame excuse for a wordsmith has been noted.”
How original. You should immortalize it in your personal book of your “witty” quotations.
independent thinker
November 30th, 2012
12:12 pm
Breckenridge–
“”"”"”"”"”he nation, and specifically the republican party, need to address the fact that 40% of kids born in this country are born to parents or a single parent on Medicaid. Every American has the right to have children but not at taxpayers expense. That’s why the GOP, being the party of fiscal responsibility, needs to promote birth control and abortion, and take a zero-tolerance policy on paying to raise more children that aren’t theirs. That’s not to say that we are not a nation of benevolent people; we are, and we will gladly help those already here. But we simply cannot allow the irresponsible creation of even more taxpayer liabilities.”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
Very well said – however there are a few problems with your attempt to get the
GOP and Congress to resolve the high birth rate of government subsidized children:
1. Calling women sluts who demand free birth control;
2. Threatening to put ultrasounds up the vaginas of any women who wants an abortion;
3.Having the GOP darling and some loon from Minn. pass 39 anti-abortion bills redefining rape in the House;
4. GOP sponsored earned income credits paying the poor money based on no. of children they can claim are part of their household;
5.Trashing Planned Parenthood as a GOP policy and
6. Enacting numerous government programs that subsidize women if they have no male in the household and basing subsidies on the number of children.
7. Refusal of the Congress to adequately fund job training programs and make them a condition of welfare, Section 8 and other subsidies
As to Medicaid – would you rather that the hospitals absorb the cost of medical care?
ld
November 30th, 2012
8:37 pm
We, Georgians, need to avoid expanding federal programs that will be unfunded or underfunded by the federal government but controlled by federal rules and, instead, seek to find ways to use the health departments that already exist in every county in the state to help the poorest of Georgia’s poor, especially the children, and seek matching (?% to each ?%) of federal funds without strings attached for that purpose.
The statehouse could look at medical tort reform in Georgia in connection with the expanded use of the health departments as referring authority — IF a licensed medical professional accepts patients referred by the health department on a sliding fee basis within a system that Georgia can adjust to its own needs, then, with some consumer protections put in place, those physicians could be protected by state law from most or even all litigation, at least all except the most inexcusable (such as being under the influence or criminal conduct).
To protect consumers, medical professionals would need to be required to follow specific procedures designed to work toward identifying and correcting problems rather than the current norm of trying to cover up problems to avoid litigation and thereby begin to rid their profession of the incompetent, criminal and/or repeatedly careless.
Carly EngageAmerica
December 4th, 2012
1:11 pm
The reelection of President Obama provides a clear passage for health care reform. However, this massive top-down reform comes with major structural flaws.
The ACA promises what it cannot deliver. The reform increases demand while the supply of health care services remains stagnant.