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September 24, 2009 | By Amanda Reinecker
Ameica remains split on health care
Last week, President Obama delivered his 29th health care speech
to both chambers of Congress. Proponents of big-government health
care were hopeful that this address would be the turning point of
the debate, striking down, once and for all, conservative arguments
against the plan and winning over the American people.
While the speech did spark a temporary boost in support for the
plan, Americans remain skeptical about the Left's arguments on
health care. And polls show that public support has again declined
for a government takeover of an industry that represents one-sixth
of our nation's economy.
The Left argues that public dissatisfaction is due to
misinformation and poor communication. But "it is not the message
that is the problem," writes
Heritage's Conn Carroll. "The problem is that the American
people
do understand what [the President's] health care plan
will mean for them, and they just don't like it."
Why would Americans agree to the Left's prescribed health care
"reform" when even the "compromise" proposals are little better than
the original concept? The plan put forward by Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT,
has been touted in the media as bipartisan and therefore better, but
it "was greeted with near-universal disapproval" in the Senate,
writes Heritage Distinguished Fellow and former Congressman Ernest
Istook.
With a price tag of about $900 billion, the Baucus bill would
still
expand government to unprecedented levels, inflicting serious
economic turmoil and endangering individual liberty.
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Individual Mandates:
All Americans will be required to purchase a federally-approved
health care plan or face major taxes.
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Government Mandates:
All businesses that employ more than 50 individuals will be
required to provide coverage or pay a tax for each uncovered
employee. This tax will be based on that individual's family
income as opposed to his personal income. This is a "job killing
employment tax" that discourages employers from hiring sole
family income earners.
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Unfunded Mandates:
The bill calls for a costly expansion of Medicaid eligibility.
This would increase the financial burden on individual states
and limit availability to those most dependent upon the program.
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Middle-Class Tax Hike:
The Baucus proposal would impose a new federal excise tax on
high-cost health plans—but this tax could hit middle-class
workers as well.
Despite revisions since its debut last week, the Baucus bill has
still failed to win conservative support on Capitol Hill.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-WY,
outlined conservative concerns: it "does not do enough to lower
costs, and in many cases, it will actually increase health-care
costs through the new taxes mandated."
The Left, meanwhile, opposes the Baucus plan for different
reasons. They won't support the proposal unless it includes a
government-run public insurance "option." This government-run plan
would compete unfairly with private insurance providers and would
pave the way for a complete government takeover of the health care
system.
» Visit Heritage's FixHealthCarePolicy.com for the conservative
alternative to a public "option"
In a committee hearing this week, Sen. Baucus urged his
colleagues to seize the opportunity to
"make history" and pass legislation to overhaul the nation's
health care system. But making history should not be the objective.
The objective should be a transparent, bipartisan, and effective
health care reform proposal. Until that end is met, back to the
drawing board.
> Other Heritage work of note
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President Obama has formally abandoned a program "necessary for
defending America's friends and allies as well as the homeland
from intercontinental and intermediate-range missiles,"
write Heritage security experts Baker Spring and Mackenzie
Eaglen. The decision to scrap 10 missile interceptors in
Poland and radar in the Czech Republic undermines America's
commitments to her allies and further kindles rogue nations'
pursuit of nuclear production and development.
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Although it has not been capturing headlines as it did earlier
this summer,
the situation in Honduras remains tumultuous. Ousted
President Manual Zelaya's efforts to return pose a threat to
democracy and human liberty in Latin America, yet the situation
has prompted little more than a "puzzling" response from
America, write Heritage experts Ray Walser and Israel Ortega.
"The brave people of Honduras believe they have stood up for
democracy," so we should stand up for them.
> In other news
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In preparation for November's Group of 20 summit in Scotland,
U.S. policymakers have drafted a proposal to
revise the global economic order. The document encourages
major exporters, such as China and Japan, to consume more and
debtors, like the United States, to boost savings.
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FBI agents arrested Najibullah Zazi, a Colorado resident, in
connection with an alleged U.S. terror plot. Two others have
been arrested, but officials remain uncertain as to whether the
plot has been completely foiled.
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In an interview on Sunday morning's "Meet the Press," House
Minority Leader John Boehner said that
the President's health care bill is dead and will not likely
be passed due to an absolute lack of bipartisan agreement. While
the proposal certainly has its shortcomings, conservatives
should not grow overconfident.
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President Obama was receptive to a proposal for the government
to
provide aid -- i.e. bail out -- for suffering news agencies.
This report follows shortly on the heels of a poll revealing
that over 60 percent of Americans do not trust the media to
offer non-partisan, non-biased news. A government takeover would
certainly not improve matters.
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"During his first eight months in office, President Obama has
sat down for three times as many television interviews as his
most recent two predecessors combined,"
the New York Post reports.
> Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please
RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live
online. All times are Eastern.
-
Next week, beginning Monday at 10 a.m., Heritage will host a
week-long
"Homeland Security University" with lectures from Heritage
experts and notable guest speakers. Check out the schedule of
events and
RSVP online to attend one session or all five.
Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for
members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward,
the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report. |
