Ben Harakel

Intro to Economics

Obamacare

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-19/marco-rubios-devious-new-plan-to-kill-obamacare

Marco Rubio's Devious New Plan to Kill Obamacare

Obamacare is not a perfect system, if you have read any of my prior blogs on the subject you can easily understand why. The plan behind the bill was based on a very high stakes risk game more or less and that game is now starting to be attacked by republicans. The risk game involves both individuals and firms themselves and basically boils down to this: healthier people need less health care but will be charged the same so the excess money can help cover the costs of the unhealthy people. This principle is called a risk corridor and is exactly what Rubio is trying to erase from the bill. His bill is in response to a study done by the American Academy of Actuaries said that if the higher class citizens do not buy the insurance from the exchanges that are a part of Obamacare, the bill could be in some big trouble. Rubio's bill would create a chain reaction that would take out each critical part of the bill which would most likely lead to its destruction.

While most of you know just how much I despise the ACA this proposal brings me back to the point where I can't believe how petty both party's are. I believe that the democrats were wrong to pass this bill but I also think that republicans are part of the problem because of the for lack of a better word "bitching" they are doing about the bill. In my mind most of our legislators have lost their morals and their sense to differentiate right from wrong. Obamacare is merely a medium to help show the true colors of the politicians. I know the bill doesn't make logical sense and I know that it was passed because it was the president's baby but I don't think this is the best way to set things straight. I am one of the people who believe that it would be truly better for our state and federal government if all congressmen and women were fired and replaced with new people. Some politicians have been serving for the last 35-45 years uninterrupted and I feel have become stubborn and pretty complacent. Plus when you fight the same people with the same opinions for anywhere upwards of 20 years I can see it getting a little pointless. Either way I definitely think it is time for our congress to stop the undermining that is going on from both sides of the aisle.

Ben Harakel

Intro To Economics

Obamacare

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/11/12/bill-clinton-identifies-3-big-problems-with-the-obamacare-rollout/

Bill Clinton Identifies 3 Big Problems With the Obamacare Rollout

Maybe its just me but I thought that in the partisan world in which we live that people never criticize their own party. I guess that based on what Bill Clinton said the other day, I was wrong. Although Clinton didn't quite bash the bill completely, he did point out a couple of huge problems that are starting to make their way around our society. The former president said basically that Obama should go back and change his law so that people can keep their policies if they like them. What I think is really absurd is that everyone thinks that this is a really great idea. To start off that was what the bill was designed to do and so the fact that it failed could be the product of only two roots. The first being that (listen to this shocker) OBAMA WAS LYING, and he knew all along that you wouldn't be able to keep your benefits or the second which is that the law forced businesses to cancel the previous plans for financial reasons. Either way the White House is to blame for the "disaster" of a bill that we know as Obamacare and as much as I like the bipartisanship shown by Clinton I just don't think the change can be made.

It seems to me that the administration should either do one of two things: 

1. Let the people lose their plans and apologize for the problems

2. Try to fix the problems as they arise

While it seems like the best option is the second one, I feel like the first is the best option. Obama's approval rating is already in the toilet and if he tries to fix all of the problems, more will definitely arise. The risk is that the wonderful health care law that he proposed will turn into a nonfunctional bill but with good intentions. I can't see a way that the government can "force" the companies to reinstate the policies that have already been discontinued. It seems totally unfair in my mind to the businesses that chose to discard the policies and make money that the government would basically tell them to put all of the individual policies back in action. Considering how long it took to get this bill up and running I can hardly imagine how long it would take to make all the changes to it. 

Ben Harakel

Intro to Economics

Obamacare

Rand Paul Proposes Constitutional Amendment Barring Government Officials From Being Above the Law

http://rt.com/usa/rand-paul-amendment-obamacare-565/

This article was a little bit funny to me because I really didn't think that our government would ever get to this point. Our legislators and judiciaries are currently "on Obamacare" while really not being on Obamacare. They were originally included in the law but another bill was passed that allowed them to receive their government allowance to spend on healthcare. With this said all of the congressmen voted for Obamacare and then the judiciaries upheld the law which truly doesn't affect them. Thankfully someone is fighting back against the exemption after the blackmail of the Vitter bill (see my second post). That bill was more or less lost in the whole debacle of the government shutdown but now Rand Paul is taking up the charge against the democrats who are adamant about not being included in the law but yet have no problem enforcing it on the people. 

Paul's approach is different to that of Vitter's in that he is proposing an actual amendment to the constitution. His amendment reads: Congress shall make no law applicable to a citizen of the United States that is not equally applicable to Congress. I thought that the point of having the representatives and senators was that they Represented Us!!! Not that they became like monarchs, putting themselves above us in all aspects and making rules that only apply to us. I am really starting to think that some of these people have forgotten how our system works and that a clean sweep of every branch is a necessity. All this time I was under the impression that a amendment such as the one Paul is proposing was unnecessary because it was like an unwritten rule. Apparently I was either misinformed or times have changed.

 It troubles me how much opposition the amendment is getting especially when you take it at face value. Congressmen, especially democrats, are arguing in essence that they are better than everyone else and shouldn't be held to the same standards, but are emphatic about preaching equality in all other aspects of society. The bill itself is not worded perfectly, because the Supreme Court could view it as saying that Congress isn't allowed to pass bill on things like welfare because it is not applicable to them. However I feel like the objection itself is not based on the wording as much as it is the implications of the law and its effect on Obamacare.