Shimkus Questions Sebelius on Budget Gimmicks in the Health Care Law

[ddlynn100]

Gotcha! just keep holding on to that point maybe in a year or so it will become clear. Maybe by that time the President will have provided us all with healthcare and more jobs, and hopefully when you a not so desperate fighting someone elses battle you can take off the blinders and stop fighting someone else's politics. You are one of the 99% and you know it. Fight for us not the decievers.

[megarational]

Talk about hypocritical Republicans "protecting" medicare.

Now the sleezy GOP has shown their true colors with the Paul Ryan plan, which would destroy Medicare, give seniors a voucher instead, and if seniors can't find a private insurer who will provide insurance for the amount of the voucher - too bad senior - you're on your own.

But the Ryan plan DOES propose spending more on still more tax cuts for the rich.

Republicans are worse than cockroaches.

[NCMan28025]

@megarational Obama cut $500 billion from Medicare to fund ObamaCare and now is proposing to cut an additional $540 billion. Please read and educate yourself as The Washington Post fact-checked the same claim you're parroting from Debbie Wasserman Shultz. Both of you are lying about the Ryan plan. Now scurry away cockroach.

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 You still parroting those old Fox Fiction/GOP propaganda sound bites?

The $540 million was elimination of unnecessary subsidies to insurance corporations for Medicare Advantage. It was NOT cuts to services.

And now the Republicans are squawking every day about wanting cuts to Medicare, Social Security etc.

What a bunch of hypocrites.

And you, just like all the GOP slugs react to any facts that don't suit your preconceived notions with the hostility of a cornered rat.

[NCMan28025]

@megarational Didn't want to touch the $500 billion dollar double-counting scheme did you? It's ok. I'd scurry past that fact as well if I were trying to defend the re-distributor-in-chief. You also won't touch the fact that Democrats are against these cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The Republicans don't want to cut these services. They won't to reform them so they stay solvent. The AP and Washington Post fact-checked Wasserman Shultz who tried to spin just as you did. Conclusion You are lying.

[NCMan28025]

@megarational Didn't want to touch the $500 billion dollar double-counting scheme did you? It's ok. I'd scurry past that fact as well if I were trying to defend the re-distributor-in-chief. You also won't touch the fact that Democrats are against these cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The Republicans don't want to cut these services. They won't to reform them so they stay solvent.

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 As for the Ryan plan - it included a 10% reduction in the top inc tax rate (a tax cut for the rich), and eliminating cap gains & dividends tax (the primary income sources for the rich and especially the super rich) - so just one big fat set of tax cuts for the rich.

[NCMan28025]

@megarational How dare Americans want to keep more of the money they earned through hard work and investments. They must be heartless not to let the government take more of their wealth so they can redistribute it to those who vote Democrat. You socialist are all alike. You guys want to leech off the productive. By the way, how has this Keynesian economics plan been working out for all Americans? Higher deficits, higher unemployment and higher poverty. All of Obama's policies have failed.

[megarational]

@NCMan28025

1. a) A rich person is rich because either

- they worked hard & were exceptionally either/or smart, talented, ruthless, or lucky

- they inherited wealth

- they were politically or economically well connected

- they are a sports star, movie star, or have some other god-given marketable natural gift

- they made a fortune off playing the stock market, with their money or other peoples.

see next comment...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1. b) Now, as to the concept of the business "self-made" millionaire or billionaire...almost anyone who becomes wealthy depends heavily on the labor and talent of her or his employees, the vagaries of economic events and other factors. It is not the work of the wealthy person in isolation.

see next...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025

1. c) You think only the rich work hard in this country?

Millions of Americans who make less than 100k work just as hard & millions may work far harder, but simply didn't have the same opportunities, connections, luck, or god given talents in intellect/skills/physical attributes.

Some rich work hard, others very little or not at all. Some simply live off the growing wealth from the accumulated wealth & capital they may or not have worked hard for themselves.

see next.

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1, d) So, having dealt with the bullshit generalizations about the rich, lets examine whether increasing tax on the wealthy is fair and makes sense for both social and economic reasons.

The top 1% own 35% of the nations totals wealth, the top 10% possess 80% of all financial assets and the bottom 90% hold only 20% of all financial wealth.

2010, the Central Intelligence Agency indicated that the U.S. sits 93rd in the world for wealth inequality, between Iran and Mexico.

next...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1. e) Cut and paste from the US census: the long-term trend has been toward increasing income inequality. Since 1969, the share of aggregate household income controlled by the lowest income quintile has decreased from 4.1 percent to 3.6 percent in 1997, while the share to the highest quintile increased from 43.0 percent to 49.4 percent. Most noticeably, the share of income controlled by the top 5 percent of households has increased from 16.6 percent to 21.7 percent

next...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1. f) Wikipedia: The aggregate income distribution is highly concentrated towards the top, with the top 6.37% earning roughly one third of all income, and those with upper-middle incomes controlling a large, though declining, share of the income.

Demand stagnated because the mid & lower class have been robbed of purchasing power due to stagnating wages, unemployment, and siphoning off of the wealth to the top end.

next...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1, g) now, having pointed out the fallacies of the stereotypes of the wealthy and the "not wealthy", and the growing wealth inequality, lets make the social and economic argument for increasing tax on the rich.

The social:

"Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is

to exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the

higher portions of property in geometrical progression as they

rise."

--Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1785

next...

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 1, h) the economic:

increasing tax on the rich allows a lower tax on those in the middle/lower class. A rich person will use some of each additional dollar to save, play the stock market, invest overseas, or speculate in real estate - none of which has a major impact on domestic demand or jobs.

By contrast, an extra $ in the hands of someone living paycheck to paycheck is spent immediately, entirely, and domestically - which has a greater effect on demand & jobs.

[megarational]

@NCMan28025 Lets give an example from one end of the spectrum for illustration.

A kid inherits apartments from his old man.

The apartment rents keep the kid wealthy, partying around the world, while the apartments continue to increase his wealth by virtue of real estate values rising in the area the apt's are located.

Where is all his money continue to come from?

Not his hard work.

It's coming from the hard work of the Americans who are paying the rent in his apartments.

[ddlynn100]

This is what republicans believe is a gotcha moment because of a congressman who can understand guarded truth, let me break it down to you like you are a 1st grader, let this be a teachable moment. When you budget your bills and payments and you save $500 on your entertainment expenses don't you now have $500 that you can now pay a car note with (don't loose your lunch this is a hypothetical situation).

[spielnick]

@ddlynn100 Agreed, if i cut spending by $500 billion on one expenditure I then have created a savings of $500 billion, and then I can use it towards another expense That is actually what they are saying, we are saving tax payers $500 billion, no your not you are applying that savings towards Health Care. Serious folks I dont care what side of the fence you sit on, if it smells like s#$% it probably is. Remember, 'you need to pass the bill to find out what it is in it', are we that stupid.

[NCMan28025]

@ddlynn100 Except they're double counting for two programs-Medicare and ObamaCare. Simple comprehension skills are needed to see what Sebelius admitted to.

[ddlynn100]

@NCMan28025 No she did what I've learned to do give up people hear what the want hear. Its called guarded truth nothing can penetrate that donut hole.

[NCMan28025]

@ddlynn100 No, you just stick your head in the sand and ignore the fact. The entire ObamaCare law is a scam. Notice they recently ended the CLASS Act because it was self sustainable? It is double counting to those of us who can do math and logic. She admitted it. Watch and listen to the video very closely and you will see for yourself or just stick your fingers in your ears and deny the truth.

[TexasMotions]

While this 'double-counting' method has been used for decade by both parties, it is time to put a stop to it.

This is no different than Arthur Andersen cooking the books for Enron. If a company practiced the accounting methods that the Fed uses, someone is going to jail. I'm required by law to pay taxes or face jail. Congress has no such accountability in regard to the use of my tax money. People are sick of it.

[Kane88andToews19]

to be honest I don't even think Obama himself read this fucking bill

[TheJaedenBeast]

I don't wish to tell everyone who hears 74 seconds of video and makes a conclusion an idiot, but every comment I read is idiotic. I forgot that Barack Obama himself plots and schemes every aspect of our lives. Oh, wait, *he doesn't.* And you're retarded for thinking so. I know you're all still bitter for losing the battle for healthcare, but you've certainly got other things you can bitch about.

[TAMPADOC64]

@TheJaedenBeast I don't wish to point out that everyone backing this: illegal, unconstitutional piece of garbage, everyone who actually read it says it's nothing but a take over, that they had to cook the books, lie about, back room deals, create exemptions for their co-conspirators, build in secret mechanisms to keep it from being repealed or defunded, and now that it's obvious that its going to cost trillions still support it, is a moron, but that's obvious!

PS; Supreme Court will kill it

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 Republicans have to lie about everything because their whole agenda is based on supporting multinational conglomerates who pay them very well for their support. As seen here they typically use aggression and hyperbole to make their baseless points. In this case a republican is lying in order to support multinational HC insurance conglomerates.

[TAMPADOC64]

@Phalinex Wow! Did you have to take psychedelic drugs to believe that or just pound a nail into your skull? So you have Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admiting to congress tha tthe Obama administration lied, cheated, commited fraud, what ever you want to call it to trick the CBO and the AMerican public to pass this bill designed to take over healthcare and force the demise of private medicine, and you're accusing HIM of lying? You ride the short bus don't you?

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 You write a lot of shit for a man with no facts. You don't even leave a reference as to what  you're referring to. The only thing republicans do is lie and bitch. I've yet to see one thoughtful intelligent comment out of any one of you ignorant morons. They programme you idiots to cry and bitch without a clue as to what the hell your bitching about and you don't even care. You're a truly pathetic group of corporate manipulated morons.

[TAMPADOC64]

@Phalinex What are you talking about? Don't you understand what's on the video you're posting on? What facts? Are you an idiot? Sebelius is TESTIFYING TO CONGRESS THAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRSTION LIED! What more facts do you want? Obviously you wouldn't know an intelligent comment if it bit your ass. Talk about no clue. What reference would you like? how about a video, wow, look I made it magically appear above. Do you know how to watch it?

You really make liberals look stupid!

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 LIED ABOUT WHAT YOU IGNORANT MORON? The only thing this video shows is an asshole teabagger yelling at a woman because he doesn't want her to explain the facts. The teabaggers in congress plug their ears and throw tantrums in order to block out the truth so they can justify their support their multinational conglomerate donors. You're so stupid you can't even form an intelligent question. You simply rant, rave, lie, and bitch because that's all you teabaggers have to offer.

[TAMPADOC64]

@Phalinex You amaze me! How someone can be so ignorant as to see the facts right in front of them and not grasp it. I'll try to explain in simple terms you may understand. The Obama administration is claiming they can use the same half trillion dollars to pay for Medicare and ObamaCare. I'll give you an example you'll understand. It's like if you only had $50 and crystal meth was $50 and crack was $50. You can't buy both.

Yeah, us TEA baggers that want responsible government, how terrible!

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 I'll try to explain this in a way that an inbred redneck drug addicted zoophile like yourself may be able to comprehend. Democrats have found $500B of fraud and waste in Medicare.They want to stop this fraud and waste then invest some of the money to improve medicare and the rest of the money for costs in the implementation of HC insurance reform

Considering the fact that teabaggers support or oppose no policies and they have no ideas or solutions, how do they know what they want?

[TAMPADOC64]

@Phalinex So let me get this straight, they found the savings from fraud and waste and now they are funding medicare and ObamaCare with the same money! $500 billion for both? doesn't that equal a trillion?Sure, it makes total sense, to an idiot like yourself or to a criminal in the government.

What the "Teabaggers" want is real simple. Smaller more responsible government tha tdoesn't waste money or try to run our lives. Not all Americans are mindless dolts that need big brother to control us.

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 You're too stupid for words to describe. So you can't comprehend dividing $500B by two, okay forget the math. Just try to explain what this corporate promoted slogan "Smaller more responsible government that doesn't waste money or try to run our lives" means to you. Because republicans use it for an excuse to cut H.C. for the sick and elderly, cut funding for education, infrastructure, pollution regulations, fire and police in order to give tax cuts to their corporate donors.

[TAMPADOC64]

@Phalinex Too bad you don't know what a fact is. First; the dems had $500 billiion in each column. that's not half. Second; The last time the Republicans forced the Democrats to balance the budget, none of these horrible things happened. In fact the irony is that the Democrats still take credit for the surplus during the Clinton administration even though they fought it tooth and nail.

If you really want to see care cut for the sick and elderly, leave ObamaCare in place.

[Phalinex]

@TAMPADOC64 The cheating lying Newt Gingrat led the government shutdown because President Clinton ended the Reagan tax cuts for the rich. It was a battle won by the Democrats and it led to dramatic increases in GDP,employment and surpluses.Then the mass murdering torturing lying traitors cut taxes for big oil, pharmaceutical and other multinational conglomerates and the the rich.The result is the largest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the rich in history and an economic catastrophe.

[NCMan28025]

@Phalinex Did you not read the Chief Actuary's report about the billions that were wasted in 2009 & 2010. They found nothing and tried to take $500 billion out of Medicare to fund their unconstitutional bill. Did you not hear her agree that they double counted or are you deaf due to inbred liberalism? Google Richard S. Foster +CMS. He is the Chief Actuary that continues to tell Americans that ObamaCare causes medical costs and insurance premiums to rise.

[NCMan28025]

@Phalinex Talk about stupid. The tea party members voted into office had nothing to do with ObamaCare. They took their oath on Jan. 4, 201. Then again, its clearly obvious you have no grasp of civics or reality.

[NCMan28025]

@Phalinex Coming from an idiot that has only thrown ad hominem attacks (look it up). ObamaCare was sold by fraud who used fraudulent numbers. You haven't proven anything but the fact that you lack critical thinking abilities and logic. In this video, HHS Secretary Sebelius admitted they are using the $500 billion in make believe savings to fund both Medicare and ObamaCare. It's fraudulent accounting. The #'s they gave the CBO were fraudulent and were done in order to hide the true costs?

[theater1961]

more lies and deception from obamo admin as usual

[ousigma2000]

Oh "We" had to rush health care reform and pass Obamacare before anyone had a chance to read it. Now we know why. Obamacare i not going to cut medical costs. It's going to explode the costs an extra $500 billion. God helps with all the idiots and liars in Congress and save this Great Nation for our children.

[mueygringo]

The Obama Administration, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid All lied to us about the Healthcare Bill? I am shocked. The left wing media told us that they were being truthful. Now I am to believe the network news, MSNBC, CNN are liars. I am having a difficult time understanding this how can the leftist sheep handle this? Say it aint so Bamster.

[dacmiller]

The media will hide this ....hope it goes away and Obama will NEVER be asked about this.

Wake up people

[dacmiller]

Pass the bill and then we'll read it.

There is more to come with these people...........get ready.

[rjinman2001]

The lies are unraveling and the truth is coming out. It will be the demise of the Progressives/Socialists/Commun­ists/Unions/Islamists because they will and are being exposed for the trash they truly are.

[john51880]

She bold face lied to the public. They knew it. Obama knew it! The president Of the United States Knew and lied about a $500 billion difference then rammed a law into place based on it. Stunning how the ends justified the means as long as big government got it's way.

[quizerry]

GAO est medicare lost $48 billion in fraud or improper payments last year, That est does not take into account part D. Interesting fact is the 10 largest insurance companies profits were $12.7 billion so for every $1 they made in profit medicare wasted or lost $4. Now that is a government est. Private research has found medicare waste 3 times that amount. Obamacare adds millions more on government subsidies for HC what will the waste then become?

[122172639]

@quizerry you forget that medicare is administered BY the big name insurers--United, BBS... the diff is with Medicare they can't deny reasonable services or yank you out if you get cancer or another expensive ailment... They have to take the good with the bad. Having worked for BCBS, I know their Medicare paperwork was FAR more in line with actual costs than their private insurance plans--they exploited the healthy and booted the poor, and they were the BEST of them (til Wellpoint at least).

[122172639]

@quizerry you forget that medicare is administered BY the big name insurers--United, BBS... the diff is with Medicare they can't deny reasonable services or yank you out if you get cancer or another expensive ailment... They have to take the good with the bad. Having worked for BCBS, I know their Medicare paperwork was FAR more in line with actual costs than their private insurance plans--they exploited the healthy and booted the poor, and they were the BEST of them (til Wellpoint at least).

[122172639]

@quizerry medicare is administered BY the big name insurers--United, BBS... the diff is with Medicare they can't deny reasonable services or yank you out if you get cancer or another expensive ailment... They have to take the good with the bad. Having worked for BCBS, I know their Medicare paperwork was FAR more in line with actual costs than their private insurance plans--they exploited the healthy and booted the poor, and they were the BEST of them (til Wellpoint at least).

[p169inspfilms]

Hmmm...think we're all gonna have to learn Chinese---or Farsi---some time in the near future!

[ezalburez]

Does it matter anymore? This administration will do whatever the hell it wants regardless of the law. Isn't that called a dictatorship?

[quizerry]

LOL a slow down in the growth rate of medicare? I hope she realizes the baby boomers will be retiring in that period and will add to the medicare rolls like never before. Some times I wonder if there is anyone in Washington who has common sense.

[1family4me]

Amazing. While America burns Obama fiddles...

[dacmiller]

@1family4me

And he is loving every minute of it. He is thinking......"wait......wait.­.....wait, almost there. Soon the top down will come after the pressure will be too much"

It is all working well so far for him..........Fundamental Change We All can Believe

[sanetoday]

most corrupt administration.

[the82spartans]

Old skull and bones Sibelius will make a terrific camp commandant.

Zieg Heil!

[iamlost2]

It is both, not double dipping. Wean off SS Medicare to affordable health care. She explained that plain.

[2010GOP]

@iamlost2:  Your name fits you well. Go argue with the HHS Actuary & the CBO ---- it IS double-dipping

[ltsgt1]

It's amazing that Bernie Madoff is the only crook who got put away in jail.

[1Guitarslayer]

prosecute corrupt government officials

[sanetoday]

@1Guitarslayer don't worry i am sure eric holder is on top it.  not.

[czubspenx]

We need to have very, very small government. Anything that the government does, is screwed up, period.

[campbellsa]

@quizerry MA plans cost the gov't 115 % of the cost of basic Medicare per enrollee. The health care law will cut the payout to MA plans by about 5-6%. That still means that MA plans cost the taxpayers more. How is it BAD MEDICINE to attempt to push the costs of MA into alignment with the costs of traditional Medicare. My point was that people don't know why they're against the HC law, they just are. They'll find justification for their opinion in every word from Obama, even when none exists.

[ObaManure]

0bama's contribution to society... Ghetto economics.

[quizerry]

Everyone needs to read the study BAD MEDICINE. A guide to the real cost of obamacare to understand just how costly the law will be.

[ShockDoctrin]

Magic money

[Parrotletmommy]

I can see what it is doing to the elderly right now. Medicare and the other insurance they have is so damn complicated that their "trickery" is confusing the elderly and their children that they are too tired to fight-- therefore much of what they pay is going to fraud. I believe Sebelius and Obama's regime are just trying to pull the wool over our eyes and hoping we'll be too tired to fight.

[lamkoid]

No problem. It's just paper money, they can print up as much as they need.

[campbellsa]

Stunning how ignorant you commenters are. You can watch anything and find a way to justify you views. The health care bill cuts out a portion of a special medicare provision that pays for the private insurance of fairly well to do elderly people. By reducing these payments, the money can be used to pay for other aspects of the health care bill. Double counting only if your trying to make a silly point to your ignorant base.

[Auggie56]

@campbellsa You forgot to mention, the decreasing heath care for the elderly, all the way to the euthanasia pill they are gearing up for.

[quizerry]

@campbellsa First this debate is mute because in the HC law, the largest medicare advantage recipient state is Florida and they are exempt from the cuts to medicare advantage. Also the reduction in medicare payments were suppose to start back in 03 and that has not happened nor have the cuts proposed for Jan 11. So there is no savings. Medicare advantage helps many low income seniors who can't afford gap plans especially blacks and Hispanics. I don't see the Dems cutting the program do you?

[jayga27]

What do Nancy Pelosi stools have in common with Obamacare? You have to pass them first to see what's in them.

[NCMan28025]

Frauds selling fraud with fraudulent numbers. That sums up ObamaCare and those who sold it.

[joekiddone]

“More and more we are seeing what Nancy Pelosi meant when she said the bill would have to be passed in order for the American people to find out what was in it. The Obama Administration has already added about 6,000 pages of regulations to ObamaCare, and this funding shows a clear intent to circumvent the appropriations process…” ~Congresswoman Bachmann on finding $105 BILLION in spending BURIED in ObamaCare.

[joekiddone]

IT GETS WORSE...

Congresswoman Bachmann Exposes LEGISLATIVE FRAUD In ObamaCare:

“This is a case of legislative fraud of the highest order. We now know that the ObamaCare bill contained advanced appropriations for use in implementing this massive government takeover of health care.”

[jasonc32amg]

Sebelius walks into a bar, barkeep says "why the long face"...

[LClark51]

Omg...these people are too much. How do they propose to kill jobs and still be able to collect the taxes from the very people whose jobs they kill? So the word "tax" appears in the "healthcare" (B.S.) bill approximately 125 times, yet they cannot justify what these "taxes" are for, nor can they simply explain them. What's more, is that the bill was written by special interest groups and not one person in Congress even knew what the bill consisted of -- until the bill was passed, as Pelosi said!

[Auggie56]

@LClark51 It's all about killing the middle class.

[Yakko77]

Busted. The Administration cooked the books and lied to the American people to ram this through passage. In the private sector, these crooks would be in jail. But this is big govt run wild and the perpetrators get praised and their fiscally disastrous bills passed.

Insane.

[voltamp]

But they counted twice. That's double the accounting work for the exact same price. That's a big saving right there.

Why must everyone be so negative?

[IdiotsForObamaCom]

Dont all you liberals feel so fu**ing stupid..as usual.....and knowing Limbaugh, Beck etc..were attacked for being right..AGAIN! See more Dem Fraud at IDIOTS4OBAMA COM

[joekiddone]

The FAILURE of ObamaCare can be seen simply by looking at the OVERWHELMING number of waivers already granted for it.

And the TYRANNY of ObamaCare can be recognized by the simple fact that Obama determines who gets them!

Case closed.

[MrJohanasBilderberg]

It is only 500 billion dollars.

We can dig that out of our couch cushions probably.

[nativeskygirl]

Sir, it's uhhhhhh, we uhhhhhhh, it's a slow down in the uhhhhhhhhh.....

uhhhh, it's BOTH.

[HereinLasVegas]

But unemployment fell to 8.9% today, the economy is improving....trust me!

[jstan4421]

i HAAAAATE commie libtards

[TheMaoverbaugh]

Enough tricks....we are on to your trickery. Get rid of Obamacare.

[TheMaoverbaugh]

Enough tricks....we are on to your trickery.

[btwall60]

Oh yes, and this is the same Owebama administration with Holder looking out for "my people" and the same people who are counting up the "unemployment" numbers. In just the past few days, when questioned, Holder has made it plain that there are "his people" and others, and that he, Holder makes decisions on that basis. And now, this Broad flat out saying that the admin. is lying. Just imagine the stuff that would have came out if the hearings on O's appointments he shut down after none PAID TAXES

[Dave1961able]

Kansans must be so proud.

[Tobias2012]

Double talk and/or lies... and Sebelius and the Dems think the people are stupid.

[mothafraker]

@Tobias2012 Well a lot of people are. How else did these treasonous Ass Hats get into power? Because people were stupid enough to vote for them.

[jeffn21]

BUSTED.....

[jasonc32amg]

What an insipid cunt she is...perfect obama admin official.

[vllmer]

Leg tingles for all!

[63utuber]

Can you say "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles", Kathy?

[RadAntelope]

Wouldn't it have been nice if the mainstream press, instead of cheerleading for the Obama Administration the whole time this health care "reform" law was being shoved through Congress, instead actually PRESSED THE DEMOCRATS on this point a bit more? Or at all? Oh, well. Too late now.