From Rhetoric to Reality

As we watch the political landscape take shape leading up to the November elections, I don't think anyone, but hardcore leftists, would disagree that for the first time in history, the United States has "an authentic leftist as president — one who unabashedly believes that the role of the U.S. government at home is to redistribute income in order to ensure equality of results through high taxes on a few and increased entitlements for many." Certainly, as one associates leftists with big government, Obama more than fits the bill. Although Bush started the government takeover movement when the economy plummeted, with the passage of Obamacare, the federal government now owns and/or controls 51% of the U.S. economy from mortgage lenders,car makers and now health care providers. The passage of Obamacare is leading many pundits to closely scrutinize the Massachusetts health care system, which is a microcosm of Obamacare, as both contain a mandate that individuals buy insurance, fines on businesses for not offering coverage, heavily regulated insurance exchanges, large-scale insurance subsidies and Medicaid expansion. As Rich Lowry Points out, (http://article.nationalreview.com/430842/obamacares-disastrous-preview/rich-lowry) Massachusetts premiums in the individual market have grown at a 30% annual rate since the program's inception and government spending in Massachusetts on the program has grown by about 40% from 2006 to 2009. However, Americans don't need the Massachusetts data to surmise what is obvious - adding 30 million individuals to Medicare will increase premiums, overall costs and the deficit. In fact, it seems more and more Americans are refusing to accept the deficit-reducing rhetoric, as a week after its passage, Obamacare's popularity fell 10% in the polls (53% to 32%) as reality settled in: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/can-republicans-read-polls-obamacare