Welcome to the baby boom generation.
As of the next 4 years, 16 billion people will retire, the next, 19 billion, and then it levels off at 22 billion for at least 30 or so years {US Census bureau data}
Consider the following by David Walker, former Comptroller General to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Oct 2008.
"The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), noting that the federal balance sheet does not reflect the government's huge unfunded promises in our nation's social-insurance programs, estimated last year that the unfunded obligations for Medicare and Social Security alone totaled almost $41 trillion. That sum, equivalent to $352,000 per U.S. household, is the present-value shortfall between the growing cost of entitlements and the dedicated revenues intended to pay for them over the next 75 years." {David Walker, Money Magazine - http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/28/magazines/fortune/babyboomcrisis_walker.fortune/index.htm}
It is almost comical that such a huge problem could be wrapped up into HR 3200, and force fed through Congress demanding a vote in a matter of just weeks.
It's a huge problem for sure...but one which requires careful thought. This problem has been looming in economists minds at least since the 1980's. How do I know? I heard about it in Econ 101, in 1984, at the University of Wisconsin.
At least there appears to be a breather - common sense, if you will - at least for the short time. Pray it is used wisely and that Congress and the US Public takes the time to fully understand the implications.
But this post is about what's wrong with Healthcare or HR 3200. I am working on putting together something comprehensive (cringing as I put this commit to paper) of what might be areas of concentration, but right now, I want to throw something at you that has been bugging me for some time.
Today, the Center's for disease control announced that the Swine Flu vaccine should be made available to only young people. A clear departure from the standard operating procedure of vaccinating the young, old and infirmed.
Next we have Congress, both parties advocating illegal alien amnesty, day laborer passes, relaxing fines and punishment for illegal alien employees and the employers who hire them. And you ask yourself why?
Next we have the push by the democrats for HR 3200 aka Obamacare. It is this bloggers opinion that this is nothing but a ploy to move to a single payer system. {See earlier posts for supporting videos}. Under such a system, the QAYL or Quality Adjusted Years Left would be implemented which determines whether it is worth it to give you a procedure. A remake of Logan's Run in the raw sense. Too old...time to die. One need only to research Canada, and Britain to see what a single payer system evolves into.
Tying these all together you get a very scary picture of an underlying current in government which is reinvigorate the population through illegal aliens (who will not take advantage of medicare or social security benefits though they will pay into it) and a weeding out of the elderly population by limiting care.
Medicare and Social Security are ponzi schemes that only work as long as the population only grows, and as long as life expectancy does not expand. Both which have come to pass.
Not to be conspiratorial, but the Gov't was lucky as hell the Swine Flu has turned out to be as harmless as it was. If you remember, Congress and the President decided not to close the borders because they 'didn't see a problem yet.' The problem is, once you see it, it's too late. Are they that dumb? Could be...but what if they are not?
Suppose Bernie Madoff decided to come clean before his clients lost money? How would he do it? His only ally would be death of his clients.
Think about this as you hear the news from Washington.
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