(Note: The first 10 or so posts to this blog will be reposts from my personal webpage.)
(Originally posted: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 4:12pm)
Due to this wonderful graph created by Jim Hoft, I felt the need to post a note that showed how politicians create enemies and scapegoats in order to advance their agendas. The facts on this particular tactic speak for themselves and show the truth, regardless of whether or not you are in favor of government-run medical care. The conclusions also provide more evidence for my personal position that I want to see the majority of incumbents in congress thrown out as soon as possible; they have failed our country, they are corrupt, and they belong in the unemployment line rather than the millions of hard-working Americans who care about their country and are currently out of a job.
AP report:
"FACT CHECK: Health insurers' profits 35th of 53"
http://www.breitbart.com/a
"WASHINGTON (AP) - In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up."
But in pillorying insurers over profits, the critics are on shaky ground. Ledgers tell a different reality.
Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two.That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.
Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings ofsome of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.
...Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th of 53 industries on the Fortune 500 list."
(emphasis mine)
So why have the Democrats and the Obama administration made "evil" medical insurance companies the enemy? Well, in politics, when your side needs to whip up support because it barely has any, the easiest way to do it is by creating a perceived populist enemy. You know the 'monster' stories, witch tales, etc. where the town populace gets whipped up into a mob by a few people who have a personal interest at stake? They get torches and pitchforks and then march to wherever their 'enemy' is, demanding justice? This is a great allegory for how politicians operate.
The 'enemies' of the Democrats and the Obama administration have come to include anyone who so much as disagrees with them: First it was the Republicans (who are a MINORITY party, and their combined votes do not have the power to prevent passage of ANY bill by a united Democrat vote), then it was pharmaceutical companies (which create all the life-saving drugs we now have today at a cost of billions of dollars in research), then it was the doctors (who many of us know as friends, neighbors, and family members), then it was Fox News and Rush Limbaugh (whether or not you love or hate them, they are media outlets, and as such, have the freedom to say what they want, just as MSNBC, Air America, and the New York Times have the freedom to say whatever they want; this is free speech), followed by the American Chamber of Commerce (among whom many of its members are Democratic supporters), and now the insurance companies. The unending 'enemies list' brings back memories of Richard Nixon's White House, and will ultimately be damaging (it already is) to both congress and the administration.
So while politicians create 'enemies' in order to advance their agendas, and attempt to whip American citizens into an angry mob who will support their pitchfork march, when will enough be enough? If you have not already, will you choose to look beyond the rhetoric and dogmatic attacks to see the facts and the true nature of the individuals involved? Will you allow yourself to be lied to, controlled, and used for the gains of politicians who care nothing about your life but everything about their own desires?
While the government is attacking insurance companies, guess who received a pay raise this year GREATER by percentage than the amount of profit that was made by the insurance companies? If you said congress, you would be correct:
Congress Getting a Pay Raise – How About You?
http://usgovinfo.about.com
"The average member of Congress will realize a 2.8 percent raise, bringing his or her annual salary to $174,000. The raises for congress will cost taxpayers $2.5 million during 2009."
Some people will say this is not a big deal, but it is to me. If you read the documents, letters, and other writings of our founders, especially during the Constitutional Convention, one of their primary and most urgent concerns was the pay and influence of politicians. The founders were fearful of the US becoming like the corrupt oligarchies of Europe that were built upon class distinctions. There, men would fight mercilessly in order to obtain government positions because these meant an insured position of wealth and influence. This led to the corrupt governments becoming even worse, while practicing the grossest forms of tyranny and control upon their populations.
If America was to be a successful republic built on freedom, this practice had to be prevented in our own government. Therefore, the founders decided to limit the pay of elected federal officials in order to ensure that the right people would seek higher office. In other words, since the cost of becoming an elected official would be greater than the financial reward, the founders hoped to encourage people who would seek office due to their desire to represent their neighbors and constituents and ensure the advance and stability of liberty. The greatest example was George Washington, who turned down the income due to the president because he did not want to be seen as seeking financial gain. He wanted to make clear that his concerns were for honest governance and the ensured stability of freedom and safety of the people.
This system worked for many years, but over time congress began to give itself pay increases and special benefits. Now higher office has become a way to ensure high pay, financial and political favors, and an insured position of influence. This is not to say that there are not any honest men or women in congress because there certainly are; it is just that they are in the minority, and the corrupt fat seeps out of the halls of congress like the slime that it is. It's time for America to step up and limit our elected officials in order to ensure their honesty and integrity.
Two quick solutions among a potential many:
1) Term limits for Senators (2 terms) and House members (4 terms).
2) A reduced and capped pay that will equal an equivalent percentage of the nation's per capita GDP; why should an elected official receive a pay raise when the American people do not? This way, if the American people experience an increase in their income, so too will congress, and if the opposite is true and Americans experience a decrease in profit, so too shall congress. This somewhat invests each elected official in ensuring that the American people have the best opportunities to increase their incomes and standards of living. Call it another check and balance on the system.
I have contemplated doing another post about the corruption of current members of congress, but the space required for a note of this size would be obscene. (I have collected too many articles to count over the last six months alone.) It saddens me that nothing has been done about these crooks and criminals that are still serving in our legislature, and brings me to the conclusion that the only way to bring about justice is to make sure that they are run out of office next year. For one example, Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York is guilty of failing "to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006," and he also "failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period." So he 'failed' to report over 4 million dollars, thus avoiding paying taxes, and just somehow magically 'found' this information? And this man STILL sits as the CHAIRMAN of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is the chief TAX-WRITING committee that has jurisdiction over revenue-raising and tax-receiving programs of the federal government? Just this one example illuminates the problems, the unaccountability, and the corruption of our government.
Please, lets vote these clowns out of office before it is too late.
AP report:
"FACT CHECK: Health insurers' profits 35th of 53"
http://www.breitbart.com/a
"WASHINGTON (AP) - In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up."
But in pillorying insurers over profits, the critics are on shaky ground. Ledgers tell a different reality.
Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two.That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.
Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings ofsome of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.
...Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th of 53 industries on the Fortune 500 list."
(emphasis mine)
So why have the Democrats and the Obama administration made "evil" medical insurance companies the enemy? Well, in politics, when your side needs to whip up support because it barely has any, the easiest way to do it is by creating a perceived populist enemy. You know the 'monster' stories, witch tales, etc. where the town populace gets whipped up into a mob by a few people who have a personal interest at stake? They get torches and pitchforks and then march to wherever their 'enemy' is, demanding justice? This is a great allegory for how politicians operate.
The 'enemies' of the Democrats and the Obama administration have come to include anyone who so much as disagrees with them: First it was the Republicans (who are a MINORITY party, and their combined votes do not have the power to prevent passage of ANY bill by a united Democrat vote), then it was pharmaceutical companies (which create all the life-saving drugs we now have today at a cost of billions of dollars in research), then it was the doctors (who many of us know as friends, neighbors, and family members), then it was Fox News and Rush Limbaugh (whether or not you love or hate them, they are media outlets, and as such, have the freedom to say what they want, just as MSNBC, Air America, and the New York Times have the freedom to say whatever they want; this is free speech), followed by the American Chamber of Commerce (among whom many of its members are Democratic supporters), and now the insurance companies. The unending 'enemies list' brings back memories of Richard Nixon's White House, and will ultimately be damaging (it already is) to both congress and the administration.
So while politicians create 'enemies' in order to advance their agendas, and attempt to whip American citizens into an angry mob who will support their pitchfork march, when will enough be enough? If you have not already, will you choose to look beyond the rhetoric and dogmatic attacks to see the facts and the true nature of the individuals involved? Will you allow yourself to be lied to, controlled, and used for the gains of politicians who care nothing about your life but everything about their own desires?
While the government is attacking insurance companies, guess who received a pay raise this year GREATER by percentage than the amount of profit that was made by the insurance companies? If you said congress, you would be correct:
Congress Getting a Pay Raise – How About You?
http://usgovinfo.about.com
"The average member of Congress will realize a 2.8 percent raise, bringing his or her annual salary to $174,000. The raises for congress will cost taxpayers $2.5 million during 2009."
Some people will say this is not a big deal, but it is to me. If you read the documents, letters, and other writings of our founders, especially during the Constitutional Convention, one of their primary and most urgent concerns was the pay and influence of politicians. The founders were fearful of the US becoming like the corrupt oligarchies of Europe that were built upon class distinctions. There, men would fight mercilessly in order to obtain government positions because these meant an insured position of wealth and influence. This led to the corrupt governments becoming even worse, while practicing the grossest forms of tyranny and control upon their populations.
If America was to be a successful republic built on freedom, this practice had to be prevented in our own government. Therefore, the founders decided to limit the pay of elected federal officials in order to ensure that the right people would seek higher office. In other words, since the cost of becoming an elected official would be greater than the financial reward, the founders hoped to encourage people who would seek office due to their desire to represent their neighbors and constituents and ensure the advance and stability of liberty. The greatest example was George Washington, who turned down the income due to the president because he did not want to be seen as seeking financial gain. He wanted to make clear that his concerns were for honest governance and the ensured stability of freedom and safety of the people.
This system worked for many years, but over time congress began to give itself pay increases and special benefits. Now higher office has become a way to ensure high pay, financial and political favors, and an insured position of influence. This is not to say that there are not any honest men or women in congress because there certainly are; it is just that they are in the minority, and the corrupt fat seeps out of the halls of congress like the slime that it is. It's time for America to step up and limit our elected officials in order to ensure their honesty and integrity.
Two quick solutions among a potential many:
1) Term limits for Senators (2 terms) and House members (4 terms).
2) A reduced and capped pay that will equal an equivalent percentage of the nation's per capita GDP; why should an elected official receive a pay raise when the American people do not? This way, if the American people experience an increase in their income, so too will congress, and if the opposite is true and Americans experience a decrease in profit, so too shall congress. This somewhat invests each elected official in ensuring that the American people have the best opportunities to increase their incomes and standards of living. Call it another check and balance on the system.
I have contemplated doing another post about the corruption of current members of congress, but the space required for a note of this size would be obscene. (I have collected too many articles to count over the last six months alone.) It saddens me that nothing has been done about these crooks and criminals that are still serving in our legislature, and brings me to the conclusion that the only way to bring about justice is to make sure that they are run out of office next year. For one example, Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York is guilty of failing "to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006," and he also "failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period." So he 'failed' to report over 4 million dollars, thus avoiding paying taxes, and just somehow magically 'found' this information? And this man STILL sits as the CHAIRMAN of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is the chief TAX-WRITING committee that has jurisdiction over revenue-raising and tax-receiving programs of the federal government? Just this one example illuminates the problems, the unaccountability, and the corruption of our government.
Please, lets vote these clowns out of office before it is too late.
(Photo credit to Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit: http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/)
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