Jumping Into Politics – Part 2

With all the claims that are being made in political ads this year, lets look at some facts. (Part 1 is here)

We all heard the people who say that healthcare will add trillions of dollars to the deficit. Well lets look at what Reuters had to say about healthcare,

Healthcare bill to cut deficit: CBO

By John Whitesides and Donna Smith
March 18, 2010

(Reuters) - Congressional budget analysts said on Thursday a broad healthcare overhaul would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and sharply expand insurance coverage, boosting the momentum for final passage in the House of Representatives.

Some how that doesn’t sound like it is increasing the deficit. Others say, look at the premium increases that the insurance company are demanding, Blue Cross is increasing their premiums by 47%! This is my prediction, next year the you’ll see the insurance companies rake in record profits, they are using healthcare reforms as an excuse to raise premiums and also to create opposition to the reforms. When the city of San Francisco added gender reassignment surgery to their health insurance policy, the insurance raised the premiums by $1.70 a month and they made millions from the increase. The actual cost was only $0.85, raising to the maximum that they can get away with that is what insurance companies do.

Social Security: we all hear tales that the Social Security is going broke by 2019, but the facts tell a different story. Lets take a look at what the Social Security Agency has to say,

In the annual Trustees Report, projections are made under three alternative sets of economic and demographic assumptions. Under one of these sets (labeled "Low Cost") the trust funds remain solvent for the next 75 years. Under the other two sets (the "Intermediate" and "High Cost"), the trust funds become depleted within the next 30 years. The intermediate assumptions reflect the Trustees' best estimate of future experience.

Hmm, that doesn’t sound like the doomsdays predictions that we are hearing. What about how the money is invested, we hear that the funds are being used to pay off the national debit. Once again here what the Social Security Agency has to say,

By law, income to the trust funds must be invested, on a daily basis, in securities guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the Federal government. All securities held by the trust funds are "special issues" of the United States Treasury. Such securities are available only to the trust funds.

I don’t know about you, but I own saving bonds and I have faith in them.

I am in favor of removing maximum wage contribution cap of $106,800, I think everyone should pay 6%. Why should someone who is making $30,000 pay 6%, while someone making a million dollars pay only 0.06%?

If we privatize Social Security, whom will it help? Wall Street. Whom will it hurt? The people. Can you imagine it Social Security was privatize when the market collapsed in 2008. The government would have to have bailed out the Social Security fund, it would have been worst than the bank bailouts because everyone in the U.S. retirement saving would have disappeared over night.

The Republicans try to put fear in to the votes, but if you look at the facts. They created this mess with all of their spending and deregulations and they think that more of the same will get us out of this mess.

Think before you vote!