2008 : Obama Promised To Make The VA The Leader In Health Care Reform

In 2008, Obama promised to make the VA “the leader in national health care reform”  Now he says he knows nothing about what goes on with VA health care, and blames other people for the VA health care problems.

ScreenHunter_99 May. 24 04.54

ScreenHunter_102 May. 24 04.56

Veterans | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

About Tony Heller

Just having fun
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

22 Responses to 2008 : Obama Promised To Make The VA The Leader In Health Care Reform

  1. -=NikFromNYC=- says:

    Look at how the Marxist Utopianists colored his teeth yellow, minus any actual argument against the noble man:

    http://boingboing.net/2014/05/23/good-advice-from-bad-people.html

    This is the negotiating phase of the MELTDOWN of COMMUNISM.

    Give them no comfort whatsoever.

    But do realize that their idle blase supporters are merely normal folk.

    Looking for something new, merely.

    • Gail Combs says:

      I sure hope you are correct and ‘Progressivism’ is finally melting down but I sincerely doubt it.

      The Banksters and large corporations who control the campaign funds and the MSM LOVE ‘socialism’ so we will get the usual choice of bad or worse and the agenda will keep moving forward whether we agree with it or not.

      For example Bush floated WTO and Clinton got it implemented. Shrub floated the Patriot Act and Banker Bailouts and Obama just added to his foundation despite the wishes of the voters. Regan’s Trade delegate, Dan Amstutz, wrote the draft for the WTO Agreement on Agriculture that Clinton got implemented as part of WTO. Senator Burr (R-NC) cosponsored the Democrats Food Safety Modernization Act (Senate bill 510) that implements any and all WTO ag “Regs” as US regs – automatically without any say from the American people.

      The most offensive parts of S.510:

      page 121 – “Sec. 404 Compliance with international agreements.”
      SEC. 404. COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
      Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization or any other treaty or international agreement to which the United States is a party.
      [Prior to this the USA could tell the WTO to go pound sand – see: THIS)

      page 136 – “Review” …. “internationally-recognized standards….”

      page 137 – “Nothing… limits the authority of the Secretary…to revise, issue, and enforce product and category-specific regulations….”

      page 195 – “No limit on Secretarial Authority” [What??!!!! No limit?]

      page 212 – “(c) Civil Penality – inserts “or any person who does not comply with a recall order under 423….” (see also page 137)

      page 213 –[exchanges reasonable language to seemingly arbitrary language]
      “’1) striking ‘credible evidence or information indicating’ and inserting ‘reason to believe’ and (2) striking ‘presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans and animals’ and inserting ‘is adulterated or misbranded.’”

      [Misbranded = produced in an unregistered facility. Adulterated = intentional or unintentional contamination or poisoning.]

      Other goodies:

      …II. On-Farm Regulation: “Standards for Produce Safety” (Sec. 105) (pp. 29-41)
      A. FDA is authorized to establish standards for how fruits and vegetables are grown and harvested, including standards for “soil amendments, hygiene, packing, temperature controls, animals in the growing area, and water.”

      C. The requirements specifically include farms that sell directly to consumers (p.31)

      For what ” animals in the growing area, and water.” actually means see HR 2749: Food Safety’s Scorched Earth Policy

      Note that all this DOES NOT MAKE FOOD SAFER! The new international regs, partially implemented in 1996, caused food borne illness to double when comparing the three years before and the three years after the implementation of the international HACCP regs. (I did the stats from the CDC data.)

  2. Gamecock says:

    Obama has succeeded. VA medical is the necessary result of government takeover.

    Obamaspeak:

    Reform = government takeover

  3. -=NikFromNYC=- says:

    “God is a concept
    By which we measure our pain
    I’ll say it again
    God is a concept
    By which we measure our pain

    I don’t believe in magic
    I don’t believe in I-ching
    I don’t believe in Bible
    I don’t believe in tarot

    I don’t believe in Hitler
    I don’t believe in Jesus
    I don’t believe in Kennedy
    I don’t believe in Buddha

    I don’t believe in Mantra
    I don’t believe in Gita
    I don’t believe in Yoga
    I don’t believe in Kings

    I don’t believe in Elvis
    I don’t believe in Zimmerman
    I don’t believe in Beatles
    I just believe in me
    Yoko and me and that’s reality

    The dream is over
    What can I say?
    The dream is over yesterday
    I was the Dreamweaver
    But now I’m reborn

    I was the Walrus
    But now I’m John
    And so dear friends
    You’ll just have to carry on
    The dream is over”

    – John Lennon – God Lyrics

  4. ralphcramdo says:

    “Now he says he knows nothing about what goes on with VA health care, and blames other people for the VA health care problems.”

    He’ll probably say that about Obamacare before he leaves office.

    • Gamecock says:

      Yeah, he’s mad as hell, so he’s going to have a study done.

      That Executive Branch keeps screwing up, and Obama is still trying to figure out who is in charge of it.

      • slimething says:

        No, it’s just government in general. The VA is a single payer system, so it will never be “fixed”. In 1999 I witnessed my father’s treatment first hand long before Obama was president just how bad a VA hospital is. They nearly killed him. Fortunately my mother had private insurance and we switched to that to get him out of that hell hole. He passed away in 2001.

        Then in 2009 my mother was entitled to veteran’s benefits to keep her out of a nursing home. It took over a year, wiped out her savings and we (myself and sisters) paid for it until the VA decided to send her the check. This was after several letters, phone calls and emails pleading with the VA. Lost paperwork, resending documents after following their instructions, refusing to give me information (they don’t recognize power-of-attorney) because we asked for VA organizations assistance so we had to go through them.

        Being the fiduciary, for two years I had to account for how the money was used, and let me tell you it was a nightmare. Of course even though they approved my accounting (after 5 or 6 amendments to the paperwork), I was informed I could be audited 3 years after the fact and go through the process all over again.

        Get used to it folks, Obamacare was designed to bankrupt private insurance and healthcare and move to a single payer system. That’s what we’ve got to look forward to.

        • Gamecock says:

          So how about the government buying health insurance for vets from Cigna, with terms to match VA coverage. Then completely do away with the VA hospital system.

        • Gail Combs says:

          And that is why a lot of older retired people are look for a decent place to move TO. Your going to see retirement enclaves with good medical in Mexico or some other Latin American country and all the Doctor here in the USA will also move.

      • Gail Combs says:

        He Knows who screwed up — BUSH, It was BUSH I tell you!

    • David A says:

      Well he basically did. He only finds out about problems cogent to his responsibilities when he reads the paper. He has as much as said so, and then he promises to investigate, and then he finally, after much him-ha, fires someone who is within months of retirement, and proclaims the problem solved.

  5. slimething says:

    Gamecock,
    The government has their tentacles so tightly woven around the healthcare system I don’t see how even giving vets vouchers now will help.

    I can tell you this. Obamacare does benefit a certain segment of the population. At least 3 people I work with are retiring early. They make very good salaries and have comfortable assets (401k etc.), homes paid off, no debt. If they can show their income is less that $25k/year including their spouse, they quality for the Gold plan on Obamacare for $60/mo.

    Then when they turn 62 they go on SS/Medicare and then can draw off their other assets. Meanwhile, those of us working are paying higher premiums to subsidize them.

    It’s the hugest transfer of wealth in the history of the country.

    • Gamecock says:

      Medicare at 65, not 62.

      “I don’t see how even giving vets vouchers now will help.”

      I didn’t say vouchers. Put vets into private insurance and general private medical facilities along with everyone else. Vouchers would, as you suggest, keep the tentacles around their necks.

      “It’s the hugest transfer of wealth in the history of the country.”

      Be careful throwing that around. Us geezers were forced to pay into SS and medicare for many years. Telling us getting our money back is just a transfer of wealth won’t make you any friends.

      • slimething says:

        There are exceptions to the 65 rule for Medicare, but the normal 65 rule makes it even better for those examples I gave riding the Obamacare free lunch train . Also, the new way to retire is to go on disability, in record numbers.

        SS is a ponzi scheme. The math isn’t difficult to figure out. See how much you’ve paid in and how long it takes to get that back. Throw in Medicare and you have a system fully dependent on those working to pay for those who are currently retired.

        It is now close to or at 3:1 ratio; I haven’t looked up the numbers lately. By the time I retire, and most my age (52ish), we understand the system will be unsustainable even with the most aggressive money printing/borrowing can keep it afloat and will never see a dime of what we’ve put in. After the dollar is destroyed and loses its world reserve currency status, it won’t matter anyway…….for anyone.

        Oh but you are correct. Any politician even hinting that SS is based on wealth transfer from the younger generation to the older generation will find themselves proverbially shot on the spot. However it is the truth.

        Who is the largest holder of U.S. debt? It isn’t China, or Japan. It is……Social Security.

        • Gail Combs says:

          Social Security is only a ponzi scheme because politicians saw this huge pile of unused money coming in (12.4 percent of the earnings of everyone) and decided to use it to BUY VOTES. So they gave it to “Widows and Orphans” and unwed mothers and anyone who did not want to work. Now we have entire inner cities full of bought and paid for democrat voters who agree with the Progressives that YOU should pay THEM to sit on their rumps . After all this is what our Affirmative Action President did for a living. Convince these people to vote in more Progressives.

          On top of that corporation decide to forego pension plans by no longer hiring long term employees. Illegal immigration and H1B visas are completely changing the US worker demographics along with the intentional firing of older workers close to being vested in a pension plan. Therefore Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly.

          Between inflation devaluing any savings you have over the long term, bankers ripping everyone off with Zero Fractional Reserve Banking Practices and the government taxing the rest, most people can barely make ends meet much less save for retirement.

          And before you go blaming the American people – U.S. Standard of Living Has Fallen More Than 50%

          In writing about the relentless collapse of Western economies, I frequently point to “40 years of plummeting wages” for Western workers, in real dollars. However, where I have been remiss is in quantifying the magnitude of this collapse in Western wages….

          Using the year 2000 as the numerical base from which to “zero” all of the numbers, real wages peaked in 1970 at around $20/hour. Today the average worker makes $8.50/hour — more than 57% less than in 1970. And since the average wage directly determines the standard of living of our society, we can see that the average standard of living in the U.S. has plummeted by over 57% over a span of 40 years.

          There are no “tricks” here. Indeed, all of the tricks are used by our governments….

          Perhaps the most telling graph is this one: Type of Tax as a Share of Federal Revenues, 1934 – 2011

          In 1934 corporate taxes, were over 45% for excise tax (import duties) and ~12% for income tax while personal income tax was ~14% and SS ~1%

          Now the mix has switched to very heavy on personal income.
          Around 7% for corporate income tax and ~3% for excise tax which encourages cheap imports -thanks to the World Trade Organization. Personal income tax on the other hand has been bouncing between 45% and 50% after 1995 when Clinton was president and SS is bouncing between 35 and 47%.

          For those who think 1/2 of SS and Medicaid/Medicare is paid by the corporation, you have fallen for the propaganda. Corporation consider the entire package as “YOUR WAGES” aka the cost of hiring you. That includes any insurance including Workers Comp., life insurance and health insurance.

        • Gail Combs says:

          A few other bits of interesting of information:
          In 1976 A typical American CEO earned 36 times as much as the average worker. By 2008 the average CEO pay increased to 369 times that of the average worker.
          timelines(DOT)ws/subjects/Labor.HTML

          Clinton was President from 1993 to 2001. Statistics showed in 1990, before WTO was ratified by Clinton, Foreign ownership of U.S. assets amounted to 33% of U.S. GDP. By 2002, just after he left office this had increased to over 70% of U.S. GDP.
          (wwwDOT)fame.org/HTM/greg%20Pickup%201%2010%2003%20report.htm

          Originally, according to the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, banks were supposed hold anywhere between 12 and 18% of their deposits in “reserve”. That is where the words “fractional reserve” comes in. Gradually the Fed has lowered the amount of “reserve” required until now the banks are operating on no reserve.

          97% of the US ‘money supply’ is therefore created out of nothing. This fairy dust money is now owed to bankers/financiers plus interest and we pay them back with our labor.
          activerain(DOT)com/blogsview/1036752/3-cash-97-loans-mortgages

          Because money is not capital, that is WEALTH, Mises concluded that an increase of the money supply confers no identifiable social value.

          It is these losses of the groups that are the last to be reached by the variation in the value of money which ultimately constitute the source of the profits made by the bankers and the groups most closely connected with them.
          http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north84.html

          This is the key point of the Fractional Reserve System. When money is devalued by printing more the first pigs to the trough steal the wealth of the late comers. Newly printed fiat money does not create new wealth it just transfers it steals it from the working stiffs.

          It is especially devastating to the retired because it is their hard savings that is stolen. Do you think that Clinton and his banker friends did not set up the 2008 financial crisis and Bernanke’s rounds of quantitative easing on purpose as a massive wealth transfer?

          When new money is created it does not appear magically in equal percentages in all people’s bank accounts or under their mattresses. Therefore money spreads unevenly, and this process has varying effects on individuals, depending on whether they receive early or late access to the new money

          Date…$ /oDate…$ /oz gold.. Money supply….min. wage…..Pay in gold
          1959 ….$35.25 …….50.1 billion………$1.00……..0.0284 oz.
          1974 …$195.20………101 billion………..$2.00…….0.0102 oz.
          1976 …$124.74 …… $113 billion…….$2.30…….0.0184 oz.
          1985 …$354.20……..$205 billion……..$3.35……..0.0094 oz.
          1994 ..$409.80……. $ 406 billion…….$4.25……..0.0104.oz.
          2006 ..$636.30 …….$808 billion……..$5.15………0.0081 oz.
          2008 …$880.30……. $831 billion……..$5.85………0.0066 oz.
          2009.$1,020.28…….$1663 billion……..$6.55……..0.0064.oz.

          Our friends the CEOs pay went from .0.663.oz of gold in 1976 to 2.44.oz in 2008.

          The IMF even weighs in stating

          …In many countries the distribution of income has become more unequal, and the top earners’ share of income in particular has risen dramatically. In the United States the share of the top 1 percent has close to tripled over the past three decades, now accounting for about 20 percent of total U.S. income (Alvaredo and others, 2012)….
          http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2012/09/dervis.htm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *