Why Stop Obamacare Subsidies?

Here's a few Reasons.

At the center of the government shutdown is a disagreement over whether to extend a temporary pandemic-era expansion of the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, which expire at the end of this year. Sold as a one-time boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsidies are costly, fraud-prone, and primarily pad insurance companies’ profits. Consider: 

Cost almost half a trillion dollars. Total government spending would increase by more than $488 billion.

Funds the "well-off". The base Obamacare subsidy caps what households earning below 400 percent of the federal poverty line have to pay for a health plan. The temporarily expanded subsidies eliminated the 400-percent-of-poverty cap, allowing some Americans with incomes of almost $600,000 to qualify for government benefits.

Subsidize insurance companies, not patients. Most premium tax credits are paid directly to insurance companies, theoretically to lower premiums. How is that working? Since the premium subsidies were created in the Affordable Care Act, along with other industry-favorable spending increases, health insurer stock prices have increased more than 1,000 percent (compared with 251 percent growth for the S&P 500).

Rampant enrollment fraud. Covering the full premium costs of marketplace plans has led to significant enrollment fraud. A recent Paragon report estimates that the program has more than 6.4 million improper enrollees, costing taxpayers $27 billion in 2025. There are also 11.7 million enrollees (more than one-third of the marketplace) who have not filed any claims for their heavily subsidized insurance benefits. This means “tens of billions in federal subsidies are flowing to insurers and brokers for phantom enrollees.” Even when enrollees do not make a single claim, insurers keep the subsidies.

Temporary emergencies should not justify permanent entitlements. The enhanced COVID-19 subsidies were enacted as a pandemic relief measure, not as a structural expansion of the Affordable Care Act. Congress should resist the natural inclination to let temporary crises permanently expand the size and scope of government. Congress has spent at least $15 trillion through “emergency designations” since 1991.

Conclusion

Biden’s pandemic-era Obamacare premium subsidies were sold as temporary relief but have instead produced fraud, phantom enrollees, and subsidies for wealthy taxpayers who don’t need them. The program funnels billions of taxpayer dollars to insurers and middlemen while distorting the individual market and doing little to expand meaningful access to care. The enhanced subsidies are a costly reminder of how temporary government programs can become billion-dollar permanent entitlements.

18 Days - No News

Dems blocked bill for 10th time so shutdown continues. Day 18. Then they left DC for a three-day weekend. This after taking Monday off. Their strategy? Hope the "big" No Kings rally this weekend helps their pathetic case. Ironic, isn't? When Republicans threatened a shutdown over impasses involving Obamacare, one Chuck Schumer termed it, "the politics of idiocy."

Gets even worse. Senate Majority Leader John Thune crafted a bill JUST TO PAY OUR MILITARY during the shutdown. Schumer-led Dems found time to veto that too before they blew town.

Whoopty Do

The arsonist who started the piddly ass fire that mushroomed into the infamous Palisades fires of last year has finally been arrested by the Federal ATF (not the city of Los Angeles or the state). Now Californians can all rest easily. Hah, hah and triple Hah.

A few "minor" questions still persist. Has anything been done to properly manage the state's forests and remove the underbrush that fuels tiny fires into massive property and life-consuming blazes? Or repair the reservoir that had 3 million gallons of water available to fight the fire, instead of 100 million (repair cost was a $130,000)? Or shift some of the $100 billion used to subsidize homelessness over to hiring firefighters whose budget was cut by $17 million? Or clean house of the incompetent DEI hires including the deputy mayor of public safety, the fire chief, and the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), all of whom let down the city.

And most importantly and we know the answer to this. Have Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass been dealt with? Can you believe Bass is favored to win reelection?

Won't be long before those Santa Ana winds starting whipping again. And residents of the Wildfire state will, once again, be in line to get what they voted for.

(Aside: Oregon has budgeted to spend $1.5 Billion on illegal immigrants compared with $700 million on state police. And they wonder why crime is overrunning Portland)

Another Blue City Erupts

According to the Boston Police Department, over 100 people were involved in the takeover that involved street racing just after 2 a.m. on October 5. Officers found more than 100 people trying to attack police cruisers with fireworks, cones, poles and other items. One police cruiser was destroyed by flames and needed to be towed away from the area, officials said.

The president of a union that represents Boston police officers said that people who took part in a recent street takeover in the city were "hell-bent" on attacking law enforcement officials. "They knew what they were going to do and they were hell-bent on attacking police officers." President Larry Calderone said.

Hamas "Peace" Deal

These terrorists are crazy. Of the 251 hostages they took, after killing 1200 in the October 7 massacre, they killed over 80 of them. Now dozens more are being killed as the Hamas gangs fight each other and Hamas are murdering their own citizens, who want them out. Homes being burned and more innocents being murdered.

Hamas terrorists across the border in Gaza were reportedly killing their opponents in Gaza City’s main square — in full view of the public.

I hope this peace deal holds but I seriously doubt it. War may be over but I doubt the bloodshed is.

Does prove, however, Terrorists are easier to negotiate with than Trump-hating Democrats.

UPDATE Sunday October 19.

Well that didn't take long...

Hamas just violated the ceasefire by firing RPGs and missiles at Israeli forces agreed by the "peace" deal to be in Gaza. The IDF appropriately responded.

"Earlier today, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement," the IDF said in a statement.

How Did Trump Flip the Script on Mideast Peace?

1. He backed Israel unreservedly (unlike the feckless one).

2. He dealt with Iran (instead of shipping pallets of cash).

3. He embraced younger Arab leaders in Saudi, Qatar and other Arab nations.

4. He convinced Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and other Muslim nations to join.

Hamas had little choice.

Will it last? Tough to say but it's the best chance yet. Let's not forget they just got 2000 fighters back in a "typical" one-sided prisoner swap. 2000 for 20.

Here's a Beauty

Anthony "Winkin" Blinken, Biden Secretary of State, posted: "It starts with a clear and comprehensive post-conflict plan for Gaza. It’s good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden administration developed after months of discussion with Arab partners, Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

On X, Biden said that he was "deeply grateful and relieved" that the Gaza war is approaching its end.

"The road to this deal was not easy," the Democrat wrote. "My Administration worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war."

Obama and Biden are the reasons that "feckless" is my ATF adjective.

This Guy is actually LEADING...

the NYC race for Mayor.

The Democratic Socialists of America, the political party to which New York City Mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani belongs, brushed off Israel's ceasefire with Hamas on Monday and called for further resistance to Israel's "apartheid and occupation" of Gaza.

Meanwhile Zohran Mamdani fundraised for an infamous United Nations relief agency with well-documented ties to Hamas over the weekend. You may remember a while back CME detailed all the UN backed efforts tied directly to Hamas and terrorist affiliates.

Please, please come to your senses NYC. I love visiting at Christmas and taking the D train to see the Yankees.

DOGE at CBS?

New boss, Bari Weiss, has directed all employees to detail what exactly they do all day and are currently working on.

Bad New for Bugs?

Apparently a horde of NFL fans are demanding George Strait replace Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl Halftime show.

Letitia, oh, Letitia

While this may truly sound like a trivial topic, it relates to a much greater one. During the Biden years (and leading up to) there were numerous occasions where the party in charge used the Judicial to persecute and, in several cases, prosecute their rivals. The only possibility of deterring this in the future is to put the offenders behind bars...legitimately and legally.

You may remember Letitia James, the AG in NY who campaigned on the promise to "Get Trump". She brought charges against Trump on the grounds of mortgage fraud. Her contention was Trump inflated the value of assets when applying for financing. These charges were, at best, spurious. Trump repaid the loans involved in full with interest. Moreover, the loans were made by the most sophisticated lending institutions on the planet. The Judge (in NY, of course) levied a $500,000,000 fine, later tossed.

A funny aside - apparently a bunch of NYC real estate billionaires approached NY Governor, Kathy Hochul, when they heard about James going after Trump and asked if they had "to worry". Hochul replied...No. We're just after Trump. Fair and balanced, eh?

But, every now and again - what goes around comes around.

Now Miss Letitia has been indicted for the same crime after she lied on her mortgage applications. In one she claimed a primary residence in Virginia and, in another, her father co-signed as her husband (LJ - said that was an oversight.)

I was wrong about Diddy when I said a NY court would never convict. Well, Diddy's gonna do time. Nonetheless, I doubt either Comey or James will ever see an orange jumpsuit.

Recently Ms. James gave an impassioned speech saying...I will fight, I will not give up, I will not surrender...blah, blah, blah. I found it ironic that the banner of her podium read "Our Time Has Come". Hope she's right!

PS - Guess who was living in the Virginia house that is supposed to be Miss James' primary residence? James' grandniece who is wanted in the state of North Carolina as an "absconder" and fugitive, because she skipped out on probation for convictions related to assault, battery, and trespassing. Birds of a feather.

Red can be Blue

Be careful when LSM insists that Red States have the same crime problem as Blue. Red states that have high crime statistics are typically plagued by BLUE cities that drag them down. Take Tennessee which is home to Memphis. Missouri with St. Louis. Indianapolis in Indiana, Jackson in Mississippi, and New Orleans in Louisiana.

Will She Wear the MAGA Hat?

"If he gets the Israeli hostages out, I promise I will wear a MAGA hat for one day on the show." Alyssa Farah Griffin said in December. In case you don't know ( I didn't), Ms. Farah Griffin in one of the hosts on that paradigm of journalistic integrity and wisdom - The View.

So far - no hat.

And I Thought Woke was Terminal?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Monday that approved a study on potential inequities in youth sports, including "race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, income, or geographic location."

The Youth Sports for All Act, AB749, calls for a commission to be formed to carry out "an assessment of the need and potential for a centralized entity to improve access to and involvement in sports for all youth, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, income, or geographic location, that addresses issues in youth sports."

The listed issues include "How to foster a safe, supportive, and inclusive (there's that dirty word again) environment for youth sports."

I'll tell you how to create a safe and fair environment. Boys play boys. Girls play girls. Kids with ability who work hard beat kids who don't. No trophies for 8th place. Simple common sense, eh.