July 22nd, 2009

Dear Liberty Activist,

As ALG News reported to you yesterday, seven key Blue Dog Democrats who sit on the House Energy and Commerce committee met with Barack Obama, as he attempted to persuade them to lift their opposition to his health care proposal. What they do next will be a clear indication if the Blue Dogs are being a watchdog for taxpayers, or the Administration's favorite new lapdogs.

According to Politico, "Most of the White House session focused on slowing the rapid growth in health care costs, lawmakers said afterward. That discussion centered on a White House proposal to empower an outside body, like the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, to make binding recommendation for cost cuts in government-run health care programs. Waxman and others previously opposed the idea, but the chairman made a verbal agreement to work with the seven Blue Dogs on his committee to break through an impasse that has stalled consideration of the enormous bill."

If this is the grand compromise that is ironed out of the Energy and Commerce committee, and should the seven Blue Dogs go along with it—or even one of them for that matter—that will mean that they have agreed to an outside body to implement de facto price controls on the cost of health care nationally. Since all insurance carriers will be regulated through the new system, all prices would be dictated by and through this body.

Therefore, the effect would be to arbitrarily lower the cost of delivering health care, doctor pay, the cost of procedures, etc., with at least three impacts: 1) watering down the quality of everyone else's health care; 2) insolvency of health care institutions like hospitals; and 3) shortages of care.

These seven Blue Dogs that sit on the Energy and Commerce committee signed the letter on July 9th stating that they would not support a health-care bill that was not deficit-neutral. Now it appears they are ready to agree to the means of reducing costs: reducing the quality of care nationally through price controls by an outside body.

That means that the so-called cost "savings" will not even be in the bill. They will be up to the arbitrary whims of the Medicare Payment Advisory Board or some other bureaucracy who invariably will wind up making medical decisions based on cost-analysis, and not on what is best for patients—all of the horrors that opponents of the so-called public "option" have predicted would happen.

The other end of the equation is that this Board will face market pressures that undermine the effectiveness of price controls, since doctors still need to get paid, procedures still paid for, etc. Which means, even if payments through insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and the public "option" are price-controlled, the actual costs will still have to be made up for elsewhere. Where?

Well, first they may try to shift the costs to individuals. But everyone knows unpaid medical bills are an endemic part of the problem right now. When that fails, Congress and Treasury will borrow more money to cover the unpaid bills, addinng to the national debt.

So much for the proposal being deficit-neutral!

These 7 Blue Dogs that signed the letter and sit on the Energy and Commerce committee that is expected to meet again tomorrow to work on this "cost-cutting" compromise. They need to be told that the two likely outcomes of this very bad compromise are either price-controlled, watered-down coverage that declines in quality; or the most likely outcome: deficits as far as the eye can see. Here are those seven Blue Dogs:

You know what to do.  Please also call your own representatives in the House and in the Senate and tell them that this compromise does not add any cost-savings to the actual bill and instead leaves it to an outside body to administer price controls. The switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.

Again, here is the list of 40 Blue Dogs that signed the letter, along with their Capitol Hill phone numbers. These Blue Dogs promised to vote against any bill that was not deficit-neutral. And they know that even with this cosmetic compromise that it won't be. Because it can't be.

In today's Liberty Action Report, Tom Perriello squelches Tea Party dissent, there is no way to finance health care for 45 million new people in a "deficit-neutral" manner, and the Barstool Economist demonstrates how politicians and lobbyists undermine free markets. Plus, the Washington Examiner picks up ALG News Executive Editor Carter Clews' oped on the Hate Crimes bill.

Please send your letters to the editor at Robert@getliberty.org. We publish all points of view! Today, Gary out in Washington writes, "I am the owner of a small commercial strip mall in Shoreline, WA. I am a regular reader of Get Liberty .Org and I love seeing the truth in print. It is for this reason that I will be using my electronic message center on my commercial property to broadcast how my states politicians are voting and what they are voting for. 80,000 cars per day pass this site.

"I think it would be a great idea for you to post a request that people everywhere, with access to any sort of public message system, post these items in plain sight, with phone numbers.

"These scoundrels need to be exposed for their deeds like piggybacking S-909 onto the Homeland Security measure to keep it out of the public eye. Such important matters need public debate and scrutiny. No more slipping them through cloaked and undercover.

"If we are to truly regroup as a party we must utilize every way possible to get the word out about what is being perpetrated against the citizens of America. This is one more way to put it in people's faces and I think it could be very effective."

That's awesome, Gary! Your idea has now reached hundreds of thousands of activists like yourself nationwide, so hopefully it picks up steam. Keep up the good work, and tell Congressman Brian Baird (WA-CD3) we say hello via your public messaging system for us! We frequently send press releases exposing his votes in the House to local media there.

For Liberty,

Robert Romano
ALG Senior News Editor
www.getliberty.org

Open Source & Copyright Free

Editorial: Thomas Perriello's Dirty Politics
One Congressman tries to censor teaparty activists who are standing up against government-run health care and cap and trade.

The Truth Stinks
While the Obama Administration rushes through legislation that will surely bankrupt America, they take their time on telling us by how much.

Barstool Economist: The Unseen Losses of Entrepreneurship
How politicians and lobbying dampens the very entrepreneurial activities that drive economic growth.

ALG in the News: Hate crimes bill disregards blind justice
The Washington Examiner features Americans for Limited Government's Communications Director Carter Clews' Op-ed.

Editorial: Thomas Perriello's Dirty Politics

Sometimes it requires a focused, local eye to get the big picture.

In this telling scenario, the big picture has come into clear focus in the small town of Danville, Virginia, where the local Tea Party movement has become the scorn of the politics-as-usual liberal leadership—specifically freshman Representative Tom Perriello, a Democrat "representing" the 5th District of his state.

As chronicled extensively by the ALG News Bureau, the Tea Party movement is a nationwide, patriotic grassroots effort aiming to beat back the tide of liberal policies that seek to grow government and simultaneously squelch individual freedom. Nigel Coleman of Danville is one of those patriots spearheading the movement.

Eager to participate in the American right of public discourse, Mr. Coleman and other concerned Tea-Partiers attended a local town-hall forum on environmental issues hosted by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Representative Perriello. Rather than having their questions answered, Mr. Perriello ignored Mr. Coleman's group and called upon big business owners, familiar faces, and those in "reserved seats". Some of those questioned even admitted to having been contacted earlier and informed that they would be called upon to ask their so-called "real questions."

Clearly upset at being ignored, the patriotic crew retrieved some signs from their cars and began to protest outside of the farcical town-hall meeting. Mr. Coleman and his group were immediacy confronted by law enforcement and ordered to leave the public meeting—to which they politely complied.

After leaving, the group met up at a nearby restaurant to discuss the situation and decide how they should proceed. As they soon noticed, an unmarked police car was spotted in the parking lot and an officer was recording and calling in Mr. Coleman's and the others' license plate numbers.

Shifting from merely upset to outright livid at what was intimidation tactics plain and simple, the Danville Tea Party issued a press release voicing their disgust. And they have a right to be disgusted.

Not only has Representative Perriello displayed his disdain for free speech and opposing voices, he has gone a step further and aggressively sought to punish it. It is a tried-and-true despotic practice that has no place in America.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Perriello already has quite a track record of opposing free speech and public dissent. As ALG News Bureau has previously reported, Mr. Perriello came under fire in a National Republican Congressional Committee ad criticizing the Representative for voting in favor of a Cap-and-Trade system that would make electricity rates "skyrocket."

Angered by the ad, Mr. Perriello contacted local television stations and demanded that the ad be removed from television circulation or drastically altered. And that, of course, is what is known as censorship.

Simply put, Tom Perriello is one small—but very telling—example as to why the hard left in America cannot be trusted. All too often, they show nothing short of contempt for open and honest discourse and routinely trounce the rights of the American people in favor of advancing their Big Government agendas. Hopefully others around the nation will follow Mr. Coleman's examples, pick up their signs and start voicing that public dissent that those on the left so voraciously despise.

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill once famously said, "All politics is local." In the ease of one Thomas Parriello of Danville, Virginia, that might be better read, "All dirty politics is local."

http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1392

The Truth Stinks

By Robert Romano

With Barack Obama insisting that his government-run health care proposals be adopted before the August recess, he is probably better off without the truth being known.

So is his Administration, who can put off their lame excuses until next month. And his Party in Congress, that will not have to be bothered by its public knowledge dragging down its legislative agenda, most especially their Dear Leader's top-tier agenda item.

The fact is, the truth stinks. And the truth is this: We're broke, and we cannot afford to ensure health coverage for "all Americans" as is now proposed in Congress.

This year, the budget deficit is going to be higher than Barack Obama and his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had projected in May at $1.841 trillion. And maybe even more than the Congressional Budget Office has projected at $1.845 trillion.

The OMB's May revision was over its February projection of $1.75 trillion. It just keeps getting worse for the American people as revenue expectations keep dropping in light of a steep recession.

And all of that doesn't bode well for what is guaranteed to be a costly piece of legislation when all is said and done.

So, the mid-summer update, which usually occurs in the middle of July, is being delayed, the OMB says, "[b]ecause of the unique circumstances of a transition year."

Yeah, like ramming a radical agenda through Congress before most Americans realize what happened.

House Republican Leader John Boehner sees it the same way: "Let's be honest about what this is: an attempt to hide a record-breaking deficit as Democratic leaders break arms to rush through a government takeover of health care."

Boehner believes that if the truth were known, Congress would be more cautious about passing Obama's risky schemes: "The Congressional Budget Office confirmed last week that the Democrats' plans will increase health care costs and add hundreds of billions to the deficit. Try as they might, the White House cannot hide the fact that the policies of this Administration have buried our children and grandchildren under historic debt."

The largest debt ever, in fact: $11.4 trillion. The largest deficit ever: $1.845 trillion, maybe more. The largest proposed budget in human history: $3.6 trillion. See a pattern here?

And now, Obama wants Congress to double-down on a risky bet by hastily enacting a trillion-dollar, government-run health care program that is certain to permanently shackle the American people to a mountain of debt that can never possibly be paid back.

It's true. Just last week, the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Douglas Elmendorf, delivered devastating testimony that "the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health-care."

In other words, it will only add to a projected budget deficit which may ultimately top $2 trillion.

How do we know? As ALG News recently reported in "The Hidden Cost of ObamaCare," under the House version of the so-called public "option," individuals up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or making approximately $43,320 or less annually, will be eligible for some level of health coverage under the plan whether through the public "option," Medicaid, or otherwise.

Or, 91.5 million people as of 2006 aged 25-65 who fell into that income bracket, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Throw in the 35 million who were 65 and older at that time, and the total figure comes to over 125.8 million eligible for ObamaCare, compared with 80.5 million who now receive their health care from the government.

As a result, approximately 45 million more people—the exact figure the Census Bureau reports as being uninsured—will be receiving their health care from Uncle Sam.

And, how can health care be provided to 45 million more people by the government in a "deficit-neutral" matter, as the Obama Administration has promised?

It can't. At an average cost of $4,700 for a health insurance premium, according to the National Coalition on Health Care, future budget deficits will have be revised upward by some $211.5 billion should the bill pass as proposed.

Meaning if the so-called public "option" was fully implemented this year, the deficit would most certainly top $2 trillion. So, the truth stinks. And the thing Barack Obama has to learn is that he can no longer hide from it.

Robert Romano is the ALG Senior News Editor.

http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1391

The Unseen Losses of Entrepreneurship

By Justin Williams

Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison are but a few of the countless luminaries in American history who have captured the imagination of school children for their innovative spirit as private sector entrepreneurs. Their contributions, along with millions of unsung entrepreneurs, have made America the leader in almost every economic indicator since it's conception.

Entrepreneurship, simply put, is the process of finding new ways of combining resources, which in turn drives every economy around the world. It doesn't matter whether it's Apple inventing the new iPod or Nigerians using motorcycle taxis to avoid the massive potholes that make regular taxis otherwise useless, entrepreneurship is the key to advancements.

Even more simply, entrepreneurship is the innovative human mind at work, so that where there is a demand, there will almost always be a supply.

But, the sad fact is, entrepreneurship is not possible when politicians and lobbyists corrupt the free market system. For example, companies – like General Motors – often invest a large amount of resources in keeping a strong lobby in Washington, so that in case of a possible business failure – like right now – they can secure political favors to stay alive.

And in keeping themselves alive, they kill off the entrepreneurial spirit of those who would otherwise have risen from their ashes.

These political favors are usually in the form of internal and external barriers to help prevent competition -- and, of course that now includes taxpayer bailouts in extreme circumstances.
Internal barriers usually involve regulations or licensing, while external barriers are in the form of trade quotas or tariffs. Political institutions that erect such barriers prop up corpses and abort innovation.

Lobbying, in a pure market sense, is a complete waste of resources. These resources could better be used to create a new product or cure a disease. Instead, businesses allocate funds to prevent unfriendly regulations, pass friendly regulations, and -- if the politician is corruptible – restrict competition.

This in turn, causes substantial losses in entrepreneurial activity, as these barriers raise the costs upon current entrepreneurs and, in many cases, prevent new competitors from entering the market altogether.

It is hard for the average person to see this without studying Congress and the nefarious effect of the various regulations that pass. But even if a motivated citizen did ferret out the damage done to existing businesses, it would be impossible to see all of the inventions and businesses that were never created.

Economists Steven Kreft and Russell Sobel have found a direct correlation between economic growth and entrepreneurial activities. In a later paper, Sobel with two other co-authors, find that limited government political institutions spur more entrepreneurial activity.

Simply put: Lobbying slows economic growth by enticing political institutions to restrict – or in the extreme -- destroy competition.

As government grows, more lobbyists come to Washington, This, in turn results in more government regulation and greater growth loss. And Washington, unfortunately, has not seen a shortage of lobbyists of late.

For example, in the first two graphs above, OpenSecrets.org reports that from 1998 to 2008, the number of lobbyists increased by over 4,000 and spending on lobbying grew from $1.44 billion to $3.27 billion. That is a 127 percent increase in money flowing from special interests to politicians.

Not so coincidentally, the third graph indicates that the number of pages in the Federal Register has steadily risen (with the exception of the Reagan Administration) concomitantly with the increase in the number of lobbyists. The Federal Register is a list of all regulations and red tape that businesses have to deal with, making it harder and harder for them to succeed.

Big government goes hand-in-hand with more lobbying, which in turn, goes club-in-fist with more restrictive regulations. And that in turn assures the evanescence of America's future Franklins, Fords, and Edisons.

Justin Williams is the Senior Commentary Editor of ALG News Bureau. He always welcomes questions and comments about the Barstool Economist at Justin@getliberty.org.

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ALG Editor's Note: In the following, the Washington Examiner features Americans for Limited Government's Communications Director Carter Clews and his latest Op-ed.

Hate crimes bill disregards blind justice

By: Carter Clews

Blind justice, in which the law serves all citizens equally, is a long-held value of the American Justice system. But all of that will change with the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (S. 909).

Currently being rushed through the Senate, with support from the Obama administration, the "hate crimes bill" wouldn't stop at making it a federal crime to commit an act of violence against what "protected classes." It would make it illegal to think certain thoughts, too.

And who are these "protected classes"? Well, let's put it this way: if you are a white heterosexual, you need not apply. Here is how Attorney General Eric Holder described the beneficiaries of S. 909 in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

"We are talking about crimes that have a historic basis. Groups who have been targeted for violence as a result of their skin color, sexual orientation, that is what this legislation is designed to cover."

In short, Holder's response was essentially an open call for big government bigotry. Foul deeds are bad, but are made worse when supplemented by historically foul words, or worse, foul thoughts as well. So much for blind justice.

Holder drove the point home that in the Obama administration "equal protection" is apparently an antiquated concept. Asked whether the recent murder of Army recruiter Pvt. William Long by a radical Muslim constituted a "hate crime," Holder said:

"What we are looking for here in terms of expansion of the statute are instances where there is a historic basis. See, groups of people who are singled out for violence perpetrated against them because of who they are. I don't know if we have the same historical record to say members of our military have been targeted in the same way that people who are African American É"

Make no mistake about it: What the Obama administration is attempting to do under the guise of redressing historical wrongs is stoke the fires of class warfare into deadly conflagration.

By singling out some for special protection and consigning others to malicious prosecution, the Obama-Holder tandem is ringing down the curtain on "equal justice under law," raising the specter of a country where a small minority of privileged characters (Blacks make up approximately 12 percent of the population, homosexuals 2 percent) receive preferential treatment as "special victims."

Selective punishment mocks the very foundation of "Equal Justice Under Law." If the Senate passes S. 909, perhaps its next move should be to journey across First Street and chisel that antiquated inscription from the edifice of the nation's highest court.

Carter Clews is director of communications for Americans for Limited Government.

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