Ace of Spades HQ

November 29, 2013

The Real Weak Link In ObamaCare? You And Your Stupid Brain
— DrewM

Via Byron York....America, you've let Obama down. Again. You're lucky he's still willing to lecture you about how awesome he is.

Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not.
The exchanges are based on a laudable idea: that competition, transparency and consumer choice will lead to higher-quality, more affordable products. The decisions consumers make will thus have significant implications for their own personal and financial health, as well as the overall sustainability of the exchanges. But despite the good intentions behind the website, behavioral science research suggests that many consumers may be ill equipped to make good decisions in the insurance marketplaces.
Choosing health coverage is particularly challenging. Humans have difficulty making optimal choices under conditions of uncertainty, when weighing probabilities of long-term risks and benefits, and when analyzing complex products with multiple components of unclear relative values. WeÂ’re bad at assessing the likelihood of low-probability events, like winning the lottery or getting in a car accident. We overestimate our ability to repay loans and spend more with credit cards than we would with cash. We struggle with decisions about how to invest our retirement savings and are highly susceptible to the number and types of 401(k) plans weÂ’re offered. In short, we have trouble with precisely the types of issues involved in choosing the right health coverage.

Obama trusted in you and respected you enough to give you choices and you just can't handle it.

What a bunch of stupid simpletons you are!

The only small, barely worth mentioning problem with this theory and quite frankly I'm a little embarrassed to even bring it up, is that there were MORE choices for people BEFORE ObamaCare and it's non-functioning web portal were gifted to us.

Funny how millions of people managed to organize their lives to select their own plans based on cost and coverage as well as pay for them until ObamaCare came along to make it better for them. Now they can't buy insurance and have two weeks or so to scramble to find ways to try and stay covered.

And yet the ungrateful bastards are complaining.

You can see where this is going. Or maybe you can't because your tiny brains can't process all the possible choices available so let me help you out....Single Payer.

Just shut up, pay what the government tells you to pay and let the big brains figure it out for you.

More serious added thought:

A lot of people getting insurance through the market place may be people who are getting insurance for the first time either due to medical conditions or economic circumstances. Those groups could well be ill equipped to deal with the choices, limited though they are, presented by the ACA market places. This is especially true for high subsidy recipients who are being insulated form the true economic reality of their plans. It's hard to make rational decisions when the information is so distorted and disconnected from your actual economic conditions (you might qualify for a "cheap" plan after subsidies but can't afford any of the high deductible costs of the policy you are force to buy).

This is part of the problem, though Obama would see it as a feature. The ACA is redistributing health insurance dollars from people who have them and are used to making informed decisions to people who aren't.

It's not that "people" are too stupid to make good choices (millions and millions of people have been doing it for decades), it's that many core Democrats who will be the recipients of the spreading around of this wealth are.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:45 AM | Comments (163)
Post contains 627 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Single Payer. Exactly. This is all setting the ground work for "Ok, we know how confusing this all is, so let's get rid of it and single payer will save you!"

Posted by: Mainah at November 29, 2013 06:49 AM (659DL)

2 That's why I think Obama *won't* delay the employer mandate. Everyone gets notice next October that they're losing insurance and then all the Democrats start running as The Answer.

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 06:51 AM (FcR7P)

3 I love how the logical conclusion of this position is ignored. I mean, what, are those running all of this homo novus? Because otherwise, well, then those designing the site have the same limitations now don't they?

Now, if you'll excuse me, those cookies won't eat themselves. *bounds*

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 06:52 AM (Gk3SS)

and then all the Democrats start running as The Answer.

Those bitches can go fuck themselves.

Posted by: The Situation at November 29, 2013 06:52 AM (BrQrN)

5 Actually I think the problem is people just don't want to subsidize other people's healthcare. Especially when there are already solutions in place and have been for years.

Posted by: Caliban at November 29, 2013 06:53 AM (2ArJQ)

6 We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at November 29, 2013 06:54 AM (BrrWI)

7 By the by, whenever Our Betters start yammering away, this is why I hear:

http://youtu.be/Hrm-rPSCIBw

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 06:54 AM (Gk3SS)

8 More evidence of the impending crash of our complex civilization. http://tinyurl.com/mjswyfv

Posted by: NaCly Dog at November 29, 2013 06:54 AM (u82oZ)

9 3 I love how the logical conclusion of this position is ignored. I mean, what, are those running all of this homo novus? Because otherwise, well, then those designing the site have the same limitations now don't they? No, you don't understand. They are the Ã¼bermenschen, here to save us stupid, helpless untermenschen from ourselves a and our deficient decision-making capabilities. PPACA macht frei!

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 06:55 AM (UAMVq)

10 "you would think they would be saying thank you."

Posted by: The King at November 29, 2013 06:55 AM (d3clc)

11 Now, if you'll excuse me, those cookies won't eat themselves. *bounds*

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 10:52 AM (Gk3SS)

Hrm, has anyone ever tested that?

Perhaps we could start an experiment: Put out a plate of cookies by themselves, and see if they end up eaten ...

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 06:56 AM (ioT3q)

12 Boy, definitely not the A-team on Fox News this morning.

Heather Childers just said that the fate of Comet ISON is "literally up in the air". No, Heather, it is *literally* way out there in space *beyond* the air.

Earlier, Wossname the male anchor was complaining that his wife is "the Imelda Marcos of shoes". No, *Imelda Marcos* is the Imelda Marcos of shoes. That's the whole *point* of dragging her into the discussion!

Posted by: Anachronda at November 29, 2013 06:56 AM (U82Km)

13 404Care is the Trebant of web-sites. But it's a symptom of the unpolishable turd.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 29, 2013 06:56 AM (I7p2r)

14 As I said yesterday after I got home from family Thanksgiving, that my liberal sister thinks Doctors, all Doctors, should be forced to see all patients no matter what their insurance. They are G-D dam communists

Posted by: Nevergiveup at November 29, 2013 06:58 AM (nzKvP)

15 DHRUV KHULLAR Gotta be an anagram in there somewhere. I see two "hurl"'s

Posted by: BlueStateRebel at November 29, 2013 06:58 AM (7ObY1)

16 14 As I said yesterday after I got home from family Thanksgiving, that my liberal sister thinks Doctors, all Doctors, should be forced to see all patients no matter what their insurance. They are G-D dam communists Posted by: Nevergiveup at November 29, 2013 10:58 AM (nzKvP) Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery.

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 06:59 AM (UAMVq)

17 15 DHRUV KHULLAR Gotta be an anagram in there somewhere. I see two "hurl"'s Posted by: BlueStateRebel at November 29, 2013 10:58 AM (7ObY1) And a "dull."

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 07:00 AM (UAMVq)

18 I still want my own insurance.

I denounce myself.

Posted by: PJ at November 29, 2013 07:01 AM (ZWaLo)

19 Dhruv Khullar is a former staffer at the Health Division of the Obama White House Office of Management and Budget. I'm surprised he or Politico failed to mention that.

Posted by: lowandslow at November 29, 2013 07:01 AM (7Nq2G)

20 You know. Some companies offer a variety of healthcare plans as well. As does the FEHB, and I don't see anyone saying "How mean to their employees."

Posted by: tsrblke, PhD(c) No Really! at November 29, 2013 07:02 AM (GaqMa)

21 Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery. Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 10:59 AM (UAMVq)

You stop it with your facts and your reason and your logic.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 07:03 AM (Gk3SS)

22 Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 10:56 AM (ioT3q)

And when you complete this study please begin one that measures the propensity of Hanukah candles to leap from the Menorah to the curtains 15 feet away.

Apparently that is why I had to put the Menorah in the sink when we went out on Wednesday evening...and even then my wife was worried that they would burn the house down.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:03 AM (oJ5Fd)

23 If ChoomCare hadn't been created, our Conservative Pundits would have nothing to write about.

It -- particularly the website issue -- has become an effective example of Shiny Stuff and "Squirrel!" to keep the chattering classes chattering. No one except for a few malcontents in the audience is bothered by amnesty, Iran or Choom Boy's other felonies now.

Posted by: MrScribbler at November 29, 2013 07:04 AM (kaGpp)

24 Fire is sneaky, CBD.

Posted by: Retread at November 29, 2013 07:05 AM (IiAs3)

25 Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery. Slavery, you say? Now I want to shit and pee in your mouth.

Posted by: Martin Bashir at November 29, 2013 07:05 AM (7ObY1)

26 Posted by: Nevergiveup at November 29, 2013 10:58 AM (nzKvP)

What line of work is she in? Because the argument can be made to force anyone to work against their will if she accepts the premise that physicians can be coerced by government.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:05 AM (oJ5Fd)

27 "Single Payer. Exactly. This is all setting the ground work for "Ok, we know how confusing this all is, so let's get rid of it and single payer will save you!" " The simple retort to this is, "You fuckers couldn't even build a website, can't balance a budget, and spend billions of dollars on dead people, now you want to completely take over paying for healthcare? -Hell NO!"

Posted by: BlueFalcon in Boston at November 29, 2013 07:05 AM (KCvsd)

28 I thought the problem was the lack of Jewish connections.

Posted by: USA at November 29, 2013 07:06 AM (VIaw0)

29 5 Actually I think the problem is people just don't want to subsidize other people's healthcare. Especially when there are already solutions in place and have been for years. Posted by: Caliban at November 29, 2013 10:53 AM (2ArJQ) This, this, a thousand times this.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars [/i] [/b] [/s] at November 29, 2013 07:07 AM (0CBU6)

30 We overestimate our ability to repay loans and spend more with credit cards than we would with cash. Oh, you mean the US Congress.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 07:07 AM (c2oll)

31 Too much information is bad too. Let's just have single media.

Posted by: no good deed at November 29, 2013 07:07 AM (HsJeN)

32 Socialism is a refuge for tyrants and imbeciles. It's going to make quite a mess here just like it has done everywhere else it has been.

Posted by: eman at November 29, 2013 07:07 AM (AO9UG)

33 Actually I think the problem is people just don't want to subsidize other people's healthcare. Especially when there are already solutions in place and have been for years.
Posted by: Caliban at November 29, 2013 10:53 AM (2ArJQ)

This, this, a thousand times this.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at November 29, 2013 11:07 AM (0CBU6)

I think the problem is that all y'all are just heartless.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 07:07 AM (Gk3SS)

34 You stop it with your facts and your reason and your logic. Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 11:03 AM (Gk3SS) Because that's rayciss!!

Posted by: The kid who yells THAT'S RAYCISS!! at November 29, 2013 07:08 AM (xXhgd)

35 But despite the good intentions behind the website, behavioral science research suggests that many consumers may be ill equipped to make good decisions in the insurance marketplaces. How were we able to function as sentient adults without their "help?" But, hey, it's SCIENCE! so it must be right. Right?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:08 AM (0HooB)

Remember when the FBI guy who infiltrated Billy Ayres' Weather Underground came back and reported that "one quarter of the population will need to go"? What better way than a few months of no health care? Especially for the elderly. Now a quarter of the population most likely wouldn't die because of this, but if there were, say, a flu epidemic or some antibiotic-resistant bug...

Posted by: RushBabe at November 29, 2013 07:09 AM (hrIP5)

Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery.

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 10:59 AM (UAMVq)

That's just racist.

Posted by: tbodie at November 29, 2013 07:09 AM (TsudI)

38 14 As I said yesterday after I got home from family Thanksgiving, that my liberal sister thinks Doctors, all Doctors, should be forced to see all patients no matter what their insurance. They are G-D dam communists Posted by: Nevergiveup at November 29, 2013 10:58 AM (nzKvP) People really do believe in Slavery when they think it benefits themselves.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:09 AM (bb5+k)

39 And when you complete this study please begin one that measures the propensity of Hanukah candles to leap from the Menorah to the curtains 15 feet away. That's because it's sneaky, evil, dastardly Joooish fire, not plain old regular fire.

Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 07:10 AM (UAMVq)

40 Apparently that is why I had to put the Menorah in the sink when we went out on Wednesday evening...and even then my wife was worried that they would burn the house down. Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 11:03 AM (oJ5Fd) Reasonableness is not the primary reason men want women.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:11 AM (bb5+k)

41
Too much information is bad too. Let's just have single media.

Don't we already have that?

Posted by: Sticky Wicket at November 29, 2013 07:12 AM (0IhFx)

42 The reality-based community usually struggles with actual reality.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (hSLJC)

43 should red staters flood Healthcare.gov this weekend? not to purchase just to clog it

Posted by: Avi at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (kcF49)

44 Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 11:10 AM (UAMVq)

That's really offensive....and when I stop laughing I will think of a cutting response.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (oJ5Fd)

11: "Perhaps we could start an experiment: Put out a plate of cookies by themselves, and see if they end up eaten ..."

This theorum has been tested repeatedly in my household.

They invariably end up eaten.

Posted by: Azenogoth at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (v6cwT)

46 now you want to completely take over paying for healthcare? Here's the beauty of it: YOU are still paying for it.

Posted by: The White House at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (FcR7P)

47 I just remembered a great analogy. Obamacare is like saying, dad burned the toast so we are letting the dog cook from now on.

Posted by: real joe at November 29, 2013 07:13 AM (xXhgd)

48 I think the poor dems figured the Mitt Romneys of the country would be paying for them and the rich dems don't care because they are rich. It is the poor dems crying WTF!!!!

Posted by: madamex at November 29, 2013 07:14 AM (1zsKV)

49 So let's cut to the chase. LIV's and Obama voters who never had insurance are stupid as shit and can not figure anything out. They are use to just going to the ER and letting you pay for their shit. Illegals will still be doing that, they are exempt from the law.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 29, 2013 07:14 AM (0FSuD)

50 it's that many core Democrats who will be the recipients of the spreading around of this wealth are. *** The point of the Democrat party is to take money and power from those not in the party and give it to those in the party.

Posted by: 18-1 at November 29, 2013 07:15 AM (uUvS8)

51 Actually I think the problem is people just don't
want to subsidize other people's healthcare. Especially when there are
already solutions in place and have been for years.

And subsidize hundreds of thousands of new liberal apparatchiks to administer the healthcare and punish the opposition.

Posted by: PJ at November 29, 2013 07:15 AM (ZWaLo)

52 5 Actually I think the problem is people just don't want to subsidize other people's healthcare. Especially when there are already solutions in place and have been for years.

Posted by: Caliban at November 29, 2013 10:53 AM (2ArJQ)

Well if you think about it, the entire point of insurance is to subsidize other people's healthcare. There are a large number of people all paying in a "small cost" so that when a person needs it they don't pay it all, all with the idea that you will receive that treatment as well. And that part is what is no longer true. You are being told to pay a lot more to subsidize the others and its going to take you a lot longer to hit that limit where you start receiving that, adding to even more of your cost.

Posted by: buzzion at November 29, 2013 07:15 AM (LI48c)

53 Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery. Posted by: Insomniac at November 29, 2013 10:59 AM (UAMVq) Donks were making similar noises about 150 or so years ago. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (c2oll)

54 43 should red staters flood Healthcare.gov this weekend? not to purchase just to clog it Posted by: Avi at November 29, 2013 11:13 AM (kcF49) I would strongly recommend a proxy server for anyone contemplating this. I'm sort of wishing we would just pay some overseas hackers to screw with the site.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (bb5+k)

55 I think the problem is that all y'all are just heartless.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 11:07 AM (Gk3SS)

Look who's talking!

are

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (oJ5Fd)

56 This guy is such a woman - everything is my fault.

Posted by: teh Wind at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (B3WUC)

57 47 I just remembered a great analogy. Obamacare is like saying, dad burned the toast so we are letting the dog cook from now on.

Posted by: real joe at November 29, 2013 11:13 AM (xXhgd)

Calling the prezzy a dog? Raaaaaaycisssss.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (ioT3q)

58 36 RushBabe - Yeah, that's pretty much Zeke Emmanuel's idea. The elderly or the sick, meh, let 'em die. Here Obama echos Emmanuel : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-dQfb8WQvo

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:16 AM (aDwsi)

59 Obamacare website offers more choices.

Actually the government only offers four plans, and they all cover the same thing. The only thing different are the deductibles and the premiums. That's not choice, it's the government telling the insurance industry what policies will be offered and what they will cost.

AND

The government guarantees the companies against any loss. AND restricts any profit.

Posted by: Minus 3 ° F at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (xQZ+T)

60 12 Boy, definitely not the A-team on Fox News this morning. Heather Childers just said that the fate of Comet ISON is "literally up in the air". No, Heather, it is *literally* way out there in space *beyond* the air. Heather was a news announcer on the local CABLE news show in NC. She is short as shit, and without makeup you would pass on her. Face is pocked. Rocket science was not her major, BJ's perhaps.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (0FSuD)

61 Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 11:07 AM (Gk3SS)

Look who's talking!
are
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 11:16 AM (oJ5Fd)

And that's just how we like her.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (ioT3q)

62 Obama - "Well now that's a tough one ... that costs a lot and maybe we will have to say, just take a pill."

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (aDwsi)

63 Can't wait until all the O voters lose their sweet, sweet employee provided insurance. Counting the days in fact.

Also... many of the senior citizens I know - also O supporters- on medicare think they're immune. I think... not. And when it hits them, they will be the first ones into the gas chambers.

Posted by: shibumi at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (25HWz)

64 I tried that, letting the dog cook. He does not have opposable thumbs and cannot turn the dials on the stove.

Posted by: Les Nessman at November 29, 2013 07:17 AM (v6hyJ)

65 Look who's talking!

are
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 11:16 AM (oJ5Fd)

Delicate flower of innocent virtue!

*bounds about more*

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 07:18 AM (Gk3SS)

66 The point of the Democrat party is to take money and power from those not in the party and give it to those in the party. Posted by: 18-1 at November 29, 2013 11:15 AM (uUvS

Yes, their core characteristic is thievery.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:18 AM (bb5+k)

67 OT, but for those of us who didn't risk getting trampled to same 20 bucks at Walmart, "Hang 'Em High " is on TCM. Hadn't realized it, but Dennis Hopper who turned out to be fairly conservative is in it, and so is Gilligan's captain.

Posted by: nerdygirl at November 29, 2013 07:18 AM (mck3/)

68 D-Lamp - Any proxies that you like?

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:20 AM (aDwsi)

69 Even if ObamaCare is tossed out, the people who want it are still here. If we are lucky, they will form their own nation from Maine and New Hampshire.

Posted by: eman at November 29, 2013 07:20 AM (AO9UG)

70 63 Can't wait until all the O voters lose their sweet, sweet employee provided insurance. Counting the days in fact. Ha ha, you make funny joke. Obama voters mostly DON'T have jobs.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 29, 2013 07:21 AM (0FSuD)

71 And that's just how we like her.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 11:17 AM (ioT3q)

Well....that and a bustier and 4" pumps.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:21 AM (oJ5Fd)

72 I wonder with all these people who are going to have their insurance cut off by Obamacare, and will choose to not burden their families by financially crippling them, is a way of reducing opposition numbers. Sort of selecting them out.
But what would that spiral to? Less subsidizers, and more subsidizees!!
You guys have my condolences.

Posted by: Matt at November 29, 2013 07:21 AM (DjrJ0)

73 He does not have opposable thumbs and cannot turn the dials on the stove. Posted by: Les Nessman --------------- Neither does my cat, but if turning the knob would get him food, or out of the house, rest assured, he could do it.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:21 AM (aDwsi)

74 @67 Good call.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 29, 2013 07:21 AM (0FSuD)

75 Obama - "Well now that's a tough one ... that costs a lot and maybe we will have to say, just take a pill." Bazillions of dollars in debt, but they'll be oh-so-cost-conscious when its our health they're spending money on.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:22 AM (0HooB)

76 68 D-Lamp - Any proxies that you like? Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 11:20 AM (aDwsi) I so seldom use one that I cannot make any recommendations.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:22 AM (bb5+k)

77 38 14 As I said yesterday after I got home from family Thanksgiving, that my liberal sister thinks Doctors, all Doctors, should be forced to see all patients no matter what their insurance. They are G-D dam communists

Posted by: Nevergiveup at November 29, 2013 10:58 AM (nzKvP)

People really do believe in Slavery when they think it benefits themselves.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 11:09 AM (bb5+k)

You misunderstand, they don't think of it as Slavery, they think of it as the docs fulfilling their duty to society. As Karl Marx said "In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-around development of the individual, and all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantlyÂ—only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"

Posted by: Penfold at November 29, 2013 07:22 AM (xmZmI)

It's Socialism 101:

You people who are too selfish to not work toward the greater good are the problem. You aren't foresightful enough to recognize that, if you are 20 something and healthy, you're supposed to pay in so that others who are less healthy can have health care.

Human nature being what it is, people decide things on the basis of what's good for THEM, and not society as a whole.

That's what he's getting at. The same upstream argument socialists have been arguing for centuries. And Obama thinks that's WRONG! Shame on you.

Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here?

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 07:23 AM (TOk1P)

79 The Democratic Party ~~was~~ IS the party that supports slavery.

Posted by: Jimbo at November 29, 2013 07:23 AM (V70Uh)

80 @67 Didn't that hot scandi girl in the movie commit suicide.

Posted by: Nip Sip at November 29, 2013 07:23 AM (0FSuD)

81 If we are lucky, they will form their own nation from Maine and New Hampshire. Posted by: eman at November 29, 2013 11:20 AM (AO9UG) As "Roger" over at Curmudgeonly and Skeptical says, "Instead of secession, How about all the sane states get together and eject the insane ones? " Or words to that effect.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:24 AM (bb5+k)

82 Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here? Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 11:23 AM (TOk1P)

I used to think that the 401(k) confiscation theorists were crazypants. Now I'm shocked it hasn't happened yet.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 07:24 AM (Gk3SS)

83 8

"However, Tainter is not entirely apocalyptic: "When some new input to an economic system is brought on line, whether a technical innovation or an energy subsidy, it will often have the potential at least temporarily to raise marginal productivity" (p. 124). Thus, barring continual conquest of your neighbors (which is always subject to diminishing returns), innovation that increases productivity is Â– in the long run Â– the only way out of the dismal science dilemma of declining marginal returns on added investments in complexity."

Luckily for us, the Left's minions in the regulatory apparatus are ALL about innovation that increases productivity and would never do something so stupid as to put in place regulations which stifle economic activity. I can't imagine them, for example, putting regulations in place which would necessarily cause electricity prices to skyrocket. No sirree, Bob.

Posted by: Sudden Clarity Clarence at November 29, 2013 07:24 AM (XVWHG)

84 Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here?

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 11:23 AM (TOk1P)

?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 07:24 AM (oJ5Fd)

85 @57 - You are what you eat.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at November 29, 2013 07:25 AM (9gaIv)

86 Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not. Easily the most fucking idiotic sentence ever uttered in politics.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at November 29, 2013 07:25 AM (bxKJf)

Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here?

What note?

Posted by: Infidel at November 29, 2013 07:26 AM (IEbb0)

88 64 I tried that, letting the dog cook.
He does not have opposable thumbs and cannot turn the dials on the stove.
Posted by: Les Nessman at November 29, 2013 11:17 AM (v6hyJ)

My puppy has just learned to turn the TV on and off by licking the touch sensors.

Posted by: jwb7605[/u][/i][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:26 AM (Qxe/p)

89
"The ACA is redistributing health insurance dollars from people who have them and are used to making informed decisions to people who aren't"

You're starting to get it - typical old racist granny saved her whole life for that new hip - Obamacare is going to give her a pill and redistribute her wealth - take scare of that whole reparations don't go far enough statement.

Posted by: Burnt Toast at November 29, 2013 07:26 AM (80R0X)

90 86 Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not. Easily the most fucking idiotic sentence ever uttered in politics.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at November 29, 2013 11:25 AM (bxKJf)

If only our brains were wired to use a non-functional website.

Cause that would clearly be a superior way of thinking. Or something.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:27 AM (ioT3q)

91 86 Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not.

Easily the most fucking idiotic sentence ever uttered in politics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you.

Posted by: The Magnificent Speech Writers of Lord O at November 29, 2013 07:27 AM (25HWz)

92 Posted by: Penfold at November 29, 2013 11:22 AM (xmZmI) Or as Abe Lincoln put it: "You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it. "

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:27 AM (bb5+k)

Obvious answer to ALL of our problems, You Guys: a THIRD term for god-king 0Bama!

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/15481/

Posted by: MtTB at November 29, 2013 07:28 AM (8E9QA)

94 My puppy has just learned to turn the TV on and off by licking the touch sensors.

Posted by: jwb7605 at November 29, 2013 11:26 AM (Qxe/p)

Sounds like a useful backup TV remote.

"Puppy, TV ON!"
"That's a good boy!"
"Volume, UP!"
"Who's a smart doggy? Who's a smart doggy?"

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:28 AM (ioT3q)

95 I thought the analogy would involve cooking the dog.

Posted by: USA at November 29, 2013 07:28 AM (VIaw0)

96 I am hoping this abject failure came so fast (not as planned, of course) that even the low info cretins are noticing. Maybe Single-Payer won't be so glamorous? Am I just a Pollyanna? Should I just slap my face?

Posted by: AnnaS at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (UN0/t)

97 Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here?

Nope. They're going to take them. Period.

Posted by: Washington Nearsider at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (fwARV)

98 I used to think that the 401(k) confiscation theorists were crazypants. Now I'm shocked it hasn't happened yet. Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 11:24 AM (Gk3SS) A lot of people are waking up to the notion that stuff considered "crazypants" some years ago looks all too threatening now.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (bb5+k)

99 The menu at 'The Cheesecake Factory' must be a bitch for us simpletons. So. Many. Choices.

Posted by: RWC at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (LpbKr)

100 When Hitler was getting ready to kill himself, he claimed that the German folk let him down, and did not deserve him.

Posted by: Kristophr at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (c6N69)

101 Thank you.

Posted by: The Magnificent Speech Writers of Lord O at November 29, 2013 11:27 AM (25HWz)

Let me, uhm, be clear, I'm a better speechwriter than, erhm, my speechwriters.

Posted by: Lord Obama at November 29, 2013 07:29 AM (ioT3q)

102 My puppy has just learned to turn the TV on and off by licking the touch sensors. Posted by: jwb7605 ---------------- So..., all Animal Planet all of the time?

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:30 AM (aDwsi)

103

Posted by: Kristophr at November 29, 2013 11:29 AM (c6N69)

Does O have a bunker?

Posted by: madamex at November 29, 2013 07:31 AM (1zsKV)

104 If you like your CrazyPants, you can keep your CrazyPants. Period

Posted by: Beto at November 29, 2013 07:32 AM (MhA4j)

105 OBAMA LOVES YOU

Posted by: Tonight on MSNBC at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (6jI2x)

106 Oh, am I the only one reading the cryptic note about 401K plans, and seeing an ominous foreshadowing here? Nope. They're going to take them. Period. Posted by: Washington Nearsider -------------- In the post WWI era, working Brits recognized that the collapse would come when the developing socialist government moved to tax capital, i.e., what you own and invest.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (aDwsi)

107 100 When Hitler was getting ready to kill himself, he claimed that the German folk let him down, and did not deserve him. Posted by: Kristophr at November 29, 2013 11:29 AM (c6N69) I have been on the "Obama is a lot like Hitler" bandwagon from the beginning. The Regime that this administration most closely resembles is that of the Nazis, right down to the racially obsessed Cult clown at the head of it.

Posted by: D-Lamp at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (bb5+k)

108 "Instead of secession, How about all the sane states get together and eject the insane ones? " Or the counties. Tiny blue islands of clogged, festering sewage sprinkled thru our big, beautiful country.

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (FcR7P)

109 D-lamp: A lot of people are waking up to the notion that stuff considered "crazypants" some years ago looks all too threatening now.

Even if they don't seize them ... what happens when all the boomers start making withdrawals?

A withdrawal requires that someone else buy the stock being sold. When a whole bunch of people dump stock on the market at the same time, the market crashes. I suggest cashing out now, taking the tax hit, and investing in something tangible, like precious metal, or rental property.

Posted by: Kristophr at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (c6N69)

110 Hmm, let's see what happens when I click this... Hey guys! What's this "Thermonuclear War" game screen do? Is that like Halo or something?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (0HooB)

111 Put out a plate of cookies by themselves, and see if they end up eaten ...

Yoink...

** a whirlwind of crumbs **

Posted by: The Invisible Cookie Monster[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (DL2i+)

112 Once again, we have failed Him.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (QupBk)

113 Neither does my cat, but if turning the knob would get him food, or out of the house, rest assured, he could do it.

Posted by: Mike Hammer

*glares at human servant*

*goes back to Sudoku puzzle*

Posted by: Mike Hammer's Cat at November 29, 2013 07:33 AM (BrQrN)

114 Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not. ***** Obama's brain is wired to three things, His face His face Whatever Valerie Jarrett tells him

Posted by: Beto at November 29, 2013 07:34 AM (MhA4j)

115 Hammer's Cat is currently in Sleep Mode, just checked.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:35 AM (aDwsi)

116 93 Obvious answer to ALL of our problems, You Guys: a THIRD term for god-king 0Bama! I want to do an R. Lee Ermey on this professor - on your knees, put your neck in my hands, and choke yourself.

Posted by: real joe at November 29, 2013 07:35 AM (xXhgd)

117

87 -

In the quote above:

"We struggle with decisions about how to invest our retirement savings and are highly susceptible to the number and types of 401(k) plans weÂ’re offered."

See, you're not wise enough to make those decisions either. Here, let's have the government help you with that...

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 07:35 AM (TOk1P)

118

Hammer's Cat is currently in Sleep Mode, just checked.

*silently chuckles to self*

Posted by: Mike Hammer's Cat at November 29, 2013 07:35 AM (BrQrN)

119 I think the problem is that all y'all are just heartless.

Pftt.

Posted by: DaveA[/i][/b][/s] at November 29, 2013 07:36 AM (DL2i+)

120 I'm in the mood to thrash an urchin. It must be Friday.

Posted by: toby928© insists on talking about robots at November 29, 2013 07:38 AM (QupBk)

121 I for one feel horrible and contrite to have let our lord and enslaver down. I will say 50 Hail Moochelles, 100 Our Father Who Art Obamas" and throw in a couple Allah Barakbars for good measure. I will gladly do my penance and pray that he can be gracious to forgive me.

Posted by: runningrn at November 29, 2013 07:38 AM (PLOz8)

122 Communism, socialism, crony fascism... you'll need a tax expert to figure out what system we're getting!

Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at November 29, 2013 07:39 AM (FcR7P)

123 I keep hearing Obama's speech at Hampton University ring in my ears. The one where he said, "...information becomes a tool of distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation..." It's one of the scariest things I've ever heard from a President. In his world, it's the choices that make you a slave.

Posted by: no good deed at November 29, 2013 07:40 AM (HsJeN)

124 118 Hammer's Cat is currently in Sleep Mode, just checked.
*silently chuckles to self*
Posted by: Mike Hammer's Cat at November 29, 2013 11:35 AM (BrQrN)

ARF! YIP! GRRRR. ARF!

Posted by: jwb7605's puppy[/u][/i][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:41 AM (Qxe/p)

125 This is why I hate progressivism. They are too stupid to realize they are the stupid people in the room and think everyone else is at their level, and misinterpret resistance to their ignorance as being dumber than they are. Of course there are the progs that are just evil and do it for the power.

Posted by: dogfish at November 29, 2013 07:41 AM (6TbeQ)

126 When Hitler was getting ready to kill himself, he claimed that the German folk let him down, and did not deserve him. Posted by: Kristophr ---------------- That is always the problem. The people let the system down. That is why increasingly strict control is necessary.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:41 AM (aDwsi)

127 ARF! YIP! GRRRR. ARF! Posted by: jwb7605's puppy ------------------ Hammer's dog is terrified of the cat..., with good reason.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:43 AM (aDwsi)

128 The bake sake Facebook item in the right margin is hilarious...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars [/i] [/b] [/s] at November 29, 2013 07:44 AM (0CBU6)

129

126 -

Yep, socialism in all its various forms is ultimately about a small group of wise leaders deciding EVERYTHING for everyone else.

It can't work otherwise, and it doesn't work anyway, because people will STILL do what is in their own self-interest, even if that includes doing nothing at all.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 07:44 AM (TOk1P)

130 It was never about health care. It was always about control. And retribution, revenge, reparations, and total transformation, that's what it was for.

Posted by: EROWMER at November 29, 2013 07:45 AM (OONaw)

131 The bake sake Facebook item in the right margin is hilarious... Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars at November 29, 2013 11:44 AM (0CBU6)

It really is. Especially since I can hear the you guys, Serious You Guys, stop being so meeeeeaaaaannnn.

Posted by: alexthechick - Really Universe Really? at November 29, 2013 07:45 AM (Gk3SS)

132 Hammer's dog is terrified of the cat..., with good reason.
Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 11:43 AM (aDwsi)

Puppy has been there, done that.
She's got "just out of range" figured out, though.

Posted by: jwb7605[/u][/i][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:46 AM (Qxe/p)

133 The bake sake Facebook item in the right margin is hilarious... I'm surprised there were no references to hash brownies.

Posted by: t-bird at November 29, 2013 07:46 AM (FcR7P)

134

127 -

If our cats operated as a pride they could bring the dog down, but they don't. They're too busy bickering and arguing with each other, and the male cat is the only one trying to do all the work. And he's too small for the job. The dog just looks at him like he's crazy.

So the dog lives another day. For now.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 29, 2013 07:47 AM (TOk1P)

135 It can't work otherwise, and it doesn't work anyway, because people will STILL do what is in their own self-interest, even if that includes doing nothing at all. Posted by: BurtTC ---------------------------- That is why Stalin's "Five year plans" did not work. If socialism is rigorously enforced, it always degrades into communism.

Posted by: Mike Hammer at November 29, 2013 07:47 AM (aDwsi)

136 Nude

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 29, 2013 07:47 AM (c2oll)

137 89 "The ACA is redistributing health insurance dollars from people who have them and are used to making informed decisions to people who aren't" You're starting to get it - typical old racist granny saved her whole life for that new hip - Obamacare is going to give her a pill and redistribute her wealth - take scare of that whole reparations don't go far enough statement. Yeah, what ever happened to granny's right to choose? What happened to "My body, my choice?" Under Doc Barak, she will not qualify for a hip replacement but be forced to suck down the pain pills. Liberals are the biggest hypocrites ever and they always limit freedom. Always.

Posted by: runningrn at November 29, 2013 07:48 AM (PLOz8)

138 I didn't finish Drew's post, not because it's TLDR but I had a thought I wanted to get out there. I'm probably going to be somewhat disorganized but let me give it a shot.

Lets accept for the moment that 'people' are bad at these long term planning skills. When the writer (whoever it is, I'm not giving Politico the page view) says this, I have to assume he means the majority of people are bad at this. Otherwise he'd say 'some' or 'half' or somesuch. So a minority of people are good at these skills. But! If it's such a tricky thing, I'd think that the majority of the 'competent' are really only good at managing their own lives, plus maybe their immediate families. A minority would be good at planning not only their own futures, but others. The number of 'managers' who can successfully 'manage' other peoples lives goes down as the 'managed' pool grows. So how many 'managers' out there can successfully manage hundreds of thousands of other peoples lives? And are they really being uncovered the popularity contests we call elections? Are they really being hired and fast-tracked through the government bureaucracy? From the evidence, I'd say they were not.

So then, folks like the Politico writer are essentially proposing that INCOMPETENTs be promoted to these 'manager' roles because there cannot possibly be enough competent 'managers' to deal with all the work. Which leads to the incompetents screwing up the plans or execution of the competents.

So how about they just leave us to succeed or fail on our own and to help (or not according to our consciences) those who fail.

AoS obligatory foul language: Leave me alone you fucking assholes and go eat a bag of dicks.

Posted by: J. Random Dude at November 29, 2013 07:50 AM (8OfdL)

139 PS back to finishing Drews post.

Posted by: J. Random Dude at November 29, 2013 07:50 AM (8OfdL)

140 Nood up!

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at November 29, 2013 07:51 AM (ioT3q)

141 Newd. And don't bother, I already got it.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit [/i][/s][/b] at November 29, 2013 07:52 AM (0HooB)

142 I know this is highly technical, but one of the things laughable about the article being satirized is this. People "have difficulty" making an optimal choice under uncertainty because there is no optimal choice under uncertainty. What would be a good choice under one set of circumstances may be a very bad choice under a different set of circumstances, and the MEANING of uncertainty is that you have no certain information relative to which set of circumstances will in fact occur.

Posted by: JeffM at November 29, 2013 07:53 AM (LIc41)

143 Last I heard, forcing someone to render services against their will was slavery.

Oh no. The Huguenins are learning the hard way that not doing business with someone is "discrimination".

Free speech stops where ghey begins.

Posted by: noone,really at November 29, 2013 07:58 AM (5ikDv)

144 This isn't just about degrading Americans, it's about setting the stage for liberal governors (and maybe Obama) to implement "active purchaser" next year. From the article:

"Exchanges may thus want to take an active approach that works with insurers to design appealing products rather than passively accepting all-comers."

For example, in Minnesota this means that the exchange board (seven unelected bureaucrats) will have the ability to arbitrarily deny plans that have already met state and federal requirements from being sold on the exchange. Exchange minions are already going around the state telling people the board is going to limit choices in order to expand real choices. Which is terrible news for people in, say, Rochester (Mayo) where there are only about seven total choices from which all age groups must choose: http://bit.ly/1adLOoA

Posted by: Mippilis at November 29, 2013 07:59 AM (epW0L)

145 Posted by: JeffM at November 29, 2013 11:53 AM (LIc41)

No, that's not technical, that's just correct.

And it leads to the problem with Socialism....that they always have the answer -- after the fact.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 29, 2013 08:00 AM (oJ5Fd)

146 Instead of secession, How about all the sane states get together and eject the insane ones? " Or words to that effect. Posted by: D-Lamp ___ More evidence of the impending crash of our complex civilization. http://tinyurl.com/mjswyfv Posted by: NaCly Dog [Wikipedia] It is often assumed that the collapse of the western Roman Empire was a catastrophe for everyone involved. Tainter points out that it can be seen as a very rational preference of individuals at the time, many of whom were actually better off. Archeological evidence from human bones indicates that average nutrition actually improved after the collapse in many parts of the former Roman Empire. Average individuals may have benefited because they no longer had to invest in the burdensome complexity of empire. Tainter notes that in the west, local populations in many cases greeted the barbarians as liberators. [My [b]emphases added.] ___ Overly complex and burdensome systems must expire, but systems of appropriate self-government are ready to replace them, where adherents of such systems predominate. The Constitutionally United States of America - rebranded

Posted by: mindful webworker - got Republic? at November 29, 2013 08:08 AM (K7W+A)

147 Sure, 401(k) plans are the next target. Papers have already posted op-eds about how "unfair" they are. And we know Obama is all for fairness and kindness.

Why banks? Cuz that's where the money is.

Posted by: PJ at November 29, 2013 08:25 AM (ZWaLo)

148 I can't find the facebook bake sale thing in the right margin?

But some strange surfing did get to this, the review page of the new fragrance by George Takei, "Eau My".

http://tinyurl.com/kg5wcyu

Posted by: scottst at November 29, 2013 08:31 AM (agfwK)

149 #77 #38 Nothing ever changes:

http://andelino.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/9162007_democrats_then_and_now1.jpg

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at November 29, 2013 08:34 AM (XO6WW)

150 From the authors bio "My experiences have taught me that good health is beyond the scope of medicine alone. Much of the disease in our country is preventable, and if this suffering can be avoided, I believe we have a mandate to fight forces known to disrupt good health, and thereby an individual's capacity to control his or her life."

Posted by: noone at November 29, 2013 08:35 AM (vu484)

151 Let them try "Single Payer." I beg them. The conflagration that would follow would purge that idiocy from our national conversation for a generation. Torches. Pitchforks. Some assembly required.

Posted by: DriveBy at November 29, 2013 08:43 AM (C9Vc8)

152 Preventable diseases? Like Aids? Good luck trying to stop that one. If 90 million cancellation letters go out by October, the Dems won't be running as "the Answer." They'll be running for Canada or Cuba.

Posted by: Biff Boffo at November 29, 2013 08:46 AM (oPVx2)

153 "[D]ual-degree candidate at the Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Kennedy School." Yeah, you can't get ideas that stupid from just anyone.

Posted by: Michael at November 29, 2013 08:47 AM (smKbx)

154 America: 315 million imbeciles who need to be kept in helmets and padded areas while supervised 24 hours a day.

Posted by: Meremortal at November 29, 2013 08:55 AM (1Y+hH)

155 The exchanges are based on a laudable idea: that competition, transparency and consumer choice will lead to higher-quality, more affordable products. It was *kind of* pointed out earlier but I thought it worth specifically saying that this is an abject lie on every front.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of Somethingorother at November 29, 2013 08:58 AM (qyfb5)

156 47 I just remembered a great analogy. Obamacare is like saying, dad burned the toast so we are letting the dog cook from now on.

Posted by: real joe at November 29, 2013 11:13 AM (xXhgd)

More closer:

Dad burned the toast so we are letting the dog rape the baker on tuesdays and full moons.

Posted by: Burnt Toast at November 29, 2013 09:04 AM (80R0X)

157

Wow, Merogivn, was about to use exactly the same pull-quote, but I don't know to do the italics thinggy here -

*The exchanges are based on a laudable idea: that competition, transparency and consumer choice will lead to higher-quality, more affordable products.*

OK, my head is actually going to explode now. WTF, I mean, WTFF?!

For years, I have bought my (not that expensive, though still far more expensive than it should be thanks to state-level distortion, er, regulation, cross-susbidies, and all that shit) health insurance via eHealthInsurance.com. It usually takes about 10 minutes, then 15 more minutes to fill out the paperwork when it comes in the mail.

We really are living in a country completely detached from reality. Imagine if this idiotic administration announced they were setting up, you know, "food exchanges" in lots of neighborhoods, where one could buy food, paper towels, batteries, bottled water, etc. Or "prepared food exchanges" where one could even drive through to get, I dunno, burgers, chicken, or tacos.

It would be no less ridiculous. The very "idea" of setting up "exchanges" when in fact a very distorted - entirely by the state, all levels - market has obviously existed for many many years still blows my mind. I have mocked this "idea" for a long time using the grocery store example above. Or, even better, the "food stamp store" or Cabrini-Greene style public housing examples, to get at the insanity of the public sector mimicking something that already exists in the real economy.

I've said it before. I don't see recovery from this. A country so degraded, with "elites" so clueless and alien in their instincts, and a populace sufficiently distracted/lazy/dumbed-down/oozing alien collectivist economically illiterate values simply doesn't have the tools to rescue itself.

Posted by: non-purist at November 29, 2013 09:13 AM (afQnV)

158 I like all the articles from libs moaning about how Obamacare is just making a valiant effort to save Americans from the "broken" health care system we had before Obama gifted us with Obamacare (at a cost of billions, and counting). Under that "broken" pre-Obamacare system, 87% of Americans had health insurance, and of those, 85% were satisfied with the coverage they had. Obamacare raises costs, reduces choice, and -- according to the government's own projections -- will still leave more than 30 million Americans without insurance. IOW, the "broken" system we had before Obamacare was a helluva lot less "broken" than the mess we have now.

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 29, 2013 09:21 AM (/sohm)

159 "Much of the disease in our country is preventable, and if this suffering can be avoided, I believe we have a mandate to fight forces known to disrupt good health, and thereby an individual's capacity to control his or her life." Posted by: noone at November 29, 2013 12:35 PM (vu484) ______________________ Wow, what a loon. The "forces known to disrupt good health" are mainly things like smoking, over-eating, lack of regular exercise, risky sexual activities with multiple partners, drug abuse, etc. So this douche thinks he has a "mandate" to fight those things? Hahahahahahahaha. The irony is that the things that most "disrupt good health" are the direct result of peoples' free lifestyle choices -- i.e., they ARE controlling their own life (just not in a way that meets with this d-bag's approval).

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 29, 2013 09:30 AM (/sohm)

160

Trivial Pursuer, my thoughts exactly. Those numbers sound right - 85% and 87% - are they the actual ones? It's difficult to express my astonishment and despair at a situation in which those numbers reflect reality leading to the nation adopting (EVEN if crammed down its throat through doubly-unconstitutional means, both the Congress and the SCOTUS completely outside their lanes) this insane self-inflicted wound.

The US health care and related finance system was the best in the world (easily, for a major country). About 99% of its flaws were - SURPRISE! - related to the usual suspects: public sector interference that raises costs and inhibits innovation, and related rent-seeking and cartelization resulting from private actors (of course, rationally) gaming the system of state interference.

Without being dumbed down to the level of a K-School double major (and I don't mean that ironically, not in the least), I would confidently predict that even a partial de-regulation and de-cartelization of health care finance would unleash such cost savings over our existing system that an obvious, far superior system of direct cash support to the truly indigent involuntarily uninsured (a small number) would 10 times the resources it would require.

The entire health care cost level would be radically reduced with rational deregulation. In that situation, even the obvious solution to the involuntarily uninsured becomes fairly painless. Gee, it's almost like there's something called a virtuous cycle where good solutions beget easier solutions to remaining problems, or something. Think natural gas, telecoms, or airlines, times 5-10, when thinking of the economic impact of health care finance deregulation.

Posted by: non-purist at November 29, 2013 09:39 AM (afQnV)

161 "Maybe our brains just arenÂ’t wired to use a site like HealthCare.gov, whether it works or not." Could have been came straight from The Onion.

Posted by: fb at November 29, 2013 10:16 AM (JVEmw)

162

"You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"

<i>But despite the good intentions behind the website, behavioral science research suggests that many consumers may be ill equipped to make good decisions in the insurance marketplaces.</i>

So we of the Vanguard Party must guide the proletariat into making the correct decisions, rather than allowing their <i>false consciousness</i> to lead them astray. It's For Their Own Good.

Posted by: Herp McDerp at November 29, 2013 11:54 AM (7QRNd)

163 I am so sick of these people constantly trying to make people believe they know better. A good example of heroes liberals think they know what's best, is easy to find on facebook's healthcare .gov page. They tell people, who say they can't afford it, that they are liars, that it's doable, they need to learn to manage their money better, that they need to get another job to pay for it, or tho move to a different state, so they can get Medicaid. They have even taken it upon themselves, to try and look up the plan themselves, to prove the person's claim, of unaffordability wrong. This mentality is so deeply ingrained in leftists it scary.

Posted by: chunk at November 30, 2013 05:01 PM (/ME9Q)

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