Is Wrong About Nigh Everything?
For all but the most befuddled by basic math – government costs a LOT of money.
Unfortunately, some of those most befuddled by basic math – are running for the Democrat nomination for President.
Bernie Sanders Admits He Hasn’t a Clue of the Cost of His Socialist Stuff:
“In a ’60 Minutes’ interview with host Anderson Cooper, Sen. Bernie Sanders acknowledged that he’s not yet put a ‘price tag’ on much of the proposals he’s pushed. That’s kind of a big concern – yes?”
It’s not a concern of any size – if you remain steadfastly impervious to math.
Fortunately for Sanders, a working plurality of Democrat primary voters has joined him in math-free oblivion.
If they don’t care – and are willing to elect him without said price tags – why should Sanders care to proffer them?
Of course, Sanders, his voters and his ilk remain steadfastly impervious to facts of any kind. Get this bit of Sanders’ complete, sweeping dismissal of 100+ years of human history:
“We do, I mean, you know, and, and, the price tag is, it will be substantially less than letting the current system go. I think it’s about $30 trillion.”
Emphasis ours – because that’s where the most stupid is.
Sanders is calling his total government takeover of the health care industry – Medicare-for-All.
So it would make sense to check how the program he seeks to fundamentally transform – Medicare-for-Seniors – did at government cost containment, would it not?
So let’s….
50 Years Later, Medicaid And Medicare Still Spend Us Into Oblivion:
“When these programs were created back in 1965, no one ever thought they would get this big or cost this much. Congressional budgeters at the time thought Medicare, the healthcare program for the elderly, would cost about $12 billion by 1990. The actual cost that year was $90 billion….
“We should have seen it coming. After all, it didn’t take decades for actual Medicare and Medicaid costs to overrun projections. That pretty much happened right away….
“Fifty years later, we’re still trying to figure out how to control costs—and still failing. Waste and fraud remain a persistent problem in both programs—an estimated $60 billion in Medicare funds just last year—and with an estimated 10,000 Baby Boomers joining Medicare rolls every day, the cost problem is likely to get much worse in the near future.”
Oh yes: Medicaid – another government medicine program – is also killing us, and was also immediately WAY off on its cost estimates.
And then we were told Affordable Care Act (ACA) – Obamacare – would fix what Medicare and Medicaid had broken. Only…not so much:
“Wasn’t the ACA was supposed to fix healthcare? Remember when President Obama said the ACA would lower the average premiums by $2,500 for a family of four? It never happened. Instead, premiums have gone up since the passage of the ACA—by some estimates, the increase in national health spending under Obamacare will amount to an average premium increase for a family of four of $7,450.”
What Sanders and his many, many cohorts all refuse to admit – is government costs a WHOLE LOT more money than the private sector. Because of human nature – as ensconced in my Wallet Rule:
If you go out on a Friday night with your wallet, and you go out the following Friday night with my wallet – on which Friday night are you going to have more fun?
Obviously, you’re going to have a whole lot more fun with my wallet – because you don’t care what my wallet looks like at the end of the evening.
Well, government is always on other peoples’ wallets – ours. In gambling parlance – they’re playing with house money.
Government will never spend money as wisely or well as the people who earned it – from whom government takes it.
And here’s the dirty little secret Sanders and his Fellow Travelers miss:
Less government = MUCH more money for everyone. Including government.
The Donald Trump Administration is ongoing, rolling proof thereof.
Trump cut taxes – which is less government. And Trump has massively cut regulations – which is much less government. The result?
Ten Reasons Trump Economy Is Best in 50 Years
Wages, Obama Economy’s Weakest Link, Now Surging Under Trump
More money for everyone. And everyone – includes government.
Go Figure: Federal Revenues Hit All-Time Highs Under Trump Tax Cuts
A great microcosm of this less government success – is the Internet sector…and the Trump Administration’s Network Neutrality repeal.
Net Neutrality is an all-encompassing government takeover of the Internet sector. The Obama Administration imposed it – and after but a year of its infliction upon us the Trump Administration un-imposed it.
And all along the way: Just as the Left was completely and totally wrong about Medicare (and Medicaid, and Obamacare, and…) – they were WAY wrong about Net Neutrality.
Net Neutrality: The Left is Always Wrong – So Stop Listening to Them
Net Neutrality Repeal – Plus Two Years: The Leftists Were Dead Wrong Yet Again
Everything the Left said would happen – didn’t. Everything they said wouldn’t happen – did.
And over the weekend, we were delivered something Sanders and his Fellow Travelers remain incapable of doing – giving us the price tag of a government (in)action.
Net Neutrality Repeal Raises Annual Incomes by $50 Billion:
“According to the (Council of Economic Advisers) CEA’s February ‘Economic Report of the President,’ the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality regulation raised real annual incomes by more than $50 billion per year and consumer welfare by nearly $40 billion per year….
“The CEA said that FCC’s regulations against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization as well classification of ISPs as public utilities ‘restricted the vertical pricing arrangements of ISPs—that is, monetary transactions between ISPs and the providers of Internet content such as Netflix and Yahoo.’
“The council added that the rule ‘imposed government oversight on communication services, making it difficult for these companies to quickly respond to competition and provide new goods and services on the market.’
“The CEA also found that Congress’ repeal of the Wheeler broadband privacy rule would raise incomes by $22 billion every year. The council found that Congress’ repeal of the rule led to lower broadband prices.”
Less government Internet regulations – means less compliance costs for Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Which means more money…everywhere for everyone.
Higher wages. And lower prices – which means even more money in everyone’s pockets.
A big bump up front – when government is initially lessened.
And ongoing, rolling bumps…so long as we keep government lessened.
Oh: And all these people making all this additional money – means they pay more in taxes…which means more money for government. As we’ve already noted – the current record tax revenues.
Oh: And where is Sanders on Net Neutrality?
Bernie Sanders Makes Reinstating Net Neutrality a Campaign Promise
Because of course.
If Sanders and his Fellow Travelers were actually interested in helping us – he would be pushing Medicare-for-None. And Net Neutrality-for-None. And Medicaid-for-None. And….
But Sanders and his Fellow Travelers are actually interested in helping government. And themselves – since they’ll be the ones running government.
So, directly in the face of facts, math and ten thousand years of human history – they push for the very policies that destroy they people they claim to want to help.
This first appeared in Red State.