Health care promises can't be kept
December 30, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward
Health care promises can't be kept
President-elect Barack Obama cannot possibly keep his health care campaign promises, explains Heritage expert Robert Moffit.
On the campaign trail, Moffit says, the candidate "promised--repeatedly--that Americans who already had health insurance would not face any changes in their coverage and that their costs would go down, saving the typical family $2,500 annually in premiums."
But under the president-elect's proposed health care reforms, "millions of Americans will indeed lose their existing coverage, and the promised premium savings are unlikely to materialize."
What's more, the programs amount to "a Trojan horse for government control and the progressive destruction of Americans' private health insurance coverage."
The incoming administration has suggested a number of radical health care changes:
- Establishing a new federally-run national health plan financed by the taxpayers;
- Imposing a mandate on employers to offer health insurance to their employees; and
- Creating national health insurance exchange in which the public health plan would compete -- unfairly -- with private health insurance.
Because the government's health care plan would likely be less costly up front to consumers, "the result would be a massive crowd-out of private health insurance coverage, especially employer-based coverage."
— David Talbot
Hamas ends ceasefire with Israel
Hamas, the ruling political party of the Palestinian Authority, broke a 6-month cease fire with Israel by bombing Israeli civilians indiscriminately.
Hamas once again has provoked a crisis with Israel to advance its revolutionary agenda by exploiting the misery that its own policies have forced upon the Palestinian people and blaming Israel for everything that has happened…As long as Hamas remains in power, there is no chance of ever reaching a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
Israel initially showed great restraint but was compelled to respond forcefully to protect the lives of innocent civilians. It continues to strike at Hamas targets while seeking to minimize the losses of civilians who have been put in great danger by Hamas's hostile policies. The U.S. government correctly blamed Hamas for the eruption of fighting and has called on it to halt its rocket terrorism.
Hamas will seek to prolong the fighting as long as possible to mobilize popular support for its radical agenda in the Arab and Muslim worlds, transform itself into the "victim" of Israeli "aggression," and politically undermine moderate Arab governments that have supported peace negotiations with Israel.
— David Talbot
December 31 donation deadline
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Other Heritage work of note
- Heritage blogger Conn Carroll reports on President Bush's final betrayal of free market principles: "The Bush Administration's disclosure that the Treasury Department had already transferred $5 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money to GMAC, and that another $1 billion had been promised to GM directly, represents a significant turning point in US economic policy." Furthermore, "on November 16th President Bush said: 'I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.' This GMAC/TARP maneuver officially marks a full embrace of industrial policy by the economic agencies of the federal government."
- A number of charities are lining up at the trough to demand a share of federal bailout money. But non-profits do not need a bailout, Heritage Vice-President and Treasurer John von Kannon writes in Investor's Business Daily. "Many of the private organizations established to meet pressing social needs and serve others now clamor for government aid," he explains. "Those who once saw themselves primarily as servants now see themselves as pitiable victims." Non-profits have weathered economic storms before, he continues. "What the nonprofit world needs is economic growth, and that comes through lower taxes, deregulation, free trade and limited government."
To help demonstrate that Americans still give generously to charities even during economic downturns, Heritage experts circulated the following chart to the news media.
In other news
- CNN reports that American military deaths in Iraq dropped a dramatic 66 percent over 2007. Leading factors in the decline are the success of the surge, stronger performance by Iraqi security forces, and civilians' disgust with warfare.
- Ford announced a new 'self-parking' automobile technology that parallel parks the vehicle automatically at the push of a button. Innovation like this, not a bailout using taxpayer money, will help get the auto companies back on track.
- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has appointed former state Attorney General Roland Burris to take President-elect Obama's now-vacant seat. Citing the governor's recent indictment on federal corruption charges, Senate Democrats oppose the appointment, saying that "anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois."
- The Wall Street Journal points out that companies' claims of "carbon neutrality" must be taken with a grain of salt because there is no set standard for measuring carbon output.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Tuesday, January 13 at noon, Greg Foster, author of The Contested Public Square: The Crisis of Christianity and Politics, will discuss moral law and the American Founding.
- On Wednesday, January 14 at noon, a panel of experts will discuss the shifting dynamics of market economies between the U.S., Saudi Arabia and China.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. David Talbot contributed to this report.
