Why Is It Easier to Spend Other People's Money?

A recent conversation bears out the truth that it is easier to spend other people's money.  Governor Haslam is trying to push his ObamaCare scheme to expand Medicaid down Tennesseans’ throats.  On a page of citizens who are against this scheme, a couple of individuals spoke up in favor of his scheme.  Their “logic” is priceless and shows what we are up against.

First was a lady who claimed that she is usually for anything conservative, but we’ve got to pass Insure TN because our rural hospitals are closing, so we “must” do something.  The rural hospitals closing are the threat that Haslam and his cohorts are using to cram this scheme thru the state legislature.  She claimed that her husband was an administrator for one of said rural hospitals.  She has a vested interest in the hospital not closing because it would directly affect her livelihood.  I can appreciate that.  The problem is that Insure TN is really a scheme to get more federal crack money ~taxpayer funds~ to flow into Tennessee because of how ObamaCare has cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to the states.  When challenged with this information that is spelled out in this Forbes article, this woman mysteriously disappeared from the conversation.

Here is how the provider tax works– hospitals take money out of their right pocket in the form of a “tax” and send it to the state, it cycles through state government in order to look like state spending but it is returned to the hospital’s left pocket. Why do they do this? This “state spending” triggers additional federal taxpayer contributions, driving up spending in the program. 

What does this mean for Tennessee? For every new dollar Tennessee collects as a “tax” on hospitals for Obamacare expansion, taxpayers will pay more than $5 to those same hospitals and an extra $8 to other medical providers. 

This funding scheme means Tennessee hospitals will pay roughly $1.7 billion in new taxes over the next decade. But the expansion, made possible by these taxes, forces all federal taxpayers to kick in another $22.5 billion. This ultimately allows hospitals to collect up to $9.3 billion in new Medicaid expansion revenue. 

This gimmick certainly isn’t new: Tennessee already receives a third of the “state share” of Medicaid spending from provider taxes and funds from local governments. But while this may seem like a clever budget gimmick, there’s only a slim chance that this scheme will survive much longer.

Next up was a gentleman who claimed to be a grad student studying architecture who needed to have his tonsils removed and couldn’t afford it.  I’ll call him Mr. Smith ~not his real name.~  He “needed” help.  When I asked him why it was the responsibility of taxpayers to pay his medical bills, he came back with the typical class warfare response of “If you can afford it, sure you can pay my medical bills.  Just write me a check.”  He also asked for a solution so I gave him two.  The first was the fact that hospitals and doctors take monthly payments; and the second was that maybe he should go down his block to his neighbors and ask them to help him with his medical bills.  He’s expecting me a total stranger to help him, why not go to his friends for help?  Needless to say, he “left” the conversation ~or at least didn’t comment anymore.~  He hung around because he was “liking” the next gentleman to foray into the conversation.

Another gentleman soon jumped into the conversation.  I’ll call him Mr. Green, although, again, that is not his real name.  He started out with insults and name calling.  He used the typical big government do-gooder shtick of how we conservatives hate the poor, the elderly and only care about unborn children.  Mr. Green is of course compassionate because of his good intentions.  His quote was “If just one child, can see a doctor instead of an emergency, ACA/Insure Tennessee is worth it.  If myself or some rich guy has to pay an extra dollar, good.  Consider it be the one good thing you’ve ever done.”

The problem is that ObamaCare and Insure TN isn’t going to require taxpayers to just pay an extra dollar, but I digress.  I suggested that Mr. Green could help Mr. Smith with his surgery that he said he needed.  He could simply message him and get his address.  Mr. Green tried to tell me how many jobs Insure TN was going to create in Tennessee, all by getting more federal crack ~taxpayer~ dollars.  He also claimed that I didn’t have a better alternative.  That’s really funny because I had already suggested that he could help out Mr. Smith. 

I asked Mr. Green if he thought that DC had a magic money tree.  Maybe the state of Tennessee has a magic money tree.  I asked him if he had helped Mr. Smith get his surgery scheduled.  Mr. Smith could put him down as the guarantor for his medical bills. 

Mr. Green responded that I needed to leave Mr. Smith alone.  He then proceeded to hurl insults at me again.  I pointed out that Mr. Smith had inserted himself into this conversation with his claim that he needed help with his medical bills.  I was just offering a solution to his needs. 

Good intentions don’t trump the laws of economics.  The hypocrisy of the big government do-gooders is that they aren’t willing to spend their own money.  They want to spend ours. 

 

Tennessee: It's Time to Stand Against Tyranny

The Federal Government is out of control.  We the People are being governed by tyrants.  We the People are the guarantors of our Liberty.   The scariest thing to those who oppose Liberty is an informed, educated and engaged citizenry.  That's us.  Maybe the best thing to happen to us in the present time is the passage of ObamaCare.  It is the biggest grab of power by the Federal government over us and it has awakened a citizenry that has been lulled into complacency.  No longer do we have the option of trusting politicians to do the right thing.  No longer do we have the option of hiding our heads in the sand.  No longer do we have the option of "live and let live".  It is time to do what we say we believe in.  It's time to take responsibility.  It's time to get involved.  The very life of our Republic depends on it.

In KrissAnne Hall's article "Justice Roberts Gives Some Good Advice" she states

Our states, especially those who thought it important enough to file a lawsuit, must stand now and say, this law is unconstitutional, this ruling is unconstitutional and we are not bound by it! Basically, our states must have the courage to say, “WE WILL NOT COMPLY”. It is our states that must“redress the injury done to the Constitution.” Once again, Justice Roberts in the very ruling that dealt such a devastating blow to the Republic, points the way.

“In the typical case we look to the States to defend their prerogatives by adopting “the simple expedient of not yielding” to federal blandishments when they do not want to embrace the federal policies as their own. Massachusetts v. Mellon, 262 U. S. 447, 482 (1923). The States are separate and independent sovereigns. Sometimes they have to act like it.” (emphasis added) -Justice Roberts.

Not only did he give the directive, but he gave the pathway as well.

“Instead, we determine, first, that §1396c is unconstitutional when applied to withdraw existing Medicaid funds from States that decline to comply with the expansion… As a practical matter, that means States may now choose to reject the expansion; that is the whole point.”-Justice Roberts

 According to James Madison, “the State Legislatures will jealously and closely watch the operations of this Government, and be able to resist with more effect every assumption of power, than any other power on earth can do; and the greatest opponents to a Federal Government admit the State Legislatures to be sure guardians of the people's liberty.”

The job of our state legislators is to protect their citizens from the overreaching Unconstitutional power grabs by the Federal government. 

Our state legislators must say NO to setting up the State Health Insurance Exchanges for HellCare/tax. 

 

It is our duty as citizens to remind them of this duty and hold them accountable.  

It's time for an E-Rally to our governor and our state legislators.

It's time to fax, email, tweet and call Governor Haslam and our elected officials in Nashville.  We cannot blindly trust them to do the right thing just because they may have an R by their name.  

Be sure and put No State Exchanges in the Subject line in your faxes and emails and #NoStateXchng when tweeting.  
  Here is the contact info for Governor Haslam:

Fax:(615)532-9711
Tel:(615)741-2001
email: bill.haslam@tn.gov
twitter: http://twitter.com/BillHaslam

web: http://www.state.tn.us/governor

facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamHaslam

Contact info for General Assembly and State Senate leadership:

Ron Ramsey:  ~Lt. Governor~

Tel:  (615)741.4524    
Fax:  (615)253.0197    
Email:   lt.gov.ron.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov

Beth Harwell: ~General Assembly Speaker~

Tel: (615) 741-0709   

Fax: (615) 741-4917   

Email: speaker.beth.harwell@capitol.tn.gov

Judd Matheny ~General Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore

Tel:  (615) 741-7448  

Fax: (615) 253-0226  

Email:  rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov

Steve McDaniel: ~General Assembly Deputy Speaker~

Tel:   (615) 741-0750          

Fax:  (615) 253-0213  

Email:   rep.steve.mcdaniel@capitol.tn.gov

Gerald McCormick: ~General Assembly Majority Leader~         

Tel:  (615) 741-2548 

Fax: (615) 253-0305  

Email:   rep.gerald.mccormick@capitol.tn.gov

Bo Watson :  ~Senate Speaker Pro Tempore~

Tel:  (615) 741-3227   

Fax:  (615) 253-0280   

Email:  sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov

Steve Southerland:  ~Senate Deputy Speaker~

Tel:  (615) 741-3851           

Fax:  (615) 253-0330   

Email:  sen.steve.southerland@capitol.tn.gov

Mark Norris:  ~Republican Senate Leader~

Tel:  (615) 741-1967         

Fax:  (615) 253-0194  

Email:  sen.mark.norris@capitol.tn.gov

Bill Ketron:  ~Republican Senate Caucus Chariman~

Tel:  (615) 741-6853                            

Email:  sen.bill.ketron@capitol.tn.gov

 "If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." ~ Winston Churchill