OPINION:
Joe Biden may not always have complete command of the facts. Franklin D. Roosevelt did not hold his fireside chats on television. The word ’jobs’ does not have three letters. And you do not need a slight Indian accent to shop at 7-Eleven or Dunkin’ Donuts. But give the vice president credit - his description of Obamacare is spot-on: “This is a big [expletive] deal.”
Yes, it is, Joe.
In a 2010 column titled “Obamacare’s unkeepable promises,” I compiled the top Obamacare lies that the president and other Democrats deployed. As I’ve said before, we did not get here because of simple distortions or exaggerations or even misrepresentations. Obamacare is the product of statements known by their makers to be untrue and meant to deceive - lies. Two years after the president signed his health care takeover into law, the enormity of those lies continues to grow.
“No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.”
Mr. Obama made this empty promise before the American Medical Association in June 2009, and the few remaining doctors still willing to associate with the AMA - only about 17 percent - believed it. America didn’t. Neither did the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), whose most recent analysis reveals that up to 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based health insurance as a direct result of Obamacare. As an aside, if your own doctor is still a member of the AMA, you might want to find a smarter doctor.
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
Candidate Obama made this empty promise in 2008. Then he unleashed Obamacare, which raises taxes on everything from tampons to tanning salons, from MRI scanners to Q-tips. If your doctor uses it to serve you, its price tag just went up, and so did your bill. Moreover, taxes are going up on health insurance itself, if you dare to purchase a plan more comprehensive than your government thinks you need, a “Cadillac” plan. Obamacare contains no fewer than 20 new or increased taxes.
“We will bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family.”
Candidate Obama made this empty promise in 2008. According to Kaiser Health News, the average family’s health care premium is up $1,300 and 6 in 10 Americans will see their health insurance premiums rise. One single Obamacare provision alone - the mandate to include “children” to age 26 on their parents’ plan - accounts for 20 percent of the increase.
Obamacare will cost “around $900 billion over 10 years.”
When Mr. Obama made this empty promise, Democrats were giddy that the CBO’s “certified price tag” was such a bargain and “would cut the deficit over 20 years by more than $1 trillion.” Suddenly, however, the latest CBO analysis projects that the price tag will double to $1.76 trillion. Putting Democrats in charge of spending is like asking Lindsay Lohan to guard the liquor cabinet.
“[Obamacare] is about jobs. In its life, it will create 4 million jobs - 400,000 jobs almost immediately.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made this empty promise at the 2010 health summit. Of course, this comes from the same woman who thinks that doling out unemployment checks is the fastest way to create new jobs. Meanwhile, the CBO reported that Obamacare will destroy up to 800,000 jobs.
These barely scratch the surface of the Obamacare lies. They’re like cockroaches; when you see one, you know more are hiding somewhere. Of course, this begs an obvious question: If Obamacare is so great, why do Democrats lie about it so much? The government takeover of the American health care system and with it a sixth of our economy is a big deal. Lying to the American people to make it happen, as Joe Biden would say, that’s a big [expletive] deal.
Dr. Milton R. Wolf, a Washington Times columnist, is a radiologist and President Obama’s cousin. He blogs at miltonwolf.com.
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