BloggeRhythms

A Fox News.com headline this morning states: “ObamaCare may force employers to pull the plug on millions of health plans, CBO report finds”

 

In the latest report to undercut President Obama's "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it" promise, the Congressional Budget Office projects millions of workers will leave employer-sponsored health plans over the next decade because of ObamaCare.  

“Some will opt to go on Medicaid, but others will be kicked off their company plans by employers who decide not to offer coverage anymore, according to a new CBO report titled,  "Federal Subsidies for Health Insurance Coverage for People Under Age 65: 2016 to 2026." 

"As a result of the ACA, between 4 million and 9 million fewer people are projected to have employment-based coverage each year from 2017 through 2026 than would have had such coverage if the ACA had never been enacted,” the report, released Thursday, said. 

While the CBO found that more people will enroll in Medicaid than previously predicted, fewer will be covered through the public insurance marketplaces mandated by the Affordable Care Act. But regardless of the specific reasons for the enrollment shrinkage, the end result is less people insured because the program was instituted in the first place. 

Reader, HollyToo, summed it up perfectly this way: “Liberals and Progressive are firmly convinced they can do socialized medicine better than all the other countries that have tried the system and failed. The following quote helps put things in the proper perspective: “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Quote by: Albert Einstein”

 

And then another financial genius, Governor Jerry Brown, sent the California Legislature a proposal yesterday to boost the state's minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. He defended the raise “as one that furthers economic equality and one that he hopes other states will follow.”

At a news conference at the state Capitol, "surrounded by Democrats and labor union leaders," he added: "I'm hoping that what happens in California will not stay in California, but spread all across the country. It's a matter of economic justice. It makes sense.” 

At the same time: Bryan Dean Wright @latimes.com/opinion/op-ed, writes: “A viral video released in February showed Boston Dynamics' new bipedal robot, Atlas, performing human-like tasks: opening doors, tromping about in the snow, lifting and stacking boxes. Tech geeks cheered and Silicon Valley investors salivated at the potential end to human manual labor. 

“Shortly thereafter, White House economists released a forecast that calculated more precisely whom Atlas and other forms of automation are going to put out of work. Most occupations that pay less than $20 an hour are likely to be, in the words of the report, “automated into obsolescence.” 

At present, many in particular jobs claim they’re irreplaceable, such as: Bus drivers. Bartenders. Financial advisors. Speechwriters. Firefighters. Umpires. Even doctors and surgeons. However, it seems corporations and investors apparently don’t agree with them, because they’re presently “spending billions — at least $8.5 billion last year on AI, and $1.8 billion on robots — toward making all those jobs replaceable. Why? Simply put, robots and computers don't need healthcare, pensions, vacation days or even salaries. 

“Powerhouse consultancies like McKinsey & Co. forecast that 45% of today's workplace activities could be done by robots, AI or some other already demonstrated technology. Some professors argue that we could see 50% unemployment in 30 years.” 

Two readers, offered some additional thought. One’s amusing. One’s not. 

jackbubbarg commented, “Being retired I now have to worry about them developing a couch potato robot. 

RogerMKE added: “The situation described by the author has historical precedent. In ancient Rome, for example, there were massive numbers of slaves who performed much of the work. As a consequence, the unemployment rate was quite high.”

And then, another article presented some very real confirmation about what to expect in automation quite soon. Kelly-Ann Mills @mirror.co.uk/tech writes: “[S]ix-wheeled robots could be arriving at your door soon as deliveries start across London. 

“The self-driving machine is packed with nine cameras, GPS and is monitored by real people who can immediately step in and take remote control. 

“They can carry two full grocery bags and will be with you in 30 minutes or less, and with delivery costing under a £1, this could be a real winner. 

Launched by Starship Technologies, a company set up by the co-founders of Skype, they have been riding around parts of Greenwich as part of a trial.” 

So, today’s two examples present irrefutable evidence of what happens when government exceeds it’s bounds in the free marketplace. And in both cases, the very one’s politicians are seeking to help, the unskilled, unemployed and indigent, are those harmed the most. And that’s because, as has been proven over and over again through time, most of those elected to office haven’t the skills, intellect or capabilities to help anybody do anything except themselves at the polls.

Along the same lines, here’s another thought from Ronald Reagan, sent by a friend: “It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. 

I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.” 

Bringing us to today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife. 

Hannah Hartig, John Lapinski and Stephanie Psyllos @nbcnews.com, report: “After suffering significant losses to Bernie Sanders last weekend in the Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii Democratic caucuses, Hillary Clinton finds herself in a closer race than she perhaps expected after rolling to a series of wins earlier this month. 

Although Bill’s wife still maintains a very large lead in the delegate contest, national support in the most recent “NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll shows a race that has dipped to only a 6-point difference between the candidates among registered Democrats and Democratic-leaners. This is the smallest gap since the beginning of the tracking poll in late December.” 

Nationally, Bill’s wife's “support now stands at 49 percent down from 53 percent last week. Sanders support is at 43 percent up slightly from 41 percent last week” 

And although it’s been mentioned here quite often before, an age old quote still applies to Bill’s lesser half: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” For those interested in a dictionary definition of the thought: “The more acquainted one becomes with a person, the more one knows about his or her shortcomings and, hence, the easier it is to dislike that person.” 

And in this case, another quote applies, about how dislike always grows toward her over time: “Ain’t that the truth.” 

Raising the ongoing question again: “Joe Biden, Mayor Bloomberg, Jerry Brown, and Starbuck’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, are you guys reading this?  

That’s it for today folks.  

Adios