All Episodes
Previous Next
Sept. 9, 2009 - Rush Limbaugh Program
36:40
September 9, 2009, Wednesday, Hour #3
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
Ladies and gentlemen, I am holding here in my uh formerly nicotine stained fingers, have the table of contents to the Max Baucus health care bill.
And I have section five of the bill, which is the last section.
Administration's revenue raising proposals.
Now, this is this is the one that the drive-by's are not touting.
Oh, we got a compromise, we got a bipartisan compromise.
Oh, we might get a health care bill out of the Senate here today, agreement anyway, before Obama's speech, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I'm gonna go through this in just a moment.
First, I want you to hear Andrea Mitchell, NBC News in Washington, talking with White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.
They had this discussion about Obama's speech tonight.
Valerie, about 16 years ago, President Clinton gave a similar speech to a joint session, and the teleprompter broke.
Do you have backup tonight?
Well, you know what?
I'm very confident since the president knows exactly what he wants to say, that if if something goes wrong, he'll speak directly from the heart, and the American people will hear his message.
This is really all about the American people, and I'm not worried about whether he needs a teleprompter or the text.
He'll get through it, and he'll get through it in a convincing way so that everybody understands why now is the time to pass health care reform.
Is it locked and loaded or are you guys still rewriting, or is he still rewriting on his way back from New York?
Well, you know our president.
He will be working on the speech probably on the way back.
Especially after uh what Bauchus said, $3,800 penalty if you don't have insurance.
Uh so they're worried.
They're worried at state-controlled NBC.
What if the teleprompter malfunctioned?
What if it breaks?
What if it falls?
Because they know if that happens.
Dana Perino today, a column at Fox News.com with a good question.
How is a reporter supposed to write something new when there's really nothing new being said?
Here we go again, another day, another speech on health care.
Will this one be any different by all indications?
The answer is no, at least not dramatically so, even though the speech is to a joint session of Congress.
So, how is a reporter supposed to write something new when there's really nothing new being said?
Well, watch how the media walks its walk on health care coverage in the next couple of days.
Many reporters seem just about bored to tears with the policy details.
Now they are in full throated who's up and who's down political coverage.
Unfortunately, most Americans still aren't satisfied with the policy proposals and are strongly rejecting Democrat plans for a government takeover of the health care system they believe will hurt them and their families and their country.
Lost in the coverage is discussion of what Republicans have been trying to get the media to pay attention to.
But the real point is this.
The media is itching to write a comeback story after why uh what was by all accounts a rotten summer for Obama and the Democrats.
They'll want to say the president's found his voice.
They'll want to say the president reclaimed the issue.
They want to say the president re-energized the debate.
To do that, they need to set up the piece with a contrast, even if it isn't true.
For example, the Washington Post this morning says that minority leader Mitch McConnell is pivoting from his just say no strategy on health care reform.
This is elementary.
Good grief.
The Senator's given 30 floor speeches since June on the topic.
He's given countless interviews at every single one of them.
He outlines what the Republicans support.
I've seen this before.
Even when you haven't changed your strategy, sometimes the media will say that you have just because it fits their storyline better and gives them a political angle to write about.
I go by this rule.
Good policies, good politics.
At this point, the Republicans have the better policy ideas and therefore the better political forecast.
Perhaps we'll read that in tomorrow's papers, right?
No, we won't.
She's right.
We're we're gonna get the media just dying.
Just dying to write the Obama comeback story.
That's why Andrea Mitchell, NBC Near's in Washington, so concerned the teleprompter not malfunction.
So get ready, folks.
Uh and AP has already set it up here.
Uh White House tells AP that uh Obama will answer all the major questions on health care tonight in his speech.
All the major questions.
You want to hear the table of contents of the Max Baucus bill?
This is the one everybody's all excited about now.
Gang of six in there, three Republicans, three Democrats.
Remember now, Bauchus announced yesterday part of his plan is a fine of up to thirty, eight hundred bucks on citizens via the IRS.
If you don't have health insurance, gonna be mandatory just like automobile insurance is.
Section one, health system savings.
There are four chapters, ensuring appropriate payment, capturing productivity gains, reducing geographic variation in spending, and modifying beneficiary contributions.
Section two, options to modify the exclusion for employer provided health coverage.
Options to modify the exclusion for employer provided health coverage.
Section three, other health care related revenue raisers, modify or repeal the itemized deduction for medical expenses.
Repeal or modify the special deduction and special unearned premium rule for Blue Cross and Blue Shield or other qualifying organizations.
Modify health savings accounts.
Modify or repeal the exclusion for employer provided reimbursement of medical expenses under flexible spending arrangements and health reimbursement arrangements.
Wow, they're really simplifying this, aren't they?
Now every time you hear me say modify or repeal, think eliminate or cut.
Or another word, yeah, begins with an F. Another word we can't use.
Limit the qualified medical expense definition.
Modify the FICA tax exemption.
That's Social Security.
Extend the Medicare payroll tax to all state and local government employees.
Modify the requirements for tax exempt hospitals.
Now, whenever you hear modify or limit, think or repeal or limit or modify cut or get rid of, or the F bomb.
Section four, lifestyle related revenue raisers, impose a uniform alcohol excise tax.
Enact a sugar sweetened beverage excise tax.
Section 5, administration's revenue-raising proposals.
And I have them all here.
I printed it out.
I'm sorry it's very long.
It's five pages.
The president has outlined a number of possible revenue-raising provisions as part of the administration's fiscal year 2010 budget proposals.
In committee discussions on health care reform, the focus has been on health care-related program savings and revenue-raising proposals.
However, the chairman desires to provide for the information of members and potential discussion a list of the president's budget proposals.
Number one, limit the tax rate at which itemized deductions reduce tax liability to 28%.
Two, reduce the tax gap and make reforms.
Expand information reporting.
Require information reporting for private separate accounts of life insurance companies.
Require information reporting on payments to corporations.
Require a certified taxpayer ID number from contractors and allow certain withholding.
Require increased information reporting for certain government payments for property and services.
Increase information return penalties, improve compliance by business.
Well, expand information reporting means all of us in the private sector have to tell a government more and more about what we're doing.
Require e-filing, electronic filing by certain large organizations, implement standards clarifying when employee leasing companies can be held liable for their clients' federal employment taxes.
Strengthen The tax administration.
Allow assessment of criminal restitution as tax.
Revise offer in compromise application rules.
Expand IRS access to information in the National Directory of new hires for tax administration purposes.
Make repeated willful failure to file a tax return a felony.
This is in the Max Baucus health care bill.
That's just page one.
There are four more of these things.
Yeah, only the rich are going to be paying for it.
A couple millionaires are going to be paying for all this.
You're going to get it free.
Make reforms to close tax loopholes.
Impose penalty on failure to comply with electronic filing requirements.
Clarify that the bad check penalty applies to electronic checks and other payment forms.
Expand required electronic filing by tax return preparers and expand penalties.
This is Section 5 administration revenue raisers.
Improve investigative disclosure statute.
Extension of statute of limitations where state tax adjustment affects federal tax liability.
Meaning make it more difficult to deduct your state taxes on your federal return.
Deny deduction for punitive damages.
Repeal lower of cost or market inventory accounting method.
Modify estate and gift tax.
Make other reforms.
Modify alternative fuel mixture credit.
This is that's ethanol.
This is in the health care bill.
Other revenue raising proposals.
Other revenue changes and loophole closures.
Reinstate the superfund excise taxes.
Reinstate the superfund environmental income tax.
Tax profit interests as ordinary income.
Codify economic substance doctrine.
Repeal the last in first out method of accounting for inventories.
Reform the U.S. international tax system.
Deferred deduction of expenses, except RE expenses related to deferred income.
Reform foreign tax credit.
Determine the foreign tax credit on a pooling basis.
Repeal 8020 company rules.
Prevent the avoidance of dividend withholding taxes.
Modify tax rules for dual capacity taxpayers.
Require withholding on payments made of FDAP income made through non-qualified intermediaries.
Require withholding on gross proceeds paid to certain non-qualified intermediaries.
Require reporting of certain transfers of money or property to foreign financial accounts.
Require disclosure of F bar accounts to be filed with tax return.
Require third-party information reporting regarding the transfer of assets to foreign financial accounts and the establishment of foreign financial accounts.
It goes on.
Levy tax on certain offshore oil and gas production.
Repeal credit for enhanced oil recovery projects.
Repeal credit for production from marginal wells.
Repeal expensing of intangible drilling costs.
Repeal deduction for tertiary injectants.
Repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and gas properties.
Repeal the percentage depletion.
Repeal domestic manufacturing deduction for oil and gas production.
Increase the amortization period for geological and geophysical costs to seven years.
Eliminate the advanced earned income tax credit.
Reinstate the 39.6% tax rate.
Reinstate the 36% tax rate for income taxpayers' income over 250 grand, married filing joint 200,000 single.
Reinstate the limitation on itemized deductions for taxpayers with income over 250 grand.
These are all revenue raisers in the max baucus bill.
Section 5, administration's revenue raising proposals.
Okay, we've got what Obama wants to do.
Will all these tax and eliminations of this and modifications and repeals.
Let's see if he talks about any of this tonight in his speech.
Well, of course he'll do all this, we still won't have enough money.
He's gonna break the bank.
He's gonna kill the private sector with this.
He's gonna destroy competition.
He's gonna destroy incentive.
He's gonna raise the price of gasoline and oil related products through the WASU.
This folks, this is the point.
This is the Max Baucus bill, but it's the Obama bill, and this is why this is how this stuff is all gonna happen.
This is not about health care.
When you read through this, this is this is all about the um elimination of as much private sector competition as there can be, punitive taxation, penalties, uh galore.
Nothing to do with health care.
And all this supposed to save us money.
No, it's gonna it's not even gonna offset the deficit because it's gonna, it's gonna, it's gonna limit tax revenues because they're gonna break people.
And then we come to the accompanying story here from the Washington Post.
Recovery may well wait on the wealthy to step up their spending.
There's another story here from uh McClatchy a year after the financial crisis, consumer economy is dead.
I better take a break here.
I'll do these two stories when I come back, but they're fascinating because you people, you people, you're saving too much.
Just yesterday, Obama or over the weekend, Obama said, you're not saving enough, but we need to expand savings options.
So one of the things we're gonna do is we're gonna send your income tax refund to you as of in a savings bond, which allows them to keep your money.
Forced savings, even though you're saving too much and not spending enough.
Now we're waiting for the rich to step up their spending because I guess the poor getting food stamps to buy food, toothpaste, and detergent, simply isn't reviving the economy.
Tax cuts for the poor simply aren't doing the trick.
We'll be back in just a second.
I got a question in the um in the email during the break.
Why is this uh require a certain certified taxpayer ID number from contractors and allow certain withholding?
Uh what right now, uh independent contractors, and yeah, there's a there's a 10-point IRS definition that has to be met for you to be an independent contractor.
For example, when you uh pay a lawyer, you don't withhold anything from your payment to the lawyer and report to the IRS.
You just give the lawyer uh your payment, and then the lawyer has to declare the income, files a quarterly estimate and so forth.
Uh there are certain independent contractors that uh uh you know you pay that you don't withhold any taxes from.
That's gonna change under this bill, require a certified taxpayer ID number from contractors, that means independent contractors, that means 1099 contractors are gonna have withholding taxes taken out.
Now, in the case of a doctor payment or a lawyer payment, you're gonna have to do the withholding and report to the government if you're the client, if you're the customer.
I don't know, but I mean somebody's gonna have to do the withholding.
Are the lawyers gonna have to do it themselves?
The independent contractors gonna because right now what they do is they file quarterly and they fail estimates based on a you know sliding scale and so forth.
It's actually kind of nice because you get to keep your money longer and use it longer rather than give it to the government, and that's what they want to change.
They want the money now.
They don't want you to have it, they want as much withholding as they can get.
This is all about the limitation of freedom.
But when you go through this list in the Baucus bill, administration revenue enhancers or revenue raisers, you find out that the health care, exactly as I told you, the health care bill is where all the tax changes are gonna take place.
All under the guise of making health care cheaper and lowering the deficit and raising revenue to provide health care for the people that don't have it.
The Washington Post did a an analysis.
The Washington Post state-controlled media did an analysis of the House bill.
Even if it's passed as is and signed into law, after 10 years, there are still something like 25 Or 17 million uninsured in this country.
The Senate bill's even worse.
So it's not even doing what it what it seeks to accomplish, because that's not what it seeks to accomplish.
Doesn't seek to insure everybody.
If Baucus bill happens, what's going to happen is that more and more people are going to be uninsured.
Premium's going to skyrocket.
And the whole idea there is, oh my gosh, look at all the people unemployed and uninsured.
Oh my God, we need the public option.
They're going to try.
If it takes them two years to get this, they might pass a health care bill next week that says we're going to study the issue further.
They're going to pass something that Obama can say, got my health care bill.
And then they're going to keep adding to it and adding to it till they finally get their public option.
You've heard Barney Frank say it's what they want.
You've heard Maxine Waters say what that's what they want.
You've heard uh uh Shikowski, Jan Chikowski, Illinois say that Obama has said it in in speeches 2003 and 2007.
Will he tell us that tonight?
Is that what he's gonna say?
Of course not.
Here, listen to Baucus.
This this afternoon on um his plan, he's talking to a couple of reporters.
I very much hope and do expect Republicans be on board.
I don't know how many.
But if there are not any, I'm gonna go forward in many of that.
Well, it's gonna move his bill with or without republics.
All this talk of bipartisanship is BS.
And Olympia Snall is not on board.
She's not on board the public option, despite the reporting to the contrary.
So Baucus is pretty much admitting this gang of six thing is nothing but uh, you know, spin.
And if I can't get republics, I'm gonna move it forward anyway.
Stand by, folks, get ready.
They're ratching it up, and the news tomorrow is gonna be wow, great comeback.
Great, great comeback.
Whoa, Obama pulled a rabbit old Obama's back.
I just know it.
In fact, it'll probably be the case tonight after the speech.
Be prepared.
I better get some phone calls in here, but uh first audio summit number 24 coming up, and uh, ladies and gentlemen, I'm getting a lot of emails from people.
Rush!
When you had your TV show, you always made signs for us to put at the bottom of the screen during Clinton's state of the union speeches.
What would a good sign be tonight?
I got the perfect sign if you want to put something on your TV to keep you focused.
Words, dot dot dot, just words.
Words, dot dot dot, just words.
A little piece of paper, bumper sticker size, well, depending on the size of your screen, your flat screen, whatever it is, put it on there and keep it up there as you watch Obama's 35-minute speech where he answers all the major questions.
Barney Frank on Street Sign CNBC this afternoon, Aaron Byrne, uh Aaron Burnett said, Health, uh Men's Health magazine is gonna run an article when they spoke to the president.
He said our kids drink way too much soda.
I think it's an idea we should be exploring.
None of his damn business what people's kids drink.
None of his damn business.
She said to Barney Frank, that's specifically referring to a soda tax.
Could a soda tax go in here?
Is all of that still up for grabs?
Very unlikely.
I guess the other question is will uh men's health have a picture of the president with his shirt off uh given the the nature of their uh coverage.
Um, I think it's very unlikely that there will be a soda tax.
What about the tax on on the top five percent of earners?
Is that a done deal in this bill?
I hope it is.
Well, I just read to you here in the Baucus Bill.
And in the health care related revenue razors.
Section 4 lifestyle related revenue raisers.
Enact a sugar sweetened beverage excise tax.
Is it the table of contents of the Baucus bill?
Every tax you can think of, and then some is in this bill.
Here's Sandy in Passaic, New Jersey.
I'm glad you waited.
Welcome to the EIB network.
Hey, Rascher always talking about how Obama's lying about everything.
But he did tell the truth the other day, I think, when he said that the post office has a real hard time doing things.
And um, we're wondering ourselves, considering those of us who receive a paycheck didn't get them on Friday, and it was today before they started handing out uh money orders to us instead of our paychecks.
Well, wait, wait, wait a minute, but wait a minute now.
Uh you you you work for the post office?
Yes, sir.
Okay.
And they gave you a money order instead of a paycheck?
Our paychecks were due to be here on Friday.
Those people that have direct deposit got theirs.
But those paychecks that come to us in the mail didn't show up.
Now wait a second.
This is a Saturday night live script.
You work for the post office and mailed paychecks due Friday didn't show up, so they had to issue money orders.
Yes, sir, and those checks still haven't shown up.
Well, does that mean the post office has lost them or where they were never sent?
Well, I'm thinking that um maybe the money wasn't there at the time.
I I don't know.
At this point, we're still looking for some answers, but we haven't gotten them yet.
I don't know.
The money's not there for anything they're doing.
We are in debt up to our eyeballs, and then some the money's not there for anything.
We're out of money.
We're folks, we are going to borrow another trillion dollars.
We're gonna the the Senate and the House uh we need to raise the debt ceiling to $13 trillion in order to keep functioning.
And they're gonna do that late this week or early next week.
They're gonna borrow.
They're gonna go out, the government's gonna borrow 12 trillion.
The interest alone on that's gonna be six hundred and fifty billion dollars a year.
That's money that would otherwise be in the private sector for investment capital and expansion and growth and hiring people.
Now we're gonna borrow.
Now you stop and think of this.
We're gonna borrow.
And I don't think the president is going to talk about this tonight.
We're gonna borrow a trillion dollars just to keep going.
And the same day that this is announced, Obama is going to announce a health care program that's gonna cost another trillion dollars.
Now, one of the things I don't think that they're aware of in Washington is just how aware and sensitive the people of this country are to this spending problem, and have been for a while.
So there's a confluence of events here that does not bode well for Obama.
But remember, what we think, what we care about, what is precious to us doesn't matter.
And the same thing for the drive-by media.
They're just they just they're just and probably have already written the stories for after the speech to them.
Whoa, what a comeback!
What a wonderful comeback.
He's reclaimed the issue.
Obama on his game tonight.
Yes, this is the Obama we remember.
Because to the state-controlled media, it's all about Obama and his success.
It's not about the people, not about the country, it's not about policy, except to the extent that uh as much liberalism as possible is desired.
Dan in Destin, Florida.
Welcome to the EIB network.
Hello.
Now, Bill, put down the paintbrush and call in.
Oh, mega mega panhandle did those real shit.
Thank you.
Sir, you couldn't you so much thunder in some respects, but I tell you, it's not about, it's not about health care.
I totally agree.
It's it's yet about another stream of money for the government, for the Fed to dip into just like they did Social Security.
They're gonna rob it blind.
It I don't know how we can possibly stop this old archie running our government from the federal level, get it back to the state somehow, but it's all about money.
Well, uh that's true, but it's about more than money.
And it's just as important.
I I know the answer to every question or almost every question can uh be answered by follow the money.
And this is this clearly about money.
But look at money doesn't matter to them.
They we don't have any now.
They're printing it.
The Chicoms are worried.
The ChICOMs are even sending us warning.
You gotta stop printing money like this.
You are going to cause worldwide inflation that nobody's gonna be able to handle.
But see, all of this plays into Obama's hands.
Well, tax revenues are way down because of all the unemployment.
It doesn't care.
It doesn't care.
This crisis fits into exactly what he wants.
This is about power.
Now with that power comes the money.
This is about control.
This is about fascists.
As opposed to social socialism where the government owns everything.
Fascism is where private sector owns things, but they have no freedom to run them.
People like Obama tell them what to do.
And they become partners.
And the people of the private sector, corporations of the government wants to control, you know, just bend over forwards, grab the ankles.
I got no choice.
That's how they stay out of jail.
Stay in good favor with the administration.
It's horrible.
And that's um that's a circumstance here.
Sherry in uh what is that, Aleto, Texas?
Alito, Texas.
Alito, Texas.
Well, uh, I'm sorry I mispronounced it as the first time I've seen it.
That's quite all right.
Um, I was just calling to uh suggest that the high insurance costs and health care costs are not entirely due to the insurance companies, but also the health providers, because they don't post what they charge things.
And I went in for an x-ray yesterday in the place the doctor sent me to was going to charge me two hundred and sixty-nine dollars.
Wait, wait, wait a minute.
For an X-ray?
For an X-ray.
Of what?
My toe.
$269 for a toe x-ray, okay?
So I said, is that the best you can do?
Because that seems a little high.
Wait a minute.
Do you have insurance?
Well, that's what they asked me.
And I said yes, and they're like, oh, you know, that's okay, never mind.
You know.
Um but regardless, I want to know what it's gonna cost.
Um so she did get it down to 221 dollars.
And I said, that still seems awfully high.
So I left.
And um I went home and I called around and I found a place that would do it for $80, but there would also be a charge for the radiologist to read it, but she couldn't tell me how much that was and referred me to billing.
Of course, I had to leave the message for billing, and they never called me back.
Um, but I did finally find a place that would do it for $20.
You found a place uh paying for it yourself, no insurance.
Yeah.
C. C. C. Now that's a good deal.
So you your original price was uh $289, did you say?
$269.
$269.
You got it whittled down to $221 and then $80, but you didn't know what the radiologist would charge to read it, and it finally got it down to $20.
$20.
Paying for it yourself.
Paying for it myself.
Didn't need your insurance.
But but, you know, all the places that I ask, how much is this gonna cost, that nobody knew.
Nobody could tell me.
They had to refer me to somebody else who didn't call me back.
Because it doesn't matter, see, because some third party is gonna pay it, not you.
And there's a formula.
That's why they don't know, because that's not up to them.
There's some formula based on whether the insurance company or whoever it is tells them what it's worth and what they're gonna reimburse them for.
That's why if you do go into places, if you uh you ought to try this, folks.
Just a standard doctor visit.
Uh offer to pay for it yourself.
I guarantee you it'll cost you less than if you use your insurance.
And there's no deductible, there's no cope, you just pay it.
Try it, see if it works.
It worked, obviously, here for Sherry in Alito, Texas.
I had another question.
When the insurance companies uh or when insurance is nationalized, where do all the people go who work for insurance companies?
Uh they are unemployed.
Yeah, so that's really gonna be good for the country.
Yeah.
That's more crisis for Obama as more uninsured.
They'll have to go on the government option plan.
That's a it's insidious.
It's as you think he cares about unemployment now.
I'm telling you, I he doesn't care about anybody running this country in this current economic situation, would be devastated, personally devastated over what circumstances the American people are in today, particularly the unemployed, and they would be doing something to reverse it.
Zero, nada.
Stimulus isn't gonna work anyway.
Six percent is what's been spent.
They're saving the rest of it for 2010, a reelection year.
And by the way, uh I saw I didn't I it's in a stack yesterday, it's behind me.
And I think it's a Washington post story, maybe, I'm not sure.
It was a story about infrastructure spending down in some big city.
Even after the stimulus has been announced.
And that was the whole point of the stimulus was shovel ready infrastructure jobs.
Anyone with a heart, any president of the United States with a heart, would look at this economic mess and would not be doing this.
Would not have policies anywhere like this, would not be thinking of a health care plan like this and all this borrowing.
Folks, this is this is serious.
This is this is a president working outside the political system of this country to overthrow it.
Gotta run.
Quick break.
We'll be back after this.
Stay with us.
Did you see this story last week?
Actually, it was last week of August.
Bernanke victimized by identity fraud ring.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve, victimized by identity fraud.
They were swindled in 2008 by a skilled team of crooks.
It was in Newsweek, and the Orange County Register reported that a guy was sentenced to ten years in state prison for identity theft and drug violations.
He was in possession of employment eligibility documents for dozens of people when he was arrested.
And according to a search warrant, he received stolen property, which included 70 original federal employment eligibility verification forms, which are known as I-9s.
Authorities were never ever able to determine where the I-9s came from.
Now Bernanke and his wife get swimbled uh with identity theft, and this guy reported by the Orange County Register demonstrated that nobody can stop all identity theft.
That's why stories like this make you thankful you've got life lock.
Yeah, you do have life luck, right?
I mean, if Bernanke can get swindled, anybody can.
Why take the risk with your money and your reputation?
Get life lock.
It's a 10 bucks a month.
It's actually less than $10 a month if you mention my name.
You save an additional 10%.
Here's the number to call 1-800-440-4833, and just use the promo code Rush.
800-440-4833.
LifeLock.
Protect your identity and your reputation.
Save big mentioning my name.
800-440-4833 Darren in Atlanta.
Great to have you on the program, sir.
Hello.
You great stocky, Russ.
How are you?
Just fine.
Thanks much.
So I wanted to share with you that uh I was a physician in Afghanistan with the U.S. military and spent 15 months in uh in Afghanistan.
Part of the time was spent in the Ghazni province and uh in many other provinces there in Afghanistan, and I can assure your listeners without a doubt there is no universal health care coverage in Afghanistan, and the health care system there is tremendously poor.
Even if there were universal coverage, what you just said is the point.
I I just I can't when I when I saw that question from that little student, I just knew some teacher had, or even the Obama campaign team planted the question, one of the two, but somebody had to plant that notion that health care in Afghanistan and Iraq are better than in the United States.
I've been there.
You know, I did there for a week, and you're you know better than I do.
Yeah, a third of children die before reaching adulthood in Afghanistan.
And uh the average lifespan for an adult Afghanistan is lower than any other country.
So, you know, to to make a comment like that, just you know, it it's a shame that that's what we're educating our children.
Yeah, well, it's all part of this America sucks routine that this administration's floating out.
Well, he runs around the world apologizing for America, apologizing for things happened 50 years ago and so forth.
Uh I just I find it detestable.
Russian, one other point, if I may.
Yeah.
Is you know, you talked about um, you know, the side effects of this health care coverage.
And and when we talk about rationing, the the bill might not directly say rationing, but when you insure all of these people, and they don't take the personal responsibility to go to the doctors and to to uh do preventative medicine.
They will utilize emergency rooms and they will utilize other health care facilities more than they do now.
The only thing deterring them from using these things too much is the fact that they know they'll be responsible for paying for it.
So when somebody doesn't want to go to Work Monday morning because they're too tired or too hungover from the weekend.
They'll go to their doctor's office and ask for a note.
And we will wind up spending more money on health care than we would if we didn't do this.
Yeah, exactly right.
Exactly right.
I gotta take a quick time out here, folks.
We'll be right back.
Well, iTunes 9, just released by Apple.
Steve Jobs back on the job on stage, and iPhone Software Update 3.1 available today.
Been downloading all that here during the commercial break.
Sadly, the program is uh over for now, but it'll continue in 21 hours.
Can't wait.
Big speech tonight, 35 minutes.
I think I can handle it.
▲
Export Selection