Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

In my post the other day, Berkeley Students Should Be Protesting Obamacare, I made the point that the Berkeley student protesters were too stupid to realize that their future was being sold out from under them under the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care restructuring plans because younger people were being asked to subsidize older people. Four years of higher tuition would be a drop in the bucket compared to decades of higher insurance premiums and taxes.

Now Robert J. Samuelson puts some more meat on that bone, with a column in The Washington Post titled Health 'reform' that burdens our young:

Now comes the House-passed health-care "reform" bill that, amazingly, would extract more subsidies from the young. It mandates that health insurance premiums for older Americans be no more than twice the level of that for younger Americans. That's much less than the actual health spending gap between young and old. Spending for those age 60 to 64 is four to five times greater than those 18 to 24. So, the young would overpay for insurance that -- under the House bill -- people must buy: Twenty- and thirtysomethings would subsidize premiums for fifty-and sixtysomethings. (Those 65 and over receive Medicare.)

Samuelson also lashes into AARP which is supporting Democratic proposals not because they are good for the whole country (contrary to AARP rhetoric) but because of the insurance premium cost-shifting from old to young:

Not surprisingly, the 40-million-member AARP, the major lobby for Americans over 50, was a big force behind this provision. AARP's cynicism is breathtaking. On one hand, it sponsors a high-minded campaign called "Divided We Fail" and runs sentimental TV ads featuring children pleading for a better tomorrow. "Join us in championing your future and the future of every generation," ended one ad.

Meanwhile, AARP lobbyists scramble to shift their members' costs onto younger generations. For example, the House health legislation improves Medicare's drug benefit. That would help the half of AARP members who are over 65. The other half, those between 50 and 64, could benefit from the skewed insurance premiums.

These bills are unique in that they take resources away from both seniors (through massive Medicare cuts) and juniors (through skewed insurance rates) in order to create a welfare entitlement system which will create massive fiscal problems for everyone.

Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Care is the Worst Legislation since the Great Depression. An equal opportunity loser. And the Berkeley protesters still are too stupid to realize it.

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Related Posts:
Alphabet Soup of Health Care Delusions
AARP and Consumers Union Should Put Their Money Where Their Pro-Tax Mouths Are
AARP Shills for Kennedy
AARP Prepares To Sell Out Seniors

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