Updates on Obamacare Mandates

Give me a one-handed economist!

The buck stops here!

Quotes attributed to President Harry S Truman (1884-1972)

February 6, 2013 -  I had a visitor yesterday who was born and raised in Independence, Missouri, President Harry Truman’s hometown. 

Like Harry, my visitor was plain-spoken,  skeptical of Presidential  powers, and respectful of Presidents taking responsibility for their actions.

As I contemplated today's economic news,  the visit got me  to thinking about what  President Truman would do in the present economic circumstances.

·         The stock market is at an all time high,  but the economy contracted in December.   

·         Corporate profits are going up, corporations are sitting upon record hoards of cash,  but corporations aren’t hiring because of uncertainties of the global economy and what lies ahead for America.

·         President Obama has issued more health care mandates than any President in history – on individuals, on businesses, on states,  on religious organizations, and on health plans-  but everything  seems to be stalled and  and nothing seems to be moving in the right direction.

·        Obama  is saying no economic growth or slow growth is because the buck stops at the Republican Congress; it is their fault, not mine, and I refuse to take any responsibility. In other words, the buck tops there, not here.

Meanwhile,

·         Obama defenders are saying the economic contraction is due  to Super Storm Sandy,  worries over the fiscal cliff and sequestration,  cuts in defense spending, too little revenues from the  rich,  and concerns over the  upcoming National debt limit debate, But they quickly add, America’s resilient economy is poised for growth. Just wait and see.

 

·         Brandon Crocker, writing in today’s conservative American Spectator, “The Coming Obamacare Recession,” says the economic contraction can be traced to the certainties of the effects of Obama mandates -   predictable increased business expenses and already legislated and embedded  taxes  for covering employees' health care benefits.

·         In my new book.  The Physician Foundation – A New Voice for Physicians,  I am predicting  a political crisis is upon us - as Obamacare costs explode,  as access to physicians shrinks, as physician shortage loom large,  as more physicians leave the profession than enter,  as demand for physician services  peaks, and as lower reimbursements for hospitals and doctors and other health care providers kicks in.  Unfortunately,  as President Truman, might say,  too many physicians can't stand the heat and are getting out of the Medicare and Medicaid oven.

What would Harry Truman say about this mixed economic picture? What would he do? What would his economists say? What would he say about where the buck stops?