Buffett Should Stick To What He Knows
Jun 27, 2017 Obamacare, Political, Tyranny
I don’t know how many times Warren Buffett will have to be wrong before people stop listening to him. I know he is pretty good at investing and he has billions of dollars but he should probably stick to the things he knows in order to avoid looking like a fool. Buffett once quipped about the fact he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary despite making so much more. His income was from capital gains and hers was ordinary income. Both are taxed at different rates (capital gains are lower). The liberals ran with his statement to make the claim the rich do not pay their “fair share.”
Buffett was recently interviewed on PBS and he stated that America needs to go to a single payer health care system like the one in the UK. He stated America could afford it as a wealthy nation and that this is what will solve the health care issues.
To be fair, Buffett did state he was not an expert on health insurance. He probably should have ended there but he kept going and that made him the fool once again.
WOODRUFF: “Something that affects all businesses is the cost of health care in this country and you’ve been vocal about that. You argue right now, in fact, that the cost of paying for health care can affect a company even more than taxes.”
BUFFETT: “Well it does. I mean in terms of our competitiveness in the world; health care in 1960 was 5 percent of GDP. And there’s only a hundred cents to the dollar. So it’s gone from 5 percent to 17 percent. And it keeps going up. Corporate taxes have gone down from 4 percent to 2 percent. So corporate taxes are way less of a factor in American competitiveness than overall business than medical costs.”
WOODRUFF: “As we sit here today in Omaha, the Republicans in Congress are madly trying to figure out what to do to replace ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act. Do you have a firm idea in your mind what ought to be done about ObamaCare? Everybody acknowledges there’s been some problems.”
BUFFETT: “I think that’s way outside of my circle of competence. But I would say this. You can’t have that five go to 17 and move on to 20 and 22 or 24 percent, because there are only a hundred cents in the dollar. Health care is gobbling up well over $3 trillion a year. It’s just about the same as federal, the federal budget, I mean it’s getting up there.”
WOODRUFF: “Are we now at the point where the country does need to think about some sort of single-payer system in some more or another?
BUFFETT: “With my limited knowledge, I think that probably is the best system. Because it is a system, we are such a rich country, in a sense we can afford to do it. But in almost every field of American business, it pays to bring down costs. There’s an awful lot of people involved in the medical — the whole just the way the ecosystem worked, there was no incentive to bring down costs.”
WOODRUFF: “It sounds like what you’re saying with a single payer system it’s easier to figure out a way to?”
BUFFETT: “More effective, I think.”
We can’t afford 22 or 24% of GDP going to health care but the government can afford to pay the bill? Now I know that Buffett thinks a single payer system will reduce costs but he is wrong. The government never does anything efficiently and it never does anything UNDER budget. One only needs to look at Medicare (>$79 Trillion in unfunded liabilities) to see how inefficient government is. That program costs billions upon billions more than it was ever estimated to cost and shortfalls are addressed by reducing the amount doctors are paid for the care they provide. And what assurance do taxpayers have that once government controls health care it won’t start adding to the program? Look at Social Security (>$15 Trillion in unfunded liabilities). The government established that socialist program many decades ago and has added to it along the way so that now we have untold numbers of people on disability or some other aspect that was added. We can’t afford to sustain that program because government mismanages it and keeps adding treats to the Christmas tree…
Any person, and Buffett should pay close attention here, who thinks single payer government run insurance is good should look closely at the Veteran’s Administration. That program is a single payer government run program that only involves a small portion of the population as a whole but it is rife with waste and abuse. It is a fiasco that costs so much there are talks of decreasing other military programs to move money to the VA. There are long lists and veterans wait for months, or longer, to be treated. Many die before they are ever seen. This is the kind of program the uninformed like Buffett want for all of us.
Buffett tells you we are a wealthy nation and can afford it. This flies in the face of reality because the government is 20 TRILLION dollars in debt and has unfunded liabilities that exceed 100 TRILLION dollars. We are not a wealthy nation. We are dead ass broke because of people like Buffett and their belief that government can provide, do it all and afford it.
Government can’t because the taxpayer can’t and that is the bottom line.
A few more notes. Buffett is old and will be dead before anything like he proposes would ever take place. He won’t have to deal with it and even if he lived his wealth would ensure he never had to deal with it (neither will his heirs). It is also important to note that in the interview Buffett claims that businesses can’t afford health care costs but government can [so basically, the burden should be shifted]. I have already shown government can’t afford it but the bigger picture here is that Buffett, a business man, is talking about how to make his (and all) businesses more profitable. He wants to do that by putting the burden of health insurance on the government thus clearing businesses of that debt and burden. Of course Buffett would claim government (read the taxpayers) can afford it. He wants people to embrace this socialist crap so his businesses will be more profitable.
Buffett admitted this was not his expertise. Perhaps he should have left it at that instead of offering his opinion on something he is woefully unprepared to address.
To recap, Buffett does not know what he is talking about, single payer is a terrible idea, increasing the GDP will lower the percent of GDP health care costs and opening the market for insurers will give people choices that will reduce costs without involving the government. The government cannot do anything on a budget.
Anyone who wants single payer should move to the UK and live there for the rest of their lives. They get what they want and the rest of us are not burdened by their stupidity.
Related:
US Debt Clock
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: burdens, insurance, lies, single payer, taxpayers, UK, warren buffett
The Grande Finale
May 23, 2017 Religion of Peace, Terrorism
Terrorists have struck again and this time it was at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester England. Ariana Grande is a pop star whose fans range from young girls to teenagers and that demographic is expected to make up the bulk of the casualties of the bombing where (as of this post) twenty-two have died and nearly five dozen have been injured.
According to the news the concert had ended and people were leaving when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb filled with nails. That kind of bomb is designed to hurt a lot of people and it is likely the numbers will rise throughout the day.
When the news flashed last night to report the bombing the first thing I thought was that it was another radical Islamic terrorist (though the lines continually blur between radical and traditional Muslim) even as we were, once again, cautioned not to make snap judgements.
As events unfolded two things became clear, as they do in all these kinds of attacks. The first is the bomber was a Muslim (and the recent news would tend to support that) and the government already knew about him.
Yes, these things always end up being radical Islamic terrorists and the government always knows the guy. You know how it is, they were suspicious but really had no evidence so they did nothing. That should be comforting to the families who lost loved ones.
CBS News confirmed Tuesday that the man who blew himself up the previous night at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, was 23-year-old Salman Abedi, who was known to British authorities prior to the attack. CBS News
The events after this attack will be the same as all the previous attacks. People will change social media pictures to flags of the attacked nation, claim that we are all them, say they are praying and for us to pray, and then we will be cautioned not to judge all Muslims based on the attacks of a few.
[note]If only gun owners could get this same consideration. When some nut gets a gun (often ILLEGALLY) and shoots a place up the government and its puppet supporters scream about gun control, gun bans and more laws to infringe on the rights of law abiding Americans. All gun owners are blamed and the only way to end the carnage is to ban or restrict guns. The victims are often still warm while the left is screaming about gun control, never let a crisis go to waste. Anyone hear these same people blaming all Muslims and demanding a ban on them?[/note]
The left will blame many things while telling us that it is not all of them. Perhaps not and in reality the bomber and his support group (and the radical religion) are to blame. You know who else is to blame? The people of England in political office who have relaxed the laws and turned a blind eye to the influx of Muslims. Same is true for France and many other countries in that part of the world. They welcome everyone and then get attacked.
This incident did not happen here in the US but it very well could and the likelihood is great considering that liberals have made it easier. You read that right because liberal politicians, worthless liberal judges and the liberal thumb sucker snowflakes have all opposed President Trump’s Constitutional Executive Orders on immigration. Trump wants to slow or temporarily halt immigration from a number of unstable nations until we can more accurately determine the people trying to come here.
Liberals oppose that and their sock puppet judges issue rulings counter to what the president has done, things that are well within his authority. But hey, liberal politicians and pocket judges know best.
Truth is, they don’t care about you, they don’t care about the country and they don’t care if a bunch of kids get murdered by a suicide bomber. They are protected and it is unlikely they or their families will ever be the victims so they do not care. If your kids get blown up then there will be more outrage, more opportunity for them to raise cash by duping morons into contributing, and there will be more opportunity for them to seize even more power.
If these people really cared they would not oppose the president’s orders and they would not oppose action to end these barbarians.
It is time for all civilized nations to band together to attack ISIS and all other radical Islamic groups (and any other terror groups we can find) and keep attacking them until they are completely destroyed. They cannot be damaged or degraded they must be eliminated from the earth and removed from the human gene pool so that they can never recruit and attack again.
As an aside, I can’t help wonder what Grande is thinking. At one point in her career she claimed to hate America and Americans (she later stated something different) and she is anti-Trump and for all things liberal. Reports are she can’t wait to get back to the safety of the US. I wonder if she will oppose the immigration crack down Trump is fighting in favor of in the court system…
This attack was senseless and cowardly. The radical Islamic terrorist (I base that on his name but am willing to change that should it be wrong. History is on my side on this one) attacked a bunch of little girls. That is the very definition of a coward. He detonated a bomb and murdered a lot of people and injured many more. He did all this because the politically correct world can’t open its eyes and see the real enemy before us.
It is easier to chase bogeymen and make up stories about Russia than to actually work to keep the nation safe.
And that is because of what I stated earlier. The left is not concerned about your safety. They know more attacks eventually lead to more control by the government and that is what they want. And fewer of us means a smaller carbon footprint and who can argue against that, right? Our overlords sure are great….
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: ariana grande, attack, children, islam, manchester, religion of peace, UK
Miranda Warning
Aug 20, 2013 Political
David Miranda, the partner of Glenn Greenwald, was detained in the UK under that nation’s terror laws. He is not a terrorist, has no terror ties (that have been made public), comes from a nation that is not on the terror watch list and has not engaged in terror. He was held nonetheless, for nine hours and his electronic devices were seized. He was released but his stuff is in the hands of the law.
Why did this happen? Well, Miranda and Greewald have been revealing the information provided by Edward Snowden. These guys have shed light on the dark and possibly illegal spying the US is doing on its own citizens.
The US government was given a heads up about Miranda being detained but denies being involved or asking that it happen.
Whether the US specifically asked or not is not important. What is important is that a person was detained without cause because he has been involved in the reporting of illegal acts the US government is involved in.
Tyrants do not like it when their tyranny is exposed. It does not take long for them to go after those exposing the illegal activity.
This incident might have opened a can of worms as Greewald has vowed to make his reporting more aggressive because of the incident and he warned the government he would expose more spying secrets indicating Britain would be “sorry” for the detention.
Reports indicate that Miranda will sue the UK government over the detention and I hope he does.
Nations are using terror laws to impose upon people not involved in terror in any way. The UK is not the only nation to do it. In the US terrorism laws are used to enslave people, to infringe upon their rights, and to allow the government to do what it wants in the name of fighting terror.
Police departments are being outfitted for war and that war is against the people. They can claim it is because the streets are dangerous but how often do we see these well armed police departments entering gang infested areas with their weapons of war and armored vehicles to flush out and capture or kill gang bangers? How often do they use these items to engage the drug cartels or the illegals running around causing problems?
We hardly see that because they are too busy rousting people from their homes and infringing on their rights.
The Constitution does not allow our Armed forces to be used against us but that is being circumvented by a government that is building up an army of police officers throughout the nation.
An army that will one day be deployed to enforce a police state and to further stomp on our liberty.
Unless they remember their oath…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Take Google But Leave My Flatscreen Alone
Jan 12, 2009 Political
A physicist has concluded that performing two Google searches produces as much carbon as boiling water for a cup of tea. Since quite a few searches are performed each day and since Google maintains huge centers that process the data, they are a huge producer of carbon.
Some flat screen TVs use more energy than others and are considered huge energy consumers. The UK is going to ban flat screen TVs in order to save the environment.
All the people who saved their money (or went into debt) to purchase flat screens will soon be out of compliance with the law. I would like to believe that if they ban the TVs they would grandfather current owners but when they banned guns all gun owners were required to turn them in. If there was ever a time to leave the UK it is now.
This is coming to America as California is looking into banning the flat screens that consume the most energy. I imagine that airports and other government run entities will not have to change out the numerous flat screens they have. I also bet that Hollywood will still be able to use all the flat screens it wants. No, the poor consumer who works and pays taxes will be forced to give up a TV that he purchased, in part, to enjoy the digital quality that the federal government mandated. They forced stations to change to digital and that forced people to buy a converter box or a new TV and now flat screens will be forbidden.
This is starting in California but it will sweep across the states as the morons in the global warming nuthouse keep forcing lifestyles on people. Pretty soon we will be huddled in tents to live and not allowed to light fires to keep warm.
I don’t know if Google really produces as much carbon as this physicist says and I really don’t care. Google is a private business and as long as it is not breaking the law I don’t care how the owners run their show. I do think it would be funny if they were forced to comply with goofy global warming laws signed into law by a president they went all in on.
In any event, if it comes down to it then they can get rid of Google and leave my flat screen alone. I do not intend to give it up and now I might have to buy a few more in case some global warming idiot takes the cue from California and the UK and tries to impose a lifestyle on me that I do not want.
How long will we allow the government to control what we do?
The UK, a once great place, has been reduced to a politically correct union of countries that are ruled by stupidity. The Muslims are taking over, there are tens of thousands of CCTV cameras, gas is about $8.00 a gallon and now the people won’t be able to enjoy a football (their football) game on a flat screen TV.
Tell me once again how our society has advanced when everything government does is designed to take us back to the dark ages?
Buy guns and ammo before it is too late.
Sources:
Times UK
The Independent
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Tags: flat screen, global warming, google, political correctness, stupidity, TV, UK
No Secret Who The Brits Want As US President
Sep 21, 2008 Political
It is no secret who the politicians in the UK want to be the next American President. Despite their claim of having no preference or remaining neutral their actions and their statements about the race speak much louder than words. Gordon Brown recently gave an endorsement of Barack Obama but then nuanced his words so as to appear neutral. Recent polls show that many of the major countries around the world (including all the Muslim ones) want Obama to win. Now Communities Secretary Hazel Blears of the UK has chimed in and called Sarah Palin Horrendous. This is so because Palin appeals to people who are disillusioned with “regular politics.”
By regular politics I assume she means the politics where elected officials line their pockets with money from investment companies and other Wall Street entities, ignore the criminal activity occurring, get their friends jobs in those companies so they get rich and then stand around pointing fingers at each other while whole system collapses and is paid for by taxpayers.
Or maybe Blears means politics where those elected in the UK to uphold English law succumb to demands of an ever growing Muslim population and allow Sharia Law (a religious law) to be practiced in the country. Maybe she means standing by and watching as your country rapidly dissolves into an Islamic state while those who oppose Islam or support the US are bombed.
In any event, it is not for Blears, or the rest of the world, to decide. This decision belongs to Americans and Americans alone and it does not matter what the rest of the world thinks about who we elect. Blears, Brown and the rest of these people should concern themselves with the rapid decline of their countries and let us worry about our elections.
I think the world can see by now what being soft on the radical Islamic terrorists does and Pakistan’s inability to control it has played out this weekend as the death toll keeps rising in the hotel bombing. Maybe the rest of the world wants a President Obama begging negotiating with the thugs who cause these problems but I prefer someone who will do more than just scream racism when confronted with adversity.
Pretty soon when Blears, Brown, and every other person in the UK is kneeling to Mecca five times a day they can beg President McCain and Vice President Palin for help. If we don’t view the people asking as horrendous, we might actually help.
Given the horrendous invasion of privacy in the UK, the horrendous dental care, the horrendous medical care, the horrendous cost of everything and the horrendous appeasement of terrorists, I would think Blears would concern herself with those issues and not a person who lives up to our Founder’s wishes.
A citizen who is like the rest of us and serves the people. If we could just replace ALL the current politicians with “regular” Americans, this country would run a lot better.
Source:
Breitbart (This source incorrectly and irresponsibly states that Palin said US Soldiers were sent on a task from God)
Tags: palin, presidential election, radical islam, UK