The Political Zone

The Political Zone

October 3, 2008

A Message To Governor Palin

As well as you did in last night's debate, there were a few areas where you fell short. You are the only person in this race who has the communication skills to explain each candidate's policies in terms that Main Street America will understand, but you aren't taking full advantage of it. Case and point:

Fact:

The AMA estimates that the government is giving more than $125 billion in tax breaks to employers who offer health insurance.

Interpretation:

Joe works for The Acme Corporation and pays $2000 a year in federal taxes.
The Acme Corporation does not provide health insurance for Joe.
Mary works for Conglomerate, Inc. and pays $1000 a year in federal taxes.
Conglomerate provides health insurance for Mary who has a modest amount deducted from her paycheck to help defray the cost of that insurance.
The government gives Conglomerate a tax break somewhere between $1500 and $2500 because they provide health insurance explicitly for Mary.

Huh? My calculator says that at least 25% of Joe's tax dollars are being used to subsidize Mary's health insurance -- a benefit to which Joe is neither entitled nor can afford on his own.

So which candidate's plan is going to give Joe the most control over his health coverage and ease the financial burden of providing for his family? Say what? Don't tell me... tell Joe. And keep telling him over and over until he gets it, because November 4 is going to change his life. It's up to him as to whether that change is going to be good or bad.

October 3, 2008

I'm not sure whether DividedWeFail.org ran out of ad money, got a clue about the error of their ways or got slammed one too many times for the misleading information I wrote about on September 3, but I don't really care. All I care about is that they're no longer spouting lies about bankruptcies.

September 3, 2008

I just watched a television ad aired by DividedWeFail.org that said:

"1.85 million Americans go bankrupt due to medical bills in one year."

I can only deduce one fact from that statement: either AARP or U.S Courts need to fire their editors and proof-readers. Surely there's no way either of those organizations could have deliberately lied with an important election pending in November.

Here's my problem: The bankruptcy statistics published by U. S. Courts just don't match that number that's being touted by DividedWeFail.org.

Here's the facts: As of 2005, there are three types of bankruptcies:

Chapter 11 is primarily limited to a business restructuring, but also open to individuals with unsecured debt (like credit cards) exceeding $336,900 or secured debt (like mortgages) exceeding $1,010,650. While it's possible that some Chapter 11 filings are due to medical expenses, these filings make up a tiny percentage of annual bankruptcy filings (well below 1% in 2006).
Chapter 13 is primarily for individuals who are behind on their loan payments. When you file for this type of bankruptcy, you get an opportunity to pay down your debt and keep your assets.
Chapter 7 is for business or individuals and results in liquidation of assets. This type of bankruptcy is where large medical expenses fall.

With the exception of 2005 when Chapter 7 filings spiked to a whopping 1,631,011, the number of filings has never exceeded 1.2 million for any year since 1990, with the number of filings for 2007 being about 1/3 of what's being reported by DividedWeFail.org.

According to a study done by Harvard, approximately one-half of the 1.4 million filings in 2001 were due to illness and medical bills. But the more interesting statement with respect to the Harvard study was this:

"The study estimates that medical bankruptcies affect about 2 million Americans annually -- counting debtors and their dependents, including about 700,000 children."

Now wait a cotton-pickin' minute... it's all beginning to make sense. If a married man with eight children filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses, would you think I was painting an accurate picture if I said to you:

"10 people went bankrupt due to medical bills."

If you're thinking straight, you'd tell me I was a blooming idiot. But the sad fact is that millions of misinformed voters will be quoting DividedWeFail.org between now and election day without ever knowing they've been duped. Thank you AARP -- once again you've mangled the truth beyond recognition.

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