Posted by Brian
Yes. You read me right. Nancy Pelosi, the biggest political hack to ever hold the positions of Speaker of the House, is advocating the killing of senior citizens. And the poor. And Children. Women and minorities will be hardest hit under her plans, as they have been under every liberal plan since FDR and Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society.
Normally, this is the cry of the liberals and progressives in the Democrat Party to any cuts proposed by conservative Republicans. But, as Joe Biden likes to say, "facts are stubborn things".
Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" has been an unmitigated disaster. We have spent well in excess of $7 trillion since 1964 on this "war" and what is there to show for it?
Nearly one-quarter of ALL blacks (23%) live below the poverty line.
62% of black households are single parent homes.
Over 1 in 2 Americans receive some form of government benefit.
According to the Heritage Foundation, the U.S. spends 13 times the amount it spent on welfare in the 1960s—about four times the amount needed to pull every poor family out of poverty. However, welfare programs have failed to address the causes of poverty, and the federal poverty rate remains nearly unchanged.
In fact, nearly every statistic related to poverty has increased since Johnson's "War on Poverty" - crime, out of wedlock biths, abortion, fatherless families, people on food stamps, welfare, WIC, etc. The list goes on and on. It's a national tragedy.
Right on cue, here is Nancy Pelosi, once again going before the microphones attempting to scare the hell out of seniors, many poor and on fixed incomes. Pelosi returns to her hack playbook to slam "Big Oil", a predictable target, and to revisit the worn out tactic of putting seniors in a panic over losing Medicare coverage.
Two problems: One is that the
Paul Ryan plan she is attacking doesn't touch Medicare for those over 55 years old. Medicare for that age dynamic stays exactly the same. No vouchers. No cuts. The same cannot be said for Obama's healthcare plan, which Pelosi enthusiastically pushed through, and in which Pelosi famously stated: "We need to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."
"What is in it" is billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare, which are transferred to Medicaid. Can you say rationing of services?
Two is the predictable bogeyman, "Big Oil", of whom she and the Democrats continuously hold up as the root of all problems that we face. The oil companies pay about $100 million dollars a day to the federal government in taxes. It is laughable that the Democrats repeatedly trot out the claim that this industry doesn't pay taxes. I know, theoretically they don't, as increases in their overhead costs get passed on to the consumer. In reality, you and I pay those taxes through higher prices at the pump. Now, Pelosi is not stupid. She knows this. Yet, she can't help herself. Progressives in this country have successfully demonized an industry which literally drives the entire economy. And they do it at the expense of those they supposedly care about - the elderly and the poor.
If Pelosi and the Democrats are successful in eliminating tax breaks for the oil industry, gas, heating oil, and diesel will jump in price. In fact, the "trickle down" effect is higher prices in food, clothing, electricity, and other goods and services. In effect, higher costs across the board.
What effect would this have on the poor and the elderly, especially in those states where heating oil is a staple in the winter? The thought of elderly people on fixed incomes, and poor families having to make the choice between food and not freezing to death in the winter, is a tough thought for too many Americans to envision.
Raising taxes, increasing regulations, and blocking new drilling and refineries through EPA mandates will only create higher prices, putting a greater strain on those who are already making tough budget decisions, juggling bills, and pinching pennies to survive month to month.
So Nancy, why do you and the rest of the Democrats want to kill seniors, children, and poor minorities?
12/11/10 Filed in: Al Curry