Free Reports

The End of Obamacare? Not So Fast...

Jan 13, 2017

27

BALTIMORE - 'The Donald' - still in Manhattan, and still largely ignorant of the nasty critters and perverse ecosystem on the banks of the Potomac - is catching whiffs of swamp gas.

Talking to the New York Post, the president-elect said he expected to repeal Obamacare 'sometime next week'.

Its replacement, he said, would come 'very shortly thereafter'.

Dom Perignon and Caviar

In the business world, you can get things done like that. But in the world of the Deep State, it won't happen.

America's healthcare system is bread, butter, meat, potatoes...and Dom Perignon with caviar... to a substantial and growing part of the elite.

Here's why...

When we were growing up, we had no health insurance. When we had to go to the doctor - which was rare - we paid the bill in cash. (When we needed an operation in 1961, we negotiated with the hospital and the surgeon to pay in installments.)

Back then, the total yearly cost of healthcare ran about $600 per family of four. Last year, it was more than $40,000.

By comparison, a basic Ford F-150 pickup truck cost about $4,000 in 1961. Today, it costs about $27,000.

Today's pickup truck and today's healthcare are probably better than they were in 1961. But how come the former is only seven times more expensive...while the latter is 66 times pricier?

The answer is simple: The feds - with their zombie-crony allies - are far more active in healthcare than they are in the auto industry.

The auto industry is lean, global, and competitive; the health care industry is fat, domestic, and heavily controlled to avoid price competition.

Through regulation, paperwork, third-party payment systems, lawyers, licensing, tax incentives, subsidies, and crony deals with insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry, the feds have created a glutton that now devours more than 17% of national GDP - up from just 5% in 1961.

That represents $36 trillion in excess spending over the last 55 years. And it's a large part of the reason federal debt is slated to go from $20 trillion this month to $30 trillion a decade from now.

Advertisement
  The Fight Against BLACK MONEY
Here's What It Means For YOU And YOUR Money...
 
   
  The Fight Against BLACK MONEY Modi's move to scrap the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 note could impact YOU more significantly than you think.

We are talking impact on...

YOUR Investments. YOUR Property. Effectively, YOUR Wealth

It's absolutely critical for you to understand completely, and accurately, how this impacts you.

And that's why, we are releasing this special report, which you can claim for FREE. No strings attached.

Go ahead, grab your copy now...And be among the first to know what Modi's fight against black money really means for you...

Download This Special Report Now. It's Free.


As soon as you sign up, You will start recieving Vivek Kaul's Diary,
a Free-for-life newsletter from Equitymaster

NO-SPAM PLEDGE - We will NEVER rent, sell, or give away your e-mail address to anyone for any reason. You can unsubscribe from Vivek Kaul's Diary with a few clicks. Please read our Privacy Policy & Terms Of Use.
 

Middlemen and Parasites

Another softball question: What happens to the money?

Little of the extra spending pays for better health care. Instead, it goes to middlemen and parasites, the cronies in the medical-pharmaceutical-insurance-legal complex.

In Baltimore, for example, billboards invite people to imagine they have been victims of medical malpractice - a jackpot for the law firm, if not for the victim.

TV ads offer myriad new drugs, available at someone else's expense. Even though the lifestyle habits of much of the Baltimore population are so bad, offering 'health insurance' to them is like offering fire insurance in Atlanta just as General Sherman marched into town.

Mr Trump and the Republican Party say they will provide a 'better deal' for Americans.

But how?

Any cut to health care must come out of the pockets of the elite who run the system. They'll fight hard - in the media, in Congress...and in the swamp - to protect their gains.

And that's just the beginning of the problem. Obamacare has enrolled 20 million new people, lowering the uninsured rate to 9% from 16%. The newly insured, too, will fight to protect their benefits.

Solemn Lies

The same phenomenon is at work in France.

The Financial Times reports that the frontrunner in the country's presidential election this year, Francois Fillon, has touched the dangerous 'third rail' of French politics.

He dared to suggest reforming French health insurance - or Secu - to cut costs.

The idea set off such political blowback that Fillon was forced to retreat. He promised he would never dare to privatise the French health care system...not even a little of it.

No matter where you are, it's hard to renege on solemn lies. And once underway, some things - war, empire, fake money, and real love - are almost impossible to back away from.

Regards,
BILL BONNER Founder, Agora Inc
Bill


Bill Bonner is the President & Founder of Agora Inc, an international publisher of financial and special interest books and newsletters.

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

Recent Articles

The Great Leader Has Won the Cow-Teller Award and Now Wants a Case Study January 17, 2019
This is a spoof.
Mohammed "Munna" Aziz and the Summer of 1989 November 28, 2018
Vivek reminisces a nearly three decade-old summer, spent listening to a Hindi film song.
I'm Looking for Companies Not Influenced by Farm Loan Waivers and Minimum Support Prices November 16, 2018
Are there any good companies in the agrochemical space worth looking at?
Should You Abandon Your Investment Strategy in This Falling Market? November 2, 2018
It is in these volatile times, when investors' mettle is tested the most...

Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "The End of Obamacare? Not So Fast...". Click here!