Republicans Enraged Over Obama's National Debt Speech

Republicans are enraged over Obama's speech on the national debt. Some consider it a nasty attack on the Republican Party and particularly on the Tea Party. Others called it an attack on Republican beliefs.

But it really wasn't half as nasty as the Republicans are trying to make it. Obama spoke of two beliefs of the US. That is very true. There are two separate beliefs of the US: The Republican belief and the Democratic belief.

Paul Ryan claimed the Republicans got broadsided. I don't see how they got broadsided. Here is the URL for the transcript of Obama's speech. I heard his speech and checked the transcript.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/transcript-obamas-speech-national-debt_557364.html?page=1

The Republicans have a dream of "Every able man providing for himself." Democrats are much more passionate and realize that the Republican dream is an idealism that will never be fulfilled. But that's only a small part of what Obama was referring to.

The two separate beliefs can be traced back to the Presidency of George Washington. George Washington and Alexander Hamilton believed in the implied powers of the US Constitution. Thomas Jefferson objected to the expansion of the Federal Government. This is not an insult to the Republican Party. This is fact. And it defines the difference between the two major political parties since the Constitution was ratified; although the political parties went under various names, the difference in ideology remained the same.

Some Republicans claimed it was a campaign speech as well as a speech on the national debt. I agree

with this assessment. Obama did declare that he would run for a second term. His campaign started with his visit to the Statue Of Liberty last week.

Obama criticized Paul Ryan's overhaul of Medicare. I believe Obama spoke the truth and I'll explain why. Ryan would like to replace the Medicare system with vouchers and block grants. Then those on Medicare would search for affordable insurance from private insurance companies. The problem with this plan is two-fold. First, the Republicans have a history of slashing spending whenever they have control of Congress and the White House. This will decrease the amount of financial assistance those on Medicare will receive. Second, the majority of people on Medicare cannot afford private health insurance.

Think about it. Look at your total savings for retirement. You know that when the Federal budget is slashed, you may have to pay for over 68% of your private medical insurance for you and your spouse. That easily amounts to $1800 a month for decent medical and prescription coverage. Figure out all your expenses and assume a long life. How long will your savings and pension last? Where do my figures come from? My retired brother is on COBRA, The firm he worked for finances less than 50% of the premium for his and his wife's medical insurance: A situation many folks under 55 years old will face if Ryan's plan becomes law.

I believe that under Ryan's Medicare overhaul, the number of uninsured people will increase dramatically. This will result in the same situation we have today. Uninsured people waiting until their health condition becomes dire and then visiting the emergency room; possibly for a long expensive hospital stay. Guess who pays the bill. You're right. It won't come out of your taxes. But this provides little relief because this additional cost will come out of your pocket. Hospital rates for the insured will rise to compensate for the loss of income due to the uninsured. That means your insurance rates and possibly your co-pay will increase.

A similar situation will happen with the destruction of Welfare. People see someone on food stamps and assume the person is lazy. Not true. In CT you can be working two jobs and still qualify for food stamps. People are on Welfare for a reason and their dependence on Welfare is not life-long. TANF ended that. The people on Welfare will end up homeless and your local taxes will pay for the shelters provided.

In my opinion, the Republicans have nothing to complain about; Especially the Tea Party. Think about all the mud-slinging the Tea Party has done over the past two years. They called Obama everything from a Muslim to a terrorist sympathizer to a Communist to the worst President in history. What did they expect from Obama? Obama's criticism was well justified. And if the Tea Party or the Republican Party cannot take what they dish out, that's their problem.