Change For Change’s Sake

Guest Commentary

by Jane Ryan Carrell

You really need to get your hands on the December 21st Wall Street Journal editorial titled, “Change Nobody Believes In - A bill so reckless that it has to be rammed through on a partisan vote on Christmas eve.”

The Journal article reports how the health insurer WellPoint mined its actuarial data in various regional markets to learn how the Senate healthcare bill will affect insurance premiums. “WellPoint found that a healthy 25-year-old in Milwaukee buying coverage on the individual market will see his costs rise by 178%. A small business based in Richmond with eight employees in average health will see a 23% increase. Insurance costs for a 40-year-old family with two kids living in Indianapolis will pay 106% more.” Wasn’t the whole promise of the healthcare “reform” to reduce costs for both the consumer and the federal government?

And what about your state government? Illinois’ 2009 state budget deficit is $2.8 billion dollars, second only to California’s shortfall, reported Washington Wire, from National Conference of State Legislatures data. The new healthcare “reform” coming out of the Senate increases the state costs for MEDICAID without funding the cost. That’s what is called an “unfunded mandate,” something states absolutely hate.

But don’t you give a moment’s concern to the state of Nebraska! Senator Ben Nelson, the 60th vote for the “reform,” was provided (out of your tax dollars) a permanent exemption from Nebraska’s responsibility for those increased Medicaid costs. Doesn’t that make you feel warm and fuzzy?! Illinois and Wisconsin taxpayers will pay for Nebraska!

The WSJ editorial reports another nifty aspect of the Senate bill. “... Doctor-owned hospitals will face harsh new limits on their growth and who they’re allowed to treat. Physician Hospitals of America says that ObamaCare will ‘destroy over 200 of America’s best and safest hospitals.’”

The Congress had a choice when it embarked on healthcare reform. They chose to make the “reform” an exercise in raw political power. Now we pay the bill. Two states are examples here. Utah, in a two-year long effort, involving every participant in healthcare, from providers to insurers to patients, and with both political parties in on the deal, crafted healthcare policy that reduces both patient premiums and the cost to the state. The Massachusetts reform, like the congressional bills, uses community rating, which forces younger and healthier individuals to pay higher premiums in order to subsidize premiums for the old and sick. “Romneycare” costs are projected now at $2 billion more than were budgeted over ten years. Insurance premiums are now higher, and one in four patients reports difficulty accessing a doctor.

Democrats in Congress took your “HOPE AND CHANGE” mandate (you did give them a mandate, did you not?) and created a monstrosity. The taxes start now, the care starts in 4 years, and kiss your superior healthcare system goodbye. Instead of targeted fixes, to cover the uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions, Congress has managed to ruin healthcare for all, and at a much larger cost. I call that the best of both worlds, don’t you?

Will you remember that when you vote in Illinois’ February 2nd primary? Let’s give the Congress “change.” Send them packing, when you vote in November.

Jane Ryan Carrell is a stateline resident whose interests are politics and family issues. She has contributed opinion pieces on a variety of issues to area newspapers. Jane is a supporter of GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE (www.goooh.com), a plan to select citizen legislators for the House of Representatives without big money and political party involvement. You can contact Jane at .

Capitol Fax

Rich Miller’s commentary on State Government

For years, reporters and pundits have said that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan preferred Republican governors because Madigan wanted to be the state’s most powerful Democrat.

There is some truth to that. Madigan hasn’t played well at all with the two Democratic governors whom he’s served under as Speaker. He battled constantly with Rod Blagojevich, and he’s made Pat Quinn squirm time and time again, including holding a press conference during which he repeatedly castigated Quinn for “flip-flopping.”

But there was always much more going on than just Madigan’s desire to be the absolute top dog. As we’ve seen time and time again over the decades, Madigan prefers to share the pain of governing with the other party in order to deflect blame from his own party. It’s one way he’s held onto power for so long. And it’s tough to do that without a Republican governor.

A Republican governor can usually bring Republican legislative votes on to a bill that wouldn’t be there otherwise. Every income tax hike that’s ever passed was done under a Republican governor. Some of the biggest ever goodies for Chicago were nabbed because a Republican governor helped the Democrats bring GOP legislators onto the roll calls.

That all ended when Rod Blagojevich became the first Democratic governor elected in 26 years. Since then, we’ve had almost seven solid years of grinding gridlock.

This past year, for instance, Madigan said over and over that he wouldn’t advance important legislation without significant Republican votes, including tax increases and reforms to the pension systems to balance the state’s outrageous $11 billion budget deficit. The Senate Democrats passed a tax hike all by themselves, but Madigan refused to touch the issue without Republican votes, even though he had more than enough Democratic votes to pass a bill on his own.

Madigan is so politically cautious because he is so power hungry. By sharing the pain in a bipartisan manner, voters can’t totally blame Madigan’s majority party. So, it’s highly doubtful that Madigan will ever budge on a hugely unpopular but desperately needed tax hike without GOP votes. Voters don’t care much about the deficit, but they would care - a lot - about any drastic measures to erase that deficit.

And, right now anyway, there’s really not much benefit for the Republican Party to cooperate. Why should they “share the pain” by helping the Democrats solve a problem for which the Democrats are universally deemed responsible?

Perhaps the only way this will change is if a Republican governor is elected and decides that a tax hike is necessary. Then, some Republican legislators will feel an obligation to support their governor. A Republican governor will also have all the usual bags of goodies to cajole and pressure their members.

We actually saw a little bit of that during the spring session when two former Republican governors, Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar, made calls to GOP members on the income tax hike plan. It didn’t work, mainly because neither of them have the power to do much of anything. But what we essentially witnessed back then was an admission that these major issues won’t be advanced in the House without a bigtime Republican pulling strings behind the scenes.

A few years ago, I asked Madigan why he didn’t just find somebody to run against Blagojevich in the 2006 Democratic primary. Madigan replied the last time he did that (when he was a point person against the anti-Machine Democrat Dan Walker) it led to 26 years of uninterrupted Republican rule, more than just implying that he’d rather have a “bad” Democrat as governor than a “good” Republican.

Some wonder whether Speaker Madigan will quietly lay down next fall if the governor’s race looks winnable by the GOP and if the Republicans nominate a candidate who can “do business.”

I was, however, recently reminded by one of Madigan’s guys that the new legislative district maps have to be drawn during the next governor’s term. Madigan will want total control of that process in order to hold onto power, and he’ll need a cooperative, partisan governor to guarantee his control.

In other words, if a Democrat wins the governor’s race next year and Speaker Madigan doesn’t radically alter his governing style by actually doing something constructive with his majority no matter what the Republicans say, this horrific gridlock will continue unabated for another four disastrous years.

Wonderful news, eh?

We are on the Precipice

December 15th, President Obama gave a speech on the progress of the healthcare bill.  He stood surrounded by loyal Democrat leaders.  He said, “We are on the precipice of an achievement that has eluded Congresses and presidents for decades.”  The president’s language is interesting.  “We are on a precipice.”  Normally, that is not a good place to be.  Does he understand, if only subconsciously, that we are standing on the EDGE OF A CLIFF, and his party is about to push America off the edge?

Is America the Land of the Free, when you will be fined or jailed if you do not buy the newly authorized and more expensive health insurance?  Could insurance which must cover pre-existing conditions be less expensive?  Do pigs fly?

It used to be that people in good health could buy a Major Medical policy with high deductibles and save a lot of money on premiums.  You had security against a major health event but monthly premiums were low. When Obamacare passes, that door has closed. The President’s men like to talk about choice. They just don’t like to give you any.

Yes, America stands on a precipice all right.  Its national debt will DOUBLE by 2012 and TRIPLE by 2019 if Obama gets all his programs.  Many voters went into the voting booth with visions of sugarplums (“Obama money”) dancing in their heads.  Will they get it?  Whose pocket will they pick to get it?  It might be yours.

Jane Ryan Carrell

Roscoe, IL

Durbin ‘In the Dark’

No, this is not a joke. Last week, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Illinois’ senior Senator Dick Durbin admitted that he is “in the dark” about the national health care “reform” bill.

During the debate, Senator John McCain from Arizona raised the issue of being informed about the healthcare bill before asking the entire senate body to vote for it. Durbin’s answer was, “I would say, to the senator from Arizona that I am in the dark almost as much as he is, and I am in the leadership.” Yet Senator Durbin and his fellow Democrats are considering a “nuclear option” to rush this unknown bill through the voting process.

This means that a simple majority-only 50 votes-would impose government-run healthcare on all Americans. Even if elected officials, who will be deciding the fate of every U.S. citizen’s healthcare, don’t know what they are doing, there are some facts that are clear.

To start, Americans will be taxed an additional half billion dollars, while Medicare services will be reduced by $464 billion. Obama/Reid/Pelosi government-run healthcare would lead to rationed medical care-meaning less time spent with a doctor, less preventative care, and more time spent waiting for important medical procedures and tests. Mandated insurance will provide coverage you don’t need and deprive you of needed coverage. Insurance companies can’t compete with reduced government premiums. Some are estimating it will take as little as two years for insurance companies to fold.

Now is the time to flood Senators Durbin and Burris with calls to oppose this proposal that even Durbin doesn’t understand.

David E. Smith, Executive Director

Illinois Family Institute

Tinley Park, Illinois

County Needs Tourists, Not Terrorists

For the last year, every time I go past the Thomson Correctional Center, I can’t help but wonder: Did our President, Barak Obama, vote for this project while serving in the Illinois Senate between 1996 to 2004? As I recall, his campaign bus (for U.S. Senate) went down Route 78, not down Route 84, right next to the prison.

With all the talk about bringing Federal inmates, as well as Guantanamo Detainees to this area, I really have to wonder what our elected officials are thinking. Is it going to take another Fort Hood, Texas-type incident on November 5th, or more recently in Parkland, Washington on November 29th to convince our leaders that bringing terrorists to this area, let alone anywhere in the U.S., is a bad idea? I can only hope they will change their mind and not act stupidly by locating the Gitmo Guys here. Any guesses why their home countries WON’T take them back?

Perhaps Senate leader Harry Reid can twist some arms at the Atomic Energy Commission and convince that agency that locating them at the Winnemucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Dump would be a win-win for his home state. They’d be safe, secure and best of all in a remote location.

What? Me worry? The security at a nuclear site appears to be better than the President receives at White House social events.

Come to think of it, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a world class facility, suitable for world class bad people, right in her own back yard: Alcatraz Island. It’s isolated, and best of all, it’s offshore.

Yes, the prison is built. Yes, the prison needs to be put to use. I’ve lost count how many wardens have come and gone since its completion. However, Carroll County needs to attract tourists, not house terrorists.

Jim Glessner

Savanna, IL

Gulf War Veteran

Mosques in Thomson

Right now the only words you hear about opening an Illinois prison to terrorists is what a wonderful boost to employment this step will be. You do not hear how housing of terrorists in Illinois will bring with it the people who support their agenda. The town can also expect the opening of a mosque lead by an Imam sympathetic to their agenda. Those public safety professionals, unwilling to give political talking points, consistently confirm that the presence of a prison attracts a large number of camp followers.

The consequences of this move should not be pleasant. I am glad they did not choose the Lane County jail here in Eugene, even though the politicians do not seem able to find the money needed to open all the cells.

Nolan Nelson

Eugene, Oregon

Guest Commentary

Did We Kill the Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs?

by Larry Plachno

Margaret Thatcher is quoted as saying: “The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money to spend.” This is an appropriate way of looking at current problems in the United States. Because of our excessive spending, we have run out of our own money and have had to borrow from other sources to keep on spending.

Our basic problem is that the United States as a nation has put far too much effort on spending and redistributing wealth and far too little effort on creating prosperity and wealth. We are badly in debt, we have become a consumer nation instead of a producer nation, and we have massive unemployment. Both China and Russia are telling us that our financial situation is a mess and we are spending too much.

Going back in history you will find that many of the early elected officials in the United States were farmers and businessmen. They knew how to create wealth and prosperity by encouraging business and industry. They were very successful at this and the United States grew to be the leader in business and industry for decades, providing Americans with a long era of prosperity.

Some Americans look back in history with negative feelings about “Robber Barons” and “Captains of Industry.” However, the actual truth is that most new jobs are created by small businesses, typically founded and owned by your neighbors and friends. It is noteworthy that the Great Recession of the 1930s was triggered by government tampering with the economy, and caused when business and industry ran into problems.

Two things happened in recent decades that have had a negative impact on America’s prosperity. The first problem is that increasing advances in transportation and communication moved our world into a global economy. This did not happen overnight but was a slow and somewhat insidious process over many years. American business was no longer isolated. For the first time, much of our business and industry had to compete with other companies around the world. The second problem is that we began electing more bureaucrats and lawyers to public office. Hence, we had fewer elected officials who knew how to create wealth and prosperity but more elected officials who only knew how to spend and redistribute money.

When I was a kid, most of the products on the shelves of the stores were made in the United States. I might add that virtually all of the boxes and labels had wording printed in English. While raw materials were imported, virtually all of the manufacturing and packaging took place here.

However, as time went on and our elected officials ignored the trend to a global economy, American business and industry suffered. Some companies began moving their factories and jobs to other countries to be able to compete in the global economy. Other companies simply could not compete and shut down. Their American products and American jobs were replaced by foreign products produced in other countries.

More recently, the situation has become worse because of the World Wide Web. Today, numerous jobs can be easily outsourced via the Internet including Web design, programming, engineering, typesetting, graphics and other work that was once done by Americans. Printers are having major problems because pages can now be sent electronically via the Web to printers in other countries. In addition, advances in telephone technology make it possible to move call centers and other telephone-based services to other countries. America is increasingly becoming a country of non-technical jobs including retail, service, and making hamburgers.

Our elected officials failed to take action to deal with the global economy by reducing costs and requirements so our business and industry could better compete in the world market. Instead, they did exactly the wrong thing by pandering to special interest groups by increasing spending, increasing taxation and increasing requirements. As a result, American business and industry was put under even more pressure to shut down or move to another country.

Our federal government ran amuck with spending. They borrowed what they could domestically and from future generations, then borrowed from other countries to support their spending. While neither political party is blameless, several sources have noted that the Obama administration and cabinet sets a record in the lack of people who have previous business experience and know how to create prosperity, wealth and jobs through business and industry. Instead, they only know how to tax and eliminate wealth while passing legislation with insane spending.

Several people have pointed out that the Obama administration has spent more money in its first year in office than has previously been spent by all earlier United States administrations over a span of more than 230 years. Moreover, many people suggest that the stimulus package did not work because it cost taxpayers approximately $246,436 for each new job created. Almost none of that money went to small business where new jobs are created. Typical of many bureaucrats, this administration does not even know how to spend money to make it effective. Spending does not necessarily create jobs. Reducing costs, taxation and requirements so that business can expand and compete does create jobs.

Even worse, a recent survey showed that government has twice as many high paying jobs as private industry. It is easy to increase wages when taxpayers are footing the bill. It is therefore easy to understand recent surveys that indicate that only four percent of Americans believe that politicians do not lie while at least 71 percent of American voters said that they were at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government.

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist and of paraphrasing a line from a science fiction movie, we have ventured into areas where we have never gone before. Our current national debt is something like $12 trillion and may still be growing. How does anyone expect us to pay down this debt while still having money to eat and allow our business and industry to compete in the global economy? American business and industry is on the edge of a cliff and if we keep spending we will push it over.

Both Russia and China have been laughing at us. The Russians because they found out the hard way that socialism does not work. The Chinese because they are smart enough to support their business and industry – that produces numerous products sold in the United States.

American business today is in sad shape after many years of trying to survive taxation and regulation while other countries support their business and industry on the global economy. While there are still physical wars being fought on our earth, today’s battles are more likely to be in the global marketplace. But American business and industry has been handicapped and unable to compete for decades.

What the United States has needed for years is a leader who is smart enough and strong enough to stand up and tell Americans that the party is over. The government cannot be your pseudo-spouse, family and rich uncle. We need to cut back on spending, we need to cut back on entitlement programs, we need to cut back on taxation and we probably need to cut back on the minimum wage and other restrictions that prevent our business and industry from competing in the global marketplace. We badly need to compete in that global economy in order to bring jobs and prosperity back to the United States.

We need to depend less on government and more on ourselves. This will mean increased respect for marriage and the traditional family. Bear in mind that married people are statistically less likely to be homeless, less likely to live in poverty and less likely to require outside aid. It will mean doing what is best for our country and for others rather than being selfish and demanding special entitlements. And, it will mean electing officials who understand business and industry and who know how to create wealth and prosperity instead of crazy spending.

On the other hand, what we do not need is more taxation and regulations to kill what business and industry remains. What with global warming theory being disproved, new EPA regulations and Cap and Trade are ridiculous. Socialized health care will only add more taxation as nails into the coffin of American business and industry. If increased EPA regulations, Cap and Trade and socialized health care become reality, expect to see massive cut backs in American business and industry that will cause runaway unemployment and create a recession that will be both mind boggling and impossible to deal with. Is this the legacy we want to hand our children?

Larry Plachno is a professional researcher, writer, editor and author with several books to his credit. His has written hundreds of articles that have appeared in several newspapers and magazines. For the past 30 years he has served as the editor for two national trade magazines. He resides in Polo, Illinois with his wife and family. His email is .

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

Yesterday, December 15th, was a very busy day. The announcement by the Obama administration that they are moving forward on the purchase of Thomson Correctional Center for use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and also to house some current Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) detainees set the stage.

My phone never stopped ringing, and I fielded more calls from reporters and participated in more interviews than any other day since being elected as your State Representative. Unquestionably, the proposed transfer of Gitmo detainees dominated the discussions.

Since Congressman Manzullo first alerted me on November 13th about the possible sale of Thomson to the Federal Government, it has been a huge issue for me. The briefing I attended at Thomson on November 16th cemented my opinion that the sale was in the best interest of our local communities and the state. My opinion hasn’t changed. I hold Congressman Manzullo in the highest esteem. I respect his opinion. But our conclusions on this issue are very different.

The extent of those differences were apparent in an interview on National Public Radio in which I commented that as a state legislator I have no control over the President’s decision to close Gitmo. That is a federal issue. Congressman Manzullo disagreed, saying that he believes my comments can impact public opinion.

Yesterday, December 15th, was a very busy day. The announcement by the Obama administration that they are moving forward on the purchase of Thomson Correctional Center for use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and also to house some current Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) detainees set the stage.

My phone never stopped ringing, and I fielded more calls from reporters and participated in more interviews than any other day since being elected as your State Representative. Unquestionably, the proposed transfer of Gitmo detainees dominated the discussions.

Since Congressman Manzullo first alerted me on November 13th about the possible sale of Thomson to the Federal Government, it has been a huge issue for me. The briefing I attended at Thomson on November 16th cemented my opinion that the sale was in the best interest of our local communities and the state. My opinion hasn’t changed. I hold Congressman Manzullo in the highest esteem. I respect his opinion. But our conclusions on this issue are very different.

The extent of those differences were apparent in an interview on National Public Radio in which I commented that as a state legislator I have no control over the President’s decision to close Gitmo. That is a federal issue. Congressman Manzullo disagreed, saying that he believes my comments can impact public opinion.

It’s fair to say that the Congressman Manzullo believes the hatred some have for Gitmo will transfer to Thomson. I don’t buy that for one minute. First and most importantly, hard core al Qaeda hates all “infidels” (that would be you and me and all Americans). They will stop at nothing to kill us all. Was it Gitmo/Thomson hatred that motivated them to attempt to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993? Was it Gitmo/Thomson that allowed them to accomplish that mission on September 11, 2001 by flying two airliners into the twin towers, killing 3000 innocent Americans? They hate us all, folks, and moving some of their kind to Thomson won’t change that. They will always come after targets of opportunity.

I have the greatest respect and admiration for and confidence in the men and women who make up the agency that was my life for 28 years-the FBI. My admiration for the CIA as an intelligence gathering agency in foreign countries and my respect for law enforcement in general give me the comfort level I need to make this decision.

What really troubles me are those who make this a partisan issue. It’s not about Republicans and Democrats. It’s about the economic impact to the area I represent and the surrounding communities. If the detainees are coming to U. S., soil my opinion is simple: bring them to Thomson.

I have the greatest respect and admiration for and confidence in the men and women who make up the agency that was my life for 28 years-the FBI. My admiration for the CIA as an intelligence gathering agency in foreign countries and my respect for law enforcement in general give me the comfort level I need to make this decision.

What really troubles me are those who make this a partisan issue. It’s not about Republicans and Democrats. It’s about the economic impact to the area I represent and the surrounding communities. If the detainees are coming to U. S. soil, my opinion is simple: bring them to Thomson.

I have nineteen resolutions from communities in Northwest Illinois supporting the sale of Thomson Correctional Center to the Federal Government. When the facility was built ten years ago, the residents of Thomson said “we are prepared to house the worst of the worst. Build us a maximum security prison.” We built it and it has remained an empty “mausoleum in a cornfield” despite promise after promise to open it. Let’s not blow this opportunity.

My staff and I wish all of you a Blessed Holiday Season. As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at or e-mail us at . You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

 

Representative Jim Sacia