Last year, Charla Nash was called to the home of her friend Sandra Herold to help her in dealing with her difficult pet chimpanzee, Travis, in Stamford, Connecticut. Travis went on a rampage, beating Charla Nash nearly to death and severely disfiguring her in the process. Police responded, and also the responding officer fatally shot the errant chimp. Charla went to the Cleveland Clinic for surgery and after a long stay in therapy, has been recently released. A chimpanzee is not necessarily the kind of pet you need to put some fast cash into getting.
Charla Nash updates "Today" show
Meredith Vieira interviewed Charla Nash recently about her situation, according to MSNBC. The attack entirely disfigured her face, and given that the tragic occurrence, she has worn a veil wherever she goes. Her eyes had to be removed. She calls for constant assistance, as she can't use her hands or eat solid food. She spent over a year within the Cleveland Clinic undergoing surgery and therapy. She wants to get face and hand transplants.
Ahhhhh... how is that even possible? The insurance companies will now be paying my employer to insure me? What's especially scary is the group of people around the President yelling and clapping when he makes this statement.
Candor about taxes is rare in Washington, so when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admits that Democrats may have to impose a huge new tax on the middle class to fund their spending ambitions, believe her.
Speaking with PBS's Charlie Rose on Monday, Mrs. Pelosi mused publicly about the rising possibility of enacting a value-added tax, or VAT, as part of broader tax reform. "Somewhere along the way, a value-added tax plays into this," she said. "Of course, we want to take down the health-care cost, that's one part of it. But in the scheme of things, I think it's fair to look at a value-added tax as well."
The allure of a VAT for politicians is that it applies to every level of production or service, rakes in piles of money, and is largely hidden from those who ultimately pay it—namely, consumers. With a $9 trillion 10-year budget deficit, $4 trillion in spending in fiscal 2010 alone, and a $1 trillion (at a minimum) health-care entitlement in the wings, Mrs. Pelosi knows that not even the revenue from the expiration of the lower Bush tax rates in 2011 will cover the bills. Nearly every European country that has passed national health care has also eventually imposed a VAT, and it's foolish to think the U.S. will be different.
President Obama made his rounds Sunday and pressed the point, a health-care tax is not a tax if it is for your own good.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Mr. Obama was asked by host George Stephanopoulos about the "individual mandate." Under Max Baucus's Senate bill that Mr. Obama supports, everyone would be required to buy health insurance or else pay a penalty as high as $3,800 a year. Mr. Stephanopoulos posed the obvious question about this kind of coercion when "the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don't [buy insurance]. . . . How is that not a tax?"
"Well, hold on a second, George," Mr. Obama replied. "Here's what's happening. You and I are both paying $900, on average—our families—in higher premiums because of uncompensated care. Now what I've said is that if you can't afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn't be punished for that. That's just piling on. If, on the other hand, we're giving tax credits, we've set up an exchange, you are now part of a big pool, we've driven down the costs, we've done everything we can and you actually can afford health insurance, but you've just decided, you know what, I want to take my chances. And then you get hit by a bus and you and I have to pay for the emergency room care, that's . . ."
