Disgusted, I am...

Disgusted, I am...  So the Republicans have a majority in both the House and the Senate, the President is a Republican.  During the 2016, both Trump and the majority of Republican candidates for both the House and the Senate loudly and proudly proclaimed their goal of “repealing and replacing” ObamaCare.  If there was anything the Republicans stood for, eliminating ObamaCare was it.  Naturally, they have completely failed.  The House passed some tweaks to ObamaCare, pitched (falsely) as repeal and replace – and then fell all over themselves distancing themselves from the monstrosity they passed, begging the Senate to “amend” it with something better.  The Senate tried, three times, with different bills that tweaked ObamaCare less and less.  Last night, the Senate gave up on that idea, and instead decided to to a straight repeal.  Already this morning that idea is also dead, as enough Republican Senators have come out against repeal to ensure its defeat.

Of all the issues at play in the last election, this is the one with the most direct impact on Debbie and I.  Last year we spent over $22,000 on ObamaCare premiums, and a further $14,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.  This year the totals will be even higher, unfortunately (mainly because of mainstream but expensive osteoporosis drugs that are not covered by ObamaCare policies).  Repeal of ObamaCare would have meant the return of old-fashioned major medical policies, which were they available would cut our healthcare costs by about 60% (this is based on information from Blue Cross, a major supporter of ObamaCare).

As of this September, I'll be enrolled in MediCare, and (theoretically, anyway) insulated from the ongoing disaster that is ObamaCare.  Debbie still has three years to go on ObamaCare, and already we're being warned to expect yet another 30% or 35% increase in premiums.  At this rate, by the time she can enroll in MediCare, her ObamaCare premiums will be even more than we pay for both of us now.  Worse, it seems all-too-likely that we'll be hit with income tax increases as the ObamaCare exchanges continue failing because of insurer withdrawal (because they're losing money).  The Democrats in Congress are already floating the idea, and I won't be a bit surprised if enough Republicans sign up to that idea to make it politically doable.  There's also talk of taking higher income people out of MediCare.  Either way, we'd be back in the super-high premium insurance boat again.

Anyway, I am utterly disgusted with our federal government's overwhelming incompetence.  The more I learn about how it actually works, and how self-interested the typical politician is, the more disgusted I get.  I can easily see how the most informed people would be the ones most likely to support revolution, as a clean slate seems vastly easier than reforming the bureaucratic state.  Hell, after reading up on the bureaucratic heaven that is the Veteran's Administration (where even murders can't be easily fired), even I feel the urge to revolt!  I still hold some hope that my “big three” reforms could be enacted (term limits, abolishing civil service job protections, enacting efficiency incentives) – but in twenty years of hoping I've seen exactly zero progress on that front.  Sheesh...