Arrogance of Big Government Officials Is The Problem

Hubris of public officials is the bane of our existence now.  The problem, to quote Clint Eastwood, is that  "A man has got to know his limitations."

Let's survey the landscape.

You have Kathleen Sebelius, a long time government bureaucrat, trying to tackle one of the most over-reaching IT projects ever with far too little technical or managerial expertise.  She's either incredibly naive or incredibly arrogant.  And the results speak for themselves.  Not only that, she's wrong about everything:  1) the probability of a successful completion of an over-reaching IT project, 2) the wisdom of over-reaching Federal government programs and 3)  her understanding of the insurance market, insurance reform and what people want to buy.

Like Obama, she is a wrecking ball for our economy-- because they don't acknowledge their own limitations. 

It is stunningly obvious that her and Obama know nothing about health insurance or insurance reform.  They don't even know the real purpose of insurance (or lowest-cost insurance).  Insurance is supposed to cover unexpected and unlikely costs that would be a shock to your finances.  If insurance covers all things, then it's more expensive because it adds insurance company overhead costs to the things covered.  Most people know this, but not our arrogant masters!!  Check out my blog HHS Head Sebelius Doesn't Understand Insurance.

Both Sebelius and Obama are running around now saying that people, who are finding their coverage cancelled, never had "good" insurance anyway.  What??  People don't know what they were buying??  Obama has the gall to claim that the victims of his own ineptitude really had 2nd rate policies.   It's Obama that doesn't know anything!

Worse, ObamaCare policies have very high deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums but cost much more than comparable private policies!  The folly is to expect anyone to buy these policies except very desperate people!  It would have been cheaper just to help the desperate persons rather distort the entire healthcare industry!    

This is why there was an American Revolution: to prevent being subject to the damage of one man rule.  Obama wouldn't know about this either.

ObamaCare Policies Are NOT a Good Product as Obama Asserts  

Worse, ObamaCare policies are not a "good product" as the President has claimed. They are much more expensive then comparable private insurance.  It's more expensive because it forces you to buy coverage that you don't want and it also tries to act as a tool of income redistribution.  There is an intended re-distribution from young healthy "subjects" to older or sicker persons.

For me, ObamaCare doubles the cost of comparable private sector policies (ie., those policies without all the required bells and whistles mandated by the Federal Govt).

In Texas, Aetna is able to extend non-ACA compliant policies through 2014.  Aetna offered to continue my $5,500 deductible policy for $280 per month (up 10% in cost this year alone).  From Aetna, that same policy but with all the additional coverages required by ObamaCare (that I don't want) would cost $500 per month.  The out-of-pocket limits are the same.

In sum: Non-ACA compliant cost:  $280 per month.  ACA compliant policy cost: $500 per month.  Both are the same high deductible and high out-of-pocket policies, but one covers a bunch of stuff that I don't want or need!!   And I don't have a choice unless I want to pay a big fine! 

Comprehensive 'Anything' Out of Washington is a Failure--Liberals Never Learn

I was listening to Larry Kudlow on CNBC last night and he had a black "strategist" who, predictably, supports Obama and ObamaCare.  This same commentator repeated the Democratic 'talking point' that the Republicans never had a "plan" for health insurance reform.  The free market guest replied that Republicans always have had ideas for insurance reform but nothing over-arching or comprehensive.  The black guy smugly smiled as if he had proved his point.

But the black commentator, as is typical, missed the big point entirely.  The point is that anything "comprehensive" out of Washington is going to be a flop.  That is the point!!   ObamaCare is the greatest example.  Get this: this liberal commentator left the show with no further understanding of how he was wrong.  It's so typical!!  Liberals never seem to "get it."

More Hubris From the Federal Reserve Academics

You have academics at the Federal Reserve manipulating stock and bond market pricing with extremely incomplete information about the unintended consequences or an exit strategy.  Things are so perverse that is our Federal Reserve's stated policy to cause more inflation when it's already 1.7%!  They've even taken credit for the good performance of the stock market!  Imagine that, we now have a Federal Reserve who is using the stock market as a policy tool!   How insane is that?  It is far from the original mandate of the Federal Reserve Act!

Worse, the effect of the current bunch at the Federal Reserve is to try to devalue the US dollar, transfer wealth from average people to the top 0.1% and hurt savers with more inflation and zero interest rates.  They are creating bubbles from here all the way to China and SE Asia.  They don't seem to understand that paper money is not wealth and increasing paper money doesn't create wealth.  There is no substitute for sound money.   Doesn't anyone know that anymore??

So, in summary, we're left with an extraordinarily unqualified President trying to "pretend" that he's competent and that he knows more than he does.  I think he really believes that he knows something!   You have an incompetent HHS head completely over her head.  You have a bunch of academics conducting monetary policy way outside of any historical norms or common sense.  We have nothing but low-information, low-capability, and/or ideologically-driven bureaucrats working in Washington, all with exaggerated assessments of their own capabilites.  The hubris of leaders from Obama to Ben Bernanke is striking.

A man has got to know his limitations.