Rick Perry Is Right Not To Expand Medicaid In Texas

Job "one" for every state Governor -- and, certainly, every President -- is to do whatever is best for the people they serve.  But, according to Barack Obama, Governor Rick Perry of Texas is failing one million of his people by not allowing the expansion of Medicaid under ObamaCare in his state. But is he?

Actually, by not allowing the expansion of Medicaid, Rick Perry is best serving his people.

Medicaid is the worst possible insurance a person could have.  It sorely underpays healthcare providers, and therefore many of them won't accept Medicaid patients; leaving those people with second or, even, third class healthcare access.  Texas is no exception. For proof look at this chart from the Texas Medical Association.

As shown, fewer and fewer doctors can afford to take on new medicaid patients. Others have dropped them completely; and, across the nation only about 56% of all doctors -- pre-ObamaCare --  accepted Medicaid, and, this chart stops at 2012.  Who knows what the number is today or would have been if Medicaid was expanded in Texas.  It's quite possible that it would show less than 20% participation or perhaps nearer to zero. 

So, who is more irresponsible?  Perry for not giving his people a 'mirage' of believing they have healthcare, or Obama, who just wants to play a political numbers game by forcing a million Texans onto a system that is already broken and sure to be even more so if it is expanded?

References:

Obama says Perry’s opposition to Medicaid expansion is ‘bullheadedness’: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/11/06/5312489/obama-is-on-his-way-to-texas-for.html

Drop in Physician Acceptance of Medicaid, Medicare Patients: http://www.texmed.org/template.aspx?id=24764

Michele Bachmann Will Never Learn

First, she attacked Rick Perry over his HPV vaccination program in Texas. I guess she thought it would somehow elevate her in the race while, at the same time, dethrone Rick Perry -- the then-leader at the time. Instead, just the opposite happened: She fell further while Perry remained ahead of the pack. It wasn't until Perry did himself in that his lead evaporated.

Now, with Newt Gingrich leading, Bachmann is at it again. Since last week's debate, she has spent day after day attacking Newt on his immigration stance. She's acting like a gossip who thinks people will like her because she's able to dish the dirt on someone else. But, most people don't like "gossipers".

To me -- and I think to a lot of people -- this kind of tactic is not Presidential. It's ugly and it does nothing to increase the value of her stock. It only cheapens it.

Rick Perry: Cut Their Pay...Send Them Home

Lately, Governor Rick Perry has be running this TV ad:



While threatening to "cut Congress' pay" and "send them home" might sound like a good, tough-guy kind of strategy to woo voters, in reality, it shows that Perry lacks a basic understanding of one of the primary tenants of our Constitution: The Separation of Powers. Apparently, Perry doesn't seem to know that only Congress can cut Congress' pay and only Congress can decide when and how often they meet. The only power that a President has over them is veto power. And, even that can be overridden. In fact, when it comes to pay, it's Congress who decides how much the President is paid.

Also, when it comes to the passage of a "Balanced Budget Amendment", Perry seems not to understand how utterly impossible it would be to achieve that goal. First of all, most Democrats are vehemently opposed to a forced balancing of spending against revenues. Generally, they argue that such a Constitutional mandate would hamstring Congress' need to spend more money at times of a national emergency; such as wartime. Secondly and because of the lack of Democratic support, the chances of getting a two-thirds vote in both houses is almost impossible.

To me, the Perry ad makes it sound like he's already declared war on Congress. That, in itself, shows a complete lack of leadership.

Perry's Brain-In-The-Headlights Debate Performance

Viewers have gotten used to Rick Perry's poor debate performances. Initially, his handlers blamed his being tired from campaigning. But, last night's performance was just horrible with Perry only being able to recall two of the three government agencies that he had been campaigning for weeks to cut.



Shamed again, Perry and his people have restated that they may sit out the upcoming debates. Perry, himself, has stated that he acknowledges that he's weak in debates. Then goes on to say that if you want a "slick" debater or politician rather than someone who will fix this country's problems, "I'm not your guy".

But those are just words that are designed to deflect the fact that Perry is not ready for prime time. If he can't do well debating your own party members, you're certainly not ready to go up against Obama. During the debate, the famed Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia political science professor, tweeted: "To my memory, Perry's forgetfulness is the most devastating moment of any modern primary debate." I have to agree with Sabato. I have to say Rick Perry is truly a "dead man walking" with no chance of getting the nomination.

Note: I think the clear winners last night were, once again, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. I also think Cain did well but still has those harassment charges hanging over his head.

Perry's Bachmann/HPV-Gardisil Problem

If you watched the debate on CNN last night, you would have heard Bachmann incessantly go after Gov. Perry for his executive order mandating that young teenage girls be vaccinated against the Human papilloma virus (HPV) with a product called Gardisil. Bachmann's attack seemed to be falsely based on the fact that Gardisil is supposedly a dangerous vaccine and that, somehow, Perry had put young girls lives at risk because the CEO of the manufacturer of the drug, Merck, was a Perry donor.

But, some this argument is littered with falsehoods. First, Gardisil has been administered to over 40 million women worldwide. Of those 40 million, there have been 20 deaths and, none of those deaths have yet been proven to be a result of taking the vaccine. In the U.S. alone, there are nearly 4000 deaths a year that are a direct result of contracting the human papilloma virus. The deaths worldwide are in excess of 230,000 each year and Gardisil has proven it could cut those deaths by two-thirds. Further, and completely contrary to Bachmann's claim, Gardisil has never been associated with mental retardation. In general, the side effects from taking the vaccine have been found to be minimal and the incidence of any serious illness following the administration of the drug has not been statistically different when compared with those not receiving the drug. Clearly, the benefits of Gardisil are enormous in light of the number of HPV deaths. That's why our own Food And Drug Administration has never stopped recommending that every girl, before the beginning of any sexual activity, be vaccinated with Gardisil.

The real Perry/Gardisil problem was that Perry used an executive order to mandate the vaccination of all young, teenage girls in Texas instead of going through the legislature. Ultimately, and for that very reason, the Perry-order was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. And, last night, Perry admitted he was wrong. Also, the Perry-order wasn't as mandatory as was implied by Bachmann last night, That order had allowed an easy "opt out" for any parent not wanting their daughter vaccinated. To me, Bachmann is desperately trying to regain her second place standing that was lost when Perry entered the race; but, in reality, her slippage in the polls has more to do with her own missteps. I think reasonable voters will again see Bachmann in a negative light in her Gardisil attack on Perry. Once again, she is looking uniformed and subject to considerable gaffes.

The Left's Attack On Perry's Job Creation Record

Over the last couple of weeks, the left-leaning, mainstream media has decided that Governor Rick Perry's job creation record needs to be discredited if Obama wants to be reelected. As a consequence, the media has centered on the "quality" of the jobs that were created in Texas while trying to bury the fact that it has created nearly 40% of all the jobs in the United States since the recession began and that Texas has an unemployment rate that is 1% point below Obama's national number.

In doing so, the Obama defenders have noted three specific facts: (1) 9.2% of all hourly-paid jobs are being paid below the minimum wage when the national average is only 3%; and, (2) Texas has created more minimum wage jobs than anywhere else in the U.S.;and, (3) the average hourly wage is lower than the national average of all hourly wages across the country. All of those arguments are both specious and dishonest and take statistics out of context.

In terms of the "below minimum wage" argument, a significant fact isn't being told. That's the fact that Texas has the 3rd or 4th lowest cost of living (depending on the survey) of all 50 states (Click here to See Story). As a consequence, people making less than the minimum wage in Texas are quite better off than in a high cost of living state like California, where even a minimum wage might not be enough live on. As a result, only 1 in 10 Texans are on food stamp assistance. Compare that with the national average of 1 out every 7 people receiving food stamps; thanks to Obama's record on employment.

Then there's the "more minimum wage earners" argument. Well...dah...if you have a high job creation rate, it's only logical that you will, similarly, have a high creation of minimum wage jobs. But, as noted above, getting paid minimum wage in a low cost of living state is a helluva lot better than in much higher cost of living states; like the ones that most liberals seem to live in.

Lastly, the average hourly wage" argument doesn't hold water either when you put it, again, into the context of cost of living. When it comes to average hourly wages, there's one statistic the press and liberals seem eager to ignore; and, that's how fast wages are rising in Texas. Just last year, the average hourly wage rose by 3.5% and is expected to meet that number again in 2011. In comparison, the national average hourly wage only increased by 0.5% in the same period. Again, this is hardly a record that Obama can be proud of.

I'll never forget my economics professor who, in my very first class with him, wrote on the board behind him: "There are lies, damn lies, and, then, there are statistics." He then proceeded to take this famous Mark Twain quote and hammer home the fact that you should always look beyond a single statistic and put it into a clear context. All too often, the press, the pundits and the politicians, alike, play the game of cherry picking statistics. That's why I write this blog. It's always my intent to clear the "fog" because I understand the truth in what Mark Twain had once said.