Am watching the Texas Patriots PAC Lincoln-Douglas style debate with Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. This should be good to watch as it will be unlike most other style debates shown thus far and am hoping that this will be a good matchup.
- Opening remarks on the budget were given by Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa)
You can watch the live stream at CSPAN (nope, they aren’t sharing right now so no embedd) if you do not have it on your cable system. I’ll come back and post the video after CSPAN feels fit to share
- Topic 1 – what will happen with Medicaid and thoughts on the Paul Ryan plan?
- Topic 2 – healthcare keeps going up in cost – why do you think so? And can we solve the Medicare problem before we solve this one?
- Topic 3 – Defined Benefit plan or Premium Support?
- Topic 4 – Social Security entitlement reform: raise age, raise taxes, lower benefits?
- Topic 5 – where does the SS money gets parked?
- Topic 6 – Obamacare. Ryan Plan can do State block grants. Should Medicaid be maintained and / or use Ryan block grants? Voucher system? Fraud – how to change system as States can’t seem to do fraud right? eligibility?
- Topic 7 – Means testing – Heritage found 72 programs that do means testing.
- Topic 8 – stretching out of unemployment to 99 works?
- Topic 9 – ask each other a question.
Notes:
- Right off the bat, it is obvious that Newt has a great command of the healthcare field from his time as Speaker and his Center from Healthcare Transformation. He is addressing the topics from a political / policy standpoint. Herman, on the other hand, is addressing the issue from the practical standpoint of having been a business manager and owner having to deal from the point of managing the cost of it. Not sure that I could "score" this as a win / loss for either.
- Herman likes the idea of individual ownership under the Ryan plan because IT IS YOUR MONEY and will treat it as your money (instead of not being someone else is paying for it). Newt is frustrated that Obama and DC beltway refuses to cut the fraud (remember: $50-70 Billion per year) by let the IBM / Credit Card companies (that KNOW how to detect fraud). Newt brings up the lack of FREEDOM in our current medicare system because it LOCKS YOU IN and you cannot get out.
- Herman passed going first on Topic 3 – did not seem to know it. Newt immediately brings up the killing off the PSA / male prostate test (no one on the Obama panel that killed this, there were no urologists) – the bureaucracy crowds out the family, doctor, hospital relationship. Costs over innovation. Herman talks about how the private sector has been moving, for years, from defined benefit to contribution. The Ryan plan does that.
- Newt asks Herman – as Govt encroaches in more, as you saw with Godfathers, what is your advice. Answer: if I didn’t get involved, as a CEO, the govt was going to collapse the free market. You HAVE to get into the fight and aid those already fighting. Lobbyists down the road will be too late
- Herman to Newt: you spent successful years and then left. During that time off, what are the 3 biggest things you have thought about / realized being outside the bubble? Answer: we are swapped (politics to biz, biz now going to politics) – biz HAS to be customer focused, govt is not.
- Private sector – somewhere, someone is doing something brilliant that could help the Public sector but Politicians / media block it.
- Set big goals with deadlines, delegate like crazy, no experts in the room
- On SS, Herman said the 3 things mention are the wrong answer – he is for personal retirement accounts (like Chile). Have to fight the demogogory to make it possible, and this is what he would do. Got distracted from Newt’s answer….drat, other than allow younger workers the freedom to choose their system, and allow them to compare rate of returns. Also, Congress should not tell seniors when they can and cannot work. Herman – we are not short on ideas of how to fix it, but we are on the ability to educate our people on the choices. CEOs can have a role in this. Also tips hat to TEA Party movement and the Internet.
- Note – it seems like both Herman and Newt like each other (seemingly a lot).
- Grokster Mike just called: This could be bad news for the other candidates; are we seeing the genesis of the Republican ticket?
- Newt is saying that if the Feds treated the trust fund IOU as real debts, put it on budget, and then work to pay it to the seniors to which it is owed with reasonable budget cuts, this is solvable. Herman says that long time mess making, long time mess fix. One is that all SS money can only be spent on SS (such a bill was already voted down).
- Newt – right now, in T-Bills. Fine IF it was recognized as actual debt and treated as such instead of just spent by other depts. Chile does that and now has about 77% of their national GDP – and that capital is helping the overall economy. Herman brings up how biz can help by offering choices to employees on risk, matches, and deductions – thus parking the $$ is not the problem but yanking the money out of Fed spending will be the problem.
- Herman is down with the block grants as he believes pushing the $$ as far down the chain as possible as those folks know the problems best (calls it "crack" by the Feds for the States – I’d agree). this would help to end the dependency by states on Feds and end the mandates. Newt says to repeal Obamacare and supports Ryan on Medicaid. You don’t solve poverty with the Liberal philosophy that the poor are helpless that has been in force the last 40 or 50 years. Link behavior with rewards (example of keeping yourself well, you got a check). If, however, if people are abusing the system, there has to be a consequence. We Taxpayer as being concerned for charitable care and the taxpayer as a sucker to be exploited. Herman notes that we have to go from an entitlement society to an empowered society.
- Herman on voucher – yes, but not if it is going to pay all of the cost as people have to have skin in the game or they will ask "how much more will the govt give me?" Newt – block grants will allow States to decide to try things on their own, especially since DC has shown it can’t fix this. Newt – treat people as complete people.
- Herman on fraud – not only block grant the $$ but grant the States the responsibility as well. Newt – all in on healthcare IT and uses ATM as example.
- Herman on eligibility – bring back the forms of ID that used to be required instead of what appears to be an SS number. We should require photo ID’s for voting, too! People who won’t allow it want cheating to continue (big applause). Newt – this is a big gap tween Public / Private. Brings up package tracking – proposal to find everyone here that is here illegally, we send them a package (big laughter). States should sue the Feds for every illegal that get healthcare they shouldn’t because of the mandates.
- Herman – one reason why we have to overhaul the system AND let the States to the work. Newt – does means testing actually incentivise people to stay BELOW the level which would discourage to not rise up and foster dependency.
Should not get something for nothing – if severely disabled, no problem. Able bodied? Boy, are we stupid. We need to revert back to accountability. Going back with block grans to the States will strengthen the 10th Amendment. - Herman – we HAVE to talk about this, as the Fed Govt has been dishonest about this for 50 years. What is the best way to get them off of welfare – getting the economy revved up. Have to look at the whole spectrum. The lazy people, the people who REALLY want to be lazy? That will be a problem for them.
- Herman – start with lesser, a diminishing benefit. Newt – if you do not sign up for a training force, you get nothing.
- Newt on the question – Note we have not asked a single GOTCHA question! To Herman – what is the biggest surprise of running? Herman – the nit picking by the media. If there is a journalistic standard, they don’t follow it. "I didn”t take Political Correctness school – too many people that are downright dishonest. Not all, but too many doing a disservice to the American people. I’m in trouble!"
- Herman to Newt: if you were VP of the US, what would you want the President to assign you to do first? Newt and Herman lose it! Newt response: after studying my good friend Dick Cheney, I would not go hunting.
TMEW – heh! They WOULD make a good team!
