October 15, 2024

Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.

Kamala Harris’ Medicare Drug Costs 3-Card Monte

By Rick Manning

Kamala Harris still clings to the disastrous idea of imposing price controls as a response to inflation at the grocery store, blaming farmers and grocers for the Biden-Harris administration’s failed farm and inflation policies. 

As Vice President, after Harris cast the deciding, tie-breaking vote in the Senate causing the falsely labelled Inflation Reduction Act to become law, she should be acutely aware of the failure of price controls in controlling costs.

Hidden away in the law, was a disastrous change in our nation’s Medicare laws which purported to cap prescription drug costs, while instead causing prescription drug prices to skyrocket.

Seniors are old enough to remember when doctors wrote prescriptions based upon the patients specific circumstances, but the Harris Medicare debacle has caused drug costs to increase 20 percent this year with an estimated 50 percent increase in 2025.

But the Harris-passed law is slicker than a 3-card monte player on the streets of New York, when it comes to hiding the cost increases past election day having temporarily subsidized the big insurance companies to pay for it. 

And where did they get the money, you ask?

That’s right, you guessed it, right from the very Medicare Trust Fund which is already perilously close to collapsing.

Talk about bait and switch, all to keep the big insurance companies quiet until they can raise senior’s prescription drug costs in 2025, free from the protests of pesky voters.

But wait, there’s more!

The Harris IRA scam also created a new $3 billion bureaucracy at the very time it should be cut. Because the issue has never been about drug costs, but instead it is about power and control. Lots of new bureaucrats hired specifically to get between you and your doctor. Does anyone besides Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders actually believe that having more government bureaucrats making health care decisions from Washington, D.C. rather than individual doctors in conjunction with their patients, will end up being good for patient health? 

But if that doesn’t make you mad enough to spit nails, get this - Biden-Harris have also transferred about $300 billion from the Medicare Trust Fund to pay for Electric Vehicle subsidies and health care for illegal aliens.

Let me repeat that, Kamala Harris’ vote to pass the fake Inflation Reduction Act into law, allowed the already struggling Medicare Trust Fund to be raided so that the wealthiest Americans can pay less for their electric vehicles and people who the left for years insisted would never benefit from Obamacare, have their health care subsidized by the Medicare contributions taken from our paychecks through payroll taxes. 

Remember when Representative Joe Wilson shouted, “You Lie” at then President Obama when he claimed that illegals would not have access to Obamacare? Well, not only do they have access to the government health care system, but Kamala Harris has made it so your Medicare payroll tax is paying for it.

One has to wonder when Representative Wilson will receive his apology after being proven right repeatedly over the past decade?

So, bottom line, be aware when a politician like Kamala Harris promises that she can control prices with the wave of her broomstick. In the case of Medicare, she merely stole money from the Medicare Trust Fund to pay big insurers before election-day, and will let the prices go through the roof once the voting is done.  After all, in 2025, she can pretend it is someone else’s fault.

The author is president of Americans for Limited Government.

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2024/10/kamala-harris-medicare-drug-costs-3-card-monte/

Cartoon: Uncle Barack

By A.F. Branco

Click here for a higher level resolution version.

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2024/10/cartoon-uncle-barack/

Poll: Trump races ahead nationally against Harris, leads on inflation by 11 points, immigration by 25 points and Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war by 18 points

By Robert Romano

Former President Donald Trump has jumped into the lead nationally against Vice President Kamala Harris, leading 47 percent to 46 percent in the latest NBC News poll taken Oct. 4 to Oct 8, and maintaining big leads on the issues of inflation, immigration and the Irael-Hamas-Hezbollah war.

On dealing with inflation and the cost of living, Trump led Harris in the poll 50 percent to 39 percent, an 11-point lead.

On securing the border and controlling immigration, Trump led Harris was 56 percent to 31 percent, a 25-point lead.

And on who would do a better job handling the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war, Trump led Harris 48 percent to 30 percent, an 18-point lead.

Those are fairly important issues, but suffice to say, they are not the only issues in the campaign. On abortion, Harris led Trump 53 percent to 34 percent, a 19-point lead.

On health care, Harris led Trump 47 percent to 37 percent, a 10-point lead.

The results appear to confirm what we’ve seen in other national polling on issues: Trump leads on the economy, inflation and immigration, whereas Harris leads on abortion and health care.

Meaning, a lot boils down to what motivates people to vote.

In the poll, abortion was cited as the top issue at 22 percent, while the cost of living came in at 16 percent and the border security and immigration registered at 19 percent. Health care came in at 7 percent. The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war came in at 9 percent. And protecting democracy or constitutional rights came out 18 percent. 

25 percent chose “None of these” as the most important issue.

If you take the issues that favor Harris — abortion (22 percent), democracy (18 percent) and health care (7 percent) — they add up to 47 percent who say those are the most important issues. As for the issues that favor Trump — immigration and the border (19 percent), cost of living (16 percent) and the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah war (9 percent) — those add up to 44 percent.

Given the high showing of “none of these” and the wording on “cost of living” which did not include the word “inflation” — when inflation and the economy are included in other national polls they consistently come out at the most important issues — could very well account for the results.

A separate ABC News-Ipsos poll taken Oct. 4 to Oct. 8 found 59 percent stating the economy was getting worse, compared to just 23 percent who thought it was getting better and 18 percent who say it will stay the same. That’s usually very bad news for the incumbent party as the undercurrent of economic discontent has had a tendency to oust incumbent parties.

What it yields is a very close race for the national popular vote, with Trump gaining an advantage — no Republican has ever lost the Electoral College while winning the popular vote, while it’s happened to Democrat five times in U.S. history — over Harris, who desperately needs to win nationally to win the Electoral College. As it is, anything less than a 2-point Harris win nationally could yield Trump a 71 percent chance of winning the election, according to the latest projection by election forecaster Nate Silver.

So far, the closeness of the race appears explainable by how the country is divided on what issues are important, and so the sample in the polls may or may not be representative of who turns out to vote. If more voters show up than sampled who were motivated by the economy and immigration, it could be a very good day for Trump on Nov. 5, whereas if more abortion or democracy voters show up, it could be a very good day for Harris. As usual, stay tuned.

Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2024/10/poll-trump-races-ahead-nationally-against-harris-leads-on-inflation-by-11-points-immigration-by-25-points-and-israel-hamas-hezbollah-war-by-18-points/