Two mainstream news organizations are receiving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from Obamacare’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) — a $5 billion grant program that’s doling out cash to companies, states and labor unions in what the Obama administration considers an effort to pay for health insurance for early retirees. The Washington Post Company raked in $573,217 in taxpayer subsidies and CBS Corporation secured $722,388 worth of Americans’ money.The source is Common American Journal, a news aggregate which seems to carry stories from all political points of view, but I haven't investigated it in depth, so I'm not necessarily recommending it as a regular read. Looks like ERRP is worth keeping an eye on; I don't recall that early retirements have been covered in the past by federal tax dollars. But then, we're in a new ballgame with this administration. His dirty tricks make Nixon look like the PTA president and his spending makes George W. Bush look like Calvin Coolidge.
“It is fine with me if they continue covering the ObamaCare debate,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, in an e-mail to The Daily Caller. “When NBC used to cover energy issues, they identified themselves as a subsidiary of General Electric. CBS and Washington Post just have to disclose that they are subsidiaries of the Obama Administration.”
The ERRP, which Republicans call a slush fund, provides taxpayer money to Obama administration-selected states, companies and labor unions with already-in-place early retiree health insurance programs, and aims to make certain that their employees who retire early still have health insurance coverage before they reach Medicare eligibility age. Almost $2 billion of the $5 billion fund, which was supposed to last until 2014, has already been distributed to corporations. New projections expect the funding to run out before the end of 2012, if not sooner.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
The Obamacare slush fund for CBS and Washington Post
We were probably in California when this story came out and I was on my Spring blogging break. While checking to see if WaPo or NYT covered the Obama transparency hearings (couldn't find that they did), I came across one more hole in the credibility bucket of the mainstream media.
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6 comments:
But 400 BILLION to 1 TRILLION on unconstitutional health care is ok?
Prescription Drug Benefit.
The final version (conference report) of H.R. 1 would create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. Beginning in 2006, prescription coverage would be available to seniors through private insurers for a monthly premium estimated at $35. There would be a $250 annual deductible, then 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,250 would be reimbursed. Drug costs greater than $2,250 would not be covered until out-of pocket expenses exceeded $3,600, after which 95 percent of drug costs would be reimbursed. Low-income recipients would receive more subsidies than other seniors by paying lower premiums, having smaller deductibles, and making lower co-payments for each prescription. The total cost of the new prescription drug benefit would be limited to the $400 billion that Congress had budgeted earlier this year for the first 10 years of this new entitlement program. The House adopted the conference report on H.R. 1 on November 22, 2003 by a vote of 220 to 215 (Roll Call 669).
Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR this bill.
Marsha Blackburn is a Hypocrite.
Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman
See her unconstitutional votes at :
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com/2009/09/tn-congressman-marsha-blackburn-votes.html
Mickey
Yes, I would say she qualifies as a hypocrite.
Murray sez:
She and just about any of the other career politicians. We need a complete turnover to take place.
That's what the Tea Party Movement is all about.
The Tea Party here love her! Most tea partys have been NeoConED
It's going to take awhile for Tea Parties to work up to speed. Most have been going along to get along for years--they don't know all the dirty tricks of the major parties yet. But give them time.
Murray sez:
This Tea Party member knows the "dirty" tricks of both parties and believe me when I say I intend to spread the word!
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