Let me give you a different and maybe shocking perspective on the Obamacare website that I have not seen mentioned. When the site rolled out and failed enormously in October, it was reported that we (the American people) had already paid >$300 million on it and we had contractual obligations over the next few years that would bring the total expenditure to >$600 million.
Then, with all the foolish fumblings, panicked disclaimers and hiring more “experts” to fix what should not be broken, it developed that no one, not even the new “experts” were confident that they could fix the mess. Another round of hiring more “experts” ensued. The Obamacare Chinese Fire Drill figuratively accelerated around the bend in a cloud of oily engine smoke and parts flying off into the dust.
The first round total contract set us back >$600 mill. In my opinion, this next round of fix-it with even more geeks working on it will drive that cost up, at my guess, in the neighborhood of the original outlay, another ~$300 mill. which total gives us a figure approaching $1 billion. Imagine that! $1,000,000,000 for a commercial website.
In comparison, the USS Zumwalt, the US Navy’s newest, largest and most high tech destroyer; THE MOST EXPENSIVE US WARSHIP EVER BUILT, has just been launched with a reported cost of $3,300,000,000.
These ships are controversial for more than just their Achilles hull: They are expensive – the most expensive Navy ships ever built, to be exact. …
… to keep the program going, Department of Defense officials dialed back the cost of the first Zumwalt destroyer to $3.3 billion, with subsequent ships costing about $2.5 billion.
This is merely 3.5x my (reasonable) estimation of the approximate total cost of the Obamacare website, if it is indeed fixed in the distracting brouhaha! These Zumwalt class ships, however, while being state of the art and effective, have also been cut from an original plan of 32 ships to merely 3 (see the article at the above link) because they are too expensive. I am not suggesting warships at any cost, of course, I would like to see this prudence be applied to other things we are faced with, most notably Obamacare and its supporting devices. Does anyone feel that the massive effort required to plan the minutiae of a new hull, weapons system and propulsion system should be in range of the effort/expense of a NON-state of the art commercial website? Even in Washington this beggars belief.
Incidentally, Oregon’s version of the Obamacare website is said to have cost $43mill and at the last report (early Dec), Oregon had enrolled ZERO people in the program.
The administration also seems to be keeping VERY quiet about other expenses more broadly associated with the website debacle but Fox News reports:
The Obama administration gave states roughly $4.4 billion in taxpayer dollars to set up their own ObamaCare websites, according to a new analysis, in the latest revelation about the faucet of federal spending switched on by the 2010 passage of the health care law.
DON’T WORRY, ITS ONLY GREENBACKS. WE CAN PRINT MORE.
This Obamacare obscenity reminds me of the late ’70s and my Harley Davidson Super Glide which needed a lot of tech savvy and TLC to get down the road and back on even short trips. Believe me, more than once, a slow stroll up and down the shoulder of the road provided the mechanism (usually a piece of wire) that got me back out in the wind with the beast thumping steady and pulling strong. I soon learned that a roll of military safety wire in my toolbag was as indispensible as the wrenches I carried– even more valuable than duct tape. I still own that big part of my youth after 35 years and many miles though I have declined more than the bike and it is now in a back corral getting some well earned rest with respect.
That famous American company had been beset by restrictive Worldwide trade treaty standards which heaped on largely gratuitous safety gear, relocated controls and favored Japanese convention (it was mid-boom of the Honda, Yamaha etc. phenomenon) because they produced more bikes. This treaty required re-engineering on all American/British bikes and stuffed almost all American motorcycle companies. It DID drive the British BSA and nearly Triumph too out of business. AMF bought the floundering HD for a song and proceeded to degrade the machines into objects that were only reliable enough (stock- without modification) to ride from beer to beer in a small circuit of bars, which attracted some pretty poor riding companions, in my estimation. Fortunately, some entrepreneurial investors bought HD out and with their attention, brought the brand back into something worth riding. IT WAS NOT THE GOVERNMENT WHO SOLVED THIS MESS, IT WAS COMPETENT, GIFTED CITIZENS WHO BEAT THE B**L S**T.
I though the best of the best was hired…??? Who exactly are these ‘experts’ why need the ‘fixes’….and I hope we are not forking over additional tax payer dollars for all these “fixes”…
I could be very wrong…but, I seriously think that the wool has been (and is being) pulled over the Tax Paying Americans eyes = (Government corruption once again = think Solandra a 500 million tax payer dollar Government disaster what happened to that $$ = poof). I seriously believe a lot.. A LOT of that 600 million dollars ( Obamacare website) has “disappeared”….was never used…went into a slush fund and some day in the not too distant future…some people are going to be leading a very ‘cushy’ life…thank you U.S. Tax Payers …. and Moochelle…
On another note…Not far from where I work a building was being built, not a huge building but, large enough..(not sure who owns or what it will house, or be used for yet) I am thinking it is privately owned….Steel – brick – doors- windows-large garage doors – driveway-curbing – trees – the whole nine yards = built finished 2 months….I often think how long it would have taken if this not so large building was constructed via the Government – State OR Federal.
FAUTH7
YES
I believe you are right, FUTURE FITHY RICH,
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME, HE SAID,
MUCH THE OTHER ANSWER,
@ilovebeeswarzone:
I can not decide on that Bees. I vacillate between him being too stupid to care, being bitter and greedy and him being an unsavory far left scumbag who wants to destroy any trace of what we were. Nevertheless, any one of those choices seems to be the constant catastrophic destruction of what we were in the world for ridiculous reasons.
HE CAN BE STUPID ON NOT FOLLOWING THE CONSTITUTION,
BUT HIS THIRST FOR MONEY IS SHOWING ALL OVER HIS DECISIONS,
HE LEARNED HOW TO TAKE HIS OWN INTEREST IN ANY DEAL
THERE IS SOMETHING FOR HIM,
NOT THE PEOPLE,,
THE PROOF IS HE KNOW THE PEOPLE ARE AGAINST THAT BILL HE HAD IT VOTED WITHOUT THE REPUBLICANS , AND STILL RAM IT IN YOUR THROAT,
so one billionspent for implimenting his obamacare which is not yet impliment with the projected number of people,
and the projected number of those
he target as working youngs who will pay for the other non paying crowd, they don’t care to sign up,
what other message does he need to get this out of government laws. the people have said no, they pay his bills,
they should be listen to,
about that woman said to be brain dead,
I saw some years ago a woman said to be brain dead return to life 6 months later,
they say brain dead, but they tap only on the surface brain waves, there are still many more
brain waves alive in the deep brain places where no one can see it, unless they punch a hole AND SCAN IT,
in her head, which is not what they should do,
and are they not read the story of LAZARE IN THE BIBLE?
NO I DON’T THINK SO, WHAT RELIGION ARE THOSE WHO WANT TO DISCONNECT HER ? ATHEIST ? or MUSLIM ?
IT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO KNOW,
@ilovebeeswarzone: #5
You and I do not totally agree here. If she is incapable of life without life support, how can we say that God wants her to live? Are you saying that you know her God’s mind? He is testing us?
ANYONE that requires life support to live IS already essentially dead and in my opinion should only be given that life support on a short term basis to bridge the depths of a catastrophe. Turning off the machine is (in a fundamental sense) merely allowing that person to petition his God for a miracle and a normally overlooked aspect of the situation is that they may already be in a place that they DO NOT WANT to come back from. Long term life support is the result of ego, despair, denial of reality and faith on the part of the family, not the victim.
Certainly, it should be possible to sustain someone that is brain dead for years but that should be on YOUR dime, not paid for by the public.
Dink Newcomb
you have A MIND WITH WISDOM, I believe your words,
I am questioning the one who made that declaration,
THAT SHE IS BRAIN DEAD, I THINK MAYBE THEY DID NOT CHECK FURTHER, MAYBE
TO MAKE SURE OF IT,
ARE WE BRAIN DEAD WHEN WE SLEEP? WE HOLD OUR BREATH, WE DON’T MOVE, IF WE ARE OVER TIRED AND WE DON’T WANT TO WAKE UP WHILE ONE SHAKE YOU TO GET UP,
OUR EYES ARE SHOT, JUST LIKE HER, EVEN THAT SHE HAS BEEN THERE IN THAT PHYSICAL
STAND STILL,I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG FOR HER,
SHE NEED MAYBE A LITTLE MORE TIME,
WE ARE WATCHING MOVIE OF A PERSON JUST BEEN KILLED, AND THE ACTOR JUST LOOK,
AND DECIDE HE IS DEAD, LIKE IN THE WAR MOVIE ALSO, I THINK SOME WHERE DOWN BUT LEFT THERE BECAUSE SOMEONE DECIDE NO LIFE SIGN, SO HE IS DEAD,
BUT I SAY HE MIGHT BE JUST UNCONCIOUS BY THE BLOW, THE IMPACTOF THE ATTACK,
WE WILL NEVER KNOW HE WAS STILL ALIVE AND LEFT THERE TO REALY END UP DEAD BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE THE REQUIRED HELP, AND CARE, WHICH ON A WAR ZONE IS IMPOSSIBLE IF THE OTHERS HAVE TO RUN FOR THEIR OWN LIVES,
I WOULD SAY TO THE HOSPITAL GIVE HER MORE TIME, THE MOTHER FEEL SHE IS ALIVE,
MAYBE SHE IS RIGHT, MAYBE SHE LISTEN TO A GUTS FEELING IN HERSELF, THAT THERE IS LIFE
IN THE INANIMATE BODY,
THEIR RULES ARE MADE FOR ALL CASES, BUT ALL CASES ARE NOT ALIKE, ALL HUMANS ARE UNIQUE
BYE
@ilovebeeswarzone:
All brain processes function with/by electrical impulses through various circuits. The criteria for being brain dead is the absence of any electrical activity in the brain which indicates it no longer has control of even systemic function, thus requiring artificial means (life support) to survive: breathing, blood circulation, kidney function, etc. When you are sleeping, maybe brain activity slows but even though it is different, it is still humming. Your brain is still monitoring your body function, your dreams represent non-normal cognitive function and you are certainly aware while sleeping– have you never been awakened to have a pretty good idea of what that big sound was or who was in the room? Maybe genuine sleeping perception is more accurate if you are not in a dream state.
I am not advocating that we commit acts to end her life, merely omit forcing her to live and let God/nature sort it out
Dink Newcomb
how do you know? you never sleep with me,
oops, I could not resist that one,
BYE
heh heh heh
Its probably a good thing if you don’t breathe while you sleep.
Dink Newcomb
IT WAS TO GOOD TO LET IT PASS,
BYE
@ilovebeeswarzone:
Heck yes Bees! I read lots of these posts and comments and don’t always understand what the person is really getting at! But the statement “It was too good to let it pass” is embedded in any Smart Ass White Boy’s soul. I have said that 10,000 x myself, although sometimes with wondering dejection or a “What was I thinking” rumination, like the time the preacher was over for dinner and I asked him … Well, anyway.
Dink Newcomb
hope you take it as funny,
IT’S THE ” YOU” THAT TRIGGER MY LOVE FOR A GOOD LAUGH FOR YOU,
BYE
As a side issue that has not been getting much press, here is what is coming to Obamacare in April 2014:
Once you sign up for Obamacare and it turns out you don’t like the plan you are on, it is ILLEGAL to switch to another plan.
For the rest of the year you are stuck with the overpriced plan you signed up for no matter if you can even afford it anymore.
At that point your only option is to stop making the monthly payments and have no insurance the rest of the year (because it is illegal to switch to another plan).
Then Obamacare will hit you with IRS tax penalties which is your punishment for not making your overpriced monthly insurance payments.
Scott Greene
THAT TO MY MIND IS THE MOST DISGUSTING PART OF OBAMACARE,
THEY HOLD YOU PRISONER AND THE IRS WE NOW KNOW TO BE THE OBAMA BULLYS
WILL HIT YOU WITH A PENALTY WHICH ALSO YOU CANNOT AFFORD, AND THEY CAN RAISE ANYTIME, AND DOUBLE IF YOU COMPLAIN OR REFUSE TO PAY, SOMEONE SAID THEY CAN TAKE YOUR ASSETS, CAR HOUSE,AND OTHER VALUABLES,
ONE OF OUR BLOGGER HAD TOLD THE STORY SOME PREVIOUS YEARS THAT HIS FATHER LOST HIS RANCH BECAUSE HE COULD NOT PAY THE PENALTY WHICH WAS NOT CALL PENALTY ,
BUT AS VICIOUS, HOW MANY OTHER? HAVE BEEN BROKEN BY PENALTYS, WE CAN FORSEE IN THE FUTURE ,FROM READING THE PAST IRS ACTIONS, AND THEY ARE DIRECT UNDER OBAMA DECISIONS,
NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT’S DENIED, LOOK AT THE TEA PARTY AND THE MITT ROMNEY DONOR BEING PROBE LIKE A GESTAPO
WOULD DO, FOR DOING THEIR RIGHTS TO GIVE TO WHO THEY CHOOSE TO.
YES THE FUTURE IS DARK WITHOUT NO FREEDOM TO GET IN OR WALK OUT OF A MISTAKE,
Dink Newcomb
hi sir, I came to check if you ate all your ribs on the HOLYDAYS,
you gave me a taste for it; since then,
thank you for that very smart POST AGAIN,
HOPE YOU ARE DOING GOOD,
BEST TO YOU AND BEST WISHES FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,
ON THIS NEW YEAR, 2014,
hope to see other post from you,
@ilovebeeswarzone: #16
Hey Bees– I just read your post and wanted to let you know that I had a great Christmas season and the ribs were great. I have A LOT to be grateful for and Thanksgiving to New Years was an extended period of peace, lucidity and happiness for me.
I have entered another normal part of the cycle now though where I just do not have any driving interest in what the political world is bringing us and I tend to read these blogs and comment on a less regular basis. I get jaded with being angry and feeling impotent but even more importantly, working myself up enough to make a coherent reply to the posts of other angry people. I confess to taking the luxury of intermittently lapsing into short interludes of a pleasant delusion that the world is not such an ugly place! Sadly, that is a degraded state similar to that which drove millions of Americans to elect Obama twice and the shame of the association shortly ends my reverie. I will pop up again soon– I usually read the posts every few days even though I do not comment.
Dink Newcomb
thank you for coming again
your brain is a pure bright light leading us in the dark,
you give us the energy we need to continue,
I GROW UP WITH YOUR vast KNOWLEDGE, and become a better HUMAN,
take care, sir, we cannot afford missing you, in our politic talk,
and animal talk, and humorous talk, and much more of,
How’s it look now Bees?
DINK NEWCOMB
it look the same to mei must have overlook something,
BYE
DINK I SEE WHAT CURT DID, I DON’T KNOW HOW HE DOES IT,
yes the reader took the place of the name on my google site,
and i find who he or she is here at FLOPPING ACES,
i like it,
CURT
i see it, it’s good to my mind thank you,
YES THE NAME IS WAY ON TOP,
IT LOOK BETTER,
Dink Newcomb
I didn’t get your message,
it didn’t register here
BYE