From a brief summary: “Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight fisted, greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness. A quote from the book reads ‘The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and he spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice…’ His last name has come into the English language as a byword for miserliness and misanthropy, traits displayed by Scrooge in the exaggerated manner for which Dickens is well-known.” He changed his ways near the end of his life but caused much suffering and inconvenience before he did.
An application can be made for the present Congress of the US. In their effort to offer the possibility of a Government Option so everyone can have Health Care Coverage, they have resorted to their slight of hand magic. While attention is focused on center stage, the real action is occurring behind the scenes and behind locked doors. In a very gushing and enthusiastic manner, Nancy Pelosi presented her long-promised Health Care Reform Bill – along with the promise that it will be posted on the Internet before it is voted on so the American People can read this for themselves – all 1,990 pages of it. Also, “it will not add one-dime to the deficit.” To make it appear to be budget-neutral, it required moving some things from the Health Reform Bill to a separate Bill to be introduce later. The saying – “the devil is in the details” – could not be more true than it is with the unconscionable and devious manipulations of those who in actuality are betraying a public trust. They conveniently find a Poll that indicates 55% of the people support Health Care Reform to justify their plan. What are some of the unstated direction of Health Reform? One does not need to read the 1,990 pages of the Bill – just look at the Medicare Fees for 2010. The Premiums for Advantage Coverage have doubled; co-pays have been re-introduced; patients will pay $200.00 per day (up to 6 days) for a Hospital stay; Prescription Drug co-pays will be required. Fixed Income people, whose 2010 Social Security Benefits did not receive an increase for the first time in many years, will have to figure out some way to meet their medical costs at the expense of other necessities of life. Ebenezer Scrooge Lives On! While one watches the discussions and proposals of Congress, the slight of hand in Medicare has already mandated costly changes for one’s Medical Care. The devil is in the reality and bottom line of 2010 Medicare costs and benefits.
The following has been attributed to a number of political philosophers and thinkers, including Lord Thomas Macaulay, Alexander Tytler and Alexis DeTocqueville, namely: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.” We are almost there and are displaying eagerness to knock on that door. Remember though: Ebenezer Scrooge Lives On!
It is easy in this culture to become susceptible and selfish. Most have that potential and propensity. One can read about such a choice in The Amplified Bible, Numbers 21:5-6 – "And the people said against God and Moses, why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and we loathe the light (contemptible, unsubstantial) manna." The people complained about God’s supernatural provision for them. God’s response to their complaints is: "God sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many Israelites died." Psalm 78:18 states: "…they tempted God in their hearts by asking for food according to their selfish desire and appetite." The real choice is limited and should be obvious: Follow the Lord! Trust in Him at all times and for all things! Do not fear men or the governments of man! God’s Grace is always sufficient! Consider these things with me!
An application can be made for the present Congress of the US. In their effort to offer the possibility of a Government Option so everyone can have Health Care Coverage, they have resorted to their slight of hand magic. While attention is focused on center stage, the real action is occurring behind the scenes and behind locked doors. In a very gushing and enthusiastic manner, Nancy Pelosi presented her long-promised Health Care Reform Bill – along with the promise that it will be posted on the Internet before it is voted on so the American People can read this for themselves – all 1,990 pages of it. Also, “it will not add one-dime to the deficit.” To make it appear to be budget-neutral, it required moving some things from the Health Reform Bill to a separate Bill to be introduce later. The saying – “the devil is in the details” – could not be more true than it is with the unconscionable and devious manipulations of those who in actuality are betraying a public trust. They conveniently find a Poll that indicates 55% of the people support Health Care Reform to justify their plan. What are some of the unstated direction of Health Reform? One does not need to read the 1,990 pages of the Bill – just look at the Medicare Fees for 2010. The Premiums for Advantage Coverage have doubled; co-pays have been re-introduced; patients will pay $200.00 per day (up to 6 days) for a Hospital stay; Prescription Drug co-pays will be required. Fixed Income people, whose 2010 Social Security Benefits did not receive an increase for the first time in many years, will have to figure out some way to meet their medical costs at the expense of other necessities of life. Ebenezer Scrooge Lives On! While one watches the discussions and proposals of Congress, the slight of hand in Medicare has already mandated costly changes for one’s Medical Care. The devil is in the reality and bottom line of 2010 Medicare costs and benefits.
The following has been attributed to a number of political philosophers and thinkers, including Lord Thomas Macaulay, Alexander Tytler and Alexis DeTocqueville, namely: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.” We are almost there and are displaying eagerness to knock on that door. Remember though: Ebenezer Scrooge Lives On!
It is easy in this culture to become susceptible and selfish. Most have that potential and propensity. One can read about such a choice in The Amplified Bible, Numbers 21:5-6 – "And the people said against God and Moses, why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and we loathe the light (contemptible, unsubstantial) manna." The people complained about God’s supernatural provision for them. God’s response to their complaints is: "God sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and many Israelites died." Psalm 78:18 states: "…they tempted God in their hearts by asking for food according to their selfish desire and appetite." The real choice is limited and should be obvious: Follow the Lord! Trust in Him at all times and for all things! Do not fear men or the governments of man! God’s Grace is always sufficient! Consider these things with me!
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