Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Obama’s 2012 Strategy: “I’m Going to Disney World!”

The Orlando Sentinel reported last night that “President Barack Obama, set to unveil a new policy for boosting U.S. tourism, has chosen a fairy-tale setting for the Thursday announcement: Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, with its iconic Cinderella Castle as a backdrop.  And if some Disney magic rubs off on his re-election bid, too, then so be it.”  Given that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the famous Super Bowl advertisement, some may wonder if we will soon hear a version of these words:

Barack Obama, you just signed a 2700 page law that breaks your promise to cut premiums by $2500 per family, instead raising insurance premiums on the individual market by $2,100 per household.  What are you going to do next?  “I’m going to Disney World!”

The sad reality however is that many individuals can’t afford a vacation to Disney World – or anywhere else, for that matter – because Obamacare has failed to live up to candidate Obama’s promises for lower insurance premiums.  Recall that candidate Obama repeatedly promised his health care plan would LOWER premiums by $2,500 per family, and do so within his first term.  But the price of the average employer-sponsored plan ROSE by more than $2,200 per family since Obama was first elected in 2008, according to studies from the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Therefore, according to candidate Obama’s own metric, President Obama owes American families nearly $5,000 per year – the difference between a $2,200 premium increase and a $2,500 promised premium reduction.  That nearly $5,000 difference could fund a luxurious vacation for most American families – and the fact that consumers are instead spending that money on higher insurance premiums shows once again how Obamacare has failed to deliver.