Previously: Once again, some Meta (August 23, 2014)
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) at a campaign event in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014.
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a campaign event in Warrensburg yesterday evening. Toward the end of the evening she addressed the seated crowd (about forty-five people) and then took a few questions.
[…]
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r): …And one of the main things I’ve been trying to do is to actually remove some of the barriers to job creation. As I talk to the small businesses in our area I’m encouraged ’cause they say, we want to grow, we want to hire, we’re ready to expand, and several of them say they even have capital, uh, to do it. But the thing that’s keeping ’em from doing that is, uh, the policies coming out from Washington. They don’t, there’s so much uncertainty. Such as, they’ll tell me about the new health care law and how the premiums are just, yesterday one of them said they tripled, tripled for them. And that’s an extra, depending on the size of the business, fifteen, thirty thousand, forty-five thousand dollars a year the business has to pay for their health care. They said, we were planning on hiring two or three more people and now we can’t ’cause you know we only have so much and we have to pay this. So, the health care has been one thing they mentioned. High energy costs, and gasoline prices are still double from when President Obama, uh, took office. And that’s impacting our district a lot, especially in the areas like Hickory County, uh, Dallas County, Dade County where a lot of people have been commuting down to Springfield or other places and now, um, it’s just become cost prohibitive. So we have some counties that actually losing population were people are moving closer to work and you want to stay here and be able to live where they want in beautiful Fourth District and prosper. So, anyway, we’ve been trying to push back on some of those polices….
[….]
[on Immigration] …Uh, we stayed an extra two days in the House to try to deal with the crisis on the border with all the immigrant children being dropped off there in the desert. I mean, what a horrendous, horrible situation that is. And as a, as a mom as a former teacher [inaudible] it breaks your heart to see those, uh, children dropped off there, mainly by, uh, the drug cartels. Rich parents pay them, uh, tremendous amounts, their life savings to, with the belief, uh, that when they get here they’re gonna get to be, stay and become citizens. And sadly I believe it’s the President that has been, uh, perpetrating that, uh, misunderstanding…
[….]
There’s a lot more and just so much.
“…Such as, they’ll tell me about the new health care law and how the premiums are just, yesterday one of them said they tripled, tripled for them…”
Jeffrey Young
Here’s What’s Going On With Obamacare Premium Increases
Posted: 08/21/2014 10:59 am EDT Updated: 08/21/2014 11:59 am EDTHealth insurance premiums are going to skyrocket under Obamacare next year, maybe even double! No, wait — they’re only increasing a little, and less than before Obamacare! No, wait — they’re … decreasing in some places?
The crucial question about the second year of enrollment on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges is: How much will coverage cost? Actual prices won’t be available in most states until the exchanges open Nov. 15, or shortly before that, so consumers are left to sort through political spin and preliminary reports that don’t make things any clearer.
So what’s going on? First, most people will pay more for health insurance next year. That’s true whether you get coverage from a job, on your own through an exchange or directly from an insurer, or from Medicare. Health insurance prices tend to go up. It’s their nature, and it’s closely tied to how much the cost of medical care rises.
The good news is that available information indicates the doomsayers were wrong, and premiums under President Barack Obama’s health care law aren’t going through the roof….
The plural of anecdote is not data.
“…and gasoline prices are still double from when President Obama, uh, took office…”
Oil war: the ad battle between ‘Big Oil’ and DNC, Part 1
Posted by Josh Hicks at 01:39 PM ET, 03/30/2012….The Post created a graphic a while back to show how perception about gas prices doesn’t quite match the reality. Despite the way prices look, they are roughly average after adjusting for inflation. A rate of $1.38 per gallon in 1981 sounds amazing until it’s converted to $3.35 in today’s dollars – better than the current price, but still much higher than when Obama took office.
Inflation-adjusted gas prices have indeed doubled during Obama’s time in the White House, but they were unusually low when he took office because of the massive economic downturn. Rates have gradually increased back to normal levels as the economy has improved. As we said in a previous column, it’s doubtful that anyone wants to return to those conditions for the sake of cheap gas….
Representative Hartzler (r) really likes to keep perpetuating that gas price talking point.
The current retail price of gasoline in west central Missouri.
“…in the areas like Hickory County, uh, Dallas County, Dade County where a lot of people have been commuting down to Springfield or other places and now, um, it’s just become cost prohibitive. So we have some counties that actually losing population were people are moving closer to work…”
From the United States Census Bureau (compiled from reports):
POPULATION OF COUNTIES — MISSOURI: 1810-1990
Dade 7,449 (1990) 7,383 (1980) 6,850 (1970) 7,577 (1960) 9,324 (1950) 11,248 (1940) 11,764 (1930) 14,173 (1920) 15,613 (1910) 18,125 (1900) 17,526 (1890) 12,557 (1880) 8,683 (1870) 7,072 (1860) 4,246 (1850)
[Dade] Population, 2013 estimate 7,578
Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 7,883
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -3.9%Dallas 12,646 (1990) 12,096 (1980) 10,054 (1970) 9,314 (1960) 10,392 (1950) 11,523 (1940) 10,541 (1930) 12,033 (1920) 13,181 (1910) 13,903 (1900) 12,647 (1890) 9,263 (1880) 8,383 (1870) 5,892 (1860) 3,648 (1850)
[Dallas] Population, 2013 estimate 16,535
Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 16,777
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -1.4%Hickory 7,335 (1990) 6,367 (1980) 4,481 (1970) 4,516 (1960) 5,387 (1950) 6,506 (1940) 6,430 (1930) 7,033 (1920) 8,741 (1910) 9,985 (1900) 9,453 (1890) 7,387 (1880) 6,452 (1870) 4,705 (1860) 2,329 (1850)
[Hickory] Population, 2013 estimate 9,305
Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 9,627
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -3.3%
Uh, economic reality always drives migration. When compared to past population migrations the past few years aren’t quite as significant. Again, the plural of anecdote is not data.
“…And sadly I believe it’s the President that has been, uh, perpetrating that, uh, misunderstanding…”
There was a President who signed a bill in 2008:
Immigrant Surge Rooted in Law to Curb Child Trafficking
By CARL HULSEJULY 7, 2014WASHINGTON – It was one of the final pieces of legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush, a measure that passed without controversy….
….Originally pushed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers as well as by evangelical groups to combat sex trafficking, the bill gave substantial new protections to children entering the country alone who were not from Mexico or Canada by prohibiting them from being quickly sent back to their country of origin….
Unintended consequences: 2008 anti-trafficking law contributes to border crisis
By Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 8:16 AM EDT, Wed July 16, 2014….A desire to crack down on the global child slave trade led to the law named for a 19th Century British abolitionist. President George W. Bush signed it the month before he left the White House.
It ensured that children who came to the United States got a full immigration hearing instead of being turned away or sent back. The goal of the hearing? To determine if the children had a valid claim for asylum.
Here’s the catch: The immigration courts are so backlogged that it can take years for a child’s hearing date to come around. As they wait, most stay with relatives or friends already in the country, attend school and generally go about their lives….
Gee, if immigration courts had sufficient funding…
Why Our Immigration Courts Can’t Handle the Child Migrant Crisis
You can thank Republicans for the lack of judges and the giant backlog of cases.
By Stephanie Mencimer | Mon Jul. 14, 2014 6:00 AM EDT….Those courts have been overwhelmed by the influx of kids coming to the United States without parents or other relatives. But they were overwhelmed even before the children started showing up, in large part because of Republicans’ unwillingness to fund and staff them like other federal courts….
Interesting.