SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY MIGHT BE TRYING TO PULL A FAST ONE HERE...

Apparently, our rather shifty congressional leaders, from both parties, have been quite busy of late conspiring about the various ways that lawmakers and their aides would be able to avoid having to participate in Obamacare health insurance exchanges like the rest of us poor schmucks. Now that hardly seem fair and we are, after all, all about what's fair, right? Now at least according to Politico, these talks involve the White House, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and other congressional leaders and have essentially been going on for months now. I think it safe to say that they are seen as being extremely sensitive, given the potential for political fallout. Why should these clowns be allowed to crawl out from something that is their making? Where's the fairness in that?

These talks were apparently prompted by concerns on Capitol Hill that the provision in this gem of a law requiring lawmakers and congressional staffers to join the exchanges could cost them thousands of dollars in new healthcare costs, which could force many staffers to leave their government jobs in search of higher-paying employment. Too bad! Various proposals have reportedly been submitted to the Office of Personnel Management, which will administer the benefits and decide whether and how lawmakers and their staffs will be covered. One proposal exempts lawmakers and their aides, while another exempts staff members only, reports Politico. NO ONE should be exempted! As far as I'm concerned either we're ALL in this piece of shit together, or we're ALL out of it! It's just that simple

Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, told Politico that the speaker’s goal is "to spare the entire country from the ravages of the president’s healthcare law," explaining, "He is approached daily by American citizens, including members of Congress and staff, who want to be freed from its mandates." Steel added, "If the speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from Obamacare, he will." That statement would be a whole lot more convincing if I'd seen some sort of action that could be pointed to as backing it up. But there's none. So excuse me if I'm none to quick to buy what this guy, Steel, is selling. Every time the Speaker has had the opportunity to effect the funding of this monstrosity, he's taken a pass, which makes it a bit difficult to believe any of the claims that his office is currently making.

But by excusing themselves from a key component of the controversial 2010 Affordable Care Act, leaders on Capitol Hill just might be putting themselves in a bind, or sorts, being made to face a backlash from both an angry public and jealous politicians not able to pull the same stunt. And very rightfully so! Congress already is taking heat from the public over the sequester and other issues. By writing themselves an exemption to Obamacare, Politico noted that lawmakers could be seen as holding themselves to a different standard than the people who elected them. DUH, ya think? But what the Hell else in new? The majority of these crooks long ago lost the whole concept of how this representative form of government of ours is supposed to work. It's they who work for us, not the other way around.

And then we have Mitch McConnell's spokesman, Brian McGuire, telling Breitbart News, "Senator McConnell does not support, and is not involved in drafting, legislation that would do special favors for Congress when his constituents are still facing the increased premiums and taxes, the mountains of red tape, the loss of health care plans they like and want to keep and fewer jobs under Obamacare." He went on to say, "It’s no surprise that Democrats would want to exempt themselves from the train wreck they created in Obamacare," McGuire continued, "but Sen. McConnell believes the entire country should be exempt from this historic mistake. The law is a disaster and needs to be repealed." But again, McConnell has done nothing that would cause me to believe such claims.

That would be fine little analysis of the situation but for one thing, it's not only the Democrats who appear to be trying to make themselves exempt from what is the "train wreck" that the rest of us are going to be forced to have to contend with. I think both parties possess an equal amount of guilt in this little charade here. Look, the Obamacare law is set to take effect in January, 2014 and it'll be in November of that same year that voters will go to the polls to elect a new Congress. The theory goes that that vote could set the stage for the repeal of Obamacare. Voters will then have the chance to exempt themselves from Obamacare. But will they? After all, they had the chance to do the very same thing last just November, and yet they didn't. So what makes anybody think that they'll do so the next time around?

WHEN IT COMES TO TAXES, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Well, as if we didn't already have enough things being taxed, Congress is now busy preparing to take action on a 'bipartisan' proposal to raise taxes on, of all things, flu vaccines. This is not a tax on the wealthy, but rather on a broad swath of Americans, or at least those who choose to be immunized against the flu. Is that not just bizarre? I mean, come on. We're now resorting to taxing flu vaccines? So apparently there is absolutely nothing we are willing to do to cut spending, and nothing we won't do when it comes to raising taxes. It's absolutely freakin insane!

Back in February, identical bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to add seasonal flu vaccines to the IRS code as being taxable. The legislation would exact a 75¢ per dose tax on any "vaccine against seasonal influenza." Given that the Centers for Disease Control projects that 135 million doses of flu vaccine will be used this year, the government's take on flu vaccines alone is over $100,000,000 per year. And that's more than enough to make our esteemed members of Congress, and apparently in both parties, to start seeing dollar signs.

Along with taxes on other vaccines, this tax would fund the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. The fund is a "no-fault alternative to the traditional tort system for resolving vaccine injury claims that provides compensation to people found to be injured by certain vaccines." However, the fund is by no means in the same kind of trouble that other government "trust funds" are. What strikes me as being completely ridiculous is that we even have a, "Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund." What kinda country is it that I'm living in today?

The balance in the fund, as of November 2012, was more than $3.5 billion. And as unbelievable as it may sound, since the program's inception in 1988, the fund has actually paid out $2.5 Billion in the 25 years that it has existed for cases involving all vaccines, not just the flu vaccine. This means the balance in the fund could conceivably last another 25 years with no further tax revenue. Which begs the question, why create a tax that is so obviously is not needed? This apparent addiction to raising taxes is getting a bit out of control. Don't you think?

The House bill (H.R. 475) was submitted on February 4, by Republican Jim Gerlach with Democrat Richard Neal co-sponsoring, and the Senate version (S. 391) was submitted by Democrat Max Baucus and co-sponsor Republican Orrin Hatch. The same legislation had been introduced in the 112th Congress just months ago. And can you believe it, both the House version died in committee, but the Senate version actually passed by 'unanimous consent' the day it was introduced. Is there no longer anyone on the side of 'We the People?'

Now, a posting on the Senate website reports that the Senate has reached an agreement on the current legislation. Although this flu season is winding down now, the tax could easily be in place by next winter if the House follows suit and the president signs it: "The Senate reached an agreement that if the Senate receives H.R.475 from the House of Representatives and the bill is identical to the text of which is at the desk, then the bill be read three times and the Senate proceed to a vote, at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader in consultation with the Minority Leader, with no intervening action or debate. H.R.475, a bill to amend the internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include vaccines against seasonal influenza within the definition of taxable vaccines."

Now I think it's pretty much a no-brainer that our tax-crazy president won't hesitate a second to sign this thing when, not if, it reaches his desk. After all, I think it's quite fair to say that Barry has never met a tax that he didn't want to make higher. As is the case with all government "trust funds," there is no actual cash set aside to pay out claims. According to the November 2012 report on the vaccine trust, the $3.5 billion balance is invested in "US Treasury Securities." In other words, financing a portion of our HUGE $16.5 trillion national debt.

So what's wrong with picture? This is not why I vote for Republicans, so that they can then feel free to act like Democrats. Taxing flu vaccine, REALLY? As far as I'm concerned this is just one more reason not to get a flu shot. I stopped getting flu shots some ago anyway, because I have concerns about the safety. I just don't trust the folks who are telling me it's safe to have injected into my body. So this cockamamie tax won't effect me, but that's beside the point. With each passing day I become a little more convinced that the time may have finally arrived to at think start thinking about getting the Hell out of Dodge.