Political lies vs. political untruths

By Tom Quiner

A lie is determined by intention.
If someone makes a claim knowing the claim is false, that is a lie. He intended to deceive, or lie, by intentionally stating an untruth.
If someone makes a claim he sincerely believes to be true, and it later turns out not to be true, that is not a lie. He did not intend to deceive and believed in the veracity of his claim, even if later events prove those claims wrong.
Most politicians speak untruths at some point, simply because they cannot always control legislative outcomes.
George H. W. Bush famously promised, “Read my lips, no new taxes.” At the time he said it, I believe he meant it. Nonetheless, he caved, raised taxes and was perceived as a liar, losing re-election as a result.
The use of the “L” word (as in “lie,” not “lesbian”) is used as a club in politics. It is often wielded when it shouldn’t be used. The classic example is the whopper, “Bush lied, and people died.” Mr. Bush did not lie, as any cold review of the facts reveals. But that became the mantra of the Left.
What is significant about the Left’s assertion is the underlying acknowledgement that lying is supposedly bad.
This leads us to the fiasco now dubbed as “Obamacare.” The government is preventing me from keeping my current coverage due to Obamacare regulations. Even more, I received this new letter from my current provider:

“… the only increase to your premium will be an adjustment to account for the new federal fees and taxes required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).”

How much does that amount to? I will pay an additional $505.20 NEXT YEAR due to Obamacare taxes and fees. This is on top of significant increases in my premiums since the ACA was passed in 2010. At the end of next year, my premiums will DOUBLE as I’m forced to buy new coverage.
This flies in the face of promises made by the president and his party.
Let us deconstruct the veracity of Obamacare claims.
CLAIM: The ACA will lower health insurance premiums.
FALSE: Studies using HHS data reveal that premium prices are going up on average in 45 of 50 states. Mine will just about double here in Iowa if I want to stay with my current carrier.
Candidate Obama promised the average price of premiums would drop $2500 with his plan. Instead, most people have seen them rise by at least that amount, as I have. Now, mine is going to rise another $6000 per year. I can’t afford the increase. I will be better off canceling my coverage and only buying back in when my family needs it.
Was this untruth a lie or an unintended outcome of a sprawling piece of legislation? We know liberals don’t grasp simple economic truths, such as the laws of supply and demand. I’ll give them a pass and base their humiliating mis-projection on ignorance.
CLAIM:  “You can keep your current coverage. No one will take it away, no matter what.”
FALSE: I’m losing mine, as are millions of other Americans. The president knew this would happen; in fact, the president caused it, as NBC reported:

“Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”

The ACA specifically “grandfathered” existing policies. The Obama government undid some of the law with new HHS regulations that narrowed that provision, resulting in millions of people losing their current coverage.
The Obama Government  knew what they were doing when they undermined a central premise of Obamacare. They knew it wouldn’t pass without their pledge that we can keep our existing coverage if we wanted.
They lied.
CLAIM:  No family making less than $250, 000 per year will see ANY FORM OF TAX INCREASE.
FALSE:  Under the ACA, you will be taxed $95 or one percent of your income, whichever is higher, if you aren’t covered by health insurance that meets ACA standards.
The tax increases to $695 or 2.5% of your income, whichever is higher, by  2016.
Democrats claimed this untruth is simply a matter of semantics; that the tax is really a fine. The Supreme Court calls it a tax. In addition, the ACA adds twenty additional taxes to the tax rolls of working class families.
Chalk this one up as a lie.
CLAIM: Obama: “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”
FALSE: HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius was asked how many people had enrolled in the Obamacare exchanges. She said “officials” did not have those numbers.
According to Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, officials DID have those numbers, but chose not to be transparent with them by releasing them to Congress or the American people.
She told Congress:

“We made the decision that we were not releasing the numbers until mid-November.”

Ms. Sebilius appears to have been caught in a lie.
Regarding Mr. Obama’s claim of transparency, he spoke an untruth, based on this single example. It was not necessarily a lie, because he may have believed it when he said it, but decided to cast aside his integrity in favor of political expediency.
Ultimately, the problem with Obamacare is that it was sold using a cocktail of lies and untruths. Many of the goals of the ACA are good. Now that we can see that the plan sold to us was a bill of goods, in the name of decency and common sense, we should return to the drawing board and start over.