Nothing much yesterday, nothing much today. Just … well, mostly Public Relations pieces about jobs and (of course) the Republican health insurance reduction reform plan..
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Your Social Media Minions tweeted:
► 'U.S. Consumer Comfort Just Reached Its Highest Level in a Decade' [1] (with link to article[2])
And, yes, the graph of "Bloomberg US Weekly Consumer Comfort Index" (which I'd never heard of before, but I assume it's legit) shows that the index is back up to where it was in 2007 …
… right before the Wall Street Bubble exploded and the Great Recession started.
And if you look at that graph, you see a pretty steady rise from the depths of the Great Recession all the way through the Obama Administration, through to today.
So congrats, Donald — you're inheriting a highly "comfortable" consumer electorate from your predecessor. Don't frell it up.
Oh, you also retweeted the Drudge Report(!) [3], which was joyously linking to another Bloomberg article[4] repeating the same job news you've been going on about (albeit in a much more temperate tone) for the last week.
Drudge, Donald? What next, the Weekly World News?
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► We are making great progress with healthcare. ObamaCare is imploding and will only get worse. Republicans coming together to get job done! [5*]
No you aren't, no it isn't, no it won't, no they aren't.
See, I can repeat myself over and over again, too! And I'm not even President!
► We are taking steps to stabilize health insurance markets and start bringing down costs for MILLIONS of people affected by #Obamacare. [6]
You're bringing down the cost for millions by jacking up the cost for far more millions, ultimately kicking them out of the system.[7]
'Among the provisions that would have the biggest impact on coverage is the premium hike for those in their 50s and 60s. Under the ACA, insurers could charge a 64-year-old no more than three times that of a 21-year-old. The GOP would widen that band to five-to-one. That would likely send premiums for 64-year-olds soaring almost 30% to $13,125 a year, on average, S&P estimates. The proposed $4,000 tax credit that people in this age group would receive would only reduce the cost by 30%.
While this shift would boost participation among younger consumers, it would drive many older ones out of the market, S&P said. Overall, enrollment would decline between 2 million and 4 million people in 2019.
Even more people would be left uninsured because of the changes to Medicaid.
Some 11 million low-income adults have gained coverage in the 31 states and the District of Columbia under Obamacare's Medicaid expansion program. The GOP legislation calls for ending the enhanced federal funding for this program starting in 2020. Those already enrolled could stay as long as they remain continuously insured, but up to half have a lapse in coverage every year.
This would lead 4 million to 6 million people to lose coverage between 2020 and 2024 as these low-income adults fall off the rolls, S&P estimates.'
All millions are equal, but some millions are more equal than others, I guess.[8]
► Three-Pronged Approach to REPEAL AND REPLACE #Obamacare! [9]
This included a link to how many prongs everyone's going to getduring this process.[10] Which basically restates what you've been saying: screw up the risk pools, freeze Medicaid expansion and turn it into a capped block grant to states, deregulate insurance (because that always helps consumers), let insurers sell cheap and crappy coverage, let people apply mythical savings to health expenditures, and call it all a triump of "choice."
► #ReadTheBill: [11] with a link to the House GOP's page about the AHCA[12]
Which basically repeats all the same points.
Interestingly enough, a lot of this is being done (by the Social Media Minions) on your POTUS account, vs your realDonaldTrump account. You're really all in on this, aren't you, Donald?
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Amidst the big PR push for the GOP's health insurance reform plan, your Social Media Minions about:
— meeting with community bank CEOs
— an invitation to hear your press secretary's briefing (oh, boy!)
— a legislative affairs meeting
— "Senate Youth" [ * ]
— a retweet of an inspiring message on Fox from a cancer patient.
— a link to your Weekly Address (and another ICYMI)
— an invitation to another press secretary briefing
— a meeting with House committee leadership about the AHCA
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[1] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/839968149890076672
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-03-09/u-s-consumer-comfort-reaches-decade-high-on-economic-optimism
[3] https://twitter.com/DRUDGE_REPORT/status/840195842183127040
[4] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-10/u-s-jobs-wages-show-solid-gains-in-trump-s-first-full-month
[5] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/840572799202783233
[6] https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/840270290483593217
[7] http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/08/news/economy/obamacare-insurance-republican-repeal/
[8] http://wist.info/orwell-george/5271/
[9] https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/840286677637746689
[10] https://www.whitehouse.gov/repeal-and-replace
[11] https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/840558072334548992
[12] https://housegop.leadpages.co/healthcare/
[*] Re/cross-tweeted on the POTUS account
