As you know I got the pleasure this week to sit next to George Will at lunch at a Private Equity conference in Atlanta. He then went on to speak for over an hour to a group of almost 1,000. He was just brilliant.
While having lunch we discussed a lot of topics… those of you that know me aren’t surprised that the man could barely eat his lunch.
He obviously lives politics and history.. but his passion is baseball. We talked about all of that. Here is some of what we chatted about during lunch..
Q- I, being a health care company exec, we of course talked a good deal about the ACA. George agreed with me whole heartedly that Universal Coverage has nothing to do with Universal Treatment. The net of the conversation was..
Will – The ACA is a complete disaster... that will haunt this country forever...
Q- We spent a long time talking about the absolute disaster that is the liberal media. I specifically asked about what we as a Country are going to do when the left-wing media is so absolutely brazen about their slanting of the news, such as Tina Brown telling everyone that if this was Bush the press would be killing him on the Drones issue and they would press for impeachment.
Will- At least the press is now completely out of the closet…. But it's OK…. Now everyone knows it with certainty. The liberals and the mainstream media can no longer try to deny it with a straight face. The conservative message can still get out there without their help. There is no question what so ever if Romney had the media support and cover Obama had during the election that he’d be President.
Q- I asked if Marco Rubio would be the lead candidate for 2016…
Will- Rubio is certainly on the short list but he’s not a sure thing. Jindal, Bush, Paul, Christie, and McDonnell all are in the mix. Also, Rubio isn’t an absolute lock to get a huge Latino vote. Rubio is Cuban not Mexican. There is a big difference.
Q- I asked George about the election and why he thought Romney lost.
Will - Romney lost because he wasn't as likeable. Simple as that. The Press was a key factor in Romney losing. Romney can come off as a bit detached and the press accentuated that at every turn. Romney would have made a very good president. The day of the election Romney was convinced he was going to win. George is clueless as to why so many Republicans stayed home on election day. It’s a mystery.
Q- Will I see Term Limits in my life time?
Will- No. There will never be term limits. The Congress will never put forth a Constitutional Amendment to the states that limits their terms. That is the cause of the mess that congress is. There are few statesmen just career politicians. If an incumbent makes it through primary he is in.
Q- Will Hillary run for President.
Will- Not convinced Hillary will run. Low on likeability
Q- Has the media tarnished the Tea Party name and brand so badly that it will fail?
Will- Absolutely not. The Tea party brand is strong and will continue to be a force.
Q- (We were having beef short ribs for lunch so I asked him if he perfered beef of pork ribs. (For Dudeman)
Will- Beef
Q- Who do you like in the National League?
Will- The Braves, Nationals, and Dodgers. As a Cub fan I have given up all hope.
George went on to speak for over an hour to the group. Here are some quotes that I caught. (I was scribbling like mad)
There will be sequestration.
We used to run deficits for the future. Now deficits are to pay for the present welfare state. This can only continue on for so long.
Obama is a serious man with a serious leftist agenda
Dependency IS the Obama agenda. Dependency IS the agenda.. not a byproduct of some other agenda.
Creative energy is in people not government. Obama disagrees.
Biden. Every significant improvement came from government.
Obama believes that Government is smarter at allocating resources than the public market. The Free Market should allocate opportunity not government.
66% of the Government budget is transfer payments.
The USA is reaching a tipping point. People are depending on Government via welfare or contracts outnumber the private Americans.
Two differences from new deal in 35
-Protracted retirement
-Competent healthcare and longevity
The welfare state and Medicare and Social Security was never built for protracted retirement and competent healthcare and longevity
For every average couple in Medicare… $109k paid in.. $340k taken out.
Lower birth rate is a problem in the welfare state. You run out of bodies to carry the welfare debt.
12 cents of every healthcare dollar is paid by a person. The rest is someone else
Do you ask doctor what's the price. Nobody knows. There are no prices.
Car insurance doesn’t cover oil and windshield washers… but Health insurance is supposed to?? Health insurance across state lines is the solution.
Preventable disease is causing the massive health costs. Diabetes. Heart disease. Aids. Violence. All personal choice diseases.
The US Tax code is lunacy. Codified envy.
Why do we have any Corporate income taxes?? Corporations don't pay taxes they collect taxes!!!
(Yes!!)
Aside from Obama… Woodrow Wilson was most destructive man in US history
American used to be and “Aspirational Country” not an “Envious Country” which we are becoming.
You can blow all your money in Vegas on booze and gambling if you want… but try giving it to your kids… and the government will immediately step in.
American schools are a colossal disaster.
Problem with schools
-Coleman report studied schools. Quality of the family was key factor not money.
-Parent pupil ratio
There is no economic divide. There is an education divide. 74% of African American children are born to unmarried mothers. The "moral culture" of the “poor” is totally different from that of the middle class and above. The moral culture is what propagates being poor… not rich people and corporations. And the Government cannot write a law to fix culture…try as they may.
All college students should have to major in history. History will easily show what forms of government and commerce work and which don’t.
Government Gridlock is an American achievement The Founders wanted the government like this which is why the Constitution is full of blocking mechanisms. They wanted it slow. Government is functioning like Madison designed it.
Next 10 years will decide the future of the country. Are we for equality or freedom? It will be decided.
MOC's lunch with George Will
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