Would Obamacare offficials be PROSECUTED by the Fed govt if they were private?

[Little-Acorn]

If a private company had tried to run anything like Obamacare, making the same claims Obama did and conducting the same sales strategy and website operation, wouldn't all its officers be in JAIL by now, serving long sentences?

It's not hard to imagine the various liberals in government today, chortling with glee and declaring to all of us how they stopped the greedy, heartless, eeeevil CEOs, CFOs, and Advertising directors from taking advantage of the poor, helpless victims who became customers of such a deceptively advertised, expensive, and ripoff-prone scheme.

But since those liberals are the very ones doing the deceiving and ripping off, what are the chances we'll see the prosecutions that would have been made against members of the private sector who tried to do the same things?

P.S. Gotta love the name of the former FTC Commissioner describing all this. Precious.

------------------------------------------

Prosecute HealthCare.gov? | National Review Online

Prosecute HealthCare.gov?
The FTC has rules about deceptive advertising. But they don’t apply to the government.

by Andrew Stiles
November 15, 2013 12:00 AM

Conservatives often argue that the federal government should function more like a private business. Obamacare supporters should be grateful it does not, because otherwise HealthCare.gov would almost certainly run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as of the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Orson Swindle, who served as an FTC commissioner from 1997 to 2005, says there are a number of practices that, if HealthCare.gov were a private entity, would result in its being “taken to the shed and horsewhipped” by government regulators.

President Obama’s oft-repeated falsehood, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” — something the administration knew was untrue — would almost certainly be a textbook case of deceptive advertising, punishable under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practice in or affecting commerce.” This includes a “representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer,” such that the consumer would be “likely to have chosen differently but for the deception.”

Private companies engaged in HealthCare.gov’s kind of behavior would face severe consequences, Swindle tells National Review Online. “Businessmen would lose their businesses, salesmen would lose their licenses — that’s the kind of thing we are talking about here,” he says. “The bottom line is that no private entity would be allowed to get away with what the Obama administration is trying to get away with.”

Heather R. Higgins, president and CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, and founder of the Repeal Coalition, recently wrote on National Review Online that the GOP’s anti-Obamacare strategy should include demanding “that the standards that apply in the private sector to protect consumers against fraud, including bait-and-switch and determinations of liability, will apply to the government’s efforts as well.”

The federal government isn’t typically held to such standards; in fact, it’s somewhat frightening the extent to which it is able get away with behavior that would be unlawful in almost any other circumstance.

 

[Little-Acorn]

How did we ever come to the conclusion that the government should not be held to the same criminal standards that the people are?

 

[Moonglow]

So you believe all the commercials that represent their product in a way that a human could use it, as advertised?

 

[JakeStarkey]

Probably not. Bush et al were not prosecuted.

 

[g5000]

I've said time and again that ObamaCare is a classic bait-and-switch con.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Yes, g5000, we know what you said. We just aren't buying what you said. That won't change.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Yes, g5000, we know what you said. We just aren't buying what you said. That won't change.

There goes fake speaking for others again. It's like a regular occurence.

 

[Moonglow]

When was the last time you flew after drinking Red Bull?

 

[Baruch Menachem]

This level of ineptitude and false claims would have them in jail. Convictions.... that would be problematic, but some liberal prosecutor would be foaming at the mouth trying for them

 

[g5000]

Yes, g5000, we know what you said. We just aren't buying what you said. That won't change.

During the debates over ObamaCare's passage, the supporters of ObamaCare frequently cited the per capita spending on healthcare in the US as compared to other countries.

Now that we have ObamaCare in place, surprise surprise surprise, the cost of healthcare is still rising.

ObamaCare further entrenched big ticket items which drive the cost curve upward.

Bait-and-switch.

 

[oreo]

If a private company had tried to run anything like Obamacare, making the same claims Obama did and conducting the same sales strategy and website operation, wouldn't all its officers be in JAIL by now, serving long sentences?

It's not hard to imagine the various liberals in government today, chortling with glee and declaring to all of us how they stopped the greedy, heartless, eeeevil CEOs, CFOs, and Advertising directors from taking advantage of the poor, helpless victims who became customers of such a deceptively advertised, expensive, and ripoff-prone scheme.

But since those liberals are the very ones doing the deceiving and ripping off, what are the chances we'll see the prosecutions that would have been made against members of the private sector who tried to do the same things?

P.S. Gotta love the name of the former FTC Commissioner describing all this. Precious.

------------------------------------------

Prosecute HealthCare.gov? | National Review Online

Prosecute HealthCare.gov?
The FTC has rules about deceptive advertising. But they don’t apply to the government.

by Andrew Stiles
November 15, 2013 12:00 AM

Conservatives often argue that the federal government should function more like a private business. Obamacare supporters should be grateful it does not, because otherwise HealthCare.gov would almost certainly run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as of the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Orson Swindle, who served as an FTC commissioner from 1997 to 2005, says there are a number of practices that, if HealthCare.gov were a private entity, would result in its being “taken to the shed and horsewhipped” by government regulators.

President Obama’s oft-repeated falsehood, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” — something the administration knew was untrue — would almost certainly be a textbook case of deceptive advertising, punishable under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practice in or affecting commerce.” This includes a “representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer,” such that the consumer would be “likely to have chosen differently but for the deception.”

Private companies engaged in HealthCare.gov’s kind of behavior would face severe consequences, Swindle tells National Review Online. “Businessmen would lose their businesses, salesmen would lose their licenses — that’s the kind of thing we are talking about here,” he says. “The bottom line is that no private entity would be allowed to get away with what the Obama administration is trying to get away with.”

Heather R. Higgins, president and CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, and founder of the Repeal Coalition, recently wrote on National Review Online that the GOP’s anti-Obamacare strategy should include demanding “that the standards that apply in the private sector to protect consumers against fraud, including bait-and-switch and determinations of liability, will apply to the government’s efforts as well.”

The federal government isn’t typically held to such standards; in fact, it’s somewhat frightening the extent to which it is able get away with behavior that would be unlawful in almost any other circumstance.

If anyone else had perpetrated such a FRAUD as Obama has done with Obamacare--with continual lies and distortion, they would have already been taken off in handcuffs and now facing multiple criminal charges. PERIOD.

But you'll note that Eric Holder Attorney General of the United States hasn't filed charges or arrest warrants yet-- Anyone else he would have.

 

[thereisnospoon]

So you believe all the commercials that represent their product in a way that a human could use it, as advertised?

What the fuck does that have to do with anything?
Are you implying that it is ok for our government to lie to us just to get us to agree that a piece of legislation that the leaders want should be passed?
If Obamacare were a 100% private sector venture, those in charge would be subject to government sanctions. No question about that.
The ACA is junk. People in Washington are fearful of being associated with it.
Obama can no longer use his slick sales talk to get people to believe in it.
Pandora's box is open.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Probably not. Bush et al were not prosecuted.

The subject matter is Obama, ACA and whether or not had this been a private venture, would there be prosecutable offenses.
Blaming Bush or even mentioning Bush is not accepted.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

Probably not. Take a look at the derivative market.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Yes, g5000, we know what you said. We just aren't buying what you said. That won't change.

Speak only for yourself.
There is no "we".

 

[Little-Acorn]

When do *I* get to publicly advertise a car for sale as "Runs great, never a problem, only driven by a little old lady to church on Sundays", force someone to buy it, and then deliver a beaten-up wreck that has to be towed onto the buyer's driveway... and walk away Scot-free, keep the money, and get selected for four more years doing the same job?