“I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.” Billy Joel
October 8, 2025, And Every Wednesday
By Linda Case Gibbons, Esq.
(Check out Lest We Forget and FYI.)
Cliches are so cliché, but actually, they’re usually true.
Ones like, “You have to break some eggs to make an omelette.” Or, “The best laid plans of mice and men.”
Right about now, Democrats are probably regretting not voting to keep the government open. But maybe not. They have a plan.
Outside of not asking, “Isn’t Congress supposed to keep the government running?” or “How come this happens every year?” your government is closed, man.
Whatever that really means.
So, what is the Democrat’s Plan?
Well, of course, it's to blame the Republicans. Especially Trump. But for another, we do know Sen. Schumer is running scared.
Rep. Ocasio Cortez is after his job, so Chuck figured he’d allow a government shut-down to pacify the Crazy/Communist/Radicals in his Party, even against his better judgment.
But turns out here were some other considerations.
Democrats are furious because the bill up for vote doesn’t give illegal immigrants health care. But, wait. There’s more.
It seems Obamacare needs bailing out.
Just as Obama is incapable of building his own library with any kind of competence, his “If you like your doctor” healthcare plan was just as bad.
This week, the Washington Post let slip that the Affordable Care Act was never “affordable.”
“The real problem is that the Affordable Care Act was never actually affordable,” was stated in an October 5, 2025 opinion piece.
Adding, “His signature achievement assumed that risk pools would be bigger than they turned out to be. As a result, policies cost more than expected.”
Except if you had planned better.
Of course, we all knew Obamacare wouldn’t be affordable from Day One. That is, regular people knew it.
And then those regular people saw it with their own eyes when their healthcare bills went from $200 a month to over $1,000 dollars.
But nobody in government cared about those people. And now it seems the “Enhanced premium tax credits” for Obamacare has run out of funding.
That’s what this whole shut-down mess is about.
And since that wasn’t funded in the Government Shut-down bill, the Democrats voted no, and then, Hell, yes, to the shutting down the government for everyone.
So, what are Enhanced Premium Tax Credits?”
The tax credits were introduced in 2021, during Covid, and were extended through the end of 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act. (Joe)
The credits made healthcare more affordable to Affordable Care Act enrollees (poor people).
It’s calculated as a percentage of income. For instance, if the tax credits expire, an individual earning $28,000 dollars will go from paying $325 dollars to $1,238.
A person earning $18,000 dollars will go from paying nothing, to paying $378 dollars.
It’s unfortunate because Obama did what he always does, not plan ahead.
Remember he was the guy who wanted to change over to algae to replace gasoline for autos, when the technology didn’t exist.
And it was Obama who pushed electric vehicles for all, but neglected to provide for charging stations.
That’s what happens with Democrats.
So skyrocketing healthcare costs without tax credits are where we are.
I guess the people Obama misled can join the club along with the rest of us.
It’s simply another example of Joe’s incompetence. Along with Barack’s. And Democrat-governed states.
In New Jersey, electric costs have increased 150 percent because Democrat Gov. Murphy shut down coal-fired and nuclear power plants, determined to make consumers rely on windmills for their electricity.
Determined to push a Green Agenda, that Greta Thunberg would love, but nobody else does. Especially the whales the windmills killed.
Because, when all is said and done, anyone who knows anything, knows that unless you’re growing tulips in Holland, windmills ain’t gonna’ cut it.
And that when the dust clears, or the lights go out, we are being faced with a Do It Yourself government.
Hold the line, America. Stay strong, Patriots.