Obamacare

Back in April of this year I wrote about the covert bailout that was buried in the Obamacare bill which gives $5 billion of taxpayer money to unions, states (for public employees) and corporations for health care coverage for retirees aged between 55 and 64. The program is called the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program or ERRP. The UAW is the largest single beneficiary, receiving over 200 million dollars. General Motors also gets a piece of the pork with about a 20 million dollar cut. A recent report by the Washington Examiner identifies early retirees (many of whom are being paid over $100,000 a year in pension payments) of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) as the other top recipient of about 200 million dollars.

Under questioning by me, Pfizer CEO Ian Read refused to repudiate the company's support for ObamaCare at the company's annual meeting today in Dallas. The exchange took place after my remarks in favor our shareholder proposal on the company's lobbying priorities.

When I asked Read if the company would drop its support for ObamaCare, he gave me a summary of what the company considers important in health care reform without directly answering. I said, "Sir, will you answer my question? A 'yes' or 'no' will do." Read rambled further and I responded by saying, "But have already cast your lot with one side." Finally, I said "I will take it as a 'no.' Thank you." Here are my remarks in favor of our proposal:

On Monday Walmart, which has been the subject of much criticism from the National Legal and Policy Center for kowtowing to liberal causes such as cap-and-trade and Obamacare, announced it is going to “reinforce its commitment to deliver low prices.”

No seriously. They really mean it. This time.

The electorate’s repudiation of Barack Obama and his Congressional allies was not only a rejection of Big Government, but also of business elites who were buffeted from the downturn by political dealing at the expense of ordinary people.

Unless Corporate America heeds the election results, it too will risk the wrath of an informed and energized public. Here are CEOs who must pay attention to what happened yesterday:

Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler- Not only did Kindler (above) lead the charge of Big Pharma CEOs for ObamaCare, he actually got a multi-million dollar bonus from Pfizer for doing so. This is not going to look very good once ObamaCare spikes insurance premiums, prompts hospital closures, and explodes the number of uninsured. Of course, Kindler wasn’t naïve or confused, he had reason to help destroy the health system. Big Pharma made a deal that guarantees it customers and insulation from competition. (I assume Kindler plans to retire before the government forces Pfizer to sell its products for less than it costs to produce them.)