Top 10 Worst Government Policies of 2010: ObamaCare Bill, Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and START Treaty

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1. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590)
   • A.K.A. “ObamaCare”, this sweeping healthcare reform act adds $1 trillion to the U.S. tab over the next ten years and many of its effects won’t be felt until 2012 and beyond.  Sure, our current system needs work, but this hoss rework is not the solution.  Of course, there’s also that health insurance mandate……. (but I kind of like that part).
2. Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
   • Despite a heated debate from all sides of the spectrum, the lame duck congress voted to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevented openly gay Americans from serving in the military.
3. New START Treaty
   • This new START treaty, signed into law on April 8, 2010, basically lowers all of the limits set by the initial treaty, START I.  Many expressed concern that Russia would not hold up their end of the deal, but ultimately the treaty was passed.
4. End of Combat Missions in Iraq
   • I would certainly not put this on my personal list of worsts, but the people have spoken!  In August of last year, President Obama announced the continuation of the Bush exit plan in Iraq.  Of course, many thousands of troops remain in Iraq for the time being, but at least we know kind of where we’re headed.
5. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
   • By most accounts, Dodd-Frank is the most sweeping change in financial policy the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression.  In a nutshell, this act changes nearly all aspects of how our government regulates the economy, and many have expressed concern that it goes too far.  We shall see, as most of the bill’s provisions don’t take effect until 2012.
7. Ending “Making Work Pay” in favor of Payroll Tax Cut
   • This change was discussed that heavily, so I’m surprised to see it voted in on this list.  In 2010, the Obama Administration ended the “Making Work Pay” tax credit, which put money back in the pockets of those who are employed but make little, in favor of a Payroll Tax Cut which puts more money in your pocket as your pay increases, thus decreasing returns for families below the poverty line to almost nil.
9. Extending of the Bush Tax Cuts
   • In the waning seconds of the 11th hour Congress signed legislation to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for another two years, despite earlier indications that tax cuts would be allowed to expire for the highest income earners.  As expected, most conservatives and Republicans were in support of a full extension, so I’m kind of surprised to find that our readers voted it on here.  Very cool!
10. Arizona Immigration Reform
    • I guess this is even more evidence that some non-conservatives do read here!  Arizona’s immigration reform laws caused much controversy as many claimed its provisions that allowed officers to ask for papers of suspected illegal immigrants were a form of racial profiling.  Parts of this law were eventually banned by a judge when the U.S. took Arizona to Judge Judy.

Further Reading:

• Top 10 Worst Politicians of 2010
• Top 10 Best Politicians of 2010
• 10 Most Shocking Election Results of 2010
• 10 Most Disappointing Election Results of 2010
• Top 10 Worst Democrats of 2010

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Thanks for reading!

Rick

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