Blog Posts

Preaching The Gospel Of Your Own Destruction

7/2/2012

I live in very middleclass area. Plumbers, Carpenters, electricians,
and every other blue collar type predominately populate our area.
Throw in a healthy dose of cops, firemen, and other public workers and I’d say we have just about every union represented in our quaint little town. If the collective was asked I’m sure they would describe themselves as extremely conservative. “I carry a copy to the constitution in my pocket!” is a commonly heard phrase.

As the political landscape in this country evolves and we
get ever closer to the November elections I find myself, when sitting in public
places, overhearing the conversations around me and quite frankly I just can’t
understand where the reasoning comes from. Here are some of the things I hear
in no particular order and why I simply can’t understand what makes them feel
this way:

I can’t believe that my taxes are gong to be raised by Obamacare! –
They’re not unless:
A: You refuse to get health insurance by 1/1/2014
or
B: You earn more than 200K a year in which your taxes will go up less than one percent (.09%).

Very few of the people I hear complaining make close to that kind of
money. The cost of insurance will be driven down and state insurance exchanges
will be set up to help drive those costs down and to provide an affortable alternative
to going it alone. Here is more information on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
otherwise known as Obamacare.
http://www.healthcare.gov/

Why should I have to pay for someone else’s healthcare! –
That's what the government is trying to PREVENT. Under the current system the uninsured show up
in emergency rooms when the problem could have been treated earlier and much
cheaper. They can’t pay so the hospital absorbs the cost resulting in higher
healthcare cost for the rest of us.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/05/20110510a.html

If the president would just let them drill drill drill gas prices would be lower! –
Domestic oil production is higher than it has been in years yet prices are still through the roof. Why? Oil is a global market. Unrest in the Middle East can cause prices to soar globally which has a huge effect on the price at the pump. In addition to that, Wall Street speculators are allowed to wheel and deal with oil prices
resulting in much higher prices. Put a tight leash on oil speculators and prices will fall.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/us-oil-production-gas-prices-high/story?id=16186002

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-4707770.html

If we tax the “Job Creators” it will result in higher unemployment! –
This has got to be my favorite. “Job Creators”, what a joke. 10 years of huge tax cuts for the wealthy and where are all the jobs? I’ll tell you. They are in China, India, Mexico, and anywhere else Corporate America is free to exploit and pollute in the name of cheap consumer products. The wealthy pay an average 14% on their income while all the people I hear complaining are paying 22 to 36. Republicans have been pushing trickle down economics for years. The only thing that trickles down is …..
http://robertreich.org/post/11329289033

Almost half the U.S. population doesn’t pay taxes at all! –
Yes. Those people are called the poor. What you should be outraged at is the fact that this number is growing every day at a very alarming rate.
http://americanpoverty.org/

This country simply can’t afford to keep paying welfare! –
These people get so offended at the poor needing help yet you show them a list of corporations that pay 0 in taxes and help themselves to billions of dollars of OUR hard earned money in the form of subsides and tax loopholes and they are totally ok with it. A single mother who works two jobs but still needs help feeding her children is offensive but fortune 500 companies can pick our pockets all day long without issue. The welfare that we simply cannot afford anymore is the billions of dollars we blindly hand to corporate America. They horde all the profits for a select few at the top, ship our jobs overseas, take away benefits that were promised, and undercut our way of life. They continue to socialize ther losses and privatize their profits.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSTRE7A261C20111103

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/report-26-us-companies-negative-average-federal-income/story?id=16111671

These are just a few of the things I hear every day at the diner, grocery store, or any other local gathering place.
They deliver their sermons with vigor and conviction. They unknowingly preach the gospel of their own downfall while
parading ignorance and hypocrisy as if it were a virtue.

I’ll end with a quote from poet Charles Bukowski,
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubt while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”

1 Comment

OBAMACARE

6/30/2012

1 Comment

This week there was a historic decision handed down by the supreme court on Healthcare Reform or what people call "Obamacare". It’s actually called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There has been a lot of complaining out there about what is or is not in the law.

So what’s actually in the Law? Below is a breakdown of what is already in effect
and what will happen in the next few years. It may not be perfect but it’s a
great first step toward equality in our healthcare system

Already in effect:

It allows the Food and Drug Administration to approve more generic drugs (making for more
competition in the market to drive down prices)

It increases the rebates on drugs people get through Medicare (so drugs cost less)

It establishes a non-profit group, that the government doesn't directly control,
PCORI, to study different kinds of treatments to see what works better and is
the best use of money.

It makes chain restaurants like McDonalds display how many calories are in all of their
foods, so people can have an easier time making choices to eat healthy.

It makes a "high-risk pool" for people with pre-existing conditions. Basically, this is a
way to slowly ease into getting rid of "pre-existing conditions" altogether. For
now, people who already have health issues that would be considered
"pre-existing conditions" can still get insurance, but at different rates than
people without them.

It renews some old policies, and calls for the appointment of various positions.

It creates a new 10% tax on indoor tanning booths.

It says that health insurance companies can no longer tell customers that they won't get any
more coverage because they have hit a "lifetime limit". Basically, if someone
has paid for health insurance, that company can't tell that person that he's
used that insurance too much throughout his life so they won't cover him any
more. They can't do this for lifetime spending, and they're limited in how much
they can do this for yearly spending.

Kids can continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance until they're 26.

No more "pre-existing conditions" for kids under the age of 19.

Insurers have less ability to change the amount customers have to pay for their plans.

People in a "Medicare Gap" get a rebate to make up for the extra money they would otherwise
have to spend.

Insurers can't just drop customers once they get sick.

Insurers have to tell customers what they're spending money on.
(Instead of just "administrative fee", they have to be more specific).

Insurers need to have an appeals process for when they turn down a claim, so customers have
some manner of recourse other than a lawsuit when they're turned down.

New ways to stop fraud are created.

Medicare extends to smaller hospitals.

Medicare patients with chronic illnesses must be monitored more thoroughly.

Reduces the costs for some companies that handle benefits for the elderly.

A new website is made to give people insurance and health information.
(http://www.healthcare.gov/ ).

A credit program is made that will make it easier for business to invest in new ways to
treat illness.

A limit is placed on just how much of a percentage of the money an insurer makes can be
profit, to make sure they're not price-gouging customers.

A limit is placed on what type of insurance accounts can be used to pay for
over-the-counter drugs without a prescription. Basically, your insurer isn't
paying for the Aspirin you bought for that hangover.

Employers need to list the benefits they provided to employees on their tax forms.

8/1/2012

Any health plans sold after this date must provide preventative care
(mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) without requiring any sort of co-pay or charge.

1/1/2013
If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes go up by less than 1% (0.9%).

1/1/2014
No more "pre-existing conditions" at all. People will be charged the same regardless of
their medical history.

If you can afford insurance but do not get it, you will be taxed. This is the "mandate"
that people are talking about. Basically, it's a trade-off for the "pre-existing
conditions" bit, saying that since insurers now have to cover you
regardless of what you have, you can't just wait to buy insurance until you get
sick. Otherwise no one would buy insurance until they needed it. You can opt not
to get insurance, but you'll have to pay the tax instead, unless of course
you're not buying insurance because you just can't afford it.

Insurers now can't do annual spending caps. Their customers can get as much health care in a
given year as they need.

Make it so more poor people can get Medicaid by making the low-income cut-off higher.

Small businesses get some tax credits for two years.

Businesses with over 50 employees must offer health insurance to full-time employees, or
pay a penalty.

Limits how high of annual deductible insurers can charge customers.

Cut some Medicare spending

Place a $2500 limit on tax-free spending on FSAs (accounts for medical spending). Basically,
people using these accounts now have to pay taxes on any money over $2500 they
put into them.

Establish health insurance exchanges and rebates for the lower and middle-class,
basically making it so they have an easier time getting affordable medical coverage.

Congress and Congressional staff will only be offered the same insurance offered to people in
the insurance exchanges, rather than Federal Insurance. Basically, we won't be
footing their health care bills any more than any other American citizen.

A new tax on pharmaceutical companies.

A new tax on the purchase of medical devices.

A new tax on insurance companies based on their market share. Basically, the more of the
market they control, the more they'll get taxed.

The amount you can deduct from your taxes for medical expenses increases.

1/1/2015

Doctors' pay will be determined by the quality of their care, not how many people they treat

1/1/2017

If any state can come up with their own plan, one which gives citizens the same
level of care at the same price as the PPACA, they can ask the Secretary of
Health and Human Resources for permission to do their plan instead of the
PPACA. So if they can get the same results without, say, the mandate, they can
be allowed to do so. Vermont, for example, has expressed
a desire to just go straight to single-payer (in simple terms, everyone is
covered, and medical expenses are paid by taxpayers).

1/1/2018

All health care plans must now cover preventative care (not just the new ones).

A new tax on "Cadillac" health care plans
(more expensive plans for rich people who want fancier coverage).

1/1/20
The elimination of the "Medicare gap"

1 Comment

Forward>>