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Did you read the entire article? Just saying it drives me nuts when people read something and only take what they want from it and ignore the rest. The proof of how the ACA works will be seen in a few years at what healthcare is like in the US -- shortages of doctors, waiting times, gov't agency deciding when and if someone qualifies for certain procedures, and on and on. My guess is, the system will be much worse for the 80% now with coverage, and a bit better for the 20% without. That, to me, is going against the odds, and it usually ends in a disaster for the majority.
The ACA is a disaster with a plan, and this physician spells it out. I suppose for those who believe that a single-payer, gov't run healthcare system, with IRS agents running it is the best thing for the country and the sick people, then they would be all for the ACA.
Read this with an open mind, and tell me honestly if forcing America to move to a single-payer healthcare system, with a gov't agency set up as the only authority to determine who and what care everyone is eligible for makes sense at all.
Of course you've heard of "liar loans"—in the heyday of subprime mortgages, unscrupulous lenders handed out mortgages to practically everyone with a pulse. "So you're saying you make $100,000 a year? Great, check this box titled 'McMansion.'"
We all know how this charade ended. Now Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D., an acclaimed expert on the subject of Obamacare, warns that the delay of the employer mandate by one year will force Americans into a single-payer system, raising insurance premiums and encouraging "liar subsidies" that might prove fiscally devastating. Not to mention that under the new health care system, you may well end up dead…
Dan Steinhart
Editor, Casey Research
Obamacare is a hodgepodge of new regulations, requirements, and penalties. I'd like to start by defining three terms, which, while obscure today, should begin to enter our everyday vocabulary as Obamacare continues to take effect:
Health insurance exchanges are the basket of qualified insurance policies that meet the new healthcare law requirements for expanded coverage. These may be set up by the states (many are refusing to do so, due to high cost and fear of bankrupting the state) or the federal government. The Exchanges are supposed to be fully operational by October 1, 2013, but it is questionable whether they will actually be in place by that deadline.
The individual mandate requires that individuals purchase health insurance that meets the new, expanded federal requirements. Individuals who do not comply face a financial penalty. Individuals who fall below minimum income levels will be eligible for taxpayer-funded subsidies to buy health insurance.
The employer mandate requires that businesses with more than 50 full-time employees must provide health insurance for all employees, and that insurance must meet the new standards set forth in the new law. Businesses that do not comply must pay a financial penalty for each employee, which for large companies can run into the millions of dollars annually. This is the piece of Obamacare that has been delayed by one year.
Selective Enforcement
Why delay one component of Obamacare and not the others? More specifically, why delay the employer mandate but not the individual mandate?
To answer that question, we must first understand this fact: Obama wants a single-payer healthcare system in the US.
This is not a secret:
Barack Obama, 2003: "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer healthcare system for America, but as all of you know, we may not get there immediately."
Barack Obama, 2007: "But I don't think we will be able to eliminate employer-based coverage immediately. There is potentially going to be some transition time."
These quotes are not taken out of context. Anyone who has been paying attention knows that transitioning to a single-payer system has been Obama's and his cohorts' ultimate goal all along:
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), 2009: "Next to me was a guy from the insurance company who then argued against the public option. He said it would not let private insurance companies compete. A public option would put the private insurance companies out of business and lead to single-payer. My single-payer friends, he was right. The man was right!"
Here, Rep. Schakowsky is suggesting that the "public option" will lead to their desired goal of a single-payer healthcare system. Single-payer proponents no longer use this term, since the public has clearly and consistently opposed it.
The "public option" has been renamed "Medicaid expansion," which serves the public-relations purpose of confusing the public and avoiding calling taxpayer-funded healthcare "single payer."
Jacob S. Hacker (Yale Professor), 2008: "Someone once said to me this is a Trojan Horse for single payer. It's not a Trojan Horse, right? It's right there! I am telling you. We are going to get there. Over time. Slowly. But we are going to move away from reliance on employer-based health insurance, as we should, but we will do it in a way that we are not going to frighten people into thinking they are going to lose their private insurance. We will give them a choice of public or private insurance when they are in the pool. We are going to let them keep their private insurance as long as their employer continues to provide it."
Hacker nicely sums up the underlying goals of Obamacare: not to increase competition or patient choice, but to drive people out of private insurance as a stepping stone to a government-run, single-payer system.
Stepping Stone to Single-Payer
Knowing Obama and his cohorts' goals, the purpose behind the delay of the employer mandate seems clearer: to hurry the "transition time" away from employer-based health insurance and to a single-payer system.
By forcing individuals to purchase compliant healthcare plans but not forcing employers to provide those plans, Obama is creating a swell of 10-13 million workers that must enroll in health insurance, but cannot obtain it from their employers. These workers thus have no choice but to use the government-controlled health insurance exchanges, or else pay a financial penalty.
This represents a doubling of the number of workers forced to get health insurance on the exchanges.
Importantly, the IRS has ruled that if workers have access to affordable health insurance through their employer, their dependents are not eligible for taxpayer-funded subsidies on the Obamacare health insurance exchanges.
Now that businesses will not be required to offer health insurance until 2015, workers and their dependents will be eligible for taxpayer-funded subsidies to purchase health insurance on the exchanges.
This will cost taxpayers an estimated $60 billion dollars in 2014 alone to cover the increased costs of subsidies—and the loss of revenue from employer penalties.
This $60 billion figure is before we take into account the "liar subsidies" that will invariably occur now that the administration has quietly removed eligibility verification for taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Community organizers are already being hired around the country to sign people up for the health exchanges. There are no penalties for failing to verify eligibility, and no penalties for signing up people who cannot afford to pay the monthly insurance premiums.
It is set up for disaster, much like the "liar loans" that helped topple the mortgage industry when people were not required to verify their income to qualify for a mortgage.
Remember, by enacting the dual mandates, Obamacare ostensibly was designed to ensure that its costs were borne by businesses, not taxpayers. But when the president decided to enforce only certain portions of the healthcare law and delay others, he shifted the cost of health insurance onto the backs of taxpayers.
This is all on top of the burdensome costs Obamacare has already created. Various studies have projected that private insurance premiums will rise between 20 to 60% in 2014, and some as much as 100%.
How long will the private-insurance market survive with such exploding costs? People will not be able to afford such massive premium increases. That seems to be the point: drive up costs and drive everyone into the arms of government-controlled medical care.
Jeff Smith from Seattle summed it up nicely in a Wall Street Journal letter on June 12:
"I was going to leave my job… to start a business until I shopped around for a healthcare plan: At Group Health, a health-maintenance organization in Seattle, I was given a quote of $842 per month for me and my family. But that would increase to $2,320 starting in January 2014 when Obamacare kicks in—a 276% increase. Why? Because I would be forced to carry coverage I don't want and don't need, such as maternity care. Welcome to the world of socialized medicine, courtesy of the Un-Affordable Care Act."
How Obamacare Affects You and Your Medical Care
The delay in the employer mandate is but one of dozens of negative impacts Obamacare will have on your medical services. As an independent physician, I've been discussing these issues with my patients for the past few years, helping them to prepare for what's ahead.
Here are the ten most important points that I tell my patients:
Your private insurance premiums will cost more and more each year.
You will lose the choices and flexibility in health insurance policies that we have had available up until now.
As reimbursements continue to drop, fewer and fewer doctors will take Medicare (for those 65 and older) or Medicaid (people younger than 65).
Fewer doctors accepting Medicare and Medicaid causes an increase in wait times for appointments and a decrease in the numbers and types of specialists available on these plans. Consumers would be wise to line up their doctors now.
Studies from various organizations and states have consistently shown that Medicaid recipients have longer waits for medical care, fewer options for specialists, poorer medical outcomes, and die sooner after surgeries than people with no health insurance at all. Yet an increasing number of Americans will be forced into this second-class medical care.
As more people enter the taxpayer-funded plans (Medicare and Medicaid) instead of paying for private insurance, the costs to provide this increased medical care and medications will escalate, leading to higher taxes.
With no eligibility verifications in place, millions of people who are in the US illegally will be able to access taxpayer-funded medical services, making longer lines, longer wait times, and less money available for medical care for American citizens… unless taxes are increased even more.
Higher expenditures to provide medical services lead to rationing of medical care and treatment options to reduce costs. This is the mandated function of the Independent Payment Advisory Board: to cut costs by deciding which types of medical services to allow… or disallow.
If you are denied treatment, you have no appeal of IPAB decisions; you are simply out of luck, and possibly out of life. This is a radical departure from the appeals process required for all private health insurance plans. Further, the IPAB is accountable only to President Obama, and cannot be overridden by Congress or the courts. IPAB is designed to have the final word on your health.
Under current regulations, if medical care is denied by Medicare, then a patient is not allowed to pay cash to a Medicare-contracted physician or hospital or other health professional. Patients who need medical care that is denied under Medicare or Medicaid will find themselves having to either: 1) look for an independent physician or hospital (quite rare these days); or 2) go outside the USA for treatment.
Expect a loss of medical privacy. Beginning in 2014, if you participate in government health insurance, your health records will be sent to a centralized federal database, with or without your consent.
The bottom line is that Americans are losing more and more of their medical freedom. By 2015, so many workers will be trapped in the government-run health insurance exchanges that there will be no going back to the private plans we have today. At this rate, single-payer proponents will drive private insurance companies out of business, which has been their intention all along.
Americans need to become far more proactive about taking charge of their health. The healthier you are, the less vulnerable you are to our degrading healthcare system. It's also wise to consider proactively planning for medical treatment options outside the US.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/10-reasons-why-obamacare-is-going-to-ruin-your-medical-care-and-your-life
Polls are manipulative, depending on who takes them. Point is, the country might be waking up to the fact that ALL of Congress and ALL of DC is FOS sociopaths who only care about maintaining THEIR Billionaire lifestyles.
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/26/lame-duck-disapproval-of-obamas-job-performance-hits-two-year-high-in-new-nyt-poll/
You trust the Democrats? You believe they don't have enough money to run their offices? Do the math on how much money you would have to have in the bank at .01% guaranteed interest rates to have this much in spending money each year, and that will tell you how BOTH sides are living.
I simply keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 MILLION EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?
The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.
Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?
You trust the Democrats? Naive.
On the floor of the Senate in 2006, then-Sen. Barrack Obama said, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. ... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
Since President Obama has taken office, the national debt has risen from about $11 trillion to $17 trillion and counting, and he is currently looking to raise the debt ceiling once again during his administration. Is it a failure of leadership, are we borrowing from other countries to finance our reckless fiscal policies, are our children and grandchildren much more in debt than they were five years ago? Absolutely. Yet the president apparently has a very short memory from what he said as a senator speaking about the Bush administration, and what he is saying today on his own. I wasn't any happier during the Bush administration about the burgeoning debt and the burden on our children.
His stand and threats toward Congress is the height of hypocrisy. He is unwilling to either negotiate nor look at where the government can cut its outrageous spending. He and his family live like the royal family, at taxpayers' expense. He and his administration behave like a dictators and thugs. The country is no better off than it was five years ago; in fact, I would dare say we are much worse off both in national and international arenas. Do I feel safer than I did five years ago? Absolutely not.
Does he not remember what he said seven years ago, or does he just assume that we don't remember his stand on so many issues that as president he has changed time after time?
I would also like to ask, why isn't "Obamacare" (the Affordable Care Act) good enough for Obama and his family, for Congress and their families and staff, for big business, labor unions and other friends of Obama, but it is good enough for the rest of us? Hypocritical? You bet!
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20131005-OPINION-310050309
I don't disagree with you on everything. I actually think if you and I could have 1 week in DC to change laws, WE could agree, even though you are very liberal and I am very conservative, on enough items to correct so much that is wrong in the country.
That said, if you and I could do this, why can't the ones in Congress and the President do the same thing? IMO, it's because they are ALL sociopaths.
They have SS numbers on everyone, so having EXEMPTIONS, as I did say, corrects that problem. With a FLAT exemption amount PER PERSON for housing, food, health insurance, gas, it would spare taxes on the truly needy, not bury the middle class, and only give a nominal exemption to the truly rich -- almost meaningless. The rich would be exempt from up to ONE $500,000 home for example, and all their other homes would be taxed. All their travel would be taxed. All their cars and toys and stuff would be taxed. See how that works? Your solution does nothing to capture taxes on the illegals in the country and all of the illegal businesses. Plus, there actually are middle class investors, believe it or not, who would be hurt terribly, especially retired ones, by taxing capital gains at high levels. I'd be all for taxing capital gains if it was progressive by income from those gains. Say, if your capital gains are under $400,000 then the 15% is fine. 20% for $400K - $700K. 25% for $700K-$1M. 30% from $1M - $3M. $35% from $3M-$5M. And so on, until those making the insane amounts, like $50-300 million in income get taxed at 50% or even 60%. It won't happen because those in control are those making the big bucks, and since our own gov't runs a ton of the illegal businesses, that's just another reason you will never see this simple sales tax solution either.
Again, why does everyone on this board give a complete pass to the Democrats in DC? They take the same millions from taxpayers for their cooks, dog trainers, chauffeurs, 1st class travel, 18 interns, etc., but you give them a pass. WHY? All of Congress should have term limits because they are ALL takers and scum.
THE answer is to abolish the income tax altogether and have a flat 20% federal sales tax at the retail level. All those "rich" people you despise would be paying tons more into the system, because they spend tons more, and all the very poor, with a few exemptions for basics per person -- utilities, food, housing, health insurance -- would pay essentially nothing. But tall the illegals and all the illegal businesses WOULD also be forced into paying the 20% because they also have to purchase things.
You won't see this, because those in control can't allow a system that is truly impartial and won't allow for manipulation by FAVORS bought by corporations and special interests groups.
Why the people on this board cannot see that the problem lies EQUAL with both sides in DC is beyond belief. The one side, living like KINGS on taxpayers money, just like the Republicans, by the way, have really screwed the brains of about 53% of the public real good.
Nothing left to say!
Go competent gov't!
Nothing left to say!
Go competent gov't!
Nothing left to say!
Go competent gov't!
Go competent gov't!
Thomas Sowell: Who shut down the government?
Oct. 12, 2013 @ 07:55 PM
Even when it comes to something as basic, and apparently as simple and straightforward, as the question of who shut down the federal government, there are diametrically opposite answers, depending on whether you talk to Democrats or to Republicans.
There is really nothing complicated about the facts. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted all the money required to keep all government activities going — except for Obamacare.
This is not a matter of opinion. You can check the Congressional Record.
As for the House of Representatives’ right to grant or withhold money, that is not a matter of opinion either. You can check the Constitution of the United States. All spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives, which means that congressmen there have a right to decide whether or not they want to spend money on a particular government activity.
Whether Obamacare is good, bad or indifferent is a matter of opinion. But it is a matter of fact that members of the House of Representatives have a right to make spending decisions based on their opinion.
Obamacare is indeed “the law of the land,” as its supporters keep saying, and the Supreme Court has upheld its constitutionality.
But the whole point of having a division of powers within the federal government is that each branch can decide independently what it wants to do or not do, regardless of what the other branches do, when exercising the powers specifically granted to that branch by the Constitution.
The hundreds of thousands of government workers who have been laid off are not idle because the House of Representatives did not vote enough money to pay their salaries or the other expenses of their agencies — unless they are in an agency that would administer Obamacare.
Since we cannot read minds, we cannot say who — if anybody — “wants to shut down the government.” But we do know who had the option to keep the government running and chose not to. The money voted by the House of Representatives covered everything that the government does, except for Obamacare.
The Senate chose not to vote to authorize that money to be spent, because it did not include money for Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that he wants a “clean” bill from the House of Representatives, and some in the media keep repeating the word “clean” like a mantra. But what is unclean about not giving Harry Reid everything he wants?
If Sen. Reid and President Obama refuse to accept the money required to run the government, because it leaves out the money they want to run Obamacare, that is their right. But that is also their responsibility.
You cannot blame other people for not giving you everything you want. And it is a fraud to blame them when you refuse to use the money they did vote, even when it is ample to pay for everything else in the government.
When Barack Obama keeps claiming that it is some new outrage for those who control the money to try to change government policy by granting or withholding money, that is simply a bald-faced lie. You can check the history of other examples of “legislation by appropriation” as it used to be called.
Whether legislation by appropriation is a good idea or a bad idea is a matter of opinion. But whether it is both legal and not unprecedented is a matter of fact.
Perhaps the biggest of the big lies is that the government will not be able to pay what it owes on the national debt, creating a danger of default. Tax money keeps coming into the Treasury during the shutdown, and it vastly exceeds the interest that has to be paid on the national debt.
Even if the debt ceiling is not lifted, that only means that government is not allowed to run up new debt. But that does not mean that it is unable to pay the interest on existing debt.
None of this is rocket science. But unless the Republicans get their side of the story out — and articulation has never been their strong suit — the lies will win. More important, the whole country will lose.
Thomas Sowell, a native of North Carolina, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com. Representations of fact and opinions are solely those of the author.
http://www.hpe.com/opinion/x559273386/Thomas-Sowell-Who-shut-down-the-government
No, it does not. It is an intelligent physician, and you might actually learn something instead of continuing to close your mind to things that the MSM has not told you are ok to read or listen to.
So, by your answers, you fall into the 98% of the sheeple. Not meant as an insult, but simply a fact. I am guilty of it as well, saying, "What can one person do, so SCREW IT!"
To me, this just means those in DC, on BOTH sides, are mostly greedy, selfish, psychopaths and sociopaths, and one day, the country will fall, as did Rome. Different time and circumstances but the same causes -- love of money and power.
Read this with an open mind, and tell me honestly if forcing America to move to a single-payer healthcare system, with a gov't agency set up as the only authority to determine who and what care everyone is eligible for makes sense at all:
http://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/10-reasons-why-obamacare-is-going-to-ruin-your-medical-care-and-your-life
I've been preaching the inevitable economic collapse (due to the actions of those in charge) for the past 20 years, yet no real "collapse" has come, as many "experts" who think like I do keep saying will happen.
Maybe we are correct, but will it take another 200 years (although my own logic says it should have come in the past 2-3 years and certainly will in the next 5), so being angry and fighting it every day might be a waste of our lives, and in the final analysis, we will accomplish nothing to help our children and grandchildren?
Just discouraging to see the evil have so much control with a simple printing press!
It's a perplexing place to be mentally to hate evil and want to see it punished, and justice and logic served, while knowing that for this to happen to the fullest extent, we must have chaos, partial martial law, and then survival of the fittest.
The problem is, for the working Americans who already pay about 50% of everything they earn in various taxes, they are sick of being FORCED to support a large percentage of people who are takers in every area of life and feel entitled, just because they live in America.
Sure there are truly needy, and thousands of charities exists to help them. Can they get to them all? Nope. But to not acknowledge that the welfare system in this country is broken, and it needs major checks and balances installed before the whole country goes broke, is most naive.
Many times laws and regulations need to be passed that benefit the needs of the many over the needs of the few. And major crises must be averted down the road, even if it means some pain is caused in the present.
Since the country is basically broke and living on borrowed money every day, why can't this lame TOTAL gov't do some basic things to bring about a balanced budget that spends no more than is taken in, without making the working Americans pay more than 50% of everything they earn to the gov't in some form?
1. Cut military spending by 30% by leaving only skeleton intelligence crews in most countries. Only act when America's safety is at risk. It's okay to feel badly for people in other countries, but if we keep putting the oxygen masks on the children first, instead of the responsible adults who can help take care of those children later and correct problems, eventually the plane will be filled with nothing but dead people.
2. Only allow food stamps and other welfare programs for the needy at a capped rate -- 2 parents and 2 children. If someone on welfare has more than two children, then they have to figure out how to pay for them.
3. If a woman is on welfare, she must take a birth control shot that lasts for several months, and to qualify for welfare after that point, she must continue the shots. Aren't you tired of people saying they are so "disabled" that they need total welfare, yet they have no problem continuing to find the energy to have unprotected sex and pop out more welfare recipients?
4. Cut the $1.2-$4.9 MILLION dollar stipend furnished to EACH member of Congress by 50% at least. Seriously, do these people who work about 4 months out of the year need to steal that much taxpayer funding to run their offices? Do they NEED chauffeurs, cooks, people to read their bills, people to write their speeches, dog trainers, first-class travel, and 18 freaking interns to handle their every whim? It has gotten beyond ridiculous how they live off the backs of the American taxpayer.
5. Fix the LEGAL immigration system in the country, and cut off ALL welfare for ILLEGAL people. If ILLEGAL immigrants KNEW that their children would not be allowed in schools, they could not get food stamps, there was no gov't housing provided, and no welfare programs were available, they would STOP coming across the borders. We'd only need border patrol to try and stop illegal items from crossing. No need for fences and wasted billions of dollars that could be spend more productively elsewhere!
6. Stop all contributions over $500 to ANY political campaign, and only allow an individual running for office to contribute up to $50,000 of their own money to a campaign.
7. Put term limits on all of Congress and the Supreme Court.
These are just a very few ideas, but BOTH sides see this job as a lifetime of living like KINGS, so why change anything? They control the rules, and the rules benefit them, so we will see nothing happen until an economic collapse forces their hand.
If this video does not make one irritated on several levels, then I would say that person is in the same frame of mind as this lady, and they are part of the problem that is dragging the country down for every American who is not a total TAKER.
That's what I've been preaching for the past 20 years, yet no real "collapse" has come, as many "experts" who think like I do keep saying is inevitable.
Maybe we are correct, but it will take another 200 years (although my own logic says it should have come in the past 2-3 years and certainly will in the next 5), so being angry and fighting it every day might be a waste of our lives, and in the final analysis, we will accomplish nothing to help our children and grandchildren.
Just discouraging to see the evil have so much control with a simple printing press!
It's a perplexing place to be mentally to hate evil and want to see it punished, and justice and logic served, while knowing that for this to happen to the fullest extent, we must have chaos, partial martial law, and then survival of the fittest.
Perhaps we worry for no good reasons? Perhaps our definition of "rational" no longer applies in economics? If the US controls the board in the world currency game, can nothing touch them? Logically, this makes no sense to believe that the Fed can push an extra TRILLION dollars, or more, into circulation every year, and have no consequences, but that seems to be the reality for now.
Can anyone find a credible economist who addresses EXACTLY why the Fed and the US cannot just print dollars forever? Even if unemployment goes to 50%, why can't they simply put everyone on welfare programs and print more dollars? Does it matter what the NUMBER is for how much the US is IN DEBT -- 17 trillion, 25 trillion, 50 trillion, 1,000 trillion? Does it even matter?
I know it SOUNDS ludicrous, but those holding the purse strings seem to believe this IS possible. They FEEL untouchable as long as they have that pesky monopoly printing machine. And as irritating as it is, it seems to be working pretty well for the KINGS in DC, doesn't it?
Is this guy 100% right?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/10/19/no-the-united-states-will-not-go-into-a-debt-crisis-not-now-not-ever/
Perhaps we worry for no good reasons? Perhaps our definition of "rational" no longer applies in economics? If the US controls the board in the world currency game, can nothing touch them? Logically, this makes no sense to believe that the Fed can push an extra TRILLION dollars, or more, into circulation every year, and have no consequences, but that seems to be the reality for now.
Can anyone find a credible economist who addresses EXACTLY why the Fed and the US cannot just print dollars forever? Even if unemployment goes to 50%, why can't they simply put everyone on welfare programs and print more dollars? Does it matter what the NUMBER is for how much the US is IN DEBT -- 17 trillion, 25 trillion, 50 trillion, 1,000 trillion? Does it even matter?
I know it SOUNDS ludicrous, but those holding the purse strings seem to believe this IS possible. They FEEL untouchable as long as they have that pesky monopoly printing machine. And as irritating as it is, it seems to be working pretty well for the KINGS in DC, doesn't it?
Is this guy 100% right?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/10/19/no-the-united-states-will-not-go-into-a-debt-crisis-not-now-not-ever/
Perhaps we worry for no good reasons? Perhaps our definition of "rational" no longer applies in economics? If the US controls the board in the world currency game, can nothing touch them? Logically, this makes no sense to believe that the Fed can push an extra TRILLION dollars, or more, into circulation every year, and have no consequences, but that seems to be the reality for now.
Can anyone find a credible economist who addresses EXACTLY why the Fed and the US cannot just print dollars forever? Even if unemployment goes to 50%, why can't they simply put everyone on welfare programs and print more dollars? Does it matter what the NUMBER is for how much the US is IN DEBT -- 17 trillion, 25 trillion, 50 trillion, 1,000 trillion? Does it even matter?
I know it SOUNDS ludicrous, but those holding the purse strings seem to believe this IS possible. They FEEL untouchable as long as they have that pesky monopoly printing machine. And as irritating as it is, it seems to be working pretty well for the KINGS in DC, doesn't it?
Is this guy 100% right?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/10/19/no-the-united-states-will-not-go-into-a-debt-crisis-not-now-not-ever/
If the COUNTRY is lucky and TAXPAYERS are lucky, it will NEVER get fixed!
Is it just me, or does that video make every hard-working American want to puke for a variety of reasons?
I've heard nothing about this but read on another board where someone said he was in a grocery store today, and they kept announcing that due to computer problems in the "system," that food stamps were not being taken today. Not sure of the store or how long this would be in effect. I find nothing on the internet about this or a problem at Wal Mart?
If this SINGLE program were to be stopped for 2 weeks, and perhaps the Obama phones stopped working, they would have riots, IMO.
ALL are TAKERS in DC. What part of this do you not understand, and HOW can you defend either side of these crooks?
I keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 Million EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?
The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.
Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?
When someone asks, "How can the gov't continue to let the country go down the tubes?" or "How can they bicker and let bad things keep happening?" -- I simply keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 MILLION EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?
The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.
Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?
When someone asks, "How can the gov't continue to let the country go down the tubes?" or "How can they bicker and let bad things keep happening?" -- I simply keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 MILLION EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?
The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.
Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?
I keep reminding people that "our elected officials" in the House EACH get a $1.2 - $1.6 MILLION stipend of taxpayer money to help them do their job, and EACH one in the Senate dips their sociopath hand in the same taxpayer bucket for $2.6 - $4.9 Million EACH! If you had that much GUARANTEED, tax-free income, plus your $170,000+ salary and only God knows the perks from big business on top of all of this, would you be worried about ANYTHING happening to the sheeple?
The love of money is the root of all evil, and power corrupts. It's been the perfect storm for creating sociopaths and psychopaths in DC since they figured out they could rig the system in their favor many years ago.
Think about it. If you had a cook, a personal trainer (if you wanted one), a dog trainer, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a bill reader, a speech writer, a bodyguard or two, important people calling constantly wanting favors and willing to give you all sorts of crap to get them, and a dozen interns, most 30-50 years younger than you and willing to rub your feet and any other body parts you designate just to keep their jobs, what would your state of mind be? Would you begin to think you were a king above all of the small people in the country? Would you live in your head in another realm?
There it is. Once again, the bankster cartel runs the world, and they insist on keeping it floating in massive debt to line their pockets. Unbelievable the US gov't let this system happen. But the 535 in DC get to live like billionaires off the taxpayer backs, so they are always happy and could care less.
None address my question. Why not pay off ALL the debt and then live within what taxes raise? Never have to pay interest again or worry about a debt ceiling?
QUESTION OF THE YEAR?
If the Fed needs to keep printing $1 extra Trillion a year to keep everything held up, why do they not simply print enough to pay off ALL the debt at one time? This way, the country basically owes itself, and they would not have to pay any interest on the debt or worry about rising interest rates and having to manipulate to keep them so low? Wouldn't this allow them to mess with interest rates in certain areas to stimulate things, without the worry of having to meet higher interest payments? They have already printed several extra Trillion, so what's a bit more to just end the debt?
Obviously, this plan would only work if they stop spending more than they take in, but what's the flaw in this plan? I'm feeling my age on this one and may be slipping a bit. What are the upsides and downsides of this plan, and why has no one thought of it previously?
QUESTION OF THE YEAR?
If the Fed needs to keep printing $1 extra Trillion a year to keep everything held up, why do they not simply print enough to pay off ALL the debt at one time? This way, the country basically owes itself, and they would not have to pay any interest on the debt or worry about rising interest rates and having to manipulate to keep them so low? Wouldn't this allow them to mess with interest rates in certain areas to stimulate things, without the worry of having to meet higher interest payments? They have already printed several extra Trillion, so what's a bit more to just end the debt?
Obviously, this plan would only work if they stop spending more than they take in, but what's the flaw in this plan? I'm feeling my age on this one and may be slipping a bit. What are the upsides and downsides of this plan, and why has no one thought of it previously?
QUESTION OF THE YEAR?
If the Fed needs to keep printing $1 extra Trillion a year to keep everything held up, why do they not simply print enough to pay off ALL the debt at one time? This way, the country basically owes itself, and they would not have to pay any interest on the debt or worry about rising interest rates and having to manipulate to keep them so low? Wouldn't this allow them to mess with interest rates in certain areas to stimulate things, without the worry of having to meet higher interest payments? They have already printed several extra Trillion, so what's a bit more to just end the debt?
Obviously, this plan would only work if they stop spending more than they take in, but what's the flaw in this plan? I'm feeling my age on this one and may be slipping a bit. What are the upsides and downsides of this plan, and why has no one thought of it previously?
QUESTION OF THE YEAR?
If the Fed needs to keep printing $1 extra Trillion a year to keep everything held up, why do they not simply print enough to pay off ALL the debt at one time? This way, the country basically owes itself, and they would not have to pay any interest on the debt or worry about rising interest rates and having to manipulate to keep them so low? Wouldn't this allow them to mess with interest rates in certain areas to stimulate things, without the worry of having to meet higher interest payments? They have already printed several extra Trillion, so what's a bit more to just end the debt?
Obviously, this plan would only work if they stop spending more than they take in, but what's the flaw in this plan? I'm feeling my age on this one and may be slipping a bit. What are the upsides and downsides of this plan, and why has no one thought of it previously?
QUESTION OF THE YEAR?
If the Fed needs to keep printing $1 extra Trillion a year to keep everything held up, why do they not simply print enough to pay off ALL the debt at one time? This way, the country basically owes itself, and they would not have to pay any interest on the debt or worry about rising interest rates and having to manipulate to keep them so low? Wouldn't this allow them to mess with interest rates in certain areas to stimulate things, without the worry of having to meet higher interest payments? They have already printed several extra Trillion, so what's a bit more to just end the debt?
Obviously, this plan would only work if they stop spending more than they take in, but what's the flaw in this plan? I'm feeling my age on this one and may be slipping a bit. What are the upsides and downsides of this plan, and why has no one thought of it previously?
The new IHUB format sucks! But not as badly as the ball-LESS wimps in the Republican Party! They KNOW that Barry will REFUSE to negotiate on ANY spending cuts that are actual cuts, so giving in 1 inch makes them all pu$$%#$ (pardon my language, but no other word fits what they act like).
These psychopaths actually believe that reducing the amount they OVER-spend is a cut! How ludicrous is this? It's like a guy makes $5,000 a month at his job, and the first month he spends $10,000. His wife says, "Honey, we have to make some drastic cuts in our budget and spending, or our children we will be screwing BADLY!" To which he replies, because he THINKS like a President or a Congressman, "Okay, next month, I will cut $1,000 out of my budget and spending, even though that is a drastic cut for me, I'll only spend $9,000! But I love my children, so I am willing to sacrifice!"
This is exactly what Barry and Congress have been doing for years, but it's even worse, because they actually call a reduction in the INCREASES they spend, to compensate for inflation, CUTS as well! It bears repeating how they are sociopaths and psychopaths, much less MORONS!
Barry actually brags about reducing his OVER-spending from a TRILLION something to about 800 BILLION. It's STILL FREAKING OVER-spending!!!! What is wrong with these morons???
If the spineless Republicans had any balls at all, they would say, "Since you refuse to negotiate unless a crisis is at hand, then as badly as we hate it, we will force you to negotiate down to where we are only spending what we take in! And we will NOT approve ANY portion of the Federal Gov't to be paid until YOU come to the table seriously ready to CUT -- and not just reduce INCREASES! That means police, firemen, schools, medicare, and everything will go UNPAID until YOU step up and act like a leader with a brain that thinks and cares for the future generations!"
I guarantee you, that with no one getting paid, they would reach a balanced budget in 7 days, and that 7-day delay would not hurt the country or any person at all.
But we will never see it, because when it comes right down to it, they ALL fear losing their BILLIONAIRE lifestyle job, courtesy of the American taxpayer, so they will keep OVER-spending until the country implodes.
I'll go puke now.
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2013/10/09/americas-night-of-the-long-knives/
The new IHUB format sucks! But not as badly as the ball-LESS wimps in the Republican Party! They KNOW that Barry will REFUSE to negotiate on ANY spending cuts that are actual cuts, so giving in 1 inch makes them all pu$$%#$ (pardon my language, but no other word fits what they act like).
These psychopaths actually believe that reducing the amount they OVER-spend is a cut! How ludicrous is this? It's like a guy makes $5,000 a month at his job, and the first month he spends $10,000. His wife says, "Honey, we have to make some drastic cuts in our budget and spending, or our children we will be screwing BADLY!" To which he replies, because he THINKS like a President or a Congressman, "Okay, next month, I will cut $1,000 out of my budget and spending, even though that is a drastic cut for me, I'll only spend $9,000! But I love my children, so I am willing to sacrifice!"
This is exactly what Barry and Congress have been doing for years, but it's even worse, because they actually call a reduction in the INCREASES they spend, to compensate for inflation, CUTS as well! It bears repeating how they are sociopaths and psychopaths, much less MORONS!
Barry actually brags about reducing his OVER-spending from a TRILLION something to about 800 BILLION. It's STILL FREAKING OVER-spending!!!! What is wrong with these morons???
If the spineless Republicans had any balls at all, they would say, "Since you refuse to negotiate unless a crisis is at hand, then as badly as we hate it, we will force you to negotiate down to where we are only spending what we take in! And we will NOT approve ANY portion of the Federal Gov't to be paid until YOU come to the table seriously ready to CUT -- and not just reduce INCREASES! That means police, firemen, schools, medicare, and everything will go UNPAID until YOU step up and act like a leader with a brain that thinks and cares for the future generations!"
I guarantee you, that with no one getting paid, they would reach a balanced budget in 7 days, and that 7-day delay would not hurt the country or any person at all.
But we will never see it, because when it comes right down to it, they ALL fear losing their BILLIONAIRE lifestyle job, courtesy of the American taxpayer, so they will keep OVER-spending until the country implodes.
I'll go puke now.
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2013/10/09/americas-night-of-the-long-knives/
Yes, it sucks! But not as badly as the ball-LESS wimps in the Republican Party! They KNOW that Barry will REFUSE to negotiate on ANY spending cuts that are actual cuts, so giving in 1 inch makes them all pu$$%#$ (pardon my language, but no other word fits what they act like).
These psychopaths actually believe that reducing the amount they OVER-spend is a cut! How ludicrous is this? It's like a guy makes $5,000 a month at his job, and the first month he spends $10,000. His wife says, "Honey, we have to make some drastic cuts in our budget and spending, or our children we will be screwing BADLY!" To which he replies, because he THINKS like a President or a Congressman, "Okay, next month, I will cut $1,000 out of my budget and spending, even though that is a drastic cut for me, I'll only spend $9,000! But I love my children, so I am willing to sacrifice!"
This is exactly what Barry and Congress have been doing for years, but it's even worse, because they actually call a reduction in the INCREASES they spend, to compensate for inflation, CUTS as well! It bears repeating how they are sociopaths and psychopaths, much less MORONS!
Barry actually brags about reducing his OVER-spending from a TRILLION something to about 800 BILLION. It's STILL FREAKING OVER-spending!!!! What is wrong with these morons???
If the spineless Republicans had any balls at all, they would say, "Since you refuse to negotiate unless a crisis is at hand, then as badly as we hate it, we will force you to negotiate down to where we are only spending what we take in! And we will NOT approve ANY portion of the Federal Gov't to be paid until YOU come to the table seriously ready to CUT -- and not just reduce INCREASES! That means police, firemen, schools, medicare, and everything will go UNPAID until YOU step up and act like a leader with a brain that thinks and cares for the future generations!"
I guarantee you, that with no one getting paid, they would reach a balanced budget in 7 days, and that 7-day delay would not hurt the country or any person at all.
But we will never see it, because when it comes right down to it, they ALL fear losing their BILLIONAIRE lifestyle job, courtesy of the American taxpayer, so they will keep OVER-spending until the country implodes.
I'll go puke now.
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2013/10/09/americas-night-of-the-long-knives/
At least your liberal views are ALLOWED here. Look at the liberal political boards and their BAN LISTS. If anyone intelligent argues with them, they can't stand it and automatically ban them. They act exactly like Barry does with his massive domestic 3rd Reich force against anyone who disagrees.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_PRESS_FREEDOM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-10-10-02-45