onzi
What's NOT in your wallet?
I'm a 54-year old consulting engineer and make between $60,000 and $125,000 per year, depending on how hard I work and whether or not there are work projects out there for me.
My girlfriend is 61 and makes about $18,000 per year, working as a part-time mail clerk.
For me, making $60,000 a year, under ObamaCare, the cheapest, lowest grade policy I can buy, which also happens to impose a $5,000 deductible, costs $482 per month.
For my girlfriend, the same exact policy, same deductible, costs $1 per month. That's right, $1 per month. I'm not making this up.
Don't believe me? Just go to http://www.coveredca.gov/ , the ObamaCare website for California and enter the parameters I've mentioned above and see for yourself. By the way, my zip code is 93940. You'll need to enter that.
So OK, clearly ObamaCare is a scheme that involves putting the cost burden of healthcare onto the middle and upper-income wage earners.
But there's a lot more to it. Stick with me.
And before I make my next points, I'd like you to think about something:
I live in Monterey County, in Central California. We have a large land mass but just 426,000 residents - about the population of Colorado Springs or the city of Omaha.
But we do have a large Hispanic population, including a large number of illegal aliens, and to serve this group we have Natividad Medical Center, a massive, Federally subsidized county medical complex that takes up an area about one-third the size of the Chrysler Corporation automobile assembly plant in Belvedere, Illinois (per Google Earth)
Natividad has state-of-the-art operating rooms, Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fully equipped, 24 hour emergency room, and much more.
If you have no insurance, if you've been in a drive-by shooting or have overdosed on crack cocaine, this is where you go. And it's essentially free, because almost everyone who ends up in the ER is uninsured.
Last year, 2,735 babies were born at Natividad. 32% of these were born to out-of-wedlock teenage mothers, 93% of which were Hispanic.
Less than 20% could demonstrate proof of citizenship, and 71% listed their native language as Spanish. Of these 876 births, only 40 were covered under [any kind of] private health insurance. The taxpayers paid for the other 836.
And in case you were wondering about the entire population - all 2,735 births - less than 24% involved insured coverage or even partial payment on behalf of the patient to the hospital in exchange for services. Keep this in mind as we move forward.
Now consider this:
If I want to upgrade my policy to a low-deductible premium policy, such as what I had with my last employer, my cost is $886 per month.
But my girlfriend can upgrade her policy to the very same level, for just $4 per month.
That's right, $4 per month. $48 per year for a zero-deductible, premium healthcare policy - the kind of thing you get when you work at IBM (except of course, IBM employees pay an average of $170 per month out of pocket for their coverage).
I mean, it's bad enough that I will be forced to subsidize the ObamaCare scheme in the first place. But even if I agreed with the basic scheme, which of course I do not, I would never agree to subsidize premium policies.
If I have to pay $482 a month for a budget policy, I sure as hell do not want the guy I'm subsidizing to get a better policy, for less than 1% of what I have to fork out each month for a low-end policy.
Why must I pay $482 per month for something the other guy gets for a dollar?
And why should the other guy get to buy an $886 policy for $4 a month?
Think about this: I have to pay $10,632 a year for the same thing that the other guy can get for $48.
$10,000 of net income is 60 days of full time work as an engineer; $48 is something I could make collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles, one day a month.
Are you with me on this? Are you starting to get an idea what ObamaCare is really about?
ObamaCare is not about dealing with inequities in the healthcare system. That's just the cover story.
The real story is that it is a massive, political power grab.
Do you think anyone who can insure himself with a premium policy for $4 a month will vote for anyone but the political party that provides him such a deal?
ObamaCare is about enabling, subsidizing, and expanding the Left's political power base, at taxpayer expense.
Why would I vote for anyone but a Democrat if I can have babies for $4 a month?
For that matter, why would I go to college or strive for a better job or income if it means I have to pay real money for healthcare coverage? Heck, why study engineering when I can be a schlub for $20K per year and buy a new F-150 with all the money I'm saving?
And think about those $4-a-month babies - think in terms of propagation models. Think of just how many babies will be born to irresponsible, under-educated mothers. Will we get a new crop of brain surgeons and particle physicists from the dollar baby club, or will we need more cops, criminal courts and prisons?
One thing you can be certain of: At $4 a month, they'll multiply, and multiply, and multiply.
ObamaCare: It's all about political power and control of the masses.
Remember folks, November 2016 is just around the corner. If you want to continue this kind of redistribution of wealth, then don't "forward" this email. But if you are sick and tired of the money grab by the current administration, then "forward" this email to everyone in your Address Book. VOTE IN 2016!!!!
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato
Now I Understand
A Word From Our Sponsor
How to be a better beggar:
José and Carlos are beggars.
They beg in different areas of town.
Carlos begs for the same amount of time as José, but collects only about $8.00 or $9.00 a day.
José brings home a suitcase full of ten-dollar bills every day. He drives a Mercedes, lives in a mortgage-free house, and has a lot of money to spend.
"Hey, amigo," Carlos says to José, I work just as long and hard as you do, so how come you bring home a suitcase full of ten dollar bills every day?
José says, "Look at your sign, what does it say?"
Carlos reads his sign: "I have no work, a wife and six kids to support."
"What's wrong with that?" Carlos asks him.
"No wonder you only get $8.00 or $9.00 a day!" says José.
Carlos says, "All right, what is on your sign?"
José shows him:
| January 2009 | TODAY | % chg | Source |
So, how’s that CHANGE working out for you?
| January 2009 | TODAY | % chg | Source | |
| Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S. | $1.83 | $3.104 | 69.6% | 1 |
| Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) | $43.48 | $99.02 | 127.7% | 2 |
| Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel) | $38.74 | $91.38 | 135.9% | 2 |
| Gold: London (per troy oz.) | $853.25 | $1,369.50 | 60.5% | 2 |
| Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL | $3.56 | $6.33 | 78.1% | 2 |
| Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL | $9.66 | $13.75 | 42.3% | 2 |
| Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob | $13.37 | $35.39 | 164.7% | 2 |
| Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall | 7.6% | 9.4% | 23.7% | 3 |
| Unemployment rate, blacks | 12.6% | 15.8% | 25.4% | 3 |
| Number of unemployed | 11,616,000 | 14,485,000 | 24.7% | 3 |
| Number of fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim) | 2,779,000 | 2,840,000 | 2.2% | 3 |
| Real median household income (2008 v 2009) | $50,112 | $49,777 | -0.7% | 4 |
| Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10) | 31,983,716 | 43,200,878 | 35.1% | 5 |
| Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10) | 7,526,598 | 9,193,838 | 22.2% | 6 |
| Number of long-term unemployed | 2,600,000 | 6,400,000 | 146.2% | 3 |
| Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009) | 13.2% | 14.3% | 8.3% | 4 |
| People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009) | 39,800,000 | 43,600,000 | 9.5% | 4 |
| U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings | 5 | 9 | n/a | 10 |
| Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10) | 29.9 | 23.5 | -21.4% | 11 |
| Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date) | 140 | 164 | 17.1% | 12 |
| U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate | 89.76 | 82.03 | -8.6% | 2 |
| U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim) | 1,575.1 | 1,865.7 | 18.4% | 13 |
| U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim) | 8,310.9 | 8,852.3 | 6.5% | 13 |
| National debt, in trillions | $10.627 | $14.052 | 32.2% | 14 |
In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history.
Metaphorically, speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car passes you in the left lane 27 times faster . . . it would be doing 1,755 MPH.
Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury
Washington, DC (Heuters) – While the United States seems totally focused on new Gun Control legislation, President Barack Obama and the Democratic Senate are quietly considering sweeping legislation that will provide new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (SB 0000) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.
"It is a well-known fact that roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said California Sen. Barbara Boxer, primary sponsor of the bill. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability (POI) to be ridiculed and passed over simply because they have not had the same opportunities and/or inherited genes as others. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers simply because they have a vague idea of what they are doing."
In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined Boxer and pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing significant opportunity for advancement and retention with little regard to performance. At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles was also lauded for their excellent record of hiring Persons with No Ability (63%).
Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million mid-level positions will be created at state and federal levels - all with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility - thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance. “This is a critical component… and I know this from experience,” stated Pelosi.
Reid noted that, “Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees.” The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle and upper management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire at least one clueless worker for every two competent hires.
Finally, the Americans With No Abilities Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the non-abled. For example, discriminatory interview questions such as, "Do you have any skills or experience that relate to this job?" will be banned under the legislation.
"As a non-abled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, MI, due to her consistent inability to remember the concept of righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. "This new law should be real good for people like me. I’ll finally have some job security."
According to Senator Dick Durbin, with the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Said Durbin, "As one of many political leaders in Washington with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen - regardless of his or her inadequacy - with some sort of significant space to take up in this great nation… and they deserve a good salary for doing so."
SB 0000 is expected to easily pass the Senate on a first-call voice vote, since most Senators are not even expected to read the bill.
