Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

Obamacare leans forward in Ohio: Health care premiums will only rise by 88 percent next year!

It's another success story for central planning! Avik Roy explains:

...on Thursday, the Ohio Department of Insurance announced that, based on the rates submitted by insurers to date, the average individual-market health insurance premium in 2014 will come in around $420, “representing an increase of 88 percent” relative to 2013...


...It’s called “rate shock,” but it’s not shocking to people who understand the economics of health insurance. In August 2011, Milliman, one of the nation’s leading actuarial firms, predicted that Obamacare would increase individual-market premiums in Ohio by 55 to 85 percent. This past March, the Society of Actuaries projected that the law would increase premiums in that market by 81 percent...

...What are the drivers of the increase? According to Milliman, the two biggest drivers are (1) risk pool composition changes, such as forcing the young to subsidize the old, and the healthy to subsidize the sick; and (2) Obamacare’s required expansion of insurance benefits, particularly its mandated reductions in deductibles and co-pays...

Stephen Green notes that insurers no longer have control of the products they are allowed to offer:

The so-called “bronze” plan — the very minimum you’ll be allowed/mandated to buy — contains more benefits than many of the “Cadillac” plans Obama sneered at from 2008-2010. And if you and your family don’t need all those benefits? Well, too bad. Because Big Government couldn’t get Big Insurance on board with the new big, bold scheme without promising to shovel much more of your money at it... So that’s precisely what they’re doing.

Please review the above chart. I included it for a specific reason. Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law in 1965. These systems were single-payer and, as such, enforced anti-free market price controls.

The results of these interventions have been stunning. And, with the advent of Obamacare's price controls, we have only just begun to see the market distortions that will result in untold misery for Americans.


Chart: Sam Baker, University of South Carolina.

Sunday, June 09, 2013

CALIFORNIA STATE BUDGET IN AWESOME SHAPE: Bay Area Rapid Transit honcho earned $333,000 last year without working a single day

There are those who believe that California is running a budget surplus. And there are those who believe in the Tooth Fairy. Both groups have an equal amount of credibility.

California's massive pension, education, and health care obligations -- to name but a few -- have mysteriously been omitted from the current-state budget analysis. Exhibit 90 jabillion of the fiscal insanity is a particularly crusty old bird named Dorothy Dugger, who has pulled off one of the more elegant (legal) ripoffs of the state's taxpayers.

With a gross salary of more than $333,000, BART's highest-paid employee last year wasn't its general manager, police chief or a worker who racked up gobs of overtime scrubbing grime from filthy train seats... [Instead it] was someone who did no work at all for BART in 2012: Dorothy Dugger, the agency's former general manager who resigned under pressure more than two years ago.

Under a lucrative retirement scheme, Dugger, 57, quietly stayed on the books, burning off nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits for more than 19 months after she agreed to quit in May 2011, according to an analysis by this newspaper. By remaining on BART's payroll, she accrued almost two extra months of vacation, while sitting at home drawing a six-figure salary for unused time off.

The months of extra pay were on top of the $920,000 that BART paid Dugger to leave after the agency's board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws...[she] reaped the astonishing windfall by cashing in more than 3,100 vacation hours, saved during her 20 years with BART.

[In addition, because] she was allowed to drag out her vacation-bank payments for months, Dugger received $138,000 worth of benefits, including pension contributions and medical insurance -- perks she would not have received if she had taken her vacation payments in a lump-sum check. Since she remained on BART's payroll, Dugger also received an additional $98,000 in cash, because she was still racking up vacation time and management bonuses -- even though she had no one to manage.

...Remaining on BART's payroll also added both time and money to the calculations on which Dugger's retirement is based -- increasing her pension payments by more than $1,000 a month for life. When her time on BART's books finally ran out in December, she began to draw a pension of $181,000 a year.

...Dugger said she was proud of her time with BART. Asked if her lucrative use of vacation time exposed a fiscal flaw in the agency, she said, "I think BART's track record on fiscal management is quite solid."

Quite solid indeed.

Thanks to the nefarious alliance of Democrats and public sector unions, California's budget woes haven't even begun.


Hat tip: LVN.

How Did It Start? [Brad]

Guest post by Brad

When I was in elementary school I was having trouble coming up with an idea for my science project and my friend had come up with two ideas. I convinced him the one I didn’t want to do was better so he did that one. I did his other one, and got an A. He got a B+.

I joined The Boy Scouts when I was 11 and it was a blast. I got to go camping and always had a great buddy that was very skilled in all areas of the outdoors. They always seemed happy to do the stuff I was unsure of. I remember that I had to get my Eagle before I was 16 or I couldn’t get my driver’s license, and my 16th birthday was getting close. I never understood why it was so important to have all of those merit badges and when they told me I was missing a couple I was very disappointed. I was pretty sure I must have done enough stuff that it would equal those badges so I bought a couple of blank merit badge cards and filled them out. I turned in the part I would have kept to my new leader and told him I had done them at one of the camps and they must have lost the paperwork at the scout office. They got me some “Replacement” badges and took care of the lost papers so I was able to get my License. That was a close one.

When I was in High School I needed to write a paper, but putting the subject into words was hard so I found one on the internet that I liked. I didn’t want to be accused of cheating so I changed some of the wording, and found some other references that matched up so that it was more original. Then I found some pictures that would enhance the data in the report on the internet so I cut and pasted them into my report. A few had some names and source data on them that didn’t look good so I cropped that stuff out and submitted it. I got a B on that one, but I was happy with that and it was pretty easy. This same process was very helpful on other projects and papers too, and if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right? After all it saved me so much time.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

With the combination of minimum wage hikes and Obamacare, destroying jobs is this president's job one

At some point in the not very distant future the complete failure of Barack Obama's economic policies will become evident to even the most obtuse liberal. But I repeat myself.

Case in point: the destructive combination of Obamacare and hikes in the minimum wage.

Here's the saddest thing about President Obama's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour — because "no one who works full time should have to live in poverty."

A fine sentiment, but many full-time, low-wage workers he aims to help are sure to become part-time as employers dodge ObamaCare's hefty fines. Undoubtedly, even after a minimum wage hike, many who now earn less than $9 an hour would have paychecks that are no bigger — or even smaller than today.

In his State of the Union, Obama didn't mention ObamaCare could add $2.40 an hour to an employer's cost for a full-time, very-low wage worker. Add it up and Obama is really proposing a full-time minimum wage of as much as $11.40.
The economic cost of raising the minimum wage is fiercely debated and likely overstated. But there's little doubt about how employers will react if they can simply sidestep ObamaCare's equivalent of a steep minimum wage hike for full-time workers: By making them part-time.

ObamaCare's potential $2.40/hour cost to employers would result from a $3,000 fine for offering coverage deemed either too pricey or too skimpy. Tack on an additional $1.75/hour wage hike and the pressure would be extreme on employers to cut hours to avoid ObamaCare fines.

...For profit-making firms facing a combined 40% state and federal tax rate, ObamaCare's nondeductible $3,000-per-worker penalty is the equivalent of $5,000 in deductible wages. Divided by 52 weeks and 40 hours a week, that fine would equal $2.40 an hour.

But because employers would owe no fine for a 29-hour-per-week worker, the $5,000 cost could amount to $96 an hour for the 30th hour of work. That's why the 30-hour workweek may disappear.

Let me repeat: thanks to a tsunami of unintended consequences unleashed by Obamacare -- a massive bill that not a single Democrat lawmaker bothered to read -- paying a worker for a 30th hour of labor in a week might cost a company around $100.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, for six decades we've sought to solve the problems of unemployment and affordable health care through government planning, and the more the plans fail, the more the planners plan.

But there's a simple recipe for success. It's called the Constitution and a federal government limited to the enumerated powers specified therein.

Our blueprint embraces all races, all religions, all creeds and all colors. Our formula is the biggest tent of all, because it is not achieved by pandering to smaller and smaller slices of the population, but by embracing and celebrating individual liberty, private property rights, free markets and -- most of all -- limited government.

These aren't complicated concepts. They aren't difficult to embrace. But the powers that be -- the corrupt, the immoral and those tempted by the trappings of Washington -- must be dislodged post haste if we are to save this Republic, this shining city on a hill.


Tuesday, June 04, 2013

MR. CLOWARD, MEET MS. PIVEN: Social Security's Unfunded Obligation Rises by $1 Trillion

If you're hoping to expedite the collapse of the progressive welfare state, this should qualify as good news.

Contrary to claims by cheerful news sources, Social Security’s deficit outlook is not “unchanged” or “no worse.” Social Security’s unfunded obligation rose by $1 trillion according to the latest trustees’ report.

U.S. taxpayers now owe $12.3 trillion to pay scheduled benefits—in addition to what Social Security can hope to collect from payroll taxes—over the 75-year horizon. That’s $98,517 for every household in America today.

But who can blame news sources for merely citing Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who summarized the report in this bright light: The projections in this year’s report for Social Security are essentially unchanged from last year.


The reported unfunded obligation for the combined Social Security old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) program rose from $8.6 trillion in 2011 to $9.6 trillion in 2012. The $1 trillion increase represents a 12 percent deterioration in OASDI’s funding outlook.

“Essentially unchanged,” huh?

[The figures exclude] $2.7 trillion in IOUs owed to the Social Security trust fund, and adding it in brings the total unfunded obligation to $12.3 trillion. The entire debt held by the public is $11.9 trillion—a $1 trillion in increase in the debt limit would be no big deal then either, would it?

Social Security is in its third year of running cash-flow deficits, and the 2012 gap between revenue raised from payroll taxes and benefits paid was $55 billion. But this is merely the beginning as Social Security cash flow deficits are projected to double in less than 10 years, and continue growing from there.

Shhh... no one tell Doug Mataconis and the other leftists at Outside the Beltway! Everything's just poifect and the president is doin' a bang-up job fixin' all the economomomic problems! Hey, what time are the Kardashians on?


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Saturday, June 01, 2013

"That, dear friend, is about the end of any nation.”

Attributed to Adrian Rogers:


Coincidentally, 72,600,000 Americans, a record number, received Medicaid in 2012. That is more than the population of France and the United Kingdom.

This isn't going to end well for any of us. I only take comfort in the fact that the drones are going down with the ship along with the rest of us.


Friday, May 31, 2013

THE GENIUS OF DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP: Illinois Credit Rating, Already Lowest Among the 57 States, Will Fall Further--Moody's

I could point out that Illinois is on the road to becoming a giant version of Detroit. But I won't. I'll simply point to this ominous report from Crain's Chicago Business.

Illinois' credit rating with Moody's Investors Service, already the lowest of any state, could fall if there is no legislative fix to address the state's huge public pension problem, an analyst at the credit rating agency said on Friday... "Our view is that failure to enact pension reforms could drive the state's general obligation bond rating lower from A2, which is already the lowest level for a U.S. state," said Moody's analyst Ted Hampton.

...House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton are at odds over how to approach reform. Madigan's bill opts for unilateral cuts in retirement benefits for current and retired state workers, teachers, legislators, and college and university employees to reap the maximum cost savings.
Cullerton is pushing a bill passed by his chamber that would generally allow workers to retain access to state-sponsored healthcare in retirement if they opt for pension concessions.

Cullerton's plan, which has the backing of public labor unions, would shave the state's nearly $100 billion unfunded pension liability by only $9.13 billion. Madigan's bill, which the unions have vowed to challenge in court on constitutional grounds, would cut it by $21 billion, according to actuarial analyses by the state's pension funds.

...A lower credit rating would raise Illinois' cost for borrowing in the U.S. municipal bond market, where investors already demand hefty yields for the state's general obligation bonds... Illinois' so-called credit spread over Municipal Market Data's benchmark triple-A scale for the muni market was 140 basis points in the latest week. That is the second widest spread after Puerto Rico among major muni debt issuers tracked by MMD. The credit spread for California, which has taken steps to deal with its financial problems, is roughly a third the size of Illinois' at 46 basis points.

When the final collapse of the Illinois state government comes -- and it's when, not if -- the war between the public sector unions and their Democrat sponsors will truly be something to behold. The union rank-and-file will never, ever get all of the insanely rich benefits they were promised in exchange for their votes. And the Democrats will try to evade responsibility for the fiscal tsunami that they've unleashed on their voters.

When that happens, you can look for me here. I'll be the one making popcorn.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

SHOCK, CONSTERNATION AS KRUGMAN PROVEN WRONG AGAIN: California health insurance premiums to spike 64 to 146 percent

And the former Enron adviser had such a stellar track record of predictions until now, what with advocating a housing bubble and praising the Euro in the last decade alone.

Rate Shock: In California, Obamacare To Increase Individual Health Insurance Premiums By 64-146%



Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums... But the data [it just] released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.

...Last week, Covered California—the name for the state’s Obamacare-compatible insurance exchange—released the rates that Californians will have to pay to enroll in the exchange...

...That Obamacare more than doubles insurance premiums for many Californians is especially ironic, given the political posturing of the President and his administration in 2010. In February of that year, Anthem Blue Cross announced that some groups (but not the majority) would face premium increases of as much as 39 percent. The White House and its allies in the blogosphere, cynically, claimed that these increases were due to greedy profiteering by the insurers, instead of changes in the underlying costs of the insured population...

...So, to summarize: Supporters of Obamacare justified passage of the law because one insurer in California raised rates on some people by as much as 39 percent. But Obamacare itself more than doubles the cost of insurance on the individual market. I can understand why Democrats in California would want to mislead the public on this point...

I'm actually looking forward to the full implementation of Obamacare in January. Everything we warned the drones about -- and more -- will unfold in very short order. As Max Baucus described it: a train wreck.

And Nancy Pelosi will need a couple more facelifts from the stress, I suspect. But maybe those are covered under her plan.


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Who Profits at Taxpayer Expense with the Latest Farm Bill Scam?

Another outstanding infographic from The Heritage Foundation.

Whenever Congress throws too much into one bill, special interests profit. The massive farm bill—which is already 80 percent food stamps—is no exception... So what about the rest of the bill—the farm-related part? Heritage’s Diane Katz reports that it includes subsidies for more than a few surprising recipients.

In short, the farm bill is loaded with all of your favorite kinds of pork, directing your money to the wealthy, the well-connected, and the crooks. Consider this Exhibit 90 Jabillion of why the federal government is too damn big.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

CONGRATULATIONS, ILLINOIS! 15.7 Percent of State Population Now on Food Stamps!

If Democrats weren't in power, they'd be useful only as comic relief. Their Utopian plans always fail, their centralized governmental structures always collapse under their own weight, and their level of economic illiteracy is worthy of a sit-com.

Detroit being a case in point; it serves as an excellent preview of coming attractions for the state of Illinois.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over two million Illinoisans-- or 15.7 percent of the state's population- are currently enrolled in food stamps... Illinois was the only state to see a double-digit increase of the number of residents enrolled in the SNAP program from the same time period last year.

The United States Census Bureau's latest data shows the population of Illinois sitting at 12,875,255 people. If you take the number of residents on food stamps (2,023,635) and divide it by the population of the state (12,875,255), it shows 15.7 percent of Illinoisans are dependent on food stamps.

...a record number of households--1 out of every 5-- are now on food stamps. Food stamp rolls in America have also recently surpassed the population of Spain and the cost of food stamp fraud has more than doubled in just three years.

A fiscal collapse for Illinois would be the preferred outcome. Then maybe the taxpayers would wake up and stop voting for the Democrat crooks who have destroyed every level of government in the state.


Hat tip: Weasel Zippers.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

THE NEW MATH: "That which makes no sense is nonsense"

The indefatigable Tyler Durden relays a must-watch presentation by Grant Williams, best known for his Things That Make You Go Hmmm newsletter. Some of the highlights?

Williams' Problem 1: If the global economy is stalling, Europe is in recession, China is slowing and growth is seemingly impossible to generate, what are equity markets doing at all-time highs?


Williams' Problem 2: If Chinese manufacturing has stalled, demand for raw materials is slumping, imports and exports are declining, and Chinese power consumption is falling, how is China's GDP growing at 7.7%


Williams Problem 3: France!?


Williams' Problem 4: If honesty is the best policy, then is dishonest the second best policy?

Williams' Problem 5: If there were no sponges living in the oceans, would the oceans be deeper?

Williams' Problem 6: Paul Krugman? Really?

Williams' Problem 7: The Gold Price and The Price of Gold are mutually exclusive


As Alan Roth observes regarding the equity markets, "investors rediscovering borrowing on margin and hitting an all-time high is clearly a red flag warning that there may be a rip-tide".


Friday, May 24, 2013

POTUS refuses to meet with border agents, but welcomes illegal aliens into Oval Office for photo op

I'm not one to criticize the president for forgetting to salute a Marine while boarding Marine One. He had at least enough class to realize his mistake, exit the chopper and shake hands with the young man. That said, the press pool was in attendance, so...

But I digress. As The Washington Examiner reports, Obama has invited a bevy of illegal aliens to events for photo ops in support of open borders, Amnesty and a permanent Democrat majority. Most recently, he entertained a trio of illegals in the Oval Office.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with three illegal immigrants who have been granted deferred action legal status in the Oval Office Tuesday...


...All three immigrants apparently received “deferred action” legal status pursuant to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s June 15, 2012, directive. Under the congressionally unauthorized program, any illegal immigrant under the age of 31 can apply for legal status if they claim they entered the country before their 16th birthday and have been in the country for at least five years. Virtually every immigrant who has applied for deferred action, 99 percent, has been granted legal status.

These actions by the administration are plainly unlawful. The DREAM Act was rejected by Congress; these executive actions merely mimic that which American legislators rejected.

Say, that Valerie Jarrett's a looker, eh?

But, again, I digress:

Meanwhile, Obama still refuses to meet with any border security enforcement officers about any aspect of immigration reform...

The union of law enforcement officers charged with protecting our nation’s borders, the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, has been highly critical of the program because it makes their jobs almost impossible to perform. But Obama has refused to meet with them on that issue, or the immigration bill currently in the Senate.

On Thursday, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., co-signed a letter to Obama asking him to meet with the ICE officers.

“To be effective any immigration reform bill must heed the warnings from our federal immigration agents,” the letter reads. “Unfortunately, far from being included in the process, ICE officers have been shut out and have even had their day-to-day operations handcuffed by DHS officials to the point of being unable to carry out their sworn duties. These brave whistleblowers have been left with no other option but to file a lawsuit in federal court to fight the abuse of power from DHS leadership.”

Once more, I'll ask you to consider the following dichotomy:



It would seem that the far Left Democrat Party believes that illegal aliens and terrorists are noble -- and conservatives, veterans and others who believe in America's Constitution are criminals.


Hat tip: BB.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

NEW HERITAGE INFOGRAPHIC: The Gang of Eight's Amnesty Scam

While the country focuses on an endless series of scandals emanating from the Executive Branch, the Senate is quietly preparing to vote on the Gang of Eight's Amnesty bill.

...It will go to the Senate floor after the Memorial Day recess. Heritage has pointed out the problems with this “comprehensive” approach — including the staggering costs of amnesty and a failure to secure the border.


This bill would be an unmitigated economic disaster. As the brilliant Milton Friedman said long ago, "open borders are incompatible with a welfare state."


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

And the Band Played On [Jim Quinn]

Guest post by Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform.


A confluence of events last week has me reminiscing about the days gone by and apprehensive about the future. I’ve spent a substantial portion of my adulthood rushing to baseball fields, hockey rinks, gymnasiums, and school auditoriums after a long day at work. I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed every moment. Watching eight year olds trying to throw a strike for two hours can become excruciatingly mind-numbing. But, the years of baseball, hockey, basketball, and band taught my boys life lessons about teamwork, sportsmanship, winning, losing, hard work, and having fun. There were championship teams, awful teams and of course trophies for finishing in 7th place. As my boys have gotten older and no longer participate in organized sports, the time commitment has dropped considerably. Last week was one of those few occasions where I had to rush home from work, wolf down a slice of pizza and head out to a school function. It was the annual 8th grade Spring concert.

My youngest son was one of a hundred kids in the 8th grade choir. I think it was mandatory, since none of my kids like to sing. As my wife and I found a seat in the back of the auditorium where we could make a quick escape at the conclusion of the show, neither of us were enthused with the prospect of spending the next ninety minutes listening to off-key music and lame songs. I’ve been jaded by sitting through these ordeals since pre-school. But a funny thing happened during my 30th band concert. I began to feel sentimental about the past and sorrowful about the future for these Millennials.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Nancy Pelosi's Greatest Hits

Guest post by Allan Erickson of Clash Daily


Actual quotations or paraphrases from former speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

• Unemployment benefits are the best form of economic development.

• The IRS admission it illegally targeted conservative groups is the fault of the Supreme Court.

• ObamaCare is responsible for bringing down the deficit.

• We have to pass the bill (ObamaCare) to see what’s in it.

• The Tea Party is astroturf.

• Every week we don’t pass a Stimulus package, 500 million Americans lose their jobs.

• I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels.

• We don’t have a spending problem.

• The CIA misleads us all the time.

• I didn’t know about torture. Bush tricked us. OK, I did know but I didn’t think it mattered because it worked, but now I’m definitely against it, although I didn’t know it was going on.

• Enforcing immigration laws is un-American.

Editor's postscript: And to think, Pelosi is what passes for an intellectual in the modern Democrat Party.


Hat tip: BadBlue.com/Guns.

Friday, May 17, 2013

THE IRS-OFA SCANDAL WIDENS: Lies, Cover-Ups and a Full-Fledged Assault on Free Speech and... Prayer

Like an iceberg beginning to surface, the lawless activities of the IRS-OFA are becoming more and more obvious every day. Conservatives, Jews, Hispanics, Catholics, and Pro-Life groups in general appear to have been harassed, intimidated and humiliated.

As a reward for this criminal behavior, the former head of the IRS' tax-exempt division now leads the agency's ObamaCare enforcement arm.

MSNBC, of all places, revealed this morning that the IRS covered up its unlawful activities prior to the election:

The IRS commissioner "has known for at least a year that this was going on," said Myers, "and that this had happened. And did he share any of that information with the White House? But even more importantly, Congress is going to ask him, why did you mislead us for an entire year? Members of Congress were saying conservatives are being targeted. What's going on here? The IRS denied it. Then when -- after these officials are briefed by the IG that this is going on, they don't disclose it. In fact, the commissioner sent a letter to Congress in September on this subject and did not reveal this. Imagine if we -- if you can -- what would have happened if this fact came out in September 2012, in the middle of a presidential election? The terrain would have looked very different."

And contrary to the president's standard assertion ("I only found out about this yesterday on the news"), Obama's Chief of Staff was aware of the IRS investigation last year:

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said today that he was aware in the fall of 2012 of the Treasury inspector general probe of the IRS targeting of conservative groups, but he claims he did not know the details of the investigation... Even if ... he was not aware of details, It’s not clear why Lew, as White House chief of staff, did not seek more information about such a potentially explosive matter as the IRS singling out the president’s opponents for special scrutiny.

Additional reports say that the IRS asked Tea Party groups for access to their websites:

The Obama IRS demanded that several Tea Party groups provide back-end access to their websites... And, from reliable sources: This happened to several Tea Party groups! The source has this in writing. It states they wanted access to everything the members had access to, which would be chats, email, contact information, etc...

There would be only one reason to request back-end access to a Tea Party group's website: to intimidate it from expressing it First Amendment rights to free speech.

And it gets better: the IRS is said to have asked pro-life group about 'the content of their prayers':

During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing today, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., grilled outgoing IRS commissioner Steven Miller about the IRS targeting a pro-life group in Iowa.

“Their question, specifically asked from the IRS to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: ‘Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers,’" Schock declared.

This is fascism, flat out. I am not exaggerating. This is fascism.


We need a special prosecutor. And we need one yesterday.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The IRS Scandal and Obamacare, Part II: Your "Shared Responsibility Payment for Not Maintaining Minimum Essential Coverage"

Jeff Taylor, commenting at "THE IRS SCANDAL AND OBAMACARE: Yes, Your Private Health Information Will Be Used Against You", offers the following:

"Shared Responsibility Payment for Not Maintaining Minimum Essential Coverage" [PDF] is the enabler. And enforcing that gives the IRS a free hand to do anything it wants regarding your medical benefits.

I've shared this document with trusted pros in the insurance and financial sectors and they are absolutely shocked at what it portends.

For one, absolutely no reliable safe-harbor -- as everything is based on "community" ratings and averages, you may not know until it is too late that you have failed to buy "too little" coverage.

But don't take my word for it -- read every last word of this official IRS documents and then come back and tell me what you think.

If you don't have time to peruse all 72 pages and then research the ties to thousands of other pages of cross-referenced regulations, here are some sample passages:

• "...Alternatively, the proposed regulations provide that a taxpayer may elect to use the premium for the lowest cost bronze plan that would apply to a set of individuals that have the same characteristics as the taxpayer’s nonexempt family (such as one adult plus children) as if one plan covered all members of the taxpayer’s shared responsibility family."

• "...In general, a premium tax credit is allowable under section 36B for any coverage month (within the meaning of §1.36B-3(c)) that occurs in a taxable year in which a taxpayer is an applicable taxpayer (within the meaning of §1.36B-2(b)). A month is not a coverage month for an individual, and thus no premium tax credit is allowable for the individual’s coverage, if the individual is eligible for minimum essential coverage other than coverage offered in the individual market for that month..."

• "...(ii) For the period January through June 2016, under paragraphs (b)(2)(ii) and (b)(2)(iii) of this section, the applicable dollar amount is $1,737.50 (($695 x 2 adults) + ($695/2) x 1 child)). Under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the flat dollar amount is $1,737.50 (the lesser of $1,737.50 or $2,085 ($695 x 3))."

These are 72 incomprehensible pages that grant the IRS unfettered power over your financial and physical well-being.

The IRS has a long and ignominious history of targeting political opponents. Its latest actions make it clear that it has been serving as a political retribution wing of the permanent Obama campaign or "Organizing For America".

In the midst of this madness, Obamacare is set to magnify the power of the IRS by a factor of 10 or more.

Based upon the record, empowering the IRS to control health care will turn out to be a disastrous mistake, no matter who is in power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and the IRS will have absolute power over your health care.

The IRS will punish its political foes by withholding treatment and it will reward its political friends by offering it expedited services.

That much is clear from the latest scandal.

And earlier today, President Obama topped off this debacle by refusing to appoint a Special Prosecutor.

Eighteen strikes and you're out. As Mark Levin suggests, the IRS must be disbanded and replaced with The Fair Tax. It's time to unleash the economy and constrain the federal government's weed-like urge to grow. The Fair Tax accomplishes both ends.


Cartoon: Dave Granlund, Cagle.com.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

THE IRS SCANDAL AND OBAMACARE: Yes, Your Private Health Information Will Be Used Against You

When even The Washington Post takes notice of the Nixonian machinations, you know there's real trouble in D.C.

The IRS admits to targeting conservative groups for additional review and laughably claims the witch hunt wasn’t “motivated by political bias.” What will its math-challenged spokeswoman Lois Lerner say about allegations that the IRS gave “extra-special attention to the tax-exempt status of some Jewish groups for political reason"?

In fact, the IRS is (or was) targeting "groups [focused on] ‘educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights,’" according to Prof. William A. Jacobson.

So what could possibly go wrong with the IRS administering all of your health care data?

When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form... The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.

...Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme... As a service to the public, Americans for Tax Reform has released a projected version of this tax form to help families and tax specialists prepare for this additional filing requirement. Taxpayers may view the projected IRS form at www.ObamacareTaxForm.com. On the form, lines 3-4 show where taxpayers will disclose their personal health ID information.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Obamacare isn't about health care. It's about control over you and I.

Your health care data will be used to punish you. It will be used against you. It will be leaked into the public record if you oppose the government. Government-run health care is tyrannical.


Tuesday, May 07, 2013

With deep regret, Ambassador Chris Stevens was unable to attend

This morning, the intrepid investigative team at The Hill finally discovered evidence of a secret, swanky party held at the White House to celebrate Barack Obama's second inauguration.

Its discovery was apparently quite a coup, even though US Magazine had reported on it, oh, the morning after--on January 22nd. But shhh, don't spoil The Hill's scoop:

There's no party like a White House party

By Emily Goodin - 05/07/13 05:00 AM ET

Bill and Hillary Clinton, actress Kerry Washington, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and producer Harvey Weinstein were among those who joined the Obamas at the White House’s secret post-inauguration bash.

President Obama and Michelle Obama held the hush-hush, swanky, ultra-A-list party to celebrate his second term the night he took the oath of office. The party was not announced or listed on his official schedule, but a few of the guests tweeted about the event, which is what publicly revealed its existence.

The guest list that reveals who attended was never released though the White House visitors log from January, which came out at the end of April and was examined by The Hill: a mix of rock stars, actors, top campaign donors, White House aides, Obama friends and leading Democratic politicians.

Some of the names include actor Jamie Foxx; Obama adviser David Axelrod; Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas) and his twin brother, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro; singer Kelly Clarkson; Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.); actress Eva Longoria; singer James Taylor; former NBA player Alonzo Mourning; Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D); and former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. Clinton aide Huma Abedin was on the list, but her husband, former New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, was not.

...Actress Ashley Judd and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) were among the list of names under that grouping, and both tweeted about the event... Judd wrote, “How to arrive at the White House in style? Bum a ride from a kind citizen who happens to be off duty Secret Service!”

She later wrote, “It was elegant, warm, fun, & then an amazingly joyful house party. We had such a magical night.” ... McCaskill tweeted, “Now we are rocking at the WH. Happy Inauguration. #2013inaug,” along with a blurry photo of a singer. The names of singers Usher and John Mayer were also on the list.

...Other names in the grouping include Commerce Secretary nominee Penny Pritzker; longtime Obama friends Eric and Cheryl Whitaker; Obama aides/advisers Ben Rhodes, Jim Messina, Julianna Smoot and Jeremy Bird; actress Whoopi Goldberg; Gayle King; actress Jennifer Hudson; and Attorney General Eric Holder.

In related news, Obama hit the links yesterday for his record 121st round of golf as president.

Coincidentally, despite the president's laser-like focus on jobs, the Social Security Administration disclosed that the number of Americans collecting disability benefits (nearly 11 million) now exceeds the population of Greece. And a record 23 million (or one out of every five) households are on food stamps.


Hat tip: Michael M.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Gang of Eight's Stuttering Cluster of an Immigration Bill Deconstructed With a Single Infographic

Courtesy of the Heritage Foundation:


A better question is: "What's not wrong with the Gang of Eight's ludicrous bill"?

[The bill gives DHS Secretary] Janet Napolitano freedom to do pretty much whatever she wants and the authority to let in anyone she pleases... Just in case anyone is concerned that senators aren’t reading the 844-page immigration reform bill from the Group of Eight closely before returning from recess next week, note that Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is tweeting as he goes, calling out concerning elements of the legislation:

• #Gof8Fact pg 11 of #Gangof8 bill says that Secretary of Homeland Security can alter legal immigrant status of #DREAM and ag. workers.

• #Gof8Fact pg 65 of #Gangof8 bill says Homeland Security Secretary can waive inadmissibility for humanitarian purposes and public interest

• #Gof8Fact pg 66 of #Gangof8 bill says Sec of Homeland Security gets discretion on whether to start legal proceedings to remove illegals

• Still going through #Gangof8 bill. #Gof8Fact pg 69 says Sec of Homeland Security can extend time allowed to apply for legal status

One report states that the bill would give legal status to 57 million, including non-immigra​nt visas.

This bill is utter garbage. It must be stopped. Call your Senator now at 202-224-3121 and demand they crush this bill.