...today, health insurance reform is the law of the land all across America...
AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers...
...over the last year, there's been a lot of misinformation spread about health care reform. There's been plenty of fear-mongering, plenty of overheated rhetoric...
AK Steel Corp... and Valero Energy announced [similar] accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses.
...You turn on the news, you'll see the same folks are still shouting about there's going to be an end of the world because this bill passed. (Laughter.) ...
On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.
...I'm not exaggerating. Leaders of the Republican Party, they called the passage of this bill "Armageddon." (Laughter.) Armageddon. "End of freedom as we know it" ...
Manufacturer John Deere announced Thursday that it expected the company's expenses to be about $150 million higher than last year...
...So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any -- (laughter) -- asteroids falling or -- (applause) -- some cracks opening up in the Earth. (Laughter.) It turned out it was a nice day. (Laughter.) ...
That came a day after Caterpillar predicted a new cost of $100 million...
...Birds were chirping. Folks were strolling down the Mall. People still have their doctors...
Most of the new costs will come in a reduction in subsidies that about 1,400 companies receive for providing drug coverage to their retirees. In an effort to raise several billion dollars for implementing the health care package, the law makes those subsidies taxable, just like income...
From this day forward, all of the cynics, all the naysayers -- they're going to have to confront the reality of what this reform is and what it isn't... this isn't a government takeover of our health care system. They'll see that if Americans like their doctor, they'll be keeping their doctor. You like your plan? You'll be keeping your plan. No one is taking that away from you...
...10 top companies, including Caterpillar, John Deere, Verizon, Xerox, Boeing and Met Life, warned Congress in December that over the long term, it would [hurt their bottom line] "Taxing the subsidy means that more companies will eliminate or reduce the coverage," they warned, "and more retirees will shift to Medicare ... which will create more cost for both the government and the retirees."Doesn't Obama's rhetoric sound like "Hugo Chavez North"?
The real, uhmmm, benefits of Politburo-style central planning won't become obvious until 2014, when ObamaCare kicks in for good. But don't worry. Government-run health care will be shovel-ready.
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times Transcript, 'AT&T will take $1B non-cash charge for health care' and 'Health care law brings big cost for big companies'
6 comments:
Excellent presentation. I'd like to think that it might even have an effect on the drones. You can always hope.
Did people really think that cost of these mandates were free? Did they think that the company's would just absorb the extra cost?
Yes Bones many do. If you remember the election where they had the clip of the women saying obama was going to pay for her house and her car. So yes there are many.
At least Obama is spending money HERE, in AMERICA. On OUR FUTURE. Not endlessly funneling money into Iraq and Afganistan.
On February 22 of this year, the Office of the Comptroller General of the United States released a report entitled The Federal Government’s Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: Fall 2009 Update.
The report is not encouraging. In the statement transmitting the report to the President and Congress, the following is included in the summary:
In addition, our most recent long-term simulations for all federal government programs show that absent policy changes, debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP could exceed the historical high reached in the aftermath of World War II in a little over 10 years. Absent a change in policy, under this scenario, the interest costs on the growing debt together with spending on major entitlement programs could absorb 92 cents of every dollar of federal revenue in 2019. Clearly, this is not sustainable. The federal government faces increasing pressures yet a shrinking window of opportunity for making policy changes regarding these challenges.
Not only is this not sustainable, spending of this magnitude will destroy our economy along with many of the economies of the developed world. Also note that the 92% of GDP the report estimated does not include all federal spending, just the major entitlements that existed prior to the passage of “health care reform” plus the interest on the debt. Defense spending, highways and infrastructure, and everything else are excluded from the analysis. Unless we act now, our fiscal situation is about to enter the crisis zone. One decade is not much time to address the serious structural deficiencies that exist.
To a rational person, this report would be seen as a dire warning that it is. Obviously, rationality is not a trait possessed by the White House or the Congressional democrats. The ink has hardly dried on the report and we have passed a new entitlement program. Like every other major entitlement enacted by Congress, the only thing that we can be certain of is that the cost projections by the White House and the CBO will not hold. The 92% of GDP will probably be a low estimate and the date of 2019 is probably optimistic. Not content with wrecking the health care system, we will now move on the amnesty for illegal immigrants, massive new taxes on energy, and a VAT that will result in higher costs and lower employment. Any deficit reduction program that will work must address the spending side of the equation.
I’m starting to believe that our leadership is either insane or they are engaged in an intentional act of destruction. November may be our last chance. We all need to wake up.
How is it November is "our last chance"... NEWS FLASH Obama is PRESIDENT until 2012.. ha
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