Kiran C

"Here’s what’s startling: employer-sponsored insurance—not Medicaid or the exchanges—drove the net reduction in uninsured. An estimated 8.2 million took up employer-sponsored plans, and most of them were previously uninsured. I can’t overstate how stunning this finding is if it’s true;"

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/rands-...

http://news.yahoo.com/number-uninsured-dropping-no...

Walgreen is copying Obamacare by creating their exchanges and providing credits for employees to buy their own insurance like Obamacare.

"The exchange allows it to offer a wider array of insurance options and premiums to its workforce. They will have access to five different levels of coverage from a variety of insurers, said Ken Sperling, national exchanges strategy leader at Aon Hewitt, which will run the exchange for Walgreens. "

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/18/news/economy/walgr...

Since Insurers are posting actual prices instead of providing estimates that can be fudged, can we all agree the Affordable Care Act will not cause premiums to spike?

"Insurers have filed preliminary rates for 2014 in Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state. In most cases, rates haven't spiked as a result of the healthcare law."

"Premiums for the cheapest insurance plan in Oregon are expected to fall by an average of 11 percent, and customers in Washington could see a price drop of 21 percent for the cheapest policy, according to the Democratic summary of state rate filings."

"Insurers in Vermont and Rhode Island said rate increases would not be significantly affected by the Affordable Care Act."

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-insura...

"Vermont’s insurance exchange will be served by two companies, MVP Health, based in Schenectady, New York, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. "

...

"Without the subsidies, premiums would start at $202 a month for a single person under 30 buying a stripped-down 'catastrophic' plan sold by MVP Health, according to the statement released yesterday by Vermont. 'Platinum' coverage for an entire family, the most expensive available, would cost $1,728 a month from MVP or $1,698 from Blue Cross Blue Shield. "

These are the after prices for the Affordable Care Act. What are the before prices?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-01/vermont-s...

"Vermont’s insurance exchange will be served by two companies, MVP Health, based in Schenectady, New York, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. "

...

"Without the subsidies, premiums would start at $202 a month for a single person under 30 buying a stripped-down 'catastrophic' plan sold by MVP Health, according to the statement released yesterday by Vermont. 'Platinum' coverage for an entire family, the most expensive available, would cost $1,728 a month from MVP or $1,698 from Blue Cross Blue Shield. "

These are the after prices for the Affordable Care Act. What are the before prices?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-01/vermont-s...

President Obama was dealt a bad hand. Through his skill and his choices, he got himself a two of a kind, a winning hand, to beat all other players. Republicans come along and say to the President, "You should have a royal flush instead of two of a kind. You had four rounds to do better." They say that ignoring the fact if the President had made the choices that the Republicans insisted on there would be a losing hand, instead of a winning one.

Hopefully, a member of the Mormon church can answer this. Are there pastors in the Mormon church? I thought there were only lay leaders?

Hopefully, a Mormon can answer this. Are there pastors in the Mormon church? I thought there were only lay leaders?

After listening to Michelle Obama's speech and Ann Romney's speech, who did a better job of defending her husband and her policies?

After looking at the chart, can we all agree the shrinking of the middle class began in the Reagan years? What set of policies started that slide?

"[I]n 1970, the middle class held 62 percent of the income in the country. The upper income held 29 percent. Those numbers have now flipped: The middle class is at 45 percent and the upper income class is at 46 percent. "

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/08/th...

Review the charts. Spending increases the least under President Obama and that includes the stimulus. The next slowest increase is President Clinton with a Democratic Congress.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-spending-bi...

1) It’s the collapse of U.S. consumer wealth.

U.S. housing values have collapsed back to 2002 levels. That decline has wiped out $6.5-trillion in household wealth. When wealth declines, people spend less. (Precisely how much less is a matter of controversy but if the denominator is $6.5-trillion, even a very conservative estimate produces a nasty shock.)

2) It’s the de-leveraging, stupid.

Back in the 1990s and 2000s, U.S. consumers spent almost 100% of their incomes. Today they save over 6%. Good for them. They are paying down debt: At the peak of the boom, U.S. households spent $18.85 of every $100 of income to service debt. By the end of 2010, they were spending only $16.64 on debt service. Again, good for them. But as they save, they reduce demand for goods and services and for the labour of those who produce and sell those goods and services.

3) It’s gas prices.

The rule of thumb used by economic forecasters is that a one-cent increase in gasoline prices takes a billion dollars out of the pockets of U.S. consumers. A gallon of gas in the United States costs on average about $3.85, up more than $1 from a year ago.

4) It’s the crisis in local government.

U.S. states and localities raised spending dramatically in the first decade of the 21st century, largely to pay for Medicaid, the health program for the poor whose costs are divided between states and the federal government. State and local governments rely heavily on sales taxes (vulnerable to recessions) and property taxes (vulnerable to housing-price declines). Finally, unlike Canadian provinces, 49 of the 50 states are constitutionally obliged to balance their budgets. They can and do finagle that requirement a little, but only up to a point. About one-third of the 2009 Obama economic stimulus was forwarded to the states to help them through the crisis, but that money has been used. Result: States and localities are now raising taxes and laying off workers some 467,000 workers over the past two years. Forecasters project another 250,000 or so additional local-government layoffs in the next 12 months. And it is estimated that each government job lost costs another 1.3 private sector jobs as that worker’s pay ceases to circulate through the economy.

5) It’s Washington, too.

Blame both Democrats and Republicans. The Obama health plan will raise the cost of each worker effective 2014. Fear of those additional costs surely deters some hiring now. Meanwhile, Republicans are threatening to force a default on U.S. federal contracts, debts and other obligations unless they get their way on the federal budget plan. Fear that the Republicans may not be bluffing or that they may inadvertently trigger a crisis even if they are bluffing must also weigh on markets and hiring.

http://www.frumforum.com/no-quick-cure-for-america...

1) It’s the collapse of U.S. consumer wealth.

U.S. housing values have collapsed back to 2002 levels. That decline has wiped out $6.5-trillion in household wealth. When wealth declines, people spend less. (Precisely how much less is a matter of controversy but if the denominator is $6.5-trillion, even a very conservative estimate produces a nasty shock.)

2) It’s the de-leveraging, stupid.

Back in the 1990s and 2000s, U.S. consumers spent almost 100% of their incomes. Today they save over 6%. Good for them. They are paying down debt: At the peak of the boom, U.S. households spent $18.85 of every $100 of income to service debt. By the end of 2010, they were spending only $16.64 on debt service. Again, good for them. But as they save, they reduce demand for goods and services and for the labour of those who produce and sell those goods and services.

3) It’s gas prices.

The rule of thumb used by economic forecasters is that a one-cent increase in gasoline prices takes a billion dollars out of the pockets of U.S. consumers. A gallon of gas in the United States costs on average about $3.85, up more than $1 from a year ago.

4) It’s the crisis in local government.

U.S. states and localities raised spending dramatically in the first decade of the 21st century, largely to pay for Medicaid, the health program for the poor whose costs are divided between states and the federal government. State and local governments rely heavily on sales taxes (vulnerable to recessions) and property taxes (vulnerable to housing-price declines). Finally, unlike Canadian provinces, 49 of the 50 states are constitutionally obliged to balance their budgets. They can and do finagle that requirement a little, but only up to a point. About one-third of the 2009 Obama economic stimulus was forwarded to the states to help them through the crisis, but that money has been used. Result: States and localities are now raising taxes and laying off workers some 467,000 workers over the past two years. Forecasters project another 250,000 or so additional local-government layoffs in the next 12 months. And it is estimated that each government job lost costs another 1.3 private sector jobs as that worker’s pay ceases to circulate through the economy.

5) It’s Washington, too.

Blame both Democrats and Republicans. The Obama health plan will raise the cost of each worker effective 2014. Fear of those additional costs surely deters some hiring now. Meanwhile, Republicans are threatening to force a default on U.S. federal contracts, debts and other obligations unless they get their way on the federal budget plan. Fear that the Republicans may not be bluffing or that they may inadvertently trigger a crisis even if they are bluffing must also weigh on markets and hiring.

http://www.frumforum.com/no-quick-cure-for-america...

"President George Washington signed the Second Militia Act of 1792, which required a significant percentage of the U.S. civilian population to purchase—at their own expense—“a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack” along with various other items they would need if the president ever called them up to serve in the militia. Many of the members of Congress who voted to enact this law were also members of the Philadelphia Convention that wrote the Constitution itself." If that was constitutional, surely Affordable Care Act is constitutional because the law requires everyone to buy a product.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/act...