How about Tim Geitner & Charlie Rangle and their tax issues? Democrats say its patriotic to pay more taxes, yet these guys are finding every way possible to avoid them. I guess, by their own standards, that would make them unpatriotic and thereby unamerican. How about the recent healthcare bill and lawmakers inserting language that made democratic senior staff members exempt from the very rules they now want us to live by??? If the healthcare bill was so good, why wouldn't the democrats in Congress like Pelosi & Reid commit to members of Congress having to get their insurance from the exchanges instead of having those "cadillac plans" they have that are, oh by the way, exempt from the taxes the rest of us have to pay. The jackass is certainly the right mascot for the democratic party isn't it.
Well, some of these very issues are the reason that if I was a betting man, I'd put a TON of
money on the fact that I think voters in November are going to tell these guys in the words of
Donald Trump:
"You're FIRED!"
The healthcare thing in particular has pissed off a ton of people. Ironically it has pissed off
a bunch of those that Democrats count in their base.....the working poor and middle class.
Primarily, because people that don't have health insurance, generally don't have it because....
THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT! Requiring people to have health insurance, even with the government
paying for some of it (subsidizing those with lower incomes) is NOT popular among many of
the working poor. So if you have a family of 4 and make 31 grand a year, you are most likely
on a VERY tight budget. Requiring that you now purchase health insurance and giving you
ANOTHER monthly bill to pay, is making people very nervous. When people thought they
were going to get health insurance for 'free' the bill was very popular. Once they understood
they were going to have it 'mandated', it became much less so.
I admit I am biased. Right now my budget is tight enough that having an extra bill to pay
for my family of 5, will probably cause me to lose my house. I know, people will probably
say I am full of it, but I am in the middle, making in the 55 thousand range. However, Alaska
is very expensive to live, and the average single family home in my area is 331 thousand.
Right now I can pay all my bills....almost exactly, I have an extra hundred dollars or so left over
but literally that's it. Which is alright, I just don't go to the movies or out to eat or get cable or
anything, but instead put all that money towards actually owning a house instead of throwing
money away on rent. But this new health bill will force me to buy insurance. Depending on
which website you believe, it will have different impacts on people. The Washington Post has
a calculator up to calculate the impact on your family, just enter in your income, family
size and so on. Here it is:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/what-health-bill-means-for-you/
According to it, I'd end up with an extra bill of almost $400 month. That's not going to
happen, unless I start making more money somehow. Which isn't going to happen in
this economy, I'm actually trending downward currently. So my expense right now are for
groceries, diapers, and house payment, home insurance, and car insurance. I just don't
see what I can cut, other than selling the home and going back to renting.
Of course this doesn't go into effect right away, and maybe the economy will pick back
up....I really hope so. But, any time there is a bill like this, there are winners and there
are losers. Those who use the healthcare system a lot, those that have chronic conditions
and pre existing conditions are going to 'win' under this new law. They can NOT be dropped
by insurance companies, and can get the health care they need. Also, the VERY low
income people will 'win' as their health insurance will essentially be subsidized entirely
by the government.
Those who are relatively healthy, don't have anything more than routine checkups, and
just pay cash for that, are going to be the losers. Those on fixed incomes in the lower to
middle income brackets that do NOT get insurance through their jobs, and the self-employed
are also going to lose out here. And of course the rich guys are going to 'lose' too, but
I would venture to say that most people don't worry about them too much