Posted on 11/01/2013 5:18:56 AM PDT by tioga
This was in today’s paper:
http://triblive.com/opinion/featuredcommentary/4973809-74/health-insurance-americans#axzz2jPrRlkas
In 2008, candidate Obama bit off more than he could chew. He promised everyone access to cheaper and better health insurance, and to let those satisfied keep their existing plans. If paid from the U.S. Treasury, new benefits would have cost at least $1 trillion.
New taxes alone couldn’t carry that load. Many businesses, already burdened by the highest corporate tax rates in the world, are moving assets and jobs offshore. Higher taxes and new entitlements have already given the country more adults on means-tested government benefits — aka welfare — than working. Predictably, economic growth, which provides the tax base, is evaporating.
The solution left to the president and his pals in Congress was to deceive the folks he promised to help. Make them pay more, a lot more, but do it through the marketplace.
Usually in November we start getting emails from HR for us to review insurance and sign for new policies. Have you received your increase info yet? I’m expecting ours any time now.
We just finished our enrollment period. My company self-insures, so there is no “tooth fairy” to pay for our medical bills. It’s the company and the employees.
This year, not really bad at all. They did tell us that the “tax” we have to pay for Obamacare amounts to about $160/year per employee.
No drastic changes, no massive increases.
I am more worried for 2015 when the local big hospital “charity” is supposed to sever ties with the local big insurance carrier. Apparently the hospital company that runs its own insurance plans doesn’t like when the insurance company wants to run its own hospitals.
So they have refused to negotiate a new contract.
But, that’s local events. I think the worry for people like me is what happens a couple years down the road if companies start dumping employees onto the exchanges.
The Insurance companies are passing the costs off to us for sure - too many stories of folks learning how much their current policies are going up to deny that. I saw a print out last night from a company trying to woo my husband to work for them - they didn’t offer the details of the plan but showed current costs and what their new plan will cost beginning in January. If their plan is similar to what we have right now (and I haven’t heard what ours will change to in January yet) - we currently pay a little over $200 a month for our portion of the family plan, and yeah, I know that is fabulous - we have health, dental and vision on that plan. THEIR current family plan costs over $1200 a month and will be over $1700 a month in January. I told my husband to think very carefully about the salary requirement to cover that kind of increase.
Just got a news flash from Pollos Her-mine-os:
Today is our first 7-egg day. We’re firing on all cylinders now.
Six year old? You’re being generous.
How exciting! Have you saved a stash of egg cartons? And are you moving the coop around the yard? Do you have a heater ready for winter? Can you tell I would love to have chickens again?
Wow - so what is your plan to keep those chickies warm in the winter? We would not have that problem here but you do!
My wife actually bought a case of egg cartons.
We aren’t moving the coop, but we do have a fence she uses to let them have a bit of a play yard. That gets moved around a bit.
We are expanding. We have added another “chicken run” area and will add another coop in the spring. She wants to get 4 more then, to try some other breed.
As for winter, the first thing is light. We already added some plain white rope-style Christmas lights around the enclosure. You need to extend the amount of daylight so the chickens don’t go dormant from laying. So we have the lights on a timer and give them an hour or so of extra light in the morning and night.
My wife put some plastic and tarp around the sides and top of the enclosure, to keep the wind at bay and snow from falling in. She got an infrared heater with a built-in thermostat. So it isn’t a fire hazard from being too hot, but can provide some heat.
Then there’s the nesting material and natural heat from composting waste. These chickens should be hardy enough to survive, even if they have to huddle inside their nesting area, instead of out in the open like they like to do.
Don’t want to coddle them too much. But I do bet they will find their way into the basement if we have an extended single digit stretch this winter.
Exactly. All Bad News, and Cruz got 16 extra days of Debt Coverage as a cherry on top, because McConnell was always going to cave, with PR making himself look good and Screwing the house.
If Cruz had not done what he did, the Senate would have negotiated a good for the Dems compromise, and complained the House, was endangering the U.S.
As prophetic as Orwell!
LOL. Tomorrow, I am off to Home Depot to create a sculpture on the level of Christo,
Thank you! There was a ‘rat I used to vote for-a state representative, who was a dinosaur-Hispanic, and surprisingly conservative. He lived on a ranch about 20 miles away, and died in a fire there in 1999 or so-I haven’t voted a split ticket since...
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