I was thinking the same. Something like this new revelation tied with AT&T original statement would be devastating:
AT&T to take $1 billion charge on Health Care Reform...
DEMOCRATS' RESPONSE: THREATEN AND INTIMIDATE AT&T
Posted on 03/28/2010 12:49:40 AM PDT by SmartInsight
Facebook page, “Defeat Henry Waxman”
http://www.facebook.com/defeathenrywaxman?ref=522656048.2479632233
There’s also a facebook page called.....
“Henry Waxman’s Nose”
Mr Waxman may I introduce you to the Law of Unintended Consequences?
If I were Cat, John Deere, or any other manufacturing firm, I’d be looking at closing down my US operations. This government simply isn’t business-friendly.
What I find interesting is that hardly if any of these big companies complaining about how much this bill will cost them lobbied publicly against this bill. It seems as if big business WANTED this to pass because big business wants to stop paying for health care and would rather see the government handle the mess we have gotten ourselves into with misguided anti market health care practices.
“Are corporations supposed to pretend that these costs do not exist?”
That is what’s so amazing. The Dims are screaming that it is somehow “suspicious” that these companies are making these statements so “quickly” following the HC passage, yet the SEC laws REQUIRE them to notify both the SEC and their shareholders in the SAME QUARTER the law passes of any new law’s impact on the bottom line. That means they were required to report their estimates by the end of March.
Even the Rats aren’t normally this stupid.
What we’re watching is blind panic.
You’re absolutely right about the reporting rules required by the SEC.
None of these corporations want to raise a stink - so many of them will do exactly what Waxman says.
What I’d like to see happen is have a few of these CEO’s (or CFO’s) say “Congressman Waxman, I have no intention of appearing on Capitol Hill to participate in what blatantly looks like political intimidation on your part. I would encourage you to read our firm’s next SEC report. That report will answer your questions”.
In Waxman's world, you make up the numbers.
Here's another reason it'll go badly. People will start waking up to what's actually in the bill, versus what they've been told.
I saw a discussion yesterday on a health board, and people were just realizing that pre-existing conditions won't be covered immediately. There was a lot of disillusionment because they believed the hype.
I agree, this is ridiculous.
“What we’re watching is blind panic.”
Yes indeed. Hope they continue.
I was thinking the same. Something like this new revelation tied with AT&T original statement would be devastating:
Sarbanes Oxley was put into place by Congress after the Enron collapse in order to ensure a company’s liabilities are properly reflected in the public financial statements and end the “off the books” accounting games employed by Enron. The Democrats were major players in putting these rules in place. The civil and criminal penalties for violating these laws are heavy. The company CEO, CFO, and board of directors have to sign a statement with every SEC filing acknowledging their personal liability if the statements to not adequately reflect reality. No doubt if these executives failed to report the financial implications of the new health care law, some tort lawyer would file a class action suit against the company officers and board of directors which would result in personal economic ruin. Having sat on the inside of public companies since Sarbanes was enacted, I can assure you the potential penalties are so onerous, management is extremely careful to err on the side of conservatism and over reporting when filing these reports.
What the Dems don’t (or perhaps do) understand, these companies are not trying to embarrass them, they are merely reporting facts about future cost projections to their shareholders as required by the laws the Dems passed. Corporations cannot play the accounting games of counting savings twice and ignoring costs such as Obama and Pelosi did to make the numbers work. They have to report the “truth”. If the health care bill eliminated tax breaks, the loss of those tax breaks represents a real cost increase.
We have now reached the stage with the imperial Congress and Presidency where our lawmakers are encouraging executives in the private sector to break the law when company actions might embarrass those lawmakers. This is not unlike the situation Ken Lewis of Bank of America found himself in at the height of the financial crisis when he realized the assets of Merrill Lynch, which the government was forcing BOA to acquire, were overstated on the books. The securities laws required he report the information publicly, yet he was told by Bernake and Paulson not to report because of the economic meltdown. Lewis knuckled under and is now being sued by Andrew Cuomo for failing to disclose.
The socialists are now so brazen they can demand private sector CEO’s break the laws of the nation or face consequences. When the government has no respect for the law, and when individuals leading companies are put in situations where no matter what action they take they face the wrath of the government, we have anarchy. Clearly this is part of the plan to destroy the private sector.
We should e-mail all these companies executives and tell them don’t do it!!!
They can wait til their next reports scheduled as such.
When all US private operations are shut down everyone becomes unemployed it won't be long until the “real money” will run out.
The bozo chief can turn up the printing press and flood us with $100,000,000.00 fed notes to buy a loaf of bread.
Welcome to that “Hopey and Changey” thing liberals gave us.
Thanks
Here is what happened:
Democrats calculated the impact of passing this bill and mapped out a strategy to hold their majorities in 2010.
Somebody forgot about Sarbannes-Oxley and the requirement for publicly traded companies to announce any significant impacts on future earnings or costs.
Democrats are caught flat-footed on this, and, as many have suggested, it is probably not the last ‘surprise’ that will come out of this healthcare fiasco.
Nope. They’re the consequences of elections.
Perhaps I can interest you in serious debate about the merits, credentials and credibility of John McCain and Sarah Palin? I warn you that such serious debate may cause 3/4 of your audience to become banned from discussion; that’s o.k. in a politically free society.
Except this is NEITHER a politically free society, NOR a politically conservative society. It is the “FreeRepublic” sonservative blog - hosted by JimRob - society sort of thing.
The rest is smoke & mirrors.
I agree we are in an epic struggle and are losing. In the next few months we will see:
1) Amnesty and a rapid path to voting citizenship will pass before the November election. The same strong arm tactics will be used to get the votes. Illegals will be able to vote in the 2012 election if it is held.
2) The recess appointments to the NLRB this weekend mean card check will be imposed by dictate from the NLRB and executive order by the President, not a vote in Congress where it would likely lose. Card check will allow the SEIU to rapidly organize what remains of the private sector through intimidation. Plus expect most government workers who are not in a union to become union members very quickly. In 5 years, your physician will be a member of the SEIU. You might be as well if you want to have a job.
3) Cap & Trade will be pushed through the Senate, again using the same strong arm tactics employed for health care.
4) The new financial regulation bill will effectively put the banking and insurance industries under tight government regulation.
5) The “Fairness Doctrine” will be imposed on the broadcast media, likely under some other name and under executive order or decree of the FCC. There will be an intense effort to shut down conservative talk radio and Fox News.
6) There is probably only a 50/50 chance the November elections will be held. The drumbeat over the past week about the extremists teabaggers is the beginning of an all out assault by the government on dissent. We may find the elections postponed or canceled due to the government perceiving a threat from the right wing or an actual massive terrorist attack carefully timed to create massive disruption near the time of the election.
7) Assuming best case, the elections are held, and the Republicans capture the House and Senate or significantly erode the Dem majorities, expect a huge amount of legislation to pass in the lame duck session including higher marginal tax rates, government oversight and approval of salaries and pay plans across the private sector, an overhaul of social security delaying retirement age and making benefits means tested, new regulations on the internet that lay the groundwork for censorship of speech on the internet by executive order. They may even try to pass a bill imposing a VAT.
8) Assuming the worst case and the elections are not held, the game is over unless the military decides to intervene and impose a military dictatorship.
9) If the elections are held and the Republicans try to dismantle the statist infrastructure erected from 2008 to 2010, Obama will go on a public relations offensive like we’ve never seen. He and his allies in Congress will use every delaying and obstruction tactic they can and blame the Republicans for every ill in the country in an effort to win the Executive Branch and Congress in 2012. If they win that election, with the help of newly enfranchised illegals, the game is also over.
Obama and his fellow travelers are on the offense. This has been planned for a long time and he has most of the media behind him. We desperately need a leader, a Reagan, who can resonate with the people by speaking to their best interests from the heart and build trust with them. Unfortunately Sarah Palin has been successfully marginalized. Boehner, McConnell, Steele have no charisma. Romney is tainted by health care in Massachusetts, his religion, and his slick looks (he looks like the corporate suit who fires workers). Huckabee is not charismatic enough, supports immigration reform, and millions of voters won’t vote for a minister. Pawlenty looks like another slick country club republican. McCain, if he wins reelection, might just be foolish enough to try to run again, disrupting the primary process and weakening the party. Gingrich is tainted. Jeb Bush is probably the best qualified candidate but the Bush name is tainted at least for a generation. The emerging new generation (Rubio for example in Florida) is too young. Many of the republican governors and senators who might make good candidates have no charisma and come across as the same old country club inside group that produced Dole and the Bushes. If there is a Reagan about to emerge and lead the cause, it isn’t apparent who that leader will be. She or he needs to be prominent and active by mid summer to have a positive impact on the November election.
Despite the mess Obama is creating, he still has a high approval rating in the high 40’s. It is doubtful it will drop much. Whether we like it or not, the nation is divided about 50/50 between the statists and those who believe in individual liberty. Obama is charismatic and that gives him tremendous power. He is very effective at telling the big lie with a straight face and the media does a great job reinforcing his message and mystique. Too many citizens have not woken up or are happy with status quo. Think about the German Jews who saw the signs of approaching doom but stayed in Germany until it was too late. At least a third of the population, and possible as much as 50%, will believe what they are told and gladly accept the chains. After all, if you have an HD TV, beer in the frig, food in the belly, “free” medical care, and a car in the driveway, who cares? The poorest of Americans are living a life 95% of the rest of the world’s population would consider to be the life of luxury. Millions of people are happy to just get by if they don’t have to exert any energy to do so. If you don’t believe it, look at Detroit.
The next few months will be critical. Our freedom hangs in the balance. If the socialist momentum cannot be slowed, the infrastructure will be in place by the end of the year to quickly transition to a dictatorship.
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