Another one from the “I told you so” files, McDonalds will drop insurance coverage for about 30,000 low wage workers because of requirements in the health care law.
Obviously, they are making health care more affordable by making it unavailable.
And I’m sure there’s more of this to come!
Please take a few minutes to read this fantastic essay by Barton Hinkle “Where Do Our Obligations Come From?”
Link via Cafe Hayek
President Obama says that assassination program is a state secret.
But what’s most notable here is that one of the arguments the Obama DOJ raises to demand dismissal of this lawsuit is “state secrets”: in other words, not only does the President have the right to sentence Americans to death with no due process or charges of any kind, but his decisions as to who will be killed and why he wants them dead are “state secrets,” and thus no court may adjudicate their legality.
So The One who said the government running health care won’t lead to the government deciding who will live or die says the government (President) has the power to kill anyone he wants as long as he calls that person a terrorist. Good thing we got rid of all the failed policies, huh?.
Hat tip: The Agitator
Cliff Burton, arguably the best bass player ever, was killed in a bus accident 24 years ago today at the age of 24.
Metal(lica) was never the same.
I’ll listen to Orion from Master of Puppets at least once today.
Hopefully Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield won’t sue me for linking to these vids.
Took a bit of a planned/unplanned hiatus. A couple of days were planned, most were not. Alas, this whole “work” thing sometimes gets in the way, and I’ve been out on the road a bunch and had family in town.
So.
I’ll be back in the gym on Thursday (more time on the road this week). I did get some work done early this morning.
Today:
Foam Rolling
Stretching
The Ravens beat the Browns 24-17 in a game that seemed much harder than it should have, primarily due to the outstanding performance of Peyton Hillis and the Browns offensive line.
Offense
Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin seemed to hit their groove, with 3 TD connections. Flacco appeared to regain his poise. While it was against the mediocre defense of the Browns, he did face some aggressive blitzing and still came away with 262 yards in the air and 3 TDs with no interceptions.
The running game looked fantastic, with Ray Rice going 80 yards on 15 carries until he left the game with a knee sprain. Willis McGahee stepped in with another 29 yards.
The offense was much improved over the last two weeks (again, even in light of the opponent, this is still a divisional game). They still need to improve third down conversions, and stop leaving themselves in third and long situations.
I would also like to see them continue to integrate the running attack to increase time of possession and wear down the opposing offense. The weapons are there. Continue reading
Carpe Diem points out the cost of insurance for a young person in Michigan.
It points out what’s been clear to thinking people all along: Passing health care reform was always about using force to make one group of people buy something for another group of people.
If you choose between health insurance and a cell phone (much less an iPhone), that’s your doing. Not mine. I should not have to subsidize your cell phone, or your vacation… which is what these folks really want.
But no one would ever pass a law making me pay for cell phones or vacations. Health care, on the other hand, well not paying for that is just mean.
From the “I told you so” files… big health insurers are no longer writing child only policies because of the new health care regulations.
Why? Well, because they have no idea how much it will cost them to remain in that market, and they have contractual obligations to their existing customers. Health insurers can’t meet those obligations if they don’t make a profit.
A little tidbit our Congress and President don’t understand.
I think, though, this is actually an intended consequence of the legislation. It was intentionally written to destroy the private health insurance market so it appears the only solution is single payer government run healthcare. And, since no one who voted on it read it, these things are now making sure less people who need to be able to buy insurance can.
This is just the beginning, unless it’s struck down as unconstitutional (which is is, but that doesn’t always matter) or it’s repealed (likely in the House, possible in the Senate, but no way He signs a repeal, and there won’t be enough support to override his veto.
According to some Economists, the recession ended in June of last year, before the “stimulus” money started hitting the economy.
So why no recovery? The article points out one big reason: Uncertainty.
How slow? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development figures the U.S. economy will grow 2.6 percent this year. It would take growth twice that fast to drive down unemployment by a single percentage point.
Unemployment usually keeps rising well after a recession ends. That’s because it takes time for companies to gain confidence in the economy, know that customer demand will last, and add jobs.
But for the past few recessions, it’s taken longer and longer for unemployment to come down. In 1982, for example, unemployment peaked the same month the recession ended. After the 2001 recession, the gap was 19 months.
This time around, it’s been 15 months, and economists don’t expect unemployment to come down significantly anytime soon.
Companies are always a little uncertain coming out of a recession. Coming out of this one, much like coming out of the recession in the early 30’s that became the Great Depression, government has created additional uncertainty. That will prolong the recovery at a minimum, and might send us back in to another recession.
And the administration and Congress can only think that expanding the role of government and making things even more uncertain is the only answer.
It didn’t work in the 30’s, and it won’t work this time. What will work is eliminating the uncertainty so businesses are confident they can grow again without unexpected government intervention and increased costs.
On Monday, The One held a ‘Town Hall’ meeting. In an interesting twist, a number of people got in who aren’t exactly happy with him.
Mr. Obama was confronted by people who said, in short, that they had expected more from him. People from Main Street wanted to know if the American dream still lived for them. People from Wall Street complained that he was treating them like a piñata, “whacking us with the stick,” in the words of a former law school classmate of Mr. Obama’s who now runs a hedge fund.
“I’m exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for,” said the first questioner, an African-American woman who identified herself as a chief financial officer, a mother and a military veteran. “I’ve been told that I voted for a man who was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class, and I’m waiting, sir, I’m waiting. I still don’t feel it yet.”
While that’s interesting, those of us with IQs above room temperature knew it would happen, given He is still a politician first and there was never any substance behind the campaigning. What I think is more telling of the people who support The One is this quote from a recent law school grad.
A 30-year-old law school graduate, Ted Brassfield, told Mr. Obama he had hoped to pursue a career in public service — like the president — but could barely pay the interest on his student loans, let alone think of getting married or starting a family.
“I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away,” Mr. Brassfield said, adding, “What I really want to know is: Is the American dream dead for me?”
What makes this typical? The message Obama brought was not one of self-reliance, it was one of dependence on government. It was a message that said (with an appropriate reverb) “I will take care of you”. Now that hasn’t happened and this fellow thinks the American dream is dead.
The American dream isn’t using force to get other people to pay your student loans or your healthcare bills. It is that you have the freedom to make and follow your own path, to whatever prosperity lies at the end. At least, until recently.
Face it. He’s a politician. He made a bunch of promises he never had a chance to keep and never intended to keep. He and the Congress have stopped any recovery by passing laws that create remarkable uncertainty for business owners and investors, because they think the right role of government is the owner/distributor of all property and labor.
And I think there will be some Change in November.
Windy Recycling Day 