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> <channel><title>Consumer Boomer &#187; In The News</title> <atom:link href="http://consumerboomer.com/category/in-the-news/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><link>http://consumerboomer.com</link> <description>Blog For the Baby Boomer Generation</description> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 15:56:52 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2</generator> <item><title>Dhimmitude and Healthcare Reform &#8211; Is Dhimmitude Really a Word?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/dhimmitude-and-healthcare-reform-is-dhimmitude-really-a-word/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/dhimmitude-and-healthcare-reform-is-dhimmitude-really-a-word/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Medical Insurance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cordoba House]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dhimmitude]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health care costs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform Cost]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obamacare]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=8276</guid> <description><![CDATA[Could &#8220;Dhimmitude&#8221; and &#8220;ObamaCare&#8221; help &#8220;Cordoba House&#8221; gain more support in the future? photo credit: wstera2 ANYONE HEARD THIS? Remember when the moron, Speaker of the House, (soon to be x-Speaker, not x-Moron of the house), Nancy Pelosi, made that incredibly stupid statement, “we have to pass the healthcare bill in order to see what’s in it”? [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>Could &#8220;Dhimmitude&#8221; and &#8220;ObamaCare&#8221; help &#8220;Cordoba House&#8221; gain more support in the future?</p><p><strong><a
title="Nancy explains about the Ground Zero mega-mosque - AKA the Cordoba House" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/13836188@N04/4915735634/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4915735634_b1779902f1.jpg" border="0" alt="Nancy explains about the Ground Zero mega-mosque - AKA the Cordoba House" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="wstera2" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/13836188@N04/4915735634/" target="_blank">wstera2</a></small></strong></p><p><strong><small><a
title="wstera2" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/13836188@N04/4663468990/" target="_blank"></a></small>ANYONE HEARD THIS?</strong></p><p>Remember when the moron, Speaker of the House, (soon to be x-Speaker, not x-Moron of the house), Nancy Pelosi, made that incredibly stupid statement, “we have to pass the healthcare bill in order to see what’s in it”?  Well, here is just another little tidbit of what is actually in it!!</p><h2><em>Dhimmitude</em> &#8211; What does it mean?</h2><p>Obama used it in the health care bill.  How interesting is this?  It is actually used in the health care law.</p><p>Every day there&#8217;s another revelation of what Obama and his healthcare folly really includes.</p><h2><em>Dhimmitude</em> ???</h2><p>I had never heard the word until now.  Type it into Google<br
/> and start reading.  Pretty interesting.  It&#8217;s on page 107 of the healthcare<br
/> bill.  I looked this up on Google and yep, it exists.  It is a REAL word.<br
/> Amish and others are excluded, including muslims.  I think I could become<br
/> Amish a whole lot easier than muslim.  <span
id="more-8276"></span></p><h2>Word of the Day: <em>Dhimmitude</em></h2><p>Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-muslim populations<br
/> conquered through jihad. Specifically, it is the <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">TAXING</span> of <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">non-muslims</span> in<br
/> exchange for <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">tolerating their presence</span></strong> AND <strong>as a c<span
style="text-decoration: underline;">oercive means of</span><br
/> <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"> converting</span></strong> conquered remnants to Islam.</p><p>ObamaCare <strong>allows</strong> the establishment of <em>Dhimmitude</em> and Sharia muslim diktat<br
/> in the United States.  Muslims are specifically exempted from the<br
/> government mandate to purchase insurance, and also from the penalty tax<br
/> for being uninsured.  Islam considers insurance to be &#8220;gambling&#8221;,<br
/> &#8220;risk-taking&#8221;, and &#8220;usury&#8221; and is thus banned.  Muslims are specifically<br
/> granted exemption based on this.</p><p>How convenient.  So I, as a Christian, will have crippling IRS liens placed<br
/> against all of my assets, including real estate, cattle, and even accounts<br
/> receivables, and will face hard prison time because I refuse to buy<br
/> insurance or pay the penalty tax. Meanwhile, Louis Farrakhan will have no<br
/> such penalty and will have 100% of his health needs paid for by the de<br
/> facto government insurance.  Non-muslims will be paying a tax to subsidize<br
/> muslims.  Period.  This is <em>Dhimmitude</em>.</p><p><em>Dhimmitude</em> serves two purposes:  It enriches the muslim masters AND serves<br
/> to drive conversions to Islam.  In this case, the incentive to convert to<br
/> Islam will be taken up by those in the inner-cities as well as the godless<br
/> Generation X, Y, and Z types who have no moral anchor. If you don&#8217;t<br
/> believe in Christ to begin with, it is no problem whatsoever to sell Him<br
/> for 30 pieces of silver.</p><p>I never really considered being a Muslim, however, if it means free health<br
/> insurance and no taxes.  Where do I sign, bro?&#8221;</p><h2>What does &#8220;Snopes&#8221; have to say?</h2><p>Snopes answer &#8230; mixed.</p><ol><li>It is a word and does mean exactly that decscribed above.</li><li>It is included as an exemption in the healthcare reform bill on page #107.</li><li>It depends on how the exemptions are administered as to how many Muslims and other &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;">non</span>-Christian&#8221; religious groups will actually be exempted.</li></ol><h2>Check out <em>Dhimmitude</em> and the Healthcare Reform  for yourself:</h2><p>First here ! &#8230; <a
href="http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=59232">http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=59232</a></p><p>Next here! &#8230; <a
href="http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/exemptions.asp">http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/exemptions.asp</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/dhimmitude-and-healthcare-reform-is-dhimmitude-really-a-word/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>ICE Receives &#8220;Vote of NO Confidence&#8221; Is Amnesty Coming?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/ice-receives-vote-of-no-confidence-amnesty/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/ice-receives-vote-of-no-confidence-amnesty/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:35:05 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=7865</guid> <description><![CDATA[The union that represents the field agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has unanimously passed a &#8220;vote of no confidence&#8221; for the agency&#8217;s leadership, saying ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has &#8220;abandoned&#8221; its core mission of protecting the public to support a political agenda favoring amnesty. Border photo credit: t3hWIT The resolution says [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span
class="drop_cap">T</span>he union that represents the field agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has unanimously passed a &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>vote of no confidence</strong></span>&#8221; for the agency&#8217;s leadership, saying ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has &#8220;abandoned&#8221; its core mission of protecting the public to support a political agenda favoring amnesty.</p><p>Border<a
title="DSC00148" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15763073@N04/3952069927/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3952069927_e907686d0d.jpg" border="0" alt="DSC00148" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="t3hWIT" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15763073@N04/3952069927/" target="_blank">t3hWIT</a></small></p><p>The resolution says that the leadership of ICE had &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>abandoned the agency&#8217;s core mission of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and providing for public safety,</strong></span>&#8221; instead it is directing its attention &#8220;<strong>to campaigning for programs and policies related to amnesty</strong>&#8220;and the creation of a special detention system for foreign nationals that exceeds the care and services provided to most U.S. citizens similarly incarcerated.</p><p>The National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees represents over 7,000 ICE agents and employees.   With a vote of 259-0 for a resolution saying there was &#8220;<strong>growing dissatisfaction and concern</strong>&#8221; over the leadership of Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads ICE, and Phyllis Coven, assistant director for the agency&#8217;s office of detention policy and planning.</p><p>&#8220;It is the desire of our union … to publicly separate ourselves from the actions of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven and publicly state that ICE officers and employees do not support Morton or Coven or their misguided and reckless initiatives, which could ultimately put many in America at risk,&#8221; the union said.</p><p>In a strongly worded statement, the union and its affiliated local councils said the integrity of the agency &#8220;as well as the public safety &#8220;would be&#8221; better provided for in the absence of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven.&#8221;    <span
id="more-7865"></span></p><h2>More about the Statement:</h2><p>The statement also noted that:</p><ul><li>The majority of ICE&#8217;s enforcement and removal officers are prohibited from making street arrests or enforcing U.S. immigration laws outside of the jail setting.</li><li>Hundreds of ICE officers nationwide perform no law enforcement duties whatsoever because of resource mismanagement within the agency.</li><li>ICE detention reforms have transformed into a detention system aimed at providing resort like living conditions to criminal aliens based on recommendations not from ICE officers and field managers, but from &#8220;special-interest groups.&#8221;</li><li>The lack of technical expertise and field experience has resulted in a priority of providing bingo nights, dance lessons and hanging plants to criminals, instead of addressing safe and responsible detention reforms for noncriminal individuals and families.</li><li>Unlike any other agency in the nation, ICE officers will be prevented from searching detainees housed in ICE facilities, allowing weapons, drugs and other contraband into detention centers — putting detainees, ICE officers and contract guards at risk.</li><li>Senior leadership ignores reports that ICE internal investigations by the office of professional responsibility conceal agency and supervisor misconduct and are used to retaliate against employees who make whistleblower-type disclosures or question inappropriate policies and procedures.</li></ul><p>ICE documents show that during the first nine months of fiscal 2010, a total of 279,035 noncitizens were removed from the U.S. as a result of ICE enforcement.</p><h2>Union Claims:</h2><p>According to the union, illegal immigrants now being held in state and local jails seek out ICE agents for deportation to avoid prosecution, conviction and prison terms. They also say criminal aliens &#8220;<strong>openly brag</strong>&#8221; that they are taking advantage of a broken immigration system and <strong>will be back in the United States within days to commit crimes</strong> — while U.S. citizens arrested for the same offenses serve prison sentences.</p><p>The no-confidence vote, taken in June and made public last week in a letter by the union, said the agency&#8217;s senior leadership dedicated &#8220;more time to campaigning for immigration reforms aimed at large-scale amnesty legislation than advising the American public and federal lawmakers on the severity of the illegal-immigration problems.&#8221;</p><h2>What do others say?</h2><p>Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security said that the Obama administration is &#8220;simply not serious about enforcing all of our immigration laws.&#8221;  He said ICE doesn&#8217;t have the resources because it didn&#8217;t ask for them, adding that &#8220;the Obama administration did not request a single new detention bed in their most recent budget request.&#8221;</p><p>Rep. Smith claims that the limits on detention capacity that they now claim hold them back from further enforcement are of their own making, he said. ICE is running under its average daily detention capacity and that the Obama administration is not even using all the resources it has.</p><p>Michael W. Cutler, a retired 31-year U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) senior criminal investigator and intelligence specialist, said that it is clear that the marching orders coming from the administration have <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">nothing to do with securing our nation&#8217;s borders or enforcing the immigration laws</span>.  According to him &#8221;It is an absolute absurdity to believe that our nation can successfully wage a war against terrorists who are determined to enter our nation and then embed themselves in our nation with virtually no fear of being identified, arrested or removed from our country&#8221;.</p><p>Janice Kephart, director of national security policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, described the no-confidence vote in a statement last week as an example of how ICE&#8217;s mission was being &#8220;skewed towards supporting an unflinching goal of amnesty by refusing to allow agents to do their job.&#8221;</p><p>Secretary John Morton, who heads ICE recently announced new guidelines telling his agents to focus on &#8220;apprehending terrorists and criminals&#8221;, causing many of agency&#8217;s rank-and-file agents to wonder who, then, is responsible for tracking down and detaining the millions of other illegal border-crossers and fugitive aliens now in the country.</p><p>The new guidelines note that ICE only has resources to remove approximately 400,000 aliens per year, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal-alien population in the United States, and that as a result, it needed to focus wisely on the limited resources Congress had provided the agency.</p><p>He said the agency would prioritize the apprehension and removal of aliens who &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>only pose a threat to national security and/or public safety, such as criminals and terrorists.</strong></span>&#8221;  Lesser priorities were given to foreign nationals caught crossing the border illegally or using phony immigration documents to gain entry, and those identified as fugitives after failing to show up for immigration or deportation hearings.</p><h2>More on Fox News &#8211; Neil Cavuto interviews Director Morton</h2><p>I watched Neil Cavuto discussing this issue with Director of ICE John Morton today.  It became obvious that Mr. Morton was sticking to his talking points, defending the administrations position, defending all the work ICE has done and denying <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">any</span> fault.  Time and time again, he dodged the question of granting amnesty &#8230; simply repeating that he nor the administration support amnesty to &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;">EVERYONE</span>&#8220;.   (I don&#8217;t think anyone is suggesting it for &#8230; &#8220;EVERYONE&#8221;.)  Neil Cavuto continued to rephrase the question trying to get a straight answer.  Mr. Morton continued to dodge the real question by rephrasing his talking point and not answering the real question.</p><p><strong>What do you say???  Papa B.</strong></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/ice-receives-vote-of-no-confidence-amnesty/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Immigration Laws &#8211; Where Would You Cross The Border?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/immigration-laws-where-would-you-cross-the-border/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/immigration-laws-where-would-you-cross-the-border/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 03:24:27 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Arizona immigration law]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Border Patrol]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration law]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=7347</guid> <description><![CDATA[Drug Cartels and illegals are crossing the US border committing violent murders, kidnappings, rapes, and more.  Recently, Arizona passed a law that is drawing much controversy.  I am not sure I totally understand the reason for the concern.  Just to make sure we all understand.  Is the real concern racial profiling or being caught? photo credit: jonathan [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span
class="drop_cap">D</span>rug Cartels and illegals are crossing the US border committing violent murders, kidnappings, rapes, and more.  Recently, Arizona passed a law that is drawing much controversy.  I am not sure I totally understand the reason for the concern.  Just to make sure we all understand.  Is the real concern racial profiling or being caught?</p><p><a
title="US Checkpoint Sign" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68979377@N00/4054552555/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2447/4054552555_e03d63f741.jpg" border="0" alt="US Checkpoint Sign" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="jonathan mcintosh" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68979377@N00/4054552555/" target="_blank">jonathan mcintosh</a></small></p><p><strong>LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT &#8230;</strong><br
/> <span
id="more-7347"></span></p><ul><li>IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">12 YEARS HARD LABOR.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">DETAINED INDEFINITELY.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">SHOT.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">JAILED.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.</span></li><li>IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">YOU WILL BE </span>THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.</li></ul><p><strong>IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">ILLEGALLY</span>,</strong><strong> YOU   GET..</strong>.</p><ul><li>A JOB</li><li>DRIVERS LICENSE</li><li>SOCIAL SECURITY CARD</li><li>WELFARE</li><li>FOOD STAMPS</li><li>CREDIT CARDS</li><li>SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE</li><li>FREE EDUCATION</li><li>FREE HEALTH CARE</li><li>A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON</li><li>BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE</li><li>THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY&#8217;S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON&#8217;T GET ENOUGH RESPECT</li><li> AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE.</li></ul><p>AND OMG, &#8230; IF SOMEONE SO MUCH AS ASK FOR YOUR ID, YOU WANT TO CLAIM SOCIAL PROFILING AND FILE A LAW SUIT!</p><p>I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION!</p><p>IT&#8217;S TIME TO WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!!  Papa B!</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/immigration-laws-where-would-you-cross-the-border/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>3</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/nashville-tennessee-flood-2010/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/nashville-tennessee-flood-2010/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 21:53:34 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=7273</guid> <description><![CDATA[Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010. The video below was sent to me by a very good friend who lives near Nashville.  It&#8217;s amazing how different places handle crisis and tragedy differently. Unbelievable! Listen up, World!  &#8230; No looting!  No crime sprees!  No waiting for a handout!  No blaming the government! Congrats Nashville!  &#8230; A Class Act!  Music [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><h3>Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010.</h3><p>The video below was sent to me by a very good friend who lives near Nashville.  It&#8217;s amazing how different places handle crisis and tragedy differently.</p><p><object
classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="350" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param
name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pFjaQoOdJvI&amp;sns" /><embed
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pFjaQoOdJvI&amp;sns"></embed></object></p><p><strong>Unbelievable!</strong> <strong>Listen up, World<span
style="font-weight: normal;">!  &#8230; <strong>No looting!  No crime sprees!  No waiting for a handout!  No blaming the government!<span
style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></strong></span></strong></p><p>Congrats Nashville!  &#8230; A Class Act!  Music City Plays on!  This is one Boomer who is impressed and inspired!  Our thoughts are with you!  PB</p><p>For more see <a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjaQoOdJvI&amp;sns=em">Nashville Flood 2010</a>.  .</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/nashville-tennessee-flood-2010/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Obamacare: Can You Handle Truth?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-separating-the-facts-from-myths/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-separating-the-facts-from-myths/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:53:04 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Tax Stuff]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health care]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health care costs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obamacare]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=6219</guid> <description><![CDATA[What does health care reform include … REALLY?  How does a boomer like me separate the the Facts(Bull) from the Myths(Crap)?  One side says one thing.  The other side says something completely different about the same fact.  One thing for sure, both sides have their own spin on what is and isn&#8217;t in the bill.  [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span
class="drop_cap">W</span>hat does health care reform include … REALLY?  How does a boomer like me separate the the Facts(Bull) from the Myths(Crap)?  One side says one thing.  The other side says something completely different about the same fact.  One thing for sure, both sides have their own spin on what is and isn&#8217;t in the bill.  At least some of that spin seems to me to be a distortion of the English language.  Some of the spin is a blatant distortion of the truth.</p><p><a
title="Caution - The Clueless Will Be Impaled" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52408103@N00/42499708/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/42499708_c7ca79ec64.jpg" border="0" alt="Caution - The Clueless Will Be Impaled" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="Wheezy Jefferson" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52408103@N00/42499708/" target="_blank">Wheezy Jefferson</a></small></p><p>At this point, some of the arguments your friends, neighbors or   co-workers continue to debate don’t even factor into the legislation   signed by President Obama.  Below are a few questions and answers.   <span
id="more-6219"></span></p><h3>Questions From you &#8230; Answers from the White House.</h3><p>So, what’s the truth behind the Affordable Health Care for America Act?  The following are a list of questions and answers with a definite White House &#8220;spin&#8221;.</p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will I be forced to change insurance?<strong> </strong><br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH.  If you’re satisfied with your current plan, you can keep it.</p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Truth:</strong> That is <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">technically</span> true, until such time as your current plan is no longer offered because the Company you work for can no longer afford to offer it, or you can&#8217;t afford the higher cost of it.  Even then you will not be forced to change &#8230; you just won&#8217;t be able to afford it, so you will want to change!  Papa B.</em><br
/> </span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will illegal immigrants now be covered by our money?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH.  In fact, undocumented immigrants are expressly excluded from coverage. Only legal immigrants who pay their share will be covered.</p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><em>Truth: </em></strong><em>They are <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">already covered by our</span> money!</em></span><em><strong> </strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">The only thing they are expressly excluded from is paying for it.  They have better coverage than </span><span
style="color: #ff0000;">you and I already</span><span
style="color: #ff0000;">! </span><span
style="color: #ff0000;">They show up in the emergency room and don&#8217;t pay a cent.</span> </em><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em> I am thinking about looking into how to become one.  Papa B.</em><br
/> </span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will I go to jail or be harassed by the IRS if I don’t have health coverage?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH.  In 2014 Americans (<span
style="text-decoration: underline;">except</span> Native Americans, Inmates or those with religious objections) will be required to have health insurance or pay an annual penalty. True.   However, the law prevents the IRS from using levies, liens or seizing property. Additionally, the IRS cannot impose criminal penalties (such as time in jail).<span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong> </strong></em></span></p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Truth:</span></strong> In 2014 if you don&#8217;t have health care insurance you <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">won&#8217;t go to Jail</span>, but <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">you will pay a fine</span>(penalty).  As currently laid out in the bill, the IRS will check <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">monthly</span> to make sure you have insurance.  If you don&#8217;t have insurance they will begin deducting withholding from you to pay the penalty(fine).  The IRS will have no need to &#8220;harass&#8221; you, they will simply take it from you.  The good news is that the fine, as defined today, is far less expensive for most than paying for the insurance coverage.  So &#8230; why buy it if you don&#8217;t think you need it.  Go to the emergency room and let the rest of us pay it &#8230; like we do now.  Papa B.</em><strong><br
/> </strong></span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> I heard there was going to be a 10% tax increase across the board. Is that true?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That is a MYTH.  While there will be tax implications, most of the biggest changes apply to medical manufacturers, insurers and pharmaceutical companies.  In fact, some Americans may see no changes at all. Tax changes that could affect average individuals include …<br
/> •	A 10% sales tax on indoor tanning (yes, really)<br
/> •	A 0.9% increase on the Medicare tax rate<br
/> •	A 3.8% tax on investment income for individuals earning more than $200,000 and households earning more than $250,000<br
/> •	Taxes on high-end or “Cadillac” health care plans (this excise tax would not begin until 2018 and only apply to insurers of plans that exceed $10,200 annually for individual coverage, or $27,500 annually for family coverage)</p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Truth: </strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">100% Bull</span><strong> </strong>&#8230; nope, I mean <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">100% Crap</span><strong>&#8230; </strong>no, I mean <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">100% Bull Crap!</span><strong> </strong>I don&#8217;t even know where to start.  <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">All taxes</span></strong> affect the average individual,  no matter where they are imposed, or how big the company is that they impose them on, the they are eventually paid for by the individual tax payer in the price of the product or service that &#8220;big company&#8221; provides! </em></span><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Tax increases</span> to medical manufacturers, insures, and pharmaceuticals affect <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">will affect every average American</span>.</em><strong><em> </em><span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>Companies don&#8217;t pay taxes!  People Do!</em></span></strong><em> </em><strong><em> </em></strong></span></p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>Now the tanning tax, that&#8217;s just plain hilarious.  The reasoning behind that one is that tanning inside causes health care cost to go up because of cancer implications.  Probably true, but then why can I ride a motorcycle without a helmet without paying a tax?  It sort of the same logic as not being able to smoke in a bar but, let&#8217;s legalize marijuana!</em></span><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em> The good news is that if you already have a tan, or you don&#8217;t really want a tan, this is one tax <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">you</span> won&#8217;t have to pay.</em></span><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><em> </em></strong><em>Papa B.</em><strong><em><br
/> </em></strong></span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will the government now pay for abortions?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH.  The law already in place which prevents using federal money to fund abortions (except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to a woman’s life) is not being altered.<br
/> <span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Truth:</strong> Finally, &#8230; the truth! &#8230; The <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>government doesn&#8217;t pay for anything!  The tax payer does!</strong></span> <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">You</span>, however, will only have to pay for <strong>&#8220;legal&#8221;</strong> abortions per the &#8220;current&#8221; bill!  Papa B.<br
/> </em></span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will I have to pay for other people’s abortions?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH.  Those opposed to abortion will not be forced to assist in funding them. You can simply select a plan that does not offer them. This applies not only to people who may have objections to abortions on moral grounds, but also to those who simply have no reason to pay an extra premium for that type of coverage (such as women past their child bearing years or single men).<br
/> <span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Truth: </strong> Read that answer again.  The first part of the answer, &#8220;No. That&#8217;s a Myth.&#8221; is just not true!<span
style="color: #ff0000;"> </span></em></span><em><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>One  more time</strong> &#8230; if the government pays for any abortions, it comes  straight out of <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">your</span> (the taxpayers) pocket.</span> </em><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>Your taxes will be paying for legal abortions. The rest of that answer makes no sense at all to the question.  It simply says that you can select a plan for yourself that won&#8217;t cover your own abortions.   Papa B.<br
/> </em></span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Does the “Public Option” mean the government will run health care?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That’s a MYTH … and a non-factor at this point.  In fact, the “public option” did not make it into the final legislation that President Obama signed. THERE IS NO PUBLIC OPTION. Even before it was dropped from the bill, it was misunderstood to be government-run health care – wherein the government would make your health care decisions. Rather, it would have been government-provided insurance option to compete with private insurance.<br
/> <span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></p><p><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Truth:</strong> True, it didn&#8217;t make the bill &#8230; yet.  But again, It doesn&#8217;t answer the question.  The question asks whether the &#8216;Public Option&#8221; means the government will run health care not whether it is included in the this bill.  However, I would define a &#8220;government-provided insurance option to compete with private insurance&#8221; as a government run &#8220;public option&#8221;.   Papa B.<br
/> </em></span></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Will my Medicare benefits be cut in order to extend care to others?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. That, too, is a MYTH.  Brooks Jackson, director of FactCheck.org, says that although the reform package includes $500 billion in &#8220;cuts&#8221;, it does NOT include traditional Medicare benefit reductions.<br
/> <strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em></em></span></strong></p><p><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>Truth: </em></span></strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>Read the answer.</em></span><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em> </em></span></strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>The question is, &#8220;Will my <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">medicare</span> benefits be cut&#8221;?  The answer </em></span><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>above says that &#8220;although the reform package includes $500 billion in cuts&#8221;, it &#8220;does not include <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">traditional</span> medicare benefit reductions</em></span><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>&#8220;. </em></span></strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em> Define</em></span><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em> &#8220;traditional Medicare reductions&#8221; </em></span></strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>That simply says it won&#8217;t cut the benefits that they traditionally cut before.  It leaves a lot of other medicare benefits that weren&#8217;t traditionally cut! </em></span><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em>Papa B.</em></span><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><em><br
/> </em></span></strong></p><p><strong>Question:</strong> Does this mean that “death panels” are now a reality?<br
/> <strong>White House Answer:</strong> No. And they never were.  This myth was based on misunderstanding of a provision in the original bill that required payment, by Medicare, for health care practitioner-led end-of-life counseling.  This is not part of the law.<br
/> <em><span
style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Truth: </strong>Correct!  There are no &#8220;Death Panels&#8221; in this bill.  However, the term did not just refer to required payment for &#8220;end of life counseling.  It also referred to panels of people who will determine what procedures your government health care insurance will pay for based on your situation such as age, medical history, etc.  That, in fact, is a part of this bill. Papa B.</span></em></p><h3>Confused?</h3><p>Confusing doesn’t even begin to describe it.  Throughout the very long  debate over health care reform, a great deal of misinformation, some of it spurred  by presumption or misunderstanding, was circulating.  Additionally, many  changes and alterations to the proposed law were made along the way.  It is so complex, there were so many changes, and so many spins, that no one really knows what it all means or cost.   A couple of things are for certain.</p><ol><li> If it really adds coverage for an additional 30 million people who currently don&#8217;t have insurance it <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">can&#8217;t</span> cost less.</li><li>No matter what the cost  &#8230; You and I are going to pay for it!</li></ol><p>As for me &#8230; I still very confused.   You can read more at whitehouse.gov/healthreform &#8230; just don&#8217;t believe everything you read!  Whether it is Fact or Myth it is still hard to sort through the Bull Crap!  Papa B.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-separating-the-facts-from-myths/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Corporations Don&#8217;t Pay Taxes &#8211; People Do!  Government Doesn&#8217;t Pay For Health Care &#8211; Taxpayers Do!</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-corporations-dont-pay-taxes-people-government-doesnt-pay-for-health-care-taxpayers/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-corporations-dont-pay-taxes-people-government-doesnt-pay-for-health-care-taxpayers/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:28:28 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Insurance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health care costs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform Cost]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obamacare]]></category> <category><![CDATA[taxes]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=6269</guid> <description><![CDATA[As a follow-up to The Real Cost of Health Care Reform &#8211; Who pays For It?, I felt compelled to further defend the case.  A friend of mine called me to contest my position concerning the business model that says that no one pays for tax increases or increased health care cost except you and [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span
class="drop_cap">A</span>s a follow-up to <a
href="http://consumerboomer.com/the-real-cost-of-healthcare-reform-who-pays-it/">The Real Cost of Health Care Reform &#8211; Who pays For It?</a>, I felt compelled to further defend the case.  A friend of mine called me to contest my position concerning the business model that says that no one pays for tax increases or increased health care cost except you and me the consumer, employee, or stockholder.</p><p><a
title="ObamaCare- Not Priceless" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48666293@N03/4460673914/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/4460673914_aeae1cd8e0.jpg" border="0" alt="ObamaCare- Not Priceless" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="criticalbias.org" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48666293@N03/4460673914/" target="_blank">criticalbias.org</a></small></p><p>Not so, says my attorney friend.  My friend says his business is different.  His business doesn&#8217;t fit the model.  He believes that in his business there are no stockholders and he can&#8217;t defer it to his employees or customers.  He believes that his business pays for it.  He views himself as &#8220;The Business&#8221;.  In fact, he is correct.  He is the owner and in his case the owner pays for it.  Somebody has to.</p><p>He also believes strongly that the large medical malpractice settlements awarded to his  clients are paid for by primarily the  insurance industry.  Also <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">not</span></strong> true!    <span
id="more-6269"></span> Once again, it is the individual taxpayer that foots the bill in every case.  It is built into the cost of health care in the form of medical malpractice insurance, unnecessary tests and procedures, increased hospitalizations. and other forms of defensive medical practices.  Medical malpractice insurance is paid for, not just by the doctor, but by all the people the doctor treats.  It is built into the cost of maintaining the doctors business.</p><p>As President  Obama said many times about John McCain &#8230; &#8220;he just doesn&#8217;t get it&#8221;.  I pretty sure I know who really doesn&#8217;t get it!</p><h3>Who Pays For It?  Consider the following:</h3><p>Whether the business is a sole proprietorship, partnership or large corporation the basic business model still applies.  In any business there are four types of people.  They are either <strong>owners, employees, customers, or suppliers</strong>. <strong> <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">All</span> are individual taxpayers!</strong> Even those that don&#8217;t appear to pay taxes, in fact, do in the price of everything they purchase.</p><p>Every car, every gallon of gas, every Big Mac, every french fry, every cup of coffee, and oh yes, every beer you or I purchase has the the cost of health care and taxes built into it.  Even if you don&#8217;t work and don&#8217;t pay income tax, <strong>you pay taxes</strong> in everything you purchase.</p><p>No matter what the business is, it is the individual taxpayer, consumer, or employee, that pay the bill of increased cost.  There is <strong>no one else</strong> to pay.</p><p>If you are a sole proprietor, such as &#8220;Joe the Plumber&#8221;  you are the owner.  If you are part owner in a partnership, you are one of the owners.  If you are a stockholder of a large corporation you are an owner.  In the case of a large corporation the stockholders are made up of all types of people (grandmas, grandpas, mail carriers, pilots, engineers, retirees, CEO&#8217;s, etc.).  All are also an <strong>individual taxpayers</strong>!</p><h3>COST + MARGIN = PRICE</h3><p>If increased taxes or increased health care cost are forced on a business by the government &#8221; <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Who Pays for it</span>???&#8221;</p><p><span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Question #1</strong></span></p><p>If the business is to maintain it&#8217;s current margin and does not cut other cost , then the price <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">must</span> go up.  Who pays?</p><ol><li>The Owner/ Owners</li><li><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">The Customers</span></strong></li><li>The Employees</li><li>The Suppliers</li></ol><p>All costs, including taxes and health care insurance, are built into the price of the products, we the consumer, pay.</p><p><span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Question #2</strong></span></p><p>If the business is to maintain it&#8217;s current price and margin then, some other business cost <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">must</span> go down.  Who Pays?</p><ol><li>The Owner/ Owners</li><li>The Customer</li><li><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">The </span></strong><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">Employees</span></strong></li><li> <strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">The </span><span
style="color: #ff0000;">Suppliers</span></strong></li></ol><p>Costs must be cut in the form of labor (wages, benefits, jobs).  As the cost of heath care benefits increase, the offerings go down or the employee contribution goes up!  Even if the costs are cut in areas such as materials, utilities, rent, etc., it is eventually paid by the <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">employees</span> or <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">employees of the material or utility supplier</span> or their subsequent suppliers.</p><p><span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Question#3</strong></span></p><p>If the business is to hold the price and they cannot cut other cost, then the margin goes down.  Who pays for it?</p><ol><li><strong><span
style="color: #ff0000;">The Owner/ Owners</span></strong></li><li>The Customer</li><li> The Employees</li><li> The Suppliers</li></ol><p>Sorry, there ain&#8217;t no Mr. Maytag.  <strong>All owners are individual taxpayers</strong> whether you are talking about a small business or a large corporation.  Even large investment corporations that purchase large portions of a large corporations stock are they themselves owned by groups of individual owners.</p><p>Even people who don&#8217;t work and don&#8217;t pay income taxes are tax payers.  It is built into the price of every  (legal) product or service sold.</p><h3>The Cold, Hard Facts About Who Pays!</h3><p>Corporations <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>don&#8217;t</strong></span> pay taxes!  <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>People do!</strong></span> Even corporate income taxes that support our government are built into the price the products they provide.  Corporations don&#8217;t pay them, it the consumer that pays them!</p><p>Government <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Doesn&#8217;t</strong></span> pay for anything!  <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Taxpayers do!</strong></span></p><p><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">One hundred  percent</span> of every tax the government imposes &#8230; the <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">individual taxpayer pays</span> &#8230;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;">You</span> and <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Me</span>!</p><p><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">One hundred percent</span> of everything the government does or provides &#8230; is <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">paid for by the individual taxpayer</span> &#8230; <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">You</span> and <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Me</span>!</p><p>Anyone who doesn&#8217;t believe that really &#8220;<span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Just Doesn&#8217;t get it!!!</strong></span>&#8221;</p><p>The real question is not &#8220;<strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">Who</span></strong> pays for it?&#8221;  There is no question about!  The <strong>real question</strong> remains &#8230; <strong>How much are <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">You</span> willing to pay for?</strong> &#8230; Papa B!</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/obamacare-corporations-dont-pay-taxes-people-government-doesnt-pay-for-health-care-taxpayers/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>The Real Cost of Healthcare Reform- Who Pays it?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/the-real-cost-of-healthcare-reform-who-pays-it/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/the-real-cost-of-healthcare-reform-who-pays-it/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:02:44 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Retirement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Investing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform Cost]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama Care]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=5990</guid> <description><![CDATA[Caterpillar claims Health Care Reform Bill will hit their bottom line for $100 million.  John Deere claims it will cost them $150 million.  AT&#38;T claims it is $1 billion.  No matter what the cost is or which corporations are impacted, the one thing for certain is that the tax payer will foot the entire bill. [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><strong>Caterpillar</strong> claims Health Care Reform Bill will hit their bottom line for $100 million.  <strong>John Deere</strong> claims it will cost them $150 million.  <strong>AT&amp;T</strong> claims it is $1 billion.  No matter what the cost is or which corporations are impacted, the one thing for certain is that the tax payer will foot the entire bill.</p><p><a
title="Man vs. Power" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/83261600@N00/4456188446/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4456188446_bf5b0401a7.jpg" border="0" alt="Man vs. Power" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="theqspeaks" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/83261600@N00/4456188446/" target="_blank">theqspeaks</a></small></p><p>Well, here we are.  Some people believe that &#8220;<strong>Large Corporations</strong>&#8221; have this unlimited resource or &#8220;<strong>Pot of Money</strong>&#8221; that they simply pull out when they need to pay the bills.  Then, what ever is left over goes to the &#8220;<strong>Big Wigs</strong>&#8220;, who buy mansions and fancy cars to show us how important they are.<br
/> <span
id="more-5990"></span><br
/> There is an opinion that we can lay the tax burden on &#8221; Large Corporations&#8221;  instead of the &#8220;little&#8221; guy and that the &#8220;little&#8221; guy will pay less as a result!  Sorry, it just doesn&#8217;t work that way.  <strong> It just</strong> <strong>ain&#8217;t so</strong>!!!</p><p>First of all, <strong>large companies don&#8217;t pay for tax increases</strong>.  Technically they do, but realistically, <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>all</strong></span> taxes are eventually paid by the people who buy their products.  That&#8217;s a fact no one can argue!</p><h3>The Basic Business Model</h3><p>People invest in the stock of large corporations in order to gain a &#8220;fair&#8221; return on their money.  If a company can not return more on a person&#8217;s money than the person can get by putting in a nice safe savings account at the bank then the person would not, or at least should not, invest in that company.  Therefore, it is imperative that a company make a reasonable profit so it can return to it&#8217;s investors a fair return on their money.</p><p>The price of products are usually <strong>determined by the cost</strong> it takes to provide them as determined by <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">all of the expenses</span></strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span>(cost) required to produce and deliver that product or products to the market place.  It is also<strong> limited by the competitiveness </strong>of the industry the company participates in.  Never the less, you simply take  (labor, material, utilities, advertising, <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>health care benefits</strong></span>, warranty expense, <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">taxes</span></strong> and all other costs and <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">add a margin</span></strong> for profit.  The <strong>amount of margin</strong> <strong>is</strong> usually <strong>limited</strong> by the competitiveness of the industry that company competes in.</p><p><strong>If expenses(cost)</strong> such as health care benefits or taxes <strong>go up</strong>, then it simply increases the total cost of producing the product or products.  In order to maintain profitability or margin, the <strong>price of the product must then either go up</strong> or <strong>other expenses(cost) must go down</strong>.  If the price goes up the consumer pays the increased cost of the health care or taxes in the increased price of the product.  The alternatives to increasing prices are not any better.</p><h3>What if the price of the product doesn&#8217;t go up?</h3><p>When health care costs and/or taxes go up, there are <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">four</span></strong> things a company can do to maintain margin.</p><ol><li><strong>Increase the price</strong> of the product in which case the <span
style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>consumer pays</strong></span> more for the same product.  This is not a very viable solution if the company is to remain competitive in their industry. <strong>Everyone loses!</strong></li><li><strong>Cut jobs</strong> sometimes called improving productivity.  <strong>Everyone loses!</strong></li><li><strong>Reduce benefits</strong> or <strong>wages</strong> paid to it&#8217;s employees.  <strong>Everyone loses!</strong></li><li><strong>Move the jobs</strong> to somewhere that doesn&#8217;t have the same tax burdens or benefit costs (aka China, Mexico) <strong>Everyone <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">really</span></strong> <strong>loses </strong>(unless you are from China or Mexico)!</li></ol><h3>Other Things A Company Can Do</h3><p>Some will argue that there are other things you can do such as reduce material cost, reduce you utility cost, or even reduce your quality?  However, I will argue that in the big picture all of those have a chain reaction to your suppliers and/or consumers that results in the same reduced jobs, reduced benefits, and increased prices to consumers and <strong>real</strong> tax payers.</p><ol><li><strong>Reducing material cost</strong> simply puts the same burdens on your suppliers to reduce jobs and lower expenses.</li><li><strong>Reducing utility usage</strong> puts the burden back onto the utility supplier to do the same as above and then next the coal companies, etc.,etc..</li><li><strong>Reducing quality</strong> results in increased warranty cost, increased consumer costs or lack of competitiveness.</li></ol><h3>Who Pays for it? &#8230; You do! I do, We do! &#8230; Nobody else!</h3><p>The government produces nothing.  They pay for nothing.  Everything they do, every job they add or create, every thing they supposedly pay for, every tax they impose on large or small businesses, every give away program they create is <strong>paid for from the taxes they collect from <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">you</span></strong>.  The Government doesn&#8217;t make money.  <strong>Every cent they spend they get from us!</strong></p><p><a
title="Troy" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96885113@N00/4472822985/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4472822985_d9e0096459.jpg" border="0" alt="Troy" /></a><br
/> <small><a
title="Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/plugins/photo-dropper/images/cc.png" border="0" alt="Creative Commons License" width="16" height="16" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a
href="http://www.photodropper.com/photos/" target="_blank">photo</a> credit: <a
title="McAli333" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96885113@N00/4472822985/" target="_blank">McAli333</a></small></p><p>All increased cost are paid for by the consumer or the &#8220;little&#8221; guy.   You see there is <strong>no Mr. Maytag</strong>.  There is <strong>no Mr. John Deere</strong>.  There is <strong>no Mr. Caterpillar</strong>.  There is <strong>no Mr At&amp;T</strong>.   There are stockholders,  some are <strong>large stock holders</strong>, some are <strong>small stockholders</strong>.  There are <strong>consumers</strong> who buy the products.  There is no  &#8220;Pot of Money&#8221;!</p><p>There is <strong>nobody but you and me</strong> to foot the bill for  higher taxes.  It doesn&#8217;t matter where the government attempts to  impose them, <strong>we</strong> pay for them!</p><p>Don&#8217;t let me mislead you, I am not for zero government.  There are things the government provides that we pay for that are absolutely necessary and appropriate.</p><h3>The Real Question?</h3><p>The <strong>real</strong> <strong>question</strong> becomes, <strong>&#8220;How much are <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">you</span> willing to pay for?&#8221;</strong></p><p>Don&#8217;t know &#8217;bout no <strong>$100 million, $150 million , or no $1 billion</strong>.  But, &#8230; that&#8217;s my <strong>TWO CENTS</strong> !!!  &#8230; Papa B.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/the-real-cost-of-healthcare-reform-who-pays-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>OMG!  What is Obama Thinking? or Smoking?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/omg-obama-mccrystal-afghanistan-troops-rahm-emanual-axelrod-gibbs-boys-smoking/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/omg-obama-mccrystal-afghanistan-troops-rahm-emanual-axelrod-gibbs-boys-smoking/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:20:14 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=4460</guid> <description><![CDATA[Obama vs. McCrystal &#8230; &#8230;&#8230;  It is beyond my belief that the President is such a narcissist that he really believes that after spending ZERO time in the military he knows more than the career general he appointed to run the war in Afghanistan.  What is he thinking?  Or Smoking?  Is it really more important to save the Democratic [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><h1></h1><h1><span
style="color: #800000;">Obama vs. McCrystal<img
class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4470" title="obama-smoking" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/obama-smoking1-230x300.jpg" alt="obama-smoking" width="230" height="300" /><img
class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4467" title="mccrystal" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mccrystal-218x300.jpg" alt="mccrystal" width="218" height="300" /></span> <span
style="color: #800000;">&#8230; </span></h1><p>&#8230;&#8230;  It is beyond my belief that the President is such a narcissist that he really believes that after spending ZERO time in the military he knows more than the career general he appointed to run the war in Afghanistan.  What is he thinking?  Or Smoking?  Is it really more important to save the Democratic seats in the November elections than to protect our troops in Afghanistan and possibly lose all that has been gained?  It may seem to be a tough decision, but who has more insight and experience when it comes to the military?  Obama and &#8221;The Boys&#8221; &#8230; or the General?  <a
href="http://washingtonindependent.com/18104/obamas-boys-from-chicago">Chicago politics</a> has no place in the White House.  You already got the White House &#8230; time to quit campaigning and do your job!  Time to get rid of the &#8220;The Boys&#8221;.  Get rid of <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel">Raum Emanual</a>!<img
class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4490" title="OBAMA/" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Rahm-Emanual-150x150.jpg" alt="OBAMA/" width="150" height="150" /> Get rid of <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Axelrod">David Axelrod</a>!<img
class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4493" title="Axelrod" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Axelrod-150x150.jpg" alt="Axelrod" width="150" height="150" /> Get rid of <a
href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://vcab.homeip.net:81/Mirrors/infowars.com/freespeech.vo.llnwd.net/o25/pub/images/gibbs.jpg&amp;imgrefurl=http://vcab.homeip.net:81/Mirrors/infowars.com/www.infowars.com/press-let-rip-at-obama-spokesman-over-exclusion-from-secret-meeting/index.html&amp;usg=__uaJiwFDYU3n_SdNVx_KEIJwBx4c=&amp;h=283&amp;w=350&amp;sz=22&amp;hl=en&amp;start=3&amp;um=1&amp;tbnid=4IG7vePrF_SuIM:&amp;tbnh=97&amp;tbnw=120&amp;prev=/images%3Fq%3DRobert%2Bgibbs%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7ADBF%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1">Robert Gibbs</a>.  It is time to answer the tough questions yourself and quit avoiding them.  Come on &#8220;Pres&#8221;  no one is questioning whether you are a Hawk or a Dove, but it  ain&#8217;t cool to be a pussy!   <img
class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4471" title="obama_smoking_joint" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/obama_smoking_joint-300x198.jpg" alt="obama_smoking_joint" width="300" height="198" /></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/omg-obama-mccrystal-afghanistan-troops-rahm-emanual-axelrod-gibbs-boys-smoking/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Fair Healthcare Reform &#8211; Include Our Congress , Senate And Obama In The Same Plan!</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/fair-healthcare-reform-include-our-congress-senate-and-obama-in-the-same-plan/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/fair-healthcare-reform-include-our-congress-senate-and-obama-in-the-same-plan/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:30:15 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Stuff]]></category> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=4391</guid> <description><![CDATA[Better to read it upside down than not to read it at all! Healthcare Reform, the President wants this bill done and wants it done fast!  More rush to pass bills without allowing anyone to read them.  I, for one, want who ever I voted for to understand what they are voting for no matter [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><h2><img
class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4405" title="bush_reading_upside_down1" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bush_reading_upside_down1.jpg" alt="bush_reading_upside_down1" width="359" height="284" /></h2><h2>Better to read it upside down than not to read it at all!</h2><p>Healthcare Reform, the President wants this bill done and wants it done fast!  More rush to pass bills without allowing anyone to read them.  I, for one, want who ever I voted for to understand what they are voting for no matter what it is.  So why not read them?  Simple, they don&#8217;t want anyone to no what is included.</p><p>Let&#8217;s make Healthcare Reform an easy to sell to all Americans.</p><h2>A simple solution for Healthcare!</h2><p>I will gladly accept any plan the Congress. Senate, and the Obama Administration vote for as long as they and their families are covered by exactly the same plan and nothing more!  That makes it very easy for all Americans to have confidence in whatever plan they pass.  Anything less <strong><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">or</span> <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">more</span></strong> for those who vote on what our healthcare plan will be seems extremely unfair.  After all, we the taxpayers, pay the salaries of our Congressional Representatives  and Senators to represent us.</p><p>Why should any of them and their families have a different or better plan than the people who they represent?  Maybe they think they are better than the people they represent.  I can assure you Senator Edward Kennedy and many others would no longer be here if they had the plan they are proposing for us.  They also would not vote for it if they had to &#8220;live&#8221; by it.</p><p>My plan is simple.  Anyone who votes yes should be happy to accept what they voted for!  I can assure you if they have to live with it themselves they will read it and understand it.  Simple and fair &#8230; If  it is such a good deal for us, then they should be willing to accept it for themselves.</p><h2>Better Plan Yet!  Just give us the same plan they have now!</h2><p>Better yet just give all of us the same plan they already have.   Except for the fact that that we can&#8217;t possibly pay for it  &#8230; what&#8217;s the problem?  Just put it on the U.S. charge card, go bankrupt when we can&#8217;t make our payments, and then clean the slate.  It&#8217;s the American way!  Opps! &#8230; now that we own the banks, that won&#8217;t work either!</p><p>Or &#8230; how about we borrow the money from China, stiff them and then out nuke em!  Papa B.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/fair-healthcare-reform-include-our-congress-senate-and-obama-in-the-same-plan/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>31 Czars and Counting &#8211; U.S. or Russia?</title><link>http://consumerboomer.com/31-czars-and-counting/</link> <comments>http://consumerboomer.com/31-czars-and-counting/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:27:21 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Papa Boomer</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Issues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Boomer Stuff]]></category> <category><![CDATA[General]]></category> <category><![CDATA[In The News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PB]]></category> <guid
isPermaLink="false">http://consumerboomer.com/?p=4361</guid> <description><![CDATA[The U.S. now has more Czars (31+ and growing) than Russia did (18) in it&#8217;s entire 400+ year history.  Who needs Congress?  More than 31 appointees by Barrack Obama into extremely powerful positions reporting directly to him without any Congressional hearings, approval, or oversite.  The first Czar appointed (the &#8220;Car Czar&#8221;) has now resigned under [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><img
class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4385" title="obama_king" src="http://consumerboomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/obama_king-240x300.jpg" alt="obama_king" width="240" height="300" />The U.S. now has more Czars (31+ and growing) than Russia did (18) in it&#8217;s entire 400+ year history.  Who needs Congress?  More than 31 appointees by Barrack Obama into extremely powerful positions reporting directly to him without any Congressional hearings, approval, or oversite.  The first Czar appointed (the &#8220;Car Czar&#8221;) has now resigned under clouds of fraudulent activities.  We have a Pay Czar, Energy Czar, Green Jobs Czar, Urban Affairs Czar, Technology Czar, Great Lakes Czar, Information Czar, and Climate Czar, just to name a few.  Today he appointed a Science Czar.  &#8220;We even have a &#8220;Faith Czar&#8221;!   What about separation of Church and State?</p><p>I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of Obama?  This is unprecedented control by any single President, King, or Dictator.  I ran across this blog about Obama&#8217;s Czars.   It seems that Obama has done in a few months what Russia couldn&#8217;t do in 400 years.  Interesting, alarming, and worth the read.  Click on the following link <a
href="http://romanticpoet.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/here-a-czar-there-a-czar-everywhere-a-czar-czar-now-total-31/#comment-1666">ROMANTICPOET&#8217;S WEBLOG</a>.  Is this the United States or Russia?</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://consumerboomer.com/31-czars-and-counting/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>
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