"...the first step of a long, slow march to insolvency,..." and other good news... ahem, did I say, "good"

Friday, March 26, 2010

Anti-ObamaCare Campaign Ad

I'm not a huge fan of the Republicans, but since no other political party is running candidates in November, Republicans are the only alternative we will have to the Democrats. And I think that this advertisement is effective, and is probably a good start. This is the line they need to take in order to maximize gains in November.

But they'd better mean it...



If player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUMVGDkhIcE

Friday, March 26, 2010

Social Security Underfunded NOW!

Unless something is done, Social Security is projected to spend more money in benefits than it takes in this year. Until now, that was not projected to happen until 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html?sudsredirect=true

This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Analysts have long tried to predict the year when Social Security would pay out more than it took in because they view it as a tipping point — the first step of a long, slow march to insolvency, unless Congress strengthens the program’s finances.

“When the level of the trust fund gets to zero, you have to cut benefits,” Alan Greenspan, architect of the plan to rescue the Social Security program the last time it got into trouble, in the early 1980s, said on Wednesday.

This is a big deal, people, and it's a VERY good example of why we definitely do NOT need to add on another entitlement program... like ObamaCare.

This could have a lot of repercussions in upcoming months and years.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

ObamaCare Taxes Will Kill Jobs

One of the goodies in the ObamaCare bill is a 10% tax on tanning salons. Not that it makes much sense, but the tax increase starts in July. Expect some tanning salons to close over this, and some employees to lose their jobs.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/24/news/economy/tanning_tax/index.htm

The tanning tax will go into effect July 1 and will apply to electronic products designed for tanning that use one or more ultraviolet lamps with wavelengths between 200 and 400 nanometers. Other sunless tanning options such as spray tans and tanning lotions are not included in the tax.

"This is going to close tanning salons," said Joseph Levy, vice president of the International Smart Tan Network, which has 3,000 member salons. "You can't just pass on a tax like this to customers and not have it hurt your bottom line."

Levy estimates that about 9,000 jobs are in jeopardy and more than 1,000 salons are at risk of being forced to close their doors. The tax also targets middle-class and female business owners, with about two-thirds of tanning salons in the U.S. owned by women, he said.

But hey, as the President assured us MANY times, ObamaCare was necessary to create jobs and repair our economy...