Comments on: The Biggest Economic Story of 2013...

By: mesaeconoguy

mesaeconoguy — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:52:00 +0000

Wrong answer.

Companies respond to incentives, like employee costs increasing.

When that happens, companies a) pass that cost along to employees and/or consumers, or 2) lay people off.

Gee, why do you think this recovery has sucked ass more than any post WWII recovery so far (possibly ever)? Think it may have something to do with Obamascare?

By: Neal Martin

Neal Martin — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Because insurance carriers are going to make as much money as they can before the new laws take effect. After that, they need to prove Medical Loss Ratio.

By: Bill Hill

Bill Hill — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:12:00 +0000

Except for those of us in the business, no one, and I mean no one understands how much this is going to cost us all. If you pay premiums now, double them and you will know what your cost will be in 2015. However, I can give you a glimmer of hope. The law has a financing circuit breaker. Once the total cost of the program reaches .504% of GDP, the Feds are relieved from the responsibility of funding premium subsidies. So if your State adopts an Exchange, the State will be responsible for funding the premium subsidies. Once this occurs, you can bet the States will run out of money..fast.

By: PlainOldTruth

PlainOldTruth — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Fortunately young men of European descent are beginning -- in the most progressive universities -- to sign pledges denouncing such odious qualities as heterosexuality and "whiteness." This will help them from exercising "male privilege" and "white privilege" by employing oppressive behaviors such as reasoning, thinking innovatively and working hard. The path to equality is the enforced reduction to the lowest denominator. Social justice will prevail.

By: Offshoreguy

Offshoreguy — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 08:36:00 +0000

When people start complaining about fewer hours, Obama is going to start ginning up hatred for big and small business alike. His only solution will be to present Single Payer. It should be a wake up call to Americans to demand the complete overthrow of Obamacare and the nutty barriers that healthcare companies encounter due to government interference in the market.

By: tu_ne_cede_malis

tu_ne_cede_malis — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:17:00 +0000

I would suggest that with their debt levels Japan will go the way of Greece.

Greek health system crumbles under weight of crisis

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-greece-health-idUSBRE85D1IO20120614

I would consider Singapore 60 times smaller than the US. I would consider Australia on the Argentina, Japan, Greece track.

Default or hyperinflation - here we come!

By: Pete Sagi

Pete Sagi — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:46:00 +0000

You can still have all of your full time people. All you have to do is make them all outsources. Have them setup LLC's for themselves. The best is a New Mexico LLC, best laws governing them, best protection, privacy, etc. There are service bureau's online for that. There is no law telling anyone how many outsources he can have. You can pay them more as well ... pay them what you pay for benefits and payroll tax. Let them handle their own tax situations with no withholding. The best part for your employees ... by making them outsources, they can give themselves a huge payraise by dropping out of the tax system. How? Participation in Social Security is 100% voluntary according to ssa dot gov, and, it is participation in Social Security that converts mere hire into employment which is a taxable privilege. An LLC is a flow thru entity for tax purposes. If the LLC is held by an unincorporated business trust organization instead of a taxpayer, the liability simply goes away. If an SSN is needed for a bank account for the LLC, it can be conditioned that it is being given for identification purposes only and not as a taxpayer ID number since no taxable activity is being engaged in. Read the Dave Champion book "Income Tax: Shattering the Myths" available via taxrevolt dot us. Also google Robert Arthur Menard and see his videos "Bursting Bubbles of Government Deception" and "The Magnificent Deception". Both can be seen free on the web. In the second one, he explains how an SSN used for "employment" incurs tax liability. He is up in Canada but the system is pretty much the same, up there it is called the SIN or Social Insurance Number. Hope that helps. Pete

By: LarryGross

LarryGross — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Singapore has a top-down govt health care system with 30% payroll taxes but it covers everyone and costs about 6% of their GDP - 1/3 of ours.

so if Singapore, or Australia, or Germany, Switzerland, Japan can do it and do it well with central govt why do you say it will only end up dysfunctional here?

Would you consider Singapore, Australia, etc "out of control"?

By: tu_ne_cede_malis

tu_ne_cede_malis — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:06:00 +0000

A potential nationalized health care system with over 300 million participants and a dysfunctional, out of control central government administering it. Perhaps the Soviet Union would have been more apt as a metaphor?

By: LarryGross

LarryGross — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:56:00 +0000

How about Germany, Australia, Singapore?