Monthly Archives: April 2013

Obamacare – That Plan You Can’t Keep

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 4 comments

Barack Obama

We’re getting closer and closer to full implementation of Obamacare.  Remember this doozy?

If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.

That was Barack Obama touting his new health care legislation.

The truth?

Most individual health insurance isn’t good enough for Obamacare

Just over half of the individual plans currently on the market do not meet the standards to be sold next year, when many key provisions of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act kick in, according to a University of Chicago study. That’s because the law sets new minimums for the basic coverage every individual health care plan must provide.

…

So what happens to the plans that don’t meet the new minimum standards? They will likely disappear. A handful of existing plans will be grandfathered in, but the qualifying criteria for that is hard to meet: Members have to have been enrolled in the plan before the ACA passed in 2010, and the plan has to have maintained fairly steady co-pay, deductible and coverage rates until now.

Look for more awesomeness to come.

4 Comments

Posted in Health Care, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

Housing Bubble – Government Creation?

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 4 comments

Housing Bubble

With Obama’s announcement that he is interested in creating conditions that will lead to another housing bubble, it’s interesting to go back and revisit the conditions that led to the most recent bubble.

It has long been my position that it was the government that was responsible for the conditions that created the housing bubble that burst in 2007.  That it was the government’s role in pushing home ownership levels to higher and higher values that eventually led to the condition where people who couldn’t afford homes finally began to default resulting in the crisis.  A crisis that we haven’t truly recovered from.

To be sure, there were private industry players that contributed to the crisis.  There were vehicles that were created that also led to that crisis.  But, in the end, it was the government’s desire to increase home ownership among lower income and “at-risk” households that drove the poor behavior of those private individuals and the creation of those vehicles.

Not everyone agrees with me.  In fact, blog favorite Scott Erb often takes me to task, most recently in the comments of the above post.  More specifically, he’s pointed me to a book that he claims supports his position: “All The Devils Are Here”.

As part of my attempt to make MY case, I’ll be quoting from this book in an effort to show that it was government goals that was the genesis of the whole meltdown.

Here’s the first such example:

Here’s a surprising fact: it was the government, not Wall Street, that first securitized modern mortgages.  Ginnie Mae came first, selling securities beginning in 1970 that consisted of FHA and VA loans, and guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest.  A year later, Freddie Mac issued the first mortgage-backed securities using conventional mortgages, also with principal and interest guaranteed.    In doing so, it was taking on the risk that the borrower might default , while transferring the interest rate risk from the S&L to a third party party: investors.  Soon, Freddie was using Wall Street to market its securities.  Volume grew slowly.  It was not a huge success.

In the example above, it would be my position that the government created the conditions that eventually led to Wall Street marketing those loans in the early 70’s.  Did Wall Street actors engage and participate in the process?  Sure, it’s clear they did.  Were they all above board?  Perhaps but likely not.  However, the initial push, the lighting that struck primordial mud and created carbon life was government.

And it’s my case that the same thing happened long ago that resulted in the crash of 2006-2007.

4 Comments

Posted in Government, Politics: National

Tagged

The Birth Of The Next Housing Crisis – Day One?

Posted on April 9, 2013 | 7 comments

Contagion

I’m not sure that we’ll have another housing bubble burst soon, or even in my lifetime.  But I’m sure that if we do, the genesis of that bubble will begin like this:

 The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics say could open the door to the risky lending that caused the housing crash in the first place.

President Obama’s economic advisers and outside experts say the nation’s much-celebrated housing rebound is leaving too many people behind, including young people looking to buy their first homes and individuals with credit records weakened by the recession.

In response, administration officials say they are working to get banks to lend to a wider range of borrowers by taking advantage of taxpayer-backed programs — including those offered by the Federal Housing Administration — that insure home loans against default.

The best of intentions, to be sure.  But the beginnings of a potential housing contagion.

And let’s not forget the associated racist dog whistle that accompanies these efforts:

“If you were going to tell people in low-income and moderate-income communities and communities of color there was a housing recovery, they would look at you as if you had two heads,” said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit housing organization. “It is very difficult for people of low and moderate incomes to refinance or buy homes.”

And like past bad behavior, this time around the language surrounding the policy sounds good:

“I think the ability of newly formed households, which are more likely to have lower incomes or weaker credit scores, to access the mortgage market will make a big difference in the shape of the recovery,” Duke said last month. “Economic improvement will cause household formation to increase, but if credit is hard to get, these will be rental rather than owner-occupied households.”

It’s a free stimulus!

However, to be fair, if this is Day One, then Day Zero occurred a long time ago:

Deciding which borrowers get loans might seem like something that should be left up to the private market. But since the financial crisis in 2008, the government has shaped most of the housing market, insuring between 80 percent and 90 percent of all new loans, according to the industry publication Inside Mortgage Finance. It has done so primarily through the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of the executive branch, and taxpayer-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, run by an independent regulator.

It’s the same song that got us into this mess, this is just a new stanza.

 

 

7 Comments

Posted in Economics, Government, Idiots on Parade

Tagged , , , ,

Joe Biden: Personal Wealth

Posted on April 7, 2013 | 10 comments

Joe Biden

Second only to democrats coming out in support of gay marriage, all the rage in Washington is for officials to take a pay cut in support of government officials who may face a furlough.

Obama and several other cabinet members rushed this week to day they would turn back some of their salary to the U.S. Treasury as a gesture of solidarity with federal workers facing furloughs. So far, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have all said publicly that they would be giving back portions of their $200,000 salaries.

A nice gesture, I have to admit.  Something that I think helps in regards to the optics of the whole situation.  However, Joe Biden isn’t all in, yet:

Others, like Biden, have said they will return a portion commiserate with the number of days their department’s employees are furloughed.

But Biden’s decision not to follow Obama’s lead and return a flat portion of his salary — and the possibility that nobody on the vice president’s staff will be furloughed — has already prompted speculation in the media that Biden was looking to sidestep the pay cut.

I think that there are two reasons for Biden holding onto his money – actually three:

  1. He’s a democrat.  And democrats don’t like to part with their money for charitable reasons.
  2. He rightly thinks that he’s earned the money and has a right to keep it.
  3. He doesn’t have a lot of money and so a $11k cut would hurt.

Actually, I suspect all three reasons contribute to Biden’s reluctance to subject himself to a voluntary tax, but The Hill takes the high road and points out that Joe isn’t independently wealthy:

Unlike some members of the Obama Cabinet, he is not independently wealthy.

Obama’s net worth is estimated at between $3 million and $8 million and Secretary of State John Kerry’s wealth is in the range of $200 million according to The Hill’s “50 wealthiest lawmakers: list.

Biden’s net worth in comparison, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, is around $230,000, an amount roughly equivalent to his annual salary.

When I first read that this afternoon I kinda nodded and was like, “yeah, that makes sense.  He should be expected to give up 5% of his net wealth in a show of support.”  However, it then hit me, how does a senator who makes north of $150,000 a year, and now a Vice President who makes north of $220,000 have a net worth of only $230,000?

How is that possible?

If this is true, it means that the Vice-President of The United States of America is almost living hand to mouth.

Fascinating.

10 Comments

Posted in Economics, Life

Tagged , ,

When Government Agencies Communicate

Posted on April 6, 2013 | 2 comments

Handcuffs

I was over at Poison Your Mind today discussing benefits when I remembered this proposition introduced by republicans here in North Carolina:

Raleigh, N.C. — County Departments of Social Service would be required to conduct criminal background checks on those applying for federal benefits under a bill that cleared the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

If someone applying for Food and Nutrition Assistance, what many people call food stamps, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which are cash payments, is found to have an outstanding warrant, social service workers would be required to report them to local law enforcement under House Bill 392.

“Local law enforcement and all county agencies should work together to keep the public as safe as possible,” said Rep. Dean Arp, R-Union. He said federal law already prohibits benefits from going to fleeing felons and parole and probation violators.

The fact that this isn’t already the case, that it requires a law to make that conversation takes place, comes from a mindset that entitlement benefits should be extended to as many people as possible in amounts that should have no upper limit and have no brake in place that would conceive of an ending to these benefits.

As I mentioned at PYM, I can acknowledge a contract between the state and the individual.  A contract that says society will take care of you if you take care of society.

This contract, perhaps only implicit, requires an acknowledgement that if you commit crimes against society, that society can take steps to discourage that behavior.

And among those first steps is the denying of charity.

2 Comments

Posted in Government, Liberty, Politics: National

Tagged , ,

North Carolina: Church and State

Posted on April 6, 2013 | 3 comments

Earlier this week I posted on North Carolina submitting legislation that would allow for the creation of a State Religion:

I can’t imagine that this bill will pass into law.  In fact, I have no idea what the point of the legislation is about.

Well, it turns out that the bill won’t become law after all, in fact, it won’t even make it for a vote:

RALEIGH — The resolution that would assert North Carolina and its counties have the right to declare an official religion won’t be voted on, the office of House Speaker Thom Tillis said Thursday. That means it’s essentially dead.

Further, and I didn’t catch this at first:

Resolutions like the Defense of Religion Act do not become law if they are passed. They are generally used to honor dignitaries or groups, or to launch commissions to study issues.

It was never meant to actually BECOME law, just make a point.

And the legislators who submitted the resolution?

SALISBURY, N.C. — One of the North Carolina legislators who sponsored a resolution declaring the state can make its own laws about religion without involvement from the federal government and courts is apologizing for any embarrassment to his community and state.

…

Warren says he only intended to allow Rowan County officials to continue opening meetings with prayer, not to establish a state religion. The American Civil Liberties Union sued county commissioners last month, accusing the panel of violating the First Amendment by routinely praying to Jesus Christ.

Whatever else the bill/resolution did or didn’t say, I have to add that I think a small community, even a county, should be able to open their meetings with a prayer to whoever they wanna pray to.  What they cannot do is to force everyone in that community to offer the same prayer to the same divine.

3 Comments

Posted in Government, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged ,

Football

Posted on April 6, 2013 | 2 comments

Going through some old Facebook and found this from late last year.  I think it’s important now as my son continues to love football and the draft is coming up.

While the NFL took a step in protecting defensive players this year, there is still work to do.  And until then, I have to begin backing away from the game.

Last year I watched every game the Vikes played.  This year it will only be half and I’ll not talk about or encourage football for the boy.  Not until the NFL begins to seriously protect these kids:

  • Eject players for intentional shots to the head
  • Suspend them for the same
  • Same for shots to defenseless receivers

Anyway, check it out:

I grew up in Minnesota, I was born in 1968. Some of my earliest memories were running the 3 or so blocks from my church at 11:50 on a Sunday morning so that I could be in front of the TV at noon. We were lucky because the Vikings would play their home games on the CBS channel, which in those days meant a LOT. See, the CBS station came over the VHF, channel 12, a channel unlike the UHF channels that carried the other games.

I remember Fran and Carl. Chuck and Krause. Did you know that the greatest defensive end in the entirety of the whole world once returned a fumble the wrong way resulting in a safety for the other team? I remember Jim Marshall.

I was a kid not yet old enough to drive when I would go to the campus of Mankato State where the Vikings would practice. I stood on a sidewalk in the middle of that campus, a piece of paper in my hand and a pencil. Alan Page, the only defensive player ever to win the NFL’s MVP award, was running towards me. I wanted his autograph. He didn’t blink as he ran by me, ready to run OVER me if I hadn’t jumped out of his way.

I remember Rashad [hearing about] and the Browns. Kramer and the Eagles. Young and the scramble. Pearson and the push.

My lunch box had all the NFL teams on it – Before Tampa Bay and Seattle.

I know that we passed on a Hall of Fame running back to draft a piece of shit who would drop the game winning TD against the Redskins that kept us from the Superbowl. Can you believe that we choose Darrin Nelson over Marcus Allen?

I played football for hours; for days. We would play in the street catching toe touching in bounds passes against the curb falling into the grass pretending that we were Sammy White. We used to go see the guys practice at summer camp. We had them autograph every card they ever had made.

I know about Kansas City, Miami. I remember Pittsburgh and Oakland.

I bleed Purple.

And now I have a son. And since I’ve had his older sister I’ve been throwing balls to my kids. The girl could catch and throw at 2. The boy has been watching Vikings games his entire life. As he moves from a gangly toddler to a clumsy grade schooler I practice. Day after day. And now, just now, he’s able to catch a fade, a fly and is even able to adjust his route and his velocity to accommodate me guiding him deeper or shallower; left or right. Truly a father’s joy.

The little bastard is just like me. He runs like the wind and catches everything thrown close.

But the reason I didn’t make a good football player was that I was a pussy. I couldn’t take a hit. And the reason that I couldn’t take a hit was that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. I wasn’t gonna make my mark in this life like that. The same God that granted me the ability to hit a sparrow at 30 yards, or throw ten straight bulls eyes at 8 paces; catch any ball thrown to me, gave me the mind that has allowed me to be who I am.

On any given Sunday I buy my ticket to the Colosseum. I knowingly and willingly watch and cheer and roar with approval as my team engages in combat with our enemy. I loudly and admittedly yell “Kill him” as John Randle chases down his prey. As Doleman his. Or Allen his.

But my son watches me. And he sees what I approve of. And he wants to be that. He has learned to love that.

And these men kill themselves. With guns. To their heads.

My child, MY kid, wants to play football. And I can’t let him; there is no way. Boys 10-12 years old are taking concussions. Boys not yet 20 years old are ruining their lives. And yet, in it all, we have players in the game PAYING a bounty to hurt other players. No one doubts that they did it; there’s no justification in their actions. The only defense is that everybody else does it too. As if that’s justification.

I’m nearing the end of my love affair with football. These boys are modern day gladiators; they’re being maimed and killed for our love of bloodlust. And the Saints had the unfortunate fortune of being in the perfect storm; they were caught during my enlightenment AND they cheated against my Vikings.

If you love the game, punish the Saints and save the players. If you aren’t willing to do that, well, Hail Caesar!

2 Comments

Posted in Life, Raising Men

Tagged

North Carolina Medicaid Reform

Posted on April 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Medicaid

The new governor of North Carolina is out reform how Medicaid is paid for in the state:

 RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s $13 billion Medicaid program needs a big dose of private competition that will come from paying a handful of statewide managed-care providers to deliver medical, mental, and dental care to the elderly and disabled for a stable cost, Gov. Pat McCrory said Wednesday.

McCrory and state Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos unveiled a proposal that would largely privatize management of Medicaid while keeping ultimate responsibility in state hands.

McCrory said reshaping Medicaid was the first and most pressing long-term task his three-month-old administration was tackling.

The problem today is that the program continually runs over budget and programs that had money allocated to them have to be adjusted to accommodate the overrun.

The idea is to remove the risk from the state and give it to the private sector in exchange for the chance to earn profits in the space.

Leave a comment

Posted in Health Care, Politics: North Carolina

Tagged ,

Medical Innovation

Posted on April 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

innovation

I suspect that innovation in health care comes along in the same way that innovation in, say, TVs comes along.  Very expensive breakthroughs that eventually come down in price to the point that they become common place.

Consider this technology:

A team of scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed the world’s smallest medical implant to monitor critical chemicals in the blood. The 14mm device measures up to five indicators, including proteins like troponin, that show if and when a heart attack has occurred. Using Bluetooth, the device can then transmit the data to a smartphone for tracking. The device can also track levels of glucose, lactate, and ATP, providing valuable data for physiologic monitoring during activity, or in possible disease conditions like diabetes. As far as tricorders go, this device may be the one you have been waiting for, provided you are on board for the implant.

I think this is cool; way cool.  And even if the cost is such that I can’t afford it for 10 years, I STILL think it’s cool.  In fact, I hope that rich people pay for the device and the service so that the price comes down to a level that allows for market penetration similar to HD TVs:

Last time the Giants played in the Super Bowl, in 2008, 41 percent of American households had at least one high-definition television.

That number has more than doubled, and now 87 percent of households have an HDTV, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

Think of it.  Are we willing to “suffer” through only 41% of households having the best technology if it means that just 4 years later more than double that number will have the same access?

Let’s let people make profits off of cool things so that we can watch Super Bowls in HD.  And so that we can all have access to life saving technology.

Leave a comment

Posted in Health Care, Technology

Tagged

Separation Of Church And State

Posted on April 3, 2013 | 6 comments

Prayer

Okay, so, awhile ago I mentioned that North Carolina is dangerously republican:

In the state house?  The republicans not only held serve but they extended their majority.  To the point that they hold a veto proof majority.  In fact, they are so in the majority that the republicans are able to submit constitutional amendments to popular vote without even one democrat agreeing.

Well, another piece of legislation has been proposed that will try to take advantage of this republican advantage:

A bill filed by Republican lawmakers would allow the state to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies in North Carolina.

The bill grew out of a federal lawsuit filed last month by the ACLU against the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. In the lawsuit, the ACLU says the board has opened 97% of its meetings since 2007 with explicitly Christian prayers.

Overtly Christian prayers at government meetings are not rare in North Carolina. Since the Republican takeover in 2011, the state Senate chaplain has offered a explicitly Christian invocation virtually every day of session, despite the fact that some senators are not Christian.

I can’t imagine that this bill will pass into law.  In fact, I have no idea what the point of the legislation is about.  North Carolina already has a requirement in our constitution that speaks to religion:

Sec. 8.  Disqualifications for office.

The following persons shall be disqualified for office:

First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.

Serious, under the state constitution, if you deny the existence of God, you are disqualified from holding office.  And, as the article mentions, prayer at meetings is not rare; apparently we do it fairly often.

Again, not sure what the point of the bill is, but it certainly will be interesting to watch.

6 Comments

Posted in Liberty, Politics: North Carolina, Republicans Can Be Leftists Too, States Behaving Badly

Tagged , , ,