Paco6945

Obamacare: Affordable Private Insurance Is Already Available

Oops -- jse17 pays $6K per year, not $3,500 per year. But that's for a $500 deductible. For some reason, people look at insurance for health care differently that insurance for other things.

If my house burns down, I am willing to take a fairly heavy risk in exchange for significantly lower premiums. But the premium difference between a $5K deductible on my house and a $15K deductible is negligible. On the other hand, the difference between a $500 deductible on the health insurance policy jse17 carries and the $3500 I carry works out to about $3,100 per year. That's huge.

Obviously, his coverage might be different from mine, but mine covers just about everything and there is NO DEDUCTIBLE for preventive care. In addition, I pay my deductible out of my HSA IRA, so the feds pick up about 28%.

I bet if jse17 switched to an HSA eligible policy (Health Savings Account) he would save a significant amount of money.

Obamacare: Affordable Private Insurance Is Already Available

Only two commenters indicated what they pay for health insurance: YoYoMama and jse17. YoYoMama pays $7K per year for a family of 5 - that's $1,400 per person per year with a $3,000 deductible per person and jse17 pays $3,500 per person per year with a $500 deductible per person.

I'm not sure these numbers are that out of line. I pay about $1,500 per year for homeowners insurance with a $5K deductible -- been doing that for 30 years and have never had a claim. I own a small company (28 employees) and our plan (which we pay) costs about $240 per month per person. It is an HSA plan with a $3K deductible, but individuals can pay the $3K, if it is incurred, out of their HSA IRA -- so the feds effectively pick up somewhere between 20% and 35% of the deductible.

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until the government runs it.

Cash for Clunkers: Here Comes the Hangover

Cars that were traded in under the Cash for Clunkers program had to be destroyed -- so they are not sitting in used car lots.

Acacia Research Corporation in Singular Research Annual “Best of the Uncovereds” Conference Transcript

These people are slime.

How to Boost U.S. Exports

Another way to increase exports would be to eliminate taxes on production (i.e., income taxes and payroll taxes) and replace them with a consumption tax such as the FairTax.

If the embedded taxes on production are, say, 20%, then the price of the product, when exported, is immediately reduced by 20%!

Dollar Forced to Abdicate Its Throne

The last thing we need is a special tax to pay down the deficit. We need to CUT taxes -- and cut spending even more. And we could go a long way towards reducing the trade deficit by eliminating all taxes on production (i.e., income taxes and payroll taxes) and replacing them with the FairTax.

Volcker Should Advocate VAT and Drop the Carbon Tax Recommendation

Is there any question that Obama/Pelosi/Reid are looking at the percent of GDP collected in taxes by other developed countries and seeing that there is still plenty of money to confiscate? In 2006, the US was at 28% while most other developed countries were in the 30% to 50% range (according to the OECD).

With US GDP around $14 trillion, the difference between 28% of GDP and, say 40% of GDP, is a whopping $1.68 trillion. That would put our tax collections as a % of GDP somewhere between the UK and France.

It's coming. Bet on it.

Volcker Should Advocate VAT and Drop the Carbon Tax Recommendation

fjd10595:

You need to do a little more research. While it may be true there is a co-relation between CO2 and global warming, there certainly is no conclusive evidence of cause and effect. I suppose you think the rooster crowing makes the sun rise.

Marc Faber: Equities Safer than Dollars

In January, Faber stated something along the lines of: "If you want an absolute sure bet, short Treasuries." As an experiment to test his hypothesis that interest rates would have to increase significantly to sell Treasuries, I bought TBT (ProShares Ultra Short) at $45. It's now at $43.90. At one point I could have sold around $56.

It hasn't been a year yet, so he may still prove correct. I'm going to wait awhile longer to see what happens. My point is that no one should blindly accept his predictions, but I guess that goes without saying.

Why I Predict No Economic Recovery

Ultimately, corporate/business taxes are all paid by consumers, for the most part without the consumer being aware. They are also easier to "sell" politically for exactly that reason. Clearly, some type of tax based on "value added" is the way to go -- but because it is a hidden tax, a VAT is not the answer.

The FairTax would accomplish more vis-a-vis reducing imports and increasing exports than a VAT. The FairTax would effectively "reapply" foreign VAT on imports at the border and would not be embedded in exports.

First Read of House Health Care Reform Act (H.R. 3200)

A major cost factor is that many people go to emergency rooms with non-emergencies -- because emergency rooms are "free" for anyone who wants to get around paying. On top of that, emergency rooms risk getting sued if they don't dot every i and cross every t when it comes to care. Compare that with a visit to a medical clinic or a GP with a sprained ankle, a sore throat, or a cold.

There needs to be major changes in laws to shield hospitals and doctors from lawsuits when someone shows up at an emergency room without a real emergency and without the means to pay.

First Read of House Health Care Reform Act (H.R. 3200)

1. There is a difference between health care and health insurance. If health care costs were equivalent to food costs, no one would be talking about health insurance. Do we need hunger insurance?

2. Generally, children and young adults (under 30?) don't need much health care. If you don't believe me, price out individual health insurance for a 10 year old. There are exceptions, but that's the point.

3. Health care is not a right. Neither are food and shelter.

4. Auto and home insurance are typically of the "catasrophic" nature. $500 deductible for autos; $2500 deductible for homes. No such thing as co-pay (except 80/20 on home insurance for major losses) Why? Because I share the risk with my insurance company, my premiums are lower. Health insurance should be the same. $5,000 deductible. Premiums would be in the $150-$200 per month range.

Minimum Wage Increase Will Send Teenage Jobless Rate to a Record High

I have employed my grandson for the past three summers. He will be a senior in high school in September (17 years old). I pay him the minimum wage and he mostly does busy work. I don't really need him, but it's good training for him to be in a business environment.

There is no way I would hire a teenager who wasn't my grandson at the new $7.25 minimum wage. The reality is that very few 16-20 year olds are worth the $8.00- $9.00 per hour that the new minimum wage actually costs a business. Can you think of a business that you would be willing to start where it cost you $70 per day per immature, unskilled teenage employee? You would have to depend upon being able to average generating upwards of $200 per day per employee in gross revenues to justify the costs.

The minimum wage needs to be eliminated entirely. Of course, that's not politically possible, even though it would be one of the best moves for the economy. Failing that, the minimum wage needs to be eliminated or scaled for anyone under 25. Further, payroll taxes need to be eliminated for these employees (I'm not talking about 23 year old college graduates with degrees in engineering).

Think how much better off an 18 year old high school dropout would be, gainfully employed at $5 per hour, than unemployed, hanging out on the street with a bunch of other unemployed kids.

Weekly Market Notes: Milton Friedman vs. Ben Bernanke

Talk about needing to get a clue -- bobbobwhite - it's YOU who needs to get a clue. If I but an investment item for $1,000 and 20 years later I sell it for $1,500 do I have a capital gain? Hardly. In real terms, I likely have a capital loss. Nevertheless, the Feds want to extract a tax on my $500 "gain."

In terms of shorter term gains, unfortunately, the treatment depends upon what the government is trying to subsidize. If the Feds want to encourage investment, eliminate capital gains taxes, as the author suggests. If the Feds want to discourage investment (and economic growth) don't differentiate capital gains from other types of income. At the very least, capital gains should be indexed to real inflation.

Of course, all these issues could be resolved by eliminating income tax and adopting the FairTax.

Commodity Price Inflation Is Inflation and Is Happening Now

I have been in a quandary about whether to bet on inflation or deflation (or a standoff) in the coming months/years. Thank you professor Krugman for showing me the way. If you say not to worry about inflation, I'll be placing a big bet on inflation.