Hope n' Change couldn't help having a Twilight Zone experience yesterday when, following a Fox News report that the FBI is 99% sure that up to five foreign intelligence services successfully hacked Hillary Clinton's private server and stole our classified secrets, we subsequently checked television, radio, print, and the Internet and found that the mainstream media is completely ignoring it.
Perhaps because the allegations - which certainly ring true - remain unsubstantiated outside of Fox News, and even they are starting to use a little weasel-wording about how solid the story might be.
Hope n' Change believes Hillary's private server was hacked, because it neatly explains the horrendous string of foreign policy failures our country suffered during and after her time as Secretary of State. Russia knew exactly how aggressive they could get, Iran had inside information about our nuclear negotiation strategies, ISIS knew with certainty what we were and weren't willing to do, and on and on.
We have absolutely no doubt that many thousands of lives were lost, millions of people have been displaced, and America's influence has plummeted because of Hillary Clinton's scheming and overtly illegal actions.
And despite her best efforts, it would appear that the only people she actually managed to keep secrets from were voters and members of Congressional oversight committees. A situation which we fervently hope is now changing.
BONUS: UPDATE FROM THE AFFRAUDABLE CARE ACT
Hey, look what the president sent us in the mail yesterday!
Yes, this is our official notification from Healthcare.gov, demanding $1820 a month for two healthy people to be on an HMO Bronze plan (their lowest tier of coverage)...and a staggering rate increase of 49.2% in a single year.
We'd say more, only we can't concentrate with the swirling black and white spirals on the walls and the Twilight Zone theme getting louder and louder...
Imagine if you will.......Faye Wray at the base of the Empire State building. She's sitting on the 10,000 pound carcass of a giant ape. The city is in shambles, debris is everywhere. She primps her hair and says: "What giant ape?"
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is WTF?
My condolences on the rate increase on your mandatory, inferior Obamacare plan.
ReplyDeleteMost of the country missed the asterisk on Affordable* Health Care
*If you don't mind giving up rent and groceries.
It really is sad when 'Twilight Zone' seems more real than real life. Makes you wonder about your sanity some days, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteToo bad that your healthcare provider doesn't have a 'Tin' or 'Potmetal' plan.
ObamaCare = ObamaScam You have to pay your health insurance premiums or pay a fine = Extortion. Now the premiums and deductables are so high, that you can barely afford to pay them. The number of better large hospitals that will accept individual plans on the exchange has shrunk almost to nothing - so very few, if any, large hospitals are in network. There are almost no PPOs left, only HMOs so you can no longer go see a specialist without a referral from the HMO doctor, which means that you can't go see any top specialist of YOUR choice anymore and get the best medical care, you have to go see one referred by your HMO; likely a substandard doctor, if you are even lucky enough to get a referral at all. Thanks to ObamaCare, now your premiums and deductables are so sky-high that by the time you're finished paying for just the insurance costs your remaining out-of-pocket expenses are so cost-prohibitive and unaffordable that you can no longer afford to go to the doctor, especially one out-of-network. Guess that's what Obama meant when he said ObamaCare would 'keep down medical costs'. You can't go to the doctor anymore and the insurance companies make out like bandits collecting your money, and less doctor visits mean that they don't have to pay as many claims out. What a perfect Liberal scam.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry for your troubles Stilt. Even today, I cannot believe Roberts called it a tax. May he get leprosy and live a long life. There is no doubt in my mind he sold out this country because of the adopted children, the demorats got him by the doovers and squeezed. Since he is so easily blackmailed, they will come back to the well time and time again. And that is why it makes little difference if we get the ninth judge or not.
ReplyDeleteUnder the circumstances, it would be worthwhile to join the Marine Corps for four years so that you would at least have medical care under the VA instead of sky high premiums with o'bozocare. Either way you ain't going to get adequate medical care but with the VA your costs will be zero ... just like the care.
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting to turn on the telly (that's what they call TV in jolly old England) and see 'News Flash' ... "it's just been learned that Donald Trump clubs baby seals, kicks puppies, and drowns kittens". 'Nuff said......
And don't forget; In Great Britain, tomorrow is Guy Fawkes Day. Guy Fawkes, the only man who ever went to Parliament with the best of intentions........
Heath insurance premiums are higher than most people’s home mortgage, deductibles are sky high, Insurance Companies claim they are losing money and Doctors are unhappy with the allowed fees. So, where is all the money going? Time for a full audit of the healthcare system!
ReplyDeleteI’m old enough to remember when few if any had health insurance. We didn’t. That’s when one didn’t go to the Family Doctor for every little thing. When needed, the Family Doctor would make house calls. We would make payment arrangements for our Doctor or Hospital bills. For very large expenses the family or church would help out. Back then some would maintain a savings account (remember them?) for large purchases or emergency expenses.
Medical costs seemed expensive then, but not like today. Once Healthcare Insurance became widespread is when medical cost started to sky rocket because of a third party deep pockets.
@Joseph ET- Exactly correct. Similarly, when the government got involved in student loans, administrative positions in universities went through the roof, as did tuition, and tenured professors' salaries.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing a lot of this floating around lately. The internet being what it is, I cannot presume that the source is credible, but it sure seems to fit the Bill, as they say:
http://truepundit.com/breaking-bombshell-nypd-blows-whistle-on-new-hillary-emails-money-laundering-sex-crimes-with-children-child-exploitation-pay-to-play-perjury/
Sadly, too few people effected by this insurance travesty are willing to write their Congress persons and tell them "I'm MAD AS HELL & I'm NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!" If they don't get a satisfactory reply, recall their sorry, DO-NOTHING ASSES! AND... voting for the anti-Christ criminal HRC is also APATHY on steroids.
ReplyDeleteIn Calif the Dems have a super majority. There is no opposition party. That is what Hillary and Obama have planned for the US by opening the border and giving amnesty and packing the SCOTUS with Leftists taking orders, with open corruption in the country
DeletePerhaps GOP candidates could point out that Obamacare is running pretty typically for socialist schemes, as an opportunity to educate the youth who have been fed by their teachers the idea that Utopia is Big Gov in charge of everything.
ReplyDeleteI love your description of everyone knowing what is going on but the House oversight committee and (her) voters. It reminds me of when planes displayed a map showing the progress of the plane to a destination, and the wrong code for the destination had been entered by the pilot, and therefore the plane was flying to the wrong city, a city that did not match the city on the tickets of the passengers. The result was that the whole plane knew where they were supposed to be going, and where they were headed, except for the pilot. Shortly after that flight which made the news, the airline stopped displaying that moving map. This is a true story which took place in Europe.
Here in Alabama, United Health Care and Humana pulled out of ObamaCare, so we are left with only Blue Cross Blue Shield as the "choice" for "affordable" insurance. Our estimated premiums for the Blue Value Silver plan will be $2,162.31 PER MONTH!!! Don't get me wrong, BCBS is a great insurance to have, if you can afford it! We can hardly wait to start paying those premiums in January!!!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, we got a FaceBook note from one of our good Small Business friends: "Prior to Obamacare our health insurance premiums were $550 per month. Today we received our notification of our third rate hike, and our premiums will now go to $2300 a month! By the way, our deductibles have tripled and our coverage has been cut in half."
So, what are we to do? Close our businesses and go to work for a corporation that will pay our premiums for us? PFFFFT! We will just keep dog-paddling to keep our snouts above water, and hope we don't run out of steam and drown!
Imagine if you will a country where treasonous acts against the state are actually prosecuted and criminals like Hillary Capone are sent to prison.
ReplyDeleteThat fictional place only exists once you enter the Twilight Zone.
Obama- bless his heart has screwed everybody. Two choices are going to jail and get everything froo or just not pay taxes and out of sight premiums.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Doc on your promotion to Evil Rich!!!
ReplyDeleteYa know in the old days you actually had to get richer to get ranked but now all ya got to do is wait till they lower the bar - again.
You could add this frame:
ReplyDeleteExcerpt:
"EXCLUSIVE SADDAM'S NUKE SCIENTIST LINKED TO U.S. SHIPPING TERMINAL
"One of America’s busiest cargo shipping ports has been quietly turned over to a United Arab Emirates-based company whose chairman is none other than the brother of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s top nuclear scientist.
Remember the 2006 Dubai ports deal? There was a major controversy in the U.S. when six major U.S. seaports were sold to a UAE company, raising national security concerns about port security.
But nary a peep has been raised by a similar deal, secretly negotiated by the Obama administration, that turned over a Port Canaveral terminal to UAE-based Gulftainer, a company whose principals include Dr. Jafar Dhia Jafar, who has been called the Middle East’s foremost uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons production expert, and his brother Hamid Jafar, a wealthy Iraqi oilman and chairman of the Crescent Group.
Crescent is the parent company of Gulftainer, which acquired a 35-year lease from Port Canaveral on the Florida coast in June 2014.
Unlike the Dubai ports deal a decade ago, this one got no media coverage and little scrutiny by Congress.
To make sure a full security review wasn’t required, Barack Obama Treasury Secretary Jack Lew suggested a 35-year lease rather than a purchase."
Read more at http://mobile.wnd.com/2016/11/saddams-nuke-scientist-linked-to-u-s-shipping-terminal/#EEJFaKeWtrmzKmsU.99
Anybody else having problems accessing the Fox News links posted (this time & previously)? I get a message saying I'm not authorized to access the page. I'm wondering if it's just something to do with my browser and add-ons or if it's everyone.
ReplyDeleteComrade Stilton!
ReplyDeleteObviously you are unappreciative of all that the party is doing on your behalf. You can't possibly fathom the intricate complexities involved with purchasing an insurance plan on your own. It is only through the kindly assistance of the party which enables you to purchase what you truly need.
If you need further convincing, we will kindly send over the education squad, which help you understand exactly how much the party is working for your benefit.
^^Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteThe hyperlink doesn't appear to be working. If you copy and paste the URL, it works.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/03/sources-99-percent-chance-foreign-intel-agencies-breached-clinton-server.html
@Mike Porter,
ReplyDeleteYou should have warned me I'd need some "BleachBit for the brain" after perusing that story. While I'm not certain at this point how much credence I give to that particular site, just the previous thought of WJC being a frequent visitor to Epstein's "fantasy island for deviants" was stomach-churning. The idea that HRC was also a patron is enough to make one long for the SMOD to make an entrance sooner rather than later.
Stilt... 21 years ago I owned a 7 bdrm 5 bath house on 1/2 acre of Ponderosa pines in the Black Forest of Colorado, and my PITI was $1049.00 per month! I can't imagine paying over 73% MORE for hell-thcare that "stinks on ICE"! The poseur in MY White House needs to be exposed, (not in the "Tony Wiener" way), as the LYING SACK he actually IS! Thank you immensely for your efforts toward that end. If I buy the major networks, may I count on YOU to be my news anchor?
ReplyDelete...makes little difference if we get the ninth judge or not.
ReplyDeleteIf Hillary loses and the dems are out of power Roberts may be in a better position to support the constitution. If Hillary et al are in jail or have fled the country, maybe he would even let us in on what went down prior to the ACA verdict.
Not saying it's likely, just sayin' it could happen.
@Sandra Gray, even with corporations paying part of the premiums its going up. Hubby works for a company that was bought by another, had great insurance and decent premium. Big company (French owned) sold his department to an investment firm. Still had decent insurance, premium went up a bit. Firm has merged his company with another and they have been informed the premiums will go up, deductibles and other fees will go up. Havent gotten the papers yet, so dont really know.
ReplyDeleteMy boys have State insurance for a secondary. The local hospital is accepting that insurance, but if its bought through the individual Marketplace, it is not being accepted. I see the EOBs. If a doctor/hospital bills for say $100, all they get is $3.00. That makes sense. If they billed $3.00 they would probably get .25.
Hubby doesnt understand and thinks it is just doctors being money grubbers. No. To get paid a decent amount, they have to bill a crazy amount. Insurance has become too full of themselves.
Heil Hitlary! You know vat's gut for us und der vaterland. Mein vote goes to you, fraulein Fuhress, und even tho I vait fur der free health care mein President promised dat vould be reduced by mor dan $2,500 per family. But---ach der lieber---mein grossvater said dat vas a pot of---how yu zay en Inglish---BULLzhitt! Vas dis just a lie? Yu vouldn't lie...vould yu, mein fuhress?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Fox News report that five foreign countries hacked Shrillary's email server. Only five? Really?
ReplyDelete@Stilton,
You are going about this all wrong. What kind of fool actually PAYS for their healthcare in advance. When you get sick, just go to the emergency room at your local hospital. They'll bill you some outrageous amount, but you don't have to pay it; just throw the monthly bills in the trash. And just a helpful hint: when you go in for a splinter in your finger or the sniffles, put your arm in a makeshift sling and put some fake blood all over it. Tell them you got run over by a cracker driving a Lincoln, or got shot by a cop. You'll get right in and won't have to wait. It also helps if you can speak a foreign language, and have your wife come along wearing a burka.
@Andrew,
Are you nuts?! Have you seen the price of tin. We are now looking at the rotting forest wood plan, or the used plastic grocery bag plan.
If a person does not own real property they can go to the ER w/o insurance, maybe depending. If a person has a house and goes to the ER w/o insurance, the hospital can end up owning the house.
DeleteFYI, since Mike Porter's shudder-worthy post earlier, I've seen similar accounts on various sites. This is the first time I've seen someone promise info and proof to be released at specific time: tomorrow. Could be complete tinfoil hat territory, or might be many peoples' worst fears coming to light. I honestly don't want to believe it...
ReplyDeleteFrom Anonymous in the article linked above: "This hack has not come from Russia or anyone else they may try to blame this on. This is a leak from Americas own Government Officials who fear [sic] for their safety had the [sic] opposed them directly due to reasons that will be made clear soon."
" it neatly explains the horrendous string of foreign policy failures our country suffered during and after her time as Secretary of State."
ReplyDeleteOf course, considering that we're all now living inside the Twilight Zone, why is there any rational reason that we should assume that this "horrendous string" of events are in fact "policy failures"? Just as your ObamaCare rate going up almost 50% is in fact a "feature" of ObamaCare, could it not be that global chaos is just a feature of the Obama-Clinton world order?
But don't just believe me. Believe ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber, who says:
"Obamacare Is Not Imploding," "Working As Designed"
"The law is working as designed; however, it could work better, and I think probably the most important thing experts would agree on is that we need a larger mandate penalty. We have individuals who are essentially free-riding on the system. They’re essentially waiting until they get sick and then getting health insurance. The whole idea of this plan, which was pioneered in Massachusetts, was that the individual mandate penalty would bring those people into the system and have them participate. The penalty right now is probably too low and that’s something ideally we would fix."
That's cute. As if the Democrats would actually fine their own constituents over $12,000-a-year just in order to make ObamaCare look cheap.
And remember, contrary to what Gruber and the media parroted, the American voters were never fooled by ObamaCare. Only the Democrats and a handful of RINOs were.
Speaking of the Twilight Zone: Mrs. Econ & I just discovered what I'd call a version of the Twilight Zone for the 21st Century, "Black Mirror" It's from Britain, but it's the kind of thing we think that Rod Sterling would be doing if he was around today. Very thought-provoking plots. (And not quite family-safe, btw) In fact, I believe that Episode 2 is where the anti-carbon agenda is designed to take a nation of artificially stimulated zombie-citizens. It's on Netflix.
@Sandra Gray rhetorically asks, "So, what are we to do? Close our businesses and go to work for a corporation that will pay our premiums for us?"
ReplyDeleteYou'd almost think that was part of the plan, wouldn't you?
Progressives absolutely hate" small business. We are the one remaining segment of America that refuses to submit to total government control of our lives. So other than trashing the economy and making life difficult that way, (which we also resist) what's the best way to get us? By denying us health care. ObamaCare has no effect on the "rich". It has less effect on those employed by big business. It's great if you're "poor", because they'll subsidize it for you. But if you're a successful small business, you get the brunt of it.
"We will just keep dog-paddling to keep our snouts above water, and hope we don't run out of steam and drown!"
Unfortunately, they have time on their side.
Yes I am all for Trump, but this Canadian wonders how much he can manage to lower your monthly fees....
ReplyDelete@Joseph ET
ReplyDelete"Medical costs seemed expensive then, but not like today." Keep in mind that in the "good old days", many now-curable/treatable ailments were not curable or treatable. There is one solution to high medical costs which is to refuse any treatments developed in the previous 30 years. Another is to create a-la-carte plans where regular maintenance is not covered by "insurance". Imagine how expensive auto insurance policies would be if they covered oil changes, tune-ups, and so on. I would very happily jettison much of the mandated coverages in our policy for a dramatically lower premium.
Alfonso Bedoya, Dat vas vantaztik! What a funny guy you are. Sure didn't see what I expected when I saw your moniker. Keep it up! I vant do zee vat you wrrrrrite negzt!
ReplyDelete@Readers- Gosh dang it! I posted a response yesterday and now it's disappeared into the ether. No doubt grabbed by an evil entity and obliterated with Bleachbit or the like.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll have to cheat a bit and just say that the number of comments here shows that we're all pretty much at fever pitch right now - and I'll also say that when I look at the intelligence and humor in your comments, I couldn't ask for a better group of friends with whom to be potentially facing a political firing squad in the near future.
Skipping around a bit (there are too many comments for me to respond to everything at this point)...
Per John the Econ's comment, when I refer to the long string of "foreign policy failures," I'm indeed using shorthand for "outcomes that hurt America" rather than "policies that failed to do what the America-hating SOBs in Washington intended." To be clear, the Obama administration has been unbelievably successful on every front - foreign and domestic. Unfortunately, their goal is the demotion and destruction of our nation.
Regarding Obamacare, I dare not go without insurance (or just pay the fine) because I do have assets to lose in the event of a big medical problem. Assets which I'm hoping (gulp) will sustain my wife and myself in retirement, and also provide a safety net for my daughter in these miserable economic times.
I've always lived under my means, because I always wanted to be independent and relatively secure. Home insurance, health insurance, life insurance, car insurance - the money has always poured out so that my family wouldn't be a burden to anyone, including The State.
But now, as I'm on the cutting edge of retirement, I realize that there was one potential economic disaster that I hadn't, and couldn't, plan on. A personal economic disaster that I've unwittingly made far more likely with my work ethic and sense of responsibility.
Specifically, the potential disaster is that the government will TAKE my money, because A) I have it, and B) they need it to keep their various Ponzi schemes working. Those of us who have savings and retirement accounts (and can't afford bribes to the Clinton Foundation) are now directly in the crosshairs.
It's entirely possible that I may not have enough money for retirement, or to care for my family in the way I'd like, because over the next few years the government may leech it all away.
It's easy enough for them to do, and they're already doing it. Why is it that I'm supposed to pay $1800 a month for health insurance while others pay $100? Oh yeah, because the government knows I've got the money. My "fair share" is to pay more to cover all of the folks who enjoyed spending every penny while I put my earnings in the bank and drove a 20 year old car.
Regarding health insurance (sorry for my Trumpian ramble above), I think there are a LOT of ways to bring down the costs of healthcare - none of which was ever a goal of Obamacare. Sell insurance over state lines, institute tort reform which would take the preposterous legal expenses out of medicine and reduce the number of CYA tests and procedures doctors are ordering. Create medical vouchers for the genuinely needy which could be used like foodstamps in clinics other than wildly expensive emergency rooms. Make it possible for doctors and clinics to advertise accurate "whole package" prices for services to encourage competition. And for God's sake close the damn borders so we can care for our own citizenry instead of the world's.
Yup. Since I saved and prepared, I have to pay for someone else's lack of preparation. Wasn't that one of the original comments that created the TEA party? Something about having to cover the other guy's mortgage because he wanted an extra bathroom?
ReplyDeleteActually @TMay, you're wrong. I actually know people who own property worth well over a million who have stayed in the hospital literally for near-free, simply because they did not have substantial taxable income. In many states, it's illegal to attach a person's primary residence for medical bills.
ReplyDeleteYou see, that's the funny thing about the left. Noticed that they're obsessed with "income", but not necessarily with "wealth". That keeps the Democrat's wealthy constituency safe.
@Stilton, not a day goes by where I don't see another example of the irresponsible chipping away at the rights, freedoms and wealth of the responsible. Here's today's example:
Parents Of Dead Pizza Hut Robber Are Mad That Their Son’s Victims Had A Gun
"On October 30, an armed man and two others attempted to rob a Pizza Hut restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of the armed robbers was shot and killed by a Pizza Hut employee. Now, the parents of the armed robber are speaking out, questioning why the Pizza Hut employee shot their son in the head in self defense with a handgun the employee legally owned."
If only everywhere could be a "gun free zone", the senseless killing of thugs wouldn't happen.
It gets more ironic:
"The parents, Temia Hairston and Michael Grace Sr. understand that their son, Michael Grace Jr. broke the law, but they don’t think defending the employees at the restaurant with a gun from an armed robber was just. “If there was to be a death, it was not the place of the employee at Pizza Hut. That is the place of law enforcement,” Hairston told WBTV."
Got it? It's the job of law enforcement to shoot the thugs, just like the Black Lives (don't) Matter people have been telling us. Oh wait, that's not right. Now I'm confused. Thugs aren't supposed to be shot at all. We're supposed to let them just do whatever they want.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
ReplyDelete@Sandra Gray and others commenting here about your Obamacare woes, why not just pay the penalty for not having healthcare and deposit your $2,300 a month in a health savings account or a regular savings account. Realistically, how many people shell out $2,300 a month for actual health care treatment each and every month? I know one reason to keep coverage is for catastrophic illnesses. I know from personal experience that hospitals and doctors will negotiate with cash paying customers and generally will give them the same reimbursement rate they would be getting from the insurance company. Especially if your coverage is so weak anyway.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on Insty Link: https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/248442/
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
ca
wrsa
@Stilty, Your fears about the gov taking your retirement are not unfounded. I am a retired school teacher and our retirement is a defined benefit system, one of the few left. The best part of this is that it is funded half by the districts and half by the members, pay as you go, not "promises" for the future. In that sense it is a government system, but it operates entirely separately from the state government retirement system. It does not require state tax money to fill in the gaps that occur in other systems like the police and fire and state employees.
ReplyDeleteNow, though, in spite of the fact (or maybe because of the fact) that the system is healthy and stable, every so often the fed comes sniffing around trying to see if they can absorb it into social security. Here we are, doing just fine and the feds want to take it away. Typical. Somehow this smacks of Ants and Grasshoppers, but I guarantee we ants won't like the tune the grasshopper plays on his fiddle.
@John What kind of a load was the Pizza Hut employee using? Did it make the thugs head look like a pizza? Ewwww
@Sortahwitte, Thumbs UP!
Stilt: You brought up a good point. We that planned for retirement many years ago, We started in I think, '75 when the IRA bill passed (that took less than a minute to figure out it was a terrific deal) are going to suffer for our thriftiness and living well below our means. You are worried about confiscation, I worry about inflation that will suck it all away with no recourse. Our two sons are also planning for retirement although in oldest is about 20 years away. In college, I did a paper on the Weimar Republic and it still haunts me. Now, with Obamascam insurance, we are all going to be skrued. I wish you luck and watch your stress, that kills more of us old folks than doctors. (Bonus: The Muslim encouraging illegals to vote? Will not be prosecuted? Is this because he is an illegal and wants to vote?)
ReplyDelete@ Shelly: Thanks for the insight about hospitals and cash paying patients. My current Medigap policy is scheduled for an 83% increase in 2017 and my gut reaction was to dump it and self insure. People talked me into going for a lesser plan because of the catastrophic illness thing and I'm not young. The new plan is only a 35 or 36% increase, plus part B deductible, excess charges and co-pay which I never paid before. I guess I'll try it for a year and see how much money I'm losing. I know self insuring is less expensive but I didn't know about the hospitals cutting cash payers some slack. This whole thing seems like a giant scam to me.
ReplyDelete@Dan- I still consider myself a Tea Party kind of guy, and don't expect that to change after Tuesday.
ReplyDelete@John the Econ- What's really sad is that all of us are even having a conversation about how we can get medical treatment and pay for it (or not), and how to navigate governmental obstacles at the time of grave illness.
Regarding the Pizza Hut robber who learned that turnabout is fair play, I have zero sympathy for him or his parents.
@Geoff King- I was going to make a Fawkes News joke, but Daylight Saving Time scrambles my brain too much.
@Shelly- I'd love to just tuck that money away (indeed, I have an HSA account) but in the event of a serious long term illness, I can't afford to be uninsured. I'd love to still be able to buy catastrophic coverage. And you're right that a number of medical providers are now pretty negotiable if you're willing to pay cash - the only catch is that many of them can only do so if the patient claims to be uninsured. I have personal experience with going to get procedures and lying about having expensive, mandated insurance just so I can pay the cash price. It's insane - and getting worse.
@Anonymous- Cool!
@Boligat- The Feds have no choice but to go where the money is, whether it's in a benefit plan like yours or in my self-employed retirement account. I think it was John Dillinger who was once asked "why do you rob banks?" and he answered "that's where the money is." Responsible folks like many of us here are now the targets of such robbery, because the government has nowhere else to go.
@James Daily- Between inflation and the government, I have a lot of stress about my assets (not so much because of the money, but because it directly translates into how well I can provide for my family). I've mentioned here before that, owing to stress, I've been aging in dog years since Obama took office; that's only barely a joke. Come Hell or high water on Tuesday, I'm going to need to put a much higher priority on trying to chill out.
@Judi King- "Giant scam" is right, though I have huge sympathy for the medical providers who are still trying to weather this storm.
@James Daily, you are right about inflation. The beauty of inflation is that the government can suck the value out of our retirement without a single vote or politician ever being held accountable. For many, the fear has been that the government is going to simply seize our retirement funds via some sort of legislative grab. I've been arguing since the beginning of low interest rates that "stimulus" and the resulting inflation will make such an overt gesture totally unnecessary. By the time I actually need my savings, it will be worth a fraction of what I paid for it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you noticed that since the era of cheap money, not even Republicans spend a lot of capital talking about the deficit and resulting national debt? It's because both parties have discovered that they can unaccountably spend with abandon without the need to impose taxes to pay for it. Expect Hillary or Trump to do the same.
@Judi King @Shelly: If Medicare (which many assume that we're all going to get dumped into when we eventually go "single payer") is so great, then why does everyone even need a "Medigap" policy?
@Stilton: What's sad is that this was the plan all along.