Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.
A Review.
-----MASSIVE GODDAMN SPOILER ALERT---
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The politics of 2012
This article will cover a variety of topics and make a number of political predictions.
People have been building up alot of suspense for 2012, all of the various predictions and such in addition to all of the political maneuvering for the November election. But what people don't seem to realize is that November is a foregone conclusion.
Prediction #1 Obama will win the election.
A number of things make this a certainty. First, he is a MORMON Republican. The GOP has never elected a non-protestant president. The only non-protestant president was JFK, a Democrat. The entire GOP platform is based on the concept that people of other religions are wrong, so they will lose a significant number of voters simply because he is not of their religion.
Second major factor is that both candidates are already bought and paid for by the corporate Juggernauts of the world. There is no law preventing special interest groups from donating to multiple candidates, therefore they cover their bets by donating to both. Regardless of which candidate wins, he will be in the pocket of the corporations. Currently their is significant civil unrest in the country, and electing another Republican would cause that unrest to grow significantly. Which is bad for business, so it is in their best interest to make sure that Obama wins.
Thirdly Obama managed to pull off two major political victories. He killed off Osama Bin Laden. American public enemy #1, and he got his medical reforms past the House, Senate, and Supreme court (More on this topic later.). This shows him as a strong President who gets things done. Something that the previous administration lacked.
He is going to win the November election. I will be insanely surprised if he doesn't.
Now onto the "Obamacare" legislation.
The Republican party campaigned very heavily against this, but not for the reasons that they say they did.
To clarify, I'll break down what it does.
1- It forces every citizen to get medical insurance, or to join the federal medicare insurance.
This is both good and bad for big business. It forces everyone to spend money on Insurance and doesn't require the corporations to provide it.
However, it specifies that non-citizens (illegal aliens) become ineligible for Medicare and other such public medical coverage. This makes living here very, very dangerous for illegal aliens, and they are the primary physical labor workforce in this country.
The laws also have a clause that makes it so if medical insurance would cost more than 8% of your total family income, then you are exempt from the law and aren't required to pay the penalty tax.
#2- It increases the number of high-risk (i.e. pre-existing medical conditions) that are required to be accepted by medical insurance. And their premiums are to stay in the normal range rather than the astronomical range. This part is kindof a wash as it's good that these people get coverage, however it's bad that it'll likely lead to increased rates.
#3- Tanning beds are given a 10% sales tax. Making the company pay the government for giving you skin cancer that they are likely going to be treating later in your life. It makes sense. Fuck you tanning companies.
#4- Insurance companies are prohibited from creating a "lifetime dollar limit" for medical bills. This is a very good thing for average people and especially the retired. It means that as long as you keep paying your insurance, they aren't allowed to say that you "ran out of money" regardless of how expensive your bills become.
#5- Extending the family insurance age from 24 to 26. Since most people are graduating college and moving back in with their parents now, this makes sense. It allows their parents to continue covering their medical bills for two more years.
#6-Insurance is prohibited from doing any of the following:
- Withholding treatment for children under the age of 19 with pre-existing medical conditions.
- Dropping policy holders from coverage when they get sick.
- Hiding any hidden "Administrative fees" from the policy holder.
- withholding preventative procedures and exams. They are now required to supply breast exams, check-ups, etc. and they cannot charge you a deductible for these procedures.
-Discriminating or charging extra for patients with pre-existing conditions. If you have diabetes, they aren't allowed to charge you more than the person without diabetes.
- No annual spending caps (same deal as the lifetime spending caps. If you have a bunch of injuries or illness in one year, they can't make the "you are out of money" claim.
#7- Physicians pay will be based on quality of care rather than volume.
----------------
Basically the program makes it so that all citizens and legal residents get Private or public medical coverage (patient's choice) regardless of their income. If your family makes $30,000 a year then your insurance premiums will only be $992 a year (3% of their total income for full coverage of the entire family)
While families making $88,000 a year will be paying $8,379 a year (9.5% of their total income.)
--------
Note: Average yearly Insurance premiums are $4,968 a year currently. So the cost goes way down for the very poor, but doubles for the wealthy.
The example of $88,000 a year is for a family 400% above the poverty level (which is $22,000 a year)
-----
The entire concept of "Poverty level" doesn't really work on a national scale, considering how varied the cost of living is depending on where you live. $200 a month in rent is fair in some locations while others are charge $2,000 a month. That alone makes a big difference. For a family living in a $2,000/month area, $22,000 a year is severely below poverty as their rent alone would eat up 109% of their income.
-------
End notes: The Obamacare system or "Patient protection and affordable care act" is actually a good thing for the country as a whole. It makes sure that our lowest legal income individuals and families won't be sick and dying. However it does eject our illegal residents from the system.
The Republicans aren't worried that it's socialist, they are worried that it might get rid of the slave labor we have in this country. Illegal immigrants are a major factor in what causes the wealthy to keep their wealth. It's the cheapest and most effective way of cutting costs, and they do it all the time.
What this means for you?:
If you are wealthy, guess what? You are going to be paying more for medical insurance.
If you are poor, you are finally going to be getting the medical coverage you likely desperately need.
About damn time too.
People have been building up alot of suspense for 2012, all of the various predictions and such in addition to all of the political maneuvering for the November election. But what people don't seem to realize is that November is a foregone conclusion.
Prediction #1 Obama will win the election.
A number of things make this a certainty. First, he is a MORMON Republican. The GOP has never elected a non-protestant president. The only non-protestant president was JFK, a Democrat. The entire GOP platform is based on the concept that people of other religions are wrong, so they will lose a significant number of voters simply because he is not of their religion.
Second major factor is that both candidates are already bought and paid for by the corporate Juggernauts of the world. There is no law preventing special interest groups from donating to multiple candidates, therefore they cover their bets by donating to both. Regardless of which candidate wins, he will be in the pocket of the corporations. Currently their is significant civil unrest in the country, and electing another Republican would cause that unrest to grow significantly. Which is bad for business, so it is in their best interest to make sure that Obama wins.
Thirdly Obama managed to pull off two major political victories. He killed off Osama Bin Laden. American public enemy #1, and he got his medical reforms past the House, Senate, and Supreme court (More on this topic later.). This shows him as a strong President who gets things done. Something that the previous administration lacked.
He is going to win the November election. I will be insanely surprised if he doesn't.
Now onto the "Obamacare" legislation.
The Republican party campaigned very heavily against this, but not for the reasons that they say they did.
To clarify, I'll break down what it does.
1- It forces every citizen to get medical insurance, or to join the federal medicare insurance.
This is both good and bad for big business. It forces everyone to spend money on Insurance and doesn't require the corporations to provide it.
However, it specifies that non-citizens (illegal aliens) become ineligible for Medicare and other such public medical coverage. This makes living here very, very dangerous for illegal aliens, and they are the primary physical labor workforce in this country.
The laws also have a clause that makes it so if medical insurance would cost more than 8% of your total family income, then you are exempt from the law and aren't required to pay the penalty tax.
#2- It increases the number of high-risk (i.e. pre-existing medical conditions) that are required to be accepted by medical insurance. And their premiums are to stay in the normal range rather than the astronomical range. This part is kindof a wash as it's good that these people get coverage, however it's bad that it'll likely lead to increased rates.
#3- Tanning beds are given a 10% sales tax. Making the company pay the government for giving you skin cancer that they are likely going to be treating later in your life. It makes sense. Fuck you tanning companies.
#4- Insurance companies are prohibited from creating a "lifetime dollar limit" for medical bills. This is a very good thing for average people and especially the retired. It means that as long as you keep paying your insurance, they aren't allowed to say that you "ran out of money" regardless of how expensive your bills become.
#5- Extending the family insurance age from 24 to 26. Since most people are graduating college and moving back in with their parents now, this makes sense. It allows their parents to continue covering their medical bills for two more years.
#6-Insurance is prohibited from doing any of the following:
- Withholding treatment for children under the age of 19 with pre-existing medical conditions.
- Dropping policy holders from coverage when they get sick.
- Hiding any hidden "Administrative fees" from the policy holder.
- withholding preventative procedures and exams. They are now required to supply breast exams, check-ups, etc. and they cannot charge you a deductible for these procedures.
-Discriminating or charging extra for patients with pre-existing conditions. If you have diabetes, they aren't allowed to charge you more than the person without diabetes.
- No annual spending caps (same deal as the lifetime spending caps. If you have a bunch of injuries or illness in one year, they can't make the "you are out of money" claim.
#7- Physicians pay will be based on quality of care rather than volume.
----------------
Basically the program makes it so that all citizens and legal residents get Private or public medical coverage (patient's choice) regardless of their income. If your family makes $30,000 a year then your insurance premiums will only be $992 a year (3% of their total income for full coverage of the entire family)
While families making $88,000 a year will be paying $8,379 a year (9.5% of their total income.)
--------
Note: Average yearly Insurance premiums are $4,968 a year currently. So the cost goes way down for the very poor, but doubles for the wealthy.
The example of $88,000 a year is for a family 400% above the poverty level (which is $22,000 a year)
-----
The entire concept of "Poverty level" doesn't really work on a national scale, considering how varied the cost of living is depending on where you live. $200 a month in rent is fair in some locations while others are charge $2,000 a month. That alone makes a big difference. For a family living in a $2,000/month area, $22,000 a year is severely below poverty as their rent alone would eat up 109% of their income.
-------
End notes: The Obamacare system or "Patient protection and affordable care act" is actually a good thing for the country as a whole. It makes sure that our lowest legal income individuals and families won't be sick and dying. However it does eject our illegal residents from the system.
The Republicans aren't worried that it's socialist, they are worried that it might get rid of the slave labor we have in this country. Illegal immigrants are a major factor in what causes the wealthy to keep their wealth. It's the cheapest and most effective way of cutting costs, and they do it all the time.
What this means for you?:
If you are wealthy, guess what? You are going to be paying more for medical insurance.
If you are poor, you are finally going to be getting the medical coverage you likely desperately need.
About damn time too.
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