A problem for "experts" who have no expertise is that they get involved in things they know less than nothing about. A good example is the latest backfire in the unthought out Congressional overhaul of healthcare.
It seems McDonald's Corp. has notified federal regulators its employee's health insurance plan isn't compatible with a new requirement of the new law. As a result, nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers will likely see their benefits cut in half. The reason is a requirement for "mini-med" plans that offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans all told.
What these plans do is require that at least 80 to 85 percent of premium revenue be spent on medical care. That was done to prevent executors and managers from taking too much revenue out of the plans for themselves. However, since McDonald's, and other operations like them, have so much employee turnover and huge numbers of minor claims the administrative costs are immense.
Consequently, since these employers can't cover their costs due to the cap on management revenue, they're going to halve the benefit's instead. Right now, a single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year. So, in one fell swoop, the government screwed 1.4 million citizens out of half of their health care coverage. What a country!
Aside from that, I think there's a possibility I'm finally losing my mind. Because just this week I wrote an entry about how I thought the Democrats were scheming to vote for extension of tax cuts before the election break, to show their constituents how sympathetic they are to their plights, while they knew full well the Senate would later do the reverse. And, who was in front, leading the charge for extensions in the House? None other than Nancy Pelosi.
Then this morning I read that "Speaker Pelosi did renew her pledge that the House would extend the middle class tax cuts. It remains to be seen if Democratic revolts on both sides of the Capitol throw yet another wrench into those plans resulting in another "do almost nothing" work period."
But...in the same article I also read that "In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, was forced to cast a rare vote when 39 of her Democrats revolted and joined Republicans on a measure that would have forced a vote on the tax issue."
So, in the same Congress, on the same day, and even in the same article in a publication, Ms Pelosi vowed to insure that the House would vote for the extension of tax cuts, and then went and cast a rare vote herself to insure that they wouldn't happen.
Therefore, if there's no blog entry here tomorrow, or perhaps evermore, it's because I'm checking myself into an institution for the terminally confused and plan to stay there for the duration.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
No comments:
Post a Comment