Forum: General Topic: Question about healthcare..... Author Message Enheduanna #1 posted November 9, 2009 at 1:24pm (EST)   There will not be any "death panels" or rationing of health care. Enheduanna #2 posted November 9, 2009 at 11:47am (EST)   It doesn't mean anything yet. The bill that just passed was only passed in the House. The Senate still has to pass their bill, and then the House bill and the Senate bill have to be merged together, and voted on by Congress again, and then signed by Obama. (The last part is the only easy part in the process.) We don't know exactly what the final healthcare plan will look like yet, if it actually passes and becomes law, but it's likely that it won't actually give absolutely everyone insurance. The key part that will expand coverage to more people is the so-called public option, which (as I understand it!) will be an insurance program run by the government (instead of being run by a private company like UnitedHealthCare or Aetna or Kaiser). People without insurance through their jobs will be able to buy insurance through this plan. (The old, private plans will all still be around, too, though.) I don't know if it will be open to anyone without insurance, and it will still cost something, I think. But there will be government subsidies for people to buy into this public option, and I think there will also be government subsidies to help out other people who have insurance through their employers, so that they are paying less as well. It's really all pretty confusing, and it's difficult to keep straight what parts actually made it into the House bill!

Forum: General Topic: Don't move to California! Author Message Enheduanna #3 posted November 6, 2009 at 7:22pm (EST)   I don't think it's trying to cover mistakes, unless you think the way property taxes work here are a mistake (which I doubt you do). They have a huge budget shortfall because too much of the budget depends on taxes that depend on company revenues. When there's a recession, there's a huge budget shortfall because, in general, businesses are making less and therefore paying less in taxes. Not to excuse all of the ridiculousness that goes on in the state legislature where the budget process is concerned, but to be fair, they're working with a pretty stupid system. Which is why it's time to change the state's constitution. Enheduanna #4 posted November 5, 2009 at 7:26pm (EST) edited November 5, 2009 at 7:27pm (EST)   cerealkiller wrote: > California is now fudging everyone in the ass to attempt to gain back > money for the state's mishandling and spending. Hell, it was kept > pretty quiet and I wouldn't even have known about it if it weren't > on Bill O'Reilly last night. Thanks Foxnews. Well, I would have > found out about it Friday in my paycheck. > This lovely state has now decided to take interest-free "payday" loans > from every taxpayer in Cali. As of now they are requiring an additional > 10% of what employers normally would withhold from paychecks. They > say it isn't a tax increase and you'd get it back "later". They left > this policy with an indefinite time period so this could go on forever. > Do they think we're stupid? It's gonna cost me $50 a month in extra > money taken out. Fudge, I want 1000% interest on that money like the > payday loan places. > Other lovely things California has done lately without major fanfare > or anyone having a choice: > > o the sales tax has gone up 1% > > o the tax exemption amount allowed per dependent has been cut by > 2/3! > > o vehicle registration fees are going to escalate > > > I don't understand why state and federal governments don't understand > that the answer to all their spending is NOT fudging over J.Q. Public > by jacking up taxes! > > I remember voting on the sales tax and vehicle registration fee increases. They were how some of last year's propositions were going to be funded. I'm not sure about the dependent exemption, though, and the payday loan sounds pretty sneaky and uncool! I guess it's a surreptitious way of raising income taxes without actually having to increase income taxes. I can't say I'm surprised, given how truly fudgeed the state budget is.

Forum: General Topic: Some of my thoughts on life Author Message Enheduanna #5 posted October 26, 2009 at 11:38am (EST)   If there are parts of your childhood Christmas that you loved, why not try making those traditions that you do at your home, just with your husband and kids? While I sometimes look back fondly and with some desire to return to past stages of my life, I've always been the kind of person who looks forward to the next stage. It doesn't feel limiting to me--at least not yet. I try to enjoy the stage I'm at, too, so it doesn't just pass me by while I'm looking forward to the next one.

Forum: General Topic: Should we have the SEVENTH Annual Survey Central Secret Santa Exchange this year Author Message Enheduanna #6 posted October 14, 2009 at 9:30pm (EST)   You betcha!

Forum: General Topic: Has anyone joked about eating your pets, Author Message Enheduanna #7 posted October 11, 2009 at 3:23pm (EST)   Fortunately, pets understand petting, food, and sleeping on warm laps, which speak more strongly than jokes do anyway. Enheduanna #8 posted October 11, 2009 at 1:17pm (EST)   When one of our kitties is misbehaving (and it's always the same one), we joke that we're going to have kitty burgers for dinner.

Forum: General Topic: Ask A Question Game Author Message Enheduanna #9 posted October 10, 2009 at 1:30pm (EST)   Happy Birthday, they!!!

Forum: General Topic: Glenn Beck Author Message Enheduanna #10 posted September 23, 2009 at 7:04pm (EST)   cerealkiller wrote: > Legal maybe, but we don't want commies in positions of potential power > in the government. Unless of course you want this country to become > a socialist state. The very idea that most of the people who are being called "commies" actually subscribe to a communist political identity is absurd. Some of them may want to see certain things socialized, but I think the number of actual communists in this country is low enough that there's no fear that we'll actually become a communist country (which I agree would be bad). The problem is that this knee-jerk reaction to anyone (falsely) labeled a "commie" is that then their ideas are automatically dismissed, regardless of their merits. Socialism is not the same as communism, and it's not inherently linked to totalitarianism. We already have a number of programs in the US that are socialized: social security, Medicare and Medicaid, all of our public schools, to name a few. I would like to see healthcare added to that list, because I think everyone deserves quality medical care and I don't see any better way to do it than to have the state provide a single-payer program. Next page (only 10 shown here)