Stimulus starting to trickle in

[pwp]

So as a small business owner I was pretty excited to see some REAL
effects of our new Administration and the passed stimulus plan.

It would have been nice if it came directly from the White House
But 3rd party news is better than no news at all.

In a letter from Blue Cross/ Blue Shield I was informed about some
new rules in COBRA coverage. Instead of simply offering COBRA
to any dismissed employees, I now get to pay for 35% of their insurance
premium and the other 65% will be government subsidized. So if you are
being let go from your job rest assured that your health insurance is covered 100%.
The time frame for COBRA has also been extended to 9 months.

I think this is beneficial in many ways.

1st
Companies those are currently low on work or are possibly suffering from low cash flow and need to reduce overhead by letting work staff go, have yet another financial burden to deal with. A burden that may be the nail on the coffin for many small businesses.

2nd
This will most definitely encourage workers to perform at the top of their game.
Similar to the way unions work. In many former communist countries there was a saying.
“We pretend to work and the government pretends to pay us”
I’m sure there are more than enough people that are content with collecting unemployment and having their health insurance covered 100%

Shit it sounds pretty good to me. Let’s look at it.

1) Not being able to pay for your house might not really mean you have no place to live. The government will help you.

2) If you don’t have a job you can receive unemployment. The government will help you.

3) You no longer have health insurance due to losing your job. No need to do double time on looking for new employment, The government will help you.

4) Oh and since I live in the Crook County Illinois, once I’m a senior citizen I can ride the CTA for free; the government will take care of me. (But once a year they threaten to shut down due to lack of funding until……guess what happens)


There is a real danger when you remove failure as a result of failing.
This is not how you bring the lower end of society up it how you bring the
higher end of society down.

 

[ptschram]

I suppose it's a good thing I have no employees and get insurance through my wife's employer.

So far, I have seen nothing in the stimulus package that remotely benefits me, unless all of the folks working on the new public works projects drive Rovers.

The $13/week my wife will receive is offset by the fact she hasn't gotten a raise in two years, her 401K contribution of her employer was discontinued, no bonus this year (nor last year) and our health insurance increased (in part due to the expense of my having been so sick last year).

Yeah rah, Obama!

 

[MUSKYMAN]

I have never paid for cobra because the one time I could have used it the cost was about $1400 a month for a healthy family of three.

we went out and bought a policy from BCBS of IL for about $350 a month.

so it looks like the plan is instead of saddling the worker with stupid over priced insurance the plan is making the companies and tax payers pay the bill for stupid over priced insurance.

 

[landrovered]

Ok let's say that you are an older worker who has a pre-existing condition and you are laid off. Normally COBRA is too expensive for these people to maintian their coverage and their house at the same time. In that case this is a blessing.

This is not about who works and who doesn't, it is about maintaining our system during a bad time. It will pass and then things will go back to normal.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

Ok let's say that you are an older worker who has a pre-existing condition and you are laid off. Normally COBRA is too expensive for these people to maintian their coverage and their house at the same time. In that case this is a blessing.

This is not about who works and who doesn't, it is about maintaining our system during a bad time. It will pass and then things will go back to normal.

give me a break...its about spreading the wealth around

 

[landrovered]

No it is about pulling together as a country to help each other through the worst economic crisis since '29.

Would it please you somehow to see people stand in bread lines and 25% unemployment. That is what it sounds like to me.

 

[ptschram]

Would it please you somehow to see people stand in bread lines and 25% unemployment.

No, but I'd like to see Madoff and Clinton (both of them) in bread lines. They, and their ilk are why we are in this mess. Misstated profits and no oversight. George is not responsible for everything bad that has happened to us in the past eight or ten years, the groundwork was laid during the Clinton's presidency. Oh yeah, that good ol' boy Osama helped us. Again, due to actions taken, or more importantly, not taken during the Clinton's presidency.

 

[D90DC]

PWP

The big question being your form Obama Land is who did you vote for?

Remember its Hope for some and your spare Change for others....

 

[landrovered]

PT,

Thanks for the history lesson, I did not poiint the finger of blame, I was attempting to make my point in "man on the street" terms.

 

[pwp]

No it is about pulling together as a country to help each other through the worst economic crisis since '29.

Help each other, sounds really nice. BUT.................lets see where my help will be ?

1) There is not a single small company that will receive bail out cash.

2) The next best for me would be a reduction in taxes. I pay over $140,000 a year in property tax alone. But wait a tax reduction isn't coming because the additional revenue is needed to fund this madness. Where do you think the 65% the government is covering is coming from ??? Maybe it's coming from all the profits Amtrak has generated over the last 40 years.

Landrovered, like or or not your just plain wrong. No disrespect, I'd still be happy to meet you on the trail (as long as we don't talk politics)

There is one very important piece of the puzzle that gets taken out with all of this mambo johambo and that is, profit. A company cannot exist without it and a household cannot exsist with out it.

 

[pwp]

PWP

The big question being your form Obama Land is who did you vote for?

Remember its Hope for some and your spare Change for others....

I voted for the elephant

 

[Mike_Rupp]

No it is about pulling together as a country to help each other through the worst economic crisis since '29.

Would it please you somehow to see people stand in bread lines and 25% unemployment. That is what it sounds like to me.

pulling together as a country to help each other = punishing the successful and rewarding the failures and then throwing cocktail parties at the White House to celebrate

What a great idea.

 

[pwp]

Just for the record, I never voted for Blogo either

 

[landrovered]

PWP,

I avoid politics on the trail so no problem there.

I believe there are two camps here. Those that wish to argue about who started the fire, and those that want to put it out.

Profit has not left the planet.

We are still a capitalist society.

These are temporary measures, things will return to normal.

 

[pwp]

Would it please you somehow to see people stand in bread lines and 25% unemployment. That is what it sounds like to me.

No it wouldn't. And by this exact nature you should be upset that the companies that are still viable are being exposed to the type of policies that could bring them down.

Things are bad, so lets f-up stuff thats still running OK, because it will make us feel better. There is no need to look at how it will actually impact anything.

I pay an average of $1200 for healthcare premium for a single employee more for families. If I fire 4 peolpe for lack of performance or lack of work, I enjoy $15,000 of additional expense. There is a reason why you do not need a buisnees degree to be a politician.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

I pay an average of $1200 for healthcare premium for a single employee more for families. If I fire 4 peolpe for lack of performance or lack of work, I enjoy $15,000 of additional expense. There is a reason why you do not need a buisnees degree to be a politician.

thats just the way the new new deal keeps people employed...but dont worry about it, it's just temporary measures:smilelol:

 

[landrovered]

There is a difference between firing someone for performance and laying them off for lack of work.

 

[Chris-St Louis]

Not in the end result.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

There is a difference between firing someone for performance and laying them off for lack of work.

really?...and that pertains to cobra coverage how?

 

[pwp]

There is a difference between firing someone for performance and laying them off for lack of work.

I'll agree, but yet I need to pay 35% regardless, there is no provision for me to discriminate.

So the end result is no, there is no defferance. Can we say UNION YES.