Mad Dog Surrender

HAPPY VETERANS DAY TO OUR BRAVE TROOPS - PAST AND PRESENT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.


No Pay
Up to seven million people may be able to get health policies without paying any premium at all. (NYT editorial, 11/10/2013)

This news has the editors at the Times just giddy with excitement - more people getting things from the government for free. It is, they believe, the way the world should work. 

Do the Math
For instance, a family of four making $59,000 a year could face a choice between a $387 penalty the first year or, in a typical “silver” or midpriced policy offered on the California exchange, a premium of nearly $4,800 after the federal subsidy, with a $4,000 deductible, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation subsidy calculator. There is variation from plan to plan, but the deductible typically would not apply to doctor visits, preventive care, lab tests or generic drugs, although some regular co-payments would apply. (NYT, 11/11/2013)

So for the sake of simplicity, let's assume that the items in the last sentence above cancel out. Ergo, a family of four making 59k would have to incur OVER $700 PER MONTH of medical expenses before it would have made sense for them to have insurance. 

A smart consumer would pay the $387 penalty. If a family member gets sick, they can apply for insurance then. Remember: You cannot be turned down because of a pre-existing condition!!!


Exceedingly
A study set for publication in the December issue of Pediatrics confirms what some of Hollywood’s sharpest critics have suspected: The level of gun violence in the top-selling PG-13 movies has been rising, and it now exceeds that in the most popular R-rated films. (NYT, 11/11/2013)

Here's a question. In light of this study, will the U.S. political party that has received hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars from Hollywood now act to sanction the film industry? Will Hollywood executives be called to testify before Congress?

You know the answer. 

And the next time that there is a mass shooting, that same political party will decry the Second Amendment.