Down, Ballot!

What IS “Obamacare”?

downballot — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:22:21 +0000

Okay people. It seems like there’s an awful lot of talk about health care reform aka “Obamacare”. I hear phrases like “repeal Obamacare”, “unconstitutional Obamacare”, and “job-killing Obamacare.” Why all the huffing and puffing? I plan to find out. I decided it’s about time that I actually read this “Obamacare” / Affordable Health Care Act.

So far, from what I’ve read and a couple of videos I’ve watched, there are some pretty logical aspects of the act. Below are some basics.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. The law puts in place comprehensive health insurance reforms that will roll out over four years and beyond, with most changes taking place by 2014. Others have already begun.

Changes to note:

And here’s a FANTASTIC timeline. Easy to navigate, easy to understand. Love it. Explore the timeline and site at http://www.healthcare.gov. I’m not going to tell you everything, but I will point you in the right direction to read the facts. So there! Just click on the image to get to the site.

Later on, we’ll check out what the insurance exchange website is all about and what government health care means. Stay tuned.

The Jobs Act

downballot — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:09:42 +0000

I’m real big on simple, basic facts. Fact sheets, one pagers, bullet points, and flash cards. (I love flash cards). President Obama’s American Jobs Act is broken down into simple terms here. I truly hope Congress can work this out…perhaps they need flash cards.

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

downballot — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:30:02 +0000

After GOP candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry emphatically stated that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme during September 7th’s GOP debate, I thought I’d “bone” up (I know, so clever) on both definitions. I checked out the Securities and Exchange Commission website (as they have the factual definition of a Ponzi scheme) and read through articles from various newspapers to get the scoop.

And the answer is?…….No. No and NO. It’s not a Ponzi scheme. I don’t think it does the country any good to be throwing around terms like this. Yes, we need to look at the system, but to eliminate it would hurt our seniors.

SEC’s Ponzi Scheme definition: A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk. In many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters focus on attracting new money to make promised payments to earlier-stage investors and to use for personal expenses, instead of engaging in any legitimate investment activity.

Social Security: Basically, people who are paying into it now enable benefits to be paid to those who are receiving social security now. For the past 70 years, payments have never been interrupted to recipients. Are there issues to look at? Yes. And we should. To start, you can read the full (riveting, but informative) government report (which I’m not sure if Perry did) here: “The 2011 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds” (PDF).

Now, on to Galileo…