The current proposals to reform health insurance will include massive new tax burdens placed on the American people, a tax burden to the tune of $500 billion dollars over the next 10 years.

Let’s breakdown some of the proposed tax increases..

1. 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500/$23,000 ($149.1 billion)
2. Employer W-2 reporting of value of health (negligible revenue effect)
3. Conform definition of medical expenses ($5.0 billion)
4. Increase penalty for nonqualified health savings account distributions to 20% ($1.3 billion)
5. Limit health flexible spending arrangements in cafeteria plans to $2,500 ($14.6 billion)
6. Require information reporting on payments to corporations ($17.1 billion)
7. Additional requirements for section 501(c)(3) hospitals (negligible revenue effects)
8. Impose annual fee on manufacturers & importers of branded drugs ($22.2 billion)
9. Impose annual fee on manufacturers & importers of medical devices ($19.3 billion)
10. Impose annual fee on health insurance providers ($60.4 billion)
11. Study and report of effect on veterans health care (no revenue effect)
12. Eliminate deduction for expenses allocable to Medicare Part D subsidy ($5.4 billion)
13. Raise 7.5% AGI floor on medical expenses deduction to 10% ($15.2 billion)
14. $500,000 deduction limitation on taxable year remuneration to health insurance officials ($0.6 billion)
15. Additional 0.5% hospital insurance tax on wages > $200,000 ($250,000 joint) ($53.8 billion)
16. Modification of section 833 treatment of certain health organizations ($0.4 billion)
17. Impose 5% excise tax on cosmetic surgery ($5.8 billion) link

Many of these tax increases will simply be passed directly to the policy holder in the form of higher premiums. This debunks the  assertion that only the rich will be soaked to pay for this severely flawed reform.

These new taxes are only the beginning, as the push for more sin taxes will be the next on the agenda. In addition to the “tan tax” and “tobacco tax”, we are seeing a push for new taxes on soda, beer, wine and liquor, as well as taxes on candy and other sugary food products.  Where does it all end? How about the fat tax? Or, perhaps we need a cholesterol tax? Haven’t  we had enough of this nonsense?

The only way the Obama administration can meet it’s commitment of making this reform deficit neutral is to increase taxes to the tune of $1.25 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The idea that we can save $700 billion dollars by eliminating waste and fraud, in addition to cutting Medicare/Medicaid, is truly laughable and clearly a scam.

The Joint Committee on Taxation has released several informative PDFs regarding these new taxes. Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Manager’s Amendment To The Revenue Provisions Contained In The “Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act”. link

We must stand up now and say no to these unreasonable taxes, especially to fund this flawed and dangerous piece of legislation.

Haven’t we all been Taxed Enough Already?

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The first thing our “Homeland Security” Secretary did was to freeze ICE.

Freezing ICE

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered a review of the ICE raid in Bellingham, WA. The New York Times reports “A high-level official in the Department of Homeland Security said that Ms. Napolitano had not been informed about the raid on Tuesday before it happened, and that she was seeking details about its planning and scope. ‘She was not happy about it because it’s inconsistent with her position, and the president’s position on these matters,’ ” This is the chance for the new administration to set policy for ICE based on the administration’s professed positions and values. link

Chalk this up as another broken promise from Obama, who said during the campaign that he would hold employers responsible for using illegal labor at the expense of American workers.

Then he appoints the incompetent open borders advocate “Janet Napolitano” as head of homeland security. Yeah, I fell a lot safer with her at the helm. If we can’t have workplace enforcement, we can’t end illegal immigration, which is just the opposite of the REAL agenda that is at work here, which is amnesty.

Ending E-Verify, a program that is 99.5% accurate is the next step these so called “leaders” will try. It’s pretty sad and pathetic policy on the part of Napolitano, especially during this time of high unemployment and a sinking economy.

Next, she identifies patriots, such as returning soldiers, as “Right-Wing Extremists“, while ignoring the true threat of radical Islamic Jihadists, referring to terrorist acts  as  “man-made disasters”.

Now, in the wake of a Christmas day terrorist attack, Napolitano stated “the system worked”.  Only after she realized how utterly ridiculous her statement was did she backtrack her remarks and reverse her position.

At this point, how can anyone, including the left, support her continuing in the position of Homeland Security Secretary? She is clearly not up to the job and she never has been. This is just another example of a flawed appointment by the Obama administration and she should be forced out of this extremely important post.

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One of the most disturbing developments that has arisen out of the health care debate is how everyone appears to be on-board with the idea that insurance companies must now cover anyone with a pre-existing condition. What is being downplayed, or forgotten, is the fact that all citizens must be forced into purchasing health insurance if we require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. These two choices are not mutually exclusive. You simply can’t have one without the other and maintain a viable insurance system.

So, what’s the problem you ask? Well, aside from the obvious financial issues, requiring every U.S. citizen to purchase health insurance, or anything else for that matter, is unconstitutional on it’s face. The argument that everyone must carry liability insurance on their vehicles doesn’t hold water. I have a choice as to whether or not I choose to purchase a vehicle.  Many choose not to own a vehicle and those people are not required to carry insurance. This is the key difference. No one will have any choice in the matter of health insurance. All citizens would be required to purchase health insurance or have the I.R.S. come after their property, or worse yet, toss them in prison.

Where are the so called “conservatives” on this issue? Well, most of the GOP are on-board with these mandates, although they don’t use those words. They simply parrot the “cover pre-existing conditions” mantra while ignoring the other side of the equation, individual mandates.

If you want to understand why independents, libertarians and conservatives are running away from the GOP, look no further than this single pivot point in the health care debate. Those who still believe in liberty, freedom and personal responsibility are outraged by the idea of individual mandates. We see these mandates for what they really are, an attempt to control every aspect of our lives. It can be argued that every action we take can affect one’s heath and armed with these arguments, those who seek control will have a huge stick with which to force the citizenry into conformity, so as to benefit the collective.

I would suggest that before anyone jumps on the “pre-existing conditions”  bandwagon, they consider the other side of the equation, which is individual mandates. Consider carefully what this actually means to your liberty and your freedom. Take a close look at all politicians who are supporting these mandates, especially those holding themselves up as conservatives.

The neocons are still on the march.

Further reading on individual mandates can be found here.

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Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year

A

A

or

A

A

So what lovely ornaments will shine on this years White House Christmas tree? How about these three: one displays a picture of Chinese Communist leader/murderer, Mao Tse-tung, one displays a Christian-friendly drag queen, and one displays an Obama head shot on Mount Rushmore.  If you had any questions about it, these infiltrators will turn America into a full-blown communist nation unless you say

“NO TO THUGS”

Mao The Murderer

Drag Queen

Mount Obamamore

I guess it’s getting bad for the U.S. Federal Government when its own employees, over 275,000 of them, own the irs over $3.0 billion. There not much to elaborate on except that it goes to show that even the fed’s loyal employees don’t want to pay up. The departments represented in the delinquencies are vast.  Here is a link to the document. Enjoy.

CIVILIAN / MILITARY / RETIREE SUMMARY REPORT
(More than 25 Employees)
Dept/Agency/Category	Taxpayer Count1	Tax Year (Module) Count1	Balance Owed1	Population as of 9/30/084	Delinquency Rate5
Executive Departments
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE	2,166	4,003	$17,112,836	104,837	2.07%
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE	5,776	12,281	$47,004,271	177,920	3.25%
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY	10,787	22,296	$81,526,663	286,639	3.76%
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE	1,278	2,680	$14,954,710	42,661	3.00%
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE	4,259	8,955	$34,505,000	134,973	3.16%
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION	156	330	$1,695,008	4,335	3.60%
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY	325	615	$5,518,527	15,448	2.10%
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SVCS	2,924	6,172	$33,959,222	75,655	3.86%
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY	4,534	8,089	$35,469,156	176,627	2.57%
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEV	396	875	$4,759,940	9,781	4.05%
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR	1,692	3,065	$14,941,008	73,891	2.29%
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE	1,941	3,311	$13,359,855	108,340	1.79%
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR	447	1,024	$7,321,026	15,373	2.91%
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY	6,698	14,223	$61,126,040	222,692	3.01%
DEPARTMENT OF STATE	357	729	$2,786,989	11,386	3.14%
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION	1,257	2,247	$22,477,172	55,388	2.27%
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY	1,151	1,839	$6,987,629	116,989	0.98%
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS	10,915	24,560	$131,297,657	278,926	3.91%
Independent Agencies and Other Offices
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE US COURTS	745	1,500	$9,549,207	33,271	2.24%
ADVISORY CNCL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATN	5	12	$37,948	54	9.26%
AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION	X	3	X	49	X
ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME	11	25	$149,607	280	3.93%
BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS	72	139	$473,010	1,764	4.08%
CMTE FOR PURCH FRM PEPL BLIND OR SEV DIS	X	X	X	30	X
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMM	13	29	$172,985	486	2.67%
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION	12	29	$157,460	435	2.76%
CORP FOR NATL AND CMNTY SERVICE	20	38	$101,403	566	3.53%
COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER SUPERV A	62	119	$459,058	1,186	5.23%
DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BD	0	0	$-	93	0.00%
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY	527	1,101	$5,826,833	18,247	2.89%
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT	50	88	$812,917	1,706	2.93%
EXPORT IMPORT BANK OF THE US	14	36	$294,893	361	3.88%
FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION	5	6	$19,664	263	1.90%
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION	50	127	$544,917	1,822	2.74%
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORP	108	206	$1,097,573	4,939	2.19%
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION	15	31	$159,062	367	4.09%
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD	X	X	X	137	X
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY	9	15	$76,204	125	7.20%
FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION	3	9	$29,663	119	2.52%
FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SVC	4	4	$345	250	1.60%
FED MINE SAFETY & HEALTH REVIEW COMM	3	9	$9,825	44	6.82%
FEDERAL RESERVE SYS BD OF GOVERNORS	81	195	$1,065,648	1,873	4.32%
FED RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BD	4	11	$27,123	75	5.33%
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION	22	47	$199,054	1,122	1.96%
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION	388	830	$4,451,533	11,958	3.24%
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE	83	153	$863,137	3,119	2.66%
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE	150	464	$2,166,939	2,383	6.29%
INST OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES	X	8	X	95	X
INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION	X	3	X	41	X
INTL BNDRY & WATER COMM: US & MEXICO	9	13	$10,840	246	3.66%
MEDICARE PAYMENT ADVISORY COMMISSION	X	X	X	48	X
MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD	6	14	$61,592	214	2.80%
MILLENIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION	9	11	$21,582	302	2.98%
MORRIS K UDALL SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION	X	X	X	45	X
NATL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMIN	325	609	$4,283,839	18,562	1.75%
NATL ARCHIVES AND REC ADMIN	93	175	$497,419	3,139	2.96%
NATL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION	5	10	$26,947	48	10.42%
NATL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION	15	21	$57,759	946	1.59%
NATL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS	4	21	$119,021	177	2.26%
NATL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES	5	14	$165,794	182	2.75%
NATL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD	57	108	$566,154	1,643	3.47%
NATL MEDIATION BOARD	0	0	$-	48	0.00%
NATL SCIENCE FOUNDATION	57	128	$449,892	1,410	4.04%
NATL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD	12	18	$37,079	402	2.99%
OCCUP SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMM	X	X	X	55	X
OFFICE OF NAVAJO AND HOPI INDIAN	0	0	$-	45	0.00%
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT	163	354	$2,412,123	5,855	2.78%
OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORP	3	10	$146,263	205	1.46%
PEACE CORPS	35	40	$88,384	826	4.24%
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORP	46	98	$366,100	893	5.15%
PRESIDIO TRUST	7	21	$702,588	334	2.10%
RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD	32	99	$503,392	965	3.32%
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMM	93	185	$979,932	3,631	2.56%
SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM	5	11	$70,942	181	2.76%
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION	237	426	$1,899,971	4,829	4.91%
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION	254	567	$2,230,732	4,951	5.13%
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION	1,913	3,847	$16,426,239	63,990	2.99%
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY	277	582	$5,943,936	11,688	2.37%
US AGENCY FOR INTL DEVELOPMENT	103	205	$1,202,766	2,550	4.04%
US CHEM SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATN BD	X	4	X	36	X
US COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS	4	6	$18,507	56	7.14%
US ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION	4	5	$33,272	47	8.51%
US EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPRTNTY COMM	94	173	$639,643	2,205	4.26%
US HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM	8	20	$57,922	193	4.15%
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	447	890	$5,809,631	10,711	4.17%
US INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION	8	15	$37,847	376	2.13%
US NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM	68	125	$623,368	4,080	1.67%
US OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS	X	3	X	77	X
US OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL	9	9	$17,627	104	8.65%
US POSTAL SERVICE	28,913	63,396	$297,933,756	732,113	3.95%
US SENATE	231	424	$2,469,026	7,235	3.19%
US TAX COURT	3	9	$39,752	210	1.43%
US-CHINA ECON SEC REVIEW COMM	X	X	X	28	X
VALLES CALDERA TRUST	X	X	X	46	X
OTHER2	4,123	7,551	$49,529,415
Total Civilians:3	97,200	202,000	$962,100,000	2,890,400
Military
ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY	27,111	38,824	$102,474,672	1,444,108	1.88%
MILITARY RESERVES/GUARDS	29,069	51,624	$198,541,636	1,288,239	2.26%
Retirees
CIVILIAN RETIRED	41,013	92,356	$435,579,961	1,873,372	2.19%
MILITARY RETIRED	81,905	227,449	$1,343,538,055	2,161,566	3.79%
Grand Total:	276,300	613,000	$3,042,200,000	9,657,000
Notes:
1Includes all balance due and potential nonfiler accounts, excluding those accounts in installment agreement status.
2Includes employees of federal agencies that do not submit workforce information to the OPM Central Personnel Data File (CPDF).
Generally includes employees of the legislative branch (other than the Government Printing Office) and intelligence agencies.
Data is obtained through an annual match of internal W-2 records, where available.
3Civilian totals include those agencies with 25 or less employees which are not listed above.
4For those civilian agencies that make submissions to the OPM CPDF, populations counts are from Sept. 2008. To account for
agencies that do not submit to the CPDF, the source for Total Civilians is Office of Personnel Mgmt (OPM) Employment and Trends,
Table 9 (Federal Civilian Employment and Payroll by Branch, Selected Agency, and Area, September 2008) plus DoD Defense
Manpower Data Center (DMDC) Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) Organization Report (Nov. 2008). Total Federal Civilian
Employment includes Legislative, Judicial and Executive Branches and DoD NAF employees. This figure exceeds the sum of the
individual agencies shown since agencies with no delinquent employees and agencies with 25 or less employees are not shown.
Total Treasury is sum of Treasury bureaus(excluding IRS) from CPDF (Sept. 2008) and IRS Staffing by Business Unit as of
Sept. 27, 2008, Workforce Information Reports. Military population counts were provided by DMDC. Civilian retired population was
provided by OPM Retirement & Insurance Services, Budget & Administrative Services Division.
5Delinquency rate equals Taxpayer Count divided by Population.
X = value <3; associated $ values and totals blurred

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So, China is the world’s largest polluting country. More than likely, the U.S. and other developed countries have precipitated this by moving manufacturing overseas to reduce their cost of doing business. The policies of the U.S. Federal government have placed such a financial burden on the U.S. manufacturing sector that it remains difficult to operate profitably.  Even though China would have remained a super-third-world nation and employment in the U.S. would have suffered much less, the benefit of this manufacturing relocation, in the eyes of the Chinese government, is non-existent and they say we have caused them to become the largest polluting country in the world. What the heck did the Chinese expect when they opened up their doors to the manufacturing world in an attempt to lift their country from their third world status? They had to of known the implications of their decisions in this regard, yet they expect to remain fiscally unaccountable for remedying the problem they helped create.

So this week at the Copenhagen conference, China and other third-world (and developing) countries are declaring a boycott until developed nations, like the U.S. and Britain, pay for the proposed wealth distribution outlined in the IPCC mandate. An AP story today, gives some insight into what these developed countries expect from this agreement.

China, India and other developing nations boycotted U.N. climate talks Monday, bringing negotiations to a halt with their demand that rich countries discuss much deeper cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions.

The move disrupted the 192-nation conference and forced the cancellation of formal working groups, delaying the frantic work of negotiators trying to resolve technical issues before the arrival of more than 110 world leaders later this week.

and

The boycott was largely seen as a ploy to shift the agenda to the responsibilities of the industrial countries and make emissions reductions the first item for discussion.

While this is certainly mere posturing on the part of China and India, it stills shows the rift that lies between modernized and developing nations. These countries’ governments are not willing to commit themselves financially to a problem that they take no responsibility for. However, the bottom-line is -  they want to pollute while we pay for it. Confirmation of this comes from a quote from a participant at Copenhagen

Gustavo Silva-Chavez, a climate change specialist with the Environmental Defense Fund. “They want to make sure that developed countries are not left off the hook.”

Apparently, in an attempt to circumvent this dissent among developing nations, the White House announced an international effort to help these developing nations create greenhouse gas-free energy.

the White House announced a new program drawing funds from international partners to spend $350 million over five years to give developing nations clean energy technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions

The program will distribute solar power alternatives for homes, including sun-powered lanterns, supply cleaner equipment and appliances and work to develop renewable energy systems in the world’s poorer nations.

So the entire agenda of the developing countries is same as the overall goals of the unelected and unaccountable world government body, the U.N. Whether it’s wealth transference from country to country or individual to individual, it’s still socialism. So, if the socialists’ ploy in your own government is not well received by its citizens, it will get its “Big Brother”, the U.N,. to furthers its goals.

So, whether it’s coming from communist China or the Marxist-lite Obama administration, their end goals are the same:

Provide social and economic justice to those who have suffered from capitalism and wealth distribution to those who demonize capitalism.

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A Call to Action
The Time is Now
By
Robert A. Bonelli

Most polls show that the majority of Americans do not want the healthcare insurance reform that was recently passed by the House and is currently being debated on the floor of the Senate.  Most independent studies show that current legislation will not only do little to lower premiums but will most likely raise the cost of healthcare insurance.  Most experts on both sides of the issue point to an increase in the national debt to pay for what is little more than a grab for power and a reduction in personal freedom.   None of these facts matter to the Democrats in Congress.  They continue to press forward and have simply tuned out the American people!

What can we do?  Write letters to the senators who are debating now, in hopes that they will actually listen? No! They are not going to listen.  They have no respect for the American people.

So what do we do?  We launch a grass roots effort across the nation and we do it now.  I urge everyone to call, write or e-mail their local newspaper, radio station, television station and network affiliate.  If our voices combine and grow louder and louder, these news outlets will be forced to report the sound of a nation screaming, “We don’t want this and we will not be quiet while our freedom is taken by elected officials who are betraying their oath to support and defend the constitution!”

We need to begin immediately and act relentlessly.  Call, write, e-mail and pressure all of your nearest news outlets and tell them that you will not stand for this grab of our freedom!

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