If "We Take"

Dennis "Ooogo Chavez" Kucinich (D-Ohio) says, "we" should "take" all of the insurance industry's profits to pay for ObamaCare. "If we take that money . . .and put it into care we cover everyone." He sounds like he's trading marbles on the play ground.

Who's "we" and who gives them permission to "take", Denny? Questions for another time.

My question for now is who's right on what it is the HMOs make? Dennis K. says they make $800 billion with a "b" a year. IBD says that all together HMOs only make $13 billion. So according to IBD, total gross profit for all the HMOs is the same as the annual gross profit for WalMart, the same as for Johnson & Johnson. Oracle's gross profit is running at an annual rate of $18 billion. If Dennis K. is right, we can just nationalize the HMOs and pay for everyone. If IBD is right, "we" could "take" 100% of HMO profits over ten years and it wouldn't even pay for a fifth of the Baucus plan.

The Baucus plan in the Senate also would tax HMOs $6 bil. a year, just under half of the HMOs' annual profit (using the IBD figure). HMOs would either have to eat about half of their profits (if IBD is right) or pass the $8 billion on to its customers, thus raising rates.

So which is it--$800 billion or $13 billion?

There's not enough money in the world to pay for this.

Ham & Sue

Wifey, #3 son, and legendary Steelers linebacker Jack Ham, anchor of the Steel Curtain.

At the Penn State game, of course.

So True

"Good economics is horrible politics and good politics is horrible economics."

Craig Smith
CEO, Swiss America on the Cavuto show today

Teabagger Signs

Here are my faves from watching some of the Tea Party coverage out of D.C. yesterday--in no particular order. Man, is some of it harsh:

"No Child Left a Dime"
"You Are Not Entitled to What I Earn"
"Obama Been Lyin'"
"The Constitution: The Other Document They Didn't Read"
"The IRS is 96 Years Old--Let It Die"
"Obama is a Dick-tator"
"Bankrupt America, Yes We Can"
"I'm Not Your ATM"
"NOBAMACARE"
"Change We Can't Afford"
"Karl Marx is Not a Founding Father"
"Bury ObamaCare with Kennedy"

My personal favorite. . . .
"Chains We Can Believe In"

There he goes again. . . .

Which is the BS statement in Barry O'B's speech? That part that he wants to work together to come up with a solution? Or that part where he blames the problem on the previous administration and the greedy insurance executives and then calls people who disagree with him liars?

Can't have it both ways, dude. Tho, it's certainly not the first time you've talked out of both sides of your mouth.



Thanks, John.

Taxing Effect

Start with a dollar, double it every day ($1, $2, $4, $8. . .) and you'll be a millionaire sometime after lunch 20 days later.

Do the same thing, but this time pay a daily 35% income tax and in 20 days you will have a whopping $22,371. That's no typo--$22,371 versus $1,048,576.

What lessons should we learn from that?