DarkStar Spouts Off

Maine Does Health Care

Maine Finds a Health Care Fix Elusive

Maine’s history is a cautionary tale for national health reform. The state could never figure out how to slow the spiraling increase in medical costs, hobbling its efforts to offer more people insurance coverage. Many on Capitol Hill have criticized national reform legislation for similarly doing little to tame costs.

To Ms. Snowe, Maine’s past shows that change, while needed, should be incremental because mistakes are common. This is among the reasons she opposes an immediate public insurance option. “I mentioned to the president that people can’t digest everything at once,” she said in an interview.

To conservatives, Maine proves that government efforts to strictly regulate the nation’s health insurance market are doomed. Many of the reform proposals circulating on Capitol Hill have already been tried in Maine.

“These reforms are very well-intentioned, but in reality they have yet to produce the promised results or even be financially sustainable,” said Tarren R. Bragdon, chief executive of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative research organization in Portland.

A state does some of the same things that congress wants to do, and the costs still rise, yet congress says these are the things that will bring down costs?

You've Been Jacked By The State

This is just wrong.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change.

Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less.

This is straight UP gangsta!

Who is to say the state won't issue an IOU on your refund?

Think HARD About This: What Company ISN'T Govt Regulated?

Think very hard about the question I'll pose after this:

The Federal Reserve joined the Treasury Department on Thursday in imposing new limits on executive pay, extending the government's control over compensation at taxpayer-owned companies to institutions that are merely government regulated.

What business ISN'T government regulated?

After years of setting minimum wages, the government is now telling some companies how they should structure pay for those who run them.

Do you think this won't trickle down?

Pension Ticking Time Bomb

Steep Losses Pose Crisis for Pensions

The financial crisis has blown a hole in the rosy forecasts of pension funds that cover teachers, police officers and other government employees, casting into doubt as never before whether these public systems will be able to keep their promises to future generations of retirees.

The upheaval on Wall Street has deluged public pension systems with losses that government officials and consultants increasingly say are insurmountable unless pension managers fundamentally rethink how they pay out benefits or make money or both.

Within 15 years, public systems on average will have less half the money they need to pay pension benefits, according to an analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Other analysts say funding levels could hit that low within a decade.

After losing about $1 trillion in the markets, state and local governments are facing a devil's choice: Either slash retirement benefits or pursue high-return investments that come with high risk.

What makes anyone think public retirees will accept having their benefits cut?

The urgent need for outsize returns by these vast public pension funds, which must hit high investment targets year after year to keep pace with rising retirement costs, is in turn fueling a renewed appetite for risk on Wall Street.

Before the crisis, many public pension funds had experimented with risky trading techniques or committed more of their money to hedge funds and other nontraditional firms, which in turn invested some of it in complex mortgage securities. When these melted down, pension funds got burned.

Now, facing an even bigger funding gap, some systems are investing in the same securities, betting that a rebound in their value will generate huge returns.

"The amount that needs to be made up is enormous," said Peter Austin, executive director of BNY Mellon Pension Services. "Frankly, they are forced to continue their allocation in these high-return asset classes because that's their only hope."

Some pension experts say the funding gap has become so great that no investment strategy can close it and that taxpayers will have to cover the massive bill.

This just makes me want to crawl into a hole, assume the fetal position, grab a teddy, and go to sleep.

No matter how much I save, I'm going to be broke because of high taxes.

Your 401(k) Looks Bad Now?

Does your 401(K) or 403(B) look bad now?

What happens when the baby boomers start retiring and shifting money, if they haven't already done it, from stocks into bonds and money markets?

Interesting Money Links

Here are two links concerning money that I came across today.

Study: Bernanke, Paulson misled public on bailouts

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. misled the public about the financial weakness of Bank of America and other early recipients of the government's $700 billion Wall Street bailout, creating "unrealistic expectations" about the companies and damaging the program's credibility, according to a report by the program's independent watchdog.

The federal government last October loaned Bank of America and eight other "healthy" financial institutions a total of $125 billion - the initial payout from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP - in an attempt to avoid a series of major bank collapses that would push the sputtering economy into a free fall or depression.

Well,.... DUH!!!!! Who DIDN'T think there were lies told about this mess?

The Demise of the Dollar

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

This has been discussed by people for years. The question is, will it happen?

A Big Ole Company Town

The word of the day is that Detroit is about to be declared financially insolvent.

That is to be expected when a company town like Detroit, loses the company that keeps it running. In this case, the company is "The Big 3" and the businesses that support them. A city or town facing bankruptcy is the norm when the company closes.

So, what is with the political rhetoric blaming Democrats for Detroit's failure?

More later, ...

New Drawers, End Of Hard Times?

OK, I found this to be funny.

Here's the theory, briefly: Sales of men's underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip.

"It's a prolonged purchase," said Marshal Cohen, senior analyst with the consumer research firm NPD Group. "It's like trying to drive your car an extra 10,000 miles."

The growth in sales of men's underwear began to slow last year as the recession took hold, according to Mintel, another research firm. This year, Mintel expects sales to fall 2.3 percent, the first drop since the company started collecting data in 2003.

But the men's underwear index may also have a silver lining. Mintel predicts that next year, men's underwear sales will fall by 0.5 percent, and as with many economic indicators, a slowing of a decline can be welcomed as a step in the right direction. Retailers are reporting encouraging signs in the men's underwear department. Sears spokeswoman Amy Dimond said stores are beginning to see more sales. At Target, spokeswoman Jana O'Leary said sales of men's underwear have been stronger over the past two months and multi-pair packs are moving.

Even if it is false, this is still funny.

Let Them Eat Eat Cake, Or Fly Coach

The quote of lore, "Let them eat cake," allegedly was said by Marie Antoinette when she was told that the French peasants had no flour and were starving. It is said this was one of the factors leading to the French Revolution.

Well, "Let's buy more planes," I hope, is the final straw that will cause a wholesale replacement of all members of congress:

WASHINGTON -- Bipartisan opposition is emerging in the Senate to a plan by House lawmakers to spend $550 million for additional passenger jets for senior government officials.

The resistance to buying eight Gulfstream and Boeing planes comes as members of both chambers of Congress embark on the busiest month of the year for official overseas travel. The plan to upgrade the fleet of government jets, which was included in a broader defense-funding bill, has also sparked criticism from the Pentagon, which has said it doesn't need half of the new jets.

A man can dream, can't he?

The Next [Sub]Urban Realty Crisis

There are many retail stores closing every day. This, of course, affects the malls these stores are located in. We have already seen the trouble some of the major mall owners such as General Growth Properties has had. I've often wondered what is going to happen to the old malls that retail store wants to be in and no one wants to shop at. In some cases, the malls have been purchased by churches and redeveloped into secular funding streams or turned into larger churches. In other cases, the malls are purchased by other companies and redeveloped.

But I wondered what would happen to the malls that no one wants. Would cities/counties/states condemn the properties and let it stand? Would they condemn and bulldoze and turn them into huge parking lots, recreational fields or housing?

With the next financial mess in realty being realty companies that own malls and business properties, I think we will see sooner than later.

Government Insurance "Care"

Maryland cuts in Medicare

The board approved cuts, proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, $75 million in cuts in Medicaid reimbursements that will now be covered by federal matching funds as the state unemployment rate grows, as well as another $34 million in reductions in Medicaid payments to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers.

...

Nancy Fiedler, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Hospital Association, said the group, representing the state’s major medical providers, is concerned about the state’s recent budget cuts, “and even more concerned” about additional cuts O’Malley could make prior to Labor Day.

“This round of cuts limits the number of days a Medicaid patient can stay in the hospital,” Fiedler told IFAwebnews.com. “That falls disproportionately on hospitals that care for the greatest number of Medicaid patients and patients who are often the sickest patients. “

She noted that hospitals that can least afford it, including Bon Secours and Prince George’s Medical Center, are “already in extremely fragile financial condition.”

“It is important to remember that every dollar cut in Medicaid results in program reductions of $2, because the federal government matches the state contribution dollar for dollar,” she said.

Emphasis mine. I need to point out two things.

First, when companies were rushing women out of the hospital after having a baby, people strongly objected. Now look at what the government is doing. Second, you know that O'Malley and company KNOW what their cuts mean for federal funding.

A Query Concerning Health Care

A family member of yours is in the hospital with terminal cancer. This family member wants to come home to spend his last days. To be blunt, he wants to die at home, not at the hospital.

Meanwhile, because the cancer is terminal and nearing the last stages, the hospital wants to stop dialysis treatments and medicate for the pain. In fact, they tell you they will no longer provide the treatments because it is too expensive. But, they won't release him because he needs dialysis treatments.

Catch-22.

You work it out and your family member is now at home. He does a few treatments and finally passes one morning with family around him praying for him.

Now change one word in the second paragraph. Substitute government for hospital.

Meanwhile, because the cancer is terminal and nearing the last stages, the government wants to stop dialysis treatments and medicate for the pain. In fact, they tell you they will no longer provide the treatments because it is too expensive. But, they won't release him because he needs dialysis treatments.

Does it make a difference?

You Want Gov't To "Fix" Health Care?

You want the government to "fix" health care?

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.

Democrats will work on the bill’s details next week as they struggle through “what kind of heartburn” it will cause to agree on how to pay for revamping the health-care system, Rangel, a New York Democrat, said today. The measure’s cost is reaching well beyond the $634 billion President Barack Obama proposed in his budget request to Congress as a 10-year down payment for the policy changes.

Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.” Some Senate Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, say the costs will likely exceed $1.5 trillion.

I say leave it alone. This is the nonsense that is going to get our economy further in trouble and get Democrats kicked out, but the only hope then would be a "real" "third party" option.

Death Of Capitalism

OK, this pisses me off. This is just the first step towards government controlling pay of the entire private sector.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee said Thursday the administration's efforts to hector the private sector into reining in executive pay might not go far enough.

The administration contends that excessive compensation contributed to the U.S. financial crisis, but rejects direct intervention in corporate pay decisions.

Instead, the administration plans to seek legislation that would try to rein in compensation at publicly traded companies through nonbinding shareholder votes and less management influence on pay decisions.

"I do differ with the administration in that hope springs eternal and their position seems to be that if we strengthen the compensation committees we will do better," said the committee chairman, Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat.

Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat, said that instead of giving shareholders a nonbinding voice on pay, their votes should be binding on boards of directors.

This is the first step towards the march to regulate EVERYONE's pay, not just "CEO's". How many times have you heard people saying that "so and so occupations" shouldn't make more than "so and so occupations"?

This is some bullhist!

Media Money

I have a very simple question to ask, one that I want you to ponder.

If newspapers are in financial trouble, allegedly, because of liberal leanings, why is it that radio stations across the country, including radio stations that play popular music, are also in financial trouble?

And don't they all depend on advertising which is down, across the board, all over the country?

Government Motors Goes Bankrupt, Part 2

I wrote that GM should go into bankruptcy to get the opportunity to relieve them of the obligations they currently have. Even though this appears to be happening on Monday -- I'm writing this Sunday evening -- I don't like that fact that it is happening in the way that it is happening.

Normally, a company goes into bankruptcy based on the decision of the executive leaders, sometimes a company goes into bankruptcy because an investor or group of investors, forces the company to go into bankruptcy. And although the government is now part owner of GM, I still think it is wrong for the government to force GM into bankruptcy and under the conditions that it is doing so.

First, anyone who believes in the U.S. version of capitalism, even if they have problems with it, should really have a problem with bond holders and common stock holders being placed at the end of the line to get paid. Additionally, since when should the government force a company to give a large equity stake in the company to the employees or VERY worse yet, to major unions of the company?

Even though bankruptcy is the major "get out of financial jail" reset card, having the company work out its deals with its creditors, with a government judge overseeing it is one thing. Having THE GOVERNMENT force the deals is quite another and this IS a major blow against capitalism as the U.S. practices it.

But, once again, it's the executive board of GM that approved GM asking the government for the money and then accepting the money. Again, I remember a saying by some communist who said that communists didn't have to defeat capitalism, all they had to do was provide enough rope for the capitalists to buy so that they hang themselves.

That's how I see it.

[ UPDATE ]

I forget to mention something very important. When the government put the union and the government, itself, in front of the bond holders, the government, essentially, destroyed the underpinnings of the stock market.

Government Motors Goes Bankrupt, Part 1

The initial question is, what was the original auto company bailout money for if GM goes bankrupt any way? If I were a cynical person, I'd say the initial bailout was intended to get the government hooks into GM so that the government could dictate to GM to build "Smart like" cars and stop building Suburbans.

Of course, then the question would be, how could a family of four do grocery shopping in a midget car?

GM should have never taken the money. The sitting CEO, CFO,  President, and the entire board needs to be sued by stock holders for being irresponsible in the area of fiduciary responsibility.

Ray Dee Oh, Part 2

The Radio Bizness

Radio stations currently pay royalties for the records they play to publishing companies. So, why shouldn't they pay royalties to the artists?

Fundamentally, that's the question that I keep coming around to answering, they should pay royalties to the artists, because that is part of a copyright scenario, correct?

This is especially true when I think about the radio stations/personalities caught engaging in payola and the companies NOT caught engaging in payola. Tom Joyner, a business partner with Radio One, and Larry Young, a morning talk show host on WOLB, a Radio One station, have done a great job in explaining how this will affect radio stations. While I understand that the royalty rates may put radio stations out of business, and I understand how radio stations may not be willing to "break new artists" because they will pay royalties for songs that may be a bomb, aren't radio stations getting a real good deal right now?

When things were going well, they played "hot songs" and put on radio personalities that did a good job and were able to charge decent advertising rates. Now things are not going as well, and the radio stations are put behind a rock and a hard place.

Does the estate of Mary Wells deserve to get some royalty money? Yes.
Isn't it the record company's responsibility to pay that royalty? Yes.

Why aren't they doing it now?

BTW, a few years ago I found out why there are not many raps with Motown songs used in the mix. The reason is, Barry Gordy charges one of the highest, if not the highest, licensing fees in the industry to use songs in the Motown catalog. Ain't Barry Gordy ripping people off, STILL?

Email Comments Are Me

Some recent comments I've made in email. It's related to the Tea Parties that happened today:

The "rich" will pay to shield their resources. Meanwhile, level that  determines "the rich" will be  lowered and lowered and lowered until you get hit. The AMT is hitting people it was, it was said, never intending to hit.

...

The president can't get the economy going. People, who will get this economy going, are doing the things needed to make sure their balance books are sound. They are reigning in spending and cutting debt.

Two people who I know who invest in real estate, hunkered down about 3 years ago and are now just focusing on property management vs. buy, fix, and flip. Others are trying to get other streams of income, not for spending, but to spend down debt and/or build up savings.

[ I'm buying a foreclosed home to live in. A cousin brought a home at auction to fix up and rent. So, I guess we are going against the grain ]

There is SO much waste that I see ... that I *KNOW* that having the government confiscate more money from me to "help the economy" is not going to help me, or the economy. It will help the politician who says he's responsible for the pork and it will help the people it goes to.

This is the 2nd round of tea parties. The first time happened after TARP 1. And, yes, some of it is driven by Obama hatred. But, damn it, the spending going on now, and started by Bush, is obscene.

In another:

Cut spending. I don't mean cut the growth of spending, I mean. Cut. Spending. Ax wasteful programs.
Veto every damn thing with earmarks/pork/sweeteners/graft/bribes...

And yet another:

Government "funds" some program for the states. But they only "fund" it X years. After that, the funding from the federal government ceases. Does the state end it then, or continue to "fund' it, and if
it is the latter, which it always seems to be, how does the state "fund" it?

Tax increases.

Who pays the taxes?

The government funding is making it WORSE in the long run.

Think about it this way. You owe money on a credit card. Instead of paying it off, you keep transferring the balance to another credit card, meanwhile you are charging the new credit card. At SOME point, the debt [ has to get ] paid.

I had tea with my lunch.

Stop The "Socialist!" Whining

If you haven't been complaining about socialist policies of the following, stop the socialist whining.

• Subsidies to farmers to grow crops.
• Subsidies to farmers to NOT grow crops.
• Subsidies to farmers to cull diary herds to keep diary product prices "reasonable."
• Subsidies to sugar cane growers and processors to keep sugar prices "reasonable."
• Subsidies to corn growers for corn suitable for ethanol production.
• Subsidies to businesses to expand overseas markets.
• Government requirements on public and private schools which receive government money.
• Car companies being required to:
• • Produce cars with seat belts
  • Produce cars that can't use leaded gasoline
  • Produce cars that face an additional tax if they don't meet arbitrary mileage "standards"
  • Produce cars that meet emissions standards
•  Government subsidies to developers to develop land for whatever use.

GM Forced Restructuring

I forgot to mention that I agree with some people who are saying the government forcing GM to make the moves that it is now making, is really starting to look like a company undergoing bankruptcy restructuring without it legally filing for bankruptcy.

Government Money: Something To Think About

When farmers, colleges/universities, or non-profits receive government money, those entities cannot operate however they wish to operate. They must operate within the bounds set by the government since they receive government money.

So, although I agree that the president should not be able to fire the executive team of a publicly traded company, it falls in line with the current strings attached to government financing. So, again, why all of the fuss?

Here's My Thing...

Here's my thing, if GM accepted the money from the government, then as a major investor, the government gets to call some shots, no matter how distasteful it may be:

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.

The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce measures to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more.

Again, I have to make the comment about publicly traded companies. Shouldn't the board members of publicly traded companies, and the share holders of the companies, be the people who hold the officers of the companies accountable? And if they haven't done their jobs, and the officers go to a venture capitalist, and the VC holds the officers accountable, then what is the problem?

MD Can't Get Slots, So Instead "We" Should Run A Race Track?

Maryland politicians screwed up slots legislation to the point where there were less bids than available slots locations. One slots location received no bids. Even with that, two bidders were thrown out because they didn't provide the required fee which they, the bidders, claimed wasn't guarenteed to be returned if they did not get slots bid.

It's a major mess.

So, even after that, politicians in Maryland are saying they may grab "The Preakness" name  and then run a horse racing track.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said today he would be open to holding a special session of the General Assembly if legislation is needed to ensure the Preakness Stakes stays in Maryland.

The lawmaker, a staunch supporter of horse racing, has been talking in recent days about the possibility of the state taking over the race in case its owner, the bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., seeks to sell the rights to an out-of-state buyer.

"It’s not only a matter of pride, it’s a matter of economic development," Miller said. "The question is do you want the Preakness run in Florida or California? Or even worse do you want the Preakness run in West Virginia or Delaware?"

Miller needs to be tested for crack. And Maryland politicians, as a group, suck.

If It Costs $5 to Make But Only Sells for $1, Why Make?

My question for the day is, if it takes $5.00 to make a gadget that, last month, was selling for $6.00, but this month is selling for $1.00 because of market forces, would YOU continue to make the gadget? I wouldn't. The same goes for oil exploration:

The number of oil and gas rigs deployed to tap new energy supplies across the country has plunged to less than 1,200 from 2,400 last summer, and energy executives say the drop is accelerating further.

Lower prices are bringing to an end an ambitious effort to squeeze more oil from aging fields and to tap new sources of natural gas. For the last four years, companies here drilled below airports, golf courses, churches and playgrounds in a frantic search for energy. They scoured the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, the Gulf of Mexico and Appalachia.

But the economic downturn has cut into demand. Global oil prices and American natural gas prices have plummeted two-thirds since last summer. Not even an unseasonably cold winter drove down unusually high inventories of natural gas.

The drop has been good news for American consumers, with gasoline now selling for $1.92 a gallon, on average, down from a high of $4.11 in July. But the result for companies is that it is becoming unprofitable to drill.

The reversal of fortune could have important implications for the future health of the nation’s energy companies, for consumer wallets and for national aspirations to rely less on foreign energy sources.

The drilling cutback has been particularly stark for natural gas. Gas exploration had soared in recent years after technology advances enabled the exploitation of gas trapped in huge shale beds found around Fort Worth, western Pennsylvania, upstate New York and elsewhere.

But that boom has created such abundant supplies that companies are not only drilling less but also deciding not to pump from wells already drilled.

That's why this isn't surprising to me. And if they kept exploring and drilling, costs would go down making it far more less profitable.