DBJ Confidential
Obamacare’s not so bad after all, business leaders say
Feb 1, 2015, 9:38am CST
Jesus Canas, left, a business economist with the Federal Reserve, and Paul Mayer, CEO of the Garland Chamber of Commerce, say the Affordable Care Act is gaining favor with employers.
How's the Affordable Care Act working out for you?
That was the question that Dallas Business Journal Publisher Tracy Merzi put to panelists at a recent manufacturing summit in Dallas.
"Actually, it's a little bit better than we thought it would be, strangely enough," said Mike Winemiller, president and CEO of Briggs International, a Dallas-based industrial equipment dealer.
"We have a bunch of Republicans sitting on the board," he added. "We were all pessimistic … but I think overall it's a very viable option in the marketplace."
The Affordable Care Act has put a focus on wellness in a way that's beneficial to businesses, said Winemiller, who told me after the panel discussion that he lost 67 pounds in the past year, motivated in large part by incentives stemming from the ACA.
The Federal Reserve surveys employers about the impact of the Affordable Care Act, and businesses are gradually accepting it, said Jesus Canas, business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
"At the beginning of the health care act there was a lot of uncertainty, and they were really concerned about the effects," Canas said. "But as time has passed they have changed their attitude about the health care act."
The Federal Reserve has specifically asked whether the ACA will cause employers to change their hiring plans, and most say the act is not affecting those decisions, Canas said. Nor are employers cutting workers' hours to less than 30 per week to avoid being forced under the act to provide health insurance, he said.
Paul Mayer, CEO of the Garland Chamber of Commerce, said health care providers, insurers and employers are coming together in ways that wouldn't have happened without the Affordable Care Act.
Bill would exempt thousands of tanks from post-spill safety law
Source: The Charleston Gazette
Thousands of chemical storage tanks across West Virginia would be exempt from the law passed in the wake of the Freedom Industries spill, under legislation introduced Tuesday in the House of Delegates.
The bill (HB2574) would rewrite the definition of “above-ground storage tank” so that only tanks located within “zones of critical concern” near public drinking water intakes would be subject to new state safety standards and inspection requirements.
Among other things, the 40-page bill would exempt from the law any above-ground storage tanks with a capacity of 10,000 gallons or less. Current law is much broader, covering tanks with a capacity of 1,320 gallons.
“That’s a bit much,” DEP Secretary Randy Huffman said of the proposed change in the size of tanks covered by the law. “That takes a lot of tanks that do pose a risk to our public drinking water supplies out of the regulatory structure.”
“Black people. That’s what he thinks this was all about”: How Romney’s 2012 concession irked Obama
New David Axelrod book describes president's irritation at GOP rival's 2012 concession call
LUKE BRINKER
Delivering his victory speech following his re-election in 2012, President Obama adhered to standard practice by offering warm words for his vanquished opponent. “I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign,” the president told supporters in Chicago. “We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight.”
But just before he uttered those amiable remarks, an startled Obama expressed annoyance at what he viewed as Romney’s racially-tinged concession call, according to a new memoir by Obama strategist David Axelrod.
The president was “unsmiling during the call, and slightly irritated when it was over,” Axelrod writes in ”Believer: My 40 Years in Politics,” of which the New York Daily News obtained an advance copy.
“‘You really did a great job of getting the vote out in places like Cleveland and Milwaukee,’ in other words, black people,’” Obama said, paraphrasing Romney’s remarks in the call. “That’s what he thinks this was all about.”
Comments below the article appearing in the New York Daily News are...hmmm...nightmarish?
0 Replies
bobsal u1553115
5
Wed 4 Feb, 2015 09:19 am
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Has A Ted Cruz Problem
Source: NPR
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Has A Ted Cruz Problem
FEBRUARY 03, 2015 4:06 PM ET
AILSA CHANG
A bill funding the Department of Homeland Security failed in the Senate Tuesday because it would block the president's executive action on deportations. The question now is, what will Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell try next?
The department runs out of money on Feb. 27. Texas senator and potential presidential candidate Ted Cruz insists DHS not get any money unless Republicans get to undo the president's immigration policies. That places McConnell in a dilemma — how does he placate Cruz and his allies while avoiding a shutdown of the agency?
Republican Cruz has vowed he will stop at nothing to block the president's executive action on immigration. And when you ask him exactly how he intends to do that, he says it's already in writing. Go look it up.
"I wrote a long op-ed two months ago, laying (out) precisely what we should do. We should use the power of confirmations and we should use the power of the purse," Cruz said as he slipped into an elevator at the Capitol.
In the latest GOP stretch of logic, Rep. Don Dwyer of Maryland blames marriage equality legislation for his own drunken stupidity. Image of Don Dwyer from the previous drunken boar accident @ WUSA9
There is no shortage of indiscretions when it comes to politicians these days, and here is yet another. However, this one didn’t seem to learn his lesson the first time, which makes things even worse… for him, at least.
Meet Rep. Don Dwyer (R-MD). He pleaded guilty just a little while ago to operating a boat while drunk. The crash that resulted from that debacle resulted in injuries for seven people, including a five-year-old-girl. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the boat was named “The Legislator,” showing that Dwyer is, if nothing else, obnoxiously arrogant.
Now, he is making headlines again, only this time it was a car he was operating while intoxicated, not a boat. The car’s tags and registration were also expired, The Huffington Post reports. Luckily, this time, no one was hurt. Dwyer was stopped on Route 100 at about 12:45 AM this morning, due to erratic driving. According to the police report, he appeared glassy-eyed, with slurred speech. He also reportedly failed three field sobriety tests. The hearing for the boating incident is scheduled for October 25 of this year.
The real doozy comes when we examine the supposed reasoning or the drunken boating. Dwyer was interviewed by the Capital Gazette, in which he attributed his behavior on the boat to his own marriage falling apart, and to his feeling “betrayed” by fellow lawmakers who backed marriage equality legislation in Maryland. Dwyer said to the Gazette:
“I felt a tremendous amount of pressure in my family. You take those personal issues [and] add betrayal on the professional side, and it really gets to be overwhelming.”
Now, I am reasonably sure that Rep. Dwyer’s drinking likely has something to do with his marital troubles. I mean, I know that now that so many states have marriage equality, all of those straight marriages are just crumbling left and right, but come on. You can’t blame us for every troubled marriage. Oh, and as for those other lawmakers? Nothing personal, sir, they are just doing what they believe to be right.
Dwyer’s recent drunk driving incident includes some 15 charges, including but not limited to driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and negligent driving, displaying expired and suspended registration, and driving 70 mph in a 55-mph zone.
Something tells me it is about time for you to step down, Mr. Dwyer. I think you have too many personal problems to be an effective legislator. Oh, and while you’re at it, stop driving and hit up an AA meeting or two in all that spare time you’ll have on your hands.
"Someone who casts an absentee ballot but dies before Election Day would still have their vote count under a proposal being considered by Indiana lawmakers. The provision is part of a bill that the House Elections Committee took up Wednesday.
Rep. Matt Pierce of Bloomington told members about how disappointed he was when former U.S. Rep. Frank McCloskey's absentee vote that he cast while fighting cancer didn't count because he died before Election Day in 2004. Pierce said that only some county clerks actively check for deaths of absentee voters.
Indiana Election Division co-director Brad King says allowing such votes could violate a state constitutional requirement that a voter live in a precinct for 30 days before an election."
SMDH, whatever the reason. It's time to leave this godforsaken place.
0 Replies
bobsal u1553115
3
Thu 5 Feb, 2015 07:08 pm
DailyKos Obama v. Reagan: Fun comparison I did to piss off wingnuts on Reagan's birthday {repost from last year}
Feb 07, 2014 6:27am PST by SemDem
Yesterday was Reagan's birthday. I share this post for with those who start dripping with sentimentality forgetting what he did, what his legacy is still doing, and worst of all, (for my conservative friends), that they wouldn't have liked him today anyway:
Imagine a world that never knew Ronald Reagan:
No Scalia, No Rumsfeld, No Cheney. No Bushes and all of their appointments and disasters. No funding of dictators like Saddam Hussein (Reagan propped him up big time) or psychopaths like Osama Bin Laden (that worked out well).
An America far less dependent on oil. A superpower respected for skilled diplomacy in ending conflicts, instead of starting them. And a healthy economy with a strong middle class instead of a world where the labor movement has been viciously attacked, and the middle class is systematically being dismantled. Under Reagan, corporations gained massive power to the point today where they have become "people". Unions, the worker's last protection, were severely weakened, and the socioeconomic gap exploded. He also bankrupted us, pouring hundreds of billions into wasteful spending, like the failed and ridiculous Star Wars missile-defense system. All in just 8 short years.
Reagan created the modern plutocracy. He introduced us to the whole "take from the poor, give to the rich" supply-side economics that we still suffer today. He turned compassion to the less fortunate to villianization... created the mythical "welfare queen", mocked AIDS patients, and let his fellow "Christians" know it was okay to belittle the homeless.
CEOs before Reagan made 78 times their minimum wage workers. Today, its almost 3500 times! Without Reagan, America might have had the same income distribution we had in the 1970s, which would mean we would be averaging $120,000 annually--not $40,000.
Reagan was the realization of Barry Goldwater's failed dream that put the GOP on the path of crazytown where it is today. He somehow managed to blend the selfish, plutocratic Ayn Randian economic philosophy with fundamental Christianity and wrap it all up into a cowboy, patriotic image that was as phony as this ranch. Bottom line. REAGAN WAS A BASTARD.
And we are still hurting. So when I hear the idiot conservatives longing for him on social media, the radio and the "specials" on Faux News, I want them to hurt. And the best way to do that? HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS.
Next time someone starts revising history or just starts a syrupy tribute, hit them with this. Comparing their St. Ronnie with the man that literally drives them insane... Mr. O'Barry himself. Shoot them the following information...then just watch them squirm and enjoy the fireworks:
REAGAN CUT AND RUN, OBAMA DIDN'T COWER
Remember when the GOP loved to say "cut and run" as an excuse to keep our troops in Iraq forever? Even after they said "Mission Accomplished"? But who invented cut and run?
The Gipper.
OBAMA:
Our troops were repeatedly attacked in Afghanistan, yet when Obama came into office, he increased troop strength by 68,000. (Along with an actual plan, unlike his predecessor.) His track record of killing terrorists far outweighs his predecessors.
REAGAN:
Reagan retreated from Lebanon immediately after the 1983 terror attack by Hezbollah that resulted in the murder of 243 Marines. According to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 96), Reagan's cut and run INSPIRED Bin Laden, who viewed the United States as a “paper tiger” because of its rapid withdrawal after the attack.
OBAMA KILLED TERRORISTS, REAGAN GAVE THEM WEAPONS
OBAMA:
Gave the naval commander the go ahead to kill several pirates, which resulted in saving the life of Captain Richard Phillips. (PS--Even though terrorists were killed and the captain rescued, f--king Rush Limbaugh, who originally accused Obama of dithering on saving Capt. Phillips, then cried that Obama killed teenagers when the snipers took out the pirates. Obama-Derangement-Syndrome.)
OH! And there was also that whole killing of Osama thing you might of heard about. Obama went against the advice of his own vice president and Defense Secretary Gates and ordered the assault. He is even responsible for ordering the two backup helicopters in case of problems, which was a good thing since one of the assault choppers crashed outside the compound.
I would also like to point out that Obama's military intervention thru a multi-state coalition resulted in the death of Muammar Gaddafi and ended his regime without the death of one American soldier. Reagan tried a unilateral action against Gaddafi and failed miserably. You're welcome.
REAGAN:
Reagan APPEASED terrorists. He ignored their atrocities and spent taxpayer dollars to train, arm, equip, fund and overall coddle Islamist mujahidin fighters in Afghanistan for his proxy war with the Soviets. He is directly responsible for making a terrorist kingpin out of Osama Bin Laden. Reagan loved him some Taliban:
But all I really need to say is two words: IRAN-CONTRA. Reagan was so bad he SECRETLY TRADED F*^KING arms for HOSTAGES! DO I really need to say more?? Can you just imagine the wingnut explosion if Obama did that?
Reagan also met with our enemies without preconditions (1985, Soviet Union)... something that Obama was attacked for saying he just wanted to do. But again, giving weapons to terrorists pretty much takes the cake.
AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS:
This drives the GOP NUTS when I point this out. Who knew?
REAGAN:
I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here even though sometime back they may have entered illegally.
-Ronald Reagan 10/28/1984
OBAMA:
No matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these law should be held accountable.
-Barack Obama July 2010
Made that up, did I? Watch it yourself
REAGAN RAISED INCOME TAXES 11 TIMES, OBAMA NEVER
OBAMA:
In fact, wound up being the largest tax-cutter in presidential history cutting $654 billion in 2011 and 2012 alone. He was in favor of letting the Bush tax cuts EXPIRE for the super wealthy, (which no, is not the same as a tax hike), but even that didn't come to pass. Romney in 2012 even admitted Obama didn't raise taxes.
Obama has consistently CUT taxes, not raised them.
REAGAN:
He got through a big tax cut once he took office. But to hear conservatives talk, that's where the story ends. They forget he raised income taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Actually, he raised taxes 11 times to include four MASSIVE tax increases!
DEFICIT SPENDING
REAGAN:
Whether you are looking at the economic policies of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, reining in the deficit was clearly of no concern. Reagan tripled the Gross Federal Debt, from $900 billion to $2.7 trillion. Ford and Carter in their combined terms could only double it. It took 31 years to accomplish the first postwar debt tripling, yet Reagan did it in eight. Reagan soared the spending, Clinton brought in back down a bit, and W. took it way back up. To be fair to the Gipper, NO ONE did deficit like W. He spent the Clinton surplus like a drunken sailor. And by the way, Obama's spending initiatives were less than half of his predecessor.
OBAMA:
Even though Obama inherited a huge debt from W., and focused on a stimulus that benefited the people instead of Bush's stimulus for Wall Street, he still has a much better record on spending than the Gipper and much better than W. Obama did not triple the gross federal debt like Reagan did. Obama is following the Clinton model of spending up front and then focusing on deficit reduction. I predict at the end of Obama's term in 2016, the deficit will be cut drastically--but it can't be anywhere close to what Reagan or Bush had at the end of their two terms. Why? Because the GOP loves to throw money at their base...tax cuts for Big Oil and the wealthiest amongst us which add hundreds of billions to the debt but create nothing. That ain't happening--you are welcome teabaggers.
ABORTION
OBAMA:
Believes abortion should be safe, legal and rare. And they are. Abortions under Obama are at their lowest rate since 1973. Granted, as the article says it has more to do with advances in birth control than anything a politician does, but once again shows conservatives to be liars when they claimed abortions would skyrocket under Obama. Although Obama supports reproductive freedom, when the Dems controlled both houses of Congress, he proposed no legislation that would make abortion access easier (which would have been nice because of the constant assault from conservatives).
REAGAN:
Stauchly forced-birth. Yet wingnuts never talk about his policies as governor. Reagan signed the "Therapeutic Abortion Act" only six months as California governor. There were 518 legal abortions in California in 1967, and the number of abortions would soar to an annual average of 100,000 in the remaining years of Reagan’s two terms. This was more abortions than in any U.S. state prior to the advent of Roe v. Wade. Just sayin'
GUN CONTROL
(I give Reagan props for this, even though it was only because he got shot. But like his abortion law, conservatives sweep this under the rug)
REAGAN:
COMPLETELY supported the Brady Bill, the holy grail of gun control. Reagan even wrote an op-ed piece for it in the evil NY Times.
OBAMA:
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence flunked Obama on every single gun control issue. Proposed nothing for federal gun control laws when he had a super majority Dem Congress. When he had that Dem majority, in fact, federal gun rights EXPANDED by allowing guns on trains and in our national parks. Yet the NRA still told their idiot members that Obama was coming to take their guns.... and gun sales skyrocketed.
So what's the verdict? Conservatives love affair with Reagan and their hate affair with Obama seems to be bassackwards.
I submit it was REAGAN who was the illegal amnesty-supporting, gun control loving, deficit spending, tax raising, terrorist coddling coward. (As for support of "traditional family values", Obama has a great relationship with his family--Reagan was the first divorced president and was estranged from his children.)
Challenge a conservative to disprove anything I mentioned here. I supported it with the facts. Just be prepared for all kinds of name-calling.
And just to turn the screws... presidential scholars think Obama outranks Reagan as president. So in a few years I expect to be flying into Obama National in DC! Oh, it is going to happen.
---
He may be wrong about no Cheney. He was in Nixon's admin & worked f/ over 25 years to boost Repubs so they could overturn actions of post-Watergate Church Committee.
0 Replies
Baldimo
-1
Fri 6 Feb, 2015 12:21 pm
@bobsal u1553115,
Maybe Hillary and Brian can swap war stories. He can talk about getting shot out of the air by an RPG, and she can tell all about her being shot at by a sniper while in Bosnia.
**** Ms Clinton and Mr Brian Whateverthefuck. They both stink. But if Ms Clinton gets the nod and the GOP nominates Palin, or one like that, I'm holding my nose and voting for Hillary. **** the Tea Party, too.
As a member of the Silent Service, even if I knew where my boat was I can't discuss it except as Port Calls in Rota or Holy Loch or New London, or Norfolk or wherever. I never knew where we were patrolling for two months at a time. A good part of the time the ship's chief quartermaster was the ONLY one who knew exactly where we were, and even the Captain could only guess.
