I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

IllinoisLady

Pictures are definitely worth all the words of the extremists.  Such a shame their minds so often are  closed and locked against any reality but theirs.   

Jackie

crazy4carrots

So many conspiracy theories being floated about why the influx of unaccompanied children into the U.S. from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala etc.  Some say it's the CIA, some say it's Obama, others say it's quite possibly a GOP (spelled Rove) tactic to embarrass the President before the mid-terms.

Oh, and then you have Gov Goodhair (as some have called him!) blaming Obama for not securing the U.S./Mexico border.  Ummmm....what would he suggest?  Border patrol agents linking hands all along the Rio Grande?  I remember my first sight of the river -- said to my DH, "It's just a stream, nothing too "grande" about it" -- and this was in February so goodness knows what happens to it in the heat of the summer.

I did read somewhere (can't locate it now) that a law signed by GW Bush back in 200?  provided that children fleeing from violence in non-contiguous (to the U.S.) countries could enter and apply for refugee status, but that this law had an expiry date (sometime this summer) and that's why the sudden influx.

IllinoisLady

crazy4carrots

Jackie:  Exactly!  That poster should be in every workspace in every company in the U.S.!  Oh, and it should be in the Supreme Court's dining room too!

There is such an incredible lack of knowledge and understanding about healthcare.  I recall telling someone who was so defiantly against "socialized medicine" (aka universal healthcare) that, yes, her taxes might increase a little bit, but her company paycheque would also increase, because the company wouldn't be withholding HER money that it would be sending to the insurance company.  And that she would never have to worry about losing her job AND her health coverage.  Unfortunately, the "evils of socialism" had been drilled into her so deeply that, even though she finally realized the benefits to her of universal healthcare, she just couldn't accept it.

I note that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has strongly condemned the Supreme Court decision, criticizing the Court for basically deciding based on their (Catholic) faith rather than on science and good medicine.

bluedahlia

A little comic relief.............haha!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIsLsDXXJUE

gardengumby

well, not to disagree completely, but those people who receive health insurance from their employer don't pay income tax on the cost of it (at least i didnt) so I don't know that it truly can be considered as their money, and not a benefit provided by their employer.  

Bren-2007

The employee is not taxed on what the company pays for health insurance coverage. 

The employer does consider health insurance as part of the benefits/income package however.  When I worked in HR, the benefits package was considered as part of the employee's income.  If you didn't need the health benefits, you could negotiate for a higher salary at the time of hire.

The employee can deduct his out-of-pocket medical expenses on this personal income tax.

 

kad2kar

BLUE---I sat here crying as I lived 20 minutes away from there and want to go home.  I might even know them as so many family friends moved to Leisure World in Seal Beach.  It is a cute video,though-------kad2kar

GatorGal

blue, loved the video!  Needed a laugh today""

IllinoisLady

Blue --- I saw that video before but once is never enough for a 'jewel' like that.  They got it goin' on.  Thanks a bunch.

Jackie

QuinnCat

I do believe health insurance first started to be offered by employers as a way to attract workers when demand exceeded supply.  Imagine if that had never happened!  We need to delink employment from health insurance, in any case, but it is a benefit, pre-tax.

brigadoonbenson

RE: Health Insurance. 

I had health insurance through my husband and then through medicare and Tricare.  I opted out of the health insurance my company provided.  They paid me an extra $13.00 a month.   Not sure it works the same in all companies.

On another note, my sister sent me this.  You may have seen it but if not I think you will enjoy it -

http://www.metaspoon.com/older-ladies-donnalou/

 

RetiredLibby

Moderators

Dear Brigadoonbenson

That "Older Ladies is a hoot and so relevant". Deserves to go viral.

The Mods

RetiredLibby

Re: health insurance, from The American Prospect. It gives some background on how the employer-based insurance system came about during WWII.

Health Insurance Is Not a Favor Your Boss Does For You

By Paul Waldman         

July 9, 2014

Everyone seems to have forgotten that insurance is a form of compensation, no less than your salary.

The debate over the Hobby Lobby case has been plagued by many problematic presumptions, but there's one that even many people who disliked the decision seem to sign on to without thinking about it. It's the idea that the health insurance you get through your employer is something that they do for you—not just administratively, but in a complete sense. But this is utterly wrong. You work, and in exchange for that labor you are given a compensation package that includes salary and certain benefits like a retirement account and health coverage. Like the other forms of compensation, the details of that insurance are subject to negotiation between you and your employer, and the government's involvement is to set some minimums—just as it mandates a minimum wage, it mandates certain components health insurance must include.

Those who support Hobby Lobby are now talking as though mandating that insurance include preventive care is tantamount to them forcing you to make a contribution to your local food bank when you'd rather give to the pet shelter. You can see it, for instance, in this piece by Megan McArdle in which she tries to look at the clash of rights involved in this dispute, but running through the whole piece is the idea that an employee's health insurance isn't compensation for her labor but a piece of charity her boss has bestowed upon her for no reason other than the goodness of his heart. Referring to the question of whether the religious beliefs of are being imposed on its employees, she writes: "How is not buying you something equivalent to 'imposing' on you?" Then later she refers to "a positive right to have birth control purchased for me."

But when your insurance coverage includes birth control, your employer isn't "buying you" anything. Your employer is basically acting as an administrative middleman between you and the insurance company. Your employer isn't the one whose money is paying the premiums, you are. It's compensation for the work you've done, just as much as your salary is.

This goes all the way back to to the roots of our employer-based insurance system. During World War II, the government imposed wage and price controls, meaning employers couldn't give raises. So they began to offer health insurance as an alternate form of compensation, and when the IRS decided in 1943 that insurance could be paid with pre-tax dollars, it made it all the more attractive as a form of compensation. And keep in mind that the preferential tax treatment of health insurance (which the self-employed don't get) is a tax benefit to the employee, not the employer. If you eliminated it, employers' balance sheets would stay the same (it would still be counted as an expense), but employees would have to pay taxes on the benefit.

You might or might not think that remembering the true nature of the insurance benefit should change the calculation in the Hobby Lobby case. I'm guessing that for the plaintiffs, it wouldn't; they'd probably argue that even having to think about what sinful harlots their employees are imposes a "substantial burden" on their religious freedom. And as I've argued before, we should get rid of the employer-based insurance system entirely. That may happen eventually, but in the meantime, it's good to remember just whose health insurance it is. It's not your boss'. It's yours.

http://prospect.org/article/health-insurance-not-favor-your-boss-does-you

IllinoisLady

Hope this link goes in.....I had to get it from a different area.    George Takei’s Definition of Patriotism Might Be the Best You’ve Ever Heard  I found it moving and some of his descriptions of the Japanese soldiers during the later part of the war....stunning.

Jackie 

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

 

RetiredLibby

Priceless.  Is he going to cry or stomp his feet?

IllinoisLady

I'm on that page RL.  I saw that picture yesterday and thought -- the perfect picture of a none too bright governor who knows that he is the odd man out.  The schism is so deep in his party that no one is going to come out well.  I do note a few making "nice" noises --- still think they will by 'chum' if they get to a nomination.  Sigh !!!!  You can't "nice" your way out of stupid and act like you have had some miraculous change of heart, Mr. Paul. 

Jackie

IllinoisLady

crazy4carrots

What the Republicans know about economics could fit on the head of a pin.  Same goes for history and their beloved Constitution.

brigadoonbenson

Did anyone see Django Unchained?  I think that Republicans have that three dot thing in the thinking part of their brain!

 

Bren-2007

Hi Gals,

We had a huge storm blow in last night.  The water was spilling over the gutters like a bunch of little water falls!  Was lucky today when I ran errands that it was only sprinkling a little.

Brigadoon ... I saw D'jango Unchained.  Actually watched it twice.  I thought it was a good movie and pretty thought provoking like only Tarantino can do.

Guess I better get busy on some chores.  Haven't had any work come in today.

hugs,

Bren

bluedahlia

Ladies, I have a question for you all.  This thread is getting long and some posters are having a tough time loading it.  Let's take a vote.  Should we leave it the way it is or should we start a Strange thread part deux?  In the meantime enjoy my garden...........

And there they are, rolling in the grass, making sure they are nice and stinky before coming in!!!!!!!!!

brigadoonbenson

Bren - 2007 -- I think it will be a cult classic.  I have seen it several times also.  I love revenge movies.  One of my favorites is "Sleepers".  Dark subject but great performances and wonderful marriage of story, vision, information and talent for both of them.

I want a revenge movie on Cancer - where we all win!

Hope the work comes in soon.  I have had my manic steroid day.  (I kinda like them. I get sooo much done).

 

kad2kar

BLUE---Let's go to 55,000 posts, then Part Deux? 

All posts are wonderful, political, religion,especially your gardens. I love the gardens.When you only have rocks and dead plants......Your gardens are like Buschart Gardens to me.------------------kad2kar

     WHERE IS SUNFLOWERS?????  BRINNG HER BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IllinoisLady

Blue -- I'll be along no matter what you Deux.  We all WANT with all our hearts and souls ,SUNFLOWERS back. 

Jackie

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady