We have become complacent. Our freedom became an uncherished commodity instead of a God given birthright. Tyranny may come in many forms but our tyrants are easily discerned. Only a fool would expect our politicians to lead us out from the morass that they have created.
I have to wonder what our future will hold when the wake up call to restore Liberty is based on financial considerations instead of sacred Honor.
David DeGerolamo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Hey Joe
Just six short years ago, the median net worth of middle class US households was $120,000. Today, it has fallen a whopping 45% to just $66,000 (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/business/americas-sinking-middle-class.html?_r=0). The number of working-age Americans stuck in part-time employment has more than doubled during the last six years from four million to nine million, and this number is about to take another major leap upwards as Obamacare mandates incentivize companies to cut previously full-time worker to below 30 hours per week, above which the government now requires companies to provide coverage. Speaking of Obamacare, its initial impact has been to raise premiums nationwide, amounting to a massive middle class tax-hike, while five and a half million people who used to have health coverage have now lost it. When the employer mandates really kick in next year, some estimate that based on numbers provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, between 50 to 90 million additional Americans may lose their current coverage (http://hotair.com/archives/2013/10/31/did-hhs-estimate-that-93-million-americans-will-lose-their-insurance/). Hope and change!
So play along with me here. Pretend you are an average Joe. Joe has just seen his net worth nearly halved in the last six years. He just lost the health insurance that his employer used to provide, and because Joe has a spouse and kids he is suddenly looking at an additional 15% of his yearly salary to cover health insurance. Joe didn’t expect or plan for this. He starts doing the math and realizes that he already pays 1/3rd of what he earns in State, Federal, and various local taxes. Now Joe suddenly has all these additional health care costs, real inflation is making everyday items like gas and clothing more expensive, and at this point, he doesn’t honestly know how he is going to pay the bills… assuming Joe is able to keep his job. In the past, Joe managed to set aside about five grand per year because he foregoes expensive vacations and always buys used cars, yet he has seen the real purchasing power of the money he set aside ten years ago decline by 30% over that time… $1,500 of every $5,000 he managed to save has been confiscated via inflation and lower purchasing power. But the futility of saving doesn’t really matter much to him right now, because not only is he not going to be able to save anything this year, he may have to start cannibalizing what savings he does have. Joe starts to get scared because he just doesn’t know how he is going to make this work. He hasn’t done anything wrong, he is working harder than ever, yet he is drowning.
So how about it, Joe? Still think the system works to your net benefit? Just how long are you going to keep taking this? How much more CAN you take?
h/t Tom R.
