Whining Yuppies

Fortunately ObamaCare covers mental health treatment. The Washington Monthly alerts us that 54 year old secretaries and 55 year old retired firefighters from New Hampshire are whining yuppies. Back when I was young, urban and professional "yuppie" stood for something. In fact, we stood for plenty. Changing times.

We looked at the Times coverage of the subsidy cliffs in ObamaCare yesterday.

Comments

[matt]

anyone else notice how the courts are throwing out the Christian ethical system out wholesale?

The Canadian Supreme Court just legalized prostitution nationally, and a judge just opened the door to legalized polygamy in Utah.

In the meantime, North Dakota of all places is struggling with bisexual three way "marriages".

In the meantime Phil Robertson is being vilified as a secular sinner.

What in God's name are we becoming?

[Ignatz]

--What in God's name are we becoming?--

I don't think we're becoming anything "in God's name", matt.

[why do you hate the military?]

Preexisting conditions, notwithstanding.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-21/us-sailors-assisting-fukushima-clean-crippled-cancer

[Ignatz]

That North Dakota thing sounds like Lawrence; a set-up for the courts to legislate morality and our system of government away.

[miss Marple]

As I wait to depart, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas! Thanks to you for welcoming me and explaining all the little quirks of type pad.

All the best to all of you. I will try to check in from time to time.

[jimmyk]

Finally getting around to looking at the original NYT piece. There's a frustrating lack of detail in the reporting about what these policies really cost, since we don't know deductibles, copays, etc. It's like talking about the entrance fee to an amusement park without mentioning what the rides, parking, etc. cost. The actual costs (and benefits) may have changed by a lot more or less than the premiums.

And cherry-picking Dean Baker no doubt will immediately forget about the "total compensation" concept when he next whines about lack of wage growth.

But the main lesson is that if you have a household income of $100,000 or more, shut up. You have no right to complain if an idiotic policy needlessly costs you thousands of dollars.

[Booz Cruz]

It's a catastrastroke.

http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/ted-cruz-budget-deal/2013/12/20/id/543133?promo_code=11604-1&utm_source=11604BALLOON_JUICE&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

[peter]

Jazz saxophonist Herb Geller died on the 19th. His Arthur Schwartz songbook is one of my favorite CDs.

[AliceH]

That Washington Monthly piece has some mysterious sources for the numbers and generalizations they are tossing about. Links to links to PageNotFound. Hmmm.

I really wish people who write about what is affordable/win would disclose 1) how much their own premiums are and 2) whether they are subsidized by employer or Govt.

In this case, I suspect the author is either a new medicaid customer, still on her parent's policy, or covered under her husband's employer-provided insurance.

[AliceH]

Scratch #2 - she mentions ex-husband's insurance. She also bruits about how costly COBRA is - well, YEAH - it's the most expensive way to be insured. Or rather, it was -- Obamacare makes COBRA pricing look cheap.

[henry]

8.5" snow. I'm not up for shovelmageddon. Ergo, TCFAB! Plus football on TV.

[Account Deleted]

If the NYT existed to inform rather than mislead or journalism had any objective standards whatsoever, the article would begin by noting the impact of BOzocare on a 37 yo couple with one kid and $64k income in Kansas. They paid $4500, or 6.9% of their income in 2013 for a plan they found satisfactory and they will pay (should they choose to) $7,200, 11.25%, for the "cheap" BOzocare option in 2014.

Median family age, median family size and central location all give a better idea of why Progressive Democrats are scurrying like rats on a sinking ship.

[jimmyk]

Isn't the cost of COBRA basically just the combined employer and employee contribution? I would think that would still be cheaper than going out and getting the same plan in the open market. Otherwise why would anyone choose COBRA?

[AliceH]

Safe travels and Merry Christmas, Miss Marple!

[tattler]

"Otherwise why would anyone choose COBRA?"

Jeebus. you must be far removed from preexisting conditions.

[centralcal]

Merry Christmas, Miss Marple. Have a wonderful trip.

[glasater]

Some years ago I worked with a woman who had a COBRA plan and the employer contribution transitioned out to where the woman was picking up total payment for insurance. So I believe that is where the plan gets pretty expensive for the individual. And she had health problems which increased the cost/price.

[AliceH]

jimmyk - I really never understood exactly how COBRA rates were determined - however, in my case, my (very large) employer's insurance offering for employees were based on a national pool that, to be simpler, were set up with minimal regional variation in order to meet the most onerous state regulations.

The COBRA rates, therefore, were massively inflated compared to what was available to me on the individual market in my relatively lightly regulated state. It was also a pain in the butt from start to finish - just about every process handoff was screwed up requiring me to be on the phone with them a dozen different times. I'd have gotten rid of sooner if I weren't trying to make sure I left an accurate record of cleared payments and coverage.

[AliceH]

As to why I elected COBRA in the first place... I thought it would be a smoother transition allowing me more time to assess my long term options. That part didn't work out for me, but I imagine convenience/assurance of no gaps in coverage is not uncommon reason.

[tattler]

And this is the seat of knowledge about HC?

Cobra keeps you in the group without employer subsidy.

Sheesh

[jimmyk]

Cobra keeps you in the group

No kidding, Mr. Obvious. Now get lost.

[AliceH]

Forgive us, tattler. COBRA is something that becomes relevant and important when one is between jobs with employer-provided insurance. Most of us here seem to have spent our adult lives managing to stay gainfully employed without any gaps.

[Ignatz]

Dana becomes expert in another field via wiki.

[narciso,]

It clearly doesn't Robert Pear, does his 'it's just a fleshwound' piece, deep inside, in the Op Ed section Elizabeth Rosenthal does her, trust us again we'll get it right, like those folks who ignored 'there be monsters' on the old time navigation charts.

[tattler]

"No kidding, Mr. Obvious."

Weren't you the author of the previously unremarkable question?

[Account Deleted]

Steyn Preparing Strong Letter to NR Editor

[Beasts of England]

@ManTran / Ig: The blue closed-wheel vehicle from a few days ago was a Lola. The open-wheel tube-body, as Ig pointed out, was a Ferrari.

[narciso,]

Merry Christmas, Mrs. Marple;

[Beasts of England]

Heads-up: Duke & Duke just started on Comedy Central.

Billy Ray Valentine. Capricorn.

[narciso,]

Gosh I don't what could have gone wrong;

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/12/the_fall_of_nbc_news.html

[jimmyk on iPad]

Tattler/Cleo, reading comprehension isn't your strong suit. You know the meaning of the word "else"?

[Threadkiller]

Heros retire at age 55.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmC26RuO26g

[anonamom]

You tell those appeasers, Mark Steyn!

[Threadkiller]

From the Steyn link:

"Actually, “the next step” is for you thugs to push off and stop targeting, threatening and making demands of those who happen to disagree with you..."

Next step for Steyn?

Birtherism.

[narciso,]

Steyn makes the good rebuttal for the glad people to consult a few imams see how that goes'

from a link of that link, we see some people are
not entitled to their own facts;

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/353992/zimmerman-martin-obama-america-jason-lee-steorts

[Danube on iPad]

Merry Christmas, Miss M. We will miss you.

[Beasts of England]

Merry Christmas and safe travels, Miss Marple!

[jimmyk]

OMG, it's hard to get past the opening line of narc's 1:16 link:

Remember that there is no way of using a group mean to assign a probability to some particular person’s doing some particular thing on some particular occasion.

Is he vying for a spot as the token "conservative" on the NYT op-ed pages? Even Jesse Jackson understood probability better than this guy.

[narciso,]

It's turtles all the way, down from there jimmy,
isn't that the point of probability.

[Captain Hate]

Steyn runs afoul of the NR squishes? I didn't see that coming!

[narciso,]

Re; the Red Fortress, I got some notion about Russia's sense of unwariness, re Rutherford, but those first chapters in Merridale, bring it to light, you kind of see, why 'Bloodlands' is not a recent phenomemon, over there.

[narciso,]

Now this fellow, a little too daring for his own good;

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/12/a-film-joins-the-fight-between-the-syrians-and-saudis.html

[Captain Hate]

Yes, I just finished the first chapter and they had a rough go of it before the Mongol Horde decided to set its aim on the west.

[narciso,]

This is called not evaluating your demographic;

http://twitchy.com/2013/12/22/cracker-barrel-does-a-180-today-we-are-putting-all-our-duck-dynasty-products-back-in-our-stores/

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

From the looks of that article, Steyn sure knows how to fight back against the NRO Squishdom.

[Ignatz]

Again I ask the question,
since Robertson was virtually quoting scripture and stating his religious views how is he not protected from disciplining by his employer through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act?

[Ignatz]

Just for rse via Twitchy-
Common Core in practice;

[Beasts of England]

A bit surprised that Cracker Barrel misread the tea leaves on this kerfuffle. I know they endured a racial shakedown a few years back (it is, however, the Cracker Barrel...) but, frankly, you see about as many gay folk in the Barrel as you do in duck blinds.

[Stephanie]

Is there a current oped from Steorts about the DD thing that caused Steyn to pen that page of awesomeness? I'm on the iPhone and can't see something at NR that crumpled Steyns boxers. Link if anyone had one please.

Looks like Cracker Barrel got wind of the church buycott starting this morning. What time did they release their oops? They give 10% off every Sunday if you bring in your church bulletin for that morning. Guess maybe CB can count?

[boris]

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/366912/steyn-speech-jason-lee-steorts

[daddy]

Good Morning. Just saw that Insty has posted TM's E-mail to Insty on why Dem's are grumpy. (Glenn's 10:39 post.)

[jimmyk]

Stephanie, Steyn links to it in his piece, but here it is:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/366912/steyn-speech-jason-lee-steorts

Ig, that's a good question. I'm not sure that civil rights protection extends to making statements in a magazine interview, as that's not intrinsic to practicing one's religion. But it would be good to have a test case.

[jimmyk]

Here's more good PR for the JEF: Drag queens for Barrycare.

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

Now that has to be a parody. Right, jimmyk?

[narciso,]

He uses all the weapons, metaphor, simile, litote's, Steorts didn't have a chance, with such a dull knife. By Ctluthu, jimmy, why?

[henry]

"partnering to get everyone covered"

I have an extra tarp that might be large enough to cover one of them.

[rich@gmu]

probably not...

a #634 million ad budget ...

facepalm of the old one

[matt]

No, that is not a parody. I've seen it elsewhere.

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

Thanks guys. Back home now. Read that drivel last night and figured Steyn would let him have it with both barrels. I didn't assoc the column last night with the name steorts as it was so piss poor as to not stick in my memory. I'll bet Goldstein has a field day with this NR tool.

[rich@gmu]

wow ... Steyn .... that's the way to tell the boss off.

[rich@gmu]

maybe Steorts was hoping to get a few bags of cash from one of the bathhouse billionaires if he put on his red footies ...

[Comanche Voter]

Well I'm glad Cracker Barrel backed down. Don't see any Cracker Barrels in Los Angeles, but I do occasionally get to small towns in Arizona. And now, next month, I can go have breakfast in the Cracker Barrel next o the motel I'll be in in at Casa Grande without having to put a sack over my head. Otherwise would have had to try to find a Chik Fil A place.

[narciso,]

Can you imagine which public relations, didn't make it out of the 'break out session'

[rich@gmu]

lol...all those thought leaders and $634 million in graft...

and speaking of a bag of dicks bowl the cowpies and foreskins are stinking up the television, and unsurprisingly, the foreskins are losing.

[narciso,]

Rest assured her previous offerings have been promising;

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_03/its_the_system_man036414.php

it appears that actual awareness of how government works, is not a requirement to working at the Washington Monthly

[Beasts of England]

Great pieces, Clarice! The bloom is off the rose and some of us couldn't be happier!

[Danube on iPad]

The Washington Monthly lady tells us that single-payer is great, like the NHS was before the Tories screwed it up.

They simply refuse to learn. Nothing systemically flawed about their fantasies; we just never seem to put the right people in charge.

[narciso,]

But what's important is her credentials are in order;

http://www.linkedin.com/in/kgeier

[jimmyk]

She writes like a college student, lots of "we" and "our," like she's writing only to her own inner circle--which in fact she is. She couldn't possibly persuade anyone who didn't already agree.

[rich@gmu]

>>>Even a president who was much further to the left than Obama would have problems enacting his agenda. President Bernie Sanders would also have to confront the same issues as Obama, in terms of a reactionary Republican party which is completely intractable and wants him to fail, Blue Dog Democrats who aren’t much better, the necessity for filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, a profoundly hackish and conservative-dominated media, and (now, it appears) a hostile Supreme Court which seriously threatens his signature domestic policy achievement.<<<

the wit and wisdom of Kathleen Geier

[rse]

jimmy k-$75 K is the new standard for all and after that you should do community work instead. http://www.slideshare.net/TheHappinessInitiative/personal-happiness-handbook-25-actions-along-10-domains-of-happiness came from the Happiness Institute yesterday wishing me a happy winter solstice. This is the assumptions we are combatting except most are not aware this is all going on.

matt-I have had this conversation with other layers who like me went to law school between 25 to 40 years ago. We missed the current emphasis rejecting the common law as too limiting a concept and using the law as a normative tool for unaccountable social policy change.

Ignatz-cute except too many teenagers would look at that satire and ask if there is a video explaining the game instructions.

jimmy-one more comment from what I am dealing with today published in 2012 by a journalist who works for the NYC planning commission, Alex Marshall. He insists economies do not fund infrastructure, but infrastructure creates economies. And guess who the social scientists are listening too because it fits their 21st century druthers?

[JIB]

Hail to the Redskins,
Hail Victory,
Braves on the Warpath
Fight for old DC.

Alfred Morris rushing TD. Pierre Garcon sets Skins single season reception record with his 107th catch passing Art Monk by one. Plus he has a quarter and half to go and of course, the last game next week.

[daddy]

Perhaps I'm a "Whining Yuppie" but I have some questions about "Non-Whining Yuppies" in an AP story appearing in my local ADN paper: Venezuela car owners unfazed by planned fuel hike

The story tells us that the Venezuela Govt is going to raise fuel prices since the Govt is broke, and it also tells us that because gas is currently cheap there, as compared to the rest of the world, Venezuelans drive big old gas guzzling vehicles which are not environmentally friendly.

But then it tells us that motorists seemed unfazed by the idea of paying more at the pump because it's unknown how much prices will rise, and Many Venezuelans seem similarly unconcerned about the prospect of higher fuel prices.

How does that work? The Govt says it's going to raise gas prices nobody knows how much, yet reporters are able to tell us that nobody in the nation of 30 million is fazed by it? How the hell would they know that?

And why is that story "Venezuela car owners unfazed by planned fuel hike", headlined in my paper in Alaska, and as far as I can tell from a google search, presented the same way with the exact same headline in every newspaper in America? Is AP doing some prep work for the Obama Administration, getting us primed for a Gas Tax increase that we should all be "unfazed" about?

Beats me, but you have to go all the way over to Abu Dhabi's newspaper, The National, to read the exact same story with a different headline: Fuel hikes may see Venezuela’s gas guzzlers go thirsty. Whoa! That sure sounds faze-worthy to me.

Anyhow, I am just putting in my 2 cents here. If our Govt decides to raise gas prices to some unknown amount because they say we are broke and we shouldn't drive gas guzzlers, I'm gonna' be "fazed." How about you?

[narciso,]

I thought he had gone 'Norwegian Blue;

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/19/212220/leader-of-al-qaida-linked-nusra.html

[DrJ]

If our Govt decides to raise gas prices to some unknown amount ... and we shouldn't drive gas guzzlers, I'm gonna' be "fazed." How about you?

Personally, I'd not be fazed much. But then I don't even drive 4,000 miles per year.

It sure would hit all those people who have crazy commutes in LA and the Bay Area, though.

[bogey]

Heh. I'd forgotten this Mencken gem.

" “We must respect the other fellow's religion but
only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his
wife is beautiful and his children smart.”

[caro]

Funny, in 7 or 8 NR cruises and a visit to the NYC offices, I have never encountered this Jason Lee Steorts. Nor have I even heard his name.

Heh. I am not even inclined to google.

[narciso,]

Clearly they are worth every penny, oy vey:

http://therightscoop.com/meet-the-press-obama-a-bottle-of-whiskey-and-a-box-of-kleenex/

[jimmyk]

I don't want to sound like a whining yuppie, but almost unnoticed was 404Care's tax increase of couple of thousand dollars on many people who use Flexible Spending Accounts. The limit went from $5000/person to $2500/person, meaning, for those who took the maximum, somewhere in the vicinity of $2000 in higher taxes.

[henry]

Right now I think we can frack faster than they can faze...

[Threadkiller]

It is a feud

http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/366950/re-re-education-camp-jason-lee-steorts

[DrJ]

henry, there's been rumbling for some time that the gas tax is too low and should be raised substantially. Fracking wouldn't affect that in any way.

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

Which is the gas guzzler the civic with one or two passengers aboard and an EPA rating of 28 mpg or the suburban with 6 (or 8) passengers and an EPA rating of 14 mpg? Or worse, once the suburban and other larger capacity cars are outlawed, TWO civics with the same rating to ferry the same 6 (or 8) passengers to a destination?

Idiocy thy name is liberalism #643.

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

After reading a few of his columns, I can say with certainty that you are much better off without encountering him, caro.

[boricuafudd]

"Personally, I'd not be fazed much. But then I don't even drive 4,000 miles per year."

Yes, but rises in fuel prices affect other industries, making things more expensive so it would not be just those that have to drive but everyone that will be affected.

"
... 7 out of the 8 postwar U.S. recessions had been preceded by a sharp increase in the price of crude petroleum. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to a doubling in the price of oil in the fall of 1990 and was followed by the ninth postwar recession in 1990-91. The price of oil more than doubled again in 1999-2000, with the tenth postwar recession coming in 2001. Yet another doubling in the price of oil in 2007-2008 accompanied the beginning of recession number 11, the most recent and frightening of the postwar economic downturns. So the count today stands at 10 out of 11, the sole exception being the mild recession of 1960-61 for which there was no preceding rise in oil prices. [Hamilton, 2009. Rv. 2010]"

[Jane]

If our Govt decides to raise gas prices to some unknown amount ... and we shouldn't drive gas guzzlers, I'm gonna' be "fazed." How about you?

They are trying to pass an automatic gas hike in MA - tied to inflation, I think. I was outraged when I heard about it, then I forgot about it til I read Daddy above.

[jimmyk]

Steorts digs deeper:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/366950/re-re-education-camp-jason-lee-steorts

"The point is basic courtesy, Mark. It’s that you could mount your opposing argument without insulting people."

I'm trying unsuccessfully to find the insults in Steyn's original column.

[DrJ]

bori, you are of course correct to link fuel prices with economic health.

[caro]

Jim R, as of now, I am counting it as a blessing.

[gabby haze]

"bori, you are of course correct to link fuel prices with economic health."

we're going deep, today.

[boricuafudd]

Jimmyk
That let's take the "higher road" has worked wonders for Conservatives.

[jimmyk]

And George Will swings and misses on the first pitch, then manages an infield hit.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/12/22/george-will-new-biggest-american-entitlement-go-through-life-without

Steyn's point is that it's naive to limit our concerns to government infringement of speech. Will says, "This is an argument between him and his employer. Let them sort it out." Technically, yes, but people's lives can be ruined by PC run amok.

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

But we can count on Steortz's toga being always immaculate.

[pagarnow]

"if the govt decides to raise"

http://nypost.com/2013/12/21/utah-senator-slashers-commute-tax-break-for-nyers/

Does anyone know how many taxes there are?
How many tax breaks there are?

The whole thing is insane. Cut government spending and reduce taxes.

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

SOMEONE CALL OSHA QUICK!

When the comments at the latest hole dug by Steorts indicate that he can't see sky without looking up, he might want to start worrying about a cave in.

[DrJ]

One positive result of fracking is that the chemical industry is now expanding in the US rather than going overseas. This is not the best article, but it is the best I could do quickly:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-25/chemical-companies-rush-to-the-u-dot-s-dot-thanks-to-cheap-natural-gas

[gabby haze]

Moar....chemicals........for us?

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

DOW says; 'without chemicals, life itself would be impossible'.

"Can I have some more, sir?"

[narciso,]

He's trapped in the Cave, Steyn is bringing torches, and he's still moving deeper into the dark.

[Stephanie]

Why is it that when cleo/dana whoever it is today shows up, my ad rotation here suddenly includes ads for something called 'coffee enema kits?'

Happens Every.Damn.Time.

[Threadkiller]

http://www.coachisright.com/obama-eligibility-case-still-much-alive-alabama-supreme-court/