Oh it affects people.

I didn't know there was a tax calculated into the price of coverage, but I knew there was a large de facto tax due to insurance companies being required to cover per-existing conditions and due to their having to pay for preventative medicine prior to meeting the deductible. So even if you're wrong about tax, which I think may be the case, it's moot b/c premiums are going up. My family's premiums will increase about 50% b/c our health was good at the time of underwriting and still is.

This ban on medical underwriting is a better way of spreading risk than what we had when many people had insurance tied to jobs.

role, not roll

You are missing the forest for the Obamacare tree:

This tax affects EVERYONE that has a health care insurance policy, since this tax is calculated into the price of the coverage...just as all medical procedure costs play a roll in what you pay.

And since Obama has made sure that everyone has to have coverage, no one can say that this tax doesn't affect them....

I agree with this analysis for consumers who use compliant plans to pay for most of their expenses. Some consumers will supplement and purchase things on their own, just as they do now.

When my wife was expecting a baby, her friend's doctor told her she could only have one ultrasound. We thought this was a medical issue. It turns out her plan only _paid_ for that much, but she could have as many as she wanted. We were not going to meet our deductible, so our plan's opinion didn't affect us at all. We still have a similar plan with a similar deductible. We still save the max amount in an HSA each year, knowing there are expensive treatments out there they we may one-day need. The only way it affects us is our income taxes went up, but probably not much for 2013 b/c it's a lousy year for us compared to 2012. I don't see how what the gov't's doing matters. People still give us money for circuits and legal help. We still hand that money to local doctors when we need to. We still never come close to our deductible; knock on wood. I don't see the big deal.

By definition, there can't be any private health care under a single payer system.

Look to the Canadian health system, to see what happens to you if you try to pay for your health care out of pocket....

As the gov't starts being perceived as a credit risk, the bonds will sell for less, which is the same thing as saying they pay a higher interest rate. That doesn't _cause_ money to devalue, but it puts pressure on the Fed to print money to buy the bonds. That does cause money to devalue, if they do it faster than the economy grows. Inflation makes it easier to pay down the existing debt (b/c the dollars are worth less) but harder to sell more bonds. My understanding is this hasn't happened recently b/c the dollar is seen as the best currency out there, so there's demand for it and bonds that pay in dollars as a store of value around the world. Another reason is that financial institutions lent out most of their money and stared undoing that (deleveraging) after the crisis. That took money out of the economy, offsetting what the Fed is doing. The other reason we don't having inflation is that borrowing money and increasing the money supply stimulate the economy, causing unused factory capacity to go back into service. The idea is factories are afraid to hire until people buy their stuff, but people won't buy their stuff until they see good job availability. Borrowing and expanding the money supply, can jump start things, but it can also send money to politically-connected people, cause speculative bubbles, and cause inflation if the model that would-be buyers/employers needed a jump start turns out to be wrong. It's tricky b/c for it to work you need to take away the punch bowl right as the party gets started. There's political temptation to remember the merits of loose monetary and fiscal policy during a recession but forget the other side of the coin during expansion.

My take is that the Wall Street crowd has their finger on it's pulse, and will ride the gravy train all up to the point that they know the end of the line is approaching. They are the last to be fooled by the Fed, but they will 'play' along will the play is still good.

There are too many correctives in place (IMHO) to go past the 50% line, but the blood letting will be fierce...and could give Obama the false flag he needs to call for martial law.

I also believe that this administration will prop up the market, at least until the 2014 election results are in. If the Progressives gain back the full Congress, a more gentle ease back will be effected.

I think a correction is coming Rock. I'm not expecting the 50% or more drop some doom and gloomers expect but it could be significant. What is your take?

Our government is buying back our bonds...foreign countries quit buying our debt some time ago.

It's the Fed's version of Three-card Monte.

Rich just posted my answer: The Feds are controlling (read: manipulating) the stock market. You are seeing what they want you to see.

And what you are seeing is not reality.

This is worse than 'stagflation'. We are headed one for two, which is a net loss. Time to start going back to doing it the old fashioned way.

are you doin the grocery shopping cg? cuz food prices show the inflation first and I can guarantee you your food prices are higher

Glad to hear that Circuit. I have avoided believing the doom and gloomers that predict economic armageddon. I don't believe supporters of this administration either. more pain is on the way I think. Best of luck.

I'm in Upper Midwest. I'm surprised we haven't seen inflation. If we do, I do expect nominal stock prices to rise, but I normally expect it to lag b/c of the uncertainty. I don't see any of that happening yet. It appears there was massive deleveraging and the gov't went and expanded the money supply to compensate, leaving roughly the same money chasing the same good/services. I like to see stable 1%-3%, which is what I've observed. I won't be at all shocked if inflation (i.e. inflation > 5%) starts. It hasn't happened in my world yet.

I have noticed that every time the Fed hints at ending QE the markets drop. Inflation is much higher than is being reported. With all of this money printing and defecit spending we have a very low GDP. Keynsian economics would have us believe that this is the best way to stimulate the economy. 5 years and still weak growth. The administration needs to adopt a new strategy.

Not sure what market you are in Circuit but I have seen prices rise steadily with some up significantly. I have a small home and garden center. Fertilizer prices have risen dramatically. We sell pet food and some animal feeds. Those prices have risen sharply. We pay fuel surcharges on everything. Inflation is calculated differently today than it was years ago. Everyone I ask say they notice the increases at the grocery store.

This doesn't stop people from buying and selling medicine. It unfortunately stops me from buying the insurance plan I want, though. Even if it did go to a massive Medicare plan for everyone, not just the elderly, that doesn't mean there are no market for private healthcare.

If that were true prices of many goods and services I buy would be up. At work my suppliers would be charging more. The market would also allow me to charge higher prices. That isn't happening now.

The stock market is up because the Fed is printing money faster than Kinkos. Wall street is not the economy. The report today said the unemployment news was greeted poitively on Wall Street because they know the Fed will continue its "easing". We are in a very precarious position right now.

Yes, I agree, but I don't think it's as powerful as it thinks it is. It can't keep willing buyers and sellers apart, no matter how hard it tries. Yes, it puts a dent in drugs, prostitution, and to a lesser extent illegal immigration. They'd have you believe they have their finger in the dike. I wouldn't be surprise if they ignored those things altogether and little changed. Gov't and bankers are not as powerful as they think they are.

To my way of thinking the government can get in the way or get out of the way. Our economy has done well under administrations that limited interference, reduced taxes and allowed the private sector to work. Obamacare is clearly having a negative impact on the economy. Companies are reluctant to hire and many have seen their hours cut. The energy policy of this administration is keeping oil and fuel prices higher and that cost impacts everything from manufacturing to transportation. I agree that the private sector is primarily responsible for the economy but the President and his administration can have a significant impact.

The stock market is up 30% in the last year and almost 100% since 2009.

This isn't because of Obama, politicians, or an opinion about healthcare.

It's a herd of people solving problems and making decisions.

This is what Thompson and friends demanded of John Galt- a firm hand on the helm. They couldn't accept that no one at the helm, contrary to intuition, is what delivers the goods.