The media is screeching about the tax plan...

[K Frame]

And as you can expect, it's virtually all negative.

This is a good example... Nothing says fair and balanced like the word "victims" in the *expletive deleted*ing headline.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-victims-trump-tax-bill-180523129.html

Where was the media during the passage of the affordable care act?

"Meet the Victims of Obamacare"

Yeah... according to the media, there weren't any victims. Everyone got insurance, everyone's premiums went down dramatically, and everyone kept their doctor, just as promised. In fact, it was so successful that the leading cause of death became Republicans murdering people.

[Ben]

In the trickle down, I see that big corps like AT&T have decided to give out bonuses because the tax plan passed. In the AT&T example, they were originally going to give $1000 to 20K employees due to a union agreement. They have now expanded that to 200K. Yet the usual suspect MSM reporters were reporting that it had nothing to do with the tax cut, stating it was always a union deal, and ignoring the expanded numbers.

Also, I'm laughing at the arguments by people like Pelosi, et. al., regarding how on the one hand we are "killing millions of poor", yet on the other hand they are complaining about SALT because "homes in CA cost $1million!" Of course that's not the case everywhere in CA. There are plenty of places where you can buy a home in CA for $200K-$500K, which all fall well within the SALT $10K deduction.

Also I like how the complainers are using actual dollar amounts vs percentages when saying "Rich people will get $20K back a year and the middle class will only get $2K!" Also the people saying, "$2K is less than $200 a month! That's nothing! It's a joke!" Sure, maybe it's a "joke" if you're making $400K working at Google, but maybe not so much if you're making $50K and your health insurance just went up $200 a month (do health insurance next President Trump!).

[makattak]

In the trickle down, I see that big corps like AT&T have decided to give out bonuses because the tax plan passed. In the AT&T example, they were originally going to give $1000 to 20K employees due to a union agreement. They have now expanded that to 200K. Yet the usual suspect MSM reporters were reporting that it had nothing to do with the tax cut, stating it was always a union deal, and ignoring the expanded numbers.

Since there seem to be a number of companies taking similar actions, one thing I've considered: Trump is more than willing to call up CEOs and pressure/encourage them. I'm remembering his talk with Carrier after the election and before the inauguration.

I have to wonder if he coordinated this, as well. Brilliant marketing, if so.

[charby]

(do health insurance next President Trump!).

Tort reform, put serious dollar caps on medical malpractice lawsuits. Health care costs should drop after that.

[Ben]

Tort reform, put serious dollar caps on medical malpractice lawsuits. Health care costs should drop after that.

I'd be happy if I didn't have to pay for my apparently impending pregnancy and could just pay for catastrophic care insurance.

[charby]

I'd be happy if I didn't have to pay for my apparently impending pregnancy and could just pay for catastrophic care insurance.

I agree but that is not how group policy insurance works.

[Ben]

I agree but that is not how group policy insurance works.

It's how individual insurance worked until the ACA came along.

[charby]

It's how individual insurance worked until the ACA came along.

I think in Iowa that is how it always has been, we have a lot of mutual insurance companies because of the farming economy. I've only had private insurance for about 1 year before I had a job where health insurance was a benefit. That was back in 2001 and at 27 years old I still paid close to $300 a month for a high deductible plan that was mostly catastrophic injury. 

I wonder with your age how much your individual insurance would be without ACA?

[Ben]

I wonder with your age how much your individual insurance would be without ACA?

Before I made the decision to retire early, I looked. ~$370 for a $20 copay and $1000 out of pocket. Catastrophic would have been far less. A far cry from the $700 I'm paying for a crappy bronze plan. Or even the $400 the bronze plan cost only two years ago.

[charby]

Before I made the decision to retire early, I looked. ~$370 for a $20 copay and $1000 out of pocket. Catastrophic would have been far less. A far cry from the $700 I'm paying for a crappy bronze plan. Or even the $400 the bronze plan cost only two years ago.

Iowa is down to just one insurer that will do individual plans. We just don't have the population numbers and we have lot of old people/high injury jobs.

[DittoHead]

Lowering taxes is good, but it's also the easy part. Now do we get to the hard part? Doubt it.

[K Frame]

And Joy Reid is suggesting that we look to Kurt Eichenwald for guidance on how this evil tax plan is going to affect us all...

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2017/12/21/micdropped-mary-katharine-hams-slam-of-joy-reids-tax-cut-hysteria-eichenwald-really-is-epic/

That is, if Eichenwald isn't too busy watching tentacle porn, whatever the hell that is.

[Ben]

And Joy Reid is suggesting that we look to Kurt Eichenwald for guidance on how this evil tax plan is going to affect us all...

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2017/12/21/micdropped-mary-katharine-hams-slam-of-joy-reids-tax-cut-hysteria-eichenwald-really-is-epic/

That is, if Eichenwald isn't too busy watching tentacle porn, whatever the hell that is.

He's also the jackass that told everyone to sell everything they had in the stock market and sideline their money. Of course now he's saying that he didn't sideline his. Instead, he claims he put it all in international stocks and made more money than anyone else. International did do well over the last year, but I sincerely doubt this moron actually did his backpedaling claim and invested in it. In the meantime, anyone that heeded his advice last November was screwed.

[Ben]

Iowa is down to just one insurer that will do individual plans. We just don't have the population numbers and we have lot of old people/high injury jobs.

Many counties in CA are in the same boat, even with much higher populations. I'n thinking illegals and others here are just bankrupting the carriers by going into the doctor for every little sniffle. Covered CA puts most all the Obamacare people on the Silver plan for free, so they have a lot more minor stuff covered than do I, and if it's "free" to them, they're using it (Yay! Free stuff!).

[Ben]

Well, this is awkward:

https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2017/12/21/doh-dem-narrative-ridiculing-amount-of-middle-class-tax-cut-gets-shredded-by-obama/

[Scout26]

Iowa is down to just one insurer that will do individual plans. We just don't have the population numbers and we have lot of old people/high injury jobs.

As near as I can tell, there were at least 12 different insurance companies offering individual plans in Iowa prior to the ACA.  But because they weren't ACA "Compliant" most went away.  Even if you liked your plan and wanted to keep it.

[Brad Johnson]

Our local TV station ran a story that was generally "the rich get the biggest breaks and the poor get nothing, blah, blah". It warmed the cockles of my evil little heart to see the comments, which ranged from mildly irritated with the lack of math skills to an outright point-an-laugh at the reporter's utter reliance on debunked MSN-ish social media pandering.

Brad

[BlueStarLizzard]

This poor person promises to keel over and die right after she starts cashing the bigger paychecks her boss told her she'd be getting next year because of the new tax plan.

[charby]

As near as I can tell, there were at least 12 different insurance companies offering individual plans in Iowa prior to the ACA.  But because they weren't ACA "Compliant" most went away.  Even if you liked your plan and wanted to keep it.

I think more actually, but most very selective on who they insured or charged a high risk person a lot.

I know I had a bitch of time finding somewhat affordable insurance for the year I was between jobs that provided because of a congenital heart disease. Mostly why I work public sector jobs for less money but being able to get insurance.

[Ben]

Rich celebrity screams about tax cuts for the rich. Complains about paying more taxes in the next sentence. 

https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2017/12/21/narrative-status-busted-shouldnt-bette-midler-should-be-thanking-trump-for-this/

[charby]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/20/news/economy/republican-tax-reform-everything-you-need-to-know/index.html

Well grad students can stop bitching.

[Hawkmoon]

According to this site, it appears that everybody gets a tax reduction. (Until you go over $200,000 in income)

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-plan-senate-take-home-pay-changes-every-income-level-2017-12/#insurance-sales-agents-23

In other words, just about the polar opposite of what the Democrats are telling us.

[Firethorn]

According to this site, it appears that everybody gets a tax reduction. (Until you go over $200,000 in income)

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-plan-senate-take-home-pay-changes-every-income-level-2017-12/#insurance-sales-agents-23

In other words, just about the polar opposite of what the Democrats are telling us.

Ran the numbers for myself, I stand to have my taxes reduced by about $100, at least until the reductions expire.

The problem is that my share of the extra deficits from the tax reductions add up to about $500/year, which means that the resulting inflation/rise in cost of living is going to leave me ~$400 in the hole.

Of course, unless the Republicans can get some democrats to agree, the pay-go legislation is going to reduce various spending levels which are going to cost a lot of people a lot of money.

[Fly320s]

Looks like I’ll make up the difference for you guys.  You’re welcome.   

[K Frame]

Good God... over on the book of faces there are a number of my liberal friends who are just going absolute batshit about how this is going to kill the poor, and that's what the Republicans want to do.

I really *expletive deleted*ing hate liberals.