Have you seen the price of cat food lately? I spend more feeding these two little furballs than I do feeding me!

Hmm...good point. Maybe it'll be dog food, wetted down to make it more meat-esque.

Amy, here is a bit more information on the program:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/fact-sheet-early-retiree-reinsurance-program

The numbers are alarmingly large, but I think it's worth understanding the context. These are reimbursement costs for 80% of the actual documented health insurance costs for early retirees who had between $15,000 and $90,000 in individual claims in 2010 and were not eligible for Medicare.

To me, this raises a few points:

1. During times of economic contraction, firms often incent employees over the age of 55 to take early retirement as an alternative (or in addition) to laying off staff to reduce payroll and overhead costs.

2. These are employees with significant medical expenses. The program applies to those with $15K - $90K per person, not per company.

3. A requirement for getting reimbursed is for the company to implement programs to generate cost savings for participants with chronic and high cost conditions.

4. The program expires in 2014 when people in this position will be able to participate in coverage exchanges.

Personally, I think the tradition of employer-sponsored insurance programs is an anachronism, but it's the system we have currently. Any transition away from such a fragmented and inefficient system is going to have some messy parts.

The alternative, given that these were the oldest, sickest and least re-employable members of the workforce, would have been for employers to simply fire them and have them enroll in Medicaid once their assets were exhausted and they had become indigent. With this in mind, EERP may actually have been the more financially responsible option.

I was listening to am 790 this morning and I heard an ad "paid for by the Department of Homeland Security." The "ad" advised me to keep my house stocked up with food, water and other necessities etc.

So we have scare-mongering wedded to putting money into radio station owner's pocket--and buying influence?

Ugly.

Typo... throw, not through

Slightly off topic. I heard this and thought it was interesting...

A Woman in Washington State (I think) is suing the state government claiming that welfare is involuntary labor because in order to receive the money she has to work 35hrs/week looking for work or work at a non-profit. She wanted to work at a law firm & collect welfare.

http://www.king5.com/home/Mother-sues-state-over-involuntary-servitude-119213909.html

I'm one of those "employees of major corporations." Those pension plans are, like me, pretty much history. Retiree healthcare died even earlier.

Even when they existed, pensions were a bit of an illusion. The amount you got depended on how long you worked for a company. Less than the vesting period, you got nothing. After twenty or thirty years, they began to amount to a significant amount of money. Guess what fueled outsourcing and helped older workers rise to the top of the layoff lists? Those 401Ks at least belong to you, no matter what.

Dad was a chemical engineer. He stayed at one company long enough to collect. I think he got $27 a month. Good thing he planned to take care of himself.

This is no surprise! Fascist practices have been a mainstay in government for decades! This really is business as usual...as is the sheeple's typical total obliviousness to the situation, as we fall further and further under New World Order control as a nation. Sleep tight!

The "ad" advised me to keep my house stocked up with food, water and other necessities etc.

And in the case of a severe natural (or man-caused) disaster, and you're cut off from the rest of the civilization for a couple of days, you won't starve or die of thirst.

Some people need to be reminded of that, as they don't seem to plan ahead. And then they bitch and moan when they find out the hard way that FEMA ain't a first responder.

This is SUCH crap!

But an email I just got said:

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote
for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers,
before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven
(7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

If everyone who got this email passed it around, in three days, most people in The United States
of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011.

Term Limits.

12 years only, one of the possible options
below.

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year
House terms

(Although the general public probably would have to deal with constant campaigning and mud-slinging.)

2. No Tenure/No Pension.

(Now that Ted Kennedy is gone, this does have the potential of becoming a realty!)

A Congressman collects a salary while in office
and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund
move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement
plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay
raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care
system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they
impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present
Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

The American people did not make this contract
with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.
The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.