To Our Cousins Across the Pond

First off, while I cannot speak for everyone on this blog, I want to emphasize that I do not hold BP accountable for the blowout that allowed the oil to escape. Frankly, no one knows exactly what happened or why, and to assess blame on anyone this early in the process is either irresponsible or diabolical.

Second, please know that Bambi, aka Dr Utopia, no longer speaks for the majority of Americans. He does not like it when people make money and do not give it away to him. He was very happy taking campaign contributions from all sorts of companies and corporations, and now that he has what he wants, he no longer has a need for the capitalist system which generated those funds. He is a typical Marxist. Use whatever is needed to get the results and then do what you want.

He is also adamantly against any sort of free trade and free will. He is a snake oil salesman; a shyster; a con man. And whats up with those Dumbo ears? You ever see a set of ring hangers like that in your life? I bet he has to tape them back to keep his skinny little ass on the ground in a high wind.

I am not going to apologize for Dr Utopia's remarks concerning BP or Britain. I didn't vote for his leftist agenda and its not my fault; however we will do everything legally allowed to rid ourselves of this penis-head ASAP.

You can take that to the bank.

You'll Find Out When Its Law

Obstensibly thinking by then it will be too late to do anything about it.

$1 Billion AT&T Headache is Just Obamacare's First Side Effect
In the closing days of the Congressional health care debate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told the National Association of Counties: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

Today marks the end of just the first week of life under Obamacare and Speaker Pelosi has been proven right: we are just now finding out what is in it. This past Friday, AT&T, the biggest U.S. telephone company, announced that it would take a $1 billion charge against earnings thanks to tax changes buried in the 2,300+ page bill. $1 billion. That is a full third of AT&T's $3 billion earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009.

The tax charges stem from changes Obamacare makes to the tax treatment of prescription-drug benefits for retirees. Companies used to be able to deduct part of their costs for providing drug benefits to their retirees, but Obamacare cancels that deduction. Roland McDevitt, director of health care research at Towers Watson, tells the Wall Street Journal, they "have a stream of tax benefits they are losing way out in the future." Since companies had counted on these deductions for current and future retirees as an existing asset under the old law, accounting rules require firms to take the full loss for the change in the same quarter in which the tax law is changed. Hence Friday's announcement to inform shareholders that AT&T's bottom line was about to take a $1 billion hit.

AT&T's billion-dollar Obamacare headache is so large due to the size (281,000 employees) of the company. Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Chris Larsen tells Bloomberg: "Companies like AT&T, that have large employee bases, are going to have higher health-care costs and, therefore, lower earnings unless they can negotiate something or offer less to their employees." And changes to current and future retirees' health care seem to be exactly what will AT&T will do as a side effect of Obamacare. AT&T wrote in their Friday filing: "As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health-care benefits offered by the company."

And AT&T is not alone. Towers Watson estimates that just this tax change alone will eliminate $14 billion in U.S. corporate profits. That's $14 billion less American employers have to spend creating new jobs when our unemployment rate is still 9.7%.

And AT&T is not the only company informing employees that Obamacare is going to mean worse care for them. Verizon Communications, the second biggest U.S. phone company, told employees last week that Obamacare "may have significant implications for both retirees and employers."

The Heritage Foundation will be keeping you apprised of all of the consequences of Obamacare as they are learned with our new Foundry feature "Side Effects." Already our health care experts have identified negative intended and unintended consequences from the legislation to children's health insurance and health insurance taxes.

The American people already do not like this law. But to repeal it, we must keep Americans educated about all of Obamacare's failures and offer our “Second Opinion” on what conservative idea would fix it.

Union Pensions In Trouble

Unions want Washington's help with pension funds

Private businesses could take hit from labor

Nonunion workers and private companies could be forced into absorbing the financial liabilities of underfunded union pension plans, thanks to pending health care mandates and an executive order that could be finalized this year, policy analysts and trade group representatives have concluded.

Even as unions continue to market themselves to new members on the basis of generous pension programs, government figures show these plans are performing poorly in comparison with retirement packages that operate beyond the orbit of organized labor.

In addition, unions are pushing the Obama administration on project labor agreements (PLAs), which, among other things, will give their pension plans new sources of outside funding - nonunion workers on government contracts worth more than $25 million.

More here.