Arkady's Thoughts

One would never guess that America is experiencing one of the worst recessions in history. Considering the legislation being passed on the federal level and proposals being made on the state level, one would think that Americans are enjoying tremendous excesses and the government simply wants to partake. Yesterday, Obama signed into law the SCHIP modifications that would expand coverage to more children. The pitfalls of this legislation are too numerous to list, but the burden on the taxpayer is growing. Under the new modifications applicants will no longer have to provide social security numbers when filing for aid, thereby allowing illegals to freely and openly claim taxpayer funded health insurance. To finance this brilliant piece of work federal taxes on tobacco are going up by .62 cents. Massachusetts residents already make the trip to New Hampshire to buy tobacco, but for those not wanting to make the drive SCHIP will provide the necessary incentives. In short, a group of Ame...

With support of the stimulus bill waning even further ( Half of America believes bill will worsen the situation ), I was surprised to see CNN's headline story today in the money section defending this package. The title: Out of work? Stimulus bill will help A few lines are mentioned regarding the intended job creation, but no explanation or details. Instead the article breaks down several key points of the bill and how it will help those that are unemployed. I was expecting to see a list of potential jobs or industries, but instead we are greeted with the following. Bigger checks: Those that are unemployed get more money. About $25 a week more. Extended benefits: Those that are unemployed get more money for a longer period of time. Expanding coverage: Billions go to individual states to expand the definition of who is eligible for bigger checks + extended benefits. Don't forget 500 million in administrative costs (btw, about 41 states asked for help, which means about 20 bi...