Business Bankruptcy Law | Small Business Bankruptcy Laws

for instance there are any number of individuals such as CEOs, actors, athle;tes and the like who make several millions of dollars a year, even as the government goes bankrupt. In most cases these individuals have signed contracts that entitle them to whatever money they receive, although this is subject to change under certain circumstances. At any rate, it would seem to me that someone who is making million or more a year could stand to have at least a mere million taken from their annual salary, and would likely not even feel the difference from this reduction. Moreover, a reduction of million from the salary of 1,000 such people would alone generate billion over the course of a year, which would take on a whole new meaning when multiplied several times. With that said, has no one considered the idea of garnering additional income from cuts such as the aforemetioned, with or without the addition of cuts from wasteful spending as it relates to entitlement programs and/or other programs? I just think that the salary cuts I have mentioned would have a much better chance of improving the economy with less of an impact on the American people in general.

As far as raising taxes, I am not sure if this is being considered by Obama as an alternate way of increasing revenue in light of the government bankruptcy, but the fact is that this will do no such thing, in fact it will more likely make things worse than they are currently. Small businesses for instance will lay people off or hire less due to having to pay more in taxes. Raising taxes will also likely cause inflation due to monietary manipulation in the event that things continue on this path.

Do Americans really buy the myth that if taxes are raised on Americans
making more than 0K/year that small businesses shall go out of
business?

It is extremely rare that any business operates on a razor-thin margin and
that an increase in its operating expense shall knock it out of business.

•Wholesale pricing can increase.
•Insurance can increase.
•Fines can increase.
•Expenses related to safety mandates can increase.
•Electric/oil/natural gas/water pricing can increase.

The point here is that all businesses are prepared for unexpected expenses.
No business is one expense away from collapse.
Such a business cuts its losses by shutting down, filing for bankruptcy or selling
out before going into a rut because it has been on a downward spiral for a while.
That’s what responsible business owners do anyway.
Irresponsible business owners…well they dig their own hole.

Are Americans really so naïve that they believe the tax-you-out-of-business myth?

Or are extremists just going along with it in order to spread fear about Obama’s
intensions to raise taxes on high earners in an attempt to bring their tax rate in line
with the rest of us (rather than maintaining their discounted tax rate via loopholes)?

I believe regressive liberals deserve coal for christmas, yet obama is going to tax WV coal into chapter 11. I will have more money saved up just this year, then most of you progressive/social can save in ten years!!!

I HOPE government state workers are laid off on a massive scale, as like what happened to the slugs from Cuba and the U.K. What will you libs give your lib children for Christmas when Obama or the Republican CEO puts you in a soup line?

nouriel roubini has propsed a VAT and bond purchases, yet we will most likely perform more QE, cutting Obama pork and entitlement programs!

People that vote for DemocRats during the mid terms deserve to fail until they change to the American party!

I will donate money to tea partt members, yet I will not give a single penny away to jobless Libs! Serves you guys right for not supporting pro America/business!!
Jon Stewart rally= a bunch of jobless libs that will trash the event.

Sophie, you are cute.

With all the talk about the health care being signed by Obama, I am wondering what this truly means to me. How will this change our country of the United States of America? For the better? or for the worse? All i have read is that it is going to send us to "Bankruptcy" but weren’t we already there? How will this change small business’ with having to pay their workers? what are all the changes this bill plans to corrupt… i mean alter our ways of living? Was Bill Clinton right in the ’90s? open opinions is everything i want to hear from…

So all together… How will the new health care bill change America?

Thank you to all!!!

This is multiple choice…

A. The bailouts work. The banks become money making businesses again and pay back all the money the government gave them. The auto makers also start making money again and pay back all money made. President Obama has is finishing his 2nd term and the United States economy is good. Nationalized health care is in place and everyone is getting health care without long lines or tons of paperwork, as once feared. We’ve pulled out of Iraq and the country is stable, having no conflicts.

B. The bailouts seems to work at first. By the end of President Obama’s first term, the Dow Jones is near 11,000 and unemployment has stabilized at 7%. The banks and automakers are not failing, but they are only breaking even and have not paid any money back to the government. President Obama is re-elected, but soon after the country spirals into another recession after the fake-bailout induced bubble pops. The Dow slips to below 5,000, Interest rates hit Jimmy Carter numbers, and unemployment goes over 10%. Iraq is in civil war and Iran has begun to take domain in key oil rich areas.

C. The bailouts fail. GM and Ford merge, while Chrysler files Chapter 11. Two major banks fail, while two more merge to stay afloat. Unemployment hits 9% and the Dow Jones is below 7,000. President Obama, easily getting cooperation from the super majority democratic congress (Over 60 after 2010) inject 2 trillion more dollars in bailouts which keep the banks from failing, but sends the US Dollar’s value down 50%. A dollar is down only worth .35 Euro and 45 yen. President Obama is not re-elected. A true conservative is elected. Lowers taxes, cancels many government programs and economy begins to show good signs by 2016.

Now I know there are 1000 possibilities, but of these 3, which is most likely?
X…

What do you think will happen?

Why do some of the people say " Building roads and bridges and schools is good, it will bring great paying jobs and help the economy "?.

This promise by Obama has noway to succeed in helping other than to speed up the bankruptcy of our country and further devalue the dollar as we print more money to pay for these govmt jobs.
Look people, businesses out there are not refusing to ship their products because the existing roads are bad, and companies are not cutting back production because they have to pay too much to maintenence their fleets due to potholes. The reality of the job slump is govmt overregulation of these companies and taxation of the top employeers, thats why our jobs left us for foreign soil not because the roads were bad or there were not enough bright young people to run these jobs
Obama making many people in the workforce govmnt employees is only going to place a higher tax burden on those remaining capitalist employeers out there…..and then they will leave or fold….and then there will be nothing.
These socialist programs DON’T WORK !!
Can anyone explain this to me or do I have it?. Wouldn’t relieving EPA restrictions a little on our own industries help and also lower taxes like Reagan did, unemployment went from 9% down to 5.5% after Reagan repealed Carters taxes on the top wage earners which are our small buisness owners.
Storm, I knew you had the answer, I just had to ask because these people don’t get it that this money is from the govmt and I liken it to paying yourself.
But Eric they are still funded by govmt basically making them govmt jobs so to speak and at this tenuous time we need the impact of new job expansion from our exporting companies not more drain on govmt resources, if we were doing great economically this may be a great plan but not when we teater on the brink of national bankruptcy.
Agreed Tracker, but I have to wonder what green products we might produce that the EU would want , the other countries don’t give a darn about green. But I guess in the end it’s better than nothing.
Magician, Roosavelt had the luxuary of an intact buisness community that stayed on shore, we need to atract those employeers back with a better economic climate, not digging ditches and filling them back in.

UAW to get 39% of GM, Obama administration 50% …

Imagine you’re one of the bondholders of GM, the people who bought the automaker’s debt in order to invest in the company and keep it running over the last several years. Now that the company is near collapse, the Treasury offers you this deal. Even though you own billion in GM bonds, you’d get 10% of the company. The UAW, which has a claim on billion for its health-care and pensions obligations, would only have to sacrifice half of that to get 39%. The feds, who will invest another billion to bring their total investment to the same level as your bonds, wants 51%.
Huh?
Meanwhile, however, bondholders pose a major stumbling block to the restructuring. Under the proposed offering which GM filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, investors holding .2 billion of GM bonds would swap those bonds for 10 percent of the equity shares of the restructured company. The United Auto Workers would get up to 39 percent of the company in return for half of the billion GM owes to a health fund for retired workers. Current shareholders would get 1 percent of the new shares.
The Treasury said that to meet restructuring goals and to fulfill bond covenants, the restructuring proposal must win the support of 90 percent of the bondholders, an uphill battle because bondholders and analysts said the union had received more favorable terms even though its legal claim in bankruptcy court would be equal to the bondholders’. Investors who bought GM bonds in 2003 are particularly upset at being portrayed as obstacles because those bonds were used to provide funds for GM workers’ pension plan.
“We are deeply concerned with today’s decision by GM and the auto task force to offer only a small, inequitable percentage of stock to its bondholders in exchange for their bonds,” advisers to an ad hoc group of bondholders said in a statement last night. “We believe the offer to be a blatant disregard of fairness for the bondholders who have funded this company and amounts to using taxpayer money to show political favoritism of one creditor over another.”
Some advisers said that GM bondholders, if they are patient, might get more money from a bankruptcy proceeding than they are being offered under the new restructuring plan.
Does anyone at the Treasury do math any longer? The total sacrifice of all three parties would be billion, of which the federal government and the bondholders are contributing the same percentage: 42.2%. The UAW will contribute about 15.6%. Why would the Obama administration expect bondholders to contribute 42% of the solution in order to gain 10% of the company? Granted, GM wasn’t exactly the best-run business, but only a bureaucrat would take that kind of offer — or be arrogant enough to make that kind of offer.
Small wonder the bondholders are balking at this proposal. They’d be better off in bankruptcy court, where their claims would get equal weight on a cost basis with the UAW and Treasury.
This is not just mere mathematical incompetence, however. Obama and his team want to engineer a political bankruptcy and dismantling of GM in order to pick their own winners and losers. Granting the UAW almost 40% of the company on a 15% investment makes no sense outside of Obama’s need to keep unions on his side while GM commits to much-needed downsizing and brand consolidation.
The Obama administration claims that the de facto nationalization of GM through their own claim on a majority stake in the company is an unhappy coincidence, but few are buying that explanation:
“Government ownership is an unfortunate outcome of this, not a goal,” said one person familiar with Obama administration deliberations and who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to preserve his relationships with officials. He said the government “could have gotten nothing for something, or something for something” and that it insisted on a 50 percent stake to leave open the potential to recover some of the billion the Treasury Department has already lent GM and the additional billion that it would inject under the new plan.
Some members of Congress and economists expressed concern that the government was effectively nationalizing GM and might exert influence over company decisions, despite its denials. Luigi Zingales, a finance professor of finance at the University of Chicago, said it would be “irresistible for the political system not to exercise some pressure. Do you not think they will push GM to make green cars? Maybe that’s the right thing to do and maybe not. But it shouldn’t be decided by Congress.”
The clear goal from the Obama administration is nationalization, in order to protect their relationships with unions, starting with the UAW. The green-car motivation plays a role as well. Obama talked often of the need to overhaul the American auto industry in order to produce energy-efficient cars on renewables. If he owns a majority stake
in GM, Obama can make those decisions himself, along with the Democrats in Congress. The federal government never fails to exercise power it grants itself, and anyone who thinks that Obama would not take advantage of that majority position is either drinking the Democratic Kool-Aid or simply hasn’t paid attention.
If they didn’t want the majority position, why did they demand it in this offer to the bondholders, especially since they’re not investing any more than the private sector did? They didn’t demand that power just to leave it on the sidelines.
Addendum: I can’t resist pointing out the Department of Redundancy Department moment in the WaPo’s piece: “Luigi Zingales, a finance professor of finance at the University of Chicago …”

Senator McCain has voted ‘NO’ to all of these issues when they came up for vote before the senate. Does the public really know his voting record? (Obama voted ‘Yes’) Information is from the US Senate website.
1.To provide safeguards for communications involving persons inside the United States
2.To strike the provisions providing immunity from civil liability to electronic communication service providers for certain assistance provided to the Government.
3.To provide a statement of the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance and interception of certain communications may be conducted.
4.To provide safeguards for communications involving persons inside the United States.
5.A bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or their political subdivisions.
6.To protect service members and veterans from means testing in bankruptcy, to disallow certain claims by lenders charging usurious interest rates to service members, and to allow service members to exempt property based on the law of the State of their premilitary residence.
7.To provide a homestead floor for the elderly.
8.To require enhanced disclosure to consumers regarding the consequences of making only minimum required payments in the repayment of credit card debt, and for other purposes.
9.To exempt debtors whose financial problems were caused by serious medical problems from means testing.
10.To provide protection for medical debt homeowners.
11.To preserve existing bankruptcy protections for individuals experiencing economic distress as caregivers to ill or disabled family members.
12.To exempt debtors from means testing if their financial problems were caused by identity theft
13.To discourage predatory lending practices.
14.To protect employees and retirees from corporate practices that deprive them of their earnings and retirement savings when a business files for bankruptcy.
15.To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage
16.To clarify that the means test does not apply to debtors below median income.
17.To exempt debtors whose financial problems were caused by failure to receive alimony or child support, or both, from means testing.
18.To limit claims in bankruptcy by certain unsecured creditors.
19.To restore funding for education programs that are cut and reduce debt by closing corporate tax loopholes.
20.To ensure that 75-year solvency has been restored to Social Security before Congress considers new deficit-financed legislation that would increase mandatory spending or cut taxes.
21.To express the sense of the Senate that Congress should reject any Social Security plan that requires deep benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt.
22.To protect the American people from terrorist attacks by providing the necessary resources to our firefighters, police, EMS workers and other first-responders by restoring ,626 billion in cuts to first-responder programs.
23.To increase veterans medical care by .8 billion in 2006.
24.To create a reserve fund for the establishment of a Bipartisan Medicaid Commission to consider and recommend appropriate reforms to the Medicaid program, and to strike Medicaid cuts to protect states and vulnerable populations
25.To repeal the tax subsidy for certain domestic companies which move manufacturing operations and American jobs offshore.
26.To protect the American people from terrorist attacks by restoring 5 million in cuts to vital first-responder programs in the Department of Homeland Security, including the State Homeland Security Grant program, by providing 0 million for port security grants and by providing 0 million for 1,000 new border patrol agents
27.To expand access to preventive health care services that reduce unintended pregnancy (including teen pregnancy), reduce the number of abortions, and improve access to women’s health care.
28.To promote innovation and U.S. competitiveness by expressing the sense of the Senate urging the Senate Committee on Appropriations to make efforts to fund the Advanced Technology Program, which supports industry-led research and development of cutting-edge technologies with broad commercial potential and societal benefits.
29.To increase funding for border security
30.To eliminate methyl tertiary butyl ether from the United States fuel supply, to increase production and use of renewable fuel, and to increase the Nation’s energy independence
31.To improve the energy security of the United States and reduce United States dependence on foreign oil imports by 40 percent by 2025.
32.To provide additional funding for medical services provided by the Veterans Health Administration
33.To fund urgent priorities for our Nation’s firefighters, law enforcement personnel, emergency medical personnel, and all Americans by reducing the tax breaks for individuals with annual incomes in excess of million.
34.To provide an additional 0,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to be used for readjustment counseling, related mental health services, and treatment and rehabilitative services for veterans with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance use disorder.
35.To improve the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to protect consumers from price-gouging during energy emergencies, and for other purposes.
36.To provide additional funding for the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 and to provide activities for latchkey children.

CNSNews.com
MoveOn.org is Trying to Mobilize Activists to Attend Town Hall Meetings to Push for ‘Public Option’ Health Care
Thursday, August 13, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

A man holds a sign as President Obama’s motorcade heads to a town hall on health care reform, Wednesday, July 29, 2009, near a supermarket in Bristol, Va. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)(CNSNews.com) – While President Obama has focused attention on "special interests" that are mobilizing to try to defeat his health-care plan, the liberal group MoveOn.org is trying to mobilize people to attend congressional town hall meetings to push for the plan, and especially to push for a government-run “public option” insurance program.

MoveOn.org is even suggesting brief statements people can make in favor of a “public option” health care plan if they attend a town hall, and gives people the opportunity to download signs indicating their approval of the "public option" that they can print and carry into the meetings.

The lead article on MoveOn.org’s Web site yesterday and this morning is headlined, “It’s Getting Ugly.”

“Right-wing extremists are disrupting town hall meetings with attacks on President Obama’s plans for health care and clean energy,” it says. “But we’re showing Congress that ordinary Americans continue to support his agenda for change.”

If visitors to the site then click on a link labeled, “Get materials to attend a town hall near you,” they are directed to a list of three suggested statements and a question they can use at town hall meetings, as well as additional links to ready-made posters that can be downloaded and printed.

“I’m here to urge you to push for passage of a health care reform plan with a real public health insurance option as soon as you head back to Washington,” says the first of three suggested statements. “It’s critical for controlling skyrocketing costs and guaranteeing security for all of us.”

“Our health care system is broken–costs are skyrocketing and too many people can’t afford coverage,” says the second suggested statement. “President Obama’s health care plan–the public health insurance option–is the key to fixing those problems.”

“We need action now,” says the third suggested statement. “The cost of inaction is too high—every day that we delay, 14,000 Americans lose their insurance and nearly 2,500 file for bankruptcy because of medical costs. And costs continue to spiral out of control: average family premiums will hit ,000 a year in the next decade.”

The one question MoveOn.org suggests people use is also prefaced with a statement.

“With a real public option, costs will start to go down and millions of individuals, families, and small businesses will have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance,” says the preface to this question. “And no matter what happens to our jobs or our health, a public option will always be there for us. Will you fight to make sure a real public health insurance option is included in health care reform this year?”

The three downloadable signs provided by the MoveOn.org Web site say: “Public Option = Affordable Health Care,” “Prescription: Public Option,” and “83 percent Support the Public Option.”

Top Five Health Care Reform Lies—and How to Fight Back
Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!

The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No ‘death panel’ in health care bill."4 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.5

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!

The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.6 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.7

If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.8 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!

The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.9 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!

The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.10 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.11

Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!

The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy.

Right now, we spend more than trillion dollars a year on health care.12 The average family premium is projected to rise to over ,000 in the next decade13—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.14 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.15

We’re closer to real health care reform than we’ve ever been—and the next few weeks will decide whether it happens. We need to make sure the truth about health care reform is spread far and wide to combat right wing lies.
These are facts, you should check on them if you don’t believe them. I guess you’d feel better if he really was tryna kill your granny. Too bad Bush allowed the insurance costs and/or inability to pay killed mine!
TX Happy Horn, just from your name, I don’t expect for you to understand what is going on. You all are brainwashed from birth in TX. LMAO!

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!
The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No ‘death panel’ in health care bill."1 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.2
If you’d like to read the actual section of the legislation that spawned these outrageous claims (Section 1233 of H.R. 3200) for yourself, here it is. It’s pretty boring stuff, which is why the accusations that it creates "death panels" is so absurd. But don’t take our word for it, read it yourself.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.3 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.4 If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.5 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!
The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.6 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!
The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.7 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.8

——————————————————————————–

Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!
The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy. Right now, we spend more than trillion dollars a year on health care.9 The average family premium is projected to rise to over ,000 in the next decade10—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.11 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.12

——————————————————————————–
I have read the bill personally.

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!
The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No ‘death panel’ in health care bill."1 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.2
If you’d like to read the actual section of the legislation that spawned these outrageous claims (Section 1233 of H.R. 3200) for yourself, here it is. It’s pretty boring stuff, which is why the accusations that it creates "death panels" is so absurd. But don’t take our word for it, read it yourself.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.3 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.4 If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.5 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!
The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.6 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!
The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.7 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.8

——————————————————————————–

Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!
The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy. Right now, we spend more than trillion dollars a year on health care.9 The average family premium is projected to rise to over ,000 in the next decade10—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.11 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.12

——————————————————————————–

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!
The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No ‘death panel’ in health care bill."1 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.2
If you’d like to read the actual section of the legislation that spawned these outrageous claims (Section 1233 of H.R. 3200) for yourself, here it is. It’s pretty boring stuff, which is why the accusations that it creates "death panels" is so absurd. But don’t take our word for it, read it yourself.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.3 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.4 If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.5 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!
The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.6 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

——————————————————————————–

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!
The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.7 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.8

——————————————————————————–

Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!
The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy. Right now, we spend more than trillion dollars a year on health care.9 The average family premium is projected to rise to over ,000 in the next decade10—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.11 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.12

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I have read the bill, why don’t you? then you can stop accusing me of not reading the bill.
What…am i too smart for you? jumping to conclusions that i copied and pasted this. Read the bill and if you haven’t then shut up about healthcare reform.

Rush Limbaugh, the Junkie who serves as the main voice of the Republican party, has come out saying that his minions should stop President Obama from achieving the real change that America needs after 8 years of failed policies under Bush and the Republicans.

Now, Republican America-hater Jim DeMint has come out saying that the Republicans need to keep America from moving forward with sensible health care reform so that the Republicans can continue their failed agenda in the future.

These people are playing politics while America struggles to get out of the economic hole that their failed policies got us into.

Millions of Americans have no health care.

Millions of small businesses are driven out of business because they can’t afford health care costs.

The current health care system that funnels money into the pockets of the Republicans’ Wall Street donors has driven GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Why are Republicans so willing to play politics rather than to work to make America better?

I’ve heard from two different friends in DC (they don’t know each other) that both Bank of America and Shiti Group – err… Citi Group – are to be "Swedished" in the coming days. That’s essentially an ultra-rapid process of Chapter 11 bankruptcy – the banks will be nationalized, placed into receivership, all of their off-the-books assets will be pulled onto their balance sheets, and they will be dissolved and sold off in the private capital markets.

Of course, I’m sure this will be met with the standard cries of "socialism," though this isn’t really much different than a standard Chapter 11. However, as I was thinking about this, I started to wonder – what if it really does come down to a choice between outright socialism for a time, and total economic collapse?

Hypothetically, at what point would conservatives be willing to bite the bullet if it really came down to it? For instance, if:

You were faced with the prospect of losing all of your savings?

If the "do nothing" course meant more than 50% unemployment?

60% unemployment?

80%?

90%?

95%?

How about if hospitals started going bust, and people started dying for lack of medical care?

If food manufacturers and supermarkets started closing, and mass starvation looked to be on the horizon?

To be clear: I don’t want a socialist society. I’ve met President Obama, and I know for a fact that he doesn’t; he and his administration hate that this is their first order of business. I’m not talking ideology here, I’m talking pragmatism: assuming that nationalized industries would be later re-privatized, what would you be unwilling to sacrifice on the altar of free markets?

As for me, I wouldn’t go along with such extreme measures unless it was clear that the collapse would present a tangible danger to American lives. I think that’s a pretty sensible position – what’s yours?
"There’s no such thing as temporary socialism"

The socialist period in the UK lasted from 1945-1979.

China has rolled back socialism somewhat (though not nearly to the extent most think – the state still controls 80% or so of the economy), and is now a mixed economy.

India’s economy used to be nearly as rigidly planned as the USSR, and that was a temporary phenomenon.

There – in 30 seconds, I’ve produced three examples obliterating this right-wing talking point. Why do conservatives insist on making demonstrably false claims?
My God… I asked a question that is nothing more than a simple thought experiment, and these hacks can’t put aside their partisan nonsense for even a second. Pathetic, just pathetic. If capitalism had only you free-market zealots to defend it, it would have been done for in the 1930’s.
End Fed,

We have never had "true capitalism" as you call it. Never. Nor has any other country. Nor will there ever be a country which does. That is because it is an IDEAL, a nice (depending on your perspective) notion like racial equality. Society can go in that direction, but it will never actually achieve the ideal – it can’t, it’s not meant to be achieved, it’s just a concept.

If it gives small businesses 5,000$ to hire someone & they don’t get more customers they would have to let them go or let them sit on their duffs. All this bill will do is put the country closer to bankruptcy. This may be what obama & the democrats want. All this stimulus has only given a few government jobs that aren’t needed & some short term construction jobs.that has cost us dearly.

Sure they may seem like a good thing…eliminating late fees, not allowing a spike in interest rates for being late, increasing the minimum payment so the balance gets paid off quicker, but there are repercussions. This may help people who are irresponsible, take on more debt than they can handle, don’t read what they sign, don’t keep track of their finances, but to the people who do it the right way it will likely hurt them. Banks aren’t going to just sit back and allow their profits to be eaten away like this. Instead of late fees they will charge annual fees. Since they will be restricted when and whom they can raise interest rates on, they will just raise them on everybody for no reason before the law takes affect. Forcing customers to pay an increased minimum payment may be more than some can afford at the time and will drive them into bankruptcy (how ironic that will be) Maybe they can only afford to pay a month until they get out of college and get a better job, then they can pay it down more. Who knows what each individual person’s situation is, certainly not a mickey mouse bureaucrat in Washington. I remember about 4 years ago when some financial regulatory agency in Washington was just RECOMMENDING that credit card companies increase their minimum payment requirements and people countered by saying, oh well this is only a recommendation, and I told them sooner rather than later the day would come when it would be mandated and what do you know, it happened. Also, it will be harder to get a card in the first place. I say if adults are irresponsible enough to take on more debt than they can afford and businesses are dumb enough to lend it to them, let them both go down and let them live and learn and leave the government out of it, but I guess this is what people wanted they checked that little box that said "Obama" 11 months ago. A liberal is what you voted for and a liberal is what you got. A do-gooder, and yes I do mean that in a negative way. You say why doing "good" isn’t always so nice. Sure, I read that part in the law that says this new law is "optional" The problem is, if I choose not to follow the government rules, I have to close my account altogether and not have a card at all and all future card holders don’t have a choice and have to play by the government’s new rules. Check out the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091013/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_of_america_annual_fees

Obama’s has accomplished ZIP, ZERO, nothing, not one single positive change….even Democrats must admit this…only future promises.

The Facts of Obama:

a) Increased Unemployment….sorry dems it’s a FACT
b) Trillions in NEW debt
c) Cap & Trade=NEW TAXES on small business & consumers
d) Bankruptcy

that’s it…the rest is nothing but hype BS

Support abortion rights
"Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving… women’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change
Work to reduced unintended pregnancies
"Obama will work to reduce unintended pregnancy by guaranteeing equity in contraceptive coverage, providing sex education and offering rape victims accurate information about emergency contraception."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change

Hire based on merit
"When it comes to hiring people in my administration, the litmus test that will apply will not be based on party or ideology or who’s traded the most favors, but on qualifications and experience. We’re going to have experienced, competent people in the White House."—05/19/08 Billings, Mont.
Require new hires to deny cronyism
"Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change
Deliver fireside chats online
"He will personally deliver occasional fireside chats via webcast."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change

Increase regulation of financial industry
"I’ll put in place the common-sense regulations and rules of the road I’ve been calling for since March — rules that will keep our market free, fair, and honest; rules that will restore accountability and responsibility in our corporate boardrooms."—10/9/08, Dayton, Ohio
Advocate free market
"I will always be a strong advocate for a market that is free and open."—9/17/07, New York City
Add consumer credit protections
"I’ll institute a five-star rating system to inform consumers about the level of risk involved in every credit card. And we’ll establish a credit card bill of rights that will ban unilateral changes to a credit card agreement, ban rate changes to debt that’s already incurred and ban interest fees on late fees."—11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa
Reform bankruptcy laws
"Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies and require disclosure of all pension investments."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change
"We’ll make sure that if you can demonstrate that you went bankrupt because of medical expenses, then you can relieve that debt and get back on your feet."—2/13/07, Janesville, Wis.
"Obama will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual’s mortgage payments."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change
Ensure economy works for everyone
Obama promised to "make sure our economy is working for everybody."—6/2/08, Droy, Mich., Associated Press
Help community and small business development agencies
"Obama will provide additional resources to the federal Community Development Financial Institution Fund, the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies, especially to their local branch offices, to address community needs."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change

Increase minimum wage every year
"I won’t wait 10 years to raise the minimum wage. I’ll guarantee that it goes up every single year."—11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa
Support unions
"If American workers are being denied their right to organize when I’m in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes and I will walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States."—11.3/07, Spartanburg, S.C.
Try to ban permanent replacement of strikers
"He will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods."—Obama’s Blueprint for Change
Invest billion in transitional jobs programs
"I will invest billion over five years in innovative transitional jobs programs that have been highly successful at placing the unemployed into temporary jobs and then training them for permanent ones."—7/18/07, Washington, D.C.
Stand up for working parents
"I’ll be a president who stands up for working parents."—11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa
Require automatic retirement savings plans
"When I’m president, employers will be required to enroll every worker in a direct deposit retirement account that places a small percentage of every paycheck into savings."—1/29/08, El Dorado, Kan.
Expand Family Medical Leave Act
"I’ll expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include more businesses and millions more workers"—11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa
Won’t sign trade pacts lacking labor and environmental standards
"It’s because of this longstanding commitment to working families that I will not sign any trade agreement as president that does not have protections for our environment and protections for American workers."—2/24/08, Lorain, Ohio
Sign the Employee Free Choice Act
"That [union right to organize] is why I’ll fight for and why I intend to sign the Employee Free Choice Act when it lands on my desk in
I can’t shorten it up…he has promised everything but the kitchen sink to America.

The votes on a bill making it harder to declare Bankruptcy ( pro bank).
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00044
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Clinton (D-NY), Not
McCain (R-AZ), Yea

Here’s the bill.
From Congresspedia:
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (S.256), as passed, was introduced in the 109th Congress (2005-2006). The act made sweeping changes to American bankruptcy laws, affecting both consumer and business bankruptcies. Many of the bill’s provisions were explicitly designed by the bill’s Congressional sponsors to make it "more difficult for people to file for bankruptcy" in order to curb abuse. The act was passed by the 109th United States Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on April 20, 2005,