The Netherlands counts over 20 serious parties, of which 11 are represented in the house of representatives. We're about the size of Maryland, but have 17 million inhabitants. While it's sometimes hard decide who to vote for because all parties are quite different, I'm glad that it never leads to situations like in the US. It just seems so strange to me to have a 2 party system in such an immensely important country. Surely there are many more views to be represented... Unfortunately those who do never get enough votes.
I hope for everyone who is affected by this that it'll be resolved soon!
I hope for everyone who is affected by this that it'll be resolved soon!
The shut down should be over within 10 days. After 10 days active duty military personnel and their families will stop receiving paychecks (according to the npr program I half listened to yesterday). I don't know a single american politician that would want that on their record come reelection.
Also, My 2 cents: Obamacare isn't perfect. It's actually a really bad system. However, it is a step in the right direction. Every single other developed nation has some form of universal healthcare except america. I'm all for changing/repealing obamacare in order to put a better system in place, but holding the whole government hostage like the republicans in the house are doing is just ridiculous.
Also, Obamacare doesn't personally affect me, but it affects my sister (who has been off of our parents healthcare since she turned 26 in January) and it is actually helping her a lot, so it isn't ALL bad.
Also, My 2 cents: Obamacare isn't perfect. It's actually a really bad system. However, it is a step in the right direction. Every single other developed nation has some form of universal healthcare except america. I'm all for changing/repealing obamacare in order to put a better system in place, but holding the whole government hostage like the republicans in the house are doing is just ridiculous.
Also, Obamacare doesn't personally affect me, but it affects my sister (who has been off of our parents healthcare since she turned 26 in January) and it is actually helping her a lot, so it isn't ALL bad.
It's Yosemite National Park's birthday and to celebrate, all national parks are closing.
LionxIt's Yosemite National Park's birthday and to celebrate, all national parks are closing.
damnit my school trip.
also, gg congress
damnit my school trip.
also, gg congress
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MarxistI know it's kinda late on in the discussion.
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine.
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine. [/quote]
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).
HereThereBeTygersMarxistI know it's kinda late on in the discussion.
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine.
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).
Everyone says that seems to only watch FOX. In fact, most places would be exempt since they don't have enough employees.
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine. [/quote]
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).[/quote]
Everyone says that seems to only watch FOX. In fact, most places would be exempt since they don't have enough employees.
FzeroHereThereBeTygersMarxistI know it's kinda late on in the discussion.
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine.
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).
Everyone says that seems to only watch FOX. In fact, most places would be exempt since they don't have enough employees.
I'm not pretending to understand Obamacare, just reporting what my uncle told me (and he's done research). He has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required. His business doesn't make enough money in one year to cover the amount Obamacare will cost him to pay for all of their healthcare. (this won't take effect until after this season however).
But a few things (I have a degree in History AND ANOTHER equally useless degree in economics if you need trust factor).
1. Bloodsire, almost no company ever is having to reduce employment or stop hiring because of obamacare - it's simply not that large of a concern. However, companies haven't been hiring as much, and have been generally cutting back on hours, since 2008 - a continued trend that we see exhibited here. Having to pay an extra 30$ a month so some dude you hire can have health insurance is a drop in the bucket for most businesses - unless they already have other problems (thus not hiring and reducing hours - again, a general trend since 2008). It's an absurdity to suggest that the extra fees now associated with full time employees would dissuade somebody from hiring, unless they were already not going to hire anybody. While I do agree with you that part-time union employees kinda got unnecessarily fucked. Right now the fine is only 95$, which, if you don't need insurance isn't such a big deal, furthermore if you're only a part time employee you'll likely be able to enroll (being over 26 like myself) in the open enrollment period if you're afraid of that 95$ fine. [/quote]
My uncle runs a brewery and restaurant, and he said that Obamacare will most likely make them shut down, or at least drastically reduce his hours (only serve dinner during the winter season, only lunch and dinner during summer).[/quote]
Everyone says that seems to only watch FOX. In fact, most places would be exempt since they don't have enough employees.[/quote]
I'm not pretending to understand Obamacare, just reporting what my uncle told me (and he's done research). He has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required. His business doesn't make enough money in one year to cover the amount Obamacare will cost him to pay for all of their healthcare. (this won't take effect until after this season however).
The scarier (and perhaps consequently more interesting) extension of this political brinksmanship is the debate over the debt ceiling coming up on Oct. 17 (ish).
On that day (roughly) the government will have spent the maximum amount of money allowed by our current debt ceiling (the maximum amount of dollars we can borrow.
This means that the US, if legislation is not passed prior to our reaching the debt ceiling, will default on its debt. That is really bad.
Paul Krugman explains the immediate consequences:
If the feds are forced to slash spending, one way or another (and probably semi-randomly) to match receipts, that
On that day (roughly) the government will have spent the maximum amount of money allowed by our current debt ceiling (the maximum amount of dollars we can borrow.
This means that the US, if legislation is not passed prior to our reaching the debt ceiling, will default on its debt. That is really bad.
Paul Krugman explains the [i]immediate[/i] consequences:
[quote]If the feds are forced to slash spending, one way or another (and probably semi-randomly) to match receipts, that
HereThereBeTygersHe has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.
SneakyPolarBear-snip-
This is the other big issue floating around for sure.
It's a scary place out there...can't wait until 2014 so we can vote out some of the deadweight.
This is the other big issue floating around for sure.
It's a scary place out there...can't wait until 2014 so we can vote out some of the deadweight.
SneakyPolarBearHereThereBeTygersHe has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.
You beat me to the punch there. It's hard to even understand if your uncle is that close to the margins why he would even have that many employees, and moreover, someone that has that many employees should've had some type of insurance already. But as a general rule with the restaurant business, if people aren't coming in to eat, it's likely the food that you are serving or your prices. That business is still booming, a slow economy hasn't really touched people eating out.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.[/quote]
You beat me to the punch there. It's hard to even understand if your uncle is that close to the margins why he would even have that many employees, and moreover, someone that has that many employees should've had some type of insurance already. But as a general rule with the restaurant business, if people aren't coming in to eat, it's likely the food that you are serving or your prices. That business is still booming, a slow economy hasn't really touched people eating out.
phobiathe fuck does it mean?
Reason for the shutdown? Let's just say that some people in the government were being illuminaughty.
Reason for the shutdown? Let's just say that some people in the government were being illuminaughty.
I think the only reason we're fraking out about this on these forums is that most of us don't remember the whole period of shutdowns from 74 to 95.
Helo bleeding heart Canadian liberal here. All about universal healthcare but I think it's a bit ignorant for American dems to straight up deny that there are problems with ACA. I know at least 1 TF2 player negatively affected by this (hours slashed nearly in half by employer to avoid paying healthcare/fine). You can support the bill generally without having to jump down someone's throat when they say they know somebody who is going to have problems because of it as if that's impossible and they must be making it up.
That said, regardless of whether or not you agree with ACA it is fucking incredible to me that your politicians are able to attach unrelated political legislation to a budget and try to hold the entire government hostage. This should be obviously reprehensible to everyone regardless of political affiliation and seems like a sign that your legislature is fundamentally flawed.
That said, regardless of whether or not you agree with ACA it is fucking incredible to me that your politicians are able to attach unrelated political legislation to a budget and try to hold the entire government hostage. This should be obviously reprehensible to everyone regardless of political affiliation and seems like a sign that your legislature is fundamentally flawed.
You've probably already seen it somewhere but whatever
[img]http://i.imgur.com/LWDUUA0.jpg[/img]
TurinI think the only reason we're fraking out about this on these forums is that most of us don't remember the whole period of shutdowns from 74 to 95.
or maybe its because if it lasts more than a couple weeks i won't be able to pay my rent lol
i doubt it will but it wouldn't be unprecedented for sure
or maybe its because if it lasts more than a couple weeks i won't be able to pay my rent lol
i doubt it will but it wouldn't be unprecedented for sure
Sneaky, they can only pretend to shit money for so long. It kind of seems like they just brush it aside every time and raise their dept ceiling for another 6 months or whatever. Doesn't make sense, they do have to make some changes for sure.
Bubbajohn Stewart has a hilarious episode on this. omg
And very informative. Ironically (or not) the daily show is how I keep up with american and world politics.
Jon is amazing
And very informative. Ironically (or not) the daily show is how I keep up with american and world politics.
Jon is amazing
I got a 200 euro bill recently for health care I didn't get (NL system is starting to look more and more like US system tbh, due to savings)... Personally I'm starting to get sick of the government here trying to control everything and make decisions for us that we should make ourselves, aka living OUR lives. I guess all countries have their weird stuff.
HereThereBeTygers
I'm not pretending to understand Obamacare, just reporting what my uncle told me (and he's done research)[/u]. He has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required. His business doesn't make enough money in one year to cover the amount Obamacare will cost him to pay for all of their healthcare. (this won't take effect until after this season however).
He doesn't appear to of done his research all that well, and honestly it's kind of absurd for him to claim he has, the Affordable health care act is roughly 1,500 pages of poorly written legislation. And it is far too complex for most people to read and comprehend(not because people are dumb, more so that it is poorly written, and it is bogged down with tons of legal diction that your everyday american doesn't understand) hell some of the professors at my school are still 4 years after it was passed working on the integration of it into Illinois.
Anywho as for the business you described personally. The resturant is only open for dinner in the winter, which say 4pm-10pm? 6x7=42, so there are 42 possible hours in the week for him and he has 50 employees employed full time? From an objective business POV he could easily have nobody be employed full time, and still sustain his winter work schedule. And depending on your state, for obama care to affect him he would have to be able to sustain their "full time" work hours year round for it to fall under the obamacare. And even than anyone who's worked at a resturant could tell you to have 50 full time employee's implies your restaurant is HUGE even if you are open 8am-10pm having 50 full time employees is absurd(i mean the only conceivable restaurant that would employee that many people is like a freaking Vegas buffet..)
More than likely what's happening is your uncle has both his brewery and his resturant as one entity(which if he sells his brew anywhere but his restaurant very well could be fraud*) I believe--like 90% sure-- he can easily split them up and than his work forces would be under seperate entities and he wouldn't have to give them health care. And if he somehow is sustaining 50 full time employees on just his brewery, and he still can't fund health care he should probably look at his business practices since there are quite a few micro brewers who sell their product across multiple states and stil employ less than 30 let alone 50 full time employers(goose island 312 brewery being a prime example).
Hell i only know like the basics of it as well as the legal side, i'm sure if he did his full research and talked to a small business consultant there are tons of loopholes and work arounds as well. And if the brewery is just a small hobby of his, and he only sells it at his restaurant maybe he should just drop it(or the resturant if the brewery is the money maker). It sounds like less of a "obama care is killing my uncle's business" and more so Your uncle is poorly managing his business(es?) and it actually sounds really freaking shady.
*I deal in international investment mostly, not small businesses and finacing so I'm not 100% sure if it's fraud or not,but i doubt the IRS would bother to look either way since it sounds like a very small business that is standing on its last legs
I'm not pretending to understand Obamacare, just reporting what my uncle told me [b][u](and he's done resear[/b]ch)[/u]. He has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required. His business doesn't make enough money in one year to cover the amount Obamacare will cost him to pay for all of their healthcare. (this won't take effect until after this season however).[/quote]
He doesn't appear to of done his research all that well, and honestly it's kind of absurd for him to claim he has, the Affordable health care act is roughly 1,500 pages of poorly written legislation. And it is far too complex for most people to read and comprehend(not because people are dumb, more so that it is poorly written, and it is bogged down with tons of legal diction that your everyday american doesn't understand) hell some of the professors at my school are still 4 years after it was passed working on the integration of it into Illinois.
Anywho as for the business you described personally. The resturant is only open for dinner in the winter, which say 4pm-10pm? 6x7=42, so there are 42 possible hours in the week for him and he has 50 employees employed full time? From an objective business POV he could easily have nobody be employed full time, and still sustain his winter work schedule. And depending on your state, for obama care to affect him he would have to be able to sustain their "full time" work hours year round for it to fall under the obamacare. And even than anyone who's worked at a resturant could tell you to have 50 full time employee's implies your restaurant is HUGE even if you are open 8am-10pm having 50 full time employees is absurd(i mean the only conceivable restaurant that would employee that many people is like a freaking Vegas buffet..)
More than likely what's happening is your uncle has both his brewery and his resturant as one entity(which if he sells his brew anywhere but his restaurant very well could be fraud*) I believe--like 90% sure-- he can easily split them up and than his work forces would be under seperate entities and he wouldn't have to give them health care. And if he somehow is sustaining 50 full time employees on just his brewery, and he still can't fund health care he should probably look at his business practices since there are quite a few micro brewers who sell their product across multiple states and stil employ less than 30 let alone 50 full time employers(goose island 312 brewery being a prime example).
Hell i only know like the basics of it as well as the legal side, i'm sure if he did his full research and talked to a small business consultant there are tons of loopholes and work arounds as well. And if the brewery is just a small hobby of his, and he only sells it at his restaurant maybe he should just drop it(or the resturant if the brewery is the money maker). It sounds like less of a "obama care is killing my uncle's business" and more so Your uncle is poorly managing his business(es?) and it actually sounds really freaking shady.
*I deal in international investment mostly, not small businesses and finacing so I'm not 100% sure if it's fraud or not,but i doubt the IRS would bother to look either way since it sounds like a very small business that is standing on its last legs
It depends on the state whether you're allowed to run a brewery and restaurant in the same building. In Texas, you pretty much can't. In fact, I don't think breweries here are even allowed to sell their own beer inside the brewery - it has to go through a distributor first. That might be changing soon, though.
As for the "debt ceiling," it's helpful to remember that debt isn't a bad word like it might be in households. For a country like the US, where everyone views holding US debt (treasury bonds) as a safer asset than cash, our government can sometimes borrow cheaper than inflation. That means when the debt comes due, it's actually worth less than when it was issued - the government makes money by taking out debt. It's a rarity, but over the past few years it's happened a few times.
If you want to get concerned about the amount of US debt or its ability to repay that debt, then watch the long-term interest rates on US treasury bills. If they ever spike to 7-10% (depending on how fast the economy is growing, this might be even higher), then it may be time to worry. Right now, it's nowhere close to worry territory.
As for the "debt ceiling," it's helpful to remember that debt isn't a bad word like it might be in households. For a country like the US, where everyone views holding US debt (treasury bonds) as a safer asset than cash, our government can sometimes borrow cheaper than inflation. That means when the debt comes due, it's actually worth less than when it was issued - the government makes money by taking out debt. It's a rarity, but over the past few years it's happened a few times.
If you want to get concerned about the amount of US debt or its ability to repay that debt, then watch the long-term interest rates on US treasury bills. If they ever spike to 7-10% (depending on how fast the economy is growing, this might be even higher), then it may be time to worry. Right now, it's nowhere close to worry territory.
Well if interest rates for general consumers were 0 or near zero as well - there would be no reason not to take on massive amounts of debt - assuming whatever you were taking on that debt for would make you money in some way or you could structure the payments well enough not to destroy your standard of living. So it'd even make sense for a household lol.
FzeroSneakyPolarBearHereThereBeTygersHe has over 50 full-time employees, which is the minimum amount where it becomes required.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.
You beat me to the punch there. It's hard to even understand if your uncle is that close to the margins why he would even have that many employees, and moreover, someone that has that many employees should've had some type of insurance already. But as a general rule with the restaurant business, if people aren't coming in to eat, it's likely the food that you are serving or your prices. That business is still booming, a slow economy hasn't really touched people eating out.
That's not true at all. A LOT of good restaurants fail because of the amount of competition there is in that market.
Worst case scenario he cuts a few workers to part time to make the cutoff. If that is somehow not feasible, then it would seem that his business was extraordinarily close to closure anyway.[/quote]
You beat me to the punch there. It's hard to even understand if your uncle is that close to the margins why he would even have that many employees, and moreover, someone that has that many employees should've had some type of insurance already. But as a general rule with the restaurant business, if people aren't coming in to eat, it's likely the food that you are serving or your prices. That business is still booming, a slow economy hasn't really touched people eating out.[/quote] That's not true at all. A LOT of good restaurants fail because of the amount of competition there is in that market.