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On my behalf, we're healthy? I'm paying over $900 a month now with a $5k deductible. We've been contributing to our HSA because it only makes good sense.
Last year I found out about the Ocare rule where every American is allowed two full months without coverage a year and you don't get fined, you can take the short coverage gap exemption on form 8965. So after getting the letter that our insurance policy was being discontinued at the end of the year because of Ocare (the second time this happened), we didn't pay Nov and Dec 2016, going without insurance for 2 months. It helped reduce our yearly cost.
Are you by chance living in one of those anti-Ocare states? Why discontinued, twice no less? I've had no such experience where I live...
I won't bother responding any further to these typical comments by people who really have nothing better to do or say besides chirp insults and nonsense. Again, there are lots and lots of threads devoted to that sort of thing. Whatcha doing here?
Instead, I'll look for people/comments -- intelligent life -- that seems worth engaging, best I can tell...
Curious, although I know it hasn't been long that Trump has been POTUS, who can offer evidence proof-positive that what Trump has done or wants to do will help YOU personally and tangibly? For example, no rhetoric about just "making America great again," or safer against terrorism, or general positive economic news...
What can anyone claim is now better for them personally, quantifiably? For example, better health care, lower health care costs, a new job, higher pay. If nothing yet, what is it you foresee in the future, better for you personally and why?
Concrete specifics only please. Plenty generalities enough in these threads for those who prefer more of that same old rhetorical dance in the dark...
Daily comic relief listening to the hysterics of the left.
Both my kids have found a job. Of course there is no proof-positive that is a result of POTUS since there has not been enough time for any new policy to have an affect on peoples life one way or another.
What Trump has done for me, is to make me acutely aware of political and social issues, to a degree far beyond what I've ever known before. And this will always continue with me, long after he is no more than a foul aftertaste, always lingering on the edge of my thoughts, but hopefully no more than that.
Agreed. I have often commented the same thing. Trump has done for politics what no other politicians has done before in terms of ratings, getting attention, forcing people to think about what is going on around them, in ways we've not done before. Good one!
Brings to mind another question or issue, since I know that following politics and that interest is far more prevalent in countries experiencing political turmoil, like entire changes of government, coups, serious changes. It has been argued that Americans are somewhat apathetic in comparison, because we are far better satisfied. If true, are we better off to be more interested now or worse?
As something of a news/politics junkie, I suspect we're better off...
Mmm-hmm. SecState is an Exxon executive, SecTreas is a Goldmann-Sachs executive, and the 2nd highest civilian job in the Pentagon has just been filled with a Boeing executive. That's some fine swamp-draining.
Say instead, we imagined DC full of saints and angels...
How would that translate to better for you in a personal, tangible, specific way?
Again, I ask, because at heart here is how we "connect those dots," from what we think and FEEL is happening around us to what is ACTUALLY happening to us, personally, specifically. If when we can't do that, we tend to prove we are not really sure at all what is going on around us in tangible terms.
I suspect this may be one of this country's biggest problems, very common all over the world...
Thanks. I too have experience working for a large corporation and also as a small business owner. I did well with both, but I also suffered the ups and downs that you attribute to Obama vs Trump. I don't attribute those ups and downs to either. Going back a good many decades before Obama as well, any business person knows that much depends on how the economy is doing regardless the POTUS, and how the economy is going usually takes some time before re-establishing direction from boom to bust, bust to boom.
You see all those investors ducking when Obama took office, but no mention of how the economy was doing when Obama took office. I view that as a mistake that leads to misguided conclusions. I too withdrew from investing about then, after seeing my existing investments and home value cut in half! But I didn't withdraw because of Obama. Just about anyone regardless of political leaning withdrew from investing, because the economy was in free fall. Remember?
In 2012 when I was referencing, according to the white house spin, the economy was going great guns, 4 years after he initially took office.
It does effect me directly as one of the things I do is consult with start up businesses to help them line up capital and investors.
If there are a lot of start ups and investors are feeling good about the economy, my work pays well. When the economy is depressed and investors hide their money in secure but low return investments to keep it from the government, my business suffers.
The last 2 months I have seen more activity than I've seen in any other period since 2008.
You also don't make any mention about yourself, personally, but rather the business community and investors who I would honestly suggest are far more optimistic about economic upswings over conservative administrations, though everyone is always happy about the prospect of paying lower taxes. I have done very well and/or lost a good amount of money before, during Obama's administrations. Now too under Trump I too am making more money because the market is up.
When investors feel secure that they will get to keep the proceeds of their work, they will invest. When they feel they will be penalized for making a profit, they will hide their assets in places that return less, but are more secure from the tax man.
Not just conservative presidents, but conservative legislatures and senates also are seen as positive by businessmen and investors. The mid-term 2010 election when the house was taken over by republicans was the start of the recovery.
That's true for me personally. You? Most Americans? That is really the more specific question I had in mind when I started this thread. How much do we vote because of what we THINK/FEEL is going on around us, vs directly to us, for us? That's what I'm getting at here...
PS: Please, not again with the guns, but if necessary. Did YOU PERSONALLY change your gun buying behavior because of Obama and/or Trump? Lots of people do, but most people don't. You? And this matters how much in the grand scheme of things to you personally?
Actually, it did. I didn't buy any firearms through a licensed dealer since 2009, but when Trump was sworn in, to celebrate, I went and bought a new hunting rifle at my local sporting goods store. Very nice single shot precision weapon, but I wouldn't have bought it from anywhere there would be a record before President Trump was inaugurated, and I wouldn't have bought it if Hillary had won.
I like being able to find ammunition again, and reloading components, and not feeling that if I see a box of bullets on a store shelf I have to buy it because it may be the last one I see for months or longer.
Obama's tenure was the only time I've ever seen panic buying of firearms and ammunition. I worked in that industry for several years, including the Clinton years, and there was never in my memory the fear I saw in 2009-2017.
The fear people had drove them to extremes. In my area, there were a lot of sales of small pieces of land where people with no experience were trying to be self sufficient. They were trying to grow their own food, make their own power, they were learning about wild medicines and folk remedies because they were convinced that the economy was collapsing, and they were worried about the security and safety of their families.
Some of the business' I deal with sell survival foods, heritage seeds, composting toilets, supplies for home canning and preservation of foods, solar power systems, windmills, bio diesel, they were doing great.
Ranchers I know that raised heritage breeds of livestock and horses, or sold horsedrawn equipment and tools, they saw more sales than they had ever gotten.
Even the blacksmiths I know that were mostly making art, suddenly had a demand for tools and weapons.
The Obama years were a time of fear for a lot of people. Because I deal with small businesses, I could see that the regular types of business, stores, retail, hardware, automotive etc., were barely hanging on. The folks that sold "fringe" supplies were going as hard as they could to take advantage of the situation.
An economy driven by fear isn't sustainable, and they knew it.
I've spoken to a couple of them since Trump's inauguration, and their sales have fallen dramatically.
I take that as a good personal sign. If people feel secure, they will go about their normal lives. My friends selling offbeat stuff may lose business, but the ones selling regular consumer items will come back, which to me is a good thing that impacts me positively on a personal level because when there is stability, real or perceived, by the populace, then business will move forward and I'll get more stable work.
Last edited by MTSilvertip; 03-21-2017 at 01:14 PM..
I won't have a penalty for not having health insurance that I can't afford as employers aren't offering and make too much money to get the government plan.
Let's see -- under Obama my healthcare costs went up by about $700 per month so $8,000 per year or something like $50,000 for 8 years -- most of that employer paid, but still. My daughter who is going to nursing school full time and working almost full time, her healthcare pre Obama was about $150 per month but now it's $300 after subsidies for worse coverage.
Under Trump my 401k has gone up by about $50,000 in 4 months. Thank you Donald.
No doubt what we ARE experiencing very personally is with regard to health care, and just about everyone will be carefully waiting and watching to learn how they will fare, very personally, with Trump's and/or the GOP new plan, whatever that will prove to be. We enjoyed keeping our son and daughter on our plan until age 26 as allowed by the ACA. We also enjoyed preventative medical screenings at no cost, thanks to the ACA. My wife was no longer denied coverage as a result of a pre-existing (ridiculous) medical condition according to our insurance carrier at that time, prior to Obama. Kids are now older than 26, and both working full-time with medical coverage provided by their employer, so not our problem anymore, but for those less fortunate.
Again, stay tuned.
Increased wealth as a result of the stock market is getting Trump lots of praise too. Whether or not that's part of "making America great again," or more Americans wealthy again, or both, I really don't know...
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