Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, March 27, 2013


Yes... he'll always be The King...

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4 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cdc-110197000-venereal-infections-us-nation-creating-new-stis-faster-new-jobs-or

According to new data released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 19.7 million new venereal infections in the United States in 2008, bringing the total number of existing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. at that time to 110,197,000.

* THAT'S 2008... FIVE YEARS AGO... ROUGHLY A THIRD OF THE POPULATION...

The STI study referenced by the CDC estimated that 50% of the new infections in 2008 occurred among people in the 15-to-24 age bracket.

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

“CDC’s new estimates show that there are about 20 million new infections in the United States each year...

* NAH... WE'RE NOT A NATION IN DECLINE... NOPE... NO WAY...

(*SNICKER*)

March 27, 2013 at 3:45 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/03/26/sebelius-some-could-see-insurance-premiums-rise/?mod=rss_mobile_uber_feed

Some people purchasing new insurance policies for themselves this fall could see premiums rise because of requirements in the health-care law, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters Tuesday.

* BUT... BUT... BUT... WEREN'T WE PROMISED PREMIUMS WOULD GO DOWN...??? (RHETORICAL QUESTION.)

* MY PREMIUMS WENT UP 17% LAST YEAR; HOW'BOUT YOU GUYS READING THIS...?

As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, some insurers have already begun signaling they could dramatically increase prices for people buying policies in the individual market to compensate for restrictions on how they treat consumers, as well as new fees and requirements that they provide bigger benefits packages. The Society of Actuaries, a non-partisan professional association, has issued a new report warning that the cost of medical claims in the new individual-insurance market could rise by an average of 32% per person over the first few years the law is in place...

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

March 27, 2013 at 3:53 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/03/26/states-hide-teachers-pensions/?roi=echo3-15012176705-11990012-14d694f26e8820f5de8a55c3e53440ae&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

How much are we spending on education? Actually, far more than we know — because as it turns out, states are hiding some of the teachers’ benefits.

In a new paper, Heritage expert Jason Richwine reveals that “Proper accounting would reveal tens of billions of dollars in extra teacher pension costs, equivalent to somewhere around $1,000 in unreported spending per student.”

That’s right — the real cost of education is far higher than we’ve been told, but it’s not because of extra classroom resources or newer facilities. It’s because of teachers’ pensions.

[T]he National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) allows states to define teacher pension costs as whatever school districts happen to contribute to their pension funds each year, rather than the amount needed to pay for future pension benefits.

(*SMIRK*)

This is not just an accounting problem — it’s a matter of transparency about the real cost of teacher pensions.

* NEITHER THE NCES NOR THE TEACHERS UNIONS HAVE ANY INTEREST IN PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY...

Governments routinely contribute less than is needed to cover future pension benefits, but those benefits are guaranteed.

* THUS... DEFAULTS OR BAILOUTS - AND SURPRISE! MORE OFTEN THAN NOT DEFAULTS ARE NOT AN OPTION!

Because pension benefits are guaranteed by state law and often by state constitutions, underfunding pension plans today does not reduce benefits or save money in the long term. It simply delays paying for steadily accruing benefits, forcing future taxpayers to deal with the growing problem.

March 27, 2013 at 4:47 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2013/03/26/Outdated-Laws-Drive-Stupid-Government-Spending.aspx#page1

* JUST READ IT...

March 27, 2013 at 5:09 PM

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