Obama spars with Louisiana governor over healthcare law

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A trip by President Barack Obama to the Port of New Orleans on Friday was an opportunity for him to focus on the economy and divert attention from the troubled launch of his signature healthcare insurance program.

Instead, the visit turned into a spat over Obamacare with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a possible Republican presidential contender.

Jindal met Air Force One when it landed and attended Obama's speech to a crowd of about 650 people on a wharf on the Mississippi River.

Obama first delivered a pitch for the creation of jobs by fixing roads, dredging ports and modernizing the U.S. air traffic control system.

Then he took a veiled jab at Jindal for failing to support a key plank of the healthcare law.

Louisiana is one of 24 states that has refused federal funds to expand Medicaid to more low-income people, money that Obama said would help 265,000 people in the state gain access to health insurance.

"Even if you don't support the overall plan, let's at least go ahead and make sure that the folks who don't have health insurance right now and can get it through an expanded Medicaid, let's make sure we do that," Obama said.

That opened the door for Jindal to accuse Obama of trying to "bully" the state.

Via: Yahoo

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Almost ONE MILLION drop out of labor force, unemployment rises to 7.3%

Not a good month at all when you look at the big picture, according to Zero Hedge:

But more importantly, the number of people not in the labor force exploded by nearly 1 million, or 932,000 to be exact, in just the month of October, to a record 91.5 million Americans! This was the third highest monthly increase in people falling out of the labor force in US history.

That’s nearly 1/3rd of the entire American population. Talk about fundamental transformation:

WASHINGTON TIMES – The federal shutdown last month caused a small rise in the unemployment rate to 7.3 percent but it was a surprisingly good month to find jobs in the private sector, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

Businesses created more than 204,000 jobs in areas from retail and manufacturing to offices, hotels and restaurants. The department also detected 60,000 more jobs that were created in September and August in revisions to its previous employment reports — a sign that the job market has been healthier than previously assumed.

The burst of job creation last month — nearly twice as much as what economists had expected — more than offset an estimated 12,000 in job losses in the federal government, which brought the total number of federal job eliminations due to budget cuts to 94,000 in the last year.

Don’t worry…nothing to see here. Everything is swell. It’s the Winter of Recovery!

Via: The Right Scoop

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ALL THE SINGLE LADIES

Every time a major election comes around, the conversation inevitably turns to the impact of female voters. There are more women in the world than men, and they vote in greater number, too. The trend hasn’t been good for the GOP. Single women are the blame, but is it their fault?

Most recently, the single, liberal lady phenomena took its toll on the state of Virginia, where Republican Ken Cuccinelli narrowly lost the governorship to Mr. Skeeze himself, Democrat Terry McAuliffe. TheWashington Post reports:

“Cuccinelli only lost female voters by nine points….Where Cuccinelli did get swamped, however, was among non-married women where he lost by a massive 42-point(!) margin, according to preliminary exit polling.”

So the hard right GOP doesn’t have a woman problem per say, but more specifically asingle woman problem. Case in point: “Cuccinelli beat McAuliffe 51-42 among women who are married.”

So why are conservative Republicans so repulsive to single women, and whose fault is it?

The idea that single women look to government to replace the men not in their lives is an old and logical one. These women might have Daddy issues, and that’s why they’re single. Or maybe the reason they’re single is because they’re looking for the wrong kind of man. Is this because he doesn’t exist in mainstream America?

Via: Human Events

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NRSC Wants a “Conservative” Not “Republican” Senate, But Declares War on Conservatives

The New York Times reports that Republicans are moving quickly to shut down the right wing of the party.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has declared war on conservatives — punishing any groups that work with the Senate Conservatives Fund.

Likewise, the NRSC is paying people to attack conservatives without disclosing they’re on the payroll.

So you might find it very funny that the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which wants you to know it is not about principle, but about winning. According to Brad Dayspring of the NRSC:

Got that. It’ll take EVERYONE.

So why oh why then does the NRSC on twitter not say it wants to elect Republicans?

It doesn’t.

Go look.

They’re trying to punish conservatives, shut them down, and marginalize them, but they claim they want not a Republican Senate, but a conservative Senate.

These guys will say or do anything to get money from you while screwing you and your candidates. These are the same people who wanted Charlie Crist and Arlen Specter.

And they accuse the Senate Conservatives Fund of trying to make money off conservatives. At least the Senate Conservatives Fund backs conservatives, not people posing.

Via: Red State

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Fannie, Freddie close to paying off taxpayer bailout bill

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing giants whose combined $188 billion bailout dwarfed all others during the 2008 financial crisis, announced Thursday that they will return another $39 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury next month, bringing them close to fully repaying the taxpayers who rescued them.

Fannie Mae said it plans an $8.6 billion dividend that will bring its total payments to the Treasury in the past two years to $114 billion — $3 billion shy of its total $117 billion bailout — while Freddie Mac said a payment of $30.4 billion in dividends will more than complete the repayment of its $71 billion bailout.

Further dividends from both mortgage giants at the beginning of next year almost certainly will make taxpayers whole and turn their rescue operations into once-unimaginable cash cows for the government.

Although the two mortgage guarantee agencies technically cannot expunge their debts to the taxpayers and are still owned and controlled by the Treasury under the terms of their bailouts, the near break-even point they have achieved marks a symbolic closing of a major chapter in U.S. economic history as their bailouts were among the most dramatic, controversial and far-reaching events during the tumultuous financial crisis.

The large dividend payments to be reaped by the Treasury also highlight the important role the two mortgage giants have played in helping to sharply reduce the federal budget deficit in the past year to less than half of its $1.4 trillion peak during the crisis.

Via: Washington Times

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Sebelius:'No Specific Option' Yet For Those With Cancelled Policies

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Friday that the Obama administration hopes to assist people who received health insurance cancellation notices but has "no specific option right now."

President Barack Obama apologized on Thursday to Americans losing their policies, saying in a television interview that he regrets he was not clear when he repeatedly pledged that Americans who like their current plans can keep them under his signature health insurance system overhaul.

He also said he is looking at "a range of options" to help people whose insurance plans are being canceled, although he stopped short of pledging support for proposed legislation that would permit policies in place before the healthcare law took effect to continue unchanged.

Sebelius on Friday was also vague about what could be done for the hundreds of thousands of people who are losing their current coverage because their policies do not comply with new requirements spelled out in Obamacare, such as coverage for mental health and maternity care.

"So we're looking at a number of options where there may be an opportunity for that number of people to look at plans that they have right now. But there isn't any specific proposal at the table immediately," Sebelius said, speaking at a medical center in Atlanta.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which passed in 2010, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year and mandates that most Americans have health insurance beginning January 1 or pay a fine.

The most sweeping social legislation since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid the 1960s, the law known as Obamacare offers subsidized private coverage to lower income families through new state insurance marketplaces, expands government insurance for the poor and sets new consumer safeguards and cost-saving initiatives for the healthcare industry
Via: NewsMax

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Now small businesses are receiving health insurance cancellation notices

Just like people with individual health insurance polices, small businesses are grappling with unexpected changes to their policies and premiums because of the standards set by the Affordable Care Act.

In Arizona, Drs. Courtney and Matthew Dunn own DunnOrthodontics in central Phoenix. It’s a small but profitable practice, which they’ve had for about seven years. They don’t have to offer health insurance, but Matthew Dunn says, they choose to.  

"We’ve always offered health insurance.  It was easy in the beginning because we only had one employee, now we have 13 full-time employees."

On Tuesday, the Dunns received a letter from their health insurer, Humana. It was labeled, "Important information regarding your coverage."  It informed them that they would not be able to continue with their current medical plan in 2014,  as it did not meet all of the ACA requirements.  The letter included information on a new Humana medical plan did comply with the ACA's standards, but it would raise the Dunns' premiums by 60 percent. 

Courtney Dunn says she was shocked.  

"I got a text from Matt letting me know, and my heart just stopped."

She thought they had a good plan. Their employees have used their existing plan to cover surgeries, births and emergency room visits.  Dunn says she'd figured they could keep their plan, hang onto it for a year and see how the Affordable Care Act played out before jumping into the marketplace. 

Now the Dunns have about six weeks to figure out what their plan lacks and what they want to do. In the meantime, they’re meeting with their employees to explain the situation and get input.

Karen Yant is Dunn Orthodontic's receptionist. She has a bad back.  She wondered whether, if her employers no longer offered health insurance, employees would get extra money to pay for it themselves.  

Courtney Dunn told Yant that was one option they were talking about, but it's still early and they just don't know.

Via: Marketplace Health Care

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Repeating History: Obama Administration Ignored Warning Signs On Another Green Energy Company

The Department Of Energy Failed To Disclose Concerns That ECOtality, A Green Tech Company Awarded $135 Federal Funding, Was Headed Toward Bankruptcy. “The Department of Energy failed to disclose concerns about a green-technology company that won $135 million in federal funding but ended up filing for bankruptcy in September, according to a watchdog report released this week.” (Josh Hicks, “Energy Dept. Failed To Report Concerns As Green-Tech Firm Was Heading For Bankruptcy,” Washington Post , 11/7/13)

ECOtality Is Still Due To Receive $26 Million In Funding. “DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman noted that the firm, San Francisco-based Ecotality, is still due to receive $26 million from the agency for testing electric vehicles.” “The the agency has suspended firm’s Recovery Act money, but not a $26 million award for vehicle testing. The Energy Department is not required to pay for the latter unless the work is done.” (Josh Hicks, “Energy Dept. Failed To Report Concerns As Green-Tech Firm Was Heading For Bankruptcy,”Washington Post , 11/7/13)

The Administration Knew As Early May That ECOtality Was Not On Schedule To Meet An Important Milestone. “The report said the DOE knew in May that Ecotality was not on track to meet an important milestone for a grant to install charging stations and that agency officials failed to disclose that information for an audit that the inspector general’s office released roughly two months later.” (Josh Hicks, “Energy Dept. Failed To Report Concerns As Green-Tech Firm Was Heading For Bankruptcy,” Washington Post , 11/7/13)

Inspector General Gregory Friedman: “We Are Deeply Concerned Because The Information Directly Related To The Objective Of Our Audit, To Determine Whether The Department Had Effectively Awarded And Managed Funding To ECOtality.” “‘We are deeply concerned because the information directly related to the objective of our audit, to determine whether the Department had effectively awarded and managed funding to Ecotality,’ Friedman said in the latest report.” (Josh Hicks, “Energy Dept. Failed To Report Concerns As Green-Tech Firm Was Heading For Bankruptcy,” Washington Post , 11/7/13)

ECOTALITY, WHICH RECEIVED OVER $100 MILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS, FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY IN SEPTEMBER

In September 2013, ECOtality, Inc. Filed For Bankruptcy. “On September 16, 2013, ECOtality, Inc. (the ‘Company’) and its U.S. subsidiaries (collectively with the Company, the “Debtors”) each filed a voluntary petition for relief (the ‘Bankruptcy Filing’) under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the ‘Bankruptcy Code’) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona (the ‘Bankruptcy Court’). The Debtors have proposed to jointly administer their chapter 11 cases under the caption In re Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation, dba ECOtality North America , Case No. 2:13-bk-16126-RJH (the ‘Chapter 11 Case’).” (ECOtality, Inc., Form 8-K, Filed 9/16/13)

Via: gop.com

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Analysis: Tens of millions could be forced out of health insurance they had

WASHINGTON — Even as President Barack Obama sold a new health care law in part by assuring Americans they would be able to keep their insurance plans, his administration knew that tens of millions of people actually could lose those their policies.

“If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan. Period,” Obama said as he pitched the plan, the unqualified promise he made repeatedly.

Yet advisers did say in 2010 that there were large caveats and that anyone whose insurance plan changed would lose the promised protection of being able to keep existing plans. And a report in 2010 said that as many as 69 percent of certain employer-based insurance plans would lose that protection, meaning as many as 41 million people could lose their plans even if they wanted to keep them and would be forced into other plans. Another 11 million who bought their own insurance also could lose their plans. Combined, as many as 52 million Americans could lose or have lost old insurance plans.

Some or much of that loss of favored insurance is driven by normal year-to-year changes such as employers changing plans to save money. And many people could end up with better plans. But it is not what the president pledged.

Caught in the firestorm of his broken promise, Obama on Thursday apologized.

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” he told NBC News Thursday evening. “We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.

Via: McClathcyDC

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/07/207909/analysis-tens-of-millions-could.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/07/207909/analysis-tens-of-millions-could.html#storylink=cpy

357,000 Fewer Women Held Jobs in October; Female Participation Rate Hits New Low

(CNSNews.com) -- American women participating in the nation’s labor force hit a new low at a rate of 56.9 percent in October, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Additionally, the number of women holding jobs declined by 357,000 from September to October, and the unemployment rate increased for women from 6.7 percent to 6.9 percent.

In October, according to the BLS, the labor force participation rate for women was 56.9 percent, down from 57.1 percent in September and 57.3 percent in August.

As calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a person participates in the labor force if they are 16 or older, not institutionalized, and either have a job or have actively sought a job in the last four weeks. The labor force participation rate is the percentage of people over 16 in the non-institutionalized population who either have a job or actively sought one in the last four weeks.

In September, according to the BLS, the female civilian labor force was 72,705,000. In October it dropped to 72,492,000—a decline of 213,000.

Similarly, the number of women working in America dropped from 67,851,000 in September to 67,494,000 in October—a decline of 357,000.

Via: CNS News

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Pew poll shows Obama on downward slide

A new Pew poll shows that President Barack Obama’s ratings have plunged downwards, while his disapproval ratings are climbing.

He’s got a thumbs-up from only 41 percent of 2,003 adults, and 53 percent disapproval.

The approval rate has fallen from 55 percent in December, and it puts him close to President George W. Bush, whose ratings for the same time-period in 2005 were only 35 percent, said the Pew report.

Obama has even worse numbers than Bush on particular issues, such as his second-term push for increased immigration. He’s got 32 percent support and faces 60 percent opposition for his efforts to sharply increase immigration of roughly 25 million low-skill workers into a high-skill, high-unemployment economy.

On the economy, he’s got 31 percent approval, 66 percent disapproval.

He’s only got 37 percent approval on his highest first-term priority, health-care, and faces 59 percent disapproval amid reports of canceled policies, broken websites and rising prices.

The numbers match other recent polls. Gallup showed his support dipping this week to 39 percent approval, with 54 percent opposition. The number quickly bounced back to 42 percent, however. An NBC poll, released Oct. 30, showed his support at 42 percent.

With his polls in the dumps, Obama has gone on the 2014 campaign trail this week.

Via: Daily Caller

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ObamaCare Is Not a Covenant - It's a Law, and It Can Be Repealed

Rick Newman of Yahoo! Finance offers his solutions to "fix" ObamaCare in his November 6 column.  In his opening statement, you will find all you need to know about how the media perceive its immovable status as law:

As clumsy as the launch of the Affordable Care Act has been, the law is here to stay.  But its numerous provisions aren't written in stone and President Obama himself has said he's willing to change the law in the future in order to make it work better.

"Clumsy" doesn't quite capture what the ObamaCare rollout has been, but this is what passes for harsh criticism among mainstream pundits.  More correctly, the launch has been an incompetent and hopeless failure, and that fact is so obvious that Barack Obama, who is not known for his humility, has no other choice beyond admitting that he's open and willing to make changes in his flagship legislation for it to "work better."  Which is akin to me saying that I'd be willing to have a mechanic look at my car and make some changes because it hasn't started in weeks, the brakes and steering column don't appear operative, and I can expect that what I'll be paying in gas if it does crank up will cripple me financially due to its bulky engine design, which obviously wasn't thought out very well.   

In both cases, a resolution to make "changes" to improve functionality is less a sign of humility and level-headedness and more a sign of, and natural reaction to, poor decision-making.  And sometimes, when a poor decision is made in selecting vehicles, it's smarter and less costly to buy a new car than rebuild a lemon.  At the very least, it should be an option taken into consideration.

Via: American Thinker

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Obamacare adviser says healthcare website encountering new issues

(Reuters) - The Obama administration's HealthCare.gov adviser Jeffrey Zeints said on Friday that the trouble-plagued federal healthcare website is improving, but that higher volumes of visitors are exposing new capacity and software issues.

In a conference call with reporters, Zeints said progress this week has been marred by roadblocks. He described HealthCare.gov as being "a long way from where it needs to be."

The administration is struggling to resolve problems with the website by the end of November, when it has pledged to have the system operating smoothly for the vast number of users including uninsured people interested in obtaining subsidized private health insurance.

Via: Reuters

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Obama wishes he could fix website but 'I don't write code'

President Obama on Friday expressed frustration with the botched Obamacare insurance exchange website, saying he wished he could personally fix the technical glitches hobbling the rollout of his signature domestic achievement.

“I promise you that nobody’s been more frustrated,” Obama said during a speech at the Port of New Orleans. “I wanted to go in and fix it myself, but I don’t write code.”

Obama was in New Orleans to call for greater infrastructure spending and to urge Congress to pass a farm bill and immigration reform, measures he said would bolster economic growth and help the middle class. But Obama still touched on the controversy over the Obamacare rollout which has overshadowed the administration's efforts to pivot to other issues.

Obama has vowed to fix the website which is registering consumers in new insurance exchanges by December and administration officials have admitted that initial enrollment figures will be low.

Obama said that the administration is “working overtime to make sure it gets fixed.”

“We’re going to fix the website because the insurance plans are there. They are good," said the president.

Obama on Thursday also personally apologized to the American public for those who had been dropped by insurance plans in the wake of Obamacare. The president repeatedly promised that those who liked their health plans would be able to keep them under his health reform law, but millions of Americans are likely to be dropped from insurance plans that do not conform to Obamacare's new requirements.

Via: Washington Examiner

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