You have this nailed down: "Health care cost, energy cost, and wars, will eventually bankrupt John Q. Public." We are well on our way. There are rational solutions to each of these problems but rationality depends on good will. Our leaders would rather pose and profit than study, plan and implement. The good news is that this is a problem of the very few who control finances. Once the public has the will to do something about that, we're going to do things people never thought would get done.

also settled for $14/hr to start at skilled manufacturing, and sure didn't get bailed out along with GM. So, I really don't know what they are smokin', if you look at the overall agreement it's not going to do that much for them and most unions are opposed.

Forgetting organized labor, from a pure macro view, it is projected to lose more jobs.

I think more to the point is to really analyze these. I've already written many posts some some credible data, and there is so much spin, including the White house, hardly ever the facts get out there on trade, the data.

On income, sure, but maybe we need to look a this more for I did a median, wage wage and really above about 500,000 I think a strong case could be made the income tax code is regressive.

It's "progressive" up to that point, or lower if you will, but when 50% of Americans made below 26k, how progressive is that really when the superrich are paying 15% and less?

Sorry but we've seen fictional numbers, that usually goes along with yet another bad trade agreement.

Consider the source and esp. consider reading the actual agreement. I don't think it looks good on autos because I believe that's yet another JV,which is not real exports, although propagandists like to portray them as exports.

Well, it's pretty clear the income tax is also becoming fairly regressive. then, this massive underground economy not being taxed is another truth.

Any tax, whether it is income, sales, tariffs or corporate seemingly is never ending manipulated to take from the poor and give to the rich these days, as we just saw...

what worries me more is we just saw pure lobbyist agenda on income taxes endorsed by the white house, so if any other tax comes up, no doubt it would be a corporate lobbyist pig fest.

One must find out the nitty gritty. It is another offshore outsourcing deal.

Scott ran the numbers and we're going to lose at least 160k jobs if it's signed.

But yes, the real damage, as evident from the trade deficit monthly reports is China. It's 71% and over of the goods, non-oil trade deficit.

On the VAT, I'm glad to see you're open to it as modifications. The only reason I'm interested in it is because it's legal under the WTO and can be used as a dynamic tariff per good/service de facto. Figuring out a way to make it progressive instead of regressive is a must, and if that could be done I think it's a good idea.

But this attitude that people, labor is something to trade, disposable, that labor arbitrage is a grand idea....

if one looks at the theory, the actual equations, people are not interchangeable, at least not and expect any good results.

Instead, that's what we're getting, trading people instead of goods and final services.

While one can clearly see how trade subtracts from overall economic growth, and Q4 GDP advance is released this Friday (see past GDP reports on EP), it affects more than that in reality. Things like investment, PCE are also affected. When people are stuck in jobs which cannot even make rent, obviously they don't have too much disposable income to consume.

Oil, on the other hand is a real negative drag on the economy, much more than is realized and here come blasting oil prices once again.

I enjoy reading things that present objective subjects to debate but when I read such things that are easy to prove as propaganda.....well it makes me want to become an anarchist. Fight the machine which propaganda like this.

"a self-employed person will pays an amount 50% to 70% of the nation's median personal income, $32,000 a year, for family health plan. This includes premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket expenses. "

Only? Bet most people would jump at one quarter of that "only" hourly pay.

"2) Doctor's pay. Sure, they may make $500,000 a year for key specialties, $150,000 a year for others on average.
But even the former figure only encompasses $250/hour. "

What??? You again find $2,000 an hour to be insignificant.

"Consider the hourly cost of the surgeon in an open heart surgery: 10 hours? 5 hours? this $25000 or $12500 is an insignificant cost compared to the operation itself.

In reality any hospitalization or visit to the OR has a doctor's fee component which is insignificant. The rest? The hospital's bureaucracy and other overhead costs."

You seem to think that the very well paid, highly paid individuals in the system are insignificant? My friend the PA makes $125,000 a year and complained about the receptionist's pay of $21,000 a year. I know a guy working the ER shift that makes $225,000 a year (before benefits).

Recently the newspaper wrote an article. The heating bill for one of our small hospitals (non profit) is $35,000 a month during the winter, $100,000 for the year. That is not small change. Takes quite a few insurance premiums to pay for the heating bill on just one hospital

This business of medical care is expensive stuff and I get tired of people that don't look at things in a rational manner.

I just went to a quote site and did a quote for my family -

PPO Plan 7 - Optional RX and Maternity Available
Plan Type Deductible Coinsurance Office Visit
$2,500 20% $20

Monthly premium $639.00

$32,000 a year, for family health plan......pure propaganda!

While there are certainly some doctors who seek to game the system for their own financial advantage, I disagree completely that this is the norm.

Several key bits of evidence:

1) There are 2 health insurance company employees for every doctor in America. These employees collectively provide zero health care - they are a bureaucracy which drives up costs. It isn't that these should all be removed, it is that there are clearly far too many.

2) Doctor's pay. Sure, they may make $500,000 a year for key specialties, $150,000 a year for others on average.
But even the former figure only encompasses $250/hour.

Consider the hourly cost of the surgeon in an open heart surgery: 10 hours? 5 hours? this $25000 or $12500 is an insignificant cost compared to the operation itself.

In reality any hospitalization or visit to the OR has a doctor's fee component which is insignificant. The rest? The hospital's bureaucracy and other overhead costs.

It isn't that socialized medicine will fix everything; the Canadian model is equally flawed for a non-oil exporting nation.

It is that there is no alternative: the government could very easily offer a 'safety net' for all individuals as it already has a gigantic health care cost administration sector (Medicare) and a huge health care delivery sector (VA hospitals).

Furthermore while a government employee might not work that hard, might not be that motivated, etc etc - at the same time they could give a crap about squeezing profits via denying health care.

I believe that most citizens see health care reform ( Obamacare ) as being less benefits and coverage, and more cost. The main villains in the medical professions remain doctors, hospitals, and clinics. In addition to the "hands-on-care" provided by medical personnel, pharmaceuticals are basically legalized thieves. Proper health care is a necessity, and therefore a perfect scenario for fraud, corruption, and price gouging. While some are quick to blame insurance companies for the high cost of health care, they fail to realize and understand that hospitals do not ask insurance companies if they can charge $5.00 for an aspirin, or if they can charge $900.00 a day for a tiny filthy hospital room.

The health care industry, like many others, are very influential on the floors of Congress. It is doubtful that the medical professionals will fall into poverty, or be forced into bankruptcy by any legislation that might get through Congress. Remember we have a Lobbyists' controlled U.S. Congress. Votes on the floors of congress are bought and paid for by the corporate elite, the wealthy, the influential, and the powerful.

Health care cost, energy cost, and wars, will eventually bankrupt John Q. Public. Affordable health care will not happen in the foreseeable future, and maybe not in my life-time. The economic deck is always stacked against John Q. Public.

Warren Buffett’s concept to significantly reduce USA’s trade deficit.

I’m a proponent of a proposal to reduce USA’s trade deficit of goods that was first introduced to the Senate in 2006. Trade deficits are always detrimental to a nation’s GDP. Trade deficit’s detriment to GDP exceeds the amount of the deficit itself and the GDP bolsters the median wage.

I believe this simple concept is not simplistic and is worthy of consideration.

The basic concept is for exporters who choose to pay the federal fees acquire transferable IMPORT Certificates for the assessed value of their goods leaving the USA. Importers would be required to surrender IMPORT Certificates for the assessed value of their goods entering the USA. Surrendered certificates are cancelled.

This trade policy would decrease USA’s trade deficit of goods and increase the aggregate sum of USA’s imports plus exports. It can be drafted to be completely self funding. It would not require any additional federal spending, taxes or debt.

The proposed version of this trade policy I advocate excludes scarce or rare minerals integral to the goods from their total assessed values. USA’s global net trade balance of such goods affect (in U.S. dollars) upon our GDP is a leverage factor in excess of two.

Refer to: www.USA-Trade-Deficit.Blogspot.com and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_Certificates
Respectfully, Supposn

Please cover the SOTU nonsense and tell me how G.E. is going to restore U.S. manufactuing [sic].