A Busy, Busy Tuesday

Listening to the news this morning, I think Romney may have made a mistake in choosing Paul Ryan as a vice president. Ryan's ideas may be too radical for seniors. His suggestion to change Medicare to a voucher system, even for future generations, may prove to be a mistake. And his idea to privatize social security may also be a problem for Romney. It did that for Bush. That idea failed.

In the Paul Ryan tax plan, approved by House Republicans (but never approved by the Senate) cuts capital gains tax rates to zero, and creates a top tax rate on ordinary income at 25%. So the tax experts around the country took the one year of Romney taxes that we DO have, and recalculated it under the Ryan tax plan.

So guess what Romney's new tax rate would have been?

0.83 percent. That is LESS than 1% in taxes.

No wonder Romney chose him as his running mate. Such a deal!

Social Security can be easily fixed for a couple decades past the 2032 date usually cited (and it doesn't actually crash at that point, rather, like defense costs, we will need to budget for the expenditures). During the Clinton administration, 90% of employment income was subject to Social Security tax. But because top management salaries went through the roof in the last couple of decades, only about 83% of employment income is now being taxed. If we went back to the 90%, mainly by raising the cap to rise with the inflation of management salaries, the "problem" goes away.

Ryan's plan doesn't do this, however, because it would be "punishing" the rich to make them pay the same social security rates as the "little folk."

Medicare is a different story, but the Ryan plan, which is to hand the elderly a voucher for purchasing health insurance, does nothing except put the bill back on seniors. Every other developed country is seriously looking at the most cost-effective ways to deliver medicine, usually with better outcomes than ours. We have normally refused to do so, because that would interfere with the "free market" in health care, which does not in fact exist. If you are dying and you go to the hospital, the "free market" has NOTHING to do with your outcome.

Interestingly, health care cost increases HAVE moderated below expectations in the last couple of years, and the insurance companies are trying to figure out why. One reason appears to be that hospitals and health clinics are beginning to implement review procedures in anticipation of the ACA implementation, and they are saving money (surprise, surprise).

Enough on politics.

Today will be very busy for me. I have an appointment in Independence at 9:15 this morning. Then after that, I drive to Caney to deliver those school supplies. Then I come back home in time to start dinner. After that, I'll go to work.

After work, I have the library board meeting. Following that, I do the invocation at the city commission meeting. After that, I'll come back home.

I should sleep well tonight.