Heros and Zeros

ObamaCare’s Crippling Deficits

Brian Schreiner — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:00:54 +0000

Martin Feldstein was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Ronald Reagan. Today he is a professor at Harvard and a member of The Wall Street Journal’s board of contributors. In this article (link to full text below) he says, “The administration’s claim that the health-care plan would be “self-financing” is both false and irrelevant. It is false because it would only be self-financing if one counts a variety of President Obama’s proposed tax increases—and even those would produce much less revenue than is assumed in the budget calculations. The claim is irrelevant because those tax increases have nothing to do with health care and could be used instead to reduce other projected deficits.”

ObamaCare’s Crippling Deficits | Wall Street Journal | September 7, 2009

Fact Check: Obama’s Health Care Speech

Brian Schreiner — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:31:52 +0000

From Yahoo! and The Associated Press: “WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama used only-in-Washington accounting Wednesday when he promised to overhaul the nation’s health care system without adding “one dime” to the deficit. By conventional arithmetic, Democratic plans would drive up the deficit by billions of dollars.” Click below to read the full article.

FACT CHECK: Obama uses iffy math on deficit pledge | Yahoo, AP | September 10, 2009

Scary Jobs Chart — Ouch!

Brian Schreiner — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:46:24 +0000

Calculated Risk has updated his chart showing job losses as a percent of peak employment since WW2. Needless to say, it’s not encouraging. The last time employment fell this much, in 1948, it recovered quickly. The recent recoveries, however, have been much more gradual. Unless employment rebounds rapidly (it’s still falling), it’s hard to see how we’re going to get the v-shaped recovery that the bulls are now expecting. (In 1948, consumers had almost do debt. Now they have it coming out of their ears). The unemployment rate, meanwhile, is now the highest it has been in 26 years.

The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever | The Business Insider | September 4, 2009

USA Today: Avg Liabilities per US Household = $668,621

Brian Schreiner — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:36:06 +0000

“The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That’s quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.” Click below to read the full article.

Leap in U.S. Debt Hits Taxpayers | USA Today | May 29, 2009

Schreiner Supports Russian Charity

Brian Schreiner — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:22:05 +0000

Learn about the charity work we support in Russia.

Schreiner-Russia Connect | Buddy Thigpen

How to Insure Every American: A Republican Proposal

Brian Schreiner — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:50:41 +0000

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Republican congressmen John Shadegg and Pete Hoekstra present their solution to fix our health care system.

“If we give citizens the ability to control their own care, cover pre-existing conditions, and provide resources to the uninsured, we will have fixed health care in America. No bureaucrats. No new czars. No mandates. Just choice and coverage for every American.” Read the full article below.

How to Insure Every Amerian | Wall Street Journal | September 5, 2009

I.O.U.S.A.

Brian Schreiner — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:06:32 +0000

Wake up, America! We’re on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions.

Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Wielding candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) helps demystify the nation’s financial practices and policies. The film follows former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he crisscrosses the country explaining America’s unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens.

The Documentary: I.O.U.S.A | Learn the truth about the national debt!

Handcuffs and Hotcakes

Brian Schreiner — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:38:49 +0000

Schreiner Capital Management is sponsoring “Handcuffs and Hotcakes” an author talk and book signing. Join Philadelphia’s own, Erin Arvedlund, as she discusses her book, Bernard Madoff’s Real Story on Thursday, September 17, 7:30-9:00am at The Union League in Philadelphia. Tickets are $45 and includes breakfast.

“Handcuffs and Hotcakes” Author talk and book signing | September 17, 2009

Health Care: Rushing to Foolishness

Brian Schreiner — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:11:12 +0000

“One’s actions ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be mere rushing on.” :: D. H. Lawrence

“I am not an expert on health-care policy. I do have two superior positions that many involved in the debate do not have–I have read all of HR 3200, all 1,100 pages, and it is a mess. Reading the bill is something that most members of Congress cannot claim. Second, as a person who has taken human life and has almost had his taken during service to the military, I have a different perspective on the value of human life.

“There are a lot of myths about health care being used in the current debate. The first is a language myth or misdirection. We hear that there are people without health care–this is absolutely not true. No one in the United States be they legal citizen, legal immigrant, criminals, or illegal aliens is denied health care.” Click below to read the full article.

Rushing to Foolishness | Morningstar | September 14, 2009

Government Health Care: A Medicare Explosion

Brian Schreiner — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:51:54 +0000

According the the most recent Medicare Trustee Report, Medicare’s expected future obligations exceeded premiums and dedicated taxes by $89 trillion (NOT adjusted for future inflation!). To put that number in perspective, Medicare’s liability is about 5 1/2 times the size of Social Security’s ($18 trillion) and about six times the size of the entire U.S. economy. To me, government-run health care seems, well…risky. Read the full article below.

A Medicare Explosion | Forbes | May 19, 2009