rochbusdriver's Profile

Located in: Rochester, MN

Current Status: (Offline)

Total Comments: 20

Political activist

Latest Comments

• Deadline near to comment on federal appropriations

  Rep Walz is asking for earmarks for his district because he knows he is in trouble this fall for all the terrible votes he has made this year.  From voting for the stimulus bill, Cap and Trade and now the horrible Health Care bill.  Any federal funds collected from our taxpayers should go to federal projects.  Let local money go to local projects.  No wonder our country is so far in debt.  We need politicians who can tighten their belts and put the fiscal health of our country first.

  Rep Walz can not buy votes this November, we know his voting record.

  03/10/2010 6:24 PM
• Lynch accuses Senjem of jeopardizing money for area projects

  Why do people think they should spend more than they take in.  It doesnt work in our private lives and it doesnt work in Government.  Get the budget balanced and than worry about the Bonding bill.  Ann Lynch needs to go.  She wants to spend money we dont have for things we can do with out. I am disapointed with Dave Senjem voting for this bill in the first place and will watch closely to see what he does in the future.  Let individual areas build their own buildings and not make the rest of the state pay for it. If the Bonding bill passes and Rochester gets the 34 Million from the state where are they going to get the other 34 million the project costs?
  The whole thing is ridiculous!

  02/18/2010 1:49 PM
• Tea Party 'facts' are distorted

  I am really surprised at you Bob.  Do you think because its titled “PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE.”
  Than that MUST be true.  READ the whole thing

  (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall establish a grace period whereby, for plan
  years beginning after the end of the 5-year period beginning with Y1, an employment-based
  health plan in operation as of the day before
  the first day of Y1 must meet the same requirements as apply to a qualified health benefits
  plan under section 101, including the essential benefit package requirement under section 121

  This means Bob that they will make up a basic benefits Package and your plan will have to meet those requirements.  If you have 80/20 policy and that is not the “benefit package requirement” Its not going to be permited or for you smart people ILLEGAL

  Even as you quote page 30 it is clear that the Government will have a panel of people that they choose, deciding what will be cover under thier policy and Yours.

  10/31/2009 5:31 AM
• Tea Party Patriots bring 'October Surprise'

  From National Federation of Independent Business

  Here are the Top 10 Reasons H.R. 3200 won’t work for small businesses:
  1.  Employer Mandate - Research shows an employer mandate could cost 1.6 million jobs with more than 1 million of those jobs lost in the small business sector.
  2.  Payroll Tax Penalty - No matter how profitable or unprofitable a business might be in a given year, businesses are forced to pay this tax.  The legislation requires that all employers with a payroll of $250,000 or more pay a payroll tax of up to 8 percent if they do not provide “qualified” health insurance to their employees. If an employer chooses to add a worker or increase wages, the tax rate on that employer may continue to go up.  Simply put, this is a tax on job growth. 
  3.  Pay-or-Play, Pay-and-Pay and Offer-and-Pay - The legislation establishes a confusing multi-part test that hits both employers who do and do not offer health insurance. A non-offering employer will pay a payroll tax penalty. Small businesses must 1) offer a qualified plan, as determined by a government-appointed board, 2) provide both individual and family coverage, and 3) meet minimum contribution levels, which could be more than they are already paying and can afford. If employees decline coverage and opt into the exchange, that employer is also penalized. All of these added expenses and new rules will simply lead to a greater chance that employees will not be able to keep the coverage they already have.
  4.  Mandated Minimum Plan with a Big Price Tag - Today, 86 percent of small businesses who offer coverage only offer one plan. Small employers and their employees want the ability to choose from a variety of affordable plans. H.R. 3200 reduces options available to small businesses. The bill gives a political board the power to determine whether an employer plan is “acceptable.” It does nothing to ensure that the new plans will be less expensive than what small employers are paying today and even requires small employers to cover certain services they are currently exempt from under federal law.
  5.  Exchange Limits Access to All Small Businesses - NFIB has long been a supporter of creating a simpler and more efficient way to shop for affordable insurance, like an exchange. However, this bill fails to provide guaranteed access to the exchange for employers with 21 or more employees. Providing increased access and more choices for some, but not all small business is not reform that small business can support.
  6.  An All Powerful Insurance Czar - The “Health Choices Commissioner” will have unbridled authority to institute rules and regulations that greatly affect small employers, including the ability to define who is and is not a full-time and part-time employee. Thresholds set forth by an unelected commissioner would be subject to continual changes, leaving small business owners in constant fear of ever-changing compliance requirements. 
  7.  Government-Run Public Option - The public option would further compromise the viability of private insurance and would restrict choice to a single plan: the government-run plan. A reformed, private insurance marketplace can better provide businesses and employees with more affordable coverage and a sustainable choice of plans.
  8.  The Surtax: A Tax on Job Creation - The surtax imposes an additional tax on some businesses reducing after-tax profits at a time when small businesses are struggling to find capital.  Because 75 percent of small businesses are structured as pass through entities, they pay their business taxes at the individual level.  More than one-third of small businesses would face the tax.  And those most likely to face this tax employ 33.5 million workers – more than one-quarter of the American workforce. 
  9.  Jeopardizes Options That Small Employers Have Today - The legislation actually takes steps to limit the viability and use of health savings accounts (HSA) – jeopardizing a health insurance option that small business owners have and use today.
  10. An Employer Tax Credit with Limited Value - While some small businesses can be helped by tax credits, the structure of the credit is critical to its successes. Under H.R. 3200, only small businesses with 25 or fewer employees would be eligible for a subsidy of up to 50 percent of the cost of health insurance for employees.  Businesses that have an average annual salary per worker of $20,000 or less get the full subsidy; however, the average wage of full-time employees at businesses with fewer than 10 employees is more than $30,000, meaning that in many cases the value of the credit is already cut in half. 

  10/21/2009 10:04 PM
• Tea Party Patriots bring 'October Surprise'

  Susieq78
  That is rather Pre-judge (prejudice) of you.  My husband is a small business owner and I drive a school bus.  My employer only offers the minimal health care plan that you pay for yourself.  Its not even worth getting.  My husband has a group plan at work but he is an owner so pays all his own. In our 25 years of marriage our family has had a total of 12 surgeries, My son had Leukemia and I have had Colon cancer.  We have a 80/20 policy and have had huge bills through the years. At the presant time we still owe the Mayo Clinic Thousands of dollars.  These are our bills and we will pay them.  I dont want you to pay them and I dont want wealthier people to pay them.
  My husband could hire anouther full time employee right now but will hire 2 part timers instead because of the Health Care bill. 

  10/21/2009 8:45 PM

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