It's SHIT day once again
Which for anyone who hasn't read my earlier thoughts on this topic means "Sure Happy It's Thursday". I have the day off from work, tomorrow is the last day of work before my mandated two month break (although I may have to attend a two hour training meeting on Monday), I'm going to see Iron Man 3 tonight with good friends and it will be pretty much a lazy day otherwise.
Okay, I have some writing to do. I have to finish at least one film review today (the film in question opens tomorrow). I will want to write the review of Iron Man 3 tonight, if I can stay awake. I've got two others to finish before the end of the weekend. But then I can catch up next week and by next Friday, I'll be completely up to date. Assuming of course no one has offered another screening to see/review. But otherwise it's going to be a lazy day. I may even get self-indulgent in the afternoon before going to stand in line to get good seats for Iron Man 3.
How do we know that there is an unintended, negative impact from the Healthcare Reform Act (call it 'Obamacare' if you prefer) involving economic harm to part-time employees? Because it isn't just corporate employers that are reducing the hours of their part-time employees in order to avoid paying to provide them with healthcare. Governments are doing it as well. The City of Long Beach has 1,600 part-time employees and a new mandate from the City is that these employees must work less than 27 hours per week.
The good news is that many of these people will become eligible for free or subsidized healthcare through the law's healthcare exchanges; whether they get it through a state-established exchange, or from one run by the Feds in those states where Republicans won't allow state exchanges to be created. But that won't offset the lost income for these people.
I have some experience with this phenomenon. When I worked at that private school, we gave benefits, including health insurance, to any part-time employee who worked 30 or more hours per week. For teachers, a calculation was done so that if they taught more than a certain number of hours per week (14 or more), they qualified for benefits. Many was the time a person's workload was calculated and planned so that the added cost of benefits would not be a factor. We're just seeing this on a much larger scale under the Healthcare Reform Act.
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts was bluffing when he made noises about possibly moving the baseball team away from Wrigley Field if the city won't let the team put up new, revenue-generating signs that Ricketts says are critical to the team remaining in place. The facts are that Ricketts doesn't have the wherewithal to take on the cost of building a new stadium elsewhere in Chicago, nor would he and family be likely to recoup the investment even over a long period of profitability.
Is A&E dropping Darrell Sheets and husband/wife couple Dan and Laura Dotson from the successful reality show "Storage Wars"? The network is denying the reports, but in the most recent season, the Dotsons were missing from a number of episodes, and Sheets was "frozen out" of six extra episodes that were filmed, where he was not under contract. We'll know for sure next season. Meanwhile, with Dave Hester having been fired and suing A&E and the producers in response, his "YUP" is not missed.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1335, Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria becomes Duke of Carinthia (I just liked the name Otto the Merry).
On this date in 1536, Anne Boleyn is arrested and held on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
On this date in 1611, the King James Bible is published for the first time. (I knew a preacher once named James King who would deliberately misquote the Bible and then say "that's the James King version).
On this date in 1670, King Charles II grants the Hudson Bay Company a permanent charter.
On this date in 1863, General "Stonewall" Jackson is wounded by friendly fire. He died eight days later.
On this date in 1885, Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
On this date in 1918, General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company.
On this date in 1920, the first game of the Negro National Baseball League is played.
On this date in 1932, Jack Benny's radio program airs for the first time.
On this date in 1945, the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wobbelin Concentration camp and finds 1,000 dead prisoners. Most of them had starved to death.
On this date in 1955, Tennessee Williams wins a Pulitzer Prize for "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof".
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Catherine the Great
Hedda Hopper
Eddie Collins
Manfred von Richthofen
Benjamin Spock
Pinky Lee
Theodore Bikel
Engelbert Humperdinck
Lorenzo Music
Lesley Gore
Christine Baranski
Donatella Versace
Dwayne Johnson
David Beckham
Movie Quote of the Day today comes from Airplane II:
Controller #3: Get me Steve McCroskey!
Controller #2: Are you kidding? Ever since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, he's been completely senile!
Controller #3: Yeah, but what about McCroskey?
Controller #2: About the same as Reagan.
Tax Tip of the Day: People who reach 70 1/2 years of age must begin taking distributions from their IRA, whether it is a traditional or Roth IRA. Further, even if such a person still has earned income, they can no longer contribute to a traditional IRA once they reach this age. But someone who is 70 1/2 and has earned income can continue to contribute to a Roth IRA for the rest of their life.
Also, make sure once you're old enough to be required to take distributions from an IRA that you take them by the deadline. The penalty for failure to take the required distribution amount is very severe, 50% of the amount that was required to be distributed.
Okay, I have some writing to do. I have to finish at least one film review today (the film in question opens tomorrow). I will want to write the review of Iron Man 3 tonight, if I can stay awake. I've got two others to finish before the end of the weekend. But then I can catch up next week and by next Friday, I'll be completely up to date. Assuming of course no one has offered another screening to see/review. But otherwise it's going to be a lazy day. I may even get self-indulgent in the afternoon before going to stand in line to get good seats for Iron Man 3.
How do we know that there is an unintended, negative impact from the Healthcare Reform Act (call it 'Obamacare' if you prefer) involving economic harm to part-time employees? Because it isn't just corporate employers that are reducing the hours of their part-time employees in order to avoid paying to provide them with healthcare. Governments are doing it as well. The City of Long Beach has 1,600 part-time employees and a new mandate from the City is that these employees must work less than 27 hours per week.
The good news is that many of these people will become eligible for free or subsidized healthcare through the law's healthcare exchanges; whether they get it through a state-established exchange, or from one run by the Feds in those states where Republicans won't allow state exchanges to be created. But that won't offset the lost income for these people.
I have some experience with this phenomenon. When I worked at that private school, we gave benefits, including health insurance, to any part-time employee who worked 30 or more hours per week. For teachers, a calculation was done so that if they taught more than a certain number of hours per week (14 or more), they qualified for benefits. Many was the time a person's workload was calculated and planned so that the added cost of benefits would not be a factor. We're just seeing this on a much larger scale under the Healthcare Reform Act.
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts was bluffing when he made noises about possibly moving the baseball team away from Wrigley Field if the city won't let the team put up new, revenue-generating signs that Ricketts says are critical to the team remaining in place. The facts are that Ricketts doesn't have the wherewithal to take on the cost of building a new stadium elsewhere in Chicago, nor would he and family be likely to recoup the investment even over a long period of profitability.
Is A&E dropping Darrell Sheets and husband/wife couple Dan and Laura Dotson from the successful reality show "Storage Wars"? The network is denying the reports, but in the most recent season, the Dotsons were missing from a number of episodes, and Sheets was "frozen out" of six extra episodes that were filmed, where he was not under contract. We'll know for sure next season. Meanwhile, with Dave Hester having been fired and suing A&E and the producers in response, his "YUP" is not missed.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1335, Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria becomes Duke of Carinthia (I just liked the name Otto the Merry).
On this date in 1536, Anne Boleyn is arrested and held on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
On this date in 1611, the King James Bible is published for the first time. (I knew a preacher once named James King who would deliberately misquote the Bible and then say "that's the James King version).
On this date in 1670, King Charles II grants the Hudson Bay Company a permanent charter.
On this date in 1863, General "Stonewall" Jackson is wounded by friendly fire. He died eight days later.
On this date in 1885, Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
On this date in 1918, General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company.
On this date in 1920, the first game of the Negro National Baseball League is played.
On this date in 1932, Jack Benny's radio program airs for the first time.
On this date in 1945, the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wobbelin Concentration camp and finds 1,000 dead prisoners. Most of them had starved to death.
On this date in 1955, Tennessee Williams wins a Pulitzer Prize for "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof".
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Catherine the Great
Hedda Hopper
Eddie Collins
Manfred von Richthofen
Benjamin Spock
Pinky Lee
Theodore Bikel
Engelbert Humperdinck
Lorenzo Music
Lesley Gore
Christine Baranski
Donatella Versace
Dwayne Johnson
David Beckham
Movie Quote of the Day today comes from Airplane II:
Controller #3: Get me Steve McCroskey!
Controller #2: Are you kidding? Ever since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers, he's been completely senile!
Controller #3: Yeah, but what about McCroskey?
Controller #2: About the same as Reagan.
Tax Tip of the Day: People who reach 70 1/2 years of age must begin taking distributions from their IRA, whether it is a traditional or Roth IRA. Further, even if such a person still has earned income, they can no longer contribute to a traditional IRA once they reach this age. But someone who is 70 1/2 and has earned income can continue to contribute to a Roth IRA for the rest of their life.
Also, make sure once you're old enough to be required to take distributions from an IRA that you take them by the deadline. The penalty for failure to take the required distribution amount is very severe, 50% of the amount that was required to be distributed.
posted by me at 11:44 AM
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