Mac Slavo
October 24th, 2013
SHTFplan.com
There is no doubt that President Obama’s health care system promises to fundamentally transform America. It’s been touted as the saving grace of the working class.
But how feasible is it really?
We know it’s essentially a wealth redistribution scheme that takes money from one group of people in the form of forced tax payments, only to shift that money into the pockets of those who didn’t earn it in the form of government subsidies to their health care premiums.
But like all universal programs, the promise of free anything only works so long as you don’t run out of other people’s money.
That being said, a basic analysis of how Obamacare premiums work across the spectrum of America’s wide ranging socio-economic population suggests that it’s dead on arrival.
Once the forced mandates take hold one of two outcomes become inevitable, as noted by The Market Ticker, whose Karl Denninger took a detailed look at the government’s county-by-county premium data.
The consequences of implementation will be disastrous.
Either the Obamacare system itself collapses under its own weight, or the U.S. economy falls apart because of the extreme burden being hoisted on those who are responsible for paying the bill.
Either way, we’re looking at an almost instantaneous collapse of one or the other.
It’s an exercise in basic arithmetic that those who failed to read the bill before passing it should have considered prior to pushing this on the American people by way of a new stealth tax… unless of course the further impoverishment of America is their ultimate goal.
There are several very interesting statistical facts that come from this.
First, if you’re “27″, the average premium is $266.20/month or $3,194.40 per year. How many 27 year olds have an extra $3,200 to spend on this? Remember, this is the price that virtually every uninsured 27 year old must be willing — and able — to cough up in order to prevent the model this system is predicated on from collapsing.
If those 27 year olds don’t show up, and they won’t, then the system collapses instantly. If they do show up because the government threatens them with fines the economy collapses as $3,200 a year exceeds the average 27 year old’s disposable personal income after mandatory expenses (e.g. food, shelter, etc.) Remember, there are always exceptions but these premiums are averages and over large pools of people the statistical averages are what matters — not the ends of the barbell.
It gets better. The “average” 50 year old premium, again, for single coverage, is $452.87, or $5,434.44/year. How many 50 year olds will find that attractive compared against what they’re paying now? Probably more of them, especially if they’re already sick. But how about the healthy ones?
Note two things as well on this account — these premiums are for non-smokers (smoker premiums are grossly surcharged with reports being 2x the above) and they do not account for anyone other than one person. If you are a single parent with kids (rather common) the premium on average is $610.23/month or about $7,300, and if you’re a couple it’s $647.86 (again, $7,774 annually.)
Now let’s look at the government’s own claims. First, the CPI index claims that health insurance is 0.656% of the family budget. What percentage of couples make $1.185 million a year? Why do I ask? Because that’s the alleged median income for a couple if you believe the government’s CPI numbers.
Yeah, right.
Next, while some people will get “tax credits” to offset these costs all that does is lard it up on the federal budget, because someone else has to pay that bill. In other words this is the true cost that will come out of your hide one way or another — either directly by paying, indirectly by taxation, or indirectly by destruction of your purchasing power.
Next, note that this is the “50 year old” premium but you have to be 65 to qualify for Medicare. The price will rise each year after 50 that you happen to be and there are already reports that if you’re 59 these premiums are understated by half. How many couples who are 59 and cannot qualify for Medicare yet have not $7,700 a year of extra money laying around but north of $15,000?
That’s what I thought.
Full Analysis at Market Ticker
The whole idea is predicated on the notion that you can indefinitely take from Peter to pay Paul.
But eventually Peter is going to run out of money and not be able to foot the bill, or he’ll simply refuse to buy into the scheme altogether.
Like everything else government, the new health care initiative will be a complete and utter failure.
The basic principles of mathematics will prove this to be true in coming months and years.
As Denninger notes, America will be “strangled and expire economically as a direct consequence” of the marriage of the State and Health Care industry.
The die has been cast.
Americans are aiding the collapse of various goods and services worldwide. Even libertarians greatly underestimate the evil of the system they are funding. They attempt to deflect their participation in evil.
While it may be true you are a “victim” of an evil system, that doesn’t excuse the evil, the force, you are bringing to bear to against fellow peaceful humans throughout America and throughout the world.
In other words, it could be said you the moral obligation of “Starving the Monkeys.”
Starve the Monkeys Who Eat Away At Your Life
An Individualist’s Guide to Fighting Modern Progressives – Tom Baugh
This book is not the typical heavily-digested cartoon-book political pundit pap. Block out his recited bona-fides of being a marine and other statist achievement crap. He is as flawed as anyone else in that regard.
This is it a scholarly work intended to talk down to you from an ivory tower as you swim around in the moat in a world that doesn’t seem to make sense anymore, and gets worse each day.
In fact, books like both of those I describe may even be part of the problem. They whip people up into a frenzy, or bore them to tears, but don’t offer any practical advice other than to tell you to try to teach someone else.
And yet, the problems seem to grow worse the more we try to teach. And now our problems are no longer simple-issue problems.
Environmentalism, which used to seem almost harmless, now threatens to box in our quality of life in ways we never intended. Left unchecked, this particular bit of insanity threatens to starve billions of people. And some of those billions will be right here among us.
Investing and saving no longer makes sense. Real estate, stable industries, essential commodities, all of these traditionally sound places to put your money just flop around and seem to only exist to extract your savings.
Now hyperinflation is stripping away almost everything you earn, particularly if you listen to the advice of pundits that demand that you pay down credit and save every penny. If that’s all you do, hyperinflation will quickly chew up your nest egg down to nothing.
You are told at every turn to care about the children, yet no one seems to care about yours. Why won’t they get off your back and just let you raise your own kids? Public schools are indoctrination camps, while homeschoolers are demonized and marginalized more each day.
Higher education is turning more hollow each year. Tuitions skyrocket while the quality of education plummets. Ron Paul has repeatedly warned that these institutions, will soon worsen from being mere indoctrination camps into soft-core labor camps.
Our system claims to protect you from stupidity like this. You elect people to represent you, but when they get to Washington they drop all pretense and start acting just like the last guy, or worse. Your vote doesn’t count for anything anymore, it only acts to further serve the evil.
What is the reason why?
Because you don’t count anymore. At least not to the violent gang of people who make the important decisions that affect every aspect of your life. The violent gang in power serves themselves and the majority gang or Americans who have come to want a violent gang to remain in power.
They are not who you think they are. It’s far worse than a few conspiracies, and a few smoke-filled rooms where fat-cats pull the strings.
That’s not the half of it.
The reality is far worse than that. Because if there was a mysterious minority “they” out there getting together in little cabals, we could do something about that.
But while we spend our time and our energy throwing tea-parties and thinking that all we have to do is to simply get the message out loudly enough, we are missing the essential nugget.
A nugget few pundit recognize or are willing to address.
That nugget is that the non-productive electorate and violence dependent class now far outnumbers us, the peaceful productive minority of the nation.
We have long passed the tipping point where voting and protesting and educating no longer helps any more, because the oppressive majority knows exactly what they are doing to us, and laughs at our efforts to free ourselves with posterboard and “waking up.”
This idea will never pass the filtering process that exists at a normal publisher, non-profit think tank, or facility of higher learning. Not even lewrockwell, as great as that site is. Read it every day, but recognize it has ties to educational institutions, it needs to conform enough to maintain its non-profit status, its 17 million endowment is invested in something – either a good or evil investment, a layman doesn’t know.
Because it is too realistic and simplistic. Because it shows exactly where the problems in the modern world lie and what to do about it, to no one’s benefit but your own. Especially not those making a living in the freedom and ideas industry.
The solution doesn’t involve violence, or “grabgin your gun”, or any other kind of “let’s go git ’em, boys!” kind of neo-revolutionary foolishness.
Doing that would only get you killed. And the responsible parties would rejoice at your sacrifice. Because that is exactly what they want you to do. Get killed, so that you, and your ideas, are out of the way.
Don’t give them the satisfaction. Besides, your brothers are going to need you later. There is a much, much, better way. My way.
Continue reading about my way…
I am still learning from this book, and am confident enough to recommend it to all as food for thought and recalculation – as well as one of the best descriptions of maneuver warfare concepts I have ever read.
What’s a “monkey”, according to author Tom Baugh?
In the context of this book, a monkey is defined as a person that chooses to collectively seize, by unearned means, the property, whether material or intellectual. Whether temporal or spiritual. Of its rightful owner. The means employed may be fiat, guilt, force, theft, fraud, subterfuge, or anything other than a willing and negotiated exchange of value.
In our modern world, each person is given the opportunity to make a conscious choice whether to be monkeys or men.
Conspicuously absent from this definition is race, birth, gender, heritage, cultural influences, or any factor other than that singular deliberate decision.
But men choose to live their lives upon their own merit. It is this very spirit of independence of thought and action that makes men the prey of the monkey collective.
As such, monkeys abandon their claim to the rights of men.
But monkeys could just as easily choose not to, and become men themselves.
Consider the number of moochers and looters that surround each of us.
If you can’t out-think ’em, do you really believe that you and yours can hold them off your property, family, and life?
You have one mind, but many weapons….
List of Classes From Most Good(human) – to Most Evil(violent savage)
Human
Rural Alabama man lives off barter and the land without dollars. Makes no government tax contribution at all. Uses no services at all. Never contacts any government. Never mentions positively any aspect of government.
Near Human
Rural Kentucky man mostly lives off the land. Accepts $6,000 in payment, uses the money in stores to purchase needed supplies
Bonobo – lives through gray market 100% peacefully. Produce and sells things without permission and without contributing to the system. Street hustlers. Homeless that live off voluntary contributions. Rural farmers and migrants with no mailing address. Nameless off-grid whites or Mexicans standing at home depot with no legal permission of any nation.
Chimpanzee Third Class – lower class proletariat. never calls the law on anyone. avoids government as best he can.
Chimpanzee Second Class – Successful proletariat. Lower Bourgeois. Pays higher taxes. Middle class. A respected man in his community. Owner of real estate and property tax payer. Lends credibility to the monkey system, and hence is a lynchpin of evil.
Chimpanzee First Class – High up in corporations. Business owner. Pay lots of taxes. Powerful man. Maybe even contributed greatly to the economy and provides value. Large land holder and tax payer. Unfortunately his taxes fund evil that greatly outweighs the value he produces.
– so the ladder to climb is to reach being an H, by ascending from NH, B, C3, C2, C1.
– that is the meaning of why it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Generally, your riches make you either a voluntary, or an involuntary participant in an evil monkey system of brutal group violence and grave mortal sin.
– Free State Project in NH has more than 15,000 movers now. The FSP is shaping up as a bureaucracy so far, but that doesn’t mean it only be that. The crucial factor, is how far they can separate from the evil unitedstate.
Tom Baugh – Starving the Monkeys – Free State Project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTt2zpNJkkY
No matter how much the minority German Jews squirmed, the majority still eventually packed them into the ghettos, and then the camps.
This book tell today’s oppressed minorities how to move from camps to ghettos to suburbs to retake their freedoms. Tax treatments and legal advice may help you go to the camps more slowly. But legal loopholes are always being closed. You have to constantly update your non-violent and non-contributory strategy as best you can.
Starving the Monkeys 1 of 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPnMsRYLSsk
Starving the Monkeys 2 of 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2laOXSb3I
Starving the Monkeys 3 – 8. Find and watch
http://www.youtube.com/user/StarveMonkeyPress/videos
@Tor – I went to a neighboring town yesterday. It is a popular tourist stop in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the way into Yosemite Valley. They have a clothing store there that I like because it specializes in high quality wollen outdoor clothing, boots and such. Not cheap by any means. Every single old American company “made in so and so since 1890” label had the made in China or Indonesia tag sewn into the label.
We have been sold out by the piggy elected and non-elected bureaucrats, who have neatly arranged a news blackout of the sale, and without a single shot having been fired.
P.R.C. has won the war because the corporate bankers say so.
And all the sheep care about is football, beer, porn and gay TV shows.
98% of American shoes are imports, the vast majority come from China. It’s a similar story in other types of apparel.
China’s costs are rising though, and it is facing competition from very low-cost nations in Africa as well as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Apparel manufacturing done in China is beginning to move to those areas at an increasingly rapid pace.
http://www.plunkettresearch.com/apparel-textiles-clothing-market-research/industry-trends
Also maybe Rod’s index of good/evil should better reflect that production = consumption would most likely exist the macro scale of static equilibrium through a man’s life. Hence, we could just focus on the productive elements. Thus index of good/evil could be reduced to (free market production)/(government market production). I realize to call the government market productive is rather misleading as bombs aren’t productive, but what I’m trying to say is put a dollar figure on how much we contribute to that evil organization in their capital.
HR
Tor I replied to the wrong thread here, the above statement is a follow up and add on thought to the thread below.
HR
Actually I correct myself again on the index as though production = consumption in static equilibrium. The original index which was creator/destroyerindex=(free market production + free market consumption) divided by (government market production + government market consumption) actually appear the more general rule. As I thought about it and a man could produce heavily in the free market and spend in the government market consumption, though his production would nearly equal his consumption minus investment. The end result woul be that he would be removing capital from the free market and enabling the government market by his spending, which would grow the government market at the expense of free market.
So this leads me to think what about a guy that produces on government market but spend his money only only on the free market. Now that just doesn’t work too well with my conscience, but the ratio would say that he is removing money from government market and growing the free market which would give him a net creator. So a defense contractor takes his government market check and goes and uses it to produce on the free market an equal amount to his government check would be a net 1 or neutral creator/destroyer (I could buy that). But then again what if a defense contractor takes his government check and buy all free market goods, that is he spends zero on SS, medicaire, etc and buys Ipods and automobiles, by the index he would still be a net net producer because he is shrinking the pool of money available for government projects.
The one thing that comes to mind with this self made ratio is that it kind of explains on a macro of individual levels why the Laffer curve becomes anti-productive with taxes exceeding 50%. As this explicity guarantees the the destroyer (government market) is outgrowing the creator (free market), thus as the predator exceeds the flock of prey he too must starve. A destroyer can only destroy what is created. It is a diminishing law of returns with increasing taxes until the 50% mark where the government market outgrows the free market at which point this marks a macro index less than 1 and thus a net destroyer.
It kind of works but again I propose this ratio because I don’t think its so obvious to say that living a subsistence life and not planning for end of life expenses and then using say medicare would be good fo us. To me creation is about having the free market outgrow the regulated or government markets.
HR
Hi Tor,
Like always I enjoy your post. I do wonder however whether the objective of living like a self sufficient hermit is really that good for the libertarian movement. Its my observation that most people who get on the lower level existence (self subsistence) find at some point they cannot cover the extraneous and unexpected cost of life (like medical) later. These people may go 20-40 years not supporting an evil government, but then have to rely on medicare in their later years.
Maybe a better index to me would be a percentage or ratio of (free market production + free market consumption) divided by (government market production + government market consumption). Thus the higher ratio of the index would indicate less evil, or an inverse ratio relationship the opposite (ie a lower index would be less evil).
My take on why subsistence isn’t a reasonable answer is because it vapidly ignores that in a capitalistic market, the more capital a man has the more he can create for the free market or for the ruin market. The choice like all things in this world whether to utilize them for good or bad is up to the individual with guidance from his God. I’d also have to say that living meager and off the grid to me would be wasting a man’s talents, in that the real goal of liberatarians and anarchist should be to fully unleash the talents of every man for maximum creation.
Anyway just some food for thought. I think you and others like you are obvioulsy very briliiant. We need to clone your or amplify your talents not dry up the potential in the free market.
Regards,
HR
Also when one thinks about it the ratio of 1 would mean you are basically neither a creator or destroyer. Anything less than one would mean you are a destroyer (luciferian). Anything greater than one would mean you are creator (Godly).
I feel my God condemning me for suggesting I can judge a man’s merits on an index. Why its i rather hogwash thought but fun to hypothesize from the conjecture that God may not really want the talents of men to be squandered and buried for fear the evil may take them away. To me even resistance to evil while unrestrained aid to good would be a net postive. The scale or ratio of the end result would mean how much free market grew or shrank relative to evil government.
HR
Dear Hot Rod,
I really like your idea of indexes. How do you score
1 for yourself
2 for your family
3 for your phyle
4 for your society/tribe you consider yourself a part of
It could be a really good diagnostic tool to help you make decisions and better reach your goals.
________________________
What I want to avoid is magical thinking. An index is a rational tool.
Approaching self-sufficiency with a close-knit group seems attainable within a few years.
Living in a tent and only eating from your turnip garden might be worse than just joining the police state and being a good patriotic zombie.
Tor I’d love to communicate my personal index as discussed but since along with the progressive tax code would allow further disclosure for all enemical eavesdroppers of my economics I’d rather not here.
I like that you stated, “What I want to avoid is magical thinking. An index is a rational tool.” Along with your statement, “It could be a really good diagnostic tool to help you make decisions and better reach your goals.” I see the index as a qualitative-quantataitive, as the qualitative is first as its less quantitative then it appears. For example, how does one really know ones contribution to say government when bundled into free market purchases as recursive or rather multiple taxation. The approach would then be to guesstimate and/or learn more of what these taxes are and possibly avoid them. Or one could define the index more on what is available to bypass at their current level of knowledge.
Like you I agree it might help one break free of magical thinking of well I think I’m a good citizen because I pay only “guess taxes”, the idea is to explore in detail all levels we are being ripped off and then make a decision what is the best course from there. For example it might very well be easy for us to be good citizen’s by paying more and making more into the free market when our income is low, but nearly impossible with higher wages as the progressive tax code sets in.
Using the ratio would help one determine if they could squeeze out more taxes with legal loop holes in tax aversion, or even decide to relocate to another country for example if the desire is to continue to grow more productive and grow your base income without becoming an enabler of big government.
Tor said, “Approaching self-sufficiency with a close-knit group seems attainable within a few years.”
Ok I fully understand where you are coming from and I agree. I’m all for men “beating the system” while still living frutfull and fullfilling lives.
Tor also said, “Living in a tent and only eating from your turnip garden might be worse than just joining the police state and being a good patriotic zombie.”
That is exactly my take on it. Aside from you on this topic (total sidenote), I’m all for being a prepper and/or being self sufficient, but I think even that kind of thinking can lead to diminishing returns. For example, when I see someone at poverty income and not owning but renting even their home domicile and then asking whether they should spend their saved money buying beans, rice, and wheat for a future calamity I have to cover my eyes. To me the answer is absolutely not!
Use that money to build your income and investment return base first. Then once you have extra and surplus money that purchasing a pantry of extras is easy, you’d be a fool not to have a reserve. Yeah it can be scary for a person trying to work themselves out of poverty or bankruptcy having no reserves, but that is what starting out and bankruptcy is about. You have no pot to piss in so start working on making a return and income that you can buy a pot to piss in, extra food can be too expensive when a person is at this state. And I say don’t sweat it and believe in yourself and build your wealth with your knowledge and dedication.
Further when a man is at this state of nothingness, having not alot of possesions is probably his also his greatest asset to survive as he won’t be weighed down by the burdern of owning. Again I’m all for preppers, just not extremist idealogues who want to scare everyone into “fear”, that just isn’t Godly.
HR
Holy Wars of Tribal Contributions. There are 15 million Jews. There are 1,700 million Muslims. Why not boil the blood a bit with baited blurbs?
Muslim have won 10 Nobel Prizes including 1 in Chemistry and 1 in Physics. The rest in BS peace/econ/literature categories.
Jews have won 850 Nobel Prizes, 20% of the total awarded. Including 35 in Chemistry. 56 in Physiology or Medicine. 52 in Physics. The rest, 707 in the BS categories. Also 1 was declined due to Soviet pressure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim_Nobel_Laureates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates
Interlude while cleansing yourself of the latest disaster. Dedicated to Hunter and anyone feeling fear and loathing.
Thievery Corporation – Until the Morning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldaciwSaWmg
I keep on fear, keep on loathing. Nothing brings it on I keep on falling. Decide what it is I can not find. It’s subsides what you make it. Never feel like you’re gonna break it. It’s gonna be alright.
Sleep until the morning comes. The sun will warm your soul.
Sleep until the morning comes for you. Til the morning it’s alright. I can walk into the sunlight, into the day. I feel it falling, nothing comes to my mind. Bring it on in a different tide. I feel alright.
I feel strong, i feel rigid. It’s nothing to do with the vision. Oh feels so right, sleep on tight. Sleep until the sunlight burns you happy, till the sunlight burns a happy hole in your heart,
Tor, I fear your loathing.
Destroy the economy AND let the health care “compromise” blow up? A double win for our overlords!
Luckily, no one will be able to sign up for the service since the web site is non-functional.
Government contractors FTW!
Hi Eric,
Yeah – but per my rant, this is what was intended. To prepare the ground for single payer.
Hillary is coming.
That explains why my butt’s hurting… 😉
They’d like to go single payer but the hitch is that there’s gonna less sympathy for such an option when Obummercare falters.
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the show!
I called the White House and demanded to know what Mr. Teleprompter the Script Reader is going to do about this “tax’em till they die” information leak to Karl Denninger. “Jay” Carney said he would have to call me back later on that because he was busy putting this fire out:
NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders after US official handed over contacts
• Agency given more than 200 numbers by government official
• NSA encourages departments to share their ‘Rolodexes’
• Surveillance produced ‘little intelligence’, memo acknowledges
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/nsa-surveillance-world-leaders-calls
I guess that means the NSA considers every human in the planet to be an Al-Qaeda terrorist.
Commie agitprop baby – probably the best icon ever. More from peoplescube…
Dizzying Success of Obamacare Inspires Private Sector
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/dizzying-success-of-obamacare-inspires-private-sector-t11922.html
Breaking America – The Stuff Behind Obama’s Blue Logo
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/breaking-america-the-stuff-behind-obama-s-blue-logo-t11534.html
Government Forces Galactic Shutdown – Stargazing Prohibited
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/government-forces-galactic-shutdown-stargazing-prohibited-t11769.html
I am gross and perverted.I’m obsessed ‘n deranged.I have existed for years.But very little has changed.I’m the tool of the Government. And industry too.For I am destined to rule.And regulate you.I may be vile and pernicious. But you can’t look away.I make you think I’m delicious.With the stuff that I say. I’m the best you can get.Have you guessed me yet?I’m the slime oozin’ out. From your TV set. You will obey me while I lead you.And eat the garbage that I feed you.Until the day that we don’t need you.Don’t go for help no one will heed you. Your mind is totally controlled.It has been stuffed into my mold.And you will do as you are told.Until the rights to you are sold. That’s right folks.Don’t touch that dial.Well, I am the slime from your video. Oozin’ along on your livin’room floor.I am the slime from your video. Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go. – I Am The Slime – Frank Zappa – 1973
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRnNDkHb0MU
And yet isn’t it amazing how many sqwaking Republicans were oh-so-eager to flock behind the very man who crafted the very thing in his state as Governor: “Mittens” Romney. They even touted that coifed louse as being different from our present cancerous regime. Lord help us!
DUDE..! Such negativity..
Well, I guess ya got a point 😉
I’m Obama and I approve this message!