Issues
COLAs coming early for state employees this year
– Salem Statesman Journal, June 22, 2014 State employees are getting their cost of living (COLA) increases early this year, thanks to lower health insurance premiums and a clause in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75 contract. The state has agreed to extend the clause to all state workers…which means paychecks will increase 2 percent, likely starting in September rather than December. The Public Employees Benefits Board voted Tuesday to adopt a new set of insurance premiums for 2015. Those premiums cost less than they did in 2014… That might seem odd to anyone not familiar with how labor contracts are negotiated…
Our Response & Your Comments
What’s That You Say?
You didn’t get a cost of living increase this year? Not even an early one that would put more money in your pocket sooner? Maybe if you explained to your boss that you should get an early salary bump because both you and he are paying lower health insurance premiums next year he’d cough up more moolah in your pay envelope this year. But then you don’t work for the exceedingly generous State of Oregon, do you? While this may seem a bit strange, it does help explain why government can never do with less money, but taxpayers always can. http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/state-workers/2014/06/22/colas-coming-early-state-employees-year/11242145/
Cover Oregon giving more than $650K in bonuses
– KGW Staff. June 27, 2014
PORTLAND — Workers at the failed Cover Oregon health care exchange will receive bonuses to keep them on the job as a transition is made to the federal Affordable Care Act…
“Many of the employees who voluntarily left Cover Oregon had key skills that are not easily replaced both in IT and in health care laws and regulations,” [interim CEO Clyde Hamstreet] said in the letter…
The bonuses will total $662,752, according to Cover Oregon spokeswoman Ariane Holm.
There are 161 remaining employees and 38 workers will get bonuses of one to three months of pay… Most all will get at least a bonus of two weeks pay if they stick around until next spring…
Our Response & Your Comments
These employees had “key skills?” You mean the skills required to create a web site that burned through $248 million and couldn’t sign up a single individual? “They are not easily replaced?” Right – Where else could you find people who could blow this much money and accomplish nothing?
Now answer these questions:
1) If you were looking for a job would you want “Cover Oregon” on your resume?
2) If you were hiring, would you want to hire anyone with “Cover Oregon” on his/her resume?
We didn’t think so.
http://www.kgw.com/news/Report-Cover-Oregon-handing-out-650K-in-retention-bonuses-264568371.html
Government to “Help” Kids in Debt?
– CNN Money, June 8, 2014
President Obama will announce on Monday an expansion of a program that helps student loan borrowers manage their debt, a White House official said.
The official said Obama will expand the criteria for an alternative repayment program, which caps monthly payments for certain federal student loans at 10% of a borrower’s discretionary income.
The changes would allow an additional 5 million borrowers to qualify and will be available beginning in December 2015, the official said
The alternative payment programs…include forgiveness programs for on-time payments and public-sector employees. Teachers can have their balance canceled after ten years, for example. Low-income borrowers can have their balance canceled after 20 or 25 years of on-time payments…
Our Response & Your Comments
Today, 60% of Oregon college graduates are faced with an average $26,639 in student debt. Now Pres. Obama’s going to “help” them. Will he? We doubt it. But we believe that the student loan fiasco is a perfect example of The Government Four Step Program:
Step 1: The Government seizes on a problem (rising college tuition) and labels it a “crisis.”
Step 2: Politicians, usually at election time, promise to solve the problem. In the case of college tuition, by loaning kids money to pay it.
Step 3: They make the problem worse by subsidizing it. In this case, by flooding colleges with money to pay tuition that rockets up in price to absorb the extra money. It’s like trying to cure an alcoholic by giving him free Jack Daniels.
Step 4: The worse the problem gets, the harder government encourages people to do what caused the problem in the first place. In our example, they encourage kids to borrow more by making it easier to repay the loans.
President Obama, on behalf of Oregon students we plead “Don’t ‘help’ so much.”
Link to article: http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/08/pf/college/obama-student-loans/
Rep. Peter DeFazio: Replace federal gas tax with per-barrel tax on oil companies
– Jeff Mapes, Oregonlive.com, June 12, 2014
Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio on Wednesday unveiled his latest proposal for ending the long deadlock over federal transportation spending: replacing the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax with a per-barrel levy on the oil companies…
A key part of his proposal is that the per-barrel oil tax, which would be initially set at $6.75, would increase every year to account for inflation and improvements in vehicle mileage. He would also raise the diesel fee, used primarily by truckers, by an equivalent amount…
Our Response & Your Comments
Attaboy, Pete – You sure do know how to raise taxes. Here’s how it’s done:
- Pick a target that people already dislike – “Big, evil, dirty Oil;”
- Tell Oregonians they won’t pay any more gas tax;
- Make sure the tax on oil goes up every year by indexing it to inflation, vehicle miles, the cost of ice cream bars and anything else you throw in;
- When the price of gas goes up, blame “Big, evil, dirty Oil;”
- When the price of food goes up because truckers are paying more for diesel every year, accuse “Big Food” of being “greedy;”
- Tell everybody you’ve cut their taxes and get re-elected.
Let’s hear it for Pete! His Momma didn’t raise no dummies!
Felons say they’re unfairly locked out of job market
– Ashland Mail Tribune, June 2, 2014
Editors’ note: Lane Solution is not taking sides on this issue. Rather we are calling attention to the inevitable unintended consequences of governmental social engineering.
…Convicted felons in Jackson County and around the country face an uphill battle trying to land a job…
“I think if given the opportunity, most felons could prove themselves as more than capable to work anywhere,” said 24-year-old [convicted felon] Keith Farnsworth…
It’s one of the first questions on most job applications: Have you ever been convicted of a crime?..
In Oregon, Multnomah County and the city of Eugene have agreed to put off asking whether applicants have a criminal conviction until later in the interview process.
There are a dozen other states with laws requiring employers to “ban the box,” [Maurice] Emsellem [a program director at National Employment Law Project] said…
…” ‘Ban the box’ is not saying you cannot conduct a background check. It’s saying that employers have to take the question off the application and ask it later in the process.”…
Our Response and Your Comments
Allow us to gaze into our crystal ball and make a few predictions – all based on government’s tainted history of past attempts at applying “compassion” to the pursuit of “fairness” and “level playing fields.”
- Oregon will eventually “ban the box.”
- The “deadly duo” of lobbyists and lawyers will carve out a few dozen exceptions to ensure that rapists won’t be considered for jobs at women’s gyms and embezzlers won’t be interviewed for cashier positions.
- Felons will advance in the hiring process only to have their hopes dashed after the second or third interview.
- Companies will be sued for doing simple Internet background checks and tossing felonious applicants out without interviewing them.
- When the lobbying, lawyering and evading are all done, companies that are open to hiring felons will still hire felons and those opposed still will not.
In the long, sordid and failed history of governmental social engineering, thus has it been and thus always shall it be.
Link to article: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140601/NEWS/406010318&cid=mostclicked
Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) — A spokesperson for Cover Oregon confirmed that roughly 80,000 people enrolled through Cover Oregon will have to re-enroll this fall when they move to the federal exchange.
However, Ariane Holm with Cover Oregon explained that regardless of the technology transition, customers would have had to resubmit their information.
Holm added that anyone who enrolled in coverage through Cover Oregon does not need to take any action right now.
Cover Oregon staff is currently exploring options to make the re-enrollment process easier by having customers’ information already show up in the system, so it doesn’t need to be reentered, Holm said.
The open enrollment period is set to begin Nov. 15.
Our Response & Your Comments
Just when you thought you could wake up from the Cover Oregon nightmare. When you thought nobody could inflict more incompetence, missed deadlines and lousy TV ads on Oregonians who just want to buy health insurance. Now, to paraphrase Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator” character – They’re baaaack!
Yes, indeed, folks. They are. Now you not only have to renew your policy (a pretty simple task). You have to start from scratch! Name, address – the whole enchilada!
But don’t worry – Cover Oregon staff is looking at ways to “make the enrollment process easier.” What could possibly go wrong?
Tip to all who are re-enrolling: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Link to article: http://koin.com/2014/06/03/cover-oregon-customers-must-re-enroll-in-fall/
From Rags to Riches to Rags
– Mark R. Frank, New York Times, April 18, 2014
…Since the early 1970s, the gap between the top and bottom of the income distribution has expanded significantly…the only group to have experienced real economic gains during this period has been those in the top 20 percent, with gains heavily concentrated in the top 10, 5 and — most famously — 1 percent…
The picture drawn of the 1 percent has been that of a static population, just as the 99 percent is often portrayed as unchanging…
But is it the case that the top 1 percent of the income distribution are the same people year in and year out? Or, for that matter, what about the top 5, 10 and 20 percent?…
Our Response & Your Comments
We step outside our Beaver State to consider on issue that’s as alive in Lane County, Oregon as Lane County, Kansas and points east.
You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting some politician waving the bloody shirt of the evils of “Income Inequality.” It’s usually politicians trying to get votes from people who think they’re always getting the short end of the stick.
These politicos are trying to tell us “If you’re rich you stay rich. If you’re poor you’re doomed to poverty.” True? No. Coming out of school we typically start with low paying jobs. Then our incomes increase. Sometimes we lose our jobs and they move down. Then they move up again as we get new jobs and more experience. When we retire we earn less and move down the income ladder.
A majority of Americans spend at least part of their lives among the richest 10%. And a majority will live at or near poverty temporarily.
The point is that few Americans stay either very rich or very poor. The bigger point: America is still very much the land of opportunity.
FBI Investigating Oregon Obamacare Exchange
– The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2014
The Wall Street Journal reports that the feds are investigating the implementation of Cover Oregon, the state of Oregon’s now-defunct health insurance exchange as provided under Obamacare. Here’s an excerpt:
…The FBI has already interviewed some individuals as part of their inquiry, which was first reported by local station KATU and the Portland Oregonian last week…
…What investigators are looking for is whether or not officials misled the state about the exchange’s problems. “The key challenge facing any prosecutor is proving criminal intent,” the Oregonian explains.” Did state officials paint an inaccurately rosy picture of the struggling health exchange? And if so, did they do so with intent to defraud the federal government? Or were they just unduly optimistic or out of touch with reality?”…
Cover Oregon has been a fiscal and organizational mess from the (sic) its beginning. The earliest sign was the state’s multi-million-dollar ad campaign designed to promote the exchange, before it had even launched. That campaign consisted of costly music videos that seemed to have little to do with health insurance or Cover Oregon.
Our Response & Your Comments
“Cover Oregon Failure to Launch” art
Website: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/report-fbi-investigating-oregon-obamacare-exchange_789084.html
Real Lives are Being Affected—A Personal Story on Cover Oregon’s Impact
Editors’ Note: We receive lots of responses to Lane Solutions articles and opinions. Because we’ve been so concerned with the unintended consequences of Cover Oregon we were particularly touched by the story below. It’s from “Angie,” a Lane County resident who experienced firsthand the effects of this $248 Million disaster.
My brother is living with me and he is on SSI and also receives Medicare. He called the 1-800 number to see about getting help with supplementary insurance due to his health and income.
I wanted someone to know that whoever is answering the phones needs to be a little more considerate of the elderly that are calling. The guy that my brother talked to was very rude and told him he was not going to take him off of Medicare in order for him to get free health care and hung up on him. My brother was very upset. My brother was not looking for a handout and was not asking to be taken off Medicare.
I would like you to pass along this information to whoever takes charge of the employees answering the phones.
If you would like to talk to my brother his name is “John” and his phone number is (withheld).
I just thought maybe someone should know about this incident.
Lane Solutions responds: “Angie” – Now a lot of people know about your predicament. And like them, our hearts go out to you and your brother.
If any of our readers have ideas that could help Angie and her brother, please email Lane Solutions at [email protected]
The Government Student Loan Program is a Mess
– Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2014
…A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that as of the fourth quarter of 2012 only about 40% of student borrowers were paying down their loans…
…A whopping 14% of borrowers who were not officially delinquent had the same balance as the previous quarter and 30% saw their balances increase.
That’s because borrowers who can’t afford to pay down their loans can ask the government for a deferment or forbearance, which freezes their payments while interest continues to accrue. During a deferment, Uncle Sam pays the interest on subsidized loans. To qualify for either option, borrowers merely need to claim an economic hardship or return to school…Student loan debt nearly tripled to $966 billion in 2012 from $364 billion in 2004, but not merely because more students are going to school and taking out bigger loans. The Fed report’s major finding is that government programs intended to prevent defaults are actually causing many borrowers to rack up more debt. (emphasis added)
Our Response & Your Comments
Oregonians facing college also face rising tuition (30% increase between 2009 and 2012). Let’s look at how government’s good intentions are actually causing the problem:
- National leaders start with the premise “Every kid needs to go to college.” No – every kid doesn’t. We all know successful adults who didn’t go to college.
- Building off that flawed premise they set out to make it easier to go to college by dishing out wheelbarrows full of (your) money to directly pay tuition or loan money to students so they can pay for it. College presidents see this avalanche of dollars rolling their way, smile, and raise tuition to absorb it.
- As tuition continues to rise government gives and loans more and more money on increasingly generous terms. And the cycle – funded by us – continues.
So – Who’s making college more expensive? The same geniuses who set out to help kids go to college. Brilliant!
Website: Defining Delinquency Down – WSJ.com