Coburn's Viagra Amendment Goes Flaccid

[guido911]

K... so far in the Reconciliation process . . .

New tax on medical devices ($2  Billion, $3 Billion after 2017 in the signed bill) now 2.9% of sales starting in 2013 (around $20 billion). 

New tax on prescription drugs ($2.3 billion in the signed bill) now $4.8 billion in the new bill.

AND THEY'RE JUST GETTING WARMED UP

I take it only those making more than 250K will be subject to those new taxes, after all, Obama promised.  lol

[Red Arrow]

The republicans knew they'd get shot down but they wanted the ability to say "He wants your family raped" et al on the next campaign trail so they came up with crazy crap like that.

So they added several amendments like that.  Oklahoma was just lucky enough to have the limpist one.

This is not a new tactic. It's usually used in reverse though.  Tack on a POS earmark to a good bill.  Then you get your earmark.  Anyone voting against your earmark is voting against an otherwise good bill.

[patric]

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday killed a proposal by Sen. Tom Coburn to prevent convicted sex offenders from getting Viagra or similar prescriptions in the insurance markets to be established under the new health reform law.

....because every practicing MD knows Viagra is just a rape pill....

[Conan71]

Cost savings to the many who can't afford insurance and have been left out in the cold by.....you all?

Explain the mechanism that makes it less expensive. It's totally lost on me.

[heironymouspasparagus]

And Coburn is the brilliant one of our two Senators! 

And did you notice Brogdon (State senator) is making racist comments again... what a wiener, er, uh, winner!!
You can provide your support by calling his company, Hardin Geo-Technologies, where he is sales dude, according to his bio.  And ONB bank in Owasso where he is advisory board member.

Or not.

Good to know.  I will avoid both.  (Sorry Randy.)

[Gaspar]

Cost savings to the many who can't afford insurance and have been left out in the cold by.....you all?

What about the people that can't afford gym memberships? 

We are dooming them to poorer health, decreased lifespan, and a lower quality of living.

Perhaps we should include gym memberships in the healthcare bill?

These people have a RIGHT to be healthy!

It seems that this bill does not go far enough.

[Red Arrow]

Being happy is good mental health
Drinking Marshall's makes me happy
I need a health benefit from Uncle Sam to buy Marshall's

[Conan71]

And Coburn is the brilliant one of our two Senators! 

And did you notice Brogdon (State senator) is making racist comments again... what a wiener, er, uh, winner!!
You can provide your support by calling his company, Hardin Geo-Technologies, where he is sales dude, according to his bio.  And ONB bank in Owasso where he is advisory board member.

Or not.

Good to know.  I will avoid both.  (Sorry Randy.)

What a bunch of pussies.

"Members of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus were both shocked and disappointed at Sen. Brogdon's comments on the Senate floor that asked whether President Barack Obama would consider forcing Oklahomans to eat fried chicken," said a statement issued Wednesday by Rep. Jabar Shumate of Tulsa, the caucus' chairman, on behalf of its members Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre of Tulsa and Reps. Mike Shelton and Anastasia Pittman, both of Oklahoma City. All four are Democrats.

Fried chicken has been part of a cultural stereotype of black Americans.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20100325_16_A3_OLHMIY473280&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StatelineorgRss-HealthCare+(Stateline.org+RSS+-+Health+Care)

Puh-lease.

Since when did food become racist?  I could better better understand if Brogdon had dropped the N-bomb or something more blatant like "fried chicken, collard greens, water melon, & ribs".  I guess the Hispanic caucus would be upset if he'd said burritos.  Has the white caucus weighed in on this?  Oh wait, that would be racist if there were a white caucus.

Hardly a stereo-type as worded.  Far as I know black people pretty much like all the same food I do.

Again, what a bunch of sniveling pussies.

[guido911]

Amen Conan. I just bet those losers were all over Harry Reid over this gem:

Or what about Biden and these famous quotes:

7-11:

Clean, articulate:

[guido911]

Almost 2 years, 99 weeks.  They have to push it to 4 years so that they can use the. . .

"If you elect __________ he/she will take away your unemployment benefits."

I am reading that Obama wants banks to allow the unemployed to reduce their or even not pay their mortgages:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032502426.html?hpid=topnews

So let me fix your quote a bit:


"If you elect __________ he/she will make you pay your mortgage"

The gravy training continues on the backs of the taxpayer.

[Conan71]

I am reading that Obama wants banks to allow the unemployed to reduce their or even not pay their mortgages:

Uh, was that not one of the reasons the real estate market imploded, along with lending and the investment banks?

Here we go again.  "I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage"

Holy crap, I guess they were serious!

[nathanm]

I take it only those making more than 250K will be subject to those new taxes, after all, Obama promised.  lol

I do believe the medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies generally make more than $250,000 a year. You can breathe.

And Obama wants banks to do what's in their own best interest: keep people paying their mortgage, even if that means taking a partial loss on the loan. We don't have as big a problem with this here, but in a lot of places, the amount recovered from foreclosure is well under 50% of the typical loan value.

If a bank can reduce the principal balance by 30% and make the mortgage affordable to the homeowner, the bank is better off. Not only do they get a better recovery than they would otherwise, but they keep getting interest. I know it's hard to figure these things out when you're too busy getting upset.

[Conan71]

I do believe the medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies generally make more than $250,000 a year. You can breathe.

And Obama wants banks to do what's in their own best interest: keep people paying their mortgage, even if that means taking a partial loss on the loan. We don't have as big a problem with this here, but in a lot of places, the amount recovered from foreclosure is well under 50% of the typical loan value.

If a bank can reduce the principal balance by 30% and make the mortgage affordable to the homeowner, the bank is better off. Not only do they get a better recovery than they would otherwise, but they keep getting interest. I know it's hard to figure these things out when you're too busy getting upset.

Who pays for those tax increases?  Does the revenue to pay the additional taxes just magically appear or does it wind up factored into the cost to manufacture a device.  Who uses medical devices?

I honestly have not looked at what current recovery rates are on foreclosures, but 50% sounds very low to me except in markets which were over-built before the collapse or areas with unusually high unemployment rates.  Obviously, the rate of recovery for lenders will be higher in areas where housing inventories are lower and where the jobless rate is lowest.  In one way, choosing not to foreclose could have the effect of keeping housing inventories slimmer which would bolster value at a later date, or hoping the current resident could resume paying full payments when their circumstances change.  By the same token, if the borrower is still in the house but figures they are going to lose it anyhow, 9 out of 10 times they won't maintain anything and the value of the property will degrade further than it would if it sat empty by willful neglect and in many cases outright vandalism.

I worked in consumer lending for about four years in the late '80's and early '90's.  I never ceased to be amazed at the kind of spite people had when they knew they were losing their car or house and the nasty things they could to do show that spite.

[fotd]

I need to ask an accountant if forgiveness of indebtedness on these mortgages falls back on the taxpayer as a liability.

[Conan71]

I need to ask an accountant if forgiveness of indebtedness on these mortgages falls back on the taxpayer as a liability.

In the past lenders mailed the borrower a 1099 for the difference between the price the house sold at foreclosure auction (it usually sells to the bank) for and the balance on their loan at the time.  The gov't may have changed that due to the record number of foreclosures but generally a defaulted loan is treated as income.