I wish the average citizen would realize that employee pensions (retirement checks) are quickly turned back into the overall economy for life's necessities and roll over at least two-fold in the general economy to benefit us all.

These corporate backed "pension reform" and "taxpayer advocate" groups dominate the airwaves and leave out this fact.
They act as if pensions are stored away somewhere, like the wealthy do with their profits to avoid taxes, in the Cayman Islands.


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I am 55 and have put in 21 years of service where I work (public works).
My wife is 53.

We have the ability now to retire except for one thing...health insurance cost.
I have no retirement health benefits except for the ability of staying enrolled at full cost in my workplace's plan.
Since we both have had, and have, medical issues that prohibit us from venturing outside that "umbrella" due to insurance corporations denying us coverage for preexisting conditions.

I am hoping the SCOTUS does not screw up "Obamacare" and that he is reelected with a Dem majority in Congress or else I guess I work until my wife reaches 65?

We own a modest townhome and a bit of savings we do not want to risk by going uninsured.

This country's lack of affordable access to health care is sickening and I am not sure how, even with the reform enacted, that will change too much. I'd love to "get out of the way" and make room for other's at work to move up.


Here is what we are looking at if we retire now...and that cost goes up every year:


Rates for 2012 (per month) based on employee plus 1 dependent; they expire on 11/30/2012:

Retiree

Anthem POS .......$1,986.59

Anthem HMO .......$1,714.64

Kaiser .......$1,538.31

Blue Card (out of area) .......$1,947.25



COBRA

Anthem POS.......$1,305.76

Anthem HMO.......$918.90

Kaiser.......$951.17

Blue Card (out of area).......$2,434.28

The banksters win either way. If the economy crashes they still win plus with the potential bonus of getting more of their Repub buddies in office because a large section of the American people are willful idiots who listen to FOX and radio talkshows for their views. It's a struggle between the private corporate sector and our dwindling public service sector. 30 years of corporate media's blaming "government" is taking it's toll. The banksters are winning and they won't be denied their profit margins, for their investors, off the backs of our tax dollars.

All the focus by the rightwing on "deficits" when they didn't give a rat's ass about it while running up two credit card wars of choice, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Medicare part D.

Austerity (cutting government) is counter-productive to economic expansion but this is going to be a heavy lift of understanding for the braindead masses to grasp due to the constant barrage of propaganda from the finance/bankster/insurance sectors who own the airwaves and much of our political system.


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On May 8, Bloomberg News published an article by Bob Drummond about how more jobs have been created while Democrats were in the presidency from 1961-2012. This article, which was also discussed on dailybeast.com on May 10, not only references the recent growth in jobs, which have been less than expected, but also looks at the past. Clinton’s presidency is the main focus when Drummond examines the past. Bloomberg News created a graph like the second one below. However, we wanted to take the news outlet’s idea one step farther. Below you will see a bar chart where the number of private jobs created during each presidency is in sequential form, but separated by party. There is also a pie chart that shows the total number of private jobs created during Democrat and Republican presidencies from 1961-2012.

SOURCE

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http://www.alternet.org/news/155193/how_wall_street_drives_up_gas_prices_--_ripping_us_off_and_killing_jobs/