ObamaCare to reduce workforce by 2 million jobs' worth of hours, CBO says

How ObamaCare is hurting the economy

ObamaCare will reduce work hours equivalent to 2 million jobs in the next decade amid a host of incentives not to work or to work less, a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report says -- the latest blow to President Obama’s signature health insurance plan.
The report estimates the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, will make the labor supply shrink by 0.86 percent in 2025. This amounts to a shrinkage equivalent to approximately 2 million full-time workers.
The nonpartisan CBO estimates that the decline will come primarily due to workers responding to changes made by the law to federal programs and tax policy. The agency points to the introduction of health care subsidies tied to income as a key factor -- which in turn raises effective tax rates as someone’s earnings rise, therefore reducing the amount of work Americans choose to do.
“Subsidies decline as income increases, reducing the return on earning additional income,” the report says. “That decline is effectively an increase in recipients’ effective marginal tax rate, so it generally reduces their work incentives through the substitution effect.”
Since the subsidies also reduce the burdens attached to unemployment, the CBO predicts that the law will create additional “work disincentives” for those who are unemployed for part of the year. It concludes that the exchange subsidies will contribute to half of the overall reduction of the labor supply.
The report also points to direct taxes, such as ACA’s hike of the payroll tax on high earners for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Program, as a reason for discouraging some from working. Another pressure on wages will come from the employer mandate, which imposes a penalty on employers if they have more than 50 employees and do not provide insurance. The CBO predicts that within a few years this charge will be passed on to employees in the form of lower wages.
In what will be seen as a positive by ObamaCare’s supporters, the CBO predicts that a contributing factor to the shrinkage in the labor force will be the consequence of insurance subsidies that will make it easier for some people to stop working, or work less, without losing health insurance.
“Some people would choose to work fewer hours; others would leave the labor force entirely or remain unemployed for longer than they otherwise would,” the report says.
Republicans hailed the report as yet more proof the controversial law is not working.
“When the President’s health law hurts the labor force at the same time it increases health care premiums and taxes, it’s clear the law is not working for the American people,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement.
“The CBO’s latest report confirms yet another broken promise and negative consequence stemming from ObamaCare,” Hatch said. Unfortunately, until Democrats and the president are willing to address these failures, the American people will be left to stomach the devastating side effects of this ill-advised health law.”
The report comes at an awkward time for the Obama administration: just days after the Senate passed a bill that would repeal key parts of the law. The White House has said that President Obama will veto the legislation.

Iran Missile Cartoon

'Spinning up as we speak': Email shows Pentagon was ready to roll as Benghazi attack occurred

Smoking Gun?

As the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was unfolding, a high-ranking Pentagon official urgently messaged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top deputies to offer military help, according to an email obtained by Judicial Watch.
The revelation appears to contradict testimony Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave lawmakers in 2013, when he said there was no time to get forces to the scene in Libya, where four Americans were killed, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.
“I just tried you on the phone but you were all in with S [apparent reference to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton],” reads the email, from Panetta’s chief of staff Jeremy Bash. “After consulting with General Dempsey, General Ham and the Joint Staff, we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak.”

" ... we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak.”
- Jeremy Bash, Pentagon chief of staff

The email was sent out at 7:19 p.m. ET on Sept. 11, 2012, in the early stages of the eight-hour siege that also claimed the lives of Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and two former Navy SEALs, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty, private CIA contractors who raced to the aid of embattled State Department workers.
Although the email came after the first wave of the attack at the consulate, it occurred before a mortar strike on the CIA annex killed Woods and Doherty.

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Glen Doherty, (l.1), and Ty Woods, (r.), were ex-Navy SEALs and CIA contractors who rushed to help when the Benghazi attacks began.

“This leaves no doubt military assets were offered and ready to go, and awaiting State Department signoff, which did not come,” Judicial Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog said in a statement.
Parts of the email from Bash were redacted before release, including details on what military forces were available.
In defending the Obama administration’s lack of a military response to the attack, Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee nearly two years ago that “time, distance, the lack of an adequate warning, events that moved very quickly on the ground prevented a more immediate response.”

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Sept. 11, 2012: A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames. (Reuters)

The first assault occurred at the consulate at 3:40 p.m. ET. The second attack on the CIA annex a little over a mile away began three hours later. Bash’s email was sent approximately 40 minutes after that attack began.
Bash’s email, which bore the subject line “Libya,” was sent to Clinton’s then-deputy chief of staff Jacob Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides.
The attack came in three waves at two locations. It began when a handful of attackers scaled the wall of the diplomatic post at dusk and opened a gate, allowing dozens of armed men inside who then set the building on fire. Stevens and Smith died after breathing in smoke while hiding in a safe room, and later died.
Hours later, a nearby CIA annex was attacked twice. Woods and Doherty died there while defending the annex from the rooftop. A team of six security officials summoned from Tripoli and a Libyan military unit helped evacuate the remaining U.S. personnel who were taken to an airport and flown out of Benghazi.
The Obama administration later falsely claimed that the attack was triggered by an Internet video that insulted Islam.
Lawmakers investigating the events surrounding Benghazi already had acquired the e-mail, along with tens of thousands of others related to the probe, according to Matt Wolking, spokesman for the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
“The Select Committee has obtained and reviewed tens of thousands of documents in the course of its thorough, fact-centered investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attacks, and this information will be detailed in the final report the Committee hopes to release within the next few months," Wolking told FoxNews.com. "While the Committee does not rush to release or comment on every document it uncovers, I can confirm that we obtained the unredacted version of this email last year, in addition to Jake Sullivan’s response."

FOX Business Network to Host Additional GOP Presidential Primary Debate

FOX Business Network will host its second Republican presidential primary debate on Thursday, January 14 at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. The debate, which has been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, will be held two days after the State of the Union address.
FBN’s first debate in November drew 13.5 million viewers, smashing network ratings records. More information on the debate including moderators, entry criteria and the line-up will be released closer to the air date.
FOX Business Network is a financial news channel owned by 21st Century Fox (FOXA). Headquartered in New York, FBN launched in October 2007 and is available in more than 80 million homes in major markets across the United States and on FOXBusiness.com.

US conducting 'serious review' of latest Iran missile test

For those who never knew and those who have forgotten.

Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981), after a group of Iranian students, belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who were supporting the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The U.S. is conducting a “serious review” of Iran’s second ballistic missile test in as many months in apparent violation of two U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to the State Department and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Fox News first reported the Iranian missile launch Monday.
The November 21 launch, Iran’s second since a nuclear accord was signed by Iran and six world powers, comes more than a month after the well-publicized first test in October.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said Tuesday that if the latest missile test is deemed to be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. would raise it with the Security Council’s sanctions committee.
“I don't want to get ahead of the work the U.S. government is doing,” Power told reporters outside the United Nations Tuesday. “But as happened last time, if we can confirm it, and if there is a violation of any Security Council resolution, we will come here and we will seek appropriate action.”
On Nov. 21 Iran test-fired a medium-range Ghadr-110 ballistic missile from a known test site near the port city of Chabahar in southeast Iran near the border with Pakistan in violation of two existing U.N. resolutions, a senior US official and Western intelligence sources told Fox News.
The missile has a range of 1,200 miles, which puts Tel Aviv and most of Israel within its sights, along with most U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
“We are taking the report very seriously,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. “If the reports are confirmed and if there is a violation of any relevant U.N. Security Council resolution, then we're going to take the appropriate actions, as we've proven that we're capable of doing in the past.”
He said those next steps could be taken by the United States alone, if necessary.
Kirby acknowledged Iran has a long history of ignoring U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“For years, Iran has serially ignored U.N. Security Council resolutions.  It's a fact,” Kirby told reporters.
After Iran conducted its first ballistic missile test in October, the U.S. issued a joint report with France, Germany and the UK condemning the incident and referred the matter to the  U.N. Security Council Iran Sanctions Committee to take action, demanding an explanation for the October launch.
That request of Iran, according to Kirby, came three days after Tehran carried out the second missile launch on Nov. 21.
It is not immediately clear if the State Dept. knew about the second Iranian missile launch at the time.
Kirby said the U.N. was still “weighing out those responses,” from the October launch.
When Fox News asked if Iran was not getting the message, Kirby responded: “I think it's been crystal clear what the message from the international community is.”
After the Oct. 10 launch, President Obama promised to raise the issue with the sanctions committee, but said that it would not derail the July nuclear agreement.
"I think what we'll be doing is we'll review, as we have in the past, any violations of U.N. resolutions, and we'll deal with them much as we have in the past,” Obama told reporters at the White House on October 16^.
The U.N.- passed resolution 2231, days after the nuclear accord was signed in July. That resolution compels Iran to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for eight years. A separate U.N. Security Council resolution passed on 2010 bans Iran from conducting all ballistic missile tests.
On Tuesday,  Power reiterated calls for a united effort to curb Iran’s violations.
“We think it is extremely important that council resolutions be enforced,” said Power.  “We really hope the Council will come together in response to such a blatant launch as the one that occurred in October.”
Asked if Iran’s ballistic missile testing was what Secretary Kerry had hoped after the nuclear accord was struck,  the State Department spokesman said, “We never expected Iran would automatically change its behavior as a result of this deal.”
The U.N. Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee meets next Tuesday.
“I want to also underscore that we have other tools beyond the Security Council, we have our own bilateral sanctions,” Power said. “I would note as it relates to the launch in October, many of the individuals involved in the launch and the entities are already under U.S. sanctions and that is something we have already sought to neuter their ability to carry out launches like this.”
Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent.

Trump denies trip to Jordan, defends vow to bar Muslims

Bailey Comment: The majority is sick and tire of the minority trying to rule America.

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump Tuesday denied an Associated Press report he planned to visit Jordan only hours after the wire service said he planned to go there.
The AP reported that Trump’s visit to Jordan, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, would take place during his trip to Israel, which he previously disclosed during an interview last week. It said his campaign had told U.S. government officials he wanted to meet with King Abdullah.
Hours after the report, Trump took to Twitter, saying “Despite my great respect for King Abdullah II, I will not be visiting Jordan at this time. This is in response to the false @AP report.”


The report came one day after Trump's controversial proposal to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the United States to protect the nation from Islamic terrorism.

In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Trump responded to concerns raised by critics his rhetoric may help ISIS attract new recruits.

"I'm the worst thing that ever happened to ISIS. The people in my party fully understand that -- they're running against me. For the most part, they have no poll numbers. I'm leading by a lot. They get it. They're trying to get publicity for themselves," Trump told ABC’s Barbara Walters. "You know when I came out against illegal immigration, everybody said the same thing. Two weeks later, everybody was on my side, including the members of my own party."

Trump compared his plan to that of former President D. Roosevelt, which placed limits on the rights of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals following the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.

When asked by Walters whether he regretted the proposal, Trump said: "Not at all. We have to do the right thing. Somebody in this country has to say what's right."

The real estate mogul added that he had "tremendous relationships" with people in the Muslim community, and denied that he is a bigot and said that he was thinking about the future of the U.S.

"I'm a person who has common sense. I'm a smart person. I know how to run things. I know how to make America great again. This is about making America great," he told ABC News.

IRS and Church Cartoon

Why I stand with Liberty University's Jerry Falwell, Jr. on guns

I stand with Jerry Falwell, Jr.
And like the president of Liberty University, I am proud to call myself a gun-toting, Bible-clinging American patriot. 
President Falwell is facing criticism from Democrats and jihadist sympathizers after he urged students at the nation’s largest Christian university to carry concealed weapons on campus to counter any possible armed attack from jihadists.
Click here to get Todd’s American Dispatch - a must-read for Conservatives! 

Sometimes I wonder who hates Christians more — the mainstream media or the Islamic jihadists.

“Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Falwell told thousands of cheering students during convocation. 
"I've always thought if more good people had concealed carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in," Falwell said.
He told the Associated Press on Saturday he was specifically referring to Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the couple who shot and killed 14 people during a holiday party in a Southern California office building Wednesday.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe criticized Falwell’s remarks, saying in a statement to The Washington Post those comments were “rash and repugnant.”
“My administration is committed to making Virginia an open and welcoming Commonwealth, while also ensuring the safety of all of our citizens. Mr. Falwell’s rash and repugnant comments detract from both of those crucial goals,” McAuliffe said.
Hillary Clinton went so far as to accuse Falwell of giving “aid and comfort” to the Islamic State. 
“This is the kind of deplorable not only hateful response to a legitimate security issue,” Clinton told ABC News. “But it is giving aid and comfort to ISIS and other radical jihadists.”
Get a load of the crackpot theory offered up by one left-wing newspaper: 
“Some theologians believe that Jesus would call on Christians to put down their weapons in the face of violence.”
I only wish the Washington Post had named the lunatic theologians who believe that Christians should gladly offer themselves to the Islamic radicals as sacrificial lambs.
Does the mainstream media suggest that Christians should not protect their families from harm? Do they suggest that Christians should not serve in the military or law enforcement? 
In the warped world of American journalism -- is there any instance in which people of faith would be allowed to defend themselves against the sword of the radical Muslims? 
Sometimes I wonder who hates Christians more — the mainstream media or the Islamic jihadists. 
Christians are a good-hearted people. If you are down on your luck, there’s always a church willing to lend you a helping hand.
If you get hungry, we’ll fix you a plate of chicken. If you’re thirsty, we’ll pour you a glass of tea. If you need some clothes or some gas money to get you where you’re going we’ll take care of that, too.
We rebuild homes washed away by the floods. We look after the widows and orphans. We tend to the sick and afflicted. 
We are slow to anger. 
Over the past few years we have seen the Islamic radicals wage jihad across the fruited plain. We have seen the jihadists spill American blood on American soil. They have terrorized our people -- from Boston to Fort Hood to Chattanooga to San Bernardino.
We have watched as the jihadists beheaded our brothers and sisters in foreign lands. We have watched as churches have been destroyed, parishioners crucified. 
Slow to anger, indeed. But there is anger nonetheless. 
President Falwell’s admonition was made out of prudence, not anger. The enemy is now beyond the gate. They live among us.
And should the Islamic radicals wage jihad in your town -- I suspect most Americans would want to share a foxhole with someone like Jerry Falwell, Jr. — armed with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other.