Tagged: blair horner

Last week, President Obama offered his plan for the federal budget.  According to the President, his proposed $3.7 trillion budget for 2014 would cut deficits by $1.8 trillion over the next decade.  The President’s plan includes a number of proposals, most notably: ending the “sequester” (that’s the current law that has automatically cut federal spending), reducing spending in the Medicare and Social Security programs, as well as tax increases that would primarily hit high-income households and corporations.

The United States spends more on health care than any other nation on earth.  Yet, the U.S. has some of the worst health care outcomes of any nation in the developed world.  Why is that?  It’s due to the tortured way the nation runs its system.

The 2013-2014 state budget was approved last week, marking the third on-time budget in a row.  Three on-time budgets haven’t occurred in a generation, so there was a lot of back-slapping and “at-a-boys” at the Capitol.

This past weekend marked the third anniversary of passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”  This is the ACA’s big year; this Fall Americans will be allowed to start enrolling in health insurance plans.  Starting on January 1, 2014, virtually all Americans will be required to have health insurance – either from the government, their employer, or through a health exchange.  Yet, even at this late date, many Americans are still unsure of its impact.