To The Average American: Bend Over Baby!

I am an average American, so I am going to use myself as an example, without giving away to much detail about my personal life. But because I am an average American, I think the point I am going to make is going to ring true with just about every person who reads this blog.

And I am actually going to say something nice about Obama. What?

(The names have been changed to protect the uh...innocent.)

I work for company X. It's a relatively small family owened company with about 1000 employees in the New England Region. This company provides contract services for companies of all sizes in just about every industry.

Because most employees in my company work as contractors at the companies we porvide services for, our pay in essence is directed by the company we are serviceing, whereas our benefits are controled by our actual emlpoyer. And because we are contractors we are the always looked at as the first area to cut or reduce costs.

So I did not get a raise for 2009. Most people did not get a raise in 2009, but a lot of us have or will start getting an extra 13-25 dollars a week in our paycheck. So, it's kind of like a raise, but it is temporary. Don't think of it as permanent income.

Now, it is also that time of the year that those of us who recieve medical insurance from our companies get our new contribution rates. Typically those are morginal increases, and usually they are offset by whatever raise you got that year. Sometimes though, they really pack a punch!

Take myself, I began getting an extra 16 dollars a week in my pay check due to the temporary tax cut. This started about the first week of March. The first week of April my weekly Medical/Dental Insurance contribution went up 32 dollars a week, which after taxes lobbed an additional 23 dollars a week out of my pay-check.

Are we paying attention? Even after the tax cut I am taking home 7 dollars a week less then I was in February. When this tax cut expires sometime in December 2009 I will be taking home 23 dollars a week less at the end of the year than I was at the begining of the year.

All I can say right now is "Thank God for Obama...make that peanuts."



Let's do some more math.

Say let's say I make 1000 dollars a week. Obama says the economy will be out of the recession in 2010; so let's say that maybe I get a 3% raise in 2010. That's 30 dollars a week. now take out that 23 dollars that I got banged for in 2009 and it works out to a 7 dollar a week raise. Yippee right? I made it out on top in the end right? Wrong, because I have not yet factored in my new medical insurance rates. Even if they only go up 10 dollars a week, I would then be down 3 dollars a week from 2009!

I want to get back to today. I have just laid out my financial situation and have covered my losses for the year. Oh but I forgot to take into account the areas where my money goes that I actually have to right a check for instead of having it ripped out of my paycheck for me by the government and my employer.

23 Dollars a week works out to 1196 dollars a year.

My Property taxes go up about 65 dollars this year (which is minor really....unless the CPA passes and /or the senior centor probably passes so crank that up to 138 dollars.

Deval Patrick wants to raise the gas tax another .19 cents a gallon. I use between 15and 20 gallons of gas a week so that works out to about 180 dollars a year extra.

If you are an average 1 pack a day smoker your are now paying an additional, what 2.50 per pack? That an extra 900 dollars a year that the government punishes you for excercising your right to smoke.

Solving this on the tax end is easy. Government needs to cut...no...slash...it's spending. How many government jobs exist that aren't needed? I'm sure the are hundreds. Hell, Govenor Patrick just filled a 175,000 dollar a year job post that has been vacant for 12 years!

Medical insurance is not so easy. Part of the problem with medical insurance is that most people don't get it until they think they are going to need it. So unlike your car insurance where you pay a certain amount every year, you hardly ever use it, so the insurance companies can build up large cash pools for the few people that do need substancial pay-outs.

Maybe Massachusettes new law of mandatory health insurance will help that. If more younger people are paying into the system that don't really use or need it; it will help drive the cost down.

The other problem is that those of us that do have it, probably over use it. For that I blame Google. Every minor symtpom I get, if I Google it, it is always cancer, so I have no problems with spending 25 dollars to have the doctor pull me back into reality. But, what costs me 25 dollars, costs the insurance company 150 to 200 dollars. Hence....the hefty rates.

Back to taxes. Obama and the Democrats want to put forth a budget that puts us in debt every year in the trillions! What do you think their method of dealing with thsi will be? Cut spending? No, they will raise taxes. Well, not raise taxes, just let current tax cut's expire...for now anyway until they realize that they are knee deep in it, and the only way out is to put in the backs of Middle America.

Good Luck!