Life In Sherman Oaks

Efforts in the United States to control health care costs ($2.6 trillion in 2010) are largely divided by the debate over (a) stronger role for government regulation or (b) market-based models that encourage greater competition. We are a nation that believes in competition. We believe that through competition, the best product or service is created. That if many people are offering a service or product, the people who offer the [...]

Who is this Ayn Rand that Republicans like Paul Ryan (the author of the 2013 GOP budget) follow and what did she teach that some Republicans like so much? Sometimes we can understand what people believe when we know a little bit about their background. And that’s probably the case with Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905. A city of starvation during World War [...]

Conservatives are telling Americans that health care in America is worse off since Medicare was passed. That Medicare actually caused the cost of health care to rise. That before Medicare, doctors and hospitals would take care of the poor for free and would again, were it not for Medicare. So let’s look at these claims, one by one. 1. In 1962, approximately 51% of all persons over the age of [...]

Some politicians, in the summer of 20010, told seniors that The Affordable Care Act would (a) slash Medicare by $500 billion and (b) implement death panels. Some politicians are continuing these claims during the Presidential campaign. Neither of these claims are correct. If you are conservative, you can be angry at me for saying that. But it is the truth and after all, isn’t the truth what is really important? [...]

The phrase “general Welfare” is the only phrase to appear twice in the United States Constitution. It first appears in the preamble to the Constitution and then later in Section 8. It’s important for seniors, in particular, to understand the background of the phrase, because it is Section 8 of the Constitution’s “general Welfare” clause that the Supreme Court found Social Security to be Constitutional. Exactly what does Section 8 [...]

In 2008, Exxon Mobile made $45 billion in profits. It didn’t need a government bailout. But until President Obama, it’s always received one. Why? The oil business has always been considered strategic to the national interest of the country. That’s why we went to Iraq. Because oil is strategically important to us. So, we give the oil company tax break to ensure their survival. Well yes now, a $45 billion [...]

THIS WAS A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA TO THE GOP BACK IN JANUARY 2010. INSTEAD OF INCREASED CIVILITY, THE GOP HAS BECOME WORSE. THE NEXT TWO YEARS WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR SENIORS. Little is getting done in the country because of the lack of civility and the slash and burn politics of bipartisanship. Meanwhile, people are out of work and are dying for lack of medical care. President Obama says [...]

According to the Internal revenue Service, the Nation’s top 400 taxpayers made more than $263 million on average in 2006, but paid income taxes at the lowest rate in the 15 years in which these data have been reported. In constant dollars, the average income of the top 400 taxpayers nearly quadrupled since 1992. Source: A New Era Of Responsibility, President Obama’s Budget

October 2002 Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well [...]

Individual Tax Cuts: 1. “Making Work Pay” Tax Credit (Sec. 1001, Page 195). In tax years 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision will provide a refundable tax credit of 6.2 percent of earned income up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. 2. Increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit (Sec. 1002, Page 198). Go to the stimulus bill for all [...]

The issue is not whether a bank who engages in risky behavior should be allowed to fail or not — of course. And the democrats bill not only allows it, IT DISMANTLES ANY OFFENDING BANK AND PUTS IT OUT OF BUSINESS. But what about the other banks that are entangled with that offending bank? Should they suffer? No. But neither should the taxpayer. and that’s why THE DEM BILL CALLS [...]

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW BILL Consumer Protections with Authority and Independence: Creates a new independent watchdog, housed at the Federal Reserve, with the authority to ensure American consumers get the clear, accurate information they need to shop for mortgages, credit cards, and other financial products, and protect them from hidden fees, abusive terms, and deceptive practices. Ends Too Big to Fail: Ends the possibility that taxpayers will be asked to [...]

For about a year, as the Wall Street loans in the then current subprime bonds began to default, Wall Street had frantically searched for new borrowers to replace them. A ponzi scheme of sorts, if you will. When they ran out of people, they had to pay up. And they couldn’t. They didn’t have enough money in reserve; except the government didn’t know exactly how much because so much had [...]

Unless you’re living under a rock somewhere, you have at least heard about political opinion polls. Fox has its Polls, Gingrich has the WinstonGroup Pollsters, there’s Rasmussen, USA TODAY, Pew, Harris, Gallup – just to name a few. Each and every day we are bombarded with pundits quoting percentages from this poll or that poll that suggests 49% of the American public doesn’t want health care reform, 51% wants the [...]

Real estate loans to small businesses zoom up 40% The dollar amount of loans made to small businesses to help them purchase commercial real estate soared 40% in the Greater Los Angeles area last month, according to data released Wednesday. The SBA-504 loans, which help companies buy buildings and large equipment, totaled $71.6 million in January, compared with $50.9 million in December, according to CDC Small Business Finance. The lender [...]

Here’s a great example of how words can really mean everything. The Recovery Act IS the Stimulus. But someone…(cough,cough,cough), has managed to make the American people think — stimulus:BAD! recovery:GOOD! The same Republicans who bashed the President’s Stimulus Bill? They have been running around to those ribbon cutting ceremonies like crazy! And Governor Sanford of South Carolina how said he would not take one penny of this unconstitutional stimulus/recovery act [...]

Image via Wikipedia One common assumption about the subprime mortgage crisis is that it was caused by poor folks with bad credit. Amongst some groups, especially those putting all the blame on Barney Frank — is that this subprime mess and the resultant recession is all about minorities that just had to have a house they couldn’t afford — so some kindly banker did their best to give them the [...]

(A message from Brad) Dear Friends, I would like to invite you to participate in a town hall meeting I am holding Sunday, February 21st from 2:00-3:30 p.m. PST at Reseda High School (18230 Kittridge Street). I will provide an update on recent action in Congress. Please save the date. Over the years, I’ve had over 100 town hall meetings in the San Fernando Valley. They are an excellent opportunity [...]

`Guidelines from the Treasury Department for the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (“HAFA”) provides financial incentives to loan servicers and borrowers who utilize a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) to avoid foreclosure on loans eligible for modification under the HAMP program. This program begins April 10, 2010. The homeowner must meet the HAMP guidelines to qualify for HAFA, which are as follows: (1) the property is [...]