Why are people convinced that Barack Obama did a great job as president?
Let's ask a couple of questions first:How much should we expect a two term president to realistically accomplish?How much support did he get in realizing his agenda?Whose life has been improved by the presidents agenda?these questions help make an examination of the presidency a bit more objective. Rather than focusing on what he did for us directly we should be looking at what he has done for the people as a whole.I realize it is difficult to separate what the president has done directly from what may or may not have happened anyway under his administration. But for simplicity's sake I'm going to take a page from President Harry Truman and say “"The buck stops here” - so unless it is crystal clear that the accomplishment is based on a previous administrations actions (like how the recession began at the end of the Bush administration) then we will count the accomplishment under the president in which the accomplishment was realized.so right off the bat we can say at least 20 million peoples lives were improved by the Obama administration due to the ACA. It isn't perfect but it did represent an improvement over zero Health insurance. Plus the millions of kids who could stay on parents insurance and the hundreds of thousands with pre-existing conditions who could never get insurance.We can say that 9 million lGBT people in America have achieved greater equality.he helped spur investment into Chrysler and GM, saving a quarter million jobs and helping to bring back the auto industryHe helped at least 1.3 million people with a raise to the federal minimum wage.i know they aren't all happy but by restarting relations with Cuba he has enabled 1.2 million Cubans some opportunity to reconnect to their country and helped millions of Cubans potential improve their economic situation.He made millions of Americans happy when he authorized the sortie that killed Osama Bin Ladenits hard to figure out how many peoples lives were positively impacted since we would be double or triple counting but it's fair to say that tens of millions of people's lives are measurably better because of his actions.maybe he didn't impact your life too much; maybe you are a cis gendered heterosexual white male who has never needed assistance with health insurance. But lots of people's lives have been positively impacted by Obama.so rather than minimizing all the good he has done maybe you should ask yourself “"why arent I convinced how good a President he was?”
What should a parent do after finding out their 15-year-old daughter is on the pill?
It is very important you handle this well because your daughter will take to heart the words you say next. When I was 15, I asked my mother about contraceptives like the pill, safety, availability, that sort of thing. I was not sexually active. I just wished to be educated. I had no interest in having sex. But I was a teen and curious and wanted to know my options, should this change.My mother freaked out. She looked at me very sternly and said: “You’re starting to worry me now with these questions. Why are you asking?”She looked worried too. Freaked out to hell and back. And the way she asked me this, I knew immediately she required reassurance. And lies. She did not want to hear me say I wanted options. She wanted lies.So I told her my best friend, Nicky, was seeking the information. Enormously relieved my mother exhaled. And then she was derogatory about Nicky. And then she didn’t give me any useful information on contraception.So: the lesson 15-year-old me learnt was my mother preferred that I lied to her than educate me, and I was to keep secret from her anything involving sexuality. It impaired our relationship for years, because I no longer trusted her to put my best interests above her fears.I tell you this to explain the message you send your child will be a powerful one. The non-verbal cues will be felt. How you say a thing; if you judge her, she will evaluate everything you do and say.You may think she’s too young (entirely likely she IS too young). You may think she’s your baby and should stop growing up (it happens, sadly). You may think this is terrifying (yes, it undoubtedly is). But if you teach your child to not be honest with you, or that she can’t come to you with things for an honest discussion, the harm to your relationship will be profound. Just bear it in mind before you go in, guns blazing, to lay down any laws. Good luck.And in case you’re wondering, decades later my mother and I sort of found a friendship. But I never forgot that day I was expected to lie to her.
What is it like to live with a salary of about $100,000 a year?
I’ve lived right around the poverty line for many years and now make $135kThe short answer: while I’m very grateful to finally be making more than $20k, it’s continually surprising how $135k doesn’t spend nearly as far as you’d expect it would - your paystubs will make you very angry and you’ll realize why the wealthy complain about “wealth redistribution”.What’s very crazy, is when we made $60k/yr we had very close to the same cash budget each month. This is because taxes, tax credits, etc even the playing field.My monthly pay is $11,250, taxes takes out $4,000 of that leaving $7,250.Speaking of taxes, say goodbye to tax returns…you only ever pay at the end of the year. You scrap for every deductible you can find, since deductibles are only a small percentage of your income at this point. I quickly realized that I never paid taxes when I made $20-$50k, I actually got $$ for free at the end of the tax year. So I put aside $1,000/mo for taxes as I often won’t get the deductibles I hope to get.I self-fund my own insurance because at my tax bracket, Obamacare would be $1,600+ each month for my family. We can self-fund for around $1,000/moSave for retirement, which has to be a lot, since I don’t plan on making $20k when I retire. (I am very grateful to be able to do this, though)All in all, here’s what my monthly budget looks like at $0 debt:$1,300 modest apt for my family to live in$200 car payment - 1 car$1,000 healthcare$1,000 taxes$1,200 retirement$400 utilities$1,000 food for family of 5 (at best we can get this down to $600 - kids eat like animals) also worth nothing that many friends who live in nicer homes than us get $900 in food stamps every month. Likely why I need to pay $5k+/mo in taxes$100 phones for family$400 fuel and car insurance & maintenance$200 misc expenses$200 spending money for my wife and I$100 babysitting$100 out to eat and moviesAs you can see, at $135k, I get about $100 each month to do whatever I want with.About 50% each month goes to government and government services.So all y’all who think that free college, free healthcare, etc from the govt sounds great…it’s only great until you get ahead, then you’ll be paying for it for everyone else for the rest of your life and find that “ahead” isn’t as ahead as you’d hoped.
What is the cheapest health insurance you can get in America per month for a 24 year old single male?
Don't know.We don't know where you live, we don't know your circumstances etc. So you need to start shopping around. Look at your options and try and get insurance so that when the unthinkable happens you will survive. Under Obamacare you can not be denied insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and you will not pay extra, other than for smoking or being old. You might be able to get coverage through your parent's policy. Or your employer might offer coverage. You might be on Medicaid if you are in one of the states that offer it and earn less than 133% of the federal poverty line. If you are a native American there is a healthcare service for them. The US Federal Government has created a website where you can compare plans in your state (or send you to the market place in your state). Policies are subsidized according to your income. Get 2015 health coverage now. Health Insurance Marketplace The problem I see is that unless you have a qualifying exemption you might have to wait till the start of next year to buy for insurance in the marketplace. Getting 2015 coverage with a Special Enrollment Period So if you got married, or changed residence or just got out of jail you might get coverage. Insurance plans are sold under a standardized naming system.Bronze covers 60% of your actuarial healthcare costsSilver covers 70% of your actuarial healthcare costsGold covers 80% of your actuarial healthcare costsPlatinum covers 90 % of your actuarial healthcare costs. Plans which are Bronze should be cheaper than silver plans etc. because you have a greater cost sharing. Some plans will allow you to set up a tax free savings account to save for out of pocket costs (HSA's) in the future. When choosing a plan remember that not all bronze plans are the same. To keep costs low an insurance company might have only a small network of companies providing care. In some plans you can ONLY go to those places unless it is an emergency. Others may require a referral before you can see a specialist etc. There are catastrophic plans - these are for under 30's who have low income. There is no subsidy for them. Understanding Obamacare: Bronze, Silver, Gold and PlatinumNote: I am not an insurance expert, I just read a lot and live in New Zealand, use at your own risk, this is of general nature.