The Fed is giving ‘free money’ to the world’s largest banks, and the big winners, according to the Wall Street Journal, are foreign banks.  The latest report: $22 billion annually.

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   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 12/24/15) 
   By Katy Burne 

Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s recent interest-rate increase will be foreign banks.

Units of foreign banks this year [2015] received nearly half the roughly $6.25 billion in interest the Fed paid banks on the money, called reserves, they park with the Fed, the central bank’s data show. Those institutions control just about 15% of all bank assets in the U.S.

The Fed’s interest payments to banks are likely to roughly double next year because in mid-December it raised the rate it pays on reserves to 0.50% from 0.25%. The amounts could rise even more in coming years if the central bank continues lifting the rate, called the interest on excess reserves rate, or IOER.

Foreign banks receive a disproportionate share of the interest payments because they own an outsize share of total reserves.

[snip]

U.S.-chartered banks, including those owned by foreign banking companies, pay premiums to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — ranging from 0.05% to 0.35% — based on their assets, including reserves but minus other capital measures. But U.S. lenders that don’t take deposits, and firms incorporated overseas whose U.S. operations don’t take deposits, don’t have to pay FDIC fees.

Both foreign and domestic banks can borrow money overnight at low short-term rates and park them at the Fed at a higher rate, earning a profit or “spread.” But for some foreign firms, the spread can be larger because they often don’t have to pay the FDIC fees.

To illustrate: Before the Fed’s rate increase, banks paid about 0.13% to borrow overnight in the federal-funds market and earned 0.25% on their reserves — a difference of 0.12 percentage point. A foreign bank could get a spread of 0.12%. Domestic banks that paid FDIC fees of about 0.07% on average on their insured deposits would be left with a spread of about 0.05%.

After the rate increase, both types of banks could pay about 0.35% to borrow overnight and get 0.50% on their reserves. That is a 0.15% spread for some foreign banks. But domestic banks, after paying the FDIC fees, get a roughly 0.08% spread.

The New York branches of Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG each had about $40 billion in reserves at the Fed as of June 30, earning about $100 million in interest.

[snip]

Raising the IOER rate to 0.50% from 0.25% will increase the Fed’s interest payments to banks to about $13 billion annually, assuming reserves stay at the same level, said Karen Petrou of Federal Financial Analytics Inc.

The Fed is subsidizing both U.S. and foreign banks, said Joseph Gagnon, a former Fed economist now at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and the latter have a proportionately larger advantage. “I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more attention,” Mr. Gagnon said.

[snip]

The Fed started paying interest on reserves in 2008. It plans to use the IOER rate as its primary lever for controlling short-term rates, in part because its postcrisis stimulus policies left markets awash in money, rendering its old tools less effective.

Still, some Fed officials have expressed concern about how it looks to have the central bank making big interest payments to banks.

James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said in an August radio interview that if Congress isn’t comfortable with the size of payments to banks, in particular foreign ones, “They should definitely tell us right now, because . . . we would need to change our exit strategy dramatically if we cannot rely on the interest on excess reserves as being a tool of monetary policy.”

_________________________

So the U.S. Federal Reserve is doling out billions of dollars annually in free money handouts to the world’s largest banks, the very banks whose leveraged speculation strategies precipitated the great financial crisis.  The very banks that foreclosed on millions of American home owners.  The very banks that engaged in blatantly criminal FX and LIBOR rate manipulation, mortgage fraud and predatory lending.

And meanwhile, U.S. citizens are scraping along, neck deep in debt, stalled out with stagnant real median household income growth, lathered up in suffocating social welfarism…?

And Congress is sitting their heads up their ‘rear ends’… and no plan whatsoever to change anything related to the economic mess we are sitting in.

You have got to be kidding me..(!)

It is time for U.S. citizens to be granted the same access to liquidity that the Fed has provided, through various funding facilities, to Wall Street’s financial sector and continues to provide via IOER payments.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2260)

The Wall Street Journal (Letters, March 21, 2017) published a letter from a New Jersey physician which included this excerpt on-target excerpt:

“If costs of delivering world-class health care are driven downward, then government mandates, overregulation and new taxes may not be necessary. Those of us who provide medical and surgical services each day know what it takes to stop the bleeding.  All the politicians need to do is ask.

Lack of price transparency, drug advertising hype, defensive medicine, self-referrals, pre-approved hurdles, insurance billing labyrinths high overhead,  big patient subsidies, discontinuity of care, electronic data keeping, specialty fee disparities, top-down decision-making, emerging hospital cartels, and case work overload are some of the systemic flaws that must be addressed sooner rather than later.”  – Jonathan L. Fox, M.D. Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Northfield, N.J.

_______________________________

And here is how to address those “systemic flaws,” and gain immediate control of skyrocketing premiums, runaway government health care spending, unfriendly and complicated access mechanisms, and the diminishment of freedom:

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan offers a powerful new access strategy for patients receiving medical and pharmaceutical services, home medical equipment, and home care services.

It is as simple as renting a movie.

The Plan grants citizens the freedom to pay directly, in person, for their week-to-week health care purchases. It cuts out layers of bureaucracy and middlemen … simplifies access to health care and restores genuine ‘patient-provider’ relationships.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.  It ‘resets’ the health care industry to present a clean, efficient and responsible system.  Most importantly, this plan restores individual freedom and liberty for all participating Americans.

The Plan:

1. The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is available to each and every U.S. citizen – with no coverage mandates. Each U.S. citizen who wishes to participate will be granted a full and complete exemption from the ACA.
2. This plan offers freedom of choice and equal justice for all. Those Americans who might wish to stay with the ACA may stay (‘If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare’).
3. Each participating U.S. citizen shall receive a credit extension, through a special Federal Reserve Citizens Credit Facility, of $25,000, electronically deposited into a Medical Savings Account (MSA) – for direct allocation toward family health care needs.
4. Private insurance – Families shall be allowed to enroll in high-deductible ($10,000 – $15,000) major medical plans, to include basic, ‘no frills’ medical plans which best suit their individual needs and desires. These streamlined plans would lower premium costs for employees and employers, encouraging employers to cost-share savings with employees through incentive-based employer MSA contributions.
5. Policies would not be automatically loaded with expensive government healthcare mandates.
6. Those with extraordinary medical issues may be included in a high-risk category, with such plans being eligible for a government subsidy (similar to current Medicare Advantage).
7. Federal / state programs – Individuals enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB programs would maintain their covered status, with an annual deductible of $5,000 per year per enrolled family member, for a period of five years for those benefits. The dedicated MSA funds would fully fund the offset for the higher ($5,000) deductible feature for that five-year period. MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations.
8. Where health care services paid by patients directly with MSA funds, providers would not be bound by federal / state rules pertaining to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and other unnecessary administrative burdens.

Continue:  The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to Launch.

The ObamaCare replacement plan sailed into some stiff headwinds in the U.S. House on Friday over a number of significant concerns:

1. 14 million Americans would lose insurance by 2018, rising up to 24 million losing coverage by 2026.

2. The new ObamaCare replacement plan remained ‘mandate-heavy.’

3. It was too costly and inefficient, with the already high ObamaCare premiums spiking another 15-20% in 2018-19.

Meet the comprehensive health care plan that overcomes these objections: The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan.

Number of Americans that will lose coverage: 0

If you like your ObamaCare you can keep your ObamaCare.  All others who wish to be granted an exemption, along with a $25,000 HSA deposit per citizen (see plan for further details).

Mandates: 0

Citizens may choose their providers and insurance plans, and allocate their health care resources in the manner that suite fulfills their needs and desires.

Efficiency: 99%

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan eliminates government red tape and enormous amounts of ‘middle-man’ cost and interference.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to Launch.

A part of America’s dynamic, comprehensive economic acceleration plan:

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2192)

March 24, 2017: ObamaCare is “ready to explode,” and the U.S. House of Representatives alternative plan died today.

It is time for a new strategy – that puts citizens back in charge of their health care resources and decision-making..

_________________________________

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.  It ‘resets’ the health care industry to present a clean, efficient and responsible system.  Most importantly, this plan restores individual freedom and liberty for all participating Americans.

The Plan:

1. The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is available to each and every U.S. citizen – with no coverage mandates. Each U.S. citizen who wishes to participate will be granted a full and complete exemption from the ACA.
2. This plan offers freedom of choice and equal justice for all. Those Americans who might wish to stay with the ACA may stay (‘If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare’).
3. Each participating U.S. citizen shall receive a credit extension, through a special Federal Reserve Citizens Credit Facility, of $25,000, electronically deposited into a Medical Savings Account (MSA) – for direct allocation toward family health care needs.
4. Private insurance – Families shall be allowed to enroll in high-deductible ($10,000 – $15,000) major medical plans, to include basic, ‘no frills’ medical plans which best suit their individual needs and desires. These streamlined plans would lower premium costs for employees and employers, encouraging employers to cost-share savings with employees through incentive-based employer MSA contributions.
5. Policies would not be automatically loaded with expensive government healthcare mandates.
6. Those with extraordinary medical issues may be included in a high-risk category, with such plans being eligible for a government subsidy (similar to current Medicare Advantage).
7. Federal / state programs – Individuals enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB programs would maintain their covered status, with an annual deductible of $5,000 per year per enrolled family member, for a period of five years for those benefits. The dedicated MSA funds would fully fund the offset for the higher ($5,000) deductible feature for that five-year period. MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations.
8. Where health care services paid by patients directly with MSA funds, providers would not be bound by federal / state rules pertaining to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and other unnecessary administrative burdens.

Benefits:                                                                                 

Lower health care costs – With the elimination of millions of minor insurance claims across the nation over the course of each month, system-wide efficiency would improve, medical costs would drop significantly, and the direct patient-provider relationship would be restored. Medical professionals would not have to answer to HMOs, insurance companies, or government agencies in providing basic day-to-day healthcare access for their patients.

Scoring – if 300 million U.S. citizens were to participate in the plan, the total dollar transfer into family-based Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) would amount to $7.5 trillion.

The potential cost savings from the $5,000 deductible provision for the approximate 150 million people currently enrolled in Medicare (55 million), Medicaid (72 million), VA (6.16 million), TRICARE (9.5 million), and FEHB (8.2 million) would amount to just  under $3.75 trillion over the first 5 years (or, one-half the $7.5 trillion initial roll out cost).

Summary:

This plan would generate trillions of dollars in cost savings from streamlining, vastly improved efficiency, and reductions in waste and fraud.

This plan would improve quality and ease of access to health care for all participating Americans.

 For patients: It would dramatically lower the cost of health care, while improving quality and access for all who chose to participate.

 For providers:  It would restore the patient-provider relationship and significantly reduce massive cost and time burdens imposed by a centralized system.

 The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan an integral part of a larger, comprehensive economic plan:

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2179)

___________________________________

Notes:

Exemptions:                                                                                         ObamaCare currently offers hardship exemptions for individuals who have a recognizable inability to pay for a plan or pay the penalty. The ACA also currently offers exemptions from certain provisions within the health care law, such as the reinsurance provisions, for various union organizations.

And certain U.S. Territories are exempt from specific ACA measures: The Hill, 7-17-14:  “Insurance companies in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands are no longer required to implement a number of ObamaCare measures such as the community rating system, a single-risk pool, the medical loss ratio or guaranteed benefits.”

Administrative costs – bureaucracy:               

The Federal government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to construct the monstrous ACA ‘machine.’

Billions of dollars have been spent on the roll out costs, insurer subsidies, management, monitoring, advertising, technical ‘fixes,’

There will be hundreds of billions of dollars yet to come with legal costs/prosecution, audits, regulatory costs/burdens, and much, much more.

_________________________________  

News headlines from the past two years:                                  

$2.1 billion cost for ACA federal exchange

Obamacare Adds 3,322 Pages of Regs to $234 Billion Tax Complexity Burden…

Analysis: Feds gave states $4.4B for ObamaCare exchange site rollouts

TAX DOLLARS FOR NFL TEAM TO PROMOTE OBAMACARE…

HHS plans to spend up to $7B — to cut costs…

Administration spends $17 million a month on paid advertising…

REPORT: Taxpayers Shell Out $14,000 per Obamacare ‘Enrollee‘…

Feds Spend Another $20M on Healthcare.gov…

None of these hundreds of billions of dollars have had anything to do with “you” getting direct access to health care… and allocating resources directly for medical attention that you need and desire for your family.

When government controls the allocation of resources in a given economic sector (‘for the public good’) … bureaucratic red tape, systemic inefficiencies, pricing distortions, and other economic dislocations  become the rule of order.

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Overhead costs exploding under ObamaCare, study finds | TheHill

by Sarah Ferris 05/27/2015 – Excerpts:

The administrative costs for healthcare plans are expected to explode by more than a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next decade, according to a new study published by the Health Affairs blog.

The $270 billion in new costs, for both private insurance companies and government programs, will be “over and above what would have been expected had the law not been enacted,” one of the authors, David Himmelstein, wrote Wednesday.

Those costs will be particularly high this year, when overhead is expected to make up 45 percent of all federal spending related to the Affordable Care Act. By 2022, that ratio will decrease to about 20 percent of federal spending related to the law.

The study is based on data from both the government’s National Health Expenditure Projections and the Congressional Budget Office. Both authors are members of Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates for a single-payer system.

“This number – 22.5 percent of all new spending going into overheard – is shocking even to me, to be honest. It’s almost one out of every four dollars is just going to bureaucracy,” the study’s other author, Steffie Woolhandler, said Wednesday.

She said private insurers have been expanding their administrative overhead despite some regulations from the Obama administration to control those costs, such as the medical loss ratio, which requires a certain amount of premium dollars to be spent directly on healthcare. She argues that a better approach would be a type of Medicare-for-all system.

The extra administrative costs amount to the equivalent of $1,375 per newly insured person per year, the authors write.

About two-thirds of the new overhead costs are the result of rising enrollment in private plans, which the authors say carries “high costs for administration and profits.”

The rest is the result of expanded government programs, such as Medicaid. It also includes the cost of running ObamaCare exchanges at both the federal and state levels.

The federal exchange, as well as the 13 state-run exchanges, have all been boosted by grant money, though those funds will run out by 2016. The exchange will then need to rely on fees to plan premiums.

______________________________

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan allows U.S. citizens to allocate resources directly and take ownership of their own health care needs and decisions.

This dynamic new plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.

Freedom starts at ground level:

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to Launch. 

……………………………………………………….

“He who will not apply new remedies must expect new evils.” – Sir Francis Bacon

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2150)

The GOP’s new Patient Care Act is a big step in the right direction as an ObamaCare replacement strategy, but it is hitting some choppy water...

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“It’s A Train Wreck”: Conservative Groups Savage GOP Healthcare Plan

As discussed earlier, the Obamacare repeal and replace effort, derisively called by some either “Obamacare Lite”, “RyanCare”, “ObamaCare 2.0″,  and even Trumpcare”. is running into major hurdles as prominent conservative groups threaten to derail Trump’s broader economic agenda.  ZeroHedge – Mar 7, 2017

________________________

There is a very simple answer to all of this –

Dear Republican Party: 

Be bold. Think outside the box.

What American families need is a powerful, new replacement strategy for ObamaCare that is citizen-centered, putting people back in charge and allocating resources themselves for their week to week health care needs.

And here it is:

America’s dynamic new health care strategy:

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.  It ‘resets’ the health care industry to present a clean, efficient and responsible system.  Most importantly, this plan restores individual freedom and liberty for all participating Americans.

The Plan:

1. The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is available to each and every U.S. citizen – with no coverage mandates. Each U.S. citizen who wishes to participate will be granted a full and complete exemption from the ACA.
2. This plan offers freedom of choice and equal justice for all. Those Americans who might wish to stay with the ACA may stay (‘If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare’).
3. Each participating U.S. citizen shall receive a credit extension, through a special Federal Reserve Citizens Credit Facility, of $25,000, electronically deposited into a Medical Savings Account (MSA) – for direct allocation toward family health care needs.
4. Private insurance – Families shall be allowed to enroll in high-deductible ($10,000 – $15,000) major medical plans, to include basic, ‘no frills’ medical plans which best suit their individual needs and desires. These streamlined plans would lower premium costs for employees and employers, encouraging employers to cost-share savings with employees through incentive-based employer MSA contributions.
5. Policies would not be automatically loaded with expensive government healthcare mandates.
6. Those with extraordinary medical issues may be included in a high-risk category, with such plans being eligible for a government subsidy (similar to current Medicare Advantage).
7. Federal / state programs – Individuals enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB programs would maintain their covered status, with an annual deductible of $5,000 per year per enrolled family member, for a period of five years for those benefits. The dedicated MSA funds would fully fund the offset for the higher ($5,000) deductible feature for that five-year period. MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations.
8. Where health care services paid by patients directly with MSA funds, providers would not be bound by federal / state rules pertaining to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and other unnecessary administrative burdens.

Continue:  The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2131)

Big government at work – recent headlines:
BOEHNER: THEY WON’T REPEAL OBAMACARE…

Prospects of quick Obamacare repeal sinking fast…

Repeal of Obamacare Faces Obstacles in House, Not Just in Senate…

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Trump: “Nobody Knew That Healthcare Could Be So Complicated”

“We have come up with a solution that’s really, really – I think – very good. Now I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”  ZeroHedge, Feb 27, 2017

Solution: The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan puts citizens back in control of managing their week-to-week health care decisions. It re-establishes a healthy patient-provider relationship.  It improves efficiencies in health care markets and drives costs down.  And it is as simple as renting a video.

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Second House Conservative Won’t Back Trump’s Obamacare Replacement

Just hours after Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the conservative Freedom Caucus, said he would vote against Trump‘s draft ObamaCare replacement bill (that leaked last week), The Hill reports that another influential Republican Committee member, Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) has said he will not back the bill.  ZeroHedge, Feb 27, 2017

Solution:  The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan allows freedom of choice for citizens:

“If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare.”

If, however, you believe that a big government healthcare solution is not in your best interest, you may be granted an exemption from ObamaCare, receive a $25,000 deposit into your Medical Savings Account from a U.S. Citizens Credit Facility, and manage your own healthcare decisions.

_____________________________

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.  It ‘resets’ the health care industry to present a clean, efficient and responsible system.  Most importantly, this plan restores individual freedom and liberty for all participating Americans.

The Plan:

1. The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is available to each and every U.S. citizen – with no coverage mandates. Each U.S. citizen who wishes to participate will be granted a full and complete exemption from the ACA.
2. This plan offers freedom of choice and equal justice for all. Those Americans who might wish to stay with the ACA may stay (‘If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare’).
3. Each participating U.S. citizen shall receive a credit extension, through a special Federal Reserve Citizens Credit Facility, of $25,000, electronically deposited into a Medical Savings Account (MSA) – for direct allocation toward family health care needs.
4. Private insurance – Families shall be allowed to enroll in high-deductible ($10,000 – $15,000) major medical plans, to include basic, ‘no frills’ medical plans which best suit their individual needs and desires. These streamlined plans would lower premium costs for employees and employers, encouraging employers to cost-share savings with employees through incentive-based employer MSA contributions.
5. Policies would not be automatically loaded with expensive government healthcare mandates.
6. Those with extraordinary medical issues may be included in a high-risk category, with such plans being eligible for a government subsidy (similar to current Medicare Advantage).
7. Federal / state programs – Individuals enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB programs would maintain their covered status, with an annual deductible of $5,000 per year per enrolled family member, for a period of five years for those benefits. The dedicated MSA funds would fully fund the offset for the higher ($5,000) deductible feature for that five-year period. MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations.
8. Where health care services paid by patients directly with MSA funds, providers would not be bound by federal / state rules pertaining to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and other unnecessary administrative burdens.

Continue: The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2117)

Republican plans for a new health care plan are starting to hit some stiff headwinds, as evidenced by recent  headlines:
BOEHNER: THEY WON’T REPEAL OBAMACARE…

Prospects of quick Obamacare repeal sinking fast…

Repeal of Obamacare Faces Obstacles in House, Not Just in Senate…

Republicans Consider ObamaCare Repeal Without a Replacement Strategy    

_____________________________________

Dear Republican Party:  Need help with a powerful, new replacement strategy for ObamaCare..?

Here it is:

America’s dynamic new health care strategy:

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is the only comprehensive, citizen-centered health care plan in America.  It ‘resets’ the health care industry to present a clean, efficient and responsible system.  Most importantly, this plan restores individual freedom and liberty for all participating Americans.

The Plan:

1. The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan is available to each and every U.S. citizen – with no coverage mandates. Each U.S. citizen who wishes to participate will be granted a full and complete exemption from the ACA.
2. This plan offers freedom of choice and equal justice for all. Those Americans who might wish to stay with the ACA may stay (‘If you like your ObamaCare, you can keep your ObamaCare’).
3. Each participating U.S. citizen shall receive a credit extension, through a special Federal Reserve Citizens Credit Facility, of $25,000, electronically deposited into a Medical Savings Account (MSA) – for direct allocation toward family health care needs.
4. Private insurance – Families shall be allowed to enroll in high-deductible ($10,000 – $15,000) major medical plans, to include basic, ‘no frills’ medical plans which best suit their individual needs and desires. These streamlined plans would lower premium costs for employees and employers, encouraging employers to cost-share savings with employees through incentive-based employer MSA contributions.
5. Policies would not be automatically loaded with expensive government healthcare mandates.
6. Those with extraordinary medical issues may be included in a high-risk category, with such plans being eligible for a government subsidy (similar to current Medicare Advantage).
7. Federal / state programs – Individuals enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB programs would maintain their covered status, with an annual deductible of $5,000 per year per enrolled family member, for a period of five years for those benefits. The dedicated MSA funds would fully fund the offset for the higher ($5,000) deductible feature for that five-year period. MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations.
8. Where health care services paid by patients directly with MSA funds, providers would not be bound by federal / state rules pertaining to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and other unnecessary administrative burdens.

Continue:  The U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan 2017: America’s clean and affordable alternative to ObamaCare. Ready to launch.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2102)

Round 2.  Wall Street Banks and Insurers are overexposed in the arena of risky debt holdings, with hedging strategies that involve meaningful counter-party vulnerabilities.

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U..S Quietly Drops Bombshell: Wall Street Banks Have $2 Trillion European Exposure

Wall Street on Parade / By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: January 3, 2017  
Excerpts:

According to a report quietly released by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research less than two weeks before Christmas, another financial implosion on Wall Street can’t be ruled out.

The Office of Financial Research (OFR)….. Its 2016 Financial Stability Report, released on December 13, indicates that Wall Street banks have been allowed by their “regulators” to take on unfathomable risks and that dark corners remain in the U.S. financial system that are impenetrable to even this Federal agency that has been tasked with peering into them.

At a time when international business headlines are filled with reports of a massive banking bailout in Italy and the potential for systemic risks from Germany’s struggling giant, Deutsche Bank, the OFR report delivers this chilling statement:

“U.S. global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) have more than $2 trillion in total exposures to Europe. Roughly half of those exposures are off-balance-sheet…U.S. G-SIBs have sold more than $800 billion notional in credit derivatives referencing entities domiciled in the EU.”

When a Wall Street bank buys a credit derivative, it is buying protection against a default on its debts by the referenced entity like a European bank or European corporation. But when a Wall Street bank sells credit derivative protection, it is on the hook for the losses if the referenced entity defaults. Regulators will not release to the public the specifics on which Wall Street banks are selling protection on which European banks but just the idea that regulators would allow this buildup of systemic risk in banks holding trillions of dollars in insured deposits after the cataclysmic results of similar hubris in 2008 shows just how little has been accomplished in terms of meaningful U.S. financial reform.

Adding to the potential for another epic crash on Wall Street taking down the entire U.S. economy is data within the OFR report showing how interconnected the big Wall Street banks have become to the largest U.S. insurers through derivatives. This has been allowed to happen despite the fact that the giant insurer, AIG, required a government backstop of $182 billion following the 2008 crash because it had sold credit default protection via derivatives to the big Wall Street banks.

The OFR report includes the following data on life insurers:

“At the end of 2015, U.S. life insurers’ derivatives exposure, as reported in statutory filings, totaled $2 trillion in notional value. This $2 trillion does not include derivative contracts held in affiliated reinsurers, non-insurance affiliates, and parent companies that do not have to file statutory statements. Details on these entities’ derivatives positions are not publicly available.”

Just who is backstopping this $2 trillion in risk? The answer is mind-numbing. The counterparties to the life insurers are the same behemoth Wall Street banks who have their own potential nightmare scenario if there are major European bank defaults. The OFR report indicates the following:

“According to statutory data on insurance company legal entities, nine large U.S. and European banks are counterparties to about 60 percent of U.S. life insurers’ $2 trillion in notional derivatives. These data show that despite central clearing, derivatives interconnectedness between the U.S. life insurance industry and banks remains substantial.”

An accompanying chart shows (in order of magnitude) the following Wall Street banks with the greatest interconnectedness via derivatives to U.S. life insurers: Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

It is impossible to overstate the dangers of this daisy chain of interconnectedness. The Wall Street banks that created the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression in 2008 have now metastasized their failed derivatives model throughout the life insurance industry of the U.S. – raising the very real specter that in the next crash both massive banks and massive life insurers would require a taxpayer bailout.

Five of the largest U.S. banks that show up on the derivatives counterparty list to the U.S. life insurers, also show up on another list. The OFR report notes:

“The Basel Committee methodology measures banks’ complexity in part by looking at data on notional derivatives positions. These data reflect the nominal value of underlying derivatives contracts. They have been volatile since 2012 but remain highly concentrated among the five largest banks. As with OFR findings on insurance (see Section 2.5), OFR analysis suggests higher derivatives exposures for banks are associated with greater systemic risk.”

The five banks referenced above are: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.

The OFR report also indicates that regulators still do not have access to adequate data from the biggest banks and insurers to assess the dangers in real time. The report notes:

“Deficiencies in data and data management remain a critical vulnerability. Data needs remain unfilled, particularly in shadow banking markets. Many of the new data are not ready or available for analysis. Despite progress, the probability remains high that data deficiencies will again prevent risk managers and regulators from assessing risks before it is too late.”

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Solution: In a world where the global economic system is fragile, and European economic stability is deteriorating at an accelerating rate (Italy, Greece… and now Germany), U.S. Global – Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) will be sucked in to the vacuum when the default wave begins to roll in and counter-parties collapse.

And so, now would be the right time to insulate U.S. citizens by granting liquidity access through a Citizens Credit Facility – to eliminate vast tracts of deb at ground level.

Properly targeted liquidity infusions will help protect American families from losing their homes and businesses.  It will help keep main street America ‘humming’ during the next hard bank-driven financial downturn, protect jobs, and avoid major credit market dislocation.

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2018 (2069)

Big government central planning:                                                                                      Middle Income Americans (share of U.S. Households) have been caught up in a long term declining trend.

Over a full 9-year period, Real (inflation-adjusted) Median Household Income growth has been ‘negative.’

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Decade of Negative Real Interest Rates: Who Benefited?                                              Mish Talk – Global Trend Analysis,  Nov 29, 2016  /  Excerpts:

Real (inflation-adjusted) Median Household Income is ‘off’ 0.6% since 2008.

Doug Short notes: The reality illustrated here is that the real median household income series spent most of the first nine years of the 21st century struggling slightly below its purchasing power at the turn of the century. Real incomes (the blue line) hit an interim peak at a fractional 0.7% in early 2008, far below the nominal illusionary interim peak (as in money illusion) of 27.2% six months later and the latest at 42%, a record high. The real median household income is now at -0.6% from its turn-of-the-century level. In essence, the real recovery from the trough has been frustratingly slow.”

Who Benefited?

• Bailed out banks
• Government bodies via property tax hikes, income tax hikes, sales tax hikes and collection
• Asset holders – The wealthy

The median guy lost. Those at the bottom end got clobbered much harder. Only the top 10% or so fared well.

The primary beneficiary of QE, negative real rates, and inflation was the top 1%.

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Note again:  The primary beneficiary of Central Bank policies over the past 9 years has been the top 1%.

America does not need government-inspired wealth redistribution schemes to rebalance income inequalities.

America should not, and cannot, continue to facilitate ongoing dead-end, debt-fueled social welfarism to care for the poor.

America needs a dynamic new economic acceleration plan that grants U.S. citizens the same access to liquidity that was granted to Wall Street’s privileged financial class during the great bailout bonanza of 2007-2010.

America’s dynamic new plan:

The Leviticus 25 Plan 2017 –  $75,000 per U.S. citizen                                                        The Leviticus 25 Plan 2017 (1831)