I understand that Verizon, AT&T, John Deere, Caterpillar, and others are recording one-time costs on their accounting balance sheets. For example, Verizon is anticipated to book an expense of $750 M. AT&T will book an expense of $1 B. These one-time charges are based on changes in the law that eliminates a tax break on a subsidy paid by the federal government for retiree prescription drug coverage. See the link below for further details.
You can make various arguments to white wash over this, but the bottom line is that this specific aspect of the healthcare bill will cut billions from the balance sheet of US corporations. Anyone who knows anything about how corporations work, know that this redealing of the corporate balance sheet will have negative economic consequences -- jobs cut, projects that would have led to new hiring will be cut, increased costs may be dealt out to customers (if the market permits this, some markets do not allow prices to be raised or alternatives or competitors -- perhaps from a foreign country -- will replace the subject product or service).
The same dip sticks that couldn't get the flu vaccine done until it was to late and now must throw millions of doses away, will get to try and run the whole show. Really inspires hope for change.
Oddly Verizon's ability to compete won't be affected and had modest stock gains.
Verizon is in a very peculiar business. They are a telecommunications service provider. Their capital investment comprises wires, cell towers, electronic equipment IN THE US. Their business and their competition is more than likely completely and inexorably IN THE US. It is my guess a fair statement that Verizon's competitors -- other telecommunicaton service providers with their business solely in the US -- will be proportionally affected by the subject tax consequences of the Health Care bill. Thus, this does not have implications for them competitively. It DOES have implications for their bottom line, their lay off schedules, their hiring schedules. I can't say why their stock price went up, but think of stock prices as being sort of like those weird reptiles that dither back and forth considerably and move forwards in a slow maner.
Oddly Verizon's ability to compete won't be affected and had modest stock gains.
Don't worry, the Obama administration has their number. The FCC is planning on mandating they share their new fiber network now. Once again showing the Dems don't understand risk and reward. Years ago, they were faced with sharing their copper. They we forced to allow other companies see dial tone over their copper and Verizon had to mantain it at a loss. So they switched to a multibillion dollar gamble and went to fiber to the home. Any other company could have taken that gamble but choose not to. Now that it's showing a lot of promise and is the new direction of Verizon. So much so, they are moving away from traditional services. Obama hates profitiable companies. They are going to go after them to ensure they can't make a dime, force them to share the fiber and make them maintain it once again at a loss.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
You can make various arguments to white wash over this, but the bottom line is that this specific aspect of the healthcare bill will cut billions from the balance sheet of US corporations. Anyone who knows anything about how corporations work, know that this redealing of the corporate balance sheet will have negative economic consequences -- jobs cut, projects that would have led to new hiring will be cut, increased costs may be dealt out to customers (if the market permits this, some markets do not allow prices to be raised or alternatives or competitors -- perhaps from a foreign country -- will replace the subject product or service).
What's the answer then, or are you just the voice of warning to people who work for those companies?
Seems to me those companies need better lobbyists or the employ's for those companies should bone up on how to influence government for job security reasons.
What's the answer then, or are you just the voice of warning to people who work for those companies?
Seems to me those companies need better lobbyists or the employ's for those companies should bone up on how to influence government for job security reasons.
The Health Care Bill was sold to the public -- though the public did not buy it or get persuaded by the sales pitch -- on the premise that the bill would pay for itself and would improve things and did not damage the economy. The information I provided is substantive data showing that the contention that the bill does not damage the economy is not true. When corporations take hundreds of millions of dollars of charges to their balance sheets BELIEVE ME it is doing damange. Anyone who tells you this is just paper doesn't know how corporations work. That is real value which is gone. The internal status of these corporations is changing now in response to these numbers -- projects canceled, delayed, reduced in scope; new hiring scuttled; planned lay-offs increased and/or advanced in time.
I'm not asserting that the Health Care Bill is not worth this trade off. I'm just laying out data that was glossed over, buried, distorted by the Democratic leaders in their haste to punch this bill through. My guess is that this negative information about the Health Care Bill is only the tip of the iceberg. There is going to be more negative news forthcoming.
My personal belief is, no, the Health Care Bill is not worth the actual negatives that are going to stack up against it. But my belief is unimportant. Getting the information out is important. Let people make their decisions on their own, empowered by real and accurate information, and let them vote in November based on real information. I do think the notion that the electorate is going to forget the healthcare bill before November is naieve on the part of the Democrats. Doesn't matter. What matters is what happens in November. The Democrats have laid a feast of arguments and easy campaign tactics for the Republicans if they are astute enough to pick them up and use them.
What's the answer then, or are you just the voice of warning to people who work for those companies?
Seems to me those companies need better lobbyists or the employ's for those companies should bone up on how to influence government for job security reasons.
I expect that there are a lot of union workers at many of those companies who voted for the current commander-in-idiocy. Perhaps they ought to wise up and refuse to toe the party line next time around when the union bosses tell them to vote straight D-D-D...
AT&T (and I'm sure Verizon) have huge numbers of Communications Workers members, once the largest union in the country. I suspect they're not happy with their International right now.
That tax write off is the result of newer SEC rules that require a company who used the prescription plan offset to disclose the change in the same quarter it was announced (I'm told a result of the Enron scandal). I suspect they won't be the only ones telling shareholders they're losing the deduction.
I do think the notion that the electorate is going to forget the healthcare bill before November is naieve on the part of the Democrats. Doesn't matter. What matters is what happens in November. The Democrats have laid a feast of arguments and easy campaign tactics for the Republicans if they are astute enough to pick them up and use them.
I hope the democrats are just being naive. I'm losing confidence in the electorate. Every year more and more indoctrinated kids are being pumped out of the liberal's uneducational system. They can hardly read their diploma but are completely confident when they go to vote for whomever is promising them the most free stuff.
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"Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance." G.K. Chesterton
Bad Effects of Health Bill Already
Really inspires hope for change.
