[Rob Hood]

http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2008/7/8/rants-453.html

Was listening to some newsradio today - many analysts are painting a bleak picture. Heard that Hummer and Saab were going to be let go, maybe more. I've already seen where Chevy is not sponsoring several NASCAR races next year.

Rick Wagoner is supposed to deliver an announcement tomorrow morning at 0830 EST. Should be worth listening to.

This post has been edited by Rob Hood: Jul 15 2008, 05:59 AM

[Rob Hood]

"Universal healthcare" (as proposed by Hillary) would be government-run. See my previous statement about Medicare and how crappy it is. "Mandatory Healthcare Insurance" only requires that you have some type of insurance plan, which is already used in some states for their automobile insurance (I think Maryland is one state that does this). I'm not sure that is great either, but it is certainly the lesser of the two evils in this scenario.

One thing for everyone to look into is "flexible spending accounts." If your company offers them, you should take advantage of it. Here's a great read on it (and a really decent financial website too) - http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/news/20001129a.asp?caret=6a

In a nutshell, you can lower your taxable income, and have money set aside for medical bills that arise during the calendar year (typically covers co-pays, other med bills not covered by insurance). You do have to "use it or lose it", so plan your expenses accordingly. There is also a "dependent care account" which many people with young children use to cover the cost of child daycare.

These accounts won't apply once you start using Medicare though, and you'll have to flip a coin as to wich supplemental insurance will be best for you by then. However, as long as you are still working past 65 you don't have to use Medicare so just consider that as well.

We are still a free state, so anyone can go out and eat Big Macs until they puke, end up with clogged arteries, and have multiple medical problems caused by such overeating. I do have a big problem with paying for someone's ignorance though. I didn't force him/her to eat irresponsibly, so why should I have to pay for their healthcare? This type of thought process has been brought about by those who do not want to be held accountable for their actions, who do not believe in personal responsibility, and who do not care about the consequences of their actions on either themselves or others. THIS is what we are paying higher costs for (well that and the illegals who get med coverage as well - why aren't we billing the home country for them!?!??!?!)

There are circumstances beyond our control, such as family medical history, accidents, etc. But the bottom line is it's cheaper to be healthy, and the more you do to enable that the better off you will stand to be in the long run. That's why I jog 3 - 4 miles 3x/week, and play golf approximately 2x month. (I would prefer to play golf more, but I spent this past spring playing nearly every weekend and some during the week, so I'm catching up on house projects now and assembling parts for an oil cooler setup.)

To (sort of) get back on topic, I really hope GM survives. I was actually planning on buying something in the next couple of years and after hearing about the proposed Z28 option (either late 2010 or early 2011) I was going to look at it once it came out.