Another reason to hate Obamacare, as Detroit shifts its debt from itself and all the untenable promises it made onto the bulk of the American taxpayer
(NY Times) As Detroit enters the federal bankruptcy process, the city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama health care law.
Officials say the plan would be part of a broader effort to save Detroit tens of millions of dollars in health costs each year, a major element in a restructuring package that must be approved by a bankruptcy judge. It is being watched closely by municipal leaders around the nation, many of whom complain of mounting, unsustainable prices for the health care promised to retired city workers.
Similar proposals that could shift public sector retirees into the new insurance markets, called exchanges, are already being planned or contemplated in places like Chicago; Sheboygan County, Wis.; and Stockton, Calif. While large employers that eliminate health benefits for full-time workers can be penalized under the health care law, retirees are a different matter.
Promises shmomises. Nothing like pushing Detroit’s promises onto Other People while giving them substandard treatment. The article also notes that many municipalities with similar problems may do the same, meaning more and more people will be subsidized by the Federal government, or, really, the 53% who actually have a federal tax burden. Good thing that if you like your plan you can’t keep it, eh?
Read: Detroit Looks To Use Obamacare To Deal With Its Debt »
As a longtime oil and gas engineer who helped develop shale fracking techniques for the Energy Department, I can assure you that this gas is not “clean.†Because of leaks of methane, the main component of natural gas, the gas extracted from shale deposits is not a “bridge†to a renewable energy future — it’s a gangplank to more warming and away from clean energy investments.
Now, having said that, there is a potential benefit for us integrating further with a reliable ally to the north our energy supplies. But I meant what I said; I’m going to evaluate this based on whether or not this is going to significantly contribute to carbon in our atmosphere. And there is no doubt that Canada at the source in those tar sands could potentially be doing more to mitigate carbon release.
