Monday, March 3, 2014

Another Month, Another ObamaCare Deadline; "1099-Jobs"; Another Derailment

US News & World Report is reporting:
Consumers can expect a relatively smooth experience on the site now, though the administration has admitted that issues still persist. In December, the White House completed a series of fixes that allows the site to handle up to 50,000 users at once, and the system was working 90 percent of the time, according to a Health and Human Services report.  
And that about says it all. I imagine Amazon, Google, Apple, and a few other Fortune 500 companies would be going broke if their on-line services were working 90 percent of the time. Can you imagine if your smartphone worked only 90% of the time?

And you know it is human nature to round up to make the numbers look better. If "they" say it works 90% of the time, one can assume it might be working 75% to 85% of the time.

Regardless of what side of the issue one is on with regard to ObamaCare, a website working 90% of the time isn't exactly reassuring.

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Wow, again, now folks at CashWise, Williston, the heart of the Bakken, again talking about ObamaCare hurting them. This is a young, slow-talking out-of-stater up here looking for a job. Huge complaints about ObamaCare. The older Willistonite retiree says young folks (like the one he is talking to) will be paying for the health care of old retirees like him. The older retiree is telling the younger worker he will end up on welfare. I honestly didn't think folks were all that concerned about ObamaCare here in the booming oil patch. They also talk about "1099-jobs" and that workers are being surprised by how much they owe the government. I've heard that more than once: folks not wanting to take "1099-jobs." That's the first I had heard of "1099-jobs" anywhere in the country. Interesting. A million stories in the Bakken.

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Derailment

By the way, there was another BNSF derailment yesterday: eastern Montana, empty coal cars. It turns out that, unlike highly flammable Bakken crude oil, empty coal cars do not burst into flame.

2 comments:

  1. Two comments....First, the 1099 self-employed is a large, growing group. They are people who ended up working for themselves as contractors to larger companies. I have been a 1099 for the past 7 years in Silicon Valley as an IT consultant. One of the departments I worked for had 85% of their staff as contractors (some of whom come through larger consulting firms (body shops) and may be w-2 because of their green cards or may be 1099). I don't believe this group (1099) gets counted as self-employed and are a potentially large pool of people who are caught in the high cost of Obama Care. They owe the gov't because they have to pay their SS as well as the Employer's SS portion (which is deducted from their gross).

    Second, and more interesting, did you see the Warren Buffett comments on CNBC on climate change--he said that there is no evidence of climate change based on what he is seeing from his insurance business. It is a curious set of comments.

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    1. 1. Thank you for comments on "1099 jobs." I hope I wasn't construed as being insensitive -- I knew what "1099 jobs were but I had never thought of the tax angle. I am convinced a lot of folks new to the oil and gas industry will be caught unaware of the tax liabilities.

      2. I missed that part of the Warren Buffett/CNBC interview -- only because I was traveling did I happen to see any of the interview; I don't get CNBC at home. I missed that part of the interview, but I agree with you -- that's very interesting that he would say that. On a cynical level, he could stress global warming, the importance of insurance, and that's why his companies have to raise rates -- to protect against global warming losses. Very interesting that he would say that.

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