Finance

Morning Market Roundup: ‘Obamacare’ Balloons Deficit, Buffett Rule in FL, New Mortgage Rules

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

‘Obamacare’: Reigniting a debate about the bottom line for President Barack Obama’s health care law, a leading conservative economist estimates in a study to be released Tuesday that the overhaul will add at least $340 billion to the deficit, not reduce it.

Charles Blahous, who serves as public trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, also suggested that federal accounting practices have obscured the true fiscal impact of the legislation, the fate of which is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.

In his 52-page analysis released by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Blahous said, “Taken as a whole, the enactment of the (health care law) has substantially worsened a dire federal fiscal outlook.”

“The (law) both increases a federal commitment to health care spending that was already unsustainable under prior law and would exacerbate projected federal deficits relative to prior law,” Blahous said.

The White house dismissed the study in a statement late Monday. Presidential assistant Jeanne Lambrew called the study “new math (that) fits the old pattern of mischaracterizations” about the health care law.

Mortgage Rules: The federal government plans to propose new rules on Tuesday that will give homeowners more ways to avoid foreclosure and get an accurate accounting of their monthly mortgage payments.

Congress mandated changes in the rules covering the mortgage servicing industry in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rules would require mortgage servicers to give all borrowers standardized monthly statements and warn borrowers about interest rate or insurance change.

Iran & Oil: Iran can manage its economy even without crude exports, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed on Tuesday as Tehran cut off oil sales to Greece, the third European nation to be hit by an Iranian retaliatory measure ahead of EU’s oil embargo.

Iran had warned in February that it may extend an earlier embargo imposed on Britain and France to other European countries, after the EU set a ban on Iranian oil over the country’s controversial nuclear program. The EU ban is to go into effect in July.

The West suspects Iran is pursuing atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Buffett Rule: Picking an election-year fight with Republicans, President Barack Obama is urging Congress to boost taxes on millionaires, traveling to Florida to make a populist pitch on an issue that draws a sharp contrast with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Obama is outlining his support for the so-called “Buffett rule” in Boca Raton, Fla., arguing that wealthy investors should not pay taxes at a lower rate than middle-class wage earners.

The push for the Buffett rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, comes ahead of a Senate vote next week and as millions of Americans prepare to file their income tax returns. The plan has little chance of passing Congress, but Senate Democrats say the issue underscores the need for economic fairness.

Obama’s team has made the Buffett rule a key part of its message, saying it shows clear differences with Romney, who has opposed the plan and withstood criticism from Democrats for paying about 15 percent in federal taxes for 2011 on income mostly derived from investments.

“Romney is a beneficiary of a broken tax system, and he wants to keep it that way,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said Monday in a conference call with reporters.

Romney campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said Obama was the “first president in history to openly campaign for re-election on a platform of higher taxes.” She said the plan would raise taxes on small businesses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Comments (15)

  • Truth1776
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 3:01pm

    The “buffet rule” – just another way to penalize those who work hard and become successful. Apparently PresBO believes no one can be succussful unless they are on a government hand out. Yet he obviously has not considered what would happen if everyone took a government hand out and no one worked, saved, or invested – much less worked hard, counted pennies twice, stretched every nickel until it screamed and did without today inorder to have something of quality in the future!

    Report Post » Truth1776  
  • SamIamTwo
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 2:44pm

    The worst part of ObamaCare is that it was front loaded, funded…once funded it’s difficult to cut it out of future budgets and the bloody REPUBLICANS knew about it…Regs have been issued, hiring has been completed…I pray the Supreme Court strikes down the entire enchilada that has more than just HC in it…

    Typical, get a toe in the door and wait till you have all libs running again to change all of the regulations or enforce regulations that exist and never were enforced…

    Time to take a re-look at ALL LAWS and ALL REGULATIONS that are suppose to implement/mirror PUBLIC LAW. We have Government Creep big time.

    Take a look at the provision of a federal contract and you will find many outlived general provisions that were established to implement/mirror public law.

    Streamline and update the blood laws and regulations to mirror the existing problems and needs. They will not do it…cause it would make them do some serious WORK!

    Report Post » SamIamTwo  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 12:06pm

    Raise the minimum wage to 100$ per hour and we will all be rich…… Right ?

    Report Post »  
  • PATTY HENRY
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 11:19am

    WE ALL need to speak up and REMIND AMERICAN VOTERS of this fact: IN America, unlike any other country on earth, our POOR can be our RICH within their life time. WE have poverty… but our people do not STAY in poverty unless they choose to. THINKABOUT IT. The poor we have today were not the same people we had 20 years ago. SO when STUPID blabs about “Taxing the RICH” he is saying:
    PENALIZE EFFORT, AMBITION and CAPITALISM

    We’re not talking his version of Capitalism in which he picked winners and looser and gives OUR MONEY to his best donors …. That’s his sickness.

    JUST remember: IN AMERICA, our POOR become our RICH – in their life times….and it will stay that way if our socialist/communist government gets out of the way!!! There is NO PLACE ON EARTH that Socialism or Communism has worked. Our Pilgrims tried it, didn’t work, went to ownership of land and payment for effort.

    THIS GUY is nothing more than a brain-washed DICTATOR WANNABE…and Van jones etc are with him. The rest? They don’t care. They have theirs. They’ll come/go as they please. FIGHT HARD AMERICA. IT‘S NOW OR it’s REALLY NEVER.

    Report Post » PATTY HENRY  
  • Its Gonna Getcha
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:53am

    When someone has found more ways to be angry at what’s “happening to them” than any human being could possibly tolerate, it‘s not because they’re stronger, wiser or better than the rest of us. It’s because their mentally deranged. They’re missing an essential emotion gene.

    A normal person reaches a point of realization & learns to cooperate rather than abuse & retort. This is just straight up disassociation on a sociopathic level.

    I feel sorry for him. If a buck-toothed, dumbo-eared, lanky non-Black with the same feminine hands were running for President, he never would’ve had a chance in hell.

    Report Post » Its Gonna Getcha  
  • Beckofile
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:21am

    The only reason that buffett pays less in taxes is that his investments in companies that so happened to employee his secretary are good for the creation of jobs. This whole thing is to get the hurd to put a target on the rich but will effectively only tax the common person. If they ask you to tax your neighbor just remember your neighbor will be asked to vote to tax you. It is a game and the revenuers are winning. Far From Freedom. Buffett is a disgrace in this argument.

    Report Post » Beckofile  
  • leftcoastslut
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:09am

    do you remember the “deer in headlights” look that the financial people had on their face when all this began. they were just as surprised as we were. a group of very powerful people dumped specific stocks thus creating a tsunami effect in all stocks. i predict that by July or August these same powerful people will dump a lot of money into the economy and we will all tiptoe through the tulips in November…. wake up, we cannot let this happen

    Report Post »  
  • thx1138v2
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:07am

    Increase the deficit? Really? Once you know the plan it all becomes clear and, even, predictable.
    The Plan, The Whole Plan, and Nothing But The Plan

    Report Post »  
  • Tigress1
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:03am

    Warren Buffett makes me sick. The “Buffett Rule” wants to increase the capital gains tax to almost 25% on anybody that makes above $200,000. Warren Buffett is a multi-BILLIONAIRE, therefore, he can afford this, but people who make $200,000 are not rich like him! Buffett needs to shut his fat trap and give the government more money to give to the Muslim Brotherhood, or to the GSA for parties and clowns, etc if he wants to and thinks it is a worthy cause. Nobody’s stopping him.

    Report Post » Tigress1  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 10:01am

    You could confiscate 100% of all the millionaires and billionaires wealth, and this criminal federal government would burn thru it in less than 6 months…… 100%,,, not just raise their taxes, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates money would last 18 days. Then what ?

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 9:46am

    So insanity reigns across the board; what else is new? Under Kaiser Obama we continue on the road to perdition and once over the cliff the destruction wrought so far will look like a paradise compared to the bloodbath Obama shall unleash.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on April 10, 2012 at 9:37am

    This just in, America’s is going to hell in a handbasket, but they do seem to be enjoying the ride.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • netmail
      Posted on April 10, 2012 at 9:48am

      Texting while driving right before the crash.

      Report Post »  

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