Pain, Taxes, Pot, and Obamacare

Here, there and a bit of everywhere…

Item Uno: A costly initiative campaign is brewing for the November ballot. Opposing groups are massing again over a plan to lift the decades-old cap on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases.

The proposal also cracks down on drug- and alcohol-impaired physicians and seeks to curb over-prescribing of medications. O.K. everybody - Lawyer Up! 

After mishandling thousands of claims, state officials ordered a formal audit of the Employment Development Department. By a unanimous vote, a legislative committee directed the state auditor to find out the reasons that administrative judges are overturning more than half of EDD caseworkers' initial denials of claims. (Here’s a thought: the claims are VALID!)

Item Dos: The Golden State is fairly awash in money. The Legislative Analysis’s Office updated its February revenue totals:

>Personal income taxes were $716 million above administration projections for the month of February. (For FY2013-14 year-to-date, personal income taxes are $667 million [1.7 percent] above administration projections.)

>Corporation taxes were $86 million above administration projections. (Corp taxes are $284 million [11.1 percent] above administration projections.)

>Sales and use taxes were $23 million below administration projections. (Sales and use taxes are $127 million [0.8 percent] below administration projections.)

So combined, the "Big Three" General Fund taxes—listed above—were $779 million above JB’s projections for the month of February. (Ergo, the “Big Three” are $824 million [1.5 percent] above administration projections.)

Item Tres: You’ll find this under the definition of “irony.” Los Angeles has launched a new effort to close medicinal cannabis YET is benefiting to the tune of $8.6 million in business taxes collected from the dispensaries over the past three years. San Jose is the same boat at a little over $2 million for the past 12 months. My take: Make up your mind… either you’re going to help the patients or close everything in sight by leaning on the federal (versus state) statutes regarding medicinal cannabis. Can’t  have it both way - just sayin’

Item Quatro: And what blog update wouldn’t be complete without one Obamacare bon mot? Have you seen the list of unilateral changes  (READ: Done by Executive Order and without consultation, coordination or consent of Congress) that have been made in ObamaCare since its’ inception?

The list includes: A one year delay to the employer mandate; an additional year delay for medium-sized businesses; a one year grace period (no, make that three years) for non-compliant plans; and, partial exemptions from the individual mandate.

and the list goes on and doesn’t even include the recent, significant change to the Individual Mandate wherein the purchase rules for same have been repealed for two more years. (That, BTW, was done by broadening the hardship exemptions significantly and then requiring proof of hardship by documentation only “if possible.” The proverbial crystal ball would be most helpful about now.