GOP Political Euphemism (s) - Fast Facts #1

Platitude Defined: A platitude is a trite, meaningless, biased, or prosaic statement, often presented as if it were significant and original; is often—but not always—shallow and without real meaning!

Now, should I be proven wrong and the GOP steps up to the plate with actual factual data to support and/or succeed in accomplishing significant verifiable movement on any of the issues listed below I STAND prepared to be corrected.

In the course of time additions will be made to this list and during this same period addendum will be made to factually demonstrate exactly why this list of GOP statements are nothing but Platitudes.

GOP Quote:"We will also identify & eliminate job-killing regulations that are impeding capital formation in America":

Factual Response: For more than two decades, both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations have supported the use of cost-benefit analysis in the review of federal regulatory decisions, some three decades; both Republican and Democratic Executive Branches supported the use of a cost analysis for such decisions. This means regulations passed in the last 30 years has undergone some form of cost benefit analysis which estimates the net economic value of a given policy or project. It converts all costs and benefits into a monetary metric and then measures whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

Some facts to consider when GOP comes after OSHA Regulations: Roughly 6,371 job-related injury deaths, 13.3 million nonfatal injuries, 60,300 disease deaths, and 1,184,000 illnesses occurred in the U.S. workplace in 1992. And the total direct and indirect costs associated with these injuries and illnesses were estimated to be $155.5 billion, or nearly 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Direct costs included medical expenses for hospitals, physicians, and drugs, as well as health insurance administration costs, and were estimated to be $51.8 billion. The indirect costs included loss of wages, costs of fringe benefits, and loss of home production (e.g., child care provided by parent and home repairs), as well as employer retraining and workplace disruption costs, and were estimated to be $103.7 billion.

GOP Quote: "Over the coming weeks we will pass a repeal of last year’s health care bill to remove the strain on job creators"

Factual Response: Small businesses benefits included in the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)" include Small Business Health Options Programs, or "SHOP Exchanges," where small businesses will be able to pool together to buy insurance by 2014. ("Small businesses" are defined as those with no more than 100 employees, though states have the option of limiting pools to companies with 50 or fewer employees through 2016; companies that grow beyond the size limit will also be grandfathered in.)

The CBO states that costs will fall marginally with premiums forecast to fall between 1% and 4% under the exchanges, while the amount of coverage would rise by as much as 3%.

Until 2014 (next 4 years) businesses with 10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees earning less than $25,000 a year on average will be eligible for a tax credit of 35% of health insurance costs. (Companies with between 11 and 25 workers and an average wage of up to $50,000 are eligible for partial credits.)

These tax credits will remain in place, increasing to 50% of costs, for the first two years a company buys insurance through its state exchange. The CBO projects this tax credit will affect about 12% of individuals covered via the small-group insurance market, lowering their cost of insurance by between 8% and 11%.