New Jersey Democrats fail to extend millionaires tax

Do you think millionaires should be charged a hefty income tax? What if it was to solve one of the highest budget short-falls in history?

According to Reuters.com, New Jersey Democrats had wanted to reimpose a one-year, 10.75 percent tax on income above $1 million that would have hit 16,000 people. New Jersey's fiscal shortfall, at 37.4 percent of the current year's budget, is the second-highest among U.S. states, second only to Nevada, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. However, New Jersey Democratic legislators on Monday failed to gather enough votes to extend a tax on millionaires that would have been used to provide property tax relief for senior citizens and the disabled.

The millionaires' tax would have raised $637 million for rebate checks of up to $1,295 for some 600,000 senior citizens who would otherwise face steep increases in their property taxes during fiscal 2011.

Gov. Christie claimed the tax would keep the millionaire business owners from hiring in our tough economy. However, he proposed a constitutional amendment placing a 2.5 percent cap on annual increases in residential property taxes.

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$250 Medicare checks begin to be issued

According to CNN Money, one of the first tangible effects of the health care reform law is the fact that the government has begun to mail out $250 checks this week to seniors who fall within Medicare’s gap for prescription drug coverage. Checks will continue to be mailed to seniors falling within this category throughout the year.

The gap or “donut hole” occurs when a senior citizen’s prescription drugs cost too much to be paid for through basic Medicare coverage, but aren’t expensive enough to qualify for other coverage. In addition to a $310 deductible, Medicare beneficiaries pay 25% of their drug costs until the total reaches $2,830 for the year. Then, they fall into a coverage gap. At that point, enrollees must pay all costs out of pocket until their annual expenses exceed $6,440. After that, seniors pay 5% of drug costs for the rest of the year.

What’s the plan for 2011? Seniors who fall into the ‘donut hole’ will receive a 50% discount on brand-name drugs. The discount for generic drugs will be 7%. Those figures will rise over the years, eventually reaching a total 75% discount that effectively will eliminate the gap in 2020.

So, what do you think about this aspect of the health care law…will it really help?

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Obama Calls for $250 Payments to Seniors

President Barack Obama is asking congress to pass a new plan to give senior citizens $250 payments next year to compensate for not receiving any increase in their social security payments. For the first time since 1975, there will be no increase to the amount recipients of social security checks receive since it is pegged to the inflation rate, which was negative this year.

"Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession," Obama said in a statement. "This additional assistance will be especially important in the coming months, as countless seniors and others have seen their retirement accounts and home values decline as a result of this economic crisis."

Obama's proposal is similar to several bills in Congress. The $250 payments would also go to those receiving veterans benefits, disability benefits, railroad retirees and retired public employees who don't receive Social Security. Recipients would be limited to one payment, even if they qualified for more.

The White House put the cost at $13 billion. Obama said he would not allow the payments to come out of the Social Security trust funds, further eroding the finances of the retirement program. Social Security already is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in each of the next two years.

Continue reading at APnew.MyWay.com…