About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2013)
PAGE 8-THURSDAY, JULY 25,2013 Affordable Care Act Can’t Go On Forever By KYLE JACKSON The late economist Herbert Stein famously said, “If something cannot go on for ever, it will stop.” He might have well been talking about the president’s health-care law. Since its passage, the badly misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act— also known as Obamacare— has creaked and strained under its own weight. In dividual parts of the law have begun to fall away bit by bit, beginning with the untenable CLASS Act and then the onerous 1099 provi sion, while other pieces have barely hung on, as exempli fied in the delay of offering options in the marketplace where small businesses can purchase insurance products. A few weeks ago, Obam- acare’s foundation cracked yet again, when the adminis tration announced that it will delay until 2015 the imple mentation of the employer mandate and reporting re quirements. On its face, this latest delay marginally improves a bad situation: It provides those in the business community with an extra year to comply with a cumbersome and confusing element of the law. But de lays are not long-term solu tions. They do not solve the inherent problems of the em ployer mandate, nor do they solve the law’s other many problems, which extend far beyond the scope of this sin gle troublesome element. Millions of self-employed individuals and small-busi ness employees will still be subject to the law’s much more expansive individual mandate, which requires nearly all Americans to pur chase a health insurance plan or pay a penalty. Individu als and small businesses that provide health insurance must purchase government- sanctioned ’’essential health benefits” that will be more costly than the health-insur ance benefits they currently use. Beginning in 2014, the health-insurance tax (HIT), another problematic pro vision of the law that tar gets the fully insured mar ketplace, will increase the health-insurance costs of 1.7 million small businesses, 11 million employees, the self- employed who purchase in the individual market, and 23 million employees who are covered by their employers. The endless stream of de lays and capitulations — not to mention new taxes and complicated regulations - in Obamacare only add to the sense among many that this law is nothing short of a mess. Members of the small- business community - the segment of the economy re sponsible for the majority of job creation and the sec tor that will be hardest hit by some of Obamacare’s most complex provisions - have little reason to believe in the cost-reduction promises of health-care reform. Since the law was passed, the average reading for the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index has been 91.4 — almost nine points below the historic av erage of 100 — and its cur rent trajectory is flat. In the words of one small-business owner, ’’uncertainty is the single biggest killer” of con fidence among jobs creators - and this law has dramati cally added to small-business owners’ uncertainty. The implementation delay il lustrates how deeply flawed the law is — even the admin istration needs more time to figure out how to implement it correctly. But delaying im plementation is not enough. If the administration is truly listening to small-business owners, it will work toward permanent solutions that pro vide the long-term certainty that businesses are looking for. Permanent relief can be achieved by defining a full time employee as one who works 40 hours a week in stead of 30 - the definition included in Obamacare in contradiction to the one codified by decades of la bor law. More can be done to help small employers get relief by repealing the HIT — which is already discourag ing business expansion and job creation, and which will increase premiums on the health-insurance plans that self-employed individuals and small businesses pur chase. Only this type of re lief will encourage business owners to hire additional personnel or give them the confidence to increase work ing hours for existing em ployees. In every way, the law has proven itself unmanageable, unreliable, and unsustain able. But it hasn’t stopped yet. Herbert Stein may well be right: If Obamacare can not continue, it will collapse on its own. But until it does, we need to give job creators the space to do what they do best, by providing relief, reducing confusion, and ad dressing the most pressing challenges of complying with a complex and cumber some law. ### Kyle Jackson is the Georgia state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. He lives in Atlanta. Subscribe Call 836-3195 WELDING CAREERS Hands on training for career opportunities in aviation, automotive, manufacturing and more. Financial aid for qualified students - Housing available. Job placement assistance. CALL AIM 877-205-2968 Crossword Solution 7/25 s C A N s 1 A 1 M T o N S T O P I c s K i 1 P U R E E E D E M A P E A A P A R T M A R B L si M A T 1 L D A A M N O J U M P 1 1 S A A C B E R T Hi E R S E ■ J A B R 1 V E E N S 1 L E A G E D R E T D S P O O R C 1 A O S T E R N O T T O K L U T Z O R E O T A T S S E T S u P A G O G S E E L 1 M 1 T D R A C O E G R E T N E E D S CITY OF ROBERTA GENERAL ELECTION The City of Roberta will hold a municipal election on Tuesday, November 5,2013, to fill the expired terms of the office of Mayor, Council Post One and Council Post Two. The incumbents for these positions are as follows: Mayor Becky Smith Council Post One B. J. Bassett Council Post Two Erv. Patton The election will be held in the auditorium of the Board of Education building located at 190 E. Crusselle St. (Hwy. 80 E). Poll hours will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Any person that would like to qualify as a candidate for this election, may do so at the Roberta City Hall during regular office hours beginning at 9 a.m., Monday, August 26,2013 and ending at 12 p.m. on Thursday, August 29,2013.The qualifying fee for Mayor is $15.00 and Council Post one and Two is $10. Office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday (:00 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 5:00. Tuesday and Thursday hours are from 9:00 - 12:00. Any person that has not previously registered to vote in the city election, may do so on or before October 7,2013 either by mail, at Roberta City Hall, or at the Crawford County Registrar's Office, located in the Business Development Center, on Hwy. 341 North. Crawford County Farm Bureau held a Legislative Work Day Saturday. The group started out at Dickey Farms, toured Cooley Farms and ended the day back at Dickey Farms to learn about peaches, hay, chicken and beef and other areas of agriculture. Nixon Nguyen of Culloden, GA has earned a BS in Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Nguyen was among ap proximately 2,700 under graduate and graduate stu dents who received degrees during Georgia Tech’s 245th commencement exercises. The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation’s leading research universities, providing a focused, technologically based education to more than 21,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Georgia Tech has many nationally recognized programs, all top ranked by peers and publica tions alike, and is ranked in the nation’s top ten public universities by U.S. News and World Report. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech has more than 100 interdisciplin ary research centers operat ing through the Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Business, Engineering, Sci ences and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts that consistently contribute vital research and innovation to American government, in dustry and business. For more information, visit Georgia Tech’s website at www.gatech.edu. Crawford County Sheriff’s Arrest Reports Amos, Tyler Chad- 22; Theft By Taking- Felony Beard, Stanley Chadwick- 34; Criminal Trespass Godwin, Robert Joseph- 39; Aggravated Child Molestation, Enticing A Child For Indecent Pur poses, Battery Family Violence Grantling, Marquavius Monte- 18; Theft By Taking- Misdemean or Holliday, Cody Thomas- 20; DU I/ Under 21 Yoa/ 0.02 Grams Or More Poole, Olsen Trammel- 22; Theft By Deception- Felony, Theft By Conversion- Felony, Deposit Ac count Fraud (Bad Checks)- Out- Of-State-Bank Sallywhite, Robert Junior- 43; Driving While License Suspended Or Revoked (Misdemeanor), Fail ure To Signal Lane Change Or Turn Stanley, Edwin Brian- 31; Driving While License Suspended Or Re voked (Misdemeanor), Taillights/ Taillight Lenses Required All parties are innocent un til proven guilty; in a court of law. Peach County Sheriff’s Arrest Reports Failure To Maintain Insurance Holt, Christian Bernard- 20; Furnishing, Purchasing, And Possession Of Alcoholic Bever ages By Persons Under Legal Age Horton, Damian Tarell- 22; Marijuana-Possess Less Than 1 Oz Howard, William Tromell- 38; Battery, Battery, Cruelty To Children- Deprivation Of Nec essary Sustenance 1st Degree Jackson, Gerald Manize-36; Dui- Driving Under The Influ ence Of Alcohol, Failure To Maintain Lane Jennings, Christopher Brian- 41; Theft By Deception- Felony King, Calvin Christopher-20; Failure To Appear- Misde meanor Kirby, Kaitlyn Nicole-17; Marijuana- Possess Less Than 1 Oz Leverette, Melvin Lee- 34; Criminal Trespass, Disorderly Conduct, Apprehension Of A Wanted Person Livingston, Austin Hunter- 21; Dui- Driving Under The Influ ence Of Alcohol, Failure 0 Maintain Lane Nichols, Allen Lee- 28; Serving 24hrs Of Sentence Parks, Darius Darmell- 24; Theft Of Lost/Mislaid Property- Misdemeanor Pullen, Tide Nicole-28; Dui- Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol, Hit And Run; Duty Of The Driver To Stop At Or Return To Scene Of Accident, Failure To Maintain Lane Richardson, Darrell Jerome- 25; Disorderly Conduct, Seat Belt Violation Simmons, Hanna Danielle- 20; Manufacture, Deliver, Distrib ute, Administer, Sell, Possess With Intent To Distribute Con trolled Substance Smith, Jack- 72; Operate Vehicle Where Prohibited Possession Of Open Alcohol Container, Dui- Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol Smith, Leonard Andrew- 34; Probation Violation (When Probation Terms Are Altered) Stephens, Marquis Laron- 24; Disorderly Conduct Tramble, Prentiss Maurice- 50; Wanted Person Upshaw, Veronica Lee- 55; Probation Violation (When Probation Terms Are Altered) Weaver, Robert Allen- 30; Criminal Trespass, Aggravated Assault, Cruelty To Children- Allow Child To Witness Felony/ Battery/Family Violence- 3rd Degree Whitehead, Satajah Alexander- 21; Marijuana- Possess Less Than 1 Oz Wilson, Contavius Santhon- 22; Marijuana- Possess Less Than 1 Oz Woodson, Daniel Lamar- 45; Dui- Driving Under The Influ ence Of Alcohol Wright, Adajio Demar- 20;; Marijuana- Possess Less Than 1 Oz, Furnishing, Purchasing, And Possession Of Alcoholic Beverages By Persons Below Legal Age Wight, Davieon Pernell- 21; Child Molestation Adams, Garbrielle Ariane- 32; Receipt, Possession Or Trans fer Of Firearm By Convicted Felon Or Felony First Offender, Failure To Appear- Felony Akridge, Travis Jack- 27; Criminal Trespass Atkins, Lorena Esparaza-19; Marijuana-Possess Less Than 1 Oz Austin, Karliesha Latrell- 21; Driving While License Sus pended Brinkley, Wanda D- 50; Child Restraint Not Used Properly, Seat Belt Violation, Driving While License Suspended Calhoun, Victor Anthony- 25; Failure To Appear-Misdemean- or Clark, Bedarius Jarkeez-19; Theft By Taking- Misdemeanor Crotty, Charles William-41; Simple Battery Cummings, Joseph Hinton- 34; Failure To Appear- Misde meanor Davis, Kenneth Ronald- 27; Failure To Appear- Felony Dorsett, John Zachary- 48; Failure To Appear- Felony Griner, Jermaine Lawrance- 34; Theft By Taking- Felony Herndon, James Michael- 53; Expired Or No Drivers License, 478-475-9585 www.WindowWorldMacon.com Q% FINANCING AVAILABLE "Simply the Best for Less"' WINDOWS • SIDING • GUTTERS • DOORS All parties are innocent un til proven guilty; in a court of
