On January 1^st of next year, people are expected to have health insurance or pay the fines instead. What most people don’t know is that the Affordable Care Act will help provide low and middle income earners with tax credits that will help lower the cost of purchasing health coverage through insurance exchanges, which are run by the state. It is estimated that over 26 million people will be eligible to get major help in getting health coverage.

Ron Pollack, who is the executive director of Families USA, said that “there’s a huge number of people who can get coverage this way and can get significant help.” He then added that the subsidies are “not just for the poor. It reaches deeply into the middle class.” This will begin in October, when those who are looking to buy health insurance can choose between four different plans and get help with their premiums. The four levels of coverage that people can choose from are labeled platinum, gold, silver and bronze. The plans offer a different balance of paying premiums with out-of-pocket expense.

After crunching the numbers, Families USA estimated that the silver plan will help pay $3,550 towards health care costs, which is roughly 1/3 of the total bill. Even with 26 million available for the assistance, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that only 6 million will take advantage of the deal. Matthew Buettgens, who is a senior research analyst with the Urban Institute, says that “many Americans are still in the dark about Obamacare provisions that could help them” and that “outreach is going to be crucial to creating viable exchanges in the early years.” The help is there for the uninsured.

Only the richest can take advantage of tax loopholes and different methods of claiming money. This system has long been rigged by the people in power that don’t like to pay their fair share. 1 in 4 major companies wind up paying zero taxes, which is a travesty. Now the U.S. has to find a way to collect taxes on the 120 trillion dollars that are stashed away in foreign tax haves like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. This is designed for people who don’t like to release their tax information, especially if they are running for high office.

It’s a constant fight in Congress between Democrats and Republicans. The GOP will never agree to raise taxes on the wealthy, because that’s who they answer to. Instead they go after poor people who need food stamps and welfare to survive. They vilify them without mercy. They would rather take from the needy than make the rich pay their fair share. The Democrats have been trying to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires for a long time now and are getting nowhere. Will things ever be fair in this country? It is hard to imagine that day.

These giant vessels of information, like ‘First Advantage Corps Esteem database’, contains all types of information on suspected thefts, some even contain scant details that don’t even involve criminal charges. While this gathering of information doesn’t lead to arrests, it’s enough to stop an employee from getting work elsewhere.

So when employees get interviewed by security officers, they have no idea that they are admitting guilt of a theft that could stay in the databases for many years. Lawyers, regulators and the employees have warned that this is an unfair way to share information about a crime that never happened, or where no charges were never put forward. Where does it stop?

There are tens of thousands of companies that prescribe to these databases, including CVS, Target and Family Dollar, all of which want to combat employee theft, which is a major problem and contributes to 44% of missing merchandise according to the National Retail Federation. Vice president for the Federation Richard Mellor, said that retailers “don’t want to take a chance on hiring somebody that they might have a problem with.” With stores loosing $15 billion annually on employee thefts, it doesn’t look like these databases will be letting up anytime soon.

U.S. refineries sell their productions of gasoline and diesel around the world to the highest bidder. In 2011, for the first time in sixty years, the U.S. became a net exporter of fuels.  The two largest consumers of American oil is Canada and Mexico, Brazil comes in a close third with the Netherlands purchasing the fourth most oil. Rising gas prices have been a drag on the U.S. economy for years and it continues to stall the overall progress that America has made after coming back from the worst recession in over 70 years.

The national average for a gallon of gas is at $3.69 and climbing. Many speculators believe it will rise to $4 dollars a gallon by May, which would further stifle the economic recovery. The more the experts look at the reasons for growing gas prices, the more people understand President Obama’s commitment to alternative fuels. The U.S. has no effect on oil prices around the world, no matter what Americans do or don’t do. The game is rigged and the only solution is to look for other ways to keep us on the road. It’s time to change the game.

Ed Schultz is not leaving MSNBC but he will be moving to weekends, where he will host shows from 7pm to 9pm Saturdays and Sundays. This is the kind of format Ed is looking forward to so that he can get out among the people where he is at his best. Chris Hayes will be taking over the 8pm prime-time slot, which is before his mentor Rachel Maddow starts her show at 9pm. Sources at MSNBC has stated that is was their decision to move Hayes in to get bigger numbers with a younger crowd. He has a more laid back style that rivals Maddow and 10pm host Lawrence O’Donnell.

Tonight will be Ed Schultz last broadcast on the 8pm prime-time slot. “The Ed Show” was a fired up version of “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann. Although he didn’t have the ratings that Keith brought in, Schultz battled against Fox News Bill O’Reilly tooth and nail. His everyday passion and gusto were a welcome sight to see at MSNBC. Their decision may bring in a younger audience but everybody loses in this decision. Ed Schultz will no doubt bring energy and intensity to the weekends on MSNBC. It has been an honor to watch “The Ed Show” and its commitment to the middle-class and blue collar workers in America, but his job is not over. As Ed would say “Let’s Get To Work.”

Drew Matus, who is a deputy chief economist at UBS Securities, said that “every indication we have is that the labor market is beginning to pick up steam.” After correctly predicting the fall in jobless claims, he went on to say that “it’s all consistent with 2013 being an okay year despite all the fears about what sequestration might mean or Europe might do.”

With jobless claims below 350,000, economists say that indicates moderate growth in the labor market. Job hiring must pick up over the next few months to put a dent in the unemployment rate of 7.9%. Creating 160,000 jobs per month will not reduce the number. Economists say that creating at least 250,000 jobs a month will accomplish that feat. The economy still could be jump started if Congress would come together and produce a positive budget deal.

Without Congress acting, it will continue to be a long hard slog through this recession. The representatives in Washington cannot see eye to eye on how to help the economy. President Obama wants to invest in people and business to help jump start the slow recovery, while Republicans only want to cut spending like they are doing in Europe right now. Most economists agree that the U.S. cannot stop investing in America. The U.S. must learn from the failed austerity measures in Europe.

This was an automatic spending cut that was never supposed to happen, but it has come to the inevitable with Republicans in Congress trying to stop everything that President Obama is trying to accomplish for the country. Obstructionism is finally going to ruin the economy and make it harder for the middle class to survive. With the economic atmosphere never getting a positive feeling from the leaders in Washington, hiring has slowed down and everyone is hurting from the uncertainty, especially small businesses.

Small businesses are going to get pummeled if these cuts go into effect. It is predicted that the U.S. economy will lose over 2 million jobs, with small businesses losing half of them. A lot of your small businesses are subcontractors and vendors who rely on bigger businesses for contracts. Sequester cuts will directly affect the smaller companies by the thousands. This GOP style of “Governance by Crises” has already stunted hiring potential and caused a negative economic outlook.

The stock market is about to hit an all-time high and jobless claims continue to fall week after week. The economy is just waiting to take off if leaders in Congress would do their job. These made up crises are childlike and very disturbing to the American people. If we could only get out of our own way, the country would be much better off. Tell your representative in Congress to stop playing games with the lives of American citizens and do their job.

The new “dashboard” is on display to show how the system works. When an emergency call comes in on a terror plot or a bomb threat, an alert pops up on the screen that helps authorities prepare for the situation. The dashboard shows footage from nearby cameras, they show a map of the neighborhood and instantly detect radiation levels in the area, while detecting any other threats in the city.

The New York Police Department is looking to profit from this adventure in more ways than one. With this joint venture with Microsoft, the NYPD will receive 30% of future profits when this technology is sold to other law enforcement agencies around the world. Counterterrorism Director of Planning Jessica Tisch, said “it works incredibly well.” Used mostly in her unit, the system can supply information to the laptops used by police officers in real time in their squad cars or through mobile devices, while cops are walking the beat.

Criminals must beware as they will have to look at other methods to get the upper hand on law enforcement. The more High-Tech methods that are used by the good guys, will limit the options at hand for the bad guys. It’s long been a game of cat and mouse, only now the NYPD has the upper hand with real time information. The game is fixed and should lead to a major drop in crime.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told reporters that “the Postal Service has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the continued affordability of the U.S. Mail.” Package deliveries continue as scheduled, due to the fact that they are still very profitable and are a growing part of the business.

Democrats have long supported the U.S. Postal Service and their schedules. Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del), was a co-sponsor of legislation that has helped reform the mail carrier in the past, and said that he was “disappointed” in the decision of the Postal Service to act on its own without congressional approval, while understanding the need to cut back.

The leading Democrat in the House Oversight Committee, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, said the frequency of mail delivery “should be determined by legislation rather than through arbitrary action by the Postal Service.” This would hinder delivery to seniors of the low-cost medical supplies and medicines that they desperately need.

This decision could cost the U.S. Postal Service another huge client, the publishing industry, which would be forced to speed up magazine publication deadlines that could require them to choose other delivery options. Congress needs to step in and support the U.S. Postal Service as they continue their quest to deliver the mail through rain and snow or the dark of night.

The Labor Department showed a decline of 23,000 unemployment benefit claims down to the seasonally adjusted 393,000 from last week. That number is still high but is leveling off after the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The main fear is that the huge storm could severely spike unemployment numbers for the month of November.

With the housing market on the rise, people are ready for good news to come out of Congress on a grand bargain, which could really spike much needed economic growth. The President has been pushing for Congress to at least agree on not raising taxes for 98% of Americans, which would brighten the U.S. economic outlook a great deal and strengthen consumer confidence.

All economic indicators seem to be pointing at Congress to get a big deal done on the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations. Compromise is something that has eluded both parties and Republicans still seem unwilling to come to the negotiating table in good faith. President Obama wants a grand bargain done by Christmas, with both sides having to give a little. The biggest disagreement between the parties has always been the tax rate for the richest 2%. It’s time to compromise.