Kevin Bryant

Just got back from a week at Camp Hope. I was directing the games. Our theme was “Down on the Bayou”. Here’s a clip from Sunday night’s “bonaroo” (party).

11.07.10.bayou.bonaroo from Camp Hope on Vimeo.

I’m in the process of researching the various holes of debt that the SC taxpayer is on the hook for. Here’s the troubling news so far:
$ 9.5 billion-OPEB unfunded liability (other post employment benefits)
$ 13 billion-SRS unfunded liability (state retirement system)
$ 10.4 billion-Local debt (municipalities, counties, school districts, & special purpose districts)
$ 1.4 billion-Higher Education debt
$ 750 million -Unemployment Insurance Federal debt
One thing to remember is that that unfunded liabilities are based on “pie in the sky” assumptions and faulty actuarial methods. We should be getting a clearer picture of these figues soon.

Here is more on how the Ruling Class abuses its own citizens and demonstrates it’s total lack of intelligence.
Georgia Arms is the 5th largest retailer of .223 Ammo in America. They sell 9mm, .45, .223 ammunition. They normally buy spent brass from the US Department of Defense. Spent brass is “one time used” shell cases used by our Military for training purposes.

They buy the brass, recondition it, and then reload the brass for resale to Law Enforcement, Gun Clubs, Gun Shops, and stores like Wal-Mart. They normally buy 30,000 lbs of spent brass at a time.

This week the DoD wrote a letter to the owner of Georgia Arms and informed him that from now on the DoD will be destroying the spent brass, shredding it. It will no longer be available to the ammo makers, unless they buy it in a scrap shredded condition (which they have no use for).

The shredded brass is now going to be sold by the DoD to China as scrap metal, after the DoD pays for it to be shredded. The DoD is selling the brass to China for less money than the ammo makers have been paying, plus the DoD has to pay to have the brass shredded and do the accounting paperwork.

This sure helps the economy.  Sell cheaper to China , and do not sell at all to a proven US business. Any hidden agenda working here? Obama going after the Firearms Industry and our ammunition!!

The Georgia Arms owner even related a story that one of his competitors had already purchased a load of brass last week. The DoD contacted him this week and said they were sending someone over to make sure it was destroyed. Shell cases he had already bought!

The brass has no value to the ammo maker if it is destroyed/shredded/melted.

The ammo manufacturer only uses the empty brass cases to reload different calibers, mainly .223 bullets.

The owner of Georgia Arms says that he will have to lay off at least half of his 60 workers, within 2-3 months if the DoD will no longer sell spent brass cases to the industry. Georgia Arms has 2-3 months of inventory to use, by summer they’re out.

If the Reloading Industry has to purchase new manufacture brass cases, then the cost of ammunition will double or even triple, plus Obama wants to add a 500% tax on each shell.

You can read the information and see the DoD letter to Georgia Arms here:

The Shootist Site  http://www.theshootist.net/2009/03/dod-ends-sale-of-expended-military.html

Competitiveness & Transparency

Making health insurance and health services a better value by increasing competitiveness between health plans and between providers. This includes:

– Increasing the purchaser’s ability to find health insurance plans which best meet their needs in terms of benefit design, network flexibility, risk, price and health outcomes.

– Increasing the patient’s ability to choose the provider which will provide the best service and outcomes for the price which the patient is willing to pay.

Deliverables

1. Review of ability of South Carolina purchasers (employers and individuals) to find health insurance which best meet their needs in terms of benefit design, network flexibility, risk, price and health outcomes.

2. Review of patient’s ability in South Carolina to choose the provider which will provide the best service and outcomes for the price which the patient is willing to pay.

3. Review of best practice existing and proposed mechanisms for increasing purchasers and patients ability to find the best value.

4. Analysis of the federal government’s health insurance exchange mandate and its cost and benefits to South Carolina.

5. Recommendations to the steering on potential courses of action to pursue in South Carolina in increase value for

Consumer Protection / Medical Liability

The Consumer Protection/Medical Liability Subcommittee will look at market innovations to improve quality and value. (Improving medical quality will reduce poor outcomes thereby reducing costs and liability.) The Subcommittee will review what, if any, legal reforms that would improve quality relative to cost. It will review market information in terms of size, concentration and policy costs.

Deliverables

1. Review market information for individual, small group and large group policies

2. Review market concentration, including number of carriers, market share and market structure

3. Review what providers and consumers can do to improve quality and control costs

Information Technology

The Information Technology Subcommittee will explore and report on the various technical options available to South Carolina for developing and/or connecting to a health insurance marketplace. The Subcommittee will identify and review insurance marketplace solutions currently in operation, evaluate the technical approach, and understand the costs and business models associated with each approach and/or technology.

Deliverables

1. Criteria for evaluating insurance marketplace technologies for South Carolina

2. Review of existing health insurance marketplace technologies

3. Review of costs and/or business model associated with each approach

4. Review of options and technical ability to integrate South Carolina Medicaid eligibility with each approach

5. Review of technical readiness of existing South Carolina insurance providers to participate in a health insurance marketplace

6. Evaluation of successful technical approaches and identification of the key criteria for success