Brewers Party with the Fans Before Playoffs Start

You know it when you feel it.
The "electricity" in a ballpark when a baseball team is making a postseason run is palpable, if not easily explained. It makes the hair on your neck stand at attention, pushes you toward the edge of your seat, changes the way you breathe, quickens your pulse.
It can't be manufactured, except by a winning team.
It can't be quantified, except by nerve endings.
It can't be defined, except by the senses.
So what is it, exactly, this energy we felt at Miller Park while the Milwaukee Brewers made their run toward the National League Central Division title and will reach a crescendo Saturday in Game 1 of the NL Division Series?
"It's kind of like the night before a math test and Christmas Eve rolled into one," said Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers' vice president of business operations. "It's excitement, but also you don't have control over what that first question will be on the math test.
"You have 42,000 people really focused on the exact same physical space and for the most part wanting the same outcome on every pitch and every at-bat." - JSOnline

The excitement the Milwaukee Brewers have ignited at Miller Park has been going for a majority of the season.  Now it is time to see if the Brewers, as well as the fans are ready to take it to the next level.  The Brewers and their fans have set expectations for a deep playoff run.

Obamacare Making Healthcare anything but Affordable

The signature legislation of the Obama Administration, the Affordable Care Act, came under damaging assault Wednesday from a Kaiser Family Foundation survey that found it has already partially contributed to increasing health care costs.

The Kaiser survey helps to shed some light on why so few employers are hiring, as health care costs for employers are spiraling upwards.

The survey found that insurance premiums rose by 9 percent in 2011. Healthcare costs for a single worker went up on average from $5,049 to $5,429, and for a family, costs rose from $13,770 to $15,073, on average.

The survey also found that some provisions of the Affordable Care Act already in place -- including the allowance for young people up to 26 years of age to remain on their parents insurance policy -- contributed to 20 percent of that increase. - FOX News

Who Pays Taxes and how Much?

 With all of the talk about making everyone pay their fair share, look at the charts below that shows who pays their fair share?  

National Taxpayers Union

Tax Year 2008

Percentiles Ranked by AGI	AGI Threshold on Percentiles	Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid
Top 1%	$380,354	38.02
Top 5%	$159,619	58.72
Top 10%	$113,799	69.94
Top 25%	$67,280	86.34
Top 50%	$33,048	97.30
Bottom 50%	<$33,048	2.7
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income Source: Internal Revenue Service

Tax Year 2007

Percentiles Ranked by AGI	AGI Threshold on Percentiles	Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid
Top 1%	$410,096	40.42
Top 5%	$160,041	60.63
Top 10%	$113,018	71.22
Top 25%	$66,532	86.59
Top 50%	$32,879	97.11
Bottom 50%	<$32,879	2.89
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income Source: Internal Revenue Service

Tax Year 2006

Percentiles Ranked by AGI	AGI Threshold on Percentiles	Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid
Top 1%	$388,806	39.89
Top 5%	$153,542	60.14
Top 10%	$108,904	70.79
Top 25%	$64,702	86.27
Top 50%	$31,987	97.01
Bottom 50%	<$31,987	2.99
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income Source: Internal Revenue Service