DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
DEAL OR NO DEAL; TAX HIKES COMING IN THE NEW YEAR
CHARLES PAYNE: Let the floodgates open. To Nancy Pelosi's point, we're going to find out, and I hope we like it. A lot of taxes are associated with ObamaCare. A lot of these companies are laying off workers right now. This impacts everyone. It takes away from research and development which will take away from life saving innovation. It's the very tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, there's going to be a whole lot of taxes that this opens the gate for, but this is just the beginning.
BEN STEIN: There are damages built into it and on the other hand there is some good built into it. There are people who are very poor who would not otherwise be able to get health insurance. Overall, I don't like the bill and I don't think any sensible person would like the ObamaCare bill. Tax increases are going to be a fact of life. With tax cuts under Mr. Bush, there's going to be tax increases under Mr. Obama. Surplus as far as the eye can see under Mr. Clinton and tax increases as far as the eye can see under Mr. Obama.
SARAH FLOWERS: I think we need to look at where the spending goes, and it goes to preventative care. Last year we saw eighty-seven million people who weren't previously able to access preventative care and who can now access that care. That's a net savings for the health care system which is passed onto all of us.
TODD SCHOENBERGER: People haven't seen this taken out of their paychecks yet. This is what Fox News viewers want to know. What is going to impact them on day one? You're talking about all of this with the medical bill - that's real money that's going to be taken out of your paycheck. Your net amount is going to be less and it has nothing to do with what is taking place with the fiscal cliff negotiations. It's all a set in law and we all have to expect to have less money at the start of the year.
NEW ILLINOIS LAW BANS EMPLOYERS FROM REQUESTING FACEBOOK PASSWORDS
TODD SCHOENBERGER: You have to look out for the company. Every employee out there is an ambassador of that organization, in and out of the office. I want to know, as an employer, what are my employees up to? Are they into some type of club or illegal activity? If you're going to post something out there, I want to know what it is and I want to know how it's going to affect my company.
BEN STEIN: I would like people to not have to disclose their passwords to their employers. I think employers know entirely too much about their employees anyway. Privacy is an extremely high value in the Constitution and we should keep it that way.
CHARLES PAYNE: CEOs have to sign the bottom line that they know everything going on within the company. If you sign off on this, you're going to be culpable for some really big time penalties. There's a flipside to this. We can't keep pressing corporate America and CEO's to know every single aspect of their business if they don't have access to it.
SARAH FLOWERS: I come down on the side of privacy on this one. My bigger problem is that it's really bad management. You're basically saying to your employees, "I don't believe you have good judgment. I don't believe you're capable of doing the task I hired you for or wanted to hire you for." It's not good psychology in the workplace.
REPORT: U.S GOVERNMENT MAY EXPAND ITS MORTGAGE BAILOUT PROGRAM
CHARLES PAYNE: I find it amazing that the same government that was ushered into office by pointing out Wall Street's reckless behavior is ready to dive head first into the same sort of reckless behavior. Not only are they talking about loans not backed by the federal government, but also homes that are deeply under water. I'd like to see the private industry in this more. I think it also points to a certain sort of desperation out there. We do celebrate housing, but the fact of the matter is that over ten million people are still under water. First time buyers aren't stepping up to the plate so, it might be a sign of desperation also.
BEN STEIN: It's showing signs of life, but it's probably less than what it was in 2007 and early 2008. It's much less stronger than a year ago, but it's still very flaccid when we talk about what it should be. I don't think there should be any reason why they shouldn't get into it. Their losses if they market recovers will be trivial. It's a very good thing to have more people employed in construction.
SARAH FLOWERS: I think at the end of the day we want to see more people living in homes. We want to see more mortgages being paid. These aren't your best mortgages to take on, but the risk is measured in multiple ways. We have seen in most of these cases a willingness and ability on the part of the lender to be able to pay their mortgage. Their house may be under water, but it's more important to have someone living in that home rather than having their home vacant because it devalues all the other houses. It's a little bit of a mixed bag and it's hopefully designed to get us back to a more robust market.
TODD SCHOENBERGER: We are so jaded right now. You talk about the recent data that looks positive. Only a fool would go out and buy a home right now. You're better off just burning the cash because you're never going to have any equity in the home a year from now. Second, you need the government involved.
BEST STOCKS FOR 2013
CHARLES PAYNE:
(TRN)
(CLF)
(EWJ)
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox