"Oh, You Had a Career? Fuggedaboutit!!" --Signed, Obozo

Shall we call it what it really is?  HopeLessChange....

When the Department of Health and Human Services issued its regulation classifying independent broker commissions as overhead, West saw his small business revenue immediately collapse: "Effective January 1, 2011, for my practice, which is comprised of over 1,200 active clients, my commission reductions averaged 47 percent on new business and 20 percent on existing business/renewals. One of the carriers in Colorado has stopped paying renewal commissions entirely. ... Using a figure of 35 percent as the composite reduction in my revenues that are attributable directly to MLR on January 1, 2011, the net consequence is a decrease of 50 percent to my bottom line."

So?

"This situation is not sustainable for much longer. I have, thus far, been able to hold on, but many thousands of other agents all across the country who are also working under these circumstances have become unemployed or underemployed, or have permanently left the industry," Colorado insurance broker Mitchell West told the House Small Business Committee.

Yah, hey.  Anyone even vaguely acquainted with the typical P&L knows that "selling expense" is NOT "administrative expense."  That gives you Clue Number One about the Clue-Less in DC.