SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia Dead

[RandomGuy]

Paying more taxes means less money in my pocket for expenses and saving for retirement - it could mean the difference between me being able to stay home/teaching my kids and having to go out and work.

Imagine the people who work 80+ hours a week at low-paying jobs. You have just described the poverty cycle in the US.

[baseline bum]

I just don't understand this government get out the way sentiment when that's exactly what caused the 2008 financial meltdown that this country still hasn't recovered from. Everyone listened to Greenspan's right wing horse about not regulating Wall Street and low and behold, they stole people's money and then held taxpayers hostage. What's really disturbing about this is now the banks are so rich they're recruiting all the best graduates in scientific fields so that they can become part of this zero sum game instead of having their talents utilized in the productive economy.

[ElNono]

I have health insurance for that. I pay for it. I am not afraid of going bankrupt. If you cannot afford health insurance, the ACA guarantees to subsidize your premium payments.

I'm glad your business is doing well and you can afford to buy that piece of mind. Some people can't. Business sometimes go up and down, and the ACA won't guarantee anything about that. It's funny, because the obvious solution is simply go work for one of those corps you're saying they suck up our freedom, which BTW, are quick to leave you on the street once whatever ails you takes over a month or two to heal. And you know, Medicaid doesn't really kick in until you're already in the ter.
Not to mention killing that whole entrepreneurship angle about working for yourself and really being free.

There's pages and pages to be written with what's wrong with this whole thing, but yeah, I do think that kind of peace of mind do embody 'liberty and freedom' in very tangible ways (in ways I didn't think they did when I was younger, perhaps), and so I think it would be neat that we all could have that piece of mind as opposed to just those that can afford it. But I'm fully aware it's just a wish.

[Spurminator]

It seems self evident to me what freedom is. It is the ability to succeed or fail based on ones abilities, opportunities and good fortune.

I'd be 100% behind this ideal if the last of those wasn't, by far, the biggest determining factor.

In America, with some exceptions, success is based primarily on being born into it. True self-determination requires a more even starting point and playing field.

[Splits]

Yes, I think that Trump will get the next congress to play ball more than Obama (who doesn't even try - he just goes around them via EO). And the policies that will bring the jobs are lower taxes to bring back the companies and the trillions parked abroad. See my posts above to see my opinion of government hires.

Have you been paying attention to anything the past 8 years? All the GOP in Congress has done is obstruct anything Obama proposed. , in 2010 McConnell openly admitted his primary goal was to make Obama a 1-term president through obstruction! They didn't even try to hide it, they openly admitted their job was purely political to try and stymie Obama at every turn. Filibusters have gone through the roof compared to historical norms. this line of bull is so stupid. My main complaint with Obama is that he tried for WAY too long to try and work with Congress when it was obvious they had no intention no matter how far to the right he went. They shut down the ing government obstructing him.

[101A]

I'm glad your business is doing well and you can afford to buy that piece of mind. Some people can't. Business sometimes go up and down, and the ACA won't guarantee anything about that. It's funny, because the obvious solution is simply go work for one of those corps you're saying they suck up our freedom, which BTW, are quick to leave you on the street once whatever ails you takes over a month or two to heal. And you know, Medicaid doesn't really kick in until you're already in the ter.
Not to mention killing that whole entrepreneurship angle about working for yourself and really being free.

There's pages and pages to be written with what's wrong with this whole thing, but yeah, I do think that kind of peace of mind do embody 'liberty and freedom' in very tangible ways (in ways I didn't think they did when I was younger, perhaps), and so I think it would be neat that we all could have that piece of mind as opposed to just those that can afford it. But I'm fully aware it's just a wish.

I've been in the health insurance industry for 22 years, at all times managing > 20,000 employees and their dependents coverage. I have intimate knowledge of what health conditions that relatively large swath of people have - especially the very sick ones. Never once has a person been "kicked to the street" because of their condition. I'm sure it has happened, but it the ulative years I have amassed, I have not seen it. I can only figure, then, that what you speak of is rare (it is, of course, very illegal).

My own company, in that time, has had to deal with 4 separate terminal illnesses - we kept each of those employees on the payroll through that, or gave them as much time off as necessary to deal with the dependent that was on our plan, but was dying. I'm kind of offended, frankly, at your condemnation of employers.

[101A]

I'd be 100% behind this ideal if the last of those wasn't, by far, the biggest determining factor.

In America, with some exceptions, success is based primarily on being born into it.

That's a talking point; I'm not sure the data would bare that out - also, "successful" has different definitions to different people. Maybe the ultra rich - but the doctors, lawyers, business owners I know have unremarkable, middle class, or lower backgrounds. The common thread among them is hard work.

[101A]

I just don't understand this government get out the way sentiment when that's exactly what caused the 2008 financial meltdown that this country still hasn't recovered from.

The government, specifically, backed bad mortgages through Sallie and Freddie. Hardly getting out of the way, the government enabled.

[baseline bum]

The government, specifically, backed bad mortgages through Sallie and Freddie. Hardly getting out of the way, the government enabled.

That was blown up through unregulated financial innovation.

[101A]

What is your prescription to address this?

It's not talking income, right? It's talking wealth. What people actually own. How much are the several hundred billionaires affecting that chart? How much does the "value" of Microsoft, or Facebook, or Berkeshire affect that chart. Gates didn't ever receive that as income, it was never taken from a poorer person, he just owned Microsoft, and its value increased, thus increasing his wealth. Same thing with me, frankly. I'm no billionaire, but my company is worth a 4 to 5 million. I don't have that money, but it surely counts to my net worth. I guess if you extrapolate that return through the years of my work, and add it to my salary, you could come up with a discrepancy between what I have, and what my employees make, but in terms of salary, I actually have employees who have higher ones than I do.

The top 1% is over 3 million people. That's a lot of people. Are we talking property confiscation? That video does not suggest a solution, but, realistically, actual property confiscation will have to take place to seriously affect that chart. Income tax won't dent it. Take all my income, I still have more "wealth" than all of my employees. To access it, however, I'll have to sell my company to someone wealthier. My employees then? Out of jobs.

[Spurminator]

That's a talking point; I'm not sure the data would bare that out - also, "successful" has different definitions to different people. Maybe the ultra rich - but the doctors, lawyers, business owners I know have unremarkable, middle class, or lower backgrounds. The common thread among them is hard work.

It's not impossible, but those are exceptions. Your friends should be proud. They worked a lot harder than most people born into a better situation will ever have to in order to achieve the same means or better.

[101A]

That was blown up through unregulated financial innovation.

The vast majority of the loans were backed by the government en ies - it's one of the reasons the investment vehicles that were the bundled mortgages were able to be sold as solid, practically risk-free investments. Also, the government making capital gains less expensive than regular income also drew "talent" to the investment class. I would like to see the banks broken up, though - and not allowed to play both sides of the street (banking, insurance AND investing). Clinton and Graham gave us this.

I am not for unrestricted de-regulation. I WANT Wall Street curtailed. I don't want power centralized in New York OR DC.

[Splits]

What is your prescription to address this?

It's not talking income, right? It's talking wealth. What people actually own. How much are the several hundred billionaires affecting that chart? How much does the "value" of Microsoft, or Facebook, or Berkeshire affect that chart. Gates didn't ever receive that as income, it was never taken from a poorer person, he just owned Microsoft, and its value increased, thus increasing his wealth. Same thing with me, frankly. I'm no billionaire, but my company is worth a 4 to 5 million. I don't have that money, but it surely counts to my net worth. I guess if you extrapolate that return through the years of my work, and add it to my salary, you could come up with a discrepancy between what I have, and what my employees make, but in terms of salary, I actually have employees who have higher ones than I do.

The top 1% is over 3 million people. That's a lot of people. Are we talking property confiscation? That video does not suggest a solution, but, realistically, actual property confiscation will have to take place to seriously affect that chart. Income tax won't dent it. Take all my income, I still have more "wealth" than all of my employees. To access it, however, I'll have to sell my company to someone wealthier. My employees then? Out of jobs.

Out of curiosity, how is it possible to have 20,000 employees and a company only worth 4-5 million?

[101A]

It's not impossible, but those are exceptions. Your friends should be proud. They worked a lot harder than most people born into a better situation will ever have to in order to achieve the same means or better.

You are deluding yourself if you think most successful people don't work hard. And I'm not saying others don't - my own son didn't go to college, is now an enlisted man in the Navy. Works his ass off.

[101A]

Out of curiosity, how is it possible to have 20,000 employees and a company only worth 4-5 million?

My company manages health insurance plans. I have 20 employees, but manage a whole bunch more.

[ElNono]

I've been in the health insurance industry for 22 years, at all times managing > 20,000 employees and their dependents coverage. I have intimate knowledge of what health conditions that relatively large swath of people have - especially the very sick ones. Never once has a person been "kicked to the street" because of their condition. I'm sure it has happened, but it the ulative years I have amassed, I have not seen it. I can only figure, then, that what you speak of is rare (it is, of course, very illegal).

My own company, in that time, has had to deal with 4 separate terminal illnesses - we kept each of those employees on the payroll through that, or gave them as much time off as necessary to deal with the dependent that was on our plan, but was dying. I'm kind of offended, frankly, at your condemnation of employers.

I've personally seen this happen to people very close to me, and I also have about over a decade working with the US healthcare industry too. By law, we have a healthcare system that gives you a few months if you're unable to perform your duties, and if you eventually have to file for disability, something like Medicare doesn't kick in for the next two years (and COBRA is a scam, since you have to basically pay for 100% of your premium now that you don't have a job). That window is exactly when you need the care the most. I mean, I don't know the numbers post-ACA, but at least pre-ACA about half of the bankruptcies in this country were due to healthcare costs, so it's silly to say this is a 'rare' situation.

Not sure why you're offended by my characterization of employers, tbh, but I don't really blame them. They're in it to make money, and if you're a dragging money away, then it's logical they would let you go. That's as "free market" as it gets.

But then again, this is the conundrum between "free market" and actually caring for people when they need care the most. I have also lived in countries (pretty much all of them except the US) where healthcare is provided by the state, and you don't have to worry about this situation. The older I get, the more appreciative I am about that kind of system.

[Th'Pusher]

You are deluding yourself if you think most successful people don't work hard. And I'm not saying others don't - my own son didn't go to college, is now an enlisted man in the Navy. Works his ass off.

Look up the stats on social mobility in the US. It's a statistical fact that there is minimal upward social mobility in the US.

[101A]

I've personally seen this happen to people very close to me, and I also have about over a decade working with the US healthcare industry too. By law, we have a healthcare system that gives you a few months if you're unable to perform your duties, and if you eventually have to file for disability, something like Medicare doesn't kick in for the next two years (and COBRA is a scam, since you have to basically pay for 100% of your premium now that you don't have a job). That window is exactly when you need the care the most. I mean, I don't know the numbers post-ACA, but at least pre-ACA about half of the bankruptcies in this country were due to healthcare costs, so it's silly to say this is a 'rare' situation.

Not sure why you're offended by my characterization of employers, tbh, but I don't really blame them. They're in it to make money, and if you're a dragging money away, then it's logical they would let you go. That's as "free market" as it gets.

But then again, this is the conundrum between "free market" and actually caring for people when they need care the most. I have also lived in countries (pretty much all of them except the US) where healthcare is provided by the state, and you don't have to worry about this situation. The older I get, the more appreciative I am about that kind of system.

I, too, can appreciate that. And I have certainly seen health issues affect people's lives - I realize I painted with too broad a brush. I have a of a dog in this fight (as I have stated before), so I probably cannot be objective. The value of my company, after all, my net worth, disappears the minute this country goes single-payor.

[101A]

Look up the stats on social mobility in the US. It's a statistical fact that there is minimal upward social mobility in the US.

Is it greater in the European countries that have more socialized programs? (Seriously, I don't know - and don't have time to look it up right now, got to go)

[ElNono]

I, too, can appreciate that. And I have certainly seen health issues affect people's lives - I realize I painted with too broad a brush. I have a of a dog in this fight (as I have stated before), so I probably cannot be objective. The value of my company, after all, my net worth, disappears the minute this country goes single-payor.

I understand, and frankly, mine is more wishful thinking than anything else, I'm fully aware of that.

[rmt]

I, too, can appreciate that. And I have certainly seen health issues affect people's lives - I realize I painted with too broad a brush. I have a of a dog in this fight (as I have stated before), so I probably cannot be objective. The value of my company, after all, my net worth, disappears the minute this country goes single-payor.

You and all those doctors who spent 12 years studying with $100ks in students loans should be voting republican. Their income is gonna take a big hit with single-payor.

[CosmicCowboy]

When I retire I'm going to take out student loans, max them out for the next 15 years going to class and hitting on the young hotties then get the loans forgiven when I die. Who needs nursing homes?

[CosmicCowboy]

Ill probably get a puppy to lure them in then give them $100 bills to show me their s.

[CosmicCowboy]

It would be age discrimination to refuse me student loans. I could get like multiple phd's

[rmt]

Ill probably get a puppy to lure them in then give them $100 bills to show me their s.

Not to bark when you lie?