Universal health care, the economy, etc.

[Das Texan]

Oh, to the no!

Our financials report income we receive only, plus we get 1099s from the insurance companies.

*shurgs*


guess i should just go kill whoever informed me wrong.

[Das Texan]

I'm not saying Detroit is completely innocent because they have made some complete bonehead moves, however, it should be noted that Japanese automakers do not play by the same rules as US automakers, which is very unfair. If anything the tax advantage should be for US companies and not visevera. There is a book on this and it is very eye opening in the same way The Wall Mart Effect is.

But I do agree, Detroit never thought people would demand fuel economy

But you were talking about the lobbyists foreign automakers have had in Washington. YOu were making it seem like Detroit was innocent and didnt have their own more numerous lobbyists, backed also by Big Oil doing the same thing which they got away with for years.

EPA standards arent even close to what they should be. The lobbyists Detroit had paid even more to get what they wanted and thats why they were successful for so long. The Japanese companies only really took command in this country in the 70s during the fuel crisis and even more so now, because again of fuel issues.


That and Japanese cars have been proven to be more reliable than their American counterparts.


Basically, Detroit played the wrong hand in the long run.

Detroit ed up and if Detroit had paid attention to these things 20 years ago, they wouldnt be in the horrible situtation they are in now.

And we arent just talking about fuel economy.

[CosmicCowboy]

To answer your question no because it'll just be another ed up way of doing something. Its like the kid that would rather spend 4 hours getting out of a 30 minute job.

I would however like some health insurance. I have a swollen testicle three maybe four times the size of normal. I went to a regular check up and by regular I mean 190 dollars only to be reference to two more doctors who visitation bills would have neared 300 and 350 a piece. I stopped it right there. I didn't feel sick I haven't lost any weight so until I feel the cancer I'll do nothing because doing something would easily avalanche into half a years pay.

I learned that when I had a hernia that I could no longer tolerate and it ran about 23k to have taken care of in its entirety. ing up nearly 3 years of my life to pay for it. Hence the lack of conscience when it comes to cheating the system.

I can fix that little problem for you for a lot less than that. I have a VERY sharp pocket knife and it can't be much different than cuttin a hog. Slap a little purple wound spray on it and you will be done.

[BacktoBasics]

I can fix that little problem for you for a lot less than that. I have a VERY sharp pocket knife and it can't be much different than cuttin a hog. Slap a little purple wound spray on it and you will be done.

A red lolli seals the deal. I'm not getting into to with no red lolli.

[Shelly]

I can fix that little problem for you for a lot less than that. I have a VERY sharp pocket knife and it can't be much different than cuttin a hog. Slap a little purple wound spray on it and you will be done.

I keep telling my husband he could give himself 'the snip', but he ain't buying it!

[CosmicCowboy]

I keep telling my husband he could give himself 'the snip', but he ain't buying it!

Damn

Talk about a thread killer LOL 5 hours dead.

OK...I'm sure we can work something out on hubby...you hold him down and I'll cut him LOL

[TDMVPDPOY]

What? Reimburse who?

Ppl who are low income that dont have private health cover, and are force to see a doctor and get billed, they get a it back from medicare...thats how it works in australia

[TDMVPDPOY]

realtors aint winnning right now. Banks are taking huge losses on mortgages.

It may change, but thats not the case right now.

The real winners will be saavy investment oriented people that have the funding to pick up foreclosed houses and then be able to flip them, making nice profits along the way.

In australia, the property market is still booming, alot of families are defaulting on there mortgages due to interest rates and inflation rising forcing the govt to put up rates to ease economic activity.

Alot of ppl are trying to reserve themselves the australian dream, buying at the wrong time imo even during a boom in property prices. Banks dont give a if you are defaulting by 3-4 months on your payments, they force you out while the housing prices is still high and sell your house

[TDMVPDPOY]

name me one country where government healthcare is SUCCESSFUL. Not just there, but successful. You cant, it doesnt exists.

It doesnt work.

singapore?

alot of them asian countries dont have the necessities, or infrastructure/resources, but if you have money, you jump the waiting list for surgeries

[Shelly]

Ppl who are low income that dont have private health cover, and are force to see a doctor and get billed, they get a it back from medicare...thats how it works in australia

This isn't Australia...

Medicare is a Health Insurance Program for people age 65 or older, some disabled people under age 65, and people of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure treated with dialysis or a transplant).

Medicaid is available only to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into an eligibility group that is recognized by federal and state law. Medicaid does not pay money to you; instead, it sends payments directly to your health care providers. Depending on your state's rules, you may also be asked to pay a small part of the cost (co-payment) for some medical services. ("Medicaid At-A-Glance 2005" may be downloaded from the bottom of the page.)

Medicaid is a state administered program and each state sets its own guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Read more about your state Medicaid program. (See Related Links inside CMS at the bottom of the page.)

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Why do you think the cost of fertilizer is going through the roof? It's made from oil. So is are herbicides/pesticides and a million other things we rely on every day.

Do you know how much oil the world has left in the ground? About 40 years given known reserves according to the International Energy Agency. Know how much we use every DAY? 85,000,000 barrels and climbing.

Peak oil is a reality, the time of cheap oil is past, and the world isn't even starting to adjust to this.

Forget climate change (the biggest natural threat humanity has ever seen), depletion of oil is the most serious threat facing modern civilisation... but no-one wants to know.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

name me one country where government healthcare is SUCCESSFUL. Not just there, but successful. You cant, it doesnt exists.

It doesnt work.

Define successful.

I'd define successful as providing healthcare to millions who otherwise would not have it. Under that definition, Australia's public health system is successful, and so is Canada's, the UK's, etc.

Having said that, public health care in a nation of 320 million people is a different matter.

The question I'd be asking of your government is why they allow the pharmaceutical companies to gouge the out of them. Why can you buy the same drugs anywhere else in the world at a fraction of the price the US govt pays??? Ins utional corruption.

[Nbadan]

boy....Spelling and Grammar buddy would have a FIELD DAY in this thread if he showed up.

There is a lack of any real substance too, but that probably escaped you...

[Nbadan]

Since my hubby makes his living getting paid by insurance companies, you can bet your sweet bippy he and I are against universal health care.

Also, if Obama raises the Medicaid cap, a lot of doctors aren't gonna accept it anymore. Medicaid pays crap as it is. My OBGYN doesn't accept it anymore.

Your hubby makes enough so that you can post on a board all day...and a lot of the things you post aren't cheap....

[Nbadan]

I can see how all this makes sense since Canada, France, and Germany have bankrupted their governments in the same fashion.

Yeah, I don't know how countries like that compete in world economics. Their currency must be compared to America's currency.

Actually, these countries are doing fine....in fact, many countries with universal health care run yearly cash surpluses....and their currency? Let's just say I would switch my currency to Euros in a heart-beat....

[Nbadan]

it's actually a sarcastic nickname of sorts for him after he testified on the Hill one time. It is a reference to one way the Fed can keep the economy moving...hovering overhead in a helicopter and dropping money directly into consumer's hands.

...kudos for you...

[Nbadan]

realtors aint winnning right now. Banks are taking huge losses on mortgages.

It may change, but thats not the case right now.

The real winners will be saavy investment oriented people that have the funding to pick up foreclosed houses and then be able to flip them, making nice profits along the way.

Flip them to who, or rather, to whom? (feel better sunshine?)

[Nbadan]

the people 35 right now, if they continue to not save for themselves and expect social security, they will be screwed because they are the generation directly behind the baby boomers that will wipe out social security for everyone.

Learn about the system...if those US promissory notes in our Social Security trust fund aren't honored were all screwed anyway.....

[Nbadan]

I specifically did not get married but file jointly claiming her and I's kids. Perfectly legal since I support all of them and reside under one roof. About a 3k return advantage. Along with not legally being married and unemployed my wife can collect health insurance for my son I would otherwise not have and about 300 dollars in food stamps a month plus WIC or whatever you people call it. I cheat the system because the system fails in nearly every capacity know to man.

You have no honor and no room to complain about others who are 'gaming the system'...marry your wife....

[Nbadan]

Tell that to Thomas Jefferson who said that we should have a revolution every 20 years or so to keep the government from becoming too powerful.

He was a horrible American.

He didn't deserve to be called an American.

Your forgetting that 911 changed all that....now, free speech is subversive speech...everyone has a file...and everyone must have their 'papers' in order...

...Thomas Jefferson would be sent to Gitmo....

[Nbadan]

Alot of ppl are trying to reserve themselves the australian dream, buying at the wrong time imo even during a boom in property prices. Banks dont give a if you are defaulting by 3-4 months on your payments, they force you out while the housing prices is still high and sell your house

That's the name of the game...Realtors, brokers, mortgage companies, investment companies, all walk away with bundles of cash....and it's the home-owner who gets raked over the coals and the taxpayers who are left with trillion dollar buy-outs of mortgage lenders...

[Nbadan]

Our government is complete bull . I don't want to fight them physically but it is bull . They make more money from lobbyists than they do from their actual salary, that is the most concerning thing. It's all a bunch of rich people scratching eachothers' backs. The terms are only 2-4 years, so it's no sweat off their balls if something goes terrible 15 years down the road for something they did. The most concerning thing is foreign lobbyists and how is is completely legal for political figures to take money from BOTH foreign and domestic lobbyists. I need one person to tell me how that benefits anyone.....you can't there is no reason. It will never change because one congress man can pass anything on his own- and plus, if he came in thinking to change it, it would basically be taking huge paycuts for himself.

When did taking money from foreign lobbyist become legal? However, I agree that politicians on the Hill serve the people who got them there - lobbyists....

[Nbadan]

So basically the motto of this story is, who gives a crap about our own well being. Japanese companies basically came in to America, paid enough to change our laws to help their own business, and now they are reaping the rewards. How can this happen? How is it fully legal for a Representative to take upwards of $1,000,000 from a foreign company? Those reps didn't care about the economy in 2008, they just did enough so things wouldn't crumble under their own watch, and took the money and ran.

I'm not sure what your agenda against Japanese companies is, but because they had the smarts to build in non-union states like Texas doesn't mean that they are gaming the system....in the 70-80's the Japanese government spent billions of dollars for R and D to build the technology to manufacture those fine automobiles...all while the U.S. was protecting them for free...

[sabar]

There are two problems with our government.

The government is too large
Thomas Jefferson said that the best kind of government is a small one and ours is too large. Niether of the two dominant political parties are for a smaller government, only various third parties (libertarian comes to mind). With a large government comes large amounts of market failure.

Bureaucracies have causes our government to become grossly inefficient. Hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent on a project are allocated to paperwork, employees, and so forth of that bureacracy. A good example is the Department of Education. Go look up the heirarcy of a bereaucracy some time. Thousands of positions and fancy names for various things. The American taxpayer can put $100 million into the Department of Education but the vast majority isn't on the kids, it's on paperwork.

Central planning or command and control is inefficient. There is a reason that nearly every nation on the planet has a mixed economy and none are purely socialist. Because it is inefficient.

Government failure
The other reason we are in the situation we are in. Lobbying and special interests have sold the welfare of the people for the good of the corporation. Things that the country used to stand for (free market compe ion) is pushed aside in favor of government subsidies and regulation. Log rolling and pork barrel spending are huge inefficient allocations of taxpayer money.

Why do people want universal healthcare? The government has proven to be inept at handling everything. The private sector handles education, power, water, and just about anything more effectively than government. If we allow the state to control health care, then why not food? Food is arguably much more important to life than healthcare. You can live without surgery (at least for some time), you cannot without food. How about free shelter? Free shelter would at least make people settle down and find jobs that they otherwise wouldn't At least it would boost the economy.

Anyone who has studied basic economics knows why the government is how it is. The United States is NOT central planned, yet people keep adding more departments, wanting more things. Why not just make it completely socialist and betray what we stand for more?

And for those saying that overthrowing the government is not American, perhaps you want to go over the Declaration of Independence again?

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God en le them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[Nbadan]

Why do you think the cost of fertilizer is going through the roof? It's made from oil. So is are herbicides/pesticides and a million other things we rely on every day.

Do you know how much oil the world has left in the ground? About 40 years given known reserves according to the International Energy Agency. Know how much we use every DAY? 85,000,000 barrels and climbing.

Peak oil is a reality, the time of cheap oil is past, and the world isn't even starting to adjust to this.

Forget climate change (the biggest natural threat humanity has ever seen), depletion of oil is the most serious threat facing modern civilisation... but no-one wants to know.

There are trillions of barrels of shale oil still in the ground....enough for hundreds of years....the real problem is we are heating up the earth burning all these fossil fuels...an incubator would be a good example...and whenever climate change happens so abruptly...look out...I don't think we fully understand the consequences....but we will...