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News from Zimbabwe
- Thread starter Nickodell
- Start date
skywords
Donation Time
What does that mean?
It means the innocent children pay the price once again.
We stopped at the convenience store yesterday for a gallon of milk, over $5.00. My wife was pissed. Funny how the price of everything follows the price of fuel.
The American Dream now is to just keep food on the table.
I don't even look at the Q4 right now because there is no procuring any parts or materials all money must be preserved.
I was hoping not to drive school buses this year and just run the hanger but I have not seen a slow down like this since 911. The tour bus companies are laying off and their drivers are coming back to the school districts in hope of a job.
I guess I am just one in a quote "Nation of Whiners". Thanks Mr. Gramm for all you've done to secure our fate. Thanks for removing the usury laws that protected our money from the greedy. And thanks Republican and Democrats alike for setting such marvelous trade policies, they are working out just great. Maybe we can make Zimbabwe most favored nation now.
Why must history always repeat itself?
It means the innocent children pay the price once again.
We stopped at the convenience store yesterday for a gallon of milk, over $5.00. My wife was pissed. Funny how the price of everything follows the price of fuel.
The American Dream now is to just keep food on the table.
I don't even look at the Q4 right now because there is no procuring any parts or materials all money must be preserved.
I was hoping not to drive school buses this year and just run the hanger but I have not seen a slow down like this since 911. The tour bus companies are laying off and their drivers are coming back to the school districts in hope of a job.
I guess I am just one in a quote "Nation of Whiners". Thanks Mr. Gramm for all you've done to secure our fate. Thanks for removing the usury laws that protected our money from the greedy. And thanks Republican and Democrats alike for setting such marvelous trade policies, they are working out just great. Maybe we can make Zimbabwe most favored nation now.
Why must history always repeat itself?
gordonra
Donation Time
For what it's worth and general FYI...
I work in an industry that supplies systems to a wide range of manufacturing companies. The company for which I work is Japanese owned, but the NA headquarters is in West Carrollton, OH. (Some of you that live around Dayton may see the building as you're driving down the freeway).
I've worked out of the California office for about five years, and we are swamped with work. As a matter of fact, this is without a doubt the busiest year since I've been with the company. That cooresponds to manufacturing in the western half of the US being on the up swing.
Some of the companies that we provide machines to are also supplying products to other manufacturing industries. Some are manufacturing power generation equipment, and others are packaging companies. While one or two of these companies may be foriegned owned, the manufacturing facilities are located in the US, and many of the products that are being manufactured by these companies are being exported.
I expect the economy will turn around very shortly, and the new president will get full credit for it.
I work in an industry that supplies systems to a wide range of manufacturing companies. The company for which I work is Japanese owned, but the NA headquarters is in West Carrollton, OH. (Some of you that live around Dayton may see the building as you're driving down the freeway).
I've worked out of the California office for about five years, and we are swamped with work. As a matter of fact, this is without a doubt the busiest year since I've been with the company. That cooresponds to manufacturing in the western half of the US being on the up swing.
Some of the companies that we provide machines to are also supplying products to other manufacturing industries. Some are manufacturing power generation equipment, and others are packaging companies. While one or two of these companies may be foriegned owned, the manufacturing facilities are located in the US, and many of the products that are being manufactured by these companies are being exported.
I expect the economy will turn around very shortly, and the new president will get full credit for it.
skywords
Donation Time
Rich
I am glad to hear your industry is roaring I truly am. But unfortunately for many it is not. My brother for example is a heavy equipment operator and is now working in a warehouse for half the money, he is grateful to have some kind of work. The people I know that work in the defense industries are very busy.
I guess this is just like Phil Gramm said " A mental recession" all in our heads. The 324,000 jobs lost this year and all the housing foreclosures are just in our heads. Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, Indy Mac just in our heads.
So now I'm going to click my ruby slippers together and go to my shop to see all the customers lined up now.
A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.
I am glad to hear your industry is roaring I truly am. But unfortunately for many it is not. My brother for example is a heavy equipment operator and is now working in a warehouse for half the money, he is grateful to have some kind of work. The people I know that work in the defense industries are very busy.
I guess this is just like Phil Gramm said " A mental recession" all in our heads. The 324,000 jobs lost this year and all the housing foreclosures are just in our heads. Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, Indy Mac just in our heads.
So now I'm going to click my ruby slippers together and go to my shop to see all the customers lined up now.
A recession is when your neighbor is out of work, a depression is when you are out of work.
You guys hiring in Arizona?
That's what I keep hearing. Some one will flip a switch and things will magically start moving again.
Having not looked for a job in the last 15 years (I was recruited for the last two) and finding myself back in Arizona, I wish the election was next week. Heck, everyone seems to have made up their minds already anyway. Let's get it over and get on with it.
I think the only place I haven't posted a resume is here...
That's what I keep hearing. Some one will flip a switch and things will magically start moving again.
Having not looked for a job in the last 15 years (I was recruited for the last two) and finding myself back in Arizona, I wish the election was next week. Heck, everyone seems to have made up their minds already anyway. Let's get it over and get on with it.
I think the only place I haven't posted a resume is here...
skywords
Donation Time
I know what you mean Nick.
I have posted a boat load myself thinking I would just go back on the road doing aircraft structural repair on a contract basis. I don't know if it is I am too old or what but not even a howdy doo has come back. Even applied for a job in the Middle East working on DC-3's and I have alot of experence on these.
I have put my excess equipment on e-bay for cheap and not even any watchers.
This economy has some very fundimental flaws right now. Energy prices are a big part of it. Maybe we should vote an oil man in the White House, Oh wait we did that already. He has had eight years to keep this economy on track and pass an energy bill that keeps us strong. I blame the Dems also so don't go Limbaugh on me guys.
I hope you find work Nick, just remember its only a mental recession.
Nickodell
Donation Time
Never, eve bitch about your job - if it has benefits. A long-time friend worked for Price, Waterhouse until they were heavily fined for some illegal behavior or other, and several offices closed. He went 17 months looking for a comparable job, but finally had to settle for a menial one managing a group of people doing telemarketing.
While he was out of work his wife had two serious illnesses; net result: half of their life savings spent on hospitalization, treatment, drugs, follow-up visits etc. - $167,000 in all. No government agency would kick in a dime - they were "too wealthy." In other words, by saving hard they get f*ck*d, whereas if they'd spent every dollar coming in they would be treated free under Medicaid. The current job won't give him benefits for the first 12 months, so he is now paying Blue Cross/Blue Shield over $850 a month to cover himself, his wife and two kids. And even then they were lucky; all the other insurance companies they tried turned them down due to her "preexisting conditions."
Full benefits are worth diamonds.
While he was out of work his wife had two serious illnesses; net result: half of their life savings spent on hospitalization, treatment, drugs, follow-up visits etc. - $167,000 in all. No government agency would kick in a dime - they were "too wealthy." In other words, by saving hard they get f*ck*d, whereas if they'd spent every dollar coming in they would be treated free under Medicaid. The current job won't give him benefits for the first 12 months, so he is now paying Blue Cross/Blue Shield over $850 a month to cover himself, his wife and two kids. And even then they were lucky; all the other insurance companies they tried turned them down due to her "preexisting conditions."
Full benefits are worth diamonds.
skywords
Donation Time
Yes benny's are worth their weight in gold. The school district will only cover me, to add my wife and two kids they want $1200 a month. So basically I would be working for insurance. Instead I use a state suplimented policy thru University Physicians that costs me $700.00 a month. However I recieved notification of a $219.00 a month increase starting this month. I am afraid I am going to have to drop the insurance just like we did after 911. This was just in time for one of my heart attacks of course. We are still paying for that to this day. Isn't life grand. If this is the global economy then fluck the global economy.
Rick, I am convinced that 90% of the people fall into two groups: They either do not read history or think "things are different now" and the old rules no longer apply. All the regs that were poop canned in the past 30 years were part of the New Deal and had been instituted because of what unfettered capitalism had created in the '30's, but for some reason, now deemed unnecessary. Part of the "Government is not the solution, Government is the problem" mentality.
Bill
Nickodell
Donation Time
Rick: DON'T DO IT!!! Don't even think of dropping at least catastrophic coverage for your wife. Unless she has certain serious pre-existing conditions, like diabetes, heart disease or cancer, she can probably get catastrophic coverage for somewhere between $200 and $300 a month.
By catastrophic coverage I mean to protect her (and you) from financial disaster in the event that she develops a serious illness or has a bad accident. It won't cover prescriptions or doctor office visits, but typically it will provide an annual maximum benefit of up to $2 million. Sure, the deductible will be high - typically $5,000 - but remember what it's for, to protect you against the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the country, not to pay for smaller stuff.
As you may remember, I sell medical insurance part-time, and I write up a lot of these policies for people in exactly your circumstances. I am only licensed in PA and DE., so I can't help you myself, but I have sent you a P.M. about some companies I have had experience with whom you might contact.
By catastrophic coverage I mean to protect her (and you) from financial disaster in the event that she develops a serious illness or has a bad accident. It won't cover prescriptions or doctor office visits, but typically it will provide an annual maximum benefit of up to $2 million. Sure, the deductible will be high - typically $5,000 - but remember what it's for, to protect you against the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the country, not to pay for smaller stuff.
As you may remember, I sell medical insurance part-time, and I write up a lot of these policies for people in exactly your circumstances. I am only licensed in PA and DE., so I can't help you myself, but I have sent you a P.M. about some companies I have had experience with whom you might contact.
RootesRooter
Donation Time
The current health care system in the U.S. just ain't cuttin' it. We're paying 50% more of our national GDP towards health care than the 2nd most expensive country in the world (Switzerland), but we don't have better health outcomes than elsewhere and, as many posters have pointed out, the prospect of personal bankruptcy because of a sudden injury or illness hangs over too many of us - even if we're currently insured!
We could go back towards a more pure-capitalist system, eliminating the tax-free fringe benefit status of employer-paid premiums, which has caused too many people to ignore the real cost of their insurance until their employer finally says "enough!" and starts instituting shared premiums, higher deductibles, etc. That's starting to happen a lot these days. The theory here being that we'll collectively start making smarter insurance choices that would lower premiums. e.g. When we buy car insurance, most of us choose to lower our premiums by assuming some risk by opting for a higher than minimum deductible.
Oh, and Medicare and all other govt safety-net programs would be history, too. That's all part of the Darwinian, Hong Kong-style economic system wet dream touted by many free-market economists.
The problem is that the knowledge of health care practice by the average non-health care professional is limited to what they see on Grey's Anatomy or ER. How can the average person be expected to do a cost-benefit risk analysis of health care? How many of us have ever "shopped" for a doctor or specific procedure? While the basic benefits in most plans often seem straight-forward, the important details of just what's covered when you have a serious problem are usually buried in the contract or subject to an insurance company review that's inherently biased against treatments that might hurt the company's bottom line.
And that's if you're young and healthy. If you have virtually any medical condition that requires regular treatment, you can't get private insurance except at astronomical rates. With age rating, most older folks too simply can't afford private (non-employer) insurance, forcing them onto a Medicare system that will soon go broke as the boomers retire. Moving all health insurance purchasing decisions to the individual level leaves us as easy prey for the hospitals, doctors and insurance companies.
I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I think a single-pay system, similar to Canada's, is the way to go if the current system can't fix itself very, very soon. Again, with the boomers starting to retire, our country is looking at a HUGE bill on the horizon that would be a lot easier to handle if we were paying 11% of our GDP towards medical costs instead of 16% (and growing).
Installing such a system wouldn't be easy - there are lots and lots of vested interests with their hands in our pockets. Yeah, our taxes would go up, but (with federal govt law backing), it would be a wash for most people as current employer premiums are turned into wages - with the benefits kicking in as doctors & hospital rates fall and the middleman insurance company overhead and profit are eliminated.
If there are any doctors, hospital administrators, insurance company execs, drug company lobbyists, etc. on this list, I'm sure we'll hear them hoot and holler about socialized medicine and the injustice of it all. But let's face it, you've finally priced yourselves out of the game and have only yourselves to blame.
Dick Sanders
Kent, WA
We could go back towards a more pure-capitalist system, eliminating the tax-free fringe benefit status of employer-paid premiums, which has caused too many people to ignore the real cost of their insurance until their employer finally says "enough!" and starts instituting shared premiums, higher deductibles, etc. That's starting to happen a lot these days. The theory here being that we'll collectively start making smarter insurance choices that would lower premiums. e.g. When we buy car insurance, most of us choose to lower our premiums by assuming some risk by opting for a higher than minimum deductible.
Oh, and Medicare and all other govt safety-net programs would be history, too. That's all part of the Darwinian, Hong Kong-style economic system wet dream touted by many free-market economists.
The problem is that the knowledge of health care practice by the average non-health care professional is limited to what they see on Grey's Anatomy or ER. How can the average person be expected to do a cost-benefit risk analysis of health care? How many of us have ever "shopped" for a doctor or specific procedure? While the basic benefits in most plans often seem straight-forward, the important details of just what's covered when you have a serious problem are usually buried in the contract or subject to an insurance company review that's inherently biased against treatments that might hurt the company's bottom line.
And that's if you're young and healthy. If you have virtually any medical condition that requires regular treatment, you can't get private insurance except at astronomical rates. With age rating, most older folks too simply can't afford private (non-employer) insurance, forcing them onto a Medicare system that will soon go broke as the boomers retire. Moving all health insurance purchasing decisions to the individual level leaves us as easy prey for the hospitals, doctors and insurance companies.
I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I think a single-pay system, similar to Canada's, is the way to go if the current system can't fix itself very, very soon. Again, with the boomers starting to retire, our country is looking at a HUGE bill on the horizon that would be a lot easier to handle if we were paying 11% of our GDP towards medical costs instead of 16% (and growing).
Installing such a system wouldn't be easy - there are lots and lots of vested interests with their hands in our pockets. Yeah, our taxes would go up, but (with federal govt law backing), it would be a wash for most people as current employer premiums are turned into wages - with the benefits kicking in as doctors & hospital rates fall and the middleman insurance company overhead and profit are eliminated.
If there are any doctors, hospital administrators, insurance company execs, drug company lobbyists, etc. on this list, I'm sure we'll hear them hoot and holler about socialized medicine and the injustice of it all. But let's face it, you've finally priced yourselves out of the game and have only yourselves to blame.
Dick Sanders
Kent, WA
Nickodell
Donation Time
The problem with government-run health care systems is that they generally don't work. I speak from experience. The UK brought in National Health Service (NHS) in 1947, and initially you paid nothing. Nothing for doctor office visits, doctor home visits, hospitalization, prescriptions, eyeglasses, dental care, false teeth, artificial limbs, even motorized "invalid carriages" - little minicars with just one seat.
The result was, or should have been, predictable. People went to the doctor, or if they were lazier, had the doctor come to them, for the kind of trivial things like a cold, that they would have treated themselves before. Everone got their teeth fixed and, in many cases, a full set of dentures. Better eyeglasses and more realistic hairpieces. Lots of people went to the doctor's office just to meet others in the waiting room for a chat.
Within four years the system was costing so much that it couldn't continue in this fashion. Slowly and steadily, over the next 20 years or so, charges (co-pays) were introduced. At first they were trivial - say $2 for a prescription - but in time they became bigger and bigger. The other problem was that the general practitioner became nothing but a civil servant, and could not perform any actual medicine: He acted just as a filtering station, spending maybe 5 minutes, tops, with each patient and making a decision whether to send them to a specialist.
After a few years the strain on family doctors became intolerable. A typical day would be: Open office ("surgery") at 8.30am. See perhaps 40 patients, many having trivial complaints or just coming in for a note to stay away from school or work, or to be OK'd to go back. 10.30, grab a cup of tea and then off on his in-home visits. Back at 12.30 for lunch. Out again at 1.30 for more home visits. Back at 4, grab a quick sandwich. 5.30, Open evening surgery. 7.30, close surgery. Then be prepared for two or three phone calls from people who may or may not have been really ill, sometimes requiring him to set out to see them at, for example, 11 pm or 3am. And if he remonstrated with them for wasting his time he risked being brought up on charges before the General Medical Council.
The divorce, suicide and premature death rate of doctors were the top of all professions. The smart ones emigrated to the US.
Meanwhile, waiting lists for non-emergency surgery became longer and longer. Currently it's around 200 days. How would you like to wait 7 months to have a hernia repaired, for example? Dentists were paid so little by the NHS that a large proportion refused to see NHS patients. The reputed terrible state of British teeth is more than a myth. My sister couldn't get root & canal work or crowns on the NHS; she had to pay herself. Right now, there is a video available showing people how to extract their own bad teeth.
The situation in hospitals is so bad, with the government cutting back on expenditure, especially for staff, that contracting a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection, like MRSA, is infinitely more likely than in the US. Meanwhile, the cost to each wage-earner soars through steadily increaing taxes.
Anyone who wants first-class medical and dental treatment in the UK buys private insurance, and this is a big attraction offered by employers to get top employees (BUPA is the best-known company).
Hello? Read that paragraph again. To get proper and timely treatment, people turn away from the government program and use commercial medical and dental insurance. Canadians by the thousands come across the border and pay for treatment here, rather than use their own much-touted government-run system.
In theory, government medical insurance systems are a wonderful idea. In practice they suffer from the same problems that plague almost everything the government gets its hands on - inefficiency, waste, a massive bureaucracy and huge taxes to support them.
Incidentally, don't be fooled by the frequently-repeated left-wing mantra that "40 million Americans are without health insurance." Half of those are illegal aliens, and many of the remainder are young, healthy people who feel that they don't need insurance. (I can relate to that. I was so healthy until my mid-40s that I didn't even have a family doctor because I hadn't needed one).
Out of the much smaller remaining number of actually sick uninsured US citizens, below a certain income level they are covered by Medicaid and/or Medicare. Many states now cover the children of low-income parents, and more are being added each year. And nobody may by law be turned away from a community hospital or denied care because of an inability to pay.
The result was, or should have been, predictable. People went to the doctor, or if they were lazier, had the doctor come to them, for the kind of trivial things like a cold, that they would have treated themselves before. Everone got their teeth fixed and, in many cases, a full set of dentures. Better eyeglasses and more realistic hairpieces. Lots of people went to the doctor's office just to meet others in the waiting room for a chat.
Within four years the system was costing so much that it couldn't continue in this fashion. Slowly and steadily, over the next 20 years or so, charges (co-pays) were introduced. At first they were trivial - say $2 for a prescription - but in time they became bigger and bigger. The other problem was that the general practitioner became nothing but a civil servant, and could not perform any actual medicine: He acted just as a filtering station, spending maybe 5 minutes, tops, with each patient and making a decision whether to send them to a specialist.
After a few years the strain on family doctors became intolerable. A typical day would be: Open office ("surgery") at 8.30am. See perhaps 40 patients, many having trivial complaints or just coming in for a note to stay away from school or work, or to be OK'd to go back. 10.30, grab a cup of tea and then off on his in-home visits. Back at 12.30 for lunch. Out again at 1.30 for more home visits. Back at 4, grab a quick sandwich. 5.30, Open evening surgery. 7.30, close surgery. Then be prepared for two or three phone calls from people who may or may not have been really ill, sometimes requiring him to set out to see them at, for example, 11 pm or 3am. And if he remonstrated with them for wasting his time he risked being brought up on charges before the General Medical Council.
The divorce, suicide and premature death rate of doctors were the top of all professions. The smart ones emigrated to the US.
Meanwhile, waiting lists for non-emergency surgery became longer and longer. Currently it's around 200 days. How would you like to wait 7 months to have a hernia repaired, for example? Dentists were paid so little by the NHS that a large proportion refused to see NHS patients. The reputed terrible state of British teeth is more than a myth. My sister couldn't get root & canal work or crowns on the NHS; she had to pay herself. Right now, there is a video available showing people how to extract their own bad teeth.
The situation in hospitals is so bad, with the government cutting back on expenditure, especially for staff, that contracting a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection, like MRSA, is infinitely more likely than in the US. Meanwhile, the cost to each wage-earner soars through steadily increaing taxes.
Anyone who wants first-class medical and dental treatment in the UK buys private insurance, and this is a big attraction offered by employers to get top employees (BUPA is the best-known company).
Hello? Read that paragraph again. To get proper and timely treatment, people turn away from the government program and use commercial medical and dental insurance. Canadians by the thousands come across the border and pay for treatment here, rather than use their own much-touted government-run system.
In theory, government medical insurance systems are a wonderful idea. In practice they suffer from the same problems that plague almost everything the government gets its hands on - inefficiency, waste, a massive bureaucracy and huge taxes to support them.
Incidentally, don't be fooled by the frequently-repeated left-wing mantra that "40 million Americans are without health insurance." Half of those are illegal aliens, and many of the remainder are young, healthy people who feel that they don't need insurance. (I can relate to that. I was so healthy until my mid-40s that I didn't even have a family doctor because I hadn't needed one).
Out of the much smaller remaining number of actually sick uninsured US citizens, below a certain income level they are covered by Medicaid and/or Medicare. Many states now cover the children of low-income parents, and more are being added each year. And nobody may by law be turned away from a community hospital or denied care because of an inability to pay.
Nobody is given anything by the health insurance companies or the Government. So why should we have to make a choice between the two? Why not have federal program funding, with the patients choosing their policy and administer? Choices would include all insurance companies and least one government entity. That would be the fed plus any State that felt the need to provide the service for their citizens. Wouldn't that be interesting? People would probably choose a government administrator simply so they would not have to wade through all the different B.S. each company would put forth. Yes, a little competition never hurt.
Imagine what it would do to the seven figure salary of insurance company C.E.O.'s.
Why the way, we have several board members that are our Northern neighbors. How many have felt the need to go south to get medical attention?
Just curious.
Nick, saying that half of the 40 million Americans that do not have health insurance are illegal aliens is self contradictory. How can Americans be illegal aliens? Maybe they are the Viet Nam era draft evaders that went North!
Bill
Imagine what it would do to the seven figure salary of insurance company C.E.O.'s.
Why the way, we have several board members that are our Northern neighbors. How many have felt the need to go south to get medical attention?
Just curious.
Nick, saying that half of the 40 million Americans that do not have health insurance are illegal aliens is self contradictory. How can Americans be illegal aliens? Maybe they are the Viet Nam era draft evaders that went North!
Bill
skywords
Donation Time
I am certainly no expert on the subject but it seems to me that if we take Wall Street out of the equation then everyone can have health care. From what I've seen the countries where health care is non profit it works and works very well. When I write my check for $900 plus dollars for insurance it simply burns my ass thinking that most of it is going to pay dividends to share holders.
Back when we had an HMO and our family doctor was a pilot friend, I paid $125 a month of insurance for my son, the doctor received only $7.00 a month no matter how much or how little care he gave him. The CEO of the insurance co recieved $11,000,000 a year plus stock options. Now tell me this is what we want?
If our system is so wonderful then how come doctors fly around the country giving free care from a DC-3 like some third world nation?
And how come people are going to Mexico, and the Orient for medical and dental care in large numbers not to mention prescription drugs.
Just take the Greed out of it and it will work.
http://www.ramusa.org/index.html
Back when we had an HMO and our family doctor was a pilot friend, I paid $125 a month of insurance for my son, the doctor received only $7.00 a month no matter how much or how little care he gave him. The CEO of the insurance co recieved $11,000,000 a year plus stock options. Now tell me this is what we want?
If our system is so wonderful then how come doctors fly around the country giving free care from a DC-3 like some third world nation?
And how come people are going to Mexico, and the Orient for medical and dental care in large numbers not to mention prescription drugs.
Just take the Greed out of it and it will work.
http://www.ramusa.org/index.html
Nickodell
Donation Time
While we're about it, why not have the government get involved in the food industry. You can use the same argument: everyone has to eat. Come to think of it, they should be in charge of natural gas and electricity, too. Everyone has to heat their homes. And the housing market. Stop people making obscene profits on selling their homes (bought mine in 1980 for $76,000, now valued at $400,000 even after the price slump. Gee, when I sell it I'll be making an obscene 526% profit!) And everybody has to live somewhere.
In fact, let the government take over all "essential" functions, they of course deciding what is essential. After all, what a crackerjack success they've made of - um, let me see; Social Security? Bad example. And they should control salaries, too, deciding which ones are too high. I've even got a slogan for them: "From each, according to his means; to each, according to his needs."
Governments are good at two things: Waging war, and taking money from one group of citizens and giving it to another group. Oh, and giving themselves fat raises, retirements and medical care. And exempting themselves from the laws they pass on us. As Thomas Paine said: "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Bill, don't be a pain (or even Paine) in the ass. You knew exactly what I meant. Or if not, let me spell it out; I'll try not to use too many multi-syllable words. Liberal loons endlessly repeat the falsehood that "40 million Americans are without medical insurance." Of those they claim to be Americans without medical insurance, half are actually illegal aliens (etc. etc. )
But don't worry; one of the candidates for president (no names, to keep this non-political) has promised to institute a government-run medical insurance plan including all the illegal aliens. When you have to wait for five hours in the E.R. because it is full of illegals getting their coughs and scrapes attended to, or five weeks to get an appointment with your doctor because he has become a government employee, and must treat all these illegals, don't say you wrren't warned. I've been there.
Nick, there is no need for the gov't to be involved in the food industry. It is an industry that can be served quite well by the capitalistic, free enterprise system. Health insurance, by its very nature cannot. If you do not understand, please consider the difference between insuring against something that might happen once or twice a lifetime, vs. something that will happen several times year.
I am not advocating the gov't take over health insurance, but to have all premiums paid by the feds, allow people to choose their "insurance co", with a federal agency among the choices. How do you think that is "taking over" anything? How is that setting salaries? Consider it an experiment in which private enterprise can compete, head to head, with a government agency. No subsidies, both competing in the market.
Yes, I do think your analogy of Social Security is a bad example. I have been retired for 4 years, have yet to have a problem (other than a a screwed up internet site) or delay in services. If you are speaking of funding, that is not a fair comment. The funding shortfall is not the fault of the agency.
As there is no way to determine how many are uninsured, I suppose you can believe, or disbelieve anything you want to, for any reason you desire. It would be interesting to see what your data is based upon. The same data that prompted to Bill O'Riley to state no veterans were sleeping under bridges? I do know that here in Indiana, the economy is bad, has not been good for about 10 years, and there are plenty of people without health insurance. We built a new house 4 years ago, I doubt that anybody that built it were insured, unless they had insurance through their wife. All were 100% American, 10 generation Rednecks. The wage scale here is so bad, the illegals cannot compete. I do know the builder had no insurance, he had spent over $20,000 in the past year on medical expenses. But what the hell, if only 20 million are uninsured, who gives a poop? Right Rick??
If you think I am a pain in the ass, then I must be doing something right.
Bill
I am not advocating the gov't take over health insurance, but to have all premiums paid by the feds, allow people to choose their "insurance co", with a federal agency among the choices. How do you think that is "taking over" anything? How is that setting salaries? Consider it an experiment in which private enterprise can compete, head to head, with a government agency. No subsidies, both competing in the market.
Yes, I do think your analogy of Social Security is a bad example. I have been retired for 4 years, have yet to have a problem (other than a a screwed up internet site) or delay in services. If you are speaking of funding, that is not a fair comment. The funding shortfall is not the fault of the agency.
As there is no way to determine how many are uninsured, I suppose you can believe, or disbelieve anything you want to, for any reason you desire. It would be interesting to see what your data is based upon. The same data that prompted to Bill O'Riley to state no veterans were sleeping under bridges? I do know that here in Indiana, the economy is bad, has not been good for about 10 years, and there are plenty of people without health insurance. We built a new house 4 years ago, I doubt that anybody that built it were insured, unless they had insurance through their wife. All were 100% American, 10 generation Rednecks. The wage scale here is so bad, the illegals cannot compete. I do know the builder had no insurance, he had spent over $20,000 in the past year on medical expenses. But what the hell, if only 20 million are uninsured, who gives a poop? Right Rick??
If you think I am a pain in the ass, then I must be doing something right.
Bill
Jim E
Donation Time
Perhaps it is 20 million and 1 cause I am coming on a year now with out coverage.
For years doctors here in the US have overbooked appointments, which is why you get there and wait and wait then they see you for maybe 5 minutes.
My last Dr. [when I was one over the covered] was good he actually spent time talking to you about your problem did not over book and seemed to actually care about folks. Then he closed his office and went to a guess you would call it a box store and fell into the over booked 5 minute if your lucky routine.
Another thing doctors should be required to do is list what school they went to and thier class standing along with when and where they went to contiuning ed last. Believe me Vegas is not the place you want your Dr to have gone for continuing ed.
Say and how about like airlines they report on the average on-time for appointments.
Would also like to know which drug compaines pay them put it up on the wall in the waiting room. Dr. xxxxx suports the following drug compaines......
Not sure why or how going to the dr turned into this mess, the wait and short visit time, maybe it is because they only get seven bucks a pop and need lots of pops to keep up. I bet it cost more than $7 to process the darn paperwork.
Paperwork friggin'ell..... there is a whole industry just for that, medical coders.... you guys know about these folks? they go to school for a few weeks then they go to work screening the paperwork and assigning a payment code for what was done.... I know someone who does this and would not trust them to put mail in the box let alone price a medical procedure. My guess is we will not have to worry about this much longer as it will end up being done off shore.
There is no fix for the medical system in this country or transportation or education or the fact that we do not make anything anymore or the banking mess does not matter because it affects the poor folks, F'em and give them credit cards.
I feel like I am in the movie "Idiocracy" and "Dawn of the Dead" at once. Just a matter of time before I am one the zommbies feeding off the Idiocracy.
For years doctors here in the US have overbooked appointments, which is why you get there and wait and wait then they see you for maybe 5 minutes.
My last Dr. [when I was one over the covered] was good he actually spent time talking to you about your problem did not over book and seemed to actually care about folks. Then he closed his office and went to a guess you would call it a box store and fell into the over booked 5 minute if your lucky routine.
Another thing doctors should be required to do is list what school they went to and thier class standing along with when and where they went to contiuning ed last. Believe me Vegas is not the place you want your Dr to have gone for continuing ed.
Say and how about like airlines they report on the average on-time for appointments.
Would also like to know which drug compaines pay them put it up on the wall in the waiting room. Dr. xxxxx suports the following drug compaines......
Not sure why or how going to the dr turned into this mess, the wait and short visit time, maybe it is because they only get seven bucks a pop and need lots of pops to keep up. I bet it cost more than $7 to process the darn paperwork.
Paperwork friggin'ell..... there is a whole industry just for that, medical coders.... you guys know about these folks? they go to school for a few weeks then they go to work screening the paperwork and assigning a payment code for what was done.... I know someone who does this and would not trust them to put mail in the box let alone price a medical procedure. My guess is we will not have to worry about this much longer as it will end up being done off shore.
There is no fix for the medical system in this country or transportation or education or the fact that we do not make anything anymore or the banking mess does not matter because it affects the poor folks, F'em and give them credit cards.
I feel like I am in the movie "Idiocracy" and "Dawn of the Dead" at once. Just a matter of time before I am one the zommbies feeding off the Idiocracy.
Ken Ellis
Donation Time
I've heard lately that "Angie's List" rates doctors now. Angie's List is a rating 'club' where members rate various services. I don't know who pays -- I think it's the consumers, not the services -- but I'm not sure. I just thought it was interesting to add docs to the list.
Ken
Ken
RootesRooter
Donation Time
As I suspected, Nick went right for the "why not let government do everything" argument.
Social Security? Bad example. SS has extremely low overhead and is generally regarded as a success story, unless of course you're one of those ancient, Pat Buchanan-type conservatives still holding a grudge against Roosevelt.
Are you really satisfied with a health-care system that costs 50% more than any other industrialized nation? Do you think our children and grandchildren will be willing to pay the exorbitant taxes it will take to pay the boomers' Medicare expenses? Dream on!
You say that no needy person is turned away at community hospitals. Ah, yes, that great purgatory known as the "ER waiting room." What's having to wait for non-emergency surgery when you can die for lack of attention right on the floor of the ER waiting room.
PBS had a good show a few months ago comparing national healthcare systems. I don't think they found a single person outside the U.S. who was envious of our system. Most were incredulous that we could allow so many to go bankrupt over medical bills.
Social Security? Bad example. SS has extremely low overhead and is generally regarded as a success story, unless of course you're one of those ancient, Pat Buchanan-type conservatives still holding a grudge against Roosevelt.
Are you really satisfied with a health-care system that costs 50% more than any other industrialized nation? Do you think our children and grandchildren will be willing to pay the exorbitant taxes it will take to pay the boomers' Medicare expenses? Dream on!
You say that no needy person is turned away at community hospitals. Ah, yes, that great purgatory known as the "ER waiting room." What's having to wait for non-emergency surgery when you can die for lack of attention right on the floor of the ER waiting room.
PBS had a good show a few months ago comparing national healthcare systems. I don't think they found a single person outside the U.S. who was envious of our system. Most were incredulous that we could allow so many to go bankrupt over medical bills.