This thread has devolved into a circle jerk of economic ignorance. I'm surprised that no one has yet suggested that the government just print money to pay for everyone's medical expenses.
I've got the dick so I make the rules.
-Project Pat
Quote: (03-06-2013 06:48 AM)ElBorrachoInfamoso Wrote:
This thread has devolved into a circle jerk of economic ignorance. I'm surprised that no one has yet suggested that the government just print money to pay for everyone's medical expenses.
Quote: (03-06-2013 06:48 AM)ElBorrachoInfamoso Wrote:
This thread has devolved into a circle jerk of economic ignorance. I'm surprised that no one has yet suggested that the government just print money to pay for everyone's medical expenses.
Quote: (03-06-2013 09:17 AM)Teedub Wrote:
How much tax do you pay, I know it varies state to state, but is it that much less than what you'd pay in a country with UHC?
Quote: (03-06-2013 09:17 AM)Teedub Wrote:
How much tax do you pay, I know it varies state to state, but is it that much less than what you'd pay in a country with UHC?
Quote: (03-06-2013 09:58 AM)Teedub Wrote:
^ 20% is good. What would be better would be if that was the flat rate for everyone! Progressive income tax is shit, but I'm no economist so I don't really understand the complexities of all the systems.
I wish you could choose where your tax went. For example, you could fill out a form and say "I don't want this money going towards unnecessary wars that only benefit the military industrial complex, nor do I want it spent on pro-fat ideology in schools!"
Quote: (03-06-2013 09:58 AM)Teedub Wrote:
^ 20% is good. What would be better would be if that was the flat rate for everyone! Progressive income tax is shit, but I'm no economist so I don't really understand the complexities of all the systems.
I wish you could choose where your tax went. For example, you could fill out a form and say "I don't want this money going towards unnecessary wars that only benefit the military industrial complex, nor do I want it spent on pro-fat ideology in schools!"
Quote: (03-05-2013 05:15 PM)Teedub Wrote:
America has the worst obesity rates in the world, it is very low down in healthcare quality...It's a racket by big pharma, big money, and the doctors, it has nothing to do with providing the best care.
I just don't understand the true hatred of "socialized" medicine in America. It works fine everywhere else, not perfect, but better than America's.
I say again, it is just cruel. I hate the NHS experiencing health tourism, but I like to know if I got cancer, I'd get seen and treated without being in $100,000 of debt. It's disgusting and I don't know how you guy's accept it.
Quote: (03-06-2013 12:08 PM)cardguy Wrote:
An important point, often overlooked - is to ask why Americian medical bills are so expensive?
I read this the other day, and it does a good job of addressing this issue:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bi...illing-us/
Quote: (03-05-2013 05:40 PM)Grit Wrote:
Yes the Lewis and Clark expedition should never have happened. Too many potential lawsuits.
The westward expansion? No infrastructure to keep people healthy. Can't do it.
The Klondike Gold Rush? Not allowed without proper permits be legal fees.
The great earthquake in San Francisco? We would still be litigating in 2013.
Quote: (03-06-2013 02:48 PM)scorpion Wrote:
Tenderman, you make some valid points, but you get carried away with your anti-government rantings. Saying that government "can't invest" is one of the silliest and most transparently false statements imaginable.
You lose credibility when you let anti-government ideology blind you to the tangible benefits that government can provide due to its unique position in the marketplace. Government can make long term investments because it does not have to turn a profit like businesses do.
If the U.S. relied solely on private enterprise for investment, we would never have built the interstate highway system, Hoover Dam, the space program, nuclear energy or the internet. All of these emerged from government investment.
Your error is that you fail to differentiate between government spending and government investment. They are two different things. The problem today is that we have far too much government spending, and too little long-term government investment. It's no different in this regard than your personal finances. Throwing a thousand dollars a month into your entertainment budget is not the same thing as throwing a thousand dollars a month into your IRA.
Quote: (03-06-2013 04:49 PM)tenderman100 Wrote:
I am sorry, you are wrong -- and this is NOT a semantic distinction. It is a substantive distinction.
Government doesn't invest -- it provides services. Some of those services can be short term -- some can be long term and capital intensive.
Our government doesn't 'invest" in an aircraft carrier. It spends money to buy one.
It doesn't "invest" in roads. It spends money on roads to provide geographic connections. Remember, the interstate highway system is a lot more like an aircraft carrier, in that the motivation to build it was as a network to move troops around. Remember, too, the Internet wasn't built for commerce -- it was built as a robust communication network to survive in case of nuclear attack.
Government has a responsibility to build SOME infrastructure. Roads, Dams. Levees. But those are not "investments." Those are capital structures that provide services -- electric power, protection against floods, and so forth.
Finally, I am not anti-government. Government should provide essential services, and no more. I would include in that the funding of basic scientific research.
Quote: (03-06-2013 05:09 PM)scorpion Wrote:
But this is the very definition of a semantic distinction. You call it a "capital structure" that provides services, I call it an investment. The end result is the same, regardless of what you call it - the government spends money in the present to provide a long-term benefit to society in the future.
The point I was making was that government is uniquely positioned to make investments (or capital spending projects, if you prefer) of this type. Private business must seek a return on investment over the short to medium term in order to survive. Government is less constrained in this regard, and when properly utilized can focus on long-term public investment projects. I can understand your criticism of government because over the past several decades there has been an abysmal failure of government in this country to make real investments, and instead a focus on short term spending, which results in tremendous waste.
Also, your point about the intention behind government projects, such as the interstate system and the internet (and the space program and Manhattan Project for that matter) only proves my point. The government didn't even realize the benefits that would accrue over time from those investments, but civilian researchers and private businesses were able to look at the product of that initial government investment and research and generate enormous wealth and productivity from it. In this regard, I view the proper role of government as a sort of first mover, which can absorb most of the prohibitive costs that inhibit private enterprise from entering new arenas of investment and research. Private business can then build on that government investment and begin innovating and generating real wealth.
Quote: (03-05-2013 07:05 PM)scorpion Wrote:
It's a very complicated issue, but essentially it boils down to the fact that for better or worse Americans value freedom (or at least the appearance of it) over good health. It's just a cultural thing.
You also see this same attitude in regards to guns in America, as well as efforts to regulate and tax junk food. People would rather suffer the consequences that sometimes accompany freedom than have the government make decisions for them.
The glaring exception to this is the country's attitude toward terrorism. The population will go along with almost any measure designed to keep them safe from terrorism. Why? Because they're scared shitless from 9/11 and a decade of ongoing propaganda.
Want to get universal healthcare in America? Find some way to scare the shit out of the population and convince them that they're going to die if everyone doesn't have healthcare.
Quote: (04-05-2017 04:03 PM)godzilla Wrote:
I can not buy health insurance across state lines. FDR in 1945 made insurance a state thing. If you live in New Jersey, you can not buy insurance from Pennsylvania.