patrick.net

MMR says

Standard of living has gone down for long time

In Nixons America one breadwinner could support whole family, small house 2 cars maybe a boat.

Very few people can do that now.

Before boomers,
vs
After boomers.

It should be pointed out that during the last 40yrs, there's been migration into big cities. That partly explains the trend.

What do you mean "now"? Less than half a year after losing both Congress and WH to GOP? You absolutely sure this is a good time to push for lefty ideas?

Ironman says

Sounds like your parents didn't kick your ass and make you personally responsible for your actions.

You admit boomers didn't do a good parenting job, in addition to destroying the economy?

What the hell are they doing, waiting for Obama handouts?

What does it have to do with me? Who says I'm a millennial?
I'm just observing the facts laid in front of us: Boomers did a terrible parenting job in addition to destroying the economy.

Ironman says

rpanic01 says

I don't mind if my kids stay with the wife and I into thier 30s or more as long as they are productive.

Why would you want that? How can the kids learn, grow, mature and handle life's issues if they're living under your wing?

rpanic01 says

Everything is just a cycle and maybe its just going back to the way it use to be.

Kids use to live at home into their 30's in the past??? When was that?

Unless I move out of or my kids move out of California they might not have much of a choice, and as I said they would have to be productive no deadbeats.

Is it really that bad of a thing I had my dad live with me up until it became to difficult from his illness but my kids will always cherish the time with there grandfather that they would have not had otherwise. My one grandmother lived with my aunt and uncle, my great grandparents lived above my grandparents. Honestly I think something has really gone wrong with our society. A lot of older houses were built for multigenerational familys and have been turned into apartments or split up into separate housing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/us/19family.html

socal2 says

Unionized government bureacrauts don't have any accountability or incentive to save money and ferret out fraud.

That's why you privatize enforcement. Hey, privatization is always the answer. Let Private Firms pursue Medicare fraud and keep 25% of the haul. Lawyers' profit is a great motivator - and fear of it.

You know how many law firms would love to sue over $20 sprays of Lysol?

I believe the top 5 health insurance companies brought up $30B of their own stock in just two years, hardly suffering.

Whatever we're doing now doesn't work beyond any reasonable doubt, since our costs are astronomical but results mediocre.

Everybody, left and right agrees - only the stupid center of technocrats refuses to see the system they run and benefit from sucks and needed replacement two decades ago.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/insurers-profits-have-nearly-doubled-since-obama-was-elected/article/2005073
http://www.salon.com/2016/10/28/making-a-killing-under-obamacare-the-aca-gets-the-blame-for-rising-premiums-while-insurance-companies-are-reaping-massive-profits/

Whatever the solution, cost controls, at least for ER services, is a big starting point.

"Cost Controls don't work". Funny, works great in Japan. ~1% cost increases on medical care annually, while dealing with an incredibly aged population consisting of many lifelong smokers, and a smaller demographic behind it that has even fewer kids.

Ironman says

rpanic01 says

I don't mind if my kids stay with the wife and I into thier 30s or more as long as they are productive.

Why would you want that? How can the kids learn, grow, mature and handle life's issues if they're living under your wing?

Well, if they are productive, responsible and saving money it should be OK to live at home for some time. They will be able to save up for a down payment, and basically get an early boost towards financial prosperity.
But wait a minute......they are millennial. How can they be responsible?

Epitome of diplomacy right there. I always thought AF would be the finest ambassador America can produce.

You should see what Health Care CEOs and Senior Hospital Admins spend on Hookers and Blow.

Next on : Home Buyers California.

"What do you guys do?"

I'm a professional Feng Shui Consultant, and my wife is a part time Harpsicord tuner and Hamster trainer.

"Wow, a Harpsicord tuner?"

Oh, it runs in the family, Marv. My brother owns the West Coast's largest Hurdy Gurdy distribution center in Palo Alto.

"What's your budget?"

Uh, 1.5 Million is about what we'd like to pay.

"I think we might find some 1000-ish square feet, lower end, maybe fixer-uppers, in that price range."

FortWayne says

Epitome of diplomacy right there. I always thought AF would be the finest ambassador America can produce.

AF could make the perfect ambassador to N Korea. He would really intimidate that "crazy fat kid"
I think AF would make an even better ambassador to ISIS.

Ironman says

Strategist says

it should be OK to live at home for some time.

What's your definition of "some time"?

I guess it would be case by case.
If the kids are going for an MBA, PhD or Medical school, they have already shown themselves to be very responsible. They could leave at the appropriate time.
If the kids are school dropouts, lazy bums, and don't want to do anything, I would kick them out right away.
The rest are in between. It's a tug of war between letting them fend for themselves, and giving them every possible opportunity to excel in whatever they do in life.

APOCALYPSEFUCK_is_ADORABLE says

Kimfuck could be convinced to give up North Korea to the FREE! world for enough cigarettes and Big Macs.

That or a hooker going down on him with a razor blade in her mouth.

Lets go with the former. I like torturing dictators.

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

I think we might find some 1000-ish square feet, lower end, maybe fixer-uppers, in that price range."

$1.5M in Palo Alto? Where?

BayArea says

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

I think we might find some 1000-ish square feet, lower end, maybe fixer-uppers, in that price range."

$1.5M in Palo Alto? Where?

The landfill.

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

You should see what Health Care CEOs and Senior Hospital Admins spend on Hookers and Blow.

They don't even have to steal the money, the free market shovels if into their bank accounts with a front end loader.

YesYNot says

bob2356 says

We need to decrease the costs of health care

Easier said than done. That was one goal of Obamacare. It should be a goal for a single payer system as well.

Reducing the cost of health care was never a goal of Obamacare. Getting the uninsured health insurance was the goal of Obamacare. There were a lot of smoke and mirrors budget tricks claiming ACA would save money, but they disappear quickly with an honest look at the program.

socal2 says

FP says

socal2, you seem to equate/confuse profit with expenses

Profits as a percent of revenue.

So do you think that the money health insurance companies spend on marketing polices, billing polices, collecting premiums, paying claims, political lobbying, campaign contributions, salaries, bonuses, legal work, setting rates, negotiating with doctors/hospitals, etc. etc, etc.all comes from the tooth fairy? It all is health care spending. So is the large amounts of money doctors and hospitals spend billing insurance companies. The insurance company profits are the least of it.

curious2 says

Dan and others have posted a chart showing how American spending leaps above all others starting around Medicare age. Some have noticed the increase becomes most noticeable around age 60, and so they don't blame Medicare, which starts generally at age 65.

You do know that ironbrains vaunted chart isn't anywhere close (like off by a factor of 3 or more) to medicare and HHS spending numbers don't you? I really think that medicare actually knows what they spent no matter what some random unknown source chart ironbrain came up with says. Its public record, go look it up. Here is Kaiser's numbers from 2011 since I still have it on my computer. Not anywhere close to ironbrains mystery chart.

bob2356 says

You do know that ironbrains vaunted chart isn't anywhere close (like off by a factor of 3 or more) to medicare and HHS spending numbers don't you? I really think that medicare actually knows what they spent no matter what some random unknown source chart ironbrain came up with says. Its public record, go look it up.

The chart I linked comes from Carnegie-Mellon via Forbes and elsewhere. It says annual per capita costs, not merely one or two federal components of those costs. I gave up looking up things for you because you remained the same: sarcastic, unappreciative, and toxoplasmotic. You don't even say what chart you're referring to, so maybe you meant a different one from the Carnegie-Mellon chart, and I am definitely not going to waste time trying to read your opiate- and opioid-addled mind. In your paranoia you used to accuse me of being MMR as an alias, which I found very flattering even though we are obviously different people, so who knows what chart you might be imagining now.

Update: I see you updated your comment to add a chart from the Kaiser's HMO empire showing a subset of Medicare spending that "excludes [enrollees] in Medicare Advantage." The Kaiser's chart also excludes Medicaid, other federal and state programs, private insurance, and individual payments. In other words, the Kaiser's chart presents only one subset of annual per capita costs, and thus does not refute the Carnegie-Mellon chart that I had linked.

curious2 says

The chart I linked comes from Forbes.

Ok I found the forbes link. Very interesting history of the numbers. It's a jumbled mess. A chart taken from of a local newspaper article about a 2010 study of a 2005 study with no peer review or data integrity of any kind done by researchers with no back round in medical. No data sets or methodology are given for either study for anyone to check on. That's very solid professional research.

curious2 says

It says annual per capita costs, not merely one or two federal components of those costs.

There are newspaper articles that say the moon landings are fake and there were WMD in Iraq. The original 2005 Kotlikoff and Hagist article that Fischbeck took his data from is titled Comparing Government Healthcare Costs in Ten OECD Countries. (note that only 5 made the Fischbeck study/chart, the US and the 4 lowest cost countries of the other 9) If you had looked you would have found It's a study of GOVERNMENT spending on health care (note that Fischbeck left out the government part in his study/chart). Want to comment on how much GOVERNMENT health care spending there is in the US before people start using medicare? Most health care in the US is private insurance before age 65, yet the US spending is top of the chart from birth on. The US numbers under 65 are government spending divided by the entire under 65 population, not just the medicaid eligible population making the chart even more distorted. The other 4 countries the population under 65 is almost all government spending. Just in case you didn't catch the implication it drives the US under 65 per capita cost on the chart down relative to the other 4 countries. A lot down.

Might want to give this a glance also before you genuflect before your chart again. http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/chart-of-the-day-health-care-spending-by-age-and-country/

The chart never made any sense to me, the numbers don't even come close to adding up. It seems like the it's true because I believe it should be true crew didn't do any thinking. Still want to stand on this hand or would you like to fold now?

curious2 says

a subset of Medicare spending that "excludes [enrollees] in Medicare Advantage." The Kaiser's chart also excludes Medicaid, other federal and state programs, private insurance, and individual payments.

Want to do the math and show how medicaid, other federal and state programs, private insurance, and individual payments can triple the per capita cost of basic medicare which takes care of most over 65s? Maybe ironman can help you out since he's so good at math.

bob2356 says

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/chart-of-the-day-health-care-spending-by-age-and-country/

From that link: "UPDATE: Chart deemed bogus. See comments. Rest of post altered to reflect that fact, including a big red “X” through the chart." So, commenters on that particular site deemed that chart bogus. It remains at Forbes and elsewhere without retraction.

Nearly everyone who has looked honestly at the issue finds entrepreneurial over-utilization due to the Medicare fee-for-service payment model, including the New Yorker articles we both read and cited here on PatNet.

jazz music says

time to put forward a popular health care improvement. It shouldn't be too hard to do because the political base is broadened now.

By all means, write to your legislators and President, and I wish you luck with that. You are likely to find it very difficult to make progress because nearly every organization exists for the purpose of increasing its own revenue, and we have reached the point where they're basically butchering and poisoning people for power including revenue. The anecdotes are harrowing, flogging patients to the bitter end even when they've signed advance healthcare directives saying not to do that. The data are even worse. Please do try, but understand what you're up against. The patient population are brainwashed like hostages with Stockholm Syndrome, and the Congress represents the captors trying to maximize ransom. People are addicted to toxic placebos and the higher the price goes, the more "valued" they feel as "beneficiaries" of their insurance programs, which maximize cost-shifting and encourage patients to "get more" at the expense of their neighbors' kids. Well organized and highly educated professionals depend on that gravy train for their yachts, second houses, retirement plans, and fancy cars. Current law enables them to command literally infinite subsidies, and the revenue recipients will not give those up without a fight. You will be denounced as racist or whatever they can imagine to discredit you. And, remember, you're asking the Trump administration to behave nobly and altruistically rather than cutting a deal to make more money. But yes, please try.

bob2356 says

Want to do the math and show how medicaid, other federal and state programs, private insurance, and individual payments can triple the per capita cost of basic medicare which takes care of most over 65s?

You can do the math if you want to challenge the Carnegie-Mellon chart. Medicare spends over $10k/yr per enrollee, and Medicaid spends another $2k/yr per person over 65, so that's $12k/yr just for those two programs. Medi-gap, long term care insurance, and "personal resources" add a lot more.

bob2356 says

Reducing the cost of health care was never a goal of Obamacare. Getting the uninsured health insurance was the goal of Obamacare. There were a lot of smoke and mirrors budget tricks claiming ACA would save money, but they disappear quickly with an honest look at the program

Agreed that the primary purpose was to get more people covered by health insurance. A secondary goal, which was taken on in an effort to help finance the first goal was to make health care more efficient. Because there was a huge annual inflation of health care costs prior to Obamacare, you should judge the results by seeing how the annual increases changed under Obamacare. I cannot easily find charts to show this. If you have them, I'd be interested in seeing them.
Republicans primary goal is to lower taxes, particularly on the wealthy. They want to repeal Obamacare as well. This is really a secondary goal, which is there to help finance their primary goal. That doesn't mean that it's not a goal. The only reason that they cannot achieve it is that repealing without a replacement is unpopular, and they cannot agree on a replacement.

curious2 says

Nearly everyone who has looked honestly at the issue finds entrepreneurial over-utilization due to the Medicare fee-for-service payment model, i

I'd agree that fee for service is a major problem, especially when hospitals are run by corporations. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatments with little hope of any cure in the last 6 months of their lives. IMO, people want every chance that they can get, so they will go for it even when it's not worth it. It's not necessarily good for the patients even if a few people beat the odds.

Federal gov can't run anything right for all? Actually impossible, because too many people. How about Medicaid for all, run independently by each State.

Here in Southern California, out of all the people I know my age (40) and younger, only one guy has bought a house without help from the parents. And he lived with his mom for like five years to save up the down payment himself.
I came here with no family support, built a family, and saved the money to get into a massively overpriced house as a team with my wife. It only took a dozen years...

I'm sure the hard noses out there think that is working as intended, but I suspect establishing a household here was far too difficult for the grand fucking majority of young people to manage. Everyone else with a house either inherited it or got hundreds of thousands from parents to help buy.

Quigley says

Here in Southern California, out of all the people I know my age (40) and younger, only one guy has bought a house without help from the parents. And he lived with his mom for like five years to save up the down payment himself.

Well, indirectly he did receive help from his mom.
It's almost impossible for a young first timer to buy a home in California without help from parents.

Quigley says

Here in Southern California, out of all the people I know my age (40) and younger, only one guy has bought a house without help from the parents. And he lived with his mom for like five years to save up the down payment himself.

I came here with no family support, built a family, and saved the money to get into a massively overpriced house as a team with my wife. It only took a dozen years...

I'm sure the hard noses out there think that is working as intended, but I suspect establishing a household here was far too difficult for the grand fucking majority of young people to manage. Everyone else with a house either inherited it or got hundreds of thousands from parents to help buy.

Dead on, same boat here. Even when I bought at the bottom it was a struggle, now its back to insane. I have many friends in 30s-40s that are completely priced out and will eventually have to leave CA unless there is another major crash. Timing is what got my family our house on our own, even with our income up 30% from 6 years ago we could never afford our current house in this market without being completely house poor.

These slackers are valuing staying in place over moving to a lower cost area to start a family. They are not the type you'd want to start families.

Ironman says

You do know that there are 49 other states to live in, right?? Isn't it YOUR choice to live in Southern CA?

You like to tell other people who to live with. Then, when they point out valid reasons for those living situations, you tell them that they could / should just live somewhere else. Nice guy. Do you spy on your neighbors with binoculars and then bitch about how they spend their time?

I have seen some positive examples of millenials living at home. Some were perfectly productive people saving some coin. A couple of these have moved out and one is still living with her mom and driving a beater although she works for a big consulting firm.
OTOH, another can't seem to get her head out of her ass and is very unproductive. She works, but never gets ahead due to various personality issues. Some tough love would either help her or create another homeless individual.

The overwhelming majority of my friends under 40 who bought a house in the Bay Area did so with parental financial assistance (downpayment money). With the rental prices here, saving $200k or $300k for a DP is extremely rare unless you are an income outlier.

Buying in the Bay Area totally on your own without any family aid is extremely rare from what I have seen.

Ironman says

You do know that there are 49 other states to live in, right?? Isn't it YOUR choice to live in Southern CA?

Yes it is. ''Tis my misfortune to have a profession that may only be practiced at a large port. Those only exist in metropolitan areas, which have high real estate prices. Of all the places to work outdoors, this was the best. So here I came and stayed. Now that the house thing is figured out, I can sort of relax. I have a very nice house five miles from the beach in a good school disctrict where my kids can walk to school for twelve years. My wife has a job at the local college. We are set, but we are extreme outliers.
Most people here who are established have money from other means than working for it. So to pretend that those who are unestablished are lazy slackers is disingenuous.
Most middle class Americans today were elevated here by hardworking lower class parents.
Pretending that the same opportunities exist as did for your generation is prevarication.

Ironman says

Nobody seemed to notice in the chart I posted above. Look which states have the largest percentages (hint: most are BLUE states). What a surprise... (not)..

Nailed it

I just visited DailyKos for a few minutes.

All the problems with Obamneycare apparently began late January, 2017. They alternately bash "Trumpcare", while laughing it didn't pass, while blaming the huge premium and deductible increases (yet again, year after year with Obamneycare) on Ryan's plan that didn't pass.

The compounding failures of Obamacare are now laid at Trump's feet.

Alternate Reality.

jazz music says

Straw Man says

What do you mean "now"?

Now, after the republican failure to repeal or replace, is not the time to gloat but the time to put forward a popular health care improvement.

With what army?