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Problem is, I don’t think that’s politically viable. There’s no way this country would ever allow a fully government owned and operated healthcare system. We have to set our sights on something that could actually be achieved.Medicare and Medicaid??
You said it. Why does this society continue to insist that renters should be the shit that “homeowners†wipe off their shoes? So you overpaid for your house - why exactly should that make you one of the chosen people?Government policies have favored ownership the world over for a very long time. There has been plenty of research that shows that stability in living environment is very good for society as a whole. Aside from ensuring lower crime rates and higher school performance, home ownership acts as a nice dumb investment vehicle for people who aren't capable of managing more complex instruments. That's not to say that I agree with the bailouts, but you really should understand the government's reasoning in their actions. Well, that and 80% of registered voters are home owners.
Aside from ensuring lower crime rates and higher school performance, home ownership acts as a nice dumb investment vehicle for people who aren’t capable of managing more complex instruments....or getting screwed in the backside by same. When was it that houses became thought of as investments, anyway? Unless FLW designed it, forget it.
On July 31, 2008 Larry Kudlow interviewed Sarah Palin about a probe into an alleged scandal and asked her if she was interested in becoming John McCain's running mate. She replied: "But as for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does everyday?" On September 29, 2008 CBS aired one of the many parts of an interview Katie Couric did with Sarah Palin. In this particular installment, Couric asked "what newspapers and magazines did [she] regularly read..." and Palin responded by saying: "I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media." Couric pushed further asking "what ones specifically?" and Pain said, "Umm... all of them. Any of them that have been in front of me over all these years." It only got worse for Palin from there. A couple days later Couric showed another segment of the interview in which she asked which decision, other than Roe V. Wade, Palin disagreed with. Sarah responded: "Well, let's see. There's --of course --in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are -- those issues, again, like Roe v Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know -- going through the history of America, there would be others but--" On October 2, 2008 Palin faced off against Joe Biden in their first (and only) VP debate. She said several hilarious things, but her winking is what most of us still remember and what gave Rich Lowry of the National Review "little starburts," most likely in his pants. On October 11, 2008 Sarah "I'm a hockey mom" Palin appeared at a Flyers game to drop the ceremonial first puck and was greeted by resounding "boos" from the crowd. On October 20, 2008 Sarah was interviewed by an NBC affiliate in Colorado, which passed on a question from a local third grader who wanted to know about what the Vice President does. Palin answered: "[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom." Which is blatantly untrue. On November 1, 2008 Palin unwittingly took a call from a Canadian comedian posing as the French president. The fake Sarkozy suggested the pair go hunting together saying, "I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun." She responded, saying, "Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done. We can kill two birds with one stone that way." The comedian went on to say his wife is "so hot in bed" and tell Palin that Bruni has written a song for her called "Du rouge a levres sur une cochonne" aka "Lipstick on a Pig." On October 5, 2008 Sarah Palin called Afghanistan “our neighboring country†during a speech to U.S. soldiers who must have thought, "This is what we're fighting for?" On October 15, 2008 Palin gave a speech in the Granite state and said, "I like being here," she told the crowd in Laconia, "because it seems like here and in our last rally too -- other parts around this great Northwest -- here in New Hampshire you just get it." The crowd was understandably confused. On November 13, 2008 Palin gave a speech that Jonathan Martin called "perplexing" and "jarring," because it was basically an old stump speech she gave a million times before she lost the election. Jonathan Capehart told MSNBC's David Shuster, "I watched her entire speech, and I had to remind myself that the election was a week ago, and this was not a McCain/Palin rally. Everything you heard at a McCain/Palin rally since she was selected as the Vice Presidential nominee since September, and even down to the same rhetoric was in that speech." On July 3, 2009 Sarah Palin announced that she would resign from the office of the governor, giving some a sigh of relief and late-night comedians a heart-attack. The speech was a little crazy: There was something about a fish and sports and a lot about politics and not quitting but then quitting. It was more confusing than when she explained politics to that 3rd grader. When Palin resigned she said that fighting unjust ethics complaints was immobilizing her. "I'm not going to let Alaskans go through a year of stymied, paralyzed administration and not getting anything done," she said. Someone asked how she would run the country if these accusations could stop her from running the state and Palin responded that the "department of law" protects the president. There's no such thing in the White House.---------------------------- I prefer a candidate that can formulate a pertinent, educated response. If I wanted someone who was unable to do so, I'd vote for BAP33.
OO saysJust so were all clear, today the government is responsible for about 1 out of every 2 dollars spent in healthcare today. Yes 50% of the "system" is already government run. There are so many problems with healthcare that no "easy" solution exists. I for one am completely against government run healthcare because I personally believe it would stifle investment in medical technology and destroy yet another sector of the economy that USA has led in for many years. But I do believe that the system needs to find a way to provide coverage for all citizens, regardless of their ability to pay. At some point though, you have to be able to pay more for better care and better doctors and the latest in medical technology. We also need to find a way to determine what the "basic" care should be using metrics like cost / quality adjusted year of life and make the hard decisions about what care won't be provided at a certain point in someones life (a VERY HARD decision to come to, especially when it gets personal). Just my 2 centsSome Guy saysMedicare and Medicaid are not available to the majority of the population. I hardly think they could qualify the U.S. as having a completely government-run healthcare system. The vast majority of the system is still private.Problem is, I don’t think that’s politically viable. There’s no way this country would ever allow a fully government owned and operated healthcare system. We have to set our sights on something that could actually be achieved.Medicare and Medicaid??
Communism is the government owning your house as well… = America has that now (Check) TARP anyone Communism is owning the banks = checkNo, communism would be that nobody owns the house and nobody owns the banks (or everyone owns the house and everyone owns the banks). What you're describing is socialism, though that isn't what America has now either. The only thing that the government owns is GM, some parks, some highways, a few buildings, the post office, and a bunch of debt.
Current government policies are ensuring that only cash investors can buy houses. This means MORE renter, not fewer.Not with an FHA loan!
elliemae saysYou mean an old chick who looks horrible without makeup, lives a Michael Jackson-like life buying up foreign babies, dressing up outrageously and being - well, wierd? Or the one who believes that the story of the $100,000 broken arm is the "billed" charges, not the actual charges? Because Medicare pays approx $1,000 per day maximum for hospitalization, plus 80% of MD charges and labs and xrays... and the rehab, if indeed the arm was the only thing wrong (except that the woman probably fell in her kitchen so she probably would benefit from a bit of physical therapy); less than $400 per day for the first 20 days and afterward the patient pays $133.50 out of pocket... So you're looking at a bill of around $10,000 - $15,000. Which, if the arm was damaged, isn't bad at all. She'll return home, have quality without loss of function and not need supporting social services to keep her in her home, at least for awhile. And, the ambulance bill was probably around $1,500 in the most expensive area, only Medicare will pay about $250. Since all providers accept assignment (meaning that they accept Medicare's approved amount as payment in full), the patient only had to pay approved co-pays & deductibles. Billed charges are the ones on the bills that people receive from theiving, for-profit (even if they say they're non-profit they charge the same) providers. That isn't the amount that's paid. I've seen $300,000 ICU bills paid dropped to 10% or less. So when someone brags that they cost the system a huge amount, they're probably full of shit. Who was it that said "the plural of anecdote is not data?"Our desire to have national healthcare coverage is genuine. It is necessary. People here are bitching alot, but little Jessica and countless others will stop receiving treatment when their money is gone. It’s possible that they could recover and become tax-paying, productive citizens. And if they never do, they’re still someone’s daughter or sister or wife.You’re so cool… Like a lil Jewish barnyard Madonna.
I’d vote for you.I think that there's a requirement that the VP wears shoes. And I'd have to live on a navy base - my middle-aged heart wouldn't last watching all those hot little recruits in tight naval uniforms... I need a moment... Do they allow goats/chickens/horses/dogs/cats on naval bases? All of these things can be resolved, I guess. After all, as President of the US Senate I could "get in there with the Senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better..." - so I'd assign each Senator barnyard cleanup and repair duty. It'd probably be the first time that they ever got their hands dirty, other when when they were wiggling those silver spoons that's so far up their asses.
Look, guys. We have real problems with healthcare in this country. Sure, we have people who are old who are receiving expensive treatments, even though they’re toward the end of their lives. But who is it that determines the value of a life? If you are 80 years old, you might very well have another 20 years on you. Is your life less valuable than that of a 25 year old? How about if you are an 80 year old Albert Einstein and the 25 year old is a gang-banger from the ‘hood? What if you are 60 and newly married vs a woman of child-bearing age who is single? Single young man vs married older man with family to support? Business owner/taxpayer vs. young person starting out? Whose life is more valuable? We get caught in the minutiae. No system will be perfect. But ours is far, far, far from perfect. Healthcare decisions are made by people who never see the patient and are based on finances alone. If a physician recommends treatment, and another agrees, an insurance company still easily denies payment for the procedure which might save a life or make the life more bearable. Currently Medicare rates set the payment system; insurance companies mirror them to a great extent. But private insurance looks for every reason to deny benefits, from unknown pre-existing conditions to a case manager denying coverage without being knowledgeable about the condition. Medicaid, with current cutbacks, is not covering many extra programs for healthy kids, meaning that when they’re older they may be sick as hell and Medicare will have to cover it. Our desire to have national healthcare coverage is genuine. It is necessary. People here are bitching alot, but little Jessica and countless others will stop receiving treatment when their money is gone. It’s possible that they could recover and become tax-paying, productive citizens. And if they never do, they’re still someone’s daughter or sister or wife. They need action.I think this argument is really about the fact that every American needs to have health care coverage, which I believe that all parties - liberal, conservative, etc. - agree to. The issue is around who should run the system to provide the coverage (and who will pay for it). I don't believe that the government can run the insurance industry more effectively than private companies competing. Yes, you will have greed and corruption and some issues with payors not covering what they should .... but were comparing this to the government! Just because the government runs something doesn't end all corruption. In fact many issues occur in our current Medicare/Medicaid system because of such issues, and corruption of course is seen all across the government (ever been to Chicago). The other thing that scares me about the government controlling the insurance industry is that decisions around what drugs and devices are covered becomes highly political. Want your hospital in the suburbs of Ohio to get the latest MRI machines, well you need to go lobby your local representative. A company wants a new device covered, well maybe they will run a PR campaign to influence the government and force them to cover something.
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