Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
And you, that is "you" are talking about that same gov't suddenly becoming less corrupt and in every way efficient enough to handle healthcare. And in your fairytale world, the gov't will not use the massive database of individual medical costs and records to systematically start denying medical care to the more expensive, less productive 'citizens' (basically the "super race" only, it will be called the "healthy" or the "future")? In your fairytale world, politicians will not access political enemies or their families health records to blackmail those people in exchange for "health care"? Because after all, the gov't has proven time and time again that it can run business with less bureaucrats, less waste, and more efficiency than and "for profit" business. Your unicorns broke out of the fence, again; you need to go catch them.
You make me laugh to the point that my lovely bride is asking what is so funny.
The only American government official who has ever denied critical healthcare to those needing it is a Conservative Republican. No surprise.
In the meantime, I love your 'fairytale world". Dark evil villains creating an aryan race or whatever. You realize that government health care is provided in virtually every industrialized nation in the world right? Which of them have created these super races you refer to?
But again, I get it. You have zero direct knowledge to draw from so you go to your little Glenn Beck Book of Responses. It IS funny to read.
Famous words of libs/progressives/dem/socialists/communists/homosexual activists/islam extremists/environmentalists (pick one, they all act the same).... "this time it will be DIFFERENT"....
Okay since your ignorance has already been exposed, let's have some fun with your whackjobbery.
Actually, I would probably pay more for your health care than you would for mine. I'm in the tax bracket that would pay a couple extra points if things go Obama's way and I also employ others - which means I get double-dipped. So I would pay for my health care.
One thing I wonder is why do the US HC cost so much?. The pr. capita spending in US is much higher than other countries. Both public and private spending is the highest in the world. The US HC system must be extremely inefficient and bureacratically organized. France that has the number one and best HC in the world spend far less money on HC than US, that are ranked nr. 37 worse than Costa Rica.
Total Per Capita > Health Care Funding statistics - countries compared - NationMaster
So the US bureaucrats must be extremely inefficient and greedy compared to other nations bureaucrats. I can understand Bern80s sceptic to government-run HC, because the US bureaucrats are less efficient and greedier than other nations bureaucrats. To make it better and cheaper youve to do something with all the bureaucrat costs the US system has. Because its far more bureaucratic than other systems, that makes it expensive.
I also know that it is a tradition to pay government workers more money than private sector workers in US, in Europe and Canada private sector workers earn more money than public sector workers.
So with the tradition you have in US to pay youre government workers high salaries, the system will be more expensive. In Canada and Europe they control the salaries for the government workers.
You need to put more control on bureaucrats and politicians in US, control salaries on government workers to make HC cheaper. So it is hard to compare US with other systems because they dont have the tradtion for greedy and overpaid government workers as in US.
Health insurance and health care are 2 different things. People use them interchangeably but they are not. As for a "right", there are rights but there are also duties, moral obligations, etc. We have a moral obligation to help someone in distress. We as human beings have some moral guiding principle to help one another. It isn't the same as making a widget or something like that. We do recognize that there is a need to help people in times of need but we also recognize that nothing is unlimited in scope either. Society can help and step in but we can't be all things to everyone and there also comes a cost or personal responsility as well.
We have a duty as humans to look after those less fortunate than ourselves, and those less fortunate have a right to demand that help from others.
Healthcare is absolutely a right.
brainalin.com
It is a moral obligation as a fellow human being.
It is a moral obligation as a fellow human being.
Based on your logic, we should have a huge surplus because of all the industrialized nations in the world, we're the only one who doesn't provide universal hc. But what do you know? No surplus! So your logic doesn't hold. As I've said, it's a matter of prioritization.
Actually, the government never cut my benefits. I've been out for decades now. But I volunteer at our local VA and am the DOO of an organization that helps vets. So while the GOP has supported wars & the military industrial complex, they have systematically cut the benefits of those they send to fight them. No surprise. On the other hand, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Indonesia and The Ukraine are all pretty much where they were.
LOL! You are VERY entertaining. Not terribly sophisticated or knowledgeable of anything outside Gomerville, USA or wherever it is you live, but entertaining nonetheless.
Okay since your ignorance has already been exposed, let's have some fun with your whackjobbery.
Actually, I would probably pay more for your health care than you would for mine. I'm in the tax bracket that would pay a couple extra points if things go Obama's way and I also employ others - which means I get double-dipped. So I would pay for my health care.
What you have been programmed not to consider is that of all the bs my tax dollars go to, health care would have among the highest benefits to American Citizens, to employers who actually Hire 100% American and the American economy. But seriously, you're too brainwashed and seemingly not smart enough to figure it out, even if clearly evidenced.
Finally, let's have some fun! What is it that makes someone (in this case me) a "Liberal".
Is it their political beliefs and inclinations? Or is it just anyone who disagrees with you on so much a one issue?
It will be fun watching you dodge, avoid or cut & run from that question.
It is a moral obligation as a fellow human being.
Health insurance and health care are 2 different things. People use them interchangeably but they are not. As for a "right", there are rights but there are also duties, moral obligations, etc. We have a moral obligation to help someone in distress. We as human beings have some moral guiding principle to help one another. It isn't the same as making a widget or something like that. We do recognize that there is a need to help people in times of need but we also recognize that nothing is unlimited in scope either. Society can help and step in but we can't be all things to everyone and there also comes a cost or personal responsility as well.
Okay since your ignorance has already been exposed, let's have some fun with your whackjobbery.
Actually, I would probably pay more for your health care than you would for mine. I'm in the tax bracket that would pay a couple extra points if things go Obama's way and I also employ others - which means I get double-dipped. So I would pay for my health care.
One thing I wonder is why do the US HC cost so much?. The pr. capita spending in US is much higher than other countries. Both public and private spending is the highest in the world. The US HC system must be extremely inefficient and bureacratically organized. France that has the number one and best HC in the world spend far less money on HC than US, that are ranked nr. 37 worse than Costa Rica.
Total Per Capita > Health Care Funding statistics - countries compared - NationMaster
So the US bureaucrats must be extremely inefficient and greedy compared to other nations bureaucrats. I can understand Bern80s sceptic to government-run HC, because the US bureaucrats are less efficient and greedier than other nations bureaucrats. To make it better and cheaper youve to do something with all the bureaucrat costs the US system has. Because its far more bureaucratic than other systems, that makes it expensive.
I also know that it is a tradition to pay government workers more money than private sector workers in US, in Europe and Canada private sector workers earn more money than public sector workers.
So with the tradition you have in US to pay youre government workers high salaries, the system will be more expensive. In Canada and Europe they control the salaries for the government workers.
You need to put more control on bureaucrats and politicians in US, control salaries on government workers to make HC cheaper. So it is hard to compare US with other systems because they dont have the tradtion for greedy and overpaid government workers as in US.
You need to clarify your question, because you're asking one, but looking at the stats for a different one.
Do you want to know why healthcare prices are so high, or why Americans spend so much on healthcare every year? While the two are related, they aren't the same question.
One of the reasons that we spend so much on healthcare every year is pretty simple: because we can. In many ways, healthcare is a luxury item. We tend to think of it in terms of essential urgent care, ie. I fell and broke my arm or my kid has an unexplained rash or something like that, but a great deal of it isn't at all.
The fact is that when people have a high standard of living and a certain amount of discretionary income, most will divert at least some of that income to improving their lives through better health. They will go to doctors more for non-essential things, like cosmetic dentistry or dermatological treatments. They will schedule more well-patient visits, annual prostate exams, mammograms, and various other diagnostic tests. You can spend thousands of dollars just on diagnostics before the doctor ever actually does anything to you, if that's your pleasure. They will spend money on trying to lose weight, and on taking dietary supplements. All of these things are factored into annual healthcare spending numbers.
You should also keep in mind that America has an aging population, and most of our money is in the hands of older people. It should come as no surprise that the older people get, the more health concerns weigh on their minds, and the higher a spending priority they become. I can't speak for other countries, but American senior citizens fully expect to continue living their lives more or less as though they were still middle-aged, and are more than willing to spend the money to achieve that, when they have it.
Now, the question of healthcare prices is a whole 'nother thing. Healthcare prices are high because 1) in the case of anything covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance, the consumer is not the payer, which will always inflate costs, and 2) Americans as a group tend to abhor government price controls, so we have artificial price manipulation from one end, but we don't have it from the opposite end the way more socialist countries do.
Another reason we spend more is that we are a country of rather unhealthy habits. Nearly half of the U.S. is considered obese. Our diets are poor, etc. All leading to more health care needs down the road.
One thing I wonder is why do the US HC cost so much?. The pr. capita spending in US is much higher than other countries. Both public and private spending is the highest in the world. The US HC system must be extremely inefficient and bureacratically organized. France that has the number one and best HC in the world spend far less money on HC than US, that are ranked nr. 37 worse than Costa Rica.
Total Per Capita > Health Care Funding statistics - countries compared - NationMaster
So the US bureaucrats must be extremely inefficient and greedy compared to other nations bureaucrats. I can understand Bern80s sceptic to government-run HC, because the US bureaucrats are less efficient and greedier than other nations bureaucrats. To make it better and cheaper youve to do something with all the bureaucrat costs the US system has. Because its far more bureaucratic than other systems, that makes it expensive.
I also know that it is a tradition to pay government workers more money than private sector workers in US, in Europe and Canada private sector workers earn more money than public sector workers.
So with the tradition you have in US to pay youre government workers high salaries, the system will be more expensive. In Canada and Europe they control the salaries for the government workers.
You need to put more control on bureaucrats and politicians in US, control salaries on government workers to make HC cheaper. So it is hard to compare US with other systems because they dont have the tradtion for greedy and overpaid government workers as in US.
You need to clarify your question, because you're asking one, but looking at the stats for a different one.
Do you want to know why healthcare prices are so high, or why Americans spend so much on healthcare every year? While the two are related, they aren't the same question.
One of the reasons that we spend so much on healthcare every year is pretty simple: because we can. In many ways, healthcare is a luxury item. We tend to think of it in terms of essential urgent care, ie. I fell and broke my arm or my kid has an unexplained rash or something like that, but a great deal of it isn't at all.
The fact is that when people have a high standard of living and a certain amount of discretionary income, most will divert at least some of that income to improving their lives through better health. They will go to doctors more for non-essential things, like cosmetic dentistry or dermatological treatments. They will schedule more well-patient visits, annual prostate exams, mammograms, and various other diagnostic tests. You can spend thousands of dollars just on diagnostics before the doctor ever actually does anything to you, if that's your pleasure. They will spend money on trying to lose weight, and on taking dietary supplements. All of these things are factored into annual healthcare spending numbers.
You should also keep in mind that America has an aging population, and most of our money is in the hands of older people. It should come as no surprise that the older people get, the more health concerns weigh on their minds, and the higher a spending priority they become. I can't speak for other countries, but American senior citizens fully expect to continue living their lives more or less as though they were still middle-aged, and are more than willing to spend the money to achieve that, when they have it.
Now, the question of healthcare prices is a whole 'nother thing. Healthcare prices are high because 1) in the case of anything covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance, the consumer is not the payer, which will always inflate costs, and 2) Americans as a group tend to abhor government price controls, so we have artificial price manipulation from one end, but we don't have it from the opposite end the way more socialist countries do.
Another reason we spend more is that we are a country of rather unhealthy habits. Nearly half of the U.S. is considered obese. Our diets are poor, etc. All leading to more health care needs down the road.
Another reason we spend more is that we are a country of rather unhealthy habits. Nearly half of the U.S. is considered obese. Our diets are poor, etc. All leading to more health care needs down the road.
Indeed. This is one of the riskiest aspects of making health care a government responsibility. Once the state is picking up the tab for your health care, they have a vested interest in your health, and will likely seek to dictate personal habits likewise. We're seeing this trend already, and health care financing is only partially a government concern. When they're paying for all or most of it, I see widespread, intrusive regulations as inevitable.
You need to clarify your question, because you're asking one, but looking at the stats for a different one.
Do you want to know why healthcare prices are so high, or why Americans spend so much on healthcare every year? While the two are related, they aren't the same question.
One of the reasons that we spend so much on healthcare every year is pretty simple: because we can. In many ways, healthcare is a luxury item. We tend to think of it in terms of essential urgent care, ie. I fell and broke my arm or my kid has an unexplained rash or something like that, but a great deal of it isn't at all.
The fact is that when people have a high standard of living and a certain amount of discretionary income, most will divert at least some of that income to improving their lives through better health. They will go to doctors more for non-essential things, like cosmetic dentistry or dermatological treatments. They will schedule more well-patient visits, annual prostate exams, mammograms, and various other diagnostic tests. You can spend thousands of dollars just on diagnostics before the doctor ever actually does anything to you, if that's your pleasure. They will spend money on trying to lose weight, and on taking dietary supplements. All of these things are factored into annual healthcare spending numbers.
You should also keep in mind that America has an aging population, and most of our money is in the hands of older people. It should come as no surprise that the older people get, the more health concerns weigh on their minds, and the higher a spending priority they become. I can't speak for other countries, but American senior citizens fully expect to continue living their lives more or less as though they were still middle-aged, and are more than willing to spend the money to achieve that, when they have it.
Now, the question of healthcare prices is a whole 'nother thing. Healthcare prices are high because 1) in the case of anything covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance, the consumer is not the payer, which will always inflate costs, and 2) Americans as a group tend to abhor government price controls, so we have artificial price manipulation from one end, but we don't have it from the opposite end the way more socialist countries do.
Another reason we spend more is that we are a country of rather unhealthy habits. Nearly half of the U.S. is considered obese. Our diets are poor, etc. All leading to more health care needs down the road.
The government will get reports from doctors and consultants of what causes sickness. The government can stimulate you to live healthier. It can cut taxes and subsidize fruit,vegetables,fish etc. It can tax fat food, cigarettes and alcohol. That way the government can regulate the consumption in a way that makes people live healthier.
That way the government can stimulate the people to live healthy and cap HC costs through making people live healthier. Keynesian thinking into HC. US already have the food stamps, that’s a way to stimulate to live healthier. I don’t know what they can buy with it, but it’s basically healthy food, so it is a way to stimulate.
Based on your logic, we should have a huge surplus because of all the industrialized nations in the world, we're the only one who doesn't provide universal hc. But what do you know? No surplus! So your logic doesn't hold. As I've said, it's a matter of prioritization.
No we shouldn't. I am talking about health care budgest ONLY. You keep saying "just like every other industrialized nation" and I'm telling you that chances that you're going to get your cake and eat it to aren't good. Because if you go to government run healthcare like 'every other industrialized nation' it's likely that we will wind up with the same problem they have with such systems as well. That is consistantly running deficits in health care spending. To pretend there is nothing but positives with government run health care is simply naive.
Are you daft or just lying? Please show me where I said that ANY government program is nothing but positives! What? You can't? Of course you can't. So really, please just quit lying, okay? Thanks.
Actually, the government never cut my benefits. I've been out for decades now. But I volunteer at our local VA and am the DOO of an organization that helps vets. So while the GOP has supported wars & the military industrial complex, they have systematically cut the benefits of those they send to fight them. No surprise. On the other hand, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Indonesia and The Ukraine are all pretty much where they were.
That is a slightly different issue. If there's one group of peope who's medical beneifts should be paid for, it ougght to be service men and women.
And what about when they get out? Then again, why not the lawyer who foregoes the huge Wall St. salary in order to provide free legal counsel to the vetereans who are in need? Is he less deserving? Why?
LOL! You are VERY entertaining. Not terribly sophisticated or knowledgeable of anything outside Gomerville, USA or wherever it is you live, but entertaining nonetheless.
Okay since your ignorance has already been exposed, let's have some fun with your whackjobbery.
Actually, I would probably pay more for your health care than you would for mine. I'm in the tax bracket that would pay a couple extra points if things go Obama's way and I also employ others - which means I get double-dipped. So I would pay for my health care.
What you have been programmed not to consider is that of all the bs my tax dollars go to, health care would have among the highest benefits to American Citizens, to employers who actually Hire 100% American and the American economy. But seriously, you're too brainwashed and seemingly not smart enough to figure it out, even if clearly evidenced.
Congratulations! Even with it put smack in front of you you chose to spend half a paragraph being insulting rather than actually listening and as a result came with nothing that could be remotely construed as a counter argument. The question was not who should pay more for whom or whom it would benefit. Of course it would benefit some people if government simply paid for people's health care. The question is, since government's money comes from the taxpayer, why does the taxpayer have a higher moral and financial obligation to maintain your health than you do?
Why does the government have an obligation to provide a military? Streets? Highways? Libraries? Education? People allow governments to exist and to tax them in exchange for what they get in return. You claim that health care or health insurance is not something that should be provided. We simply have different opinons but what it comes down to and what you can't escape is that it is simply a matter of prioritization. Apparently you think giving $20B to Pakistan or $50B to let the government help profitible companies make more profits or whatever, is more important than health care. I don't.
Finally, let's have some fun! What is it that makes someone (in this case me) a "Liberal".
Is it their political beliefs and inclinations? Or is it just anyone who disagrees with you on so much a one issue?
It will be fun watching you dodge, avoid or cut & run from that question.
Dodge what? It's not like your going to believe anything I say anyway. I'll retract the broad liberal label to the extent that I don't know whether you're liberal on most issues or not. I will say you quite objectively are liberal on this one as evidenced by an advocacy of expansion in central government power for purposes of providing a social service.
Another reason we spend more is that we are a country of rather unhealthy habits. Nearly half of the U.S. is considered obese. Our diets are poor, etc. All leading to more health care needs down the road.
The government will get reports from doctors and consultants of what causes sickness. The government can stimulate you to live healthier. It can cut taxes and subsidize fruit,vegetables,fish etc. It can tax fat food, cigarettes and alcohol. That way the government can regulate the consumption in a way that makes people live healthier.
That way the government can stimulate the people to live healthy and cap HC costs through making people live healthier. Keynesian thinking into HC. US already have the food stamps, thats a way to stimulate to live healthier. I dont know what they can buy with it, but its basically healthy food, so it is a way to stimulate.
Then it comes down to a real simple decison. The above would obviously constitute a major reduction on individual freedom. Using government to socially engineer the behavior you deem 'good' neccissitates that. The simple decision is do you value freedom or security more? With freedom comes the responsibility that you live with the consequences of your choices. With security comes the consequence that there are fewer choices you are free to make.
