Bloomberg leave the GOP

[wnbubbleboy]

But bubbleboy....do you know that without taxes, a $4 pack of cigarettes would cost under 50 cents? But a heckuva lot of American's still smoke...and trust me...they ARE pissed off about it. But...supposedly those taxes go to pay for "smoking related illness" (they don't), so therefore the tax is justified. If it "works so well" for smoking...why wouldn't it work so well for fast food? Because it would make people sacrifice to eat burgers and fries...and it would piss them off that they would have to sacrifice to do what they wanted....even though it costs all of us in the end.

I agree with you to a point. Everybody needs to eat at somepoint in their lives or they expire.

Cigarettes though are not needed to survive. Taxing any kind of food could be seen as depriving someone who is poor a cheap meal.

 

[777 fixer]

Is that any different than folks who are tired of spending $100 a week to fill up their Suburban (which they and their briefcase are the sole occupant of for at least 5 of those 7 days) and will not acknowledge that they themselves played a very large part in $3+ per gallon gas? And when you point out that the SUV they are driving might be a problem, you are labeled as a 'tree hugger' or 'eco-nazi' and hear the line "I have the right to drive what I choose"...inevitably followed by the "what would your tin box look like in a head-on with a Mack truck"....to the latter, I'm not sure...I think my tin box might manuever out of the way without rolling over and actually AVOID the head-on with the Mack.

While there are some similarities there are differences. There are people who actually need trucks and SUV's. Those in the construction trade, agriculture/ranching, small business owners who need to move items from one place to another etc. I do agree that most people who have them really don't.

Fast/fatty foods on the other hand no one needs that on a regualr basis. Maybe as an occasional treat but looking at Americans waistlines I would say a lot are eating crap on a regualr basis.

 

[KCFlyer]

While there are some similarities there are differences. There are people who actually need trucks and SUV's. Those in the construction trade, agriculture/ranching, small business owners who need to move items from one place to another etc. I do agree that most people who have them really don't.

Fast/fatty foods on the other hand no one needs that on a regualr basis. Maybe as an occasional treat but looking at Americans waistlines I would say a lot are eating crap on a regualr basis.

Again...if those that "needed" SUV's were the only ones driving them, we wouldn't have as great a demand for oil. But tell me...what in the world does a lawyer of banker in Dallas Texas have a "need" for a Suburban as the daily commuter. They are "moving" their briefcase from home to the office downtown.

Oh...I am sure that many Americans are eating fast food on a regular basis. Judging from what I see on the side of the road, many are tossing the bags out the window when they are done. I know that folks eating crap food on a regular basis are costing me and my company about $750 a month in insurance premiums. You don't think we should have universal healthcare because of the costs...but look at the costs of private insurance. I haven't "fallen thru any cracks", but I certainly am paying for someone elses lifestyle. Look at what those medical costs have done to GM and Ford - who are competing with manufacturers who don't have to shoulder the burden of health care costs. If they got rid of that ONE liability, they'd be profitable and comptetitive. Their employees on the other hand would find that the highly touted American health care system is out of reach for them.

 

[delldude]

Okay...so what I've seen with my own eyes and heard from those who were there count for nothing. Run the youtube video and picture of the witch doctor. Sometimes it's hard to admit that as nasty and evil and backwards as a country is, they actually DO sometimes know more, or at least as much, as we do.

You must be aware then of some witch doctor remedies that have actually been found to have beneficial properties.

Okay...so what I've seen with my own eyes and heard from those who were there count for nothing.

Hearsay?

More hearsay

Cuba's "Medical Technology Fair" held April 21-25 presented a graphic display of this two-tier medical system. The fair displayed an array of both foreign and Cuban-manufactured medicines and high-tech medical equipment and services items not available to most Cubans. The fair showcased Cuban elite hospitals promoted by "health tourism" enterprises such as SERVIMED and MEDICUBA.

On the other hand, members of the Cuban Communist Party elite, and the military high-command are allowed to use these hospitals free of charge. Certain diplomatic missions in Havana have been contacted and told that their local employees can be granted access privileges to these elite medical facilities--if they pay in dollars.

So if you are a commie or rich...what you infer is true.

 

[777 fixer]

Again...if those that "needed" SUV's were the only ones driving them, we wouldn't have as great a demand for oil. But tell me...what in the world does a lawyer of banker in Dallas Texas have a "need" for a Suburban as the daily commuter. They are "moving" their briefcase from home to the office downtown.

It seems we have a bit of a communication problem here. If I'm not mistaken I did say that most people did not need them. So I'm not sure why you are using that tone.

 

[777 fixer]

You don't think we should have universal healthcare because of the costs...but look at the costs of private insurance.

At NO point have I ever said that I was either for or against universal healthcare.

To be quite honest I really don't know what the answer is. If I did I probably wouldn't be working midnights for an airline. Does something need to change, yes it does. To many people are not getting basic medical care. The problem with that is they end up using the emergencey room as their primary care. Since they cannot turn a person away someone gets to foot the bill. And the person is us. So instead of a problem being taken care of at realitively minimal cost it ends up costing tens in not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

[wnbubbleboy]

I know that folks eating crap food on a regular basis are costing me and my company about $750 a month in insurance premiums. You don't think we should have universal healthcare because of the costs...but look at the costs of private insurance. I haven't "fallen thru any cracks", but I certainly am paying for someone elses lifestyle.

You certainly are:

Price tag on subsidized child health care soars

STAFF AND NEWS SERVICE REPORTS

OLYMPIA -- A measure that would provide subsidized health care coverage to 10,000 more children in Washington will cost $15 million more than predicted, state officials say.

State Sen. Joe Zarelli of Ridgefield, the top Republican on the Senate budget-writing committee, said the $45 million program, offset by $19 million in new federal money, also will pay for medical treatment and health coverage for a large number of illegal immigrants at the expense of poor families that are U.S. citizens.

"This is a program that mostly benefits kids of illegal immigrant families," Zarelli said Thursday at a meeting of the Caseload Forecast Council, a group of lawmakers and governor's cabinet members.

Zarelli predicted in March that the cost would be higher than what Democrats forecast when the Legislature passed the law.

Of the $45 million, $12 million will be spent on citizen children who were previously uninsured. About $8 million will be spent on U.S. citizens who already are covered by other insurance programs. And $25 million will be spent on noncitizen children.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/7153964576319

 

[777 fixer]

One of the consequences of obesity. Kids with Type 2 Diabetes.

< http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20070626/ty...?src=RSS_PUBLIC >