Since oil has diverged into a discussion into cons/lib, and even medical care, I sat back at enjoyed the posts of others before deciding to chime in.
First, one must start from a philosophical understanding of the what we consider the extreme "leftist" and "hard right" positions.
On the right is the belief that the optimum productivity level (a "pareto" optimum, where for any member of society to be better off, someone else has to by definition be worse off) is one that comes from leaving the producers alone. No taxes, no regulation.
On the left is the view that if we just divided everything up, we'd all be so much better off. This view seems to imply that no matter the level of taxation, or government transfers of wealth, that everyone will continue to work as hard as before, both the "rich" who's getting fleeced, and the "poor" who finds that the government will provide for them even if they don't work.
In U.S. politics, both parties are near the middle, but are nuanced to one side or another.
Now on "medical care".
1. What makes you entitled to the same medical care as me? What entitles me to Bill Gates medical care? Why stop there? Poor people probably have lower survivability in an accident than the rich because of inferior older vehicles. Should we have our government buy everyone a new cadillac to ensure we all have the same level of auto safety? Then again, budgetary constraints would dictate we all get a Yugo.
2. Do you really think Canada’s medical system is a good as ours? My brother in-law and sister live in Canada. The BIL recently injured a knee. In Canada, he was to wait 3months to get his knee repaired, and then, the result of the surgery would be a fused knee and the end to any athletics. Instead, he went to Washington State within two weeks and after a simple scope, is back running and biking. My sisters biggest gripe about Canada is the medical system. DYK that in the UK, many people are now flying to India for surgery instead of waiting? EVERYONE who remains on the list for heart surgery WILL get it in the UK, if they survive long enough.
CARE MUST BE RATIONED. In countries with socialized medicine, the government rations it. Recently, my daughter was diagnosed with a tumor in one of her legs. It was thought that the tumor would eventually go away. I demanded that we see a specialist. I MADE THE CHOICE. Had we not see the specialist and had surgery, she would have possibly lost her leg. Keep in mind; many of the “cheap Canadian medications†are made in the U.S. Without the profit motive, medical research and new drug treatments would slow to a crawl.
3. How do we fix the U.S. system? Easy. One our biggest problems is that the person getting the service is NOT the person paying for it. Will you “skimp†on service if I’m the one paying the bill? Will you choose generics if they are priced the same (via your medical plan) as the real thing? The key is to allow people to have REAL MSA’s that don’t require the money to be spent every year. If you RATION your own care and end the year with your entire MSA intact, then you should be able to roll it over to a retirement account. You could then be covered VERY cheaply with Cat care. Unfortunately, Kennedy thinks that’s a “taxcut for the richâ€. If we want lower healthcare costs, we need to force people to make the decision if a belly ache is worth a visit to the OR. If we want lower drug costs, we must have a plan that allows people to benefit from choosing a cheaper generic of even another alternative. Do you need the latest and greatest pain reliever if Tylenol will do?
As to poor people who couldn’t afford to buy a good plan, I say BS. We make choices. You can buy the insurance yourself. They chose not to. They took the risk. Not me.
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), do you think "dirty SOB keeping the worker down"? Or do you see a guy that likely worked his @ss off for year after year? Maybe a guy who had a great idea, something that made life better for all of us, and was willing to risk it all to bring it to market? Do you want to emulate him or hang him?
This paragraph says it all. Congratulations to you for your persistance in your career path.
Next time they will be a little more careful.
