The thing is monkeyman, there needs to be some serious competition and heck, some regulations, to keep the health insurance companies in check. But thank you very much for posting the info.
Why is the US so afraid of Social Health Care?
by eyeslice 298 Replies latest jw friends
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Justitia Themis
It's comical really if it weren't so truly sad. Americans actually pay just as much in taxes as other more socialized countries in the world - but they get little in return. They have a mentality that says it's okay though - as long as you don't link it to the dreaded scary word - social.
I agree Sammieswife. Even in this debate, the average American seems unable to discern the difference between socialized healthcare (wherein the government OWNS and runs the hospitals) and social healthcare (wherein tax dollars are forwarded to PRIVATELY owned hospitals to pay for services).
And in response to the post that most people think their insurance is fine until they really need it, such was the basis of the hearings a few weeks ago that dealt with pre-existing conditions. All of those people thought their insurance was just fine until they developed a catastrophic illness and actually needed it. Then the insurers found truly evil ways of cutting their benefits.
As for the Post Office, I worked for them a little over a decade ago, and even then, they knew the INTERNET would likely reduce their ranks greatly or bankrupt them. And, just for the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that the Post Office is only a quasi-governmental agency.
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Justitia Themis
I have plenty of problems with being forced to support deadbeats and in addition to also support the deserving. Get deadbeats off the money train and then we can address whatever is the real needs of our deserving.
So, if I am understanding you correctly, you are not against giving, but to the truly needy only. How do you propose distinguishing betwen the two? And, is there an acceptable "deadbeat" level. For example, if we can get the deadbeats down to say 3 or 4%, is that a satisfactory level?
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sammielee24
Hey Burns....you're bragging about not taking a dime from the government....how about your renters? Am I mistaken that you just finished saying on the other post that you are renting our your real estate investments and keeping afloat because Uncle Sam is making it profitable? Just checking to make sure I understand...sammieswife.
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PEC
Burns = hypocrite
Philip
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Yizuman
Hey guys, you think it's only the adverage citizen that is paranoid about Obamacare? How about asking Bill Gates what he thinks of it...
Gates Foundation Sells Off Most Health-Care, Pharmaceutical Holdings
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private philanthropy fund, sold off almost all of its pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health-care investments in the quarter ended June 30, according to a regulatory filing published Friday.
The Seattle-based charity endowment, set up by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife, sold its total holding of 2.5 million shares in health-care giant Johnson & Johnson in the quarter, according to the filing.
The foundation also sold millions of shares in major drug makers, including 14.9 million shares in Schering-Plough Corp., almost 1 million shares in Eli Lilly & Co., 8.1 million shares in Merck & Co. and 3.7 million shares in Wyeth, over the same time period. The foundation no longer holds shares in any of those companies.
Among the other health and life sciences-related investments the foundation liquidated are Allos Therapeutics Inc., InterMune Inc., Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The only life science-related holding the foundation retains is a 3 million-share stake in Seattle Genetics Inc.
The foundation's decision to drastically reduce its exposure to health-related stocks is striking, as many of its charity grants have been disbursed to address developing country health issues. Its move comes against the background of anxiety among drugmakers and healthcare insurance firms about the potential impact of the Obama administration's proposed overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, which could put pressure on prescription drug prices.
Drugmakers are also facing broader competition from generic drugs, though the foundation also liquidated its holdings of Israeli generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Michael Larson, who manages the foundation's investments, didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
The foundation has also acquired a roughly 1 million-share holding in America Movil SAB de CV, a telecommunications company controlled by Mexican mogul Carlos Slim Helu, and a 1.5 million-share holding in train company CSX Corp., according to the filing. The holding of America Movil is in American depositary shares.
It also bought half a million shares in energy company Range Resources Corp. and a 700,000 share stake Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.
The foundation had total assets valued at $7.5 billion as of June 30, down roughly $1 billion from the end of March.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125029373754433433.html
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sammielee24
We could say that the deadbeats today - are in fact the Wall Street guys who are sitting pretty on government bailouts and bonuses who have gambled away the savings of the average person and still make out okay. Those numbers are costing triple the dollars going toward those at the bottom - let's see - $10,000 a year for the single guy at the bottom of the government assisted pool or $15 million for the crooked CEO using government funds for his buy out. All the deregulation, the hedging and the speculators that have caused this whole mess haven't been hurt too much, they're still getting their share of the taxpayer dollar but the 12 million that have been out of work for the past 2 years because of it, are facing a new label of leech having been forced onto the 'system'. The money they've lost, their jobs, their homes in some cases, their pensions and savings, their healthcare - some will never get it back and others will have to work 10 years or more just to reach the same level of security. That's when and if they get a job. I think we need to redefine what a deadbeat is and work to ensure that nobody is leeching off the system...but right now, with a major economic shift and people hurting for work, I think we can start at the very top and stop the flow of dollars there. sammieswife.
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sammielee24
Bill Gates was in the news about a year or so ago. There were hundreds of thousands of high tech American jobs lost when Gates, because of his corporate wealth, dictated the number of visa's that he demanded increase to bring in foreign workers. He insisted that he would just move his jobs over to India etc if he didn't get what he wanted - I don't think Bill Gates is rooting too much for the average worker in America so ditching stock doesn't bother me too much. I don't know what he ended up doing, but I know there was a huge dust up about it all - paying foreign workers 1/3 of what an American worker was being paid - it put what some say amounted to almost 1 million jobs up for grabs. sammieswife.
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journey-on
sammieswife...you won't be happy till corporate America (the good, the bad, and the ugly) is torn completely down and all are owned outright by the government. When everybody is working for the government and giving them back 60-75% in taxes, then you might be happy. You may be blind to all the deadbeats out there, but most Americans have been up close and personal with them and know exactly what we are paying for. Not a one of us on this board having these discussions mind one twittle paying our fair share to help our fellow Americans when they are down and out. But a helluva lot of us resent the welfare lifestyle of millions of them.
It boils down to ideology period. Some people simply don't want government this deep into our lives and some want government in everything like you do.
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brinjen
Ok, I gotta comment here. Where has anyone said they wanted all corporations gone and replaced by the government? Who pays 60-75% in taxes? We certainly don't, our tax rates are not much different than the US. Most are in the 30% bracket, and that's 30% on what they earn above $35,000. Before that, it's 15% and no one pays tax on the first $6,000 per year... no one.
No one is saying get rid of corporations, they are a vital part of any economy, just keep them in their place and don't allow them to take over for their own good at the expense of everyone else.