I LOVE taxes!!!

dddooo · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from buzzy2:

Health care in the US is too expensive because of stupid malpractice lawsuits.

Oh, so it has nothing to do with insane profits of insurance companies keeping half of healthcare related money while adding no value and creating an inherent conflict of interests. It has nothing to do with drug companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars on promotions (more than they spend on R&D). It's all about lawyers who being of course lying scumbags that they are protect you and your family from rogue doctors and rogue drugs and who only cost 1-2% of healthcare cost in this country. What about the remaining 99-98%?

dougcs · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from Josh009:

I see. This is true. Just look at the way people live in the most impoverished areas. New Orleans is a perfect example. No money means no car/bus ticket/ train ticket/no way to evacuate. Not to mention the way these people lived prior to the storms. "Substandard" is a gross understatement

Health care is another issue altogether. I just started trading (prop) and am not yet profitable. Health ins. from my last job has run out, and I don't know if anyone else has priced healthcare recently, but it's insanely expensive. So what other option do I have? More importantly, what options do the poorest people have?
(sorry, not trying to turn this into a political rant...)

IMO- the USA has universal medical care, despite the 45 million people who don't have health insurance.

Most if not all poor people can and frequently do go to the emergency room for minor medical care. There is an apparently little known regulation (EMTALA-The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) that in essence requires hospitals covered by the act to provide treatment to anyone who shows up in their emergency rooms. The cost of this treatment is of course passed on to those who use the hospital and have insurance or to the taxpayers.

Couple this with Medicaid and Medicare and the US has by default fallen into providing health care to everyone not covered by private insurance.

Granted, this system is about the worst of all worlds in that it provides the most expensive care (E-rooms) for common medical problems like colds and earaches for children and passes the cost on to the insured and taxpayers who subsidize the public hospitals.

So, the poor do have options and almost all of them know about this. ANd, lest I forget, anyone who shows up gets treated, including those in the country illegally.

DS

science_trader · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from shorty_mcshort:

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Switzerland

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Unitedstates

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Ireland

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?id=Luxembourg

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?ID=China

US $32,517 GDP per capita
Swiss $47,910 GDP per capita
Ireland $30,951 GDP per capita
Luxembourg $58,889 GDP per capita
China $944 GDP per capita (no that is not a mistake it really is below $1,000)

So the US isn't the richest as measured by GDP per capita and it is the 12th most free country in the world. BTW, I am a US citizen but it still needs alot of work mostly because politicians (on both sides) are ruining this place. Democrats suck and Republicans blow!

This site has a strange notion of 'freedom', every topic is purely economic.

mrvizion · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from Josh009:

I see. This is true. Just look at the way people live in the most impoverished areas. New Orleans is a perfect example. No money means no car/bus ticket/ train ticket/no way to evacuate. Not to mention the way these people lived prior to the storms. "Substandard" is a gross understatement

Health care is another issue altogether. I just started trading (prop) and am not yet profitable. Health ins. from my last job has run out, and I don't know if anyone else has priced healthcare recently, but it's insanely expensive. So what other option do I have? More importantly, what options do the poorest people have?
(sorry, not trying to turn this into a political rant...)

I get your statements perfectly well... It's just the reason why I could understand jrlvnv statements also... There state failed these people first and foremost... No I take it back... there city did first... They knew what kind of storm Katrina was going to be before it got there, so mind you New Orleans could have easily paid for it's people to evacuate it... They just decided to twidled their thumbs and hoped this wasn't the big one they KNEW was going to happen... Then correctly saying the state failed them for many years for not doing and ongoing project... Be reminded this is not the first time New Orleans has flooded... I remember going there right after a flood hit when I was like 12 and people that once had homes had to live on the streets because nothing was done about it... Now after many years of doing nothing every citizen in America will probably have to feel this somehow someway... Like you say though I'm not trying to turn this into a political debate though... It's just going to make me mad anyhow... But Josh009 I see you say you aren't profitable yet... Would you like to be??? If you've got a math platform to use with your trading... I'll tell you a few tricks to use... Obviously the proof will be in the pudding... Mind you I'm not going to tell you anything silly like buy this bar if opening break that... Mind you further I'll tell you just because I bet your a younger guy too... And when you make some money since you probably don't have much responsibilities yet... I suggest you become a forex trader too... Just make sure you keep the money at my clearing firm

PM me if you think I'm serious

Wow I just saw how late I am to the table now after typing so long... Granville your welcome to PM me also if you want to find out what I'm talking about..

shorty_mcshort · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from science_trader:

This site has a strange notion of 'freedom', every topic is purely economic.

The actual index is called Index of Economic Freedom. So no wonder everything is based upon economics.

Eric

dddooo · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from granville:

No one âLOVESâ to pay taxes, myself included.

Yeah, we hate to pay taxes but we want to have wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the WOT, we want to be protected by the police, we want our money in the bank to be insured by FDIC, we want to drive good and free roads, we probably will not want to fly on airlines if they are not following FAA maintanance and inspections guidelines. We want to drink clean water and breeze fresh air. We are proud to be the first to go to the Moon, to have the best army and the best weapons, the best fire departments and the best judicial system. But we hate to pay taxes.

science_trader · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from shorty_mcshort:

The actual index is called Index of Economic Freedom. So no wonder everything is based upon economics.

Eric

Oh well, I prefer that. I had not looked at the index name. I just read your post and the '12th most free country'.

zdreg · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from Josh009:

I see. This is true. Just look at the way people live in the most impoverished areas. New Orleans is a perfect example. No money means no car/bus ticket/ train ticket/no way to evacuate. Not to mention the way these people lived prior to the storms. "Substandard" is a gross understatement

Health care is another issue altogether. I just started trading (prop) and am not yet profitable. Health ins. from my last job has run out, and I don't know if anyone else has priced healthcare recently, but it's insanely expensive. So what other option do I have? More importantly, what options do the poorest people have?
(sorry, not trying to turn this into a political rant...) [/QUOT

poor people with little assets have nothing to worry about. the government pays the entire bill.
it is the middle class that suffers in the united states.
to repeat from previous post. you have to become poor then the government pays. the poor have nothing to worry about. it is the middle class that stays up at nite wondering how to pay the
cost of health. most bankruptcies in america are the result of medical bills. no problems for the rich or the poor.

science_trader · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from zdreg:

poor people with little assets have nothing to worry about. the government pays the entire bill.
it is the middle class that suffers in the united states.

middle class suffers in all the occidental world... ;-0

jason_l · Oct 7, 2005

Quote from OrderBlaster:

Arrrrr ...ain't that sweet! You've traveled a "little bit" and hold in reverence the U.S. tax system? Where'd you go ...Nigeria?

You wanna see a decent system? Try Switzerland. Low income tax and zero cap gains tax. Everywhere, clean and modern with low crime. Federal government irrelevant because cantons (states) run the show. One of the wealthiest nations per capita on the planet. A "voice"? Try referendums. That's right, anything of significant national interest always goes to the people. The Swiss are too smart to trust their politicians. That's real democracy in action! Public schools? ...best around. They actually have standards. Kids come out of high school speaking three languages and don't even think about it. How do they finance such services like top quality public transport and schools with low taxation? Cos they don't piss money around the place for no reason that's why. As for privacy, it isn't just a right in Switzerland - it's enshrined in law. Compare that to the U.S.

One other thing ..the Swiss don't go wearing their patriotism on their sleeve by pronouncing that they live in the best country in the world either! Must be a cultural thing ....

That sounds an awfull lot like what or founding fathers had in mind.. too bad here in the US we've totally lost track of the ideas our country was founded upon.