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Dexter, Missouri ~ Saturday, August 30, 2008
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In a perfect world ...
Posted Wednesday, December 12, 2007, at 1:36 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
I'm just going to throw this out to you. I love the holiday season and it always makes me reflect on what life is like now as compared to 20 years ago or what it will be 20 years in the future.
I can only hope that the world becomes a better place for my daughter and hopefully, my grandchildren who will follow her. So here are some ideas I have that would help make this world just a little better: Let's all face it. Helping foreign countries is getting us nowhere. While we are so busy sending billions of dollars worth of aid out of our country every year for orphans, homeless, etc., the orphans and the homeless in our own country have very little relief. When did problems in other countries become more important to us than the problems we have right in our own back yards, so to speak. Why are we not more concerned with our own homeless, orphans, abuse victims? Why do they need to be in another country to get our attention? Here's another idea. We are a self-sufficient country. There is very little, if anything, that we cannot produce ourselves from our own soil or resources. So why do we need to import so much? To once again help those other countries? What about those in our country who lose their jobs because their company decided to move overseas to save money? Are they not important? I don't mean to sound heartless or that I have something against other countries, but at this point in the game, I just don't feel that they should be one of our priorities. Oil would also be one of those things that we could produce ourselves. Boy, wouldn't that tick off a few other countries? They all hate us and love to burn our flag and bad mouth us and bomb us, but they sure won't turn down a handout from us, will they? And another thing that might help our country. Why don't we quit letting people sit at home on their butts watching daytime soaps while drawing a government check? If you're able to work, then get off the couch and get a job. Would I like to be able to quit my job? Sure. I think that just about anyone would love to sit at home if given the option. However, a few of us want to make more of ourselves and actually offer our children a better example and a better life. Having one child after another is not a reason for the government to pay you to sit at home. Pretending to be disabled is not a reason to sit at home. Some American people have become, and let me say this clearly, L-A-Z-Y. Quit being content to be mediocre just so you can get someone else to pay your bills. You are collecting money that the rest of us, those who are not lazy, are paying into the government every day of our lives with little to no hope of ever seeing that money again. You are a drain on the economy, so stop it. Get up and get a job. These are just a few things that I feel might make our world a little better. If you have views on this, don't hesitate to sound out. That's what we're here for! Comments Showing most recent comments first [Show in chronological order instead] |
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I doubt it. If you didn't know I was probably the only one who knew what I was talking about. It is something my kids called it.
Oh, did everyone know that but me???
McDonalds.
I realize that I live on a goat farm, but I have no idea what a "Mickey D" is!
If you think they are bad wait until the federal government start paying for everyone. No cigarettes, no beer, no bacon and eggs, no Mickey D's, no red meat, vegetables and soy only. There will be hoards of people trying to make you live a healthy lifestyle because they will be paying for you too. They already scream about too much Mickey D's. You think?
Can you imagine how messed up I would be if I have a hernia when the nurse is not around?
Even group insurance is going to be tougher to get,as they try to weed out the smokers,overweight,diabetics,women who could still have kids,you know,real people who might have an illness someday.
Insurance companies are mean,and after seeing the movie "Sicko",I think they sucko! If you haven't seen that movie, I really recommend it.
Charles,
I don't even want to ask who that insurance is with or who you work for, but that doesn't really sound like insurance to me. I guess every policy has its quirks and things that make you mad, but that sounds a little extreme.
Wow, that is gross and sounds really painful. I checked the book again,and it's elective surgery,but I have to clear it with the nurse first before I can see the Dr.
Then,after "steps # 1 & # 2, the company physician will deem if further treatment is needed. After precertification interviews are completed,the HelpLine (misnomer)will contact the client as to which facility we are contracted with.We are pleased to be your company's insurance provider,you are always OUR priority, and it's OUR privilege to serve you".
Let the healing begin-I guess I could drive to Canada and drop in a mall somewhere,because I'm sure I would still be on hold here by the time they released me from the hospital!
Sheesh, I've got good insurance,as long as I never need it.
CharlesS, a hernia is a tear in the muscles of, usually, your belly - so that part of your intestine bulges through. It's often caused by heavy lifting. That's why those guys wear the big wide belts on the job. If the hernia strangulates, you could die.
There is no way that hernia surgery should be considered an elective.
I hate insurance companies!
I.B. I can do just a/b anything. I have worked retail, management, factory, nursing, and fast food. I have good customer service skills, love working w/ the public, and work very hard. My job history is shaky, but now I need something permanent, and definetely need days for lack of a babysitter in the evenings or over-night. Thanks to anyone who can help me! And Merry Christmas to all!
I think that is exactly how I feel. We can do anything we want to do, but you have to pay. Cut programs or increase taxes. In Britain the tax on a gallon of gas averages about $2.50 a gallon. Here the the Federal and State tax is somewhere around $.50 per gallon. That contributes to how they do things. Ok, that increases our gas cost to around $5.00 per gallon on a good day. It can be done.
I guess any surgery is elective. My insurance will cover it, if I want it.
I don't know how much it will cost, but it will be astronomical. I think we could get an idea by finding out how much the Pentagon pays for military personnel under the Tri-Care program. Maybe we could get a small discount since everyone would be under the program. Now, who is going to manage this monstrosity? How many more government employees are you willing to pay?
There is a lot going on here and anyone who comes up with a simple plan and cheap way to do it isn't telling you everything. In fact they are being very un-truthy.
I saw on tv that England has had socialized medicine since WW2 ended.
How did they do it? There economy was flat busted,their country was rubble and people were still dealing with not much food or goods.
The best surgeons in the world are the ones from the Royal Academy,they have the highest standards.All these countries with socialized medicine have doctors and nurses,and they still make a good living.
I think that we a smart enough to come up with a system that works better than the one we have now.
I have insurance,but I have to see a nurse first,then if she thinks it's really necessary, I can get an appointment to see a doctor they choose for me. if the Dr is a quack,too bad for me.
A hernia operation is elective,according to my benefits book,so I best wait to get that done,whatever it is.I think I'm lucky to have a job with insurance these days,no matter how much it costs.
By the way, mrsdolphin why don't you tell us what type of job to look for or what you can do. Sounds like you want to work, maybe someone here can help or at least guide you in the right direction.
Maybe I missed the point, but what I am saying is that it isn't something that can be easily done if at all. You can't just say we are going to have socialized health care and start providing it. There are thousands of questions and concerns to be addressed. The least of which is where the money comes from. That is simple, since no one will allow their pet project to be cut it will come through increased taxes and since we are already taxed for all the other stuff it is going to be unbearable.
Do you think Doctors will accept a pay cut? How about Nurses and Anestheologist? Big bucks for sure and big bucks to acquire the education. Since we won't be able to pay the current rate for these professions who will invest the money in the education. I wouldn't so the the government will have to or you can get these people from a foreign country.
Your personal income tax will be at least 50% no matter what unless we cut in other places or increase in others, for example gas. Think $3.00 per gallon is bad. Try $6.00 since we wouldn't have money to maintain the roads you have to get it from somewhere.
Since the cost of living would jump, wages would have to increase. Guess what happens when our labor cost go up. Jobs heading South. Alright, maybe the 12 million or so illegal immigrants would go home to work since the jobs are going there. On second thought, I doubt it. Just stay here and get your free socialized health care just like the people we have here who wouldn't work if you paid them $100.00 per hour.
Sure I would like for everyone to have health care along with my kids and grand children but just because I can wish for it and it sounds good doesn't make it possible without great great sacrifices. Are you willing and ready?
I think you've entirely missed the point of socialized health care, I.B. Le Truth.
I'm sorry, the war isn't the problem. Didn't have it before the war.
Our current cost to provide health care in the State of California alone is probably more than the cost for the entire country of Cananda.
How do they handle malpractice? Is there such a thing?
How long does it take to get a Doctors appointment say for a hernia?
Who assigns you a Doctor or Dentist? The government? What if yours is a quack? Can you change? How many times? Second opinion, where do you go?
How many Doctors would be allocated to a town such as Dexter? What type of Doctors? Who decides who goes where?
Does a person who makes $20,000.00 a year get the same treatment as a person who makes $1,000,000.00 a year. Is the millionaire paying more than their fair share to compensate for the person who makes the lower income?
If I don't have a major illness or operation during the year, can I get a rebate? How about if I live 50 years without a major problem?
How long do parents get off after a child is born? In Germany it is 18 months paid and you can't replace them. Do you want to do without a position being filled for that long? If not, how long should an employer do without an employee and still be required to pay?
These are the things I saw in Germany. A 50% income tax plus a 14% sales tax on non-consumables and taxes on your home every year based on the number of rooms. No closets and one bathroom for most people. Taxed annually on items such as TV's, refrigerators, stoves. Thats why they have annual road side sales or give aways every year before tax time.
There are surely a lot more quetions?
Last but not least, why would you go to Medical school? To help your fellow mankind, right its about the money. If you are smart enough to make it through Medical School you surely can be very successful in another field.
Between present taxes,insurance premiums,copays,medicine,dental,vision I pay about 40% of my income. If I lived in Canada,it would be 39% with better coverage,but my income would be less too.Somehow, I feel I would be ahead.
I also have to put back money for college for my kids,which would be free,along with daycare.
It behooves Big Business to hire these young kids with huge student loans,credit card debt,car loans,etc.,because the more in hock a young person is,the more thankful for any job they probably will be-they won't be making waves when they can barely tread water.
You can live in this country without healthcare,if you don't plan on having any health problems.Pretty soon those with group health plans are going to be weeded out even more,out with the old,in with the new,so to speak.
Only those in perfect health will be insurable,the rest will suffer tremendously.
I still want every person in America to have the same care JoAnn Emerson and her family receive.We can do it,just end the war a few weeks early.
Sacha kuddos to u!!! U say what most of us say and we just can't get it published in the paper!! I wished everyone thought more along the lines as u do!!!
Thank u...
There seems to always be money to help
other countries but not enough to help
those in need in the U.S.
Maybe your brother does live in Canada and has not had a problem with the health care, but a whole lot more people have and they come here every day for treatment.
I personally am not willing to give up 50% of my income in tax. That is what it will eventually be here if we go to socialized medicine. We can go to it, but if we do we have to give up something else. It will have to be a trade off. Pick what you want to give up. Someone else will want to keep it.
No more taxes, cut something else or many something else.
I will stay here in the USA without any healthcare at all if necessary.
I was raised to believe the word "socialized" was an evil thing. However,as some other poster on another thread mentioned,the fire dept.,police dept.public schools,Social Security,highway dept.,military,Veteran's Administration,etc-these are SOCIALIZED!
They run well enough on taxpayer dollars without the need to make profits. I have few complaints,except the present thought of privatizing education and allowing for profit educational companies that oversee crazy pork projects like NCLB,seem to be messing up good schools like our local districts.
I am 100% for socialized medicine and I am not so ignorant of it because my own brother lives in Canada and would never dream of coming back to MO.When he visits,he actually buys a traveling healthcare policy (like having insurance on a rental car),just for a two week trip. He talks about the reports of people being bankrupted in America by hospital bills. He has three kids,they have never came to America for any procedures,as they have modern medicine in Canada.
A lot of what we hear about Canadian medicine is crap,rumors,and urban myths perpetuated by Big Business and the politicians in the healthcare vendors bed!
Think about how much we pay for premiums,co-pays,and drugs,not to mention the % you still pay after your insurance hopefully picks up. Vaccinations at the Dr's office are now about $80-100 a piece! It will only get worse in the future,as group insurance will seek to cover less people and redefine "pre-existing" to deny others coverage.
I want the same healthcare JoAnn Emerson has,but she should want the same for all of us. I can pay more taxes if my premium burden was removed,and so could others.
Probably about five to eight percent of the GDP is spent on defense and 15 to 20 percent on health care. Where the rest of it goes is a mystery. Pork I guess, only your Congressional Representative knows.
I am not sure that anything is really any different than it has always been. These are or sound to be the same things that my ancestors went through. We are as a majority the working class. We spend many hours per week earning a living to take care of our families with very little time for leisure.
I am not sure that Bush did something wrong with his veto of the health care bill which was an attempt to increase the income level of those eligible for the program above what I think it should be.
I am not sure that socialized medicine using tax payers money is a responsibility of the federal government, but defense is.
So very true Sacha. I'm a mother of two, married to a man who busts his tail 5-7 days of the week spending countless hours away from his family for us to continue to stay behind. And since all our wonderful companies have decided to go "south" I can't get a job ANYWHERE! I have a high school diploma, but that doesn't seem to make a difference. I only wish I could get a job anywhere. I don't really care where, just so long as my husband could quit working so hard. He's already a truck driver...should he honestly have to spend that much more time away from us to pick up slack that I can't pick up? I'd say no, but that's me I guess. So if anyone can suggest any openings anywhere, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thank you.
And to add to what you've said...what do ya'll think a/b Bush vetoing that children's insurance bill? Amazing how easily he'll give money to war, but not to our countries children. And it's scary to think that whoever we elect next could be worse...
I have to say we were a self-sufficient country, and we could be again. But when we buy a "great value" brand and pat ourselves on the back for saving a few pennies,please note the country of origin-China,Vietnam,Mexico,Israel, or Canada (or any of the 194 countries of the world-except USA). Now,if we get our drugs from Canada we will drop dead because God only knows what they put in them,but their baby food,diapers,shampoo are perfectly safe!
We owe so much money to China we are basically making our great-grand kids get a second job to pay the interest on the principal. It's hard for our government to tell China off when we owe our soul to the Chinese company store.
To further bankrupt our own,there is a plan to allow trucks from Mexico to enter our country freely. Don't worry so much about illegal immigrants,terrorists,slave trade,criminals,car theft or drugs,the bad boy in this picture is Wal-Mart and those like them. Why you ask? Because for many moons they have wanted a national highway from Mexico to Canada for what reason-spring break? Nope,now when they import the freaking country of China here they have to use the ports, and actually pay REAL fees,wages, and have some government oversight. If there was a major highway from Canada to Mexico,Wal-Mart could bypass the port system putting more American companies and workers out of a job!
We have so many serious issues facing us, I sure hope that the "art of distraction" that is practiced to keep our little heads from worrying about all these things doesn't include bombing Iran-it is not right and we'd have to get another loan from Big Brother China to pay for it.