So I went to a Georgia/Florida party yesterday at an old friends new house. Now I'm not usually one to gawk. But goddamn. You need to check out this place in my pics. Unreal!
A quick update on Love and Politics
My "girlfriend" may be getting out of prison a couple months early due to good behavior and overcrowding. I'm both excited and nervous. I guess all I can do is wait and see. I hope the last 2 years have taught her that she is not immune to "getting caught". I cleaned myself up just before she went in. And although she didn't quit the pills on her own. I'm hoping 2 years in prison has taught her that life is too short for all that shit. We'll see.
The CBO announced over the last couple days that Obamacare will cost just a petty 1.055 trillion dollars. But there's a catch.... There's now a second bill for a "Dr. Fix" that runs about 200 billion. Pretty crafty way of meeting his budget. Just make it 2 bills. Then the CBO came out yesterday and said only 2% of the uninsured will sign up for this public option oops I mean Government option. No wait I meant to say competitive option. Oh wait..... now it's the "consumer option" So now were talking about spending well over a trillion dollars for 2% percent of the uninsured. Yep, sounds like a bargin to me!
A quick update on Love and Politics
My "girlfriend" may be getting out of prison a couple months early due to good behavior and overcrowding. I'm both excited and nervous. I guess all I can do is wait and see. I hope the last 2 years have taught her that she is not immune to "getting caught". I cleaned myself up just before she went in. And although she didn't quit the pills on her own. I'm hoping 2 years in prison has taught her that life is too short for all that shit. We'll see.
The CBO announced over the last couple days that Obamacare will cost just a petty 1.055 trillion dollars. But there's a catch.... There's now a second bill for a "Dr. Fix" that runs about 200 billion. Pretty crafty way of meeting his budget. Just make it 2 bills. Then the CBO came out yesterday and said only 2% of the uninsured will sign up for this public option oops I mean Government option. No wait I meant to say competitive option. Oh wait..... now it's the "consumer option" So now were talking about spending well over a trillion dollars for 2% percent of the uninsured. Yep, sounds like a bargin to me!
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
Honestly, I am strongly for reform as well. It seems to be the one thing all parties agree on, well most anyway, there do appear to be some who are against the entire thing. Personally I have a problem with the public option component, but I DO see why some think it's needed and wise. I just think we can get to the goal, broader coverage for everyone, through different means. I feel those means are cost reductions.
Why do employers offer health plans? This hasn't always been the case. I know my parents didn't grow up with that being prevalent. Why is it not taxed? Car insurance- not paid by your employer, not tax free; Home insurance- not paid by your employer, not tax free. Car insurance is required by law. Home insurance required for most everyone depending on how much of your home is paid for. Healthcare insurance is not required at all.
What if we bought healthcare the same way we buy car insurance? Competition, which is truly the tried and proven method for reducing the cost of anything. It seems to me that the spirally healthcare costs are directly tied to the relatively new practice of it being paid for by your employer and you not being taxed on it. What I mean by not being taxed on it, is that the monthly amount deducted from your paycheck is a pre-tax deduction.
Tort reform is certainly another way to address costs. But litigation for automobile and home insurances are not skyrocketing out of control, why does it for healthcare?
I personally do not agree that healthcare public option is any kind of conspiracy for the government to control us. I think yes, it would result in some increase in control of the people, some more than others. I would dispute one part though, and that is that government control is inherently bad. Yes it CAN be bad, but it can also be good. It really depends on what the control is and how it is put in place. Any group of people need rules to function. And if the group is large enough, you need a representative body. 10 voices can all be heard, 10000 cannot. So many aspects of our lives are already controlled by the government, and most of those I think we are thankful for. It's a 'free country' you should be able to drive on whatever side of the road you want, right? That of course is a very simple example, but all laws are really nothing more than control. And we hope, that more often than not, that control is beneficial. If it isn't, we elect different people. A simplistic argument yes, because it isn't that simple in real life. But 300 million people involved in ANYTHING and it'll get complicated. I think that ANY law is going to be disputed by at least some group, it is not possible to make everyone happy.
I think you have to give the government some slack too. I work in a Fortune 500, deal with them all the time. They are far from well-oiled machines, and they enact PLENTY of corporate policies that don't work.
And hey, congratulations on being 'clean' for 2 years. We've got some AA members in my family tree. That's a good government public health program, right?