Tax reform.
POSTED BY: SignyM
UPDATED: Thursday, August 31, 2006 12:55
VIEWED: 6117
PAGE 7 of 8
Hi DT,
Quote:I do believe it's true. I think most USers don't really care if the US tortures and kills. They won't go out into the streets and demonstrate in favor of it, but if it's done quietly and out of sight - well, so it goes. And I think most USers have become so innured to US style capitalism - to the victor belongs the spoils ! - that they think the rich and powerful are supposed to have free reign.
By this logic, America openly supports a policy of torture killing and wholesale theft of its own money.
In captialism, if the product doesn't work, the people stop buying it.
In capitalism, people might stop buying a product unless there is a monopoly. Since most products come from large, vertically integrated corporations that either ARE monopolies (like u-soft) OR are in collusion (like energy producers), the market is, essentially, a monopoly already.
Anyway, If I personally did offend you I apologize.
Sincerely,
Rue
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A quick anecdote on chance of Socialized Medicine:
Was at my cousin's Med. school graduation a few years ago and every doctor/professor who spoke railed against socialized medicine. Not for being a bad system, but for being against the graduate's economic interests.
When I asked my cousin and her fellow graduates about the emphasis on the issue (being a supporter, it got my attention), they told me they were indoctrinated (not the word they used) against it from the first day and they had almost universally bought it, with gusto. They're good students, they listen to the profs.
A few years in the real world might change some of their minds (although it hasn't changed hers), but I fear there is a insurmountable amount of institutional greed to overcome for it to ever become a reality in the US.
But back to the topic. Taxes bad. We don't need no stinkin' social programs.
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Hi FellowTraveler,
In Canada, there are public med schools as cheap as public grad schools, which are very cheap. Not having the number of doctors artificially limited, and not having doctors saddled with enormous med school debts, does wonders for attitude adjustment.
Personal finances wouldn't be a selling point for private medicine if school and med practice finances weren't such a big problem.
I get the NEJM (for fun, not as part of my job). In it the FAILURE of the US system to deliver health care is a frequent topic, and Canada has been cited many times as an example of a well-functioning medical system.
From your post I gather med school profs are in rebellion against the AMA and are busy indoctrinating a generation of foot soldiers. To what end, I don't know. To innure private practice docs to accept insurance company BS to prop up insurance companies at the expense of doctors and patients?
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Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Hi FellowTraveler,
In Canada, there are public med schools as cheap as public grad schools, which are very cheap. Not having the number of doctors artificially limited, and not having doctors saddled with enormous med school debts, does wonders for attitude adjustment.
Personal finances wouldn't be a selling point for private medicine if school and med practice finances weren't such a big problem.
I get the NEJM (for fun, not as part of my job). In it the FAILURE of the US system to deliver health care is a frequent topic, and Canada has been cited many times as an example of a well-functioning medical system.
From your post I gather med school profs are in rebellion against the AMA and are busy indoctrinating a generation of foot soldiers. To what end, I don't know. To inure private practice docs to accept insurance company BS to prop up insurance companies at the expense of doctors and patients?
Rue,
My experience with the med. school profs is limited to that one event (or that 2 days of events). And it wasn't Johns Hopkins, it was Marshall U. The more prestigious med. schools may stick with the company line. I honestly don't know.
But wait, does the AMA actually endorse socialized medicine? Or are the writers at the NEJM supporting it? Or is one the arm of the other?
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JAMA is AMA's publication. (The title always makes me smile a little - for obvious reasons.)
NEJM is the best known medical journal for practicing MDs. They often print up various studies. NEJM has in the past printed up extended editorials written by the AMA.
If I recall correctly, the NEJM printed a lengthy article by the AMA president in favor of a 'single payer' system, using Canada as an example. In that case, the 'single payer' would be the government.
edited to add:
SOME governments seem honest and do the 'big government' thing well, like Sweden. I would not trust the present US administration to either be honest about ANYTHING, or to do ANYTHING well.
The notion of a government-paid health system is for some time in the future when people in the US have cleaned out the trash and made the government worth something.
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Quote:
most USers don't really care if the US tortures and kills
I think this can easily be disprove.
Support for bush is officially around 1/3. Polls always lie (selections are made randomly, but only pseudo-randomly, they're always padded to prevent a revolution,) I suspect true support is closer to 1/4
So, if a 10 is Bush Is God, then Hero is a 9, Auraptor and Finn are 8s and Geezer is a 7 and a 6 is Bush can go to h-ll.
But if you actually poll, I think at least geezer, and maybe some of the others would oppose torture and killing of civilians.
Quote:
And I think most USers have become so innured to US style capitalism - to the victor belongs the spoils !
This isn't fair. America is one of the better capitalist economies. Korea is probablly the best, India is up there, Japan is good except for the taxes, but the US is pretty clean or was, most of the time. Now it's becoming the USSA.
Quote:
that they think the rich and powerful are supposed to have free reign.
Well sure, if they earned it. I think inheritance is a flaw in our system. We'd be a much more free market if a persons money evaporated when they died.
Quote:
In capitalism, people might stop buying a product unless there is a monopoly. Since most products come from large, vertically integrated corporations that either ARE monopolies (like u-soft) OR are in collusion (like energy producers), the market is, essentially, a monopoly already.
it's getting that way. something needs to be done. I think that the more appropriate name for this war is the CNN/FOX war.
Quote:
Socialized Medicine
I've heard the BS argument. They're right for all the wrong reasons. It's a disaster because of the disaster it is. Even in rich countries, it's a second rate system, in poor countries, it's a third rate system. We have a second rate system right now, but for the most part, America is a third world country. It's just co-existing with a superwealthy society.
Quote:
But back to the topic. Taxes bad. We don't need no stinkin' social programs.
There's the firefly spirit. You think Mal would put up with taxes?
Social programs are often a menace. Do you remember the sterilization program? People were trying to make sterilization a condition of receiving assistance. There's a social program. Nazis were of course fond of social programs.
Are there some that do some good? sure. But I'd rather see the govt. just handing out chunks of cash to charities than running it own, because its own are all pervasive inescapable and have a certain Heil to them.
Quote:
Personal finances wouldn't be a selling point for private medicine if school and med practice finances weren't such a big problem.
Very true. We should completely privatize the education system. Bring in more competition.
Quote:
I get the NEJM (for fun, not as part of my job). In it the FAILURE of the US system to deliver health care is a frequent topic, and Canada has been cited many times as an example of a well-functioning medical system.
Canada is demographically nothing like the US, it's not a fair comparison. Canada would be like the United States of New England, which I would grant, might be able to pull it off. But the united states of texas alabama and west virginia are not.
Quote:
insurance
inflates prices. It should be reformed. There should probably be such a thing as insurance, but the industry needs a radical reform, because it's being as blank check as the govt right now. If insurance companies were competing against each other for customers with ever lowering rates, that they got from re-negotiating drug and care prices, then the system would work.
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Radical tax reform idea:
If you vote for a candidate, then you have to pay for his spending.
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Even more radical tax reform idea - if you pay for the spending you get all the benefits! The naysayers get - nothing. 
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Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:Quote:
But back to the topic. Taxes bad. We don't need no stinkin' social programs.
There's the firefly spirit. You think Mal would put up with taxes?
Social programs are often a menace. Do you remember the sterilization program? People were trying to make sterilization a condition of receiving assistance. There's a social program. Nazis were of course fond of social programs.
Are there some that do some good? sure. But I'd rather see the govt. just handing out chunks of cash to charities than running it own, because its own are all pervasive inescapable and have a certain Heil to them.
No, I think Mal would not put up taxes. He strikes me as a small government conservative.
But, I think Mal has no problem using Government healthcare when needed. Just thinking about Book in "Safe". And I don't recall Mal asking to be billed.
Edit- "no problem" may be a bit of an overstatement...
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Book has a heath policy. I think they talk about pay ing for it. Anyone recall?
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