What I want for my tax dollars

[hemi71]

I look at Rights like this....

If I was dropped on a desert island all by myself, what Rights would I have. I would most definitely have the right to Happiness or Wealth depending on how I viewed either of those things. I would have the Right to Security. I would have the Right to scrape out a living for myself. It gets a little fuzzy though if someone else washes up....

For example, what if my "living" somehow became a detriment to this new resident? At that point aren't I imposing on his Rights to Safety and Security? What if he cuts himself while looking for food, gets an infection and I have the only bottle of antiseptic? Does he have the Right to take it from me simply because he got sick? It's mine isn't it? What I do have is a moral obligation to provide for him, he does not in fact have a Right to it. To answer the riddle, I'd give it to him freely in a heartbeat.

I would do that because it is fair and just, not because someone told me I had to do it. Freedom, Happiness, Earning a living, these things do not deem that a whole segment of the population must cater to another. By saying Healthcare is a Right means you are creating what amounts to a slave class, they must be there for the good of everyone else like it or not and you will get paid what we say you will get paid, not what you feel your services are truly worth.... I never had insurance growing up, you know what I did? I went to the Doctor anyway and paid for it. Why has that suddenly become a horrible thing to ask of people.

I too love this country because we can all say what we want without fear but I think we need to read the preamble and the Bill of Rights in order to  truly understand what the rules are before we plan our perfect world. I do not want to spend my life working for someone else's benefit. I am sorry if that makes me sound cold.

Rant over and out.

Geoff

We are not on a dessert island, we are in the most advanced, wealthy country in the world. Why cant we insure children have the best health care available?

I'm glad you paid for your health care in cash when you did not have insurance...thank the LORD you did not have such bad luck as to come down with a life threating illness that would have required a lenthy and costly hospitalization. You want to tell me you are willing to say to such people thats just too bad. What a shame on us that we cant enable everyone to have the health care the most affluent of us can afford. Who are we to decide that a poor innercity child cannot recieve the same level of care as a millionaire's kid. You tell that to the poor kids parents.Is that life less valueable?

When you become a doctor, you should not be in it for the money. If you want to make big $$, be a stock broker or a lawyer where greed is rewarded. I want my doctor to be motivated by helping people, not by $$. I'm not saying that they dont deserve a good living. Doctors, nurses, etc...all put in lots of time getting an education and it's a difficult job. But if their motivation is $$, i'll pass on them as my doctor.

BTW, I know the Bill of Rights and the constitution fairly well...american history minor along with my engineering background. Just remember that the american experiment is a living one, not cast in stone in the 18th century.

Thanks for your input, i appreciate your comments and respect your opinion.

 

[71chally416]

The problem with expecting Universal health care from our government is that our Congress is comprised of 60% Lawyers, including our new President and VP. Malpractice lawsuits cost Doctors on the average $87,720, even if the lawsuit results in no award to the plaintiff and an astonishing amount of Doctors are sued. They all have to buy incredibly expensive Malpractice insurance if they don't expect to end up bankrupt with a lawsuit. From 1975 to 2000, medical costs rose 449 percent; medical liability costs rose by 1,642 percent. Since 1975, medical liability costs have risen at four times the rate of inflation and twice the rate of medical care inflation.

Now, how on earth can we ever expect our Congress comprised of 60% Lawyers, with two lawyers just voted in as President and VP to do anything to reign in some of their biggest campaign contributors, Trial Lawyers? That's the biggest reason for spiraling Health care costs.
It's nice to talk about and nice to use as a campaign promise that will never be fulfilled, but it's not gonna happen in this America with the people we vote into government.    

[torredcuda]

Hemi 71 you make some excellent points and I happen to agree with most of them.We do not live on a desert island we live in a society which means our actions can affect others.We need to help people who are unemployed,sick and so forth but also need to eliminate the wasted $ for those that milk the system.

[Jacksboys]

I do not not agree with greed, but you have to look at our country this way.  If it was not for individuals wanting to make money, our country would not have grown so fast.  So if you now impose a super high tax on those currently trying to succeed, chances are they will just take their businesses outside of the US.  That could mean fewer jobs and more unemployment.  The poor will always be with us, so the point that the government will make everyone equal is far from reality.


I understand that we should take care of the sick, especially children, but I have issues with socialized medical care.  If you look are other countries that have this, there are usually long waiting lines for important procudures.  The doctors are not paid well, so they are less likely to put in the long hours.  Also the ideas of finding new procedures goes down because the costs outway the benefits, which goes back to my first paragraph. 


Just my 

[Carlwalski]

We are not on a dessert island, we are in the most advanced, wealthy country in the world.

Wealthy in terms of economy although China is coming but not per ca pita. Japan IMO is light years ahead of anyone else.
Not poking fun, keeping it real. New Zealand is probably like 74th richest in the world lol.

[71chally416]

Ever hear what Iacocca had to say about Japan? It's three parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXpOZRg1sw

[422STROKER]

We have subsidized Health care in the state of MA.  It has been cheaper for me to Insure my (5)family since it came into effect.  I get no subsidies but since everyone has to have insurance the costs are a bit lower overall.  I pay 900/mo down from 1K/mo last year.  I think I have better coverages, but I can't understand the contracts either way .  Now if I made a little less$$ I could get a subsidy from the state to lower the premium some based on income.  If I made <35K or so I wouldn't have to pay a dime and all co-pays etc are gone too.  It may be worth it to me to work less and get some handouts.  The system is broken since some people could try to advance and do not.  They would take a pay cut by working.  Figure if I didn't have to drop 10K/yr in HC before the $20 co-pays and 20% deductable after paying the first 2500 per family member, I would almost be better off.  Welcome to the democratic state of MA.  I could get a housing voucher, food stamps along with a fuel assistance voucher too if I just worked less.  Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

Tom

BTW the fine for not having HIns is about 900(for me) for the year if I don't have it.  Maybe I should take the fine and hope I have no life threatening injuries or illnesses.  I'd have about 10K to play with though.LOL

[moparmaniac59]

Charity and servanthood starts at home and should NOT be an act of the government. We as a nation have the ability to end world hunger. Is it the right of the world to demand it from us? It might be the responsiblity of the idividual to help someone in need. (the parable of the good samaritan). When the goverment legislates more "rights" such as healthcare when will it end Will people demand the "right" to housing, food , clothing while they sit in squaller eating cheese doodles and watching TV all day? John Doe just finished spending 200K on his medical education and now spends another 200K on malpractice insurance and owes a backlog of student loans. Now the gov't steps in and says he must provide his services, his time, and effort to care for the needy. What about his rights?? Now his right to freedom has been infringed. We should care for the needy, and no one should go without a meal or healthcare, but it begins at home. it's not the job of the government to put demands on me and take away my freedoms to care for those that have not. There are a lot of really needy and innocent children. For them I hurt. For the slothful...well they need to take care of their own business as Judge Joe brown says.

                                                                Matt B.

[torredcuda]

  it's not the job of the government to put demands on me and take away my freedoms to care for those that have not.

                                                                Matt B.

Not to beat a dead horse but you already do care for those who are unemployed,retired,disabled and yes those without health care thru your tax dollars and insurance rates.When an uninsured person gets rushed to the emergency room and gets treatment it costs everybody more to make up for the money the hospital will never receive for those services.I have been going thru seriuos back problems for the last 5 years and would be ruined financially after working hard 40-60/wk hrs my whole life if I didn`t have health and disability insurance.2+ years of doctors,specialists,steroid injections,phisical therapy,prescriptions,1 day in the hospital for surgery=$30,000+,1 week later back for 3 days with a staff infection and more surgery.All told probably over $70,000-100,000 in medical bills and 7 weeks straight + numerous other days out of work.Consider yourselves lucky you have insurance or do not have any serious medical problems.My wife and I are blue collar workers who have worked years for what we have and I do not want to pay more taxes but something needs to be done about the costs.

[wiiildcat]

My 2 yr old daughter Ashlee has cost 1.6 mill so far, Insurance after paying into it for more than 10 yrs paid about half of it. I know in that 10 yrs of premiums I no where off set their payout, I also know she is an extreme example but this is my problem and Im dealing with it and don't expect the gov. or the taxpayer to bail me out. She needs 2 synagis shots a month, the shots cost 2700 each, insurance will cover half the cost, the doctor office bill's me the 2700 co-pay but lets me pay the actual cost of the medicine which saves me about 400 a month. I agree 100 percent with torredcuda that something needs to be done to help cost come down, this includes the pharmaceutical company's cause you cant tell me this medicine cost that much for two shots that total less than ounce, liquid gold would be much cheaper lol.

Oh heres my baby girl then and her 2nd b-day with all her bling she got from her big sis for her b-day lol.

[moparmaniac59]

What a beautiful child!! I am glad she was able to be tended too & you had the insurance to cover her. I feel for those who don't. It is the pool of customers that make insurance viable. The larger the pool of subscribers, the better. I've been paying premiums for 30 years and only visited the hospital once for a broken foot. I thank od for that. Insurance carriers love people like me. There are a TON of changes that could be made to make insurance more affordable. Like 30 bucks for a gauze bandage?? I just don't think the government needs their hands in the health care business. They've already made a mess social security to name one goverment institution!! LOL People in this country have an odd perception of what we consider "necessary" for daily living. We had a judge here that would hear DUI cases and folks would request a court appointed lawyer due to being unable to afford one. The judge would ask them if they had a car, and if they responded "YES", he would tell them if you can afford to drive, you can afford a lawyer. My point is that some of the folks that have no health insurance/home owner's insurance drive a newer car and live in a nice home. A friend of mine lost everything in an apartment fire. They had no fire/renter's insurance. Renter's insurance isn't that much. The cost of the Sony sound system they had would have paid the year's premiums!! Too many folks (not all) cost hard working taxpayers money simply because they feel they don't need insurance or can't afford it when they have a new Cadillac or an HDTV that if they drove an older car or had a smaller home or less high end electronics could afford it. I guess I've said enough!!

                                                              Matt B.