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Oh no.... I just saw school children walking down my street.....
You cut me so hard when I was joking about the Disney sidekick, but that picture is so funny.
If you think bad things about Obama or not, what is wrong with saying stay in school. There have been several Presidents that have given unwanted advice. Things that I didn't agree with or never was going to do. But I still gave them their respect because they were the president. I think that's one of the problems. We do not give him the respect that he deserves.
You cut me so hard when I was joking about the Disney sidekick, but that picture is so funny.
If you think bad things about Obama or not, what is wrong with saying stay in school. There have been several Presidents that have given unwanted advice. Things that I didn't agree with or never was going to do. But I still gave them their respect because they were the president. I think that's one of the problems. We do not give him the respect that he deserves.
I would say that 'trend' was established a decade or so ago. cough. The trend to which I refer is 'lack of respect for the POTUS'.
As an adult I respect the office and try to keep a somewhat open mind but have seen/heard too much about the political process and those who choose to be involved in leadership.
'Cast the bread upon the water'--maybe a few were inspired and if so, that is enough. Twenty years from now someone who heard today's speech may influence others to take charge of their own fate.
So, you plan to decline Medicare when you turn 65? Am I to assume that you took to the streets in protest against The Patriot Act, most assuredly the most intrusive bit of legislation since the Civil War? Surely you had beef with the Bush Administration's suspension of habeaus corpeus?
I'm a long way from 65, but I'm not counting on Medicare being available when I do reach that age. I plan to support myself and my family because I realize that our current system (a mess created by government) isn't sustainable and probably won't even be around when I reach that age. Anything I do get out of it will be an unexpected bonus. Right now I just feel like I'm being robbed and won't get anything in return.
The Patriot Act was passed before I even had a good idea of what it was. I didn't like it once I understood it and I still don't like it today. It was rushed through, much like health reform efforts are being rushed today. I think people have seen the consequences of rushing legislation though and don't want to make that mistake again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb
See, here's the thing, people who were really opposed to tyranny in government would've been in extreme unction during the Bush Administration. There was no aspect of our lives that the government didn't feel the need to intrude into. And what did we hear? Crickets. True deficit hawks had to have gone into cardiac arrest over the huge deficits run up under Bush. Yet, oddly enough there was no talk of Tea Parties and such. Could it be that these people have no problem running up huge deficits while borrowing money hand over fist from some of the most oppressive regimes in the world. It's only when a president actually starts talking about PAYING for some of this madness that people get upset. That's not being a deficit hawk, that's being a two-year-old, wanting everything in the world, but not wanting to pay for it.
I can only speak for myself, but I was no fan of Bush. He made government way too big and spent way too much money. Obama did inherit a lot more problems that Bush did so it is understandable that he will get more heat than past Presidents when trying to develop solutions. His solutions though, have much more of a direct impact on most Americans than the policies put in place by past administrations. Health care affects everyone, most people see no impact from the Patriot Act. Threatening to fine you if you don't buy health insurance will cost a lot of people money and is very visible. Most of the spending by Bush was behind the scenes. I don't like either situation, I'm just pointing out why there is more opposition this time around.
But see, here's the thing, what happens if you can't support yourself and your family? What happens if you lose your job and your group coverage? What happens if you develop cancer or the like and wind up in bankruptcy because of the things your health insurance doesn't cover? What happens if you develop one of those pesky pre-existing conditions that the insurance companies use as an excuse to deny coverage? (Keep in mind pre-existing condition can mean almost anything. They denied a woman coverage for breast cancer because she'd had a non-cancerous mole removed years before and hadn't told them about it.)
Unfortunately, most Americans have no idea what their health insurance covers because they don't use it, then when they do they discover that there's a LOT of stuff that's NOT covered. They've bought a pig in a poke cloaked in an obscure language that only attorney's and insurance people understand. This is why medical bills are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in this country. Most people who develop cancer have to deplete their savings due to lifetime maximums and other pesky rules that most are clueless about.
Many people, especially people who work for small businesses have lost their jobs when they got sick because the insurance companies penalized their company for having a sick employee. They can't drop the group, but they can levy harsh penalties until the company buys a clue.
As for government inefficiency I can tell you from experience of dealing with Medicare, Social Security, VA and BC/BS. The corporate provider was the only one that made me want to shank someone. You may be surprised to hear that nearly 50% of the insurance claims paid in this country are already single payer government insurance; Department of Defense, Medicare/Medicaid, etc... Medicare is so efficient that only 3% of the premiums they receive go to administrative costs. Private insurance companies take 10-20% in administrative costs and, of course, profit. Keep in mind they make a profit from denying you benefits.
I just think the insurance industry is a very strange one. We pay them premiums for years to protect us when we get sick. Then when we get sick THEY get to decide whether or not they'll pay for our illness, at what rate and how often. Then, there's a strong likelihood that if you're critically sick they'll raise your premiums through the roof, or drop you altogether. Keep in mind the insurance companies don't make money from taking care of sick people. Denying claims means money in their pocket. I can't imagine why anyone would prefer that to some type of government option.
I won't have kids until I am able to financially support them and afford health insurance which covers any problem they could have. It is my responsibility to make sure that they are taken care of, not anyone elses and not the governments.
I agree that there are big problems with health insurance today. People need to understand the plans they are purchasing. I don't think insurance should be tied to your job, it should be a purchase that individuals make just like car insurance. While there are problems, I think free market solutions can solve them. Getting the government involved will help some people now, but will cause big problems down the road. Once government programs start they are pretty much impossible to stop and this is one that I don't want to see start. If it must, I'd at least like to see more than a few months work put into it and don't think anyone should be allowed to vote on it until they have read and understand it all.
I'm glad you have had positive experiences with government programs, but I have not. Every time I deal with a government run entity I am amazed at the waste, inefficiency, poor service, and bad employees I come across. I'd like to think things would be different with health care, but I doubt it will happen and I really don't want to take a risk with something so important.
I won't have kids until I am able to financially support them and afford health insurance which covers any problem they could have. It is my responsibility to make sure that they are taken care of, not anyone elses and not the governments.
I won't have kids until I am able to financially support them and afford health insurance which covers any problem they could have. It is my responsibility to make sure that they are taken care of, not anyone elses and not the governments.
I agree that there are big problems with health insurance today. While there are problems, I think free market solutions can solve them.
It is admirable to plan to cover your family's health care needs entirely, but if you have a premature infant, or one with a chronic health condition, you will blow through the $2-3 million life-time max offered by most companies before you know it. There are no good examples of effective free market health care solutions globally for good reason, they don't work. For profit medicine is just an oxymoron, and in my mind, a conflict of interest. How can you possibly predict your families medical future, you just can't. All that ends up happening is that people end up compromising their health care needs because it's too expensive. We need to change the mindset of how the average American views their health care needs. A healthy child does not need to see a Pediatricin for a well-child check-up, a pediatric nurse is more than capable. A healthy woman does not need to see an Obstetrician for antenatal care, and on and on it goes.
Parallel to that is the problem for profit health care has created for those working within health care. We have a national deficit of 1 million nurses. Retention of experienced nurses is appaling, and the main reason is that working in the for profit environment is unbearable. There is a huge conflicts of interest between providing adequate staffing, and turning a profit, and guess which one wins out in the business world. I read story after story about cases of medical negligence, but it's only going to get worse. It is extremely difficult to give the best care possible in the current environment. When people are stressed out, and required to work in unsafe environments, guess what, they leave. People need to get real with the health care crisis. The average person should not be in a position to demand specialist services without seeing a primary care physician first, most of these visits are uneccessary. Use of emergency rooms as walk-in-clinics is depleting resources. All of these issues need to be addressed. Do you want the best possible, safe, effective care for you and your family, or do you want what you want regardless? The term socialized health care is such a meaningless and empty term that irritates the crap out of me. What is it that people want, and what is it that people don't want, those are the questions we should be asking. The currect system does not work at all, so what are the viable alternatives?
It is admirable to plan to cover your family's health care needs entirely, but if you have a premature infant, or one with a chronic health condition, you will blow through the $2-3 million life-time max offered by most companies before you know it.
I second that. I used to be on the other side of the fence; you make babies, you take care of them. THEN I got pregnant with my daughter. I had tons of pregnancy complications, then she was born 6 weeks early and immediately needed surgery to help her breathe. (And it was an "easy" nose surgery!) But after a month in the NICU, a massive scare and another 1-week stay in the hospital, and we're left with not only a staggering amount of not-covered bills (yes, we have insurance) but also a staggering amount of red tape as we wade through multiple bills from multiple sources, a million different phone calls... it's like a full-time job! For us, it's not been so much the money, though that's frustrating. It's the health care system in general! I can't imagine how hard it would be for a family who has both parents working full time to make ends meet. You just don't plan for something catastrophic like this. And even a few thousand dollars in unexpected medical bills can throw off the most well planned budget.
I hate how some kids did not get to see it because people brought politics into it. Some things the President does are not political (It is a function of the office) and this should be one of them. He wasn't the first president to do this and won't be the last. As a kid I think such a speech would have inspired me and at the very least it brings awareness to kids. Its really ashame that many kids are probably being taught by their parents that he is bad and to show him no respect when its the office of the President and politics should be put aside. You don't have to like his politics (many of us don't agree with all of them) but this is not a good sign for our country...it seems to get worse with each presidency.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
Now I am angry. I watched the speech this morning, and it was NOT broadcast at my children's school. Now we are sitting down as a family ready to watch it together having discussed it at length, and it is nowhere to be found.
I hate how some kids did not get to see it because people brought politics into it. Some things the President does are not political (It is a function of the office) and this should be one of them. He wasn't the first president to do this and won't be the last. As a kid I think such a speech would have inspired me and at the very least it brings awareness to kids. Its really ashame that many kids are probably being taught by their parents that he is bad and to show him no respect when its the office of the President and politics should be put aside. You don't have to like his politics (many of us don't agree with all of them) but this is not a good sign for our country...it seems to get worse with each presidency.
I remember being a kid in the 70's and 80's, and the President was THE PRESIDENT. You respected him! Now I'm somewhat apathetic to what's going on in the political world. Not that I don't pay attention, I'm just frustrated. And lots of people my age are in the same boat. But kudos to Obama for doing this. It's "change management" at it's most basic level. Conservatives should put their energy into complaining about something else! Oh wait... they do.
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