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I just got back from Canada. I was talking with some people there about the internet radio sites where you can create your own stations. They told me that the site I was discussing is not allowed in Canada because every X number of songs has to be by a Canadian artist. There is no end to the government's push for regulation because that's all that government knows to do -pass laws. Eventually it has to be too much.
Something I don't understand here; why do the conservatives constantly say that progressives have done all this evil in the world and generally point out horrible examples (Hitler, Cuba, North Korea, etc.)? What gain could I possibly have from advocating for progressives other than helping people out? I work at a freakin fast food joint. I have a roommate. I don't even own a car. If progressives only are in it for the "power", why would I support them then? I couldn't ever hope to get any of the is "power" that they would get anyway. So why would I vote against my best interest? Why would I vote to harm my well-being?
Oh, yeah, that's right. I'M NOT! I'm voting for the people who make minimum wages possible (so I can make enough money to live). I'm voting for the people that care about EVERYONE, not just a tiny, select group of people and pass laws that help the average citizen. I need health care. They passed a health care reform law. The conservatives did nothing, NOTHING to reform health care. I don't have a car (because I can't afford one) so they pass laws that are pro-public transit. I could go on.
you really think the health care reform law is all that good? try reading it where all the new regulations and taxes come in next year. understand that it is front loaded with taxes and fees, and back loaded with benefits. in fact the benefits dont kick in until 2014, but you will be paying for the law starting in 2011. there are also plenty of anti business regulations in the law, such as when a business buys stuff worth $600 or more, they have to send the seller a 1099 form. that sounds innocent enough, but that means that 1099s are going to be flying between businesses in huge quantities, and it generally costs a business about $45 for every 1099 is generates. and that means that business is going to be spending huge amounts of money just on 1099s and that means higher prices and less employment. yeah real good bill there.
also notice that during the clinton administration, one welfare program was reformed, and money was saved, and benefits were NOT cut, and when obama came into office, with one executive order he wiped out that reform. again real good there. look at the laws that progressives have passed over the years, and if you really look at them, you will find that they all do one thing, add to those that get benefits from the government, and reduce the number of people who take care of themselves. and all that does in increase the power of the government, decrease the power of the people, and increase government spending, and debt. and the people that pay for all that is the middle class.
so yes every time you vote for a progressive who advocates for more government, you really are voting against your best interests.
So rbohm if the progressive law is heinous what would you suggest to bring down healthcare costs?
Obviously letting the free market take care of itself isn't working. Millions of Americans are still uninsured, me being one of them. Nothing will bring down healthcare costs unless someone (and the only someone with that kind of power is the government) steps in and stops the healthcare industry from doing whatever whenever they want. No one within the industry will ever voluntarily slash costs because, hey, they're making too much money.
I can't go to a doctor unless I want to go to the emergency room or urgent care. Either way it's going to cost me about one paycheck (on a bi-weekly paycheck). And that's before they even do anything. If I get a broken leg or something, I'm out at least 2 or 3 months pay. And then I can't pay rent, buy food, pay bills, etc.
I should be able to save some kind of money. I budget and I DO actually save money on a meager wage. But the minute something goes wrong medically, I'm screwed. Tell me how insurance companies want to help me. Tell me how pharmaceutical companies want to help me. Please, let me know in what kind of fantasy world the greedy multibillion dollar companies actually care about me.
And by the way, where are you getting your facts from? Those claims about the 1099s and such are pretty grim. But i don't see any facts. In fact, nearly every anti-progressive I see on these forums rarely backs up their claims with fact.
So rbohm if the progressive law is heinous what would you suggest to bring down healthcare costs?
Obviously letting the free market take care of itself isn't working. Millions of Americans are still uninsured, me being one of them. Nothing will bring down healthcare costs unless someone (and the only someone with that kind of power is the government) steps in and stops the healthcare industry from doing whatever whenever they want. No one within the industry will ever voluntarily slash costs because, hey, they're making too much money.
I can't go to a doctor unless I want to go to the emergency room or urgent care. Either way it's going to cost me about one paycheck (on a bi-weekly paycheck). And that's before they even do anything. If I get a broken leg or something, I'm out at least 2 or 3 months pay. And then I can't pay rent, buy food, pay bills, etc.
I should be able to save some kind of money. I budget and I DO actually save money on a meager wage. But the minute something goes wrong medically, I'm screwed. Tell me how insurance companies want to help me. Tell me how pharmaceutical companies want to help me. Please, let me know in what kind of fantasy world the greedy multibillion dollar companies actually care about me.
i have put down many times what needs to be done to make health insurance more affordable, and that does include letting the free market work properly. right now health insurance is regulated by the states, and in each state there are few choices available for buying health insurance, and with all the government mandates, doctors having to practice defensive medicine, pharmaceutical companies protecting their patents in many underhanded but legal ways, the massive number of frivolous lawsuits filed every year, etc. all conspires to increase the amounts we pay for health insurance. and that does not include the government screwing the doctors and hospitals so that they have to bill insurance companies a higher amount to cover expenses, among other things. so what would i do? here is the list;
1: start by allowing all health insurance companies to sell across state lines. it worked quite well for auto insurance companies, and it will work well for health insurance companies.
2: eliminate all government mandates for what the insurance companies have to pay for, and let the people pay for what they need. for instance why should a 60 year old male pay for prenatal care in an insurance policy? if instead of having the insurance company pay for everything, why not instead set up catastrophic health insurance, add to that lab work, prescription drugs, and perhaps things like therapy in various forms, and pay for the doctors visits yourself. that would reduce what you pay for insurance.
3: tort reform. start by instituting a loser pays system, and run every lawsuit by a panel of doctors to determine if a lawsuit has merit or not.
4: set pharmaceutical patents to expire after a certain period of time, say 5-7 years. and require more than a change of one or two non essential ingredients to get a new patent. for instance, remember the purple pill nexium? the company that created it changed the binder when the patent ran out, and changed the name to prilosec, and got the patent extended another 7 years. that should never happen.
5: set up insurance pools that people in various industries can buy group insurance in. for instance every hotel and restaurant worker can buy hospitality group insurance. this means that the policies sold could be a lot less expensive for the workers in that industry.
6: expanding on #5, the group insurance premiums could be put into a common pool regardless of which company sold the policy, and distribution liabilities would be done based on the percentage of policies sold by each company in the pool, thus sharing the overall expenses, again making for lower costs overall.
How would I be relegating myself to a lifelong career at the minimum wage? Please do tell
Progressive policies make it increasingly expensive to run a business in this country, you the low wage earner will find it difficult if not impossible to go out on your own to start your own business under such policies. Existing business's due to increasing costs will find it more difficult to offer better paying positions to more qualified people since the low wage earners are artificially elevated above what they are worth to the business. Everyone makes minimum wage regardless of their worth with no expectation of advancement.
Most young people have liberal leanings, been there and done that. When reality sets in especially for those that set out on their own and make a go at the "American Dream" they don't stay liberal for long. If you're one of these young people just starting out with a lot of determination to succeed in life I'll see you on the "dark side" in a decade or two.
Progressive policies make it increasingly expensive to run a business in this country, you the low wage earner will find it difficult if not impossible to go out on your own to start your own business under such policies. Existing business's due to increasing costs will find it more difficult to offer better paying positions to more qualified people since the low wage earners are artificially elevated above what they are worth to the business. Everyone makes minimum wage regardless of their worth with no expectation of advancement.
Most young people have liberal leanings, been there and done that. When reality sets in especially for those that set out on their own and make a go at the "American Dream" they don't stay liberal for long. If you're one of these young people just starting out with a lot of determination to succeed in life I'll see you on the "dark side" in a decade or two.
Why do conservatives think that getting older will change progressives/liberals into conservatives? You say that existing businesses due to increasing costs will find it more difficult to offer better paying positions to more qualified people. Are you kidding me? Businesses will never offer more money than they are forced to. This is why we have minimum wage laws. If not for that, I'd be making a dollar an hour.
Small businesses (and by that I mean a business that has less than 50 or so employees, making less than say $500,000 per year have legitimate reasons for paying employees less as they are not big enough to pay more. But large corporations have no reason, other than pure unadulterated greed, for not offering employees much much more. I've heard arguments that without minimum wage laws, low wage earners would be making more. Really? I should say we'd be making less. If companies think paying the minimum wage is burdening, wouldn't paying more than the minimum wage be more burdening? And why should I have to want to start my own business? I'm happy making a comfortable living. Unfortunately I can't do that now because I get paid for crap.
Strangely enough, some of you separate small businesses because of their income or the amount of people they employee but as soon as the reach a certain point they somehow become evil greedy bastards. Apparently you've never paid much attention to the state of the business meetings.
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