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Wow. I'll be sure to let Britain, Western Europe, Austalia, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan know that you think their democracies and higher rates of social mobility are actually just hallucinations.
While Republicans like to say they’re the “party of Lincoln,” former Current TV host John Fugelsang reached into their more modern history on Wednesday while mocking them during an interview with MSNBC host Ed Schultz.
“The ‘party of Lincoln’ — they’re not even the party of Quayle anymore,” Fugelsang said, invoking the name of oft-mocked former Vice-President Dan Quayle. “They lost in Congress on Obamacare, they lost with the conservative Supreme Court, they lost with the American voters in a national election, they’re losing the PR battle in their own government shutdown, and so now they are reduced — a once-mighty party — to mocking software.”
Wow. I'll be sure to let Britain, Western Europe, Austalia, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan know that you think their democracies and higher rates of social mobility are actually just hallucinations.
This country was founded by people who left those places. You're welcome to move there instead of trying to transform our country into those utopian paradises.
Japan has a higher social mobility? Try to be a non-Japanese in Japan and see how f'n far you get in its society. Your statistics on mobilization are meaningless because of the confounders of race and immigration. You cannot compare the US with the countries you mentioned above. We are a very diverse country where the majority (whites) are only 63% of the population. All the other countries you have listed have far larger majority populations and thus significantly more homogeneous. Canada also does not share a border with Mexico and its largest minority population are East Asians who also do well here in the States.
Japan has a higher social mobility? Try to be a non-Japanese in Japan and see how f'n far you get in its society.
That does not dispute the fact that Japan has higher social mobility than the US, and the ACA(trying to get back on subject here) takes a big step in the direction of mitigating this unfortunate paradigm. More people will have money to spend on other things and won't have to worry about giant hospital bills.
But I know that endorsing the Republican Healthcare plan from the 90s somehow makes me a commie sympathizer.
2 person family with income of $60K (about average, right)?
That's about $3200 monthly take home. Factor in rent/mortgage of $1800 including all utilities. That leaves $1400. Car payment with insurance of about $400 seems average. That's $1000. Food/Clothing/Miscellaneous/Credit Cards, etc - roughly $200/week? That leaves a couple hundred left over each month. Based on the family size and income, the lowest RI Exchange plan is about $360/mo including dental (after the tax break amount, not sure what that is). In the event that either get sick or needs to visit the hospital, there is a $10,000 annual deductible to fulfill.
I am 100% FOR affordable healthcare. But I am wondering, given the sample family above, who obviously cannot afford the premium and deductible, if the majority of people will opt out, meaning they will see an increase in their taxes. The first year is not much, only a couple hundred. But by 2016, it is as much as 2.5% of your annual gross income.
Why didn't the government simply increase taxes by 2.5%? I think that would have been acceptable to a majority of people, as they see the debt growing by trillions per year, and we can't print money fast enough to stop the hemorrhaging.
And then we could all gripe about that tax increase instead of this tax increase LOL
That the US hasn't had some sort of universal health care like almost every other first world country has been its shame. Decent, affordable health care should have been the bottom line years ago. Jamming the poor and uninsured into crowded emergency rooms never made any sense from a human or economic point.
The ONLY way the system will work is if everybody shares the responsibility. It may be difficult, but the young and healthy need understand they won't be that way forever. And when they need good health care, down the road (before 65) it will now be there for them. In the end, the focus on and availability of quality preventive care should save us all money.
Despite conservative objections, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay; just like Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Acts, Women's vote, End of Slavery and every other social advance that seems to have come harder for our country than many others in the first world. Civilization moves forward!
Great post
Once the bugs are worked out of the system, changes will ultimately be made, etc and people become used to the idea that healthcare should be available to all, we will see progress. Social change is hard for a lot of people to process. Who here really wants to give up Social Security and Medicare???
As for healthcare being currently available to all, that is nonsense. Try needing a liver transplant w/o health insurance and report back on this forum as to how successful you were!!
And, except for the subsidies for certain income levels, the exchanges are nothing more than capitalism and free enterprise in operation which should make the freedom lovers happy (after all Massachusetts has Romneycare which is working pretty darn well by their own accounts). Competition leads to lower prices- something the health care monopolies like Blue Cross did not want anyone to have. Plus, you don't have to use the exchange, get coverage anywhere- it will get cheaper as time goes by and competition increases.
It does show, though, how wild and confused the GOP has become. To criticize Obamacare, they have to dump all over the plan their own Presidential Candidate (who they voted for passionately!) instituted! To boot, the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation pretty much conceived Obamacare back in the 90s, and Bob Dole ran on it!
It does show, though, how wild and confused the GOP has become. To criticize Obamacare, they have to dump all over the plan their own Presidential Candidate (who they voted for passionately!) instituted! To boot, the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation pretty much conceived Obamacare back in the 90s, and Bob Dole ran on it!
Do some research about the initiating of the MA healthcare dating back to after it became law.
It was Duval Patrick, Governor who succeeded Romney in MA along with his sidekick Ted (give me another bourbon) Kennedy who decided they should tweak the law to suit their own priorities and practiced the same type of Dem v. Rep games.
The current MA healthcare is and was Patrick's and Kennedy's choice, and until Dem v. Rep start to respect that each party represents the people, and decide to grow up, MA will remain "stuck".
(Please refrain from nasty remarks. Keep some common sense on this forum. Caveat reminders should not be necessary in intelligentsia.)
How is MA "stuck" when the law has almost 60% support from the people? Universal health care is ultimately a good thing, and, as you say, bogging it down in political infighting is a problem.
Do some research about the initiating of the MA healthcare dating back to after it became law.
It was Duval Patrick, Governor who succeeded Romney in MA along with his sidekick Ted (give me another bourbon) Kennedy who decided they should tweak the law to suit their own priorities and practiced the same type of Dem v. Rep games.
The current MA healthcare is and was Patrick's and Kennedy's choice, and until Dem v. Rep start to respect that each party represents the people, and decide to grow up, MA will remain "stuck".
(Please refrain from nasty remarks. Keep some common sense on this forum. Caveat reminders should not be necessary in intelligentsia.)
Romney still implemented it and took credit for its popularity in the state. When asked about it during the 2012 campaign he did not deny his ownership, in fact he defended it. So, perhaps you should talk to him about your perception of things.
Also you didn't discuss the Heritage Foundation or Bob Dole.
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