netdude wrote: If everyone toned the rhetoric down a few notches we can actually have discussions, may not have any more agreement but at least we can discuss like civil folk.....
Took the words right out of my mouth. I was driving along today switching between Rush Limbaugh and Thom Hartman. Thom thinks that if a r is elected pres in'12 it will lead to a Mussolini and Rush thinks we already elected him.
what station for hartman? i am in a location where a lot of stations don't come in but it would be interesting to get another perspective.
AM 760. 1-4 pm.
And I'm pretty sure you could stream him online.
Yes Grady listens to Thom Hartman once in a while.
PrintSmith wrote: You betcha. ........ Look how well it has worked out for Medicare, which only confiscates about 45% of its annual budget from the general funds of the treasury .......
I always wondered about that PS. Why is Medicare not fully funded with the 1.4% or so payroll tax, I always suspected that was not enough to cover its cost, but never saw any real numbers posted.
The Obama Pelosi Healthcare plan is similar, no single tax to completely fund it, just a mish mash of misc taxes and make-believe cuts to pretend its funded.
What is the history of medicare funding, and when did general funds start getting used for it?
This is one of the problems I have with entitlements, once they are started they grow uncontrolled and suck unlimited money out of the general funds.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
Hospital Insurance (Part A) - financed by a 2.9 percent payroll (FICA) tax split evenly
between employee and employer.
Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part - financed by monthly $50 premiums by current
enrollees (about 25 percent of program costs) and from general revenues. ,,,,,, (75% ???)
It sounds a bit dated though, I thought premiums today were around 90 bucks, and that is a pretty good deal really I think.
It must have come from CNN (Clinton News Network) LOL
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
The mandate was originally a Republican idea included to try to garner a few votes. It'd be a good thing to see it stripped out. I don't have any desire to drive more dollars into the for-profit health insurance companies pockets. Offer a public option. Medicare part E. It would solve everything.
ckm8 wrote: Offer a public option. .... It would solve everything.
I wish I had a "public option" for all my needs.
...........General Smuck.... Public Option (Gov't Thugs setting price)
New Car ..... $40,000 ..... $10.000
Groceries ..... $150 .......... $25
Health Ins ..... $900 ..........$99
New House .... $300K ......... $99K
Gas (1 gal)..... $6.50 ......... 0.50
Beer (6pak)..... $20 .............$2
Apt Rent ..... $1000 .........$200
etc.
So you actually think Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements are paying actual costs?
First off you do have a public option for many of those. If you had to pay the actual price of a gallon of gas it'd be closer to $15 a gallon. You have groceries because of government subsidized farms, they get to the store with government subsidized roads (and gas again) I'm sure there are barley farmers out their and brewers receiving gov't dollars. You have tons of public options- you just take them for granted.
(The question of fraudulent charges, overcharges, overtreatments-all the ways providers rip off Medicare, Medicaid are a whole 'nother issue. After 8 years of being ignored under the Bush admin. now regulators are cracking down)
Subsidized is way different than price-setting, and your numbers are off. Subsidized gas in Iran and Saudi is probably under $1.00/gal. Here it is close to reality. Europe is much higher due to taxes. The market not gov't still sets the prices here for food and gas. If you want a public option in Health care, build the hospitals and buy the equipment, and pay the salaries of the medical professionals with ALL gov't money. (And develop all drugs too). That would be a true public option.
Forcing a low re-imbursement rate on the private sector is not good economics and it will break the system.
If you want to be, press one. If you want not to be, press 2
Republicans are red, democrats are blue, neither of them, gives a flip about you.
- financed by monthly $50 premiums by current
