Trumpcare and the budget all under heavy opposition
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- Political Segment 1: Dr. Clete Bulach discusses his experiences with education unions.
- Political Segment 2: Tho Bishop of the Mises Institute offers a solution to the Obama Care situation.
- Political Segment 3: Professor James Little discusses the Trump Budget.
- Political Segment 4: We continue our budget discuss with Professor James Little.
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It’s the nature of fiat currency since 1913 and 1971. The “bar” of inflation has been raised so high, along with government help from politicians giving monopoly control to various companies, that a lone individual cannot afford government-subsided doctor’s salaries and equipment rentals and pharmaceutical sales.
The only action that reduces cost is competition. The demand is from bad food, bad health, accidents, etc. Almost unchanging. Supply is shrinking. Competition is the only solution. Decentralize sick care, get rid of the monopolies, and allow “cures” to be used, instead of “treatment”.
Mr. Pace,
Of course you are correct. As you are very well aware, a reboot back to square one, as a result of a decision by society, will now never occur. We are now at a stage where that reboot will occure when an event no longer in our control happens.
The million dollar question is what will the total result of that reboot be? i, like most people, prefer not to think about it.
Healthcare morped into a political issue and, realistically, there was never any voice from the public into the decision. Sad!
I do believe Mr. Bishop is substantially correct.
It would be nice to see all medical sources post a list of prices for services, so that the same service is priced the same independently of who is actually paying.
A good start might be to fire EVERY tenth Government employee:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/21955000-12329000-government-employees-outnumber-manufacturing
Thanks for this comment. I just subscribed to this service as I did not realize that it existed.
Professor, as you are probably aware, I have spent more time than most dealing with medical services during the past three years. I have never been made aware of the cost of any of them. The onlly time that price is an issue is when a person has no insurance.
A good summary of Trump’s tax reform appeared in WSJ:
It must be reasonable to good if the oligarchy and their servants oppose it. Fixing the problem if possible will be neither popular or painless and maybe not even bloodless.
Steven , Unfortunately your extreme view (the bloodless comment) is possible as we have begun to witness more and more sujpposidly lawless violence.
For better or worse all kinds of nasty things can happen Al. My guess is the oligarchy and their leftist servants will initiate bloodshed or terrorism as an attempt to enforce their real or imagined supremacy. It will of course be murder, terrorism and treason and require a military response from the new government and its supporters. The Masons ,Jews and Marxists are not going to quit just because they lost an election after being in charge of the country for most of the time almost from the beginning of the country. They will fight one way or another until they either succeed in wiping out the Trump government and its supporters or are wiped out themselves.
It is like Cersey Lannister said in the Game of Thrones series. You either win or you die! Real life isn’t much different in a lot of cases.
It isn’t a tea party Al. The opposition are the same gang that are behind almost all the wars, revolutions, terrorist attacks and political assassinations.
If they can’t co-opt or drive out patriotic upstarts or leaders they kill them.
That foreign language video I provided a link to years ago was a history lesson on this very issue. Search for “In the Shadow of Hermes”.
Good morning Steven,
If we could only have an unbiassed dialog between the two factions. After I witnesses the true venom of Mrs. Clinton, Mrs Pelosi, Mr. Read , Mr. Sanders, and yes possibly Mr. Trump I have to wonder if emotions have simply taken us too far overthe line.
Your thoughts?
Seg 1….DR Clete B. is spot on……..with his comments….jmho
That has certainlly been my experiene, Professor.
Seg 2…….get the govt out of healthcare……..
At this point, never going to happen Jerry.
Healthcare by the govt ..is an early death sentence to everyone….
change “everyone”…..since that would include congressmen , and they do not participate in the system, …..change the word to the sheeple…….
Seg. 3 Congress has not been able to budget for 100 yrs……..We are broke…….
Yes. Nothing is going to be “fixed.”
The country is past broke and the whole outhouse of gooberment will have to burn to the ground. It can’t be fixed.
When you have the same people in the same place, doing the same thing, an idiot is an idiot……period….
Thanks Ebolan, that was my comment above.
Not 100 years, but your point is well taken.
balance budget 5 times since Andrew Jackson……..income averaging 🙂
Military spending…… mercenary soldiers need paid….MIC for a profit.
Anyone that has been in the military,… I believe has an understanding of what is going on behind the present MIC…..jmho
Some gangsters got nailed for taxes. But the who’s who of the Swamp would be better targeted by 9/11 truth and an honest investigation of pizzagate/pedogate. No way to drain the swamp without getting clear on these.
“In August of 2016, Peter Michael Ketcham, a former employee of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began looking into the reports his agency had released years earlier on the collapse of the World Trade Center. What he found shook him to the core.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvAv-114bwM&feature=youtu.be
Europhysics News
15 YEARS LATER: ON THE PHYSICS OF HIGH-RISE BUILDING COLLAPSES
Steven Jones, Robert Korol, Anthony Szamboti, and Ted Walter
http://www.europhysicsnews.org/articles/epn/pdf/2016/04/epn2016-47-4.pdf
“Conclusion: It bears repeating that fires have never caused the total collapse of a steel-framed high-rise before or since 9/11. Did we witness an unprecedented event three separate times on September 11, 2001? The NIST reports, which attempted to support that unlikely conclusion, fail to persuade a growing number of architects, engineers, and scientists. Instead, the evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that all three buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition. Given the far-reaching implications, it is morally imperative that this hypothesis be
the subject of a truly scientific and impartial investigation by responsible authorities.”
Couple of very thought provoking comments GH. I guess in the interest of no sleepless nights I prefer to not think about this issue. Call me a pansy if you like.
Oh, I would never Al!
But that is part of the problem–the likely truth is so awful that many can’t bear to look at it.
Very much agree with you GH.
DITTO GH>>>>>>>>>>>
Bringing it back to the swamp. People in power in politics, law enforcement, media, etc. who have been complicit in these crimes are utterly controllable and blackmailable.
If you can entertain the notion that the true powers-that-be operate from behind the scenes, then these are just the kind of people with whom such puppet masters might infiltrate the power structure. As long as they’re left in place, change for the better is unlikely.
Is the ‘deep state’ trying to bring down Trump?
Mar. 23, 2017 – 5:36 – Judicial Watch director of investigations Christopher Farrell on President Trump’s claim that the Obama administration wiretapped his team.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5370527289001/?#sp=show-clips
I heard this last night on the way to dinner. Thanks much for revvisiting it this morning, Markedtofuture.
Interestingly enough this story is today greatly overshadowed by the vote yesterday on the overhaul of Obamacare.
At this moment in time, I have a bad feeling about the future. How about all of you?
We have been saying that Obama is scum and his administration since day one…….
thanks for the clip……..MTF…….
I don’t think that he is scum. I think that he is just a man with a completely different agenda than mine because I don’t believe in forcing people to do things and he cleaarly does.
thanks for the correction….scum is a little harsh…..but, he has effected a lot of lives for his own agenda……
I think eventually, he will be revealed for what he actually has done and who he shielded along the way……..
OOTb..you were correct the first time…SCUM..really not harsh enough but I cannot print how I really feel about him..
I stand corrected…….he is therefore….SCUM…….. 🙂
btw Gator, hope all is well, and thank for the reply
Yes, he certainly has, Jerry
“Is the ‘deep state’ trying to bring down Trump? ”
If they can’t co-opt him or drive him out they will kill him and go after his supporters.
In the game of thrones you either win or you die!
Morning again Steven,
If it ever comes to that, I will leave the country.
If it comes to that, they’ll likely keep it subtle, to keep the boiling frogs from getting alarmed.
Great analogy GH!
Nunes Calls Comey, Rogers For “Closed Session” After Finding “Concerning Info” In Intel Reports
“The lack of a leak investigation is quite concerning. We need to make sure that these leaks are being tracked down…There are just questions that we have for Dir. Comey and Adm. Rogers probably that they couldn’t answer in a public setting…”
Comey is a joke………
HSBC ?
Read pages 8 -11 Remax article also.
https://www.scribd.com/document/342925920/170321-Final-Whistleblower-Letter#from_embed
Whistleblower letter to Permanent Select Committee…may have to refresh page to cancel 30 day trial drop down box.
Read it start to finish and then forwarded the link to some of my friends. Thanks again Markedtofuture.
Big Al, its a shame you will not see it on MSM. Fox is still showing the CNN pimping of the Russia story. They must drown out the Nunes stories. The FBI not answering the request for more informations is also troubling.
We had dinner last night with some Republican friends and we discussed this issue. The bottom line, Markedtofutue is that there is a “war” going on and, I believe, that we do not have a good standard bearer because ours’ cannot control his emotions.
“They’re Like The Praetorian Guard” – Whistleblower Confirms NSA Targeted Congress, The Supreme Court, & Trump
“Inside NSA there are a set of people who are… are targeting and looking at all the members of the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Congress, both House and Senate, as well as the White House”
We should have an indication this coming week where we are all headed.
You think enough people care about 9/11?
I dont think people are intelligent enough to care.
Nothing negative ment by that, thats just us, being human, we aint too bright.
We have known long enough now that if anything was going to be done it would have been.
Maybe its considered a 100 year secret.
The next false flag could be a water supply, a whole city could go.
9/11 was enough to destroy Iraq,Lybia Syria overthrow the government of Ukraine build up troops on the Russian Chinese boarders (what I miss?)
Imagine what could be accomplished with an attack on a water supply.
There was a very interesting story that broke just after 9/11. An individual put a harmless solution into the resovoir that supplies much of the Bay Area. He actually rowed out in a boat then rowed back and was undetected. That adds credence to your comment. I, quite frankly, am amazed that an event like you mentioned has not happened yet. God forbid, it ever does. Should that happen I believe that the fight against any and all terrorists would escalate to unimaginable proportions.
Hard to protect water.
Something that requires 72 hours to take effect, odorless, colorless.
Water is already poison in some areas, lets hope thats what Nostradamus was talking about.
Have you ever honestlly asked yourself if we are perhaps all crazy? This is a serious question,b!
The end off Dollar LOVE ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxmBAWMS36k
sobering account on a way forward
The Republican Waterloo
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/the-republican-waterloo/520833/
For most people who pay their way, health care in this county is a huge rip-off.
For most with health insurance the deductibles and co-insurance amounts are so high you wind up paying thousands a year for what amounts to only catastrophic coverage.
Here’s how it recently worked for me. The doctor billed the insurance company $400 for what amounted to a 10 minute office visit. The insurance company paid nothing but since the doc was in network I “only” had to pay $300. What a deal! This is what I my twelve grand a year health insurance gets me.
And Ryancare or Trumpcare or Romneycare 2.0 or whatever steaming pile the Republowclowns were offering up was not going to change that because they did next to nothing to address costs.
Ebo………you are correct, on those who pay their own way….”rip off”
Jerry, I’m a freakin’ idiot.
If I were an illegal alien…er…sorry, we are not aloud to say that…undocumented in Colliefornia (as Ahnode calls it) that office visit would have cost me nothing.
And I sure as hell wouldn’t be paying 12 grand a year for “health insurance.”
Instead I’m just a tax serf who works 40% of the year for the gummit and then bends over for the insurance companies…like I said, a freakin’ idiot.
I think it is time to revolt………… of course most people are so complacent that they will just go borrow the money to pay the bill…..cause the gummit says so…..
Govt by the people for the people ended 1913……everything since then is make believe.
I agree. One thing for sure, I ain’t seeing a doc unless I think I’m going to die. For most things modern medicine is next to useless or worse, e.g. statins, etc. I had thought I’d ruptured my ear drum. I had blood coming out my ear the first couple of days but did nothing and it seemed ok but a friend kept bugging me to get it checked out so I did. Turned out I was right and the doc did nothing but give me a big bill.
I agree 100% on not seeing a doc unless your going to die….
Fresh air, fresh fruits and vegs, clean water(absolutely no public water) no sugar.,,,will keep most people out of the doc office., and a little exercise…..
Govt by the people for the people ended 1913…
league of nations 1920
royal institute of international affairs & council on foreign relations 1920-21
stock market crash 1929
1933, Poverty stricken Germany strips financial power away from Jewish bankers, in only 3 years Germany becomes the economic powerhouse of Europe, when the rest of the world was in recession.
That is not anti semitic, just fact.
From 1933-1941 Jews were givin free passage to Palestine from Germany.
The Haavara Agreement was an agreement between Nazi Germany and Zionist German Jews signed on 25 August 1933.(the transfer agreement)
“…we are not aloud to say that…”
Hah! Sometimes I make myself laugh with my Freudian slips. If your politically incorrect you must not say that a loud.
You are certainly not a “freakin idiot” Eddie. You are simplly a human being who is doing his best to make it work. I personally repect you for that.
I feel bad for the americans struggling with paying for healthcare. Up here in Canada we don’t face those issues. I think America should give the Canadian healthcare system a try. People will be quick to jump on it and says its bad because of this or that. I personally feel our system works. I have had some major surgeries on my ear and wrist. From what I gather that wouldve cost me a fortune in the states. Didnt cost me a penny. Its all baked into our taxes. If the US wants to call themselves the greatest country in the world. Every citizen should have the right to affordable health care. People want to blame this party or that party. I think it has to do with what you eat. The american fast food culture is what is killing us. Eating fast food garbage takes a toll on your body. Tax the f*ck out of these fast food joints. Another thing that I find very frustrating is the never ending money for wars. Picking a new enemy every couple years. Do not most Americans feel that the country has spent enough on wars. Trump is going to bump military spending by 56 Billion. How is that better for your citizens. They already have the biggest military by a longshot. What if that went to help out the citizens of the US. NO politicians have your best interest at hand NONE. Trump or Hillary its the same thing. People will argue this til their blue. Trump will change things. yeah right. They said the same about Obama. Thats what all politicians say. They are all apart of the same club. If Trump fails with tax reform will his supporters still have his back or will they finally realize its all a bunch of BS. He knows how to manipulate peoples minds thats what he is best at. Thats how he got voted. If you dont relize this now, you will in time.
You’re right, Jerry, and I don’t see any way out but for the whole corrupt to the core system to implode.
But this country of make believe could go on like this for quite a while longer.
The people of this country are far more brainwashed than the people of the old Soviet Union were.
They knew their system was a steaming pile and let it collapse. Not to say what replaced it was good, but at least they didn’t expect that politicians were going to fix anything.
check out the silver stealers.net…..concerning the pilgrim society and silver smashers and the ties to the govt.
Very interesting…Mr. Big Al ought to interview that guy.
Ebo…..hope you saw the 202 page (mostly pictures ) of past presidents and associates which are tied to the silver smashers, …..Pilgrim Society in particular , since it has gone back generations……even back as far as 1570. Seems some of the cabinet members of Trump are members…..Tillerson , Wilber Ross are examples. …..one step closer to Trump being the Trojan Horse. Since the new director of the CFTC is a member of the Pilgrim society), it will be the same old same old. Jamie Damon being part of the Pilgrim society, and JPMorgan holding the hoard of silver for the shorties…..I think silver has a long way to go……jmho.
Wilbur Ross also spent two decades heading Rothschild Inc’s bankruptcy advisory business, according to Forbes.com.
Eddie,
I really wish that I could be around when a history of this period is written, Don’t you?
I listened to a little of the Mises Institute guy until I couldn’t take it any more. Listen, the Obamacare is a flawed fix to an incredibly flawed system. But the answer isn’t free market. Sorry. In the industrialized world, there are plenty of examples of countries that provide excellent care, coverage for all, AND reasonable cost. What is the system? Universal coverage; government regulated healthcare. Nobody gets too rich, no one is uncovered. Think Japan. Britain. Canada. France. Netherlands. The list goes on. No large industrialized country has a ‘free market’ laissez faire regulated healthcare system that both provides coverage to all and has reasonable costs upon the society. Not one. ALL that provide both coverage to all and reasonable costs are based on some form of universal coverage and government regulated/subsidized system. Every single one. It ain’t rocket science, folks. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We *do* have to upset the insurance industry, big pharma, the AMA, the private healthcare delivery system that benefits from America’s ludicrously priced system, but we cannot say the answer is unknown; it’s just politically difficult to accomplish. We have to do what the rest of the world does, it’s that simple.
So you think government bureaucrats can allocate health care resources better than a free market?
(And I am talking about a free market, not a crony market like we have today.)
If that’s true why wouldn’t it also apply to other markets? So why stop at health care? Why not have government bureaucrats run most every market?
Seems other countries have tried that. How did that work out?
Even if gooberment run health care could work in some other country why do you think it would work in this country?
Haven’t you seen how corrupt our politicians are? Does the $20 trillion in federal debt and hundreds of trillions in unfunded liability provide clues as to how they would ruin er…run health care?
They’ve made a big mess out of health care already.
Do you really think letting them take over what’s left will fix anything or just make it worse?
Yes, I do, in healthcare. There is no way it could do worse. The United States pays ludicrously more per citizen with the ‘private’ healthcare system it currently has in place – and until Obamacare 50 million were uncovered. The reason healthcare is so expensive is not because of government mismanagement; it is the absurd, pork-driven delivery system of pricing allowed for insurance, big pharma, doctors, hospitals, etc., that the ‘free market’ in this country provides for. Specialists make $500K/yr. Insurance companies profit billions per year. Hospitals bill you $90 for bandage and $50,000 for a single night in their facility, then write it down to $5,000 once they determine what insurance you have – and that is actually legal! It should be criminal. If we had universal coverage, and government run healthcare like these other countries, our costs would be lower – in line with the other industrialized countries – and our quality would be the same. I can provide actual data to support this supposition if you would like. In the meanwhile, I will wait for you to actually answer the question I put forth above: name even ONE large, industrialized country in the world that provides coverage for all of its citizens, using a lightly regulated free-market system, that is competitively priced (i.e., in line with the universal coverage/government regulated systems of industrialized Europe and Asia). I’m still waiting. You cannot, because IT DOES NOT EXIST. Thus, your arguments are that of an ideologue and no more. If free market healthcare worked so well, all of these countries would have it. Yet none do; because it doesn’t.
“…and until Obamacare 50 million were uncovered.”
And now you think they will get health care? Just because you are covered under Obammycare doesn’t mean you get care.
“The reason healthcare is so expensive is not because of government mismanagement…”
Who do you think has interfered in the market for the last 50+ years? It’s the politicians perverting the market. The politicians in this country are bought and paid for by those you mentioned. We don’t have a free market in health care and haven’t for about 100 years.
“If free market healthcare worked so well…”
If you think we have a free market in health care you need to watch this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peVLkW7uirI
BTW, the guy in that video had lymphoma and was in the Canadian system and that system nearly killed him.
One other thing, gummerments don’t care about your health.
Never have, never will.
All they care about is keeping you well enough so you can be useful to them in some way and as long as you remain subservient to them and dependent on them.
Once you no longer fit that bill you will be expendable in their eyes and the eyes of their collective.
Thank you for your glittering analyses here.
You’re welcome and I love to glitter :0
I’m still waiting for your list of countries that cover everyone and provide equivalent level of care cheaper than the universal coverage/government regulated systems. I have provided data. You have provided nothing to show that the system you espouse would do better. Until you do, you’re nothing but an ideologue. Please provide some data to support your hyperbole – as I have – or STFU.
We live in a world where state control is omnipresent so I know of no countries with a free market in health care.
However, there are pockets of fee markets forces such as some care in the Cayman Islands and even in the US such as the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. Both examples are based on free market economics that offer consumers high quality and lower price. Same goes for procedures that insurance doesn’t cover such as lasik surgery. Over the years lasik has gotten progressively better and cheaper.
Jeff, we might apply your argument to banking and conclude that the model we have is a good one since it is so prevalent. Never mind that countries that rock the Western central bankers’ boat tend to get destroyed.
Your argument based on the “absurd, pork-driven delivery system of pricing” fails to recognize that this system could not exist without the government giving the industries involved oligopoly/monopoly power.
Finally, if you’re going to resort to STFU after a mild exchange of viewpoints, you’d fit in better debating in the comments section at Youtube.
I’m guessing this JEFF is not JEFF DEIST. 🙂
If you think socialism is the way for health care I suggest you watch this…
Jeff and Eddie,
Many thanks for you dialog. My final take is that people, within our current system, need to really take care of themselves. Hate to blow my own horn, but that is what Kathy and I did.
One of my shortcomings is that I have little sympathy for people who don’t do what we did.
Good morning Jeff,
Remember that our philosophy is to listen to evryone and then make up your own mind. Tho has an interesting idea, but probably not a realistic one in our current society.
Jeff:
All really good points which few on this board will even think about. It is not rocket science. We have a fatally flawed healthcare system that doesn’t work and we need a system that does work.
I have to correct you Bob, most everyone on or Board has brought this up.
I have lived in Britain, JEFF, that healthcare system works well, as long as you don’t get too sick.
Or too old.
Britain has the Liverpool pathway, to kill off those that are too old, or too sick to complain.
And that will apply to most of us one day.
CFS:
We are all going to die. The greatest and most expensive healthcare system in the world can’t change that. But when you have the most expensive healthcare system in the world and it simply doesn’t work for the average person, you need to replace it. Single payer healthcare works in a dozen countries all of whom have better care than the US.
I believe that the least government possible is the best government but if you want to live in a totally unregulated environment where people do whatever they want, you need to move to Zimbabwe.
In Zimbabwe I don’t think most people do whatever they want. I think they do what Mugabe tells them to do and if they don’t, they go underground as best they can.
My extended family lives in Britain and a family member by marriage has been a physician in the UK for 35 years. Britain spends in 2015 according to WHO $4003 per capita – this is, to use mining terminology – all in sustaining costs – of the system. It is easily one of the most expensive, if not *the* most expensive universal coverage/socialized systems on the planet. The U.S. spends $9451 per capita – over twice as much. Life expectancy in Britain is ranked 20 in the world; the U.S. – 31. So, we spend over twice as much and our people on the whole do not live as long. Over two dozen universal coverage/healthcare socialized industrial nations do the same, except they spend even less than Britain – some a lot less; and live longer than Britain and substantially longer than the U.S. The US must RADICALLY change the way it delivers healthcare: cut out the obscene big pharma costs; the obscene insurance costs; the obscene doctors/specialists costs; the obscene medical malpractice costs; the obscene hospital/medical clinic billing costs/practices; impose universal coverage for all and have government controlled costs because they are, currently, to overuse a word: obscene. This of course already is and will continue to be fought tooth and nail by all of the aforementioned extraordinarily powerful interests in American society, which is why it is so hard to do. But once about 50-75 million baby boomers and Xers are living at home with and being cared for by Y’s and millennials, and dying, because of lack of medical coverage and/or care facilities, the U.S. citizenry will finally demand it. It will take about another 20-30 years. The changes in attitudes of the past 8 years are nothing compared to the changes we will see over the next 20 because of that very real, looming demographic reality. Finally, the US will realize that universal coverage/government regulated healthcare is the best way, as the dozens of countries that do it cheaper and better than we do already know.
Bob..er…sorry, Jeff, there are many other factors that have a huge impact on life expectancy besides the health care system, namely lifestyle choices. Drug and alcohol use, tobacco use, diet, exercise all are extremely important. And there are other factors. Some people live dangerously (they are murdered, get killed or die prematurely due to accidents, etc.). Plus there are environmental factors.
To an extent Eddie and Jeff you are both definitely correct.
Ebolan:
You might want to at least think about what Jeff is saying. He’s right. And to say that healthcare is not a major factor is absurd. Of course it is a giant factor and easily the most important.
When any system fails, try something else. The US healthcare system is an utter failure.
And to say that healthcare is not a major factor is absurd.
I didn’t say, nor mean to imply, that health care is not a major factor.
The only point I was making was that for many, lifestyle can be just as and possibly more important.
There are many people whose drug, alcohol and tobacco use, not to mention diet and risk taking cut years, even decades off their lifespan. I know scores of such people and for them no amount of health care would have reversed the damage they did to themselves which cut their lives short.
Regarding a single payer/universal health care system for the US, do you really think the Demopublicans who brought us things like “medical necessity,” Medicare Part D and Obamacare are going to devise a system of health care that doesn’t put the medical complex special interests ahead of consumers? Even if they do implement “Medicare for All” as progressives were pushing in the last election, remember that Medicare has co-insurance and deductible amounts that are ever increasing and many cannot afford.
Ebolan where your ‘argument’ if you can call it that fails is its ludicrous, implicit assumption that lifestyle choices in the US are appreciably worse, leading to shorter lifespans, than in – in this example – Britain. Seriously? Have you sampled the typical British diet? Do you honestly want to argue that US citizens SMOKE and DRINK MORE than Brits? Or that, on the whole, Brits embrace healthier lifestyle choices? Utterly ridiculous – anyone who has spent enough time to go to the bathroom in the UK knows our British cousins smoke MORE per capita and DRINK MORE per capita than Americans. They subsist on bangers and kidney pie and eat more candy than any industrialized nation on earth. Yet their society pays less than 1/2 what we do per capita on healthcare and they live longer. Oh, and their system actually covers EVERYONE – pre-existing conditions and all. And Britain is not alone. In addition to the countries I mentioned in prior post, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Korea, Spain, Italy, a couple dozen others, all the same – even moreso – MUCH lower costs, covers everyone, live longer. All universal coverage/regulated system. Without exception.
NO ONE IN THE WORLD has free market healthcare, coverage for all, and reasonable costs. NO ONE. Not even freaking Lichtenstein. Not Monaco. Not Cayman – and these are tiny, uber-wealthy enclaves – forget large, diverse societies.
Pull your head out and examine REALITY and model what works – if you want to get serious about fixing our nation’s healthcare crisis. If you want to remain a free market ideologue because your brain can’t handle the fact that in some areas of public life the free market may not actually be the best choice – then continue to complain about what doesn’t work in the current system and pontificate on the delusion of your correctness based on little other than because you say so. The choice is yours.
The US has higher rates of alcoholism, obesity and drug abuse than the UK. For instance
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/alcohol/by-country/
We both agree no country has a free market in health care.
The question I have for you is do governments (politicians and bureaucrats, really) do a better job in efficiently allocating health care resources than a free market? (And I don’t mean the crony capitalist market we have in the US.) And if so, why? And if that is true for health care why wouldn’t it be true for other markets? Please answer these questions. I would love to hear your take on it all.
To the first question I say no and gave you examples where free market forces have brought down price and increased quality (e.g. Surgery Center of Oklahoma and lasik surgery).
In the US we don’t have the market allocating health care. We have politicians and bureaucrats controlled by special interests allocating health care. Please tell me how that will change if the US moves to a single payer system with universal coverage where the single payer is the special interest controlled government. And please tell me how a system like that will pay for all the migrants that have been and will be entering the country.
Let’s simply say that, at this moment in time, it is pretty inefficient.
Jeff and Eddie,
I, for one, truly appreciate both of your comments. Thank you.
We have a dilemma.
Many people WANT a “free” healthcare system.
(Nothing is free, by the way)
Others want a cost-effective healthcare system.
No one is talking about how much the country can afford.
No one is talking about freedom of choice.
No one is talking about how much taxation towards the healthcare system acts as a drag on the general economy.
Everything is so polarized in politics, rational discussion is impossible.
Polarization Professor? You are so correct!
The pubic paid healthcare system in the US costs twice as much as the “free” system everywhere else and doesn’t work. That’s pretty simple. When I found I was paying ten times as much for drugs in the US as in the rest of the world, I became a believer.
It doesn’t matter who pays for the drugs, me or “free” when crossing a border lowers the price by 90% something is dead wrong on one side of the border.
Bob,
The reason drugs are more expensive in the US is because the US Government allows the drug companies to include the cost of drug development in the US price. So in effect, the US customer is paying for the development of the drugs that the entire world can use. Whether drug development by large pharma is cost effective is a question to be debated. If the cost of drug development is not included in US prices, then development will necessarily shift awqy from big pharma. Whether other institutions can replace big pharma for development will depend if the economics works.
This touches upon one critically important part of what is wrong with the US system and must be changed. Bob is correct about what what happens, US citizens paying along the order of 10X what other consumers pay for the same drug, sold by the same drug company, at a profit. Terra is correct about what drug companies do with regards to pricing. Welcome to no government intervention/free market practices as it relates pricing for big pharma.
Understand this is big pharma’s business model. They rely upon the US’s absurd system to develop their pipelines – to subsidize their largess. But the goal isn’t developing any kind of a cure. The goal is sustaining and maximizing their business model. That means developing drugs that don’t cure, but merely mitigate symptoms and, largely, require the consumer to consume the drug for life. And of course obtaining the patent. THAT is the drug for which research is conducted and funded – not anything that cures anything. That would destroy an income stream, ultimately. Then of course they legally pass ludicrous charges on to the US consumer, paid for by a ludicrous insurance claims process that ensures they get their cut, to the US consumer who is paying double digit annual healthcare premium increases, while sticking the government with the tab for medicare/caid patients – a huge and growing number – paid for by deficit printing of dollars. And then of course obscure the absurdity of the above by blaming the costs on the ineffective/inefficient management of the system by ‘the Government’ to justify its perpetuation or change to an even less regulated system by which they can do the exact same thing to an even greater degree!
Meanwhile the US is by far the most drugged nation on the planet; has epidemic levels of folks hooked on prescription meds who die annually that by all indication absolutely dwarfs the number of those dying by illegal drugs (it is very difficult to get statistics which makes this hard to prove but it is undeniable that millions are dependent on prescription drugs, mostly narcotics/painkillers of various sorts, sleep meds and anti-depressants).
The US doesn’t need any more drugs. We certainly don’t need this unsustainable system which will completely bankrupt an already bankrupt nation. It is only a matter of time and I predict it will collapse utterly within the lifetime of many if not most of those reading this blog. It would be much better, of course, for the federal government to step in and fix it before that happens. Unfortunately, that would take massive change and political courage, something we have no precedent for in modern US politics, so I am skeptical. Likely it will have to be forced upon us by collapse, but there’s always hope! Cheers.
Bix Weir on Iphone spying:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37-Tqsy36Lw
AL ! Corporations don’t care hard work and old GOLD !
Islamic sharia law will helpe you’re USA !
Stop taking Vaccinations ALL VACCINES ! OLD YONG !!!!
Young Muslim MAN will fix all diss day will take care the white woman ! You still love the Dollar Police MAN ! IDIOT !
Thank jf Ian, er I mean Frankie!
Lilly Co. part of the scam…….
Lilly has a Pilgrim Society member on the Board of Directors, according to the silver smasher report.
CHECK out…….Silver Stealer.net……..concerning pilgram society….and trump….
pilgrim society….sorry
ties to the govt and silver smashing to date…….
Trump may not be good for silver……..
is that a myth bomb………. 🙂
or a truth bomb….. 🙂
Stefan Molineux discussion on Healthcare:
Thanks CFS, I do enjoy listening to this guy.
Trump “Endorses” Jeanine Pirro’s Call For Paul Ryan To Step Down
Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, whose show President Trump urged his followers on Twitter to watch earlier in the day, opened her program at 9pm on Saturday by calling for Speaker Paul Ryan’s resignation.
“Ryan needs to step down as Speaker of the House. The reason, he failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill, the one trumpeted to repeal and replace ObamaCare, the one that he had 7 years to work on; the one he hid under lock and key in the basement of Congress; the one that had to be pulled to prevent the embarrassment of not having enough votes to pass.” Pirro said in her opening statement.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-26/trump-endorses-fox-news-host-call-paul-ryan-resign
I have to agree with judge Pirro.
Ditto…….and they have a tape back in Oct-Nov…with Ryan saying he was never going to work with Trump. Times up……give him the BOOT
Reinse Priebus too
Something tells me, Trump knew how the vote would go and he let Paul Ryan expose himself. Paul Ryan has always come across as, that guy who thinks he’s smarter than everyone he’s speaking to. He’s never done squat! In fact, a piece of sh~~
I would not call him a piece of sh– I would call him self-serving. He did not present the Obamacare alternative at all effectively.
The week in review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMpqYtvoVgE
Chelsea Clinton now director of Expedia …..$300K income per year……Crony capitalism !
Also has big book deal!
I will never use the service……..
at least while she is there….
somehow , she is going to rig the system for a detour trip to Haiti, all expenses paid, with a donation to the clinton foundation
Trump repeatedly vowed universal coverage in the campaign so what went wrong?
How Paul Ryan played Donald Trump
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/24/15039664/paul-ryan-donald-trump-ahca
AJ?
How Ryan played Trump? LOL….
Think again)
Here is a stupid picture………
Platinum……$962
Palladium…….809
Rhodium……..910
Silver………….17
Look at the above prices………and silver is $17……give me a break
brings me back to silver smashers.net…….tell me it is not so……. 🙂
Looking at silver……..
Silver should have a 3 digit print….like $150 , to be able to compare with the other metals mentioned. Silver remaining in two digit is really a joke….the price is in the dark ages…jmho
Gold is @ $1255 in overseas trading
Silver is now @ $17.84
😉
Let’s start a raffle for the morning…….
1) Normal morning Smashdown in overseas prices
or
2) Breakout in the metals where miners finally get on their bikes and ride….
????
Monday’s Predicted Daily Price Trends for #Gold and #Silver
VantagePoint – Friday March 24, 2017
> Spot #Gold Intra-Day Trend: Higher. VantagePoint’s short-term indicators are bullish.
> Spot #Silver Intra-Day Trend: Higher. VantagePoint’s short-term indicators are bullish.
Silver should be in a breakout, ……option number 2………
Watch the Yen – it’s up nearly 1% vs. the USD. No metals smashdown in the morning unless that trend reverses.
Great point Steele. It would be nice to see that Yen stay strong and for Precious Metals to open with a bit of pep in their step…..
Here are the Yen and Gold doing the #SafetyDance:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24XJY&p=D&yr=2&mn=0&dy=0&id=p18739154842
Dollar down MONDAY………. 99…. down .65
Scott Adams often has a fresh take on the events of the day, one you won’t likely see elsewhere.
“With the failure of the Ryan healthcare bill, the illusion of Trump-is-Hitler has been fully replaced with Trump-is-incompetent meme. Look for the new meme to dominate the news, probably through the summer. By year end, you will see a second turn, from incompetent to “Competent, but we don’t like it.”
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/158812654486/trump-and-healthcare
Silver and the US government:
Silver sing-along:
Finally…………….silver $18.10……
still way under priced……
Its only up today as I was intending to buy some for a graduation gift. lol
It should tank again right after Ive bought.
Re: Seg. 2.
It is unfortunate that public perception has changed over the last 8 years.
It seems to me that now the general public now wants universal coverage.
We do need real reform, but we also need public discussion.
One size fits all, in general, fits no one well.