Are people this stupid?

[egan.]

i don't think anybody would dispute the fact that something of this magnitude should not be rushed. but, as egan has pointed out - when's the last time ANYBODY in Washington made a serious effort to overhaul this extremely ailing system?

i learned recently that health care costs are quickly becoming the #1 reason for backruptcy in the middle class. the "middle class", not the poor. that's pretty serious considering the middle class is what fuels the economy of this country. i'm middle class and thought about it for awhile. if there's anything that would take me down financially, fast, it'd be unexpected healthcare costs. god forbid i'd get some serious disease or someone in my family needed long-term, intensive care. i'd be seriously screwed. why? because i don't work for a huge corporation providing an affordable, comprehensive health plan. i own my own small business and have to have private insurance to cover my family. and of that, i can only afford catasrophic health insurance. it's amazingly high, in turn for just about nothing - and goes up about $100 every year. the other issue is there are tons of loop-holes strategically placed throughout the policy to prevent the insurance company from ever having to pay too much - EVEN IN A CATASROPHIC SITUATION.

the economy sucks right now, but there is promise on the horizon. having said that, though - there are a lot of people that are really struggling finanically and health care costs are a big part of it. nothing that comes out of Washington is ever right 100%, right out of the gate - whether they spent 2yrs or 2 weeks on it. i say the situation warrants immediate attention and whatever they can do to "start" the ball rolling is a good thing. i applaud Obama for taking it on. he could have been like his predecessor and just ignored the whole thing even though everybody knows it's the big white elephant looming about the room.

Half of all bankruptcies in the US are related to medical expenses.

 

[roy22341]

Well my point with bringing Vietnam into this was mostly that while the politicians names may change, essentially they stay the same. Didn't come across very well. But I guess I kinda do see the government as a living entity because like I said, even though the people come and go - nothing really changes. How about that change Obama was going to bring - here we are, more of the same, and you cannot just blame the Republicans.

I think the big fear right now with this health care bill is the fact that there isn't one - there's 7 (I think - I could be wrong though, I know almost every House and Senate committee has put one together) - and no one knows what's really in any of them. This needs to be an honest open debate, get everyone at the table, work out a bill that most can agree on, make sure the public stays well informed, then move it to committees and votes.

Where Obama screwed this one up is in taking his lesson from HillaryCare. Most of the reason HillaryCare failed is because she was unwavering in what would be in the bill and was essentially a control freak. This caused the major realignment in Congress in the 1994 elections. Obama seems to be afraid of this happening again so he has taken more of a backseat approach and is letting the Senate and House figure this out. Problem being (besides Nancy Pelosi) is that it looks like Obama has no idea what's going on - even if he really does. The Senate Committees look like secret smoke filled rooms where deals are being cut (which is pretty much what's happening) and people are quickly losing faith through the confusion. From Day 1 this whole plan was poorly managed and executed and will most likely fail. In a way I hope it does, because I think we can do a lot better for the people who deserve better.

 

[Sweetnothing]

I'm not american, but I don't understand why people see having free health care a bad thing.

Here you have free health care and you can get a paid healthcare at the same time ( I do).

Really, those arguments I've read and heard thru the news or internet are ridiculous.
Those were things like "we should we pay for a guy that got cancer? or a guy that suffered a heart attack?"

So, if some guy stabs you in the street, acording to those guys, they won't pay because you were there or because you looked the criminals in some way.
If your mother gets breast cancer it's not their problem, if your sister has a flu isn't their problem either.

It's completely ridiculous IMO, but I'm not american.

You want it faster? you want it at some special hospital? you have private, paid healthcare.
I can't speak wonders about our national healthcare, but it's there, and most of the times, it's "somewhat" efficient. Better to have that than nothing.

 

[colonel kurtz]

WTF, I hope these people are a tiny minority !

fuck i wish

according to recent surveys, a majority of americans...something like 60%...oppose healthcare reform measures

in similar news, 60% of americans can't tell their ass from their taint

 

[Jeds7800]

But I guess I kinda do see the government as a living entity because like I said, even though the people come and go - nothing really changes. How about that change Obama was going to bring - here we are, more of the same, and you cannot just blame the Republicans.

Changes occur, it just takes forever. I mean, you can't really complain about nothing ever changing when you're suggesting we not go ahead with a bill because we need to hammer out all the details, etc.

 

[roy22341]

Changes occur, it just takes forever. I mean, you can't really complain about nothing ever changing when you're suggesting we not go ahead with a bill because we need to hammer out all the details, etc.

That's the type of attitude that gets health care bills that don't work passed.

 

[Jeds7800]

That's the type of attitude that gets health care bills that don't work passed.

Exactly, I'm telling you that you can't complain about changes not magically happening because things take time. "How about that change Obama was going to bring"

 

[LeSedna]

fuck i wish

according to recent surveys, a majority of americans...something like 60%...oppose healthcare reform measures

in similar news, 60% of americans can't tell their ass from their taint

Fuck that's crap

Your country is seriously a strange one, there are as many wonderful things as crap ones !

 

[egan.]

For those of you who are US citizens who favor reform I urge you to email your congressmen directly or via a form letter like this one (which will automatically choose the right representatives based on your address). You can be sure that the town hall shouters will be, so I think it's important to remind congress that there is still strong support.

 

[Metaltastic]

Done!