'Obamacare' stalemate shuts down government

[lizmachin]

Here is a succinct explanation of the US "fiscal cliff" issue, with easy-to-digest numbers.

 

 

Wow that must be several weeks out of date. US National debt is now above $17.5 trillion and rising fast.

 

It is interesting how few people seem to worry that the US has a debt ceiling set at $10 trillion dollars and is still happily spending 40% or so more than it takes in tax revenue when that debt has hit $17.5 trillion.

[Harleyman]

Here is a succinct explanation of the US "fiscal cliff" issue, with easy-to-digest numbers.

 

 

I dont understand why they send bilions and billions of dollars overseas in foreign aid? Why? Did someone appoint the US as the world's official Santa Clause?

 

Why do we need a whopping great nuclear navy and equip the air force with state of the art fighters that cost 60 million dollars a pop?

 

The military budget alone is so huge it's unbelievable

 

---------- Post added 04-10-2013 at 18:04 ----------

 

Interestingly George W. Bush introduced a Medicare bill that severely added to the U.S.'s financial obligations with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, specifically Medicare-D.

 

 

 

LINK

 

David M. Walker is the former U.S. comptroller general, head of the General Accountability Office so when he calls something "probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s", maybe he knows what he's talking about?

 

 

 

All that is happening now, the debt ceiling crisis, the government shut down, none of it is a surprise to those of us who watched the film I.O.U.S.A. in 2008.

 

 

 

The drug manufacturing industry is the biggest racket ever. There is no reason why the cost of drugs should be so high. Whenever there's an investigation into the cost of drugs the manufactureres always come up with the excuse that research costs so much then you have to remember that the drug companies pay off the pols to the tune of multi-millions in campaign funds every year

 

Several yeras ago it was possible to purchase prescription drugs in Canada at half the cost of the same drugs here and I think they wanted to start importing them but that came to a screeching halt because apparently drugs manufactured in Canada might not meet "US safety standards". What?

That has to be the biggest BS story ever

[jfish1936]

I dont understand why they send bilions and billions of dollars overseas in foreign aid? Why? Did someone appoint the US as the world's official Santa Clause?

:

 

Lord Macaulay, in his History of Britain, discusses the causes of the 1745 rebellion in Scotland, poining out that a tiny fraction of the "pensions" paid to London courtiers, often men with huge landed estates, would have ensured the friendship and loyalty of the Scottish chiefs.

It can be a relatively cheap way to buy compliance by rulers of other countries

[tinfoilhat]

I dont understand why they send bilions and billions of dollars overseas in foreign aid? Why? Did someone appoint the US as the world's official Santa Clause?

 

Why do we need a whopping great nuclear navy and equip the air force with state of the art fighters that cost 60 million dollars a pop?

 

The military budget alone is so huge it's unbelievable

 

---------- Post added 04-10-2013 at 18:04 ----------

 

 

 

The drug manufacturing industry is the biggest racket ever. There is no reason why the cost of drugs should be so high. Whenever there's an investigation into the cost of drugs the manufactureres always come up with the excuse that research costs so much then you have to remember that the drug companies pay off the pols to the tune of multi-millions in campaign funds every year

 

Several yeras ago it was possible to purchase prescription drugs in Canada at half the cost of the same drugs here and I think they wanted to start importing them but that came to a screeching halt because apparently drugs manufactured in Canada might not meet "US safety standards". What?

That has to be the biggest BS story ever

 

The USA leads the world in three things, one of which is military spending. It spends more than the next 26 countries on the list combined, 25 of those are their allies.

[altus]

I dont understand why they send bilions and billions of dollars overseas in foreign aid? Why? Did someone appoint the US as the world's official Santa Clause?

 

Why do we need a whopping great nuclear navy and equip the air force with state of the art fighters that cost 60 million dollars a pop?

 

The military budget alone is so huge it's unbelievable

 

The US defence industry has been careful to built plants in just about every US state - even if it's really only a token presence. If a senator proposes or votes for defence cuts they know they'll have to face the industry stirring up accusations of them supporting job losses in their state.

[Harleyman]

Lord Macaulay, in his History of Britain, discusses the causes of the 1745 rebellion in Scotland, poining out that a tiny fraction of the "pensions" paid to London courtiers, often men with huge landed estates, would have ensured the friendship and loyalty of the Scottish chiefs.

It can be a relatively cheap way to buy compliance by rulers of other countries

 

Those rulers more than likely being corrupt tyrants. Meanwhile they fret about Obamacare being too expensive and should be defunded.

 

Hell of a way to run a rail road

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Did someone appoint the US as the world's official Santa Clause?

As Marx said, "There ain't no sanity clause..."

[llamatron]

No one opposes healthcare. It is just a case of how it is funded. Who do you think should pick up the bill when the Federal Government is $17 trillion in debt and that debt is increasing by more than £1.5 billion every day?

 

---------- Post added 01-10-2013 at 08:15 ----------

 

 

We'd take the rest of the San Juan Islands if they are offered at the right price.

 

It works out cheaper if everyone pays into a big communal pot than if you have to add in massive profits for insurance companies-it also means that people are not excluded for pre-existing conditions.

 

It's an absolute no brainer!!

[Harleyman]

It works out cheaper if everyone pays into a big communal pot than if you have to add in massive profits for insurance companies-it also means that people are not excluded for pre-existing conditions.

 

It's an absolute no brainer!!

 

The new health bill requires everyone prsesently uninsured to buy the insurance coverage or face a stiff fine. There are several types of coverage available and the costs are reasonable and affordable.

 

I wonder how many of those people didnt bother to take care of their health, gorged on junk food, turned into obese hogs and then developed type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart problems

 

Hospitals in the US are not funded by the government as in the UK. A hospital cannot refuse treatment for anyone who admits themselves with a medical problem. An uninsured person could get the same care and surgery if needed that an insured person gets. The insured person's plan would cover the costs involved but an uninsured person could leave after treatment and if unable to pay the costs out of their own pocket leave no way for the hospital to recover the costs which often run into a few thousand dollars

 

No good the hospital trying to get the State or the Federal government to pay instead. They have no obligation whatsoever.

[Anna B]

The new health bill requires everyone prsesently uninsured to buy the insurance coverage or face a stiff fine. There are several types of coverage available and the costs are reasonable and affordable.

 

I wonder how many of those people didnt bother to take care of their health, gorged on junk food, turned into obese hogs and then developed type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart problems

 

Hospitals in the US are not funded by the government as in the UK. A hospital cannot refuse treatment for anyone who admits themselves with a medical problem. An uninsured person could get the same care and surgery if needed that an insured person gets. The insured person's plan would cover the costs involved but an uninsured person could leave after treatment and if unable to pay the costs out of their own pocket leave no way for the hospital to recover the costs which often run into a few thousand dollars

 

No good the hospital trying to get the State or the Federal government to pay instead. They have no obligation whatsoever.

 

I saw a programme on the TV that showed a huge car park in America that huge numbers of people had been camping out waiting for free treatment at a health centre, which apparently is a rare event. They'd come from miles away. Most were uninsured but some had insurance but their companies had refused treatment. All the people seemed to be in desperate need. One poor man had half his guts hanging out through a kind of hernia thing; he'd been in this state for a long time but hadn't been able to get help. Other cases were equally awful.

 

What happens if someone without insurance needs long term care or is considered uninsurable because of medical needs? How do the serously poor cope? I know that some people get health care as part of an employment package paid for by their employers, what happens when they leave work at retirement? What system is in place for care of the elderly?

 

I ask for information, not to criticise, because we need to know how other systems work, what bits we could perhaps adapt and where the areas of crisis are, and how (if?) they are dealt with. Heaven knows our NHS system is failing and needs a radical overhaul, although I would be reluctant to adopt a privatised system because of the sort of problems above.

 

It would be useful to know how a fully private system does it.