Semi-OT. Should I apply for this?

[Jimmywax]

Lucky descendent of Manifest Destiny?

I can not say anything as far as socialized medicine goes. I am part Indian and I was born and raised on the reservation. (some time off, but not much) All of my health care is paid for along with everyone else in my family. My parents however, does still have health insurance. This is do to the fact that they now live off the Res and the hassle of the paperwork and the waiting for action is too great for my mother. She has Lupus and it is just easier for her to have a government job where she gets full medical benefits. She gets treatment from the best doctors in the state because of the insurance. Being in Montana I know this is not much but still, it is better than the free allotted medical she has received from the government. I would say that anything that makes your life better (i.e. health benefits) would be a go. I have heard many horror stories come from up north (I am only a short drive from Canuckada) and where I live I get two Canadian TV stations that talk alot about the over worked medical staffs that put out a bill that is largely paid by the local provincial gov't. In the end I would say that some health insurance is better than none and anyway you get it is justified.

P.S. I know I am in the minority here but I actually like Civ III.

[Jimmywax]

I am just curious but if I am in Mountain standard time, How many time zones away from Grenwich mean time am I?

[Choke]

Socialized medicine is good in some ways bad in others. For one thing, it is NOT free, you pay taxes for it AND a monthly fee. You also pay for your own prescriptions. You also pay for smokers for instance who abuse their bodies as well as other drug users and prostitutes, etc that cost way more than the average person. So I like it because people are too stupid to handle their own health but I don't like it because I don't like paying for other people's problems, if I get sick I don't mind paying but I don't want to be paying for smokers, etc.

[fairline]

Before Thatcher decided to destroy it, we used to have the best National Health Service in the world here in Britain. Yes, taxes pay for it but IMO it's a good thing that the well-off subsidise the less-well off through taxes - health care, education, decent housing etc are all basic human rights and should'nt be the preserve of those who can afford to pay for them.

BTW, the tax on ciggies in Britain is so big that those of us who abuse our bodies in this way actually pay more into the health service than we ever get back Not sure if there's a tax on hookers, though

FMK: apply for the job - it sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than mine

[The ANZAC]

Jimmy: Rocky Mountain time is GMT -7

et Al: I gave up tryig to defend my ultra-capitalist ways with words long ago

[techumseh]

Originally posted by The ANZAC
et Al: I gave up tryig to defend my ultra-capitalist ways with words long ago

Yeah, but your avatar still gives that impression!

[The ANZAC]

The ghost of John C. Calhoun is still gonna kick your ass.

[Darius871]

I showed up a bit late but I thought I'd throw in my two cents since government intrusion into medicine affects my family personally. All I know is that my old man gets paid about 50% as much as normal when he treats a medicare patient. If he refuses to treat that patient for such a low amount of money... oh wait, he can't refuse, it's the law.

It would be even worse if all patients were paid for by the government. He could work for a s**tload less money or find a new line of work; what a land of liberty, eh? You've got my vote ANZAC.

[techumseh]

Why the hell would he refuse to treat someone because s/he can't afford it? You've provided the proof for public health care right there.

[Case]

Yeah, that's a problem here as well Darius. Increasing numbers of Australian doctors are choosing to opt out of the government medicare system, and are charging their patients higher prices. The end result: people who can't afford the higher costs are going to hospital ERs, thereby paralizing that part of the medical system.

Still, most doctors remain happy to work for what the government pays them per patient (I just got back from a free optimetrist apointment).

[ravagon]

I think the semi-OT thread has just gone total.

It sounds interesting FMK - albeit fraught with peril should your final product not match reality (There's a rumour going around that there might be occasional bugs in the software - hence leading to discrepancies in your manual! )

[techumseh]

Yes. You're right. For a moment there I forgot I was a mod. Right. That's it. You people stop it this minute. Go talk about something else. Scenarios or something. Go hex-edit something...make icons and so forth. Go away.

[fairline]

Originally posted by techumseh
Yes. You're right. For a moment there I forgot I was a mod. Right. That's it. You people stop it this minute. Go talk about something else. Scenarios or something. Go hex-edit something...make icons and so forth. Go away.

Damn, I was just about to get on my left-wing soap-box

[Darius871]

Why the hell would he refuse to treat someone because s/he can't afford it? You've provided the proof for public health care right there.

Because that's his right. It isn't the Salvation Army, it's a job, and he doesn't want to get raped on prices. Left-wingers jump out of their seats when factory workers don't get paid what they're worth, but when a doctor is forced by the government to work for a certain wage at the risk of being thrown out on the street, you find that just? Let me guess, interest in the economic well-being of yourself and your family is ok for most people, but doctors don't deserve that luxury because people's lives are at stake.

That brings up a whole other problem: what kind of person is going to go through the 13 years of grueling study necessary to become an doctor and then work on shifts ranging from 10 hours to 48 hours long, when they are going to get paid the same amount as some bureaucratic slob in a cubicle with a bachelor's degree?

A few people will go through the work due to an idealistic, fairy-tale belief in "helping people", but the harsh reality is that most of the people who would have been doctors wouldn't even bother because there's no incentive to go through the hard work necessary.

Doctors get paid a good amount because the difficulty of their work and level of their education warrants it. If you remove that incentive no one will want to be a doctor, not to mention that those already working would begin to be disillusioned and sloppy because their labor's value isn't being respected.

[techumseh]

Alright, you've had your say. Now let's get back on topic, shall we?