Healthcare Reform Thread II

[Jon Miller]

I am not surprised, I am being taxed about the same in Sweden as I would be in the US, I think.

Which makes the inefficiency of our health care system even more obvious. We get less, even though we pay so much.

That being said, I don't know if I agree with him. Surely cost of living/etc all play roles.

JM

[Drake Tungsten]

I don't think Mankiw was advocating anything; he was just providing a different way of looking at the tax burden that I thought was interesting. I never would've guessed that the Japanese pay so little tax per person.

edit: I know I'm risking a threadjack of my own thread, but I also found this blog post on tax policy to be interesting...

http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2010/03/partisan.html

[Riesstiu IV]

We finally know what Ben looks like:

[Hauldren Collider]

We already know. Doesn't he have a poly profile pic?

[KrazyHorse]

Taxes per Person

US
.282 x 46,443 = 13,097

Canada
.334 x 38,290 = 12,789

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/...er-person.html

You're definitely going to have to increase taxes at some point, as well as optimizing the tax mix. The US now spends more as a percentage of gdp on government than Canada does.

[Drake Tungsten]

It's a goddamn shame; we spend more on government than Canada and what the **** do we get for it? Our military is the only federal responsibility that is clearly better than its Canadian equivalent...

[Kidlicious]

Kid, you're just not seeing the big picture here. Even if we grant that this reform will actually work (which I don't), it is simply not practical because it cannot be paid for with real money. That's all there is to it. I don't know exactly what will happen when/if we default on our debts, and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY don't want to find out. It's that freaking bad. And just axing the GWB tax cuts will barely begin to recover the balance.

We're not going to see eye-to-eye here, so I say we agree to disagree.

Default is way down the road. First we will see interest rates start to increase because of the deficit. Then we know we can't keep borrowing more. If we do keep borrowing more then things could get bad. But we aren't there yet. Remember this is a bad recession. The numbers are going to look bad, but once the economy starts growing at a decent pace then we can see where we are really at.

Anyway, no we do not really know what will happen. I just try to follow the Word, and that builds my faith in God. Ultimately if the US defaults on it's debt and if people don't get health care it's part of God's plan.

[Kidlicious]

So you have sold your possessions and donated the money to the sick? Good. Now you can tell others to not value material possessions without being a hypocrite.

Well, I don't have a car if that's enough for you, but it's only because I can't afford one. If I could afford one I would buy one, because I would have had a better job right now if I had one.

If that's not good enough you'll have to just think of me as a hypocrite for owning things and telling others that life is more important than their crap. But then I'm just going to go with how I think my God feels about it and not how you do.

[Kidlicious]

Which makes the inefficiency of our health care system even more obvious. We get less, even though we pay so much.

Yes, the cost of health care should be added to the US side for a fair comparison.

[giblets]

Well, I don't have a car if that's enough for you, but it's only because I can't afford one. If I could afford one I would buy one, because I would have had a better job right now if I had one.

If that's not good enough you'll have to just think of me as a hypocrite for owning things and telling others that life is more important than their crap. But then I'm just going to go with how I think my God feels about it and not how you do.

Doesn't really bother me. But if you choose to keep the "crap" over helping sick people then your actions put a price on human life. You might protest otherwise and say life is priceless but it's in vain.

[Kidlicious]

Doesn't really bother me. But if you choose to keep the "crap" over helping sick people then your actions put a price on human life. You might protest otherwise and say life is priceless but it's in vain.

I'm not as rational as you are making me out to be. I don't price human life while I'm shopping.

[Drake Tungsten]

Health care overhaul spawns mass confusion for public

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.

Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups.

"They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states.

McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were hoping that the overhaul would translate into instant, affordable coverage. That widespread misconception may have originated in part from distorted rhetoric about the legislation bubbling up from the hyper-partisan debate about it in Washington and some media outlets, such as when opponents denounced it as socialism.

"We tell them it's not free, that there are going to be things in place that help people who are low-income, but that ultimately most of that is not going to be taking place until 2014," McLean said.

Adults with pre-existing conditions are frustrated to learn that insurers won't have to cover them until 2014 (though those under 18 will be protected in late September); then they become both hopeful and confused upon learning that a federal high-risk pool for them will be established in the next few months. "Health insurance is so confusing. You add this on top of it and it makes it even more confusing," McLean said.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/06/91696/health-care-overhaul-spawns-mass.html#ixzz0kS1k6rN7

[SlowwHand]

[Hauldren Collider]

Soup Nazi

[Drake Tungsten]

Three weeks after Congress passed its new national health care plan, support for repeal of the measure has risen four points to 58%. That includes 50% of U.S. voters who strongly favor repeal.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters nationwide finds 38% still oppose repeal, including 32% who strongly oppose it.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/march_2010/health_care_law